Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the advance reader’s copy.
I would describe this book as Bachelor in Paradise meets Lord of the Flies. This page turning thriller was full of suspense, but also irritating characters and way too much profanity for my taste. With that said, it only took me around 24 hours to devour this book. A true “popcorn thriller.”

What a wild ride! This is not your typical romantic thriller! This one throws in some unbelievable twists however, I caught on as to why this was named Reckless Girls pretty early on.

Four young adults without any ties to home set out on a sailboat into the deep blue. Upon arriving at their island destination, they are met by a couple with the same idea of a tropical getaway. As these 6 form a friendship and line strangler shows up on their island and things start to spiral out of control. Everyone has their own ideas of fun and “experiences” and soon secrets unravel and maybe they all have more in common than initially suspected!

I really enjoyed how this book progressed. I feel like there were a couple of holes in the storyline that should have been expanded upon but it probably wouldn’t have changed my rating.

My anticipation for this one was high after reading and loving The Wife Upstairs. This book is very different in tone, but still so good for the most part. There’s an underlying sense of suspense, and it’s hard to pinpoint the sense of unease in the air, but you’ll detect it just as you can feel the suffocating heat of the sun that these characters endure while exploring the island. Reckless Girls is highly addictive and is the definition of a page turner. The first 10% of the book was incredibly strong, a great opening. Then, between 10% to 50%, there is a bit of a ramp-up period (it takes a bit of time for the book to hit its stride), but after the 50% mark, WOW, I constantly wanted to know how each new surprise would turn out. Reckless Girl was highly entertaining which reigns supreme for me.

Overall, if you want a highly entertaining, addictive story, pick this book up! Be sure to clear your schedule first.

Meroe Island has a centuries-long history of horror. In the 1600s, a group of sailors was stranded on the inhospitable island. More than 20 landed on the island. Only 8 were rescued. Rumors of cannibalism and madness have kept the island mostly abandoned save a few adventurers who spend a few days exploring its isolated beauty.
Aimless and jobless Lux and her boyfriend Nico are given the opportunity of a lifetime. All they have to do is take Amma and Brittany to Meroe Island for 2 weeks and they can make $50,000. Amma and Brittany are likable and fun, so a couple of weeks of partying and exploring with new friends and enough money to kickstart their own adventure after sounds amazing.
Upon arriving on the island, the foursome becomes six when they meet Jake and Eliza, who are also young and fun and ready to explore and party. Everyone is having a great time, but Lux can’t help but feel impending doom. This island is full of death and madness and it seems like it’s coming for them. The doom combined with dangerous secrets leads to one conclusion- not everyone is getting off the island alive.
I have a lot of complaints about this book, but at the same time, I really liked it. You’d expect a group of young beautiful people liquored up and showing some skin would be interesting. They bored me. I got Amma and Brittany confused for probably the first 60% of the book. The secrets were very predictable, and thus so was the peak of the book. I will say that I didn’t see the very end, but I also did not like the end at all.
So if it’s so predictable and everything is so boring why did I like it? I’m not sure, but there was something about it that made me want to know what happened next. I wanted to gasp over deaths and ignore predictability. I liked how the history of the island was strewn through the book. I thought it was an interesting touch. Or maybe it’s because I’ve experienced several duds recently and this one was better than those. Either way, I give this one a 3.5/5.
*Special thanks to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read this one.

Thought I would enjoy this since I liked The Wife Upstairs so much. Boy was I wrong! Horrible characters that you couldn't possibly route for, a convoluted story that I didn't care if I ever got straight, and more F-bombs than remotely necessary. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book got me right from the start and I was excited to get into it. I like the main character, Lux, and how she showed a vulnerable side to her and we knew any time she felt insecure. It felt relatable in that way. The middle of the book felt really slow and I wanted to DNF a few times. It picked up again and the twist was unexpected but it also felt super unrealistic and a bit messy.

This was an all around okay thriller. It had a lot of promise to it, but ultimately fell a bit flat for me.

Things I liked:
- The premise. I liked that it was basically a locked room mystery, just with the island being the locked room.
- That the island and it's history was like a character in it's own right.
- There were flashback chapters for multiple characters with lots of solid character building to them.

Things that didn't work for me:
- The pace was quite slow. I didn't find it picked up until I was about 70% through.
- I didn't find the twists all that shocking. I predicted a few of them about half way through the book.

Read this if you..
- ever wondered what it would be like to stuck on a deserted island;
- like to befriend strangers;
- have wanderlust

Review to be posted on: http://instagram.com/plotspawspinot

A dark and twisty travel thriller that sees a group of strangers with suspect pasts sailing together to a deserted tropical island. Told in a dual timeline with multiple POVs this one kept me on my toes and had a deliciously jaw dropping ending. Perfect for fans of Roz Nay's Hunted. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copies!

This was a hard one for me. I DNFed at 25%. I wanted to really enjoy this story but I just couldn't get into the story.

Well this one kept be guessing until the very end!
Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins is the perfect book if you are looking for a quick, exciting read. I wouldn’t even read any teasers for this one. Just jump right in! The characters in this one have you loving them one minute and hating them the next. There was one on pretty predictable plot line, but the rest of them were definitely not.
A good mystery that keeps you guessing.
Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

*Will post on Instagram closer to release date

I received an ARC Kindle edition of this book (thank you NetGalley and the publisher!) but that cover design alone means I might need to purchase a copy when it releases in early 2022.

It's a pretty rare day when the ending of a book can actually make my jaw drop and hang open for awhile, and that's exactly what this book did. I really enjoyed The Wife Upstairs so I was excited to read more from Rachel Hawkins and this book did not disappoint!

Lux moves to Hawaii with her new boyfriend, Nico, who promises to take her sailing around the world. Floundering for purpose after her mother's death, Lux is excited to live a life out on the open sea --- except when she arrives in Hawaii the boat (named after Nico's ex btw....) is broken and Nico doesn't seem to be in much of a hurry to get it fixed and get on their way.

So when two young travelers, Amma and Brittany, offer to fix the boat and pay them to take them on a trip to a remote deserted island for a few weeks, it's an easy decision.

Remote, deserted island --- what could possibly go wrong? When they arrive at the island, they are surprised to see another boat & couple already there. But they have high-end booze and snacks, so all is well. But the arrival of a third stranger tips the trip into the realm of weird. You can slowly see the tension building between this band of travelers until it snaps in its stunning conclusion. As we learn a little bit more about what actually brought each of the travelers to the island, you begin to realize that no one is safe.... and not everyone will leave the island.

Definitely recommend this one-sitting thriller as a beach read next summer (if you can wait that long!)

I loved THE WIFE UPSTAIRS, so I knew that I absolutely had to get my hands on Rachel Hawkin's new thriller, RECKLESS GIRLS. When six people are on a deserted island, secrets come out and true motivations are revealed. I thought that the past/present timelines were well woven to provide glimpses into each character's back story. I am officially a Rachel Hawkins convert and will read anything she writes!

Thank you to St. Martin's press for an early copy in exchange for an honest review!

Reckless Girls is suspenseful with many twists and turns. It is an island read with a touch of Lord of the Flies. Lux and her boyfriend Nico decide to make some money to fix their boat by taking a couple of girls who paid them well to the remote Meroe Island. Meroe Island has a dark history but piques the interest of the group. When the group arrives on the island, they see another couple is also staying there. From here (and without giving any spoilers), there is a series of crazy events that keep us guessing until the very end of the novel. I would recommend this book if you are new to Rachel Hawkins or a returning reader!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

Lux is feeling rudderless. She hates her dead-end hotel job. Granted she lives in the beautiful state of Hawaii, but she can't see any future here if her boyfriend, Nico, doesn't get motivated. Luckily on the same day she gets fired, Nico finds clients who will pay for the repairs their boat needs before they take the two women to Meroe Island, an isolated chunk of coral off the Hawaiin coast. Meroe Island has a dark reputation, but Lux doesn't believe in ghosts. They arrive at the island to find it occupied by a bigger, luxury boat and a beautiful couple. Soon everyone is fast friends. Food and liquor flow. What begins as two weeks of bliss devolves quickly into chaos, distrust, & death.

I love this author! Her first book The Wife Upstairs blew me away. This book is just as hypnotic and enthralling.
If you like B. A. Paris and Greer Henricks you will love this novel.

Robyn Heil, Brodart Co. Buyer

This story was a little predictable. With her last book I thought I knew what was going to happen and at the end I was thrown for a loop. I was hoping while I was reading/listening that the same thing would happen, but unfortunately there was not really a big twist. There was a lot going on that kept you involved in the story, I was just hoping for a little more shock based on her previous novel.

I think by all accounts, I should enjoy Rachel Hawkins as a writer. She did, after all, take one of my favorites - Jane Eyre - and modernize it. BUT....if we remember correctly....I didn't enjoy that re-telling.

Well, I didn't really enjoy Reckless Girls that much either. I wanted to - and in fact, did for the first...40% of the book! A down on her luck girl, in love with a rich boy who wants nothing to do with his family's money. They are in love! and on a boat! in paradise! They pick up two young women who want to pay them to sail to a remote island for two weeks of adventure. They meet two other strangers. Then a weirdo shows up and ruins everything. Or at least kickstarts the downfall of everything....

It just got....melodramatic. And again...more men gaslighting women. More women gaslighting other women. The constant violence and assault and backstabbing and lies and sex and etc etc. I can't quite figure out who these books are for. Adults? Young adults? Women? They read early 20's....which - it's 20 years ago for me, and I hate even admitting that!

I think that Rachel Hawkins is a good writer but maybe just not for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A tropical themed thriller where no one is who they seem, everyone has a past and a mysterious island threatens to curse them all. This was a fast-paced, action packed thriller that kept me interested the whole way through. I loved the different perspectives from characters as well as the flashbacks. The end seemed a bit rushed to me and I would have appreciated more plot + intrigue there as the build up and character development had so much potential. Overall, I would recommend.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's and Netgalley for my ARC.

4.5 stars / This review will be posted on goodreads.com today.


Lux has an interesting name and an interesting past. After dropping out of college and caring for her mom while she battled, and ultimately died from cancer, she’s hopped from low rent housing and minimum wage jobs. When she meets Nico, she thinks that her world is finally turning around. But here she is in Hawaii cleaning hotel rooms while her silver spoon boyfriend fulfills his dreams of being a boat mechanic.

The dream was supposed to be to travel around the world on Nico’s sailboat. The sailboat encounters several problems on its way to Hawaii and now it sits in dry dock awaiting repairs. Nico refuses to call his family for any help. When two young women come along and want to hire Nico to take them to a deserted island in the Pacific, he jumps at the offer. His boat can be repaired and then the dreams can begin.

This island has a very sordid past, however. Meroe Island has a history of a WWII settlement with many lost souls throughout the years. Nico, Lux, Amma & Brittany head off to the island for two weeks of relaxation. Sadly, this trip will be anything but relaxing.

Hawkins creates quite the cursed Pacific island in this new novel. As with her other novels, she weaves a tale that cannot, literally, be put down. Each character has a secret past to hide, making them all suspect in anything that might happen. The book is written through chapters of past for some of the characters, and present, so you get a really great picture of how they ended up here, together, on a very cursed, deserted island.

Not my first Hawkins read, definitely not my last.

I really liked this, even if the ending fizzled. I wanted more from the climax (maybe a bigger/better twist?) but still had a good time reading.

It hurts my heart to rate this one as only 3 stars, but it REALLY failed to resonate with me the way I was hoping it would. I was so intrigued by the description, and as a Rachel Hawkins fan, I was SO excited to read this. An abandoned island, a group of strangers, and a little romance...what else could you ask for? Well, a lot, apparently, because this one really wasn't all I hoped it would be. I think the biggest issue with this was the lack of character development, so it felt like all of these characters were thrown together for no reason (it becomes very apparent that that is not the case towards the end of the book) but for the most of the book I just felt myself wondering why it felt so randomly put together. The story just didn't seem to flow and the series of events just didn't make much sense logically. Without too many spoilers, the random romances in this just left a sour taste in my mouth and made me loath all of the characters. The ending made it seem like we should really be rooting for Lux, but the events leading up to it really made it hard for me to root for her and like her. The ending line was the best part of the book in my opinion and I felt like it really didn't fit Lux's storyline as well as I would have liked it to. The lack of likable characters really hurt this story. The ending twist just seemed way too convenient and just really didn't resonate with me. I am sad to say this was not one of my favorites from Rachel Hall. Although this one wasn't for me, I think many readers will still enjoy it for what it is. I did find it interesting and enjoyable but it just is not one that will stick with me for long. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.