This was a pretty fun one, I always love the idea of a secluded spot and it doesn’t really get more remote than an uninhabited island. It does start out a little on the slow side with the introduction of the characters but although sedate, I was still interested in seeing where it would all go. It’s very apparent everyone has some sort of secrets in their past and as most of them are all meeting each other for the first time, you slowly get to know everyone and what they’re about. I thought the sense of unease surrounding the island was great, despite a picture perfect backdrop you know things are gonna get ugly and the author did a good job of leaving the reader feeling unsettled. It also switches back and forth between present day and little past chapters from the characters which helped to keep things moving along. It’s also on the short side and reads super fast, definitely pick this one up when you have time to settle into it! Like I said, overall a fun read and one of those easy to read thrillers that entertains in the moment.

This was an interesting book. It wasn't fast paced and I didn't feel like I was on a thrill ride - the first 3/4 moved at a bit of a snail's pace but still piqued my interest. The characters are very unlikable but I believe that is exactly how you're supposed to feel about them. I called a few of the twists and others caught me by surprise but by no means did this have the oomph I wanted. Unfortunately the pacing at the end felt off and everything felt too quickly wrapped up and convenient. Overall, I give it a solid 3 stars - I enjoyed it while I read it, but probably won't recall much of it in the near future.

Like other Rachel Hawkins’ books, this is a page turner and a quick read. I recommend it for a fun and easy read in between more serious books or nonfiction.. The story starts out in Maui and ends at a deserted island in the Pacific. There is suspense and mystery throughout so it will keep you up at night to finish. The characters are not always deep, but they are interesting. If you enjoy Rachel Hawkins’ books, this will not disappoint.
Thank you Netgalley for a ARC.

Reckless Girls is a suspenseful book filled with an intriguing mix of characters. Each character has a past filled with baggage. The majority of the book takes place on a deserted island. The story tends to develop slowly and ends in a rush. I struggled to like any of the characters.

Meroe Island: a shipwrecked island founded in the 1800’s: 8 sailors surviving out of the crew. Others? Lost at sea or to others appetites. An island that sailors may dream to sail to but rarely travel to. The eerie island tales and odd feelings are reason enough.

Yet Nico, Lux, Brittany and Amma are unclear on the rumors. Wanting to go on an adventure, they travel to Meroe Island and met two other sailors: Eliza and Jake. To them, everything seems peaceful. They’ll all drink their wine get their tans on and relax for two weeks. A few days after anchoring, things change in the island and adventure really begins. But will everyone come out alive? Or will reckless spirits stop them from ever leaving the fated island?

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins has most elements readers look for in a thriller. There’s heart racing scenes, conniving characters and a setting resembling popular TV shows like Lost or Survivor. For me, this story had moments of thriller but overall the pacing felt off. The story had a slow beginning and lackluster interweaving but Hawkins redemption herself as the last three quarters of the book picked up the action and had some stellar action moments. I would recommend this to those who enjoy shipwrecked, eerie island reads or are looking for a just average thriller to keep them busy.

Thank you Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for an eARC of Reckless Girls in exchange for an honest review. Five stars for me! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

An atmospheric read that keeps you guessing, this book takes place on an isolated Pacific island with a dark history. One island, six visitors, and endless secrets - the short, intriguing chapters will keep you turning the pages until the very end.

I felt that this book is both fast-paced and a slow burn - if that's possibly. The chapters alternate between past and present, giving us a peek into how each of the six island visitors got to where they are today - a beautiful yet dark island that seems to have a mind and life of its own. I didn't see the final twist coming, and it kept me guessing throughout. This is one of those books that once you figure out the ending, you want to go back and reread to see what you missed the first time around!

I was hesitant to request this arc because of how much I disliked The Wife Upstairs (hello cliche & predictable), but for whatever reason (probably the yellow cover) I decided to take a chance and I’m pretty glad I did. Just as a side note- the cover doesn’t really match the book, definitely could have done a better job with that.

The story mainly revolves around a girl named Lux and her boyfriend Nico, and while they seemed to be surface level characters I didn’t hate them. I kind of envied their “no efs given” mentality. And actually that’s a lie, by the end I really hated Nico.

There are random pages in the book that are supposed to be letters(?) or emails, and maybe a news article that are thrown in haphazardly and while they’re relevant to the island that plays a major role in the book, they don’t actually add much value to the story as a whole. Their timing was weirdly placed and truly should have just been left out. I can see where Rachel Hawkins was going with trying to include them, giving a glimpse of the history of the island but it missed its mark.

Overall this book satisfied my need for a quick, engaging read and I’d say it’s worth checking out, but I’d try your local library first as I would absolutely not spend $15 for an ebook on this one.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an early copy of Reckless Girls. What a Pleasant Surprise this book was!!!! The story and characters were interesting and I enjoyed this. Fast paced, intriguing and the characters lived up to the title in this novel! Worth the read!

What a thriller! This book was a quick, fast paced read with wonderful descriptions of the tropical island. I liked the secluded island setting, it added another level to the slow burn buildup of suspension. Similar to The Wife Upstairs, the characters are not that likeable but you get captivated in seeing what will happen.

Wow, thanks so much to NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for a review.
As the author says, this is the book she always wanted to write. It’s fun, it’s twisted, and it’s suspenseful. This is my second book by the author and I really enjoy them. I think our book club would enjoy this as well. It’s young, or at least the characters are, so would appeal to the younger adult reader. The characters are relatable to my very younger self. I mean who wouldn’t enjoy the adventure of an abandoned isle for a day or two and them become freaked out as time goes on!
It felt like a slow boil until after halfway but then kicks into high gear like a speed boat until the end. I especially loved the ending and wrap up.
3.5 rounded to 4* for Goodreads

This book was a fun thriller! I did a combination of listening and reading this book because I couldn't get through it quick enough. This book is out January 4th 2022 and you should add it to your TBR! The audiobook narrator was fantastic. There weren't any characters I liked and was rooting for, but that was exactly what made it fun. The island location was also well described without being over done. Of course I figured nothing out, and I loved how it worked out! This is a book I don't want to give too much away, but the back story fills in a few blanks while the island situation is unfolding.
Thank you to Netgalley, McMillian Audio and St. Martin's Press for the advanced ebook/audiobook so I could fly through this great book!

Well this was a delightful thriller! Lux and her boyfriend Nico end up chartering two girls to a deserted island for 2 weeks. When they get there, there meet a couple that is also visiting. The group becomes friends just enjoys partying and hanging out. Then things start to go sideways when another visitor comes to the island and people start dying.

Lux was a great MC. She was smart, and while she didn't know what was going on, she was a suspicious of things. I liked her story, and I wanted to see her survive. The plot moved along super fast, and I flew this one! I enjoyed the twists, and while I didn't feel super surprised by them, I liked them!

Readers that enjoy a locked-in mystery will enjoy this secluded island setting!

A digital copy of this book was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I am not going to lie, I am a sucker a book with a group of friend stranded somewhere. A cabin in a snowstorm, a remote island, paradise. This is the story of 2 friends, Brittany and Amma that hire Nico to sail them to a remote island. Nico brings his girlfriend Lux along for 2 weeks of being away from it all. Once they dock they discover that Jake and Eliza are already there. They all become friends feasting and partying, until a stranger shows up and everything gets weird. It's said that the island is haunted or has bad vibes, makes people crazy. But the crazy is more than the island.

I have to admit the thought of traveling the world, by boat is terrifying to me but I enjoyed getting lost in the story. I recommend this book. Thank you NetGalley, Rachel Hawkins and St. Martin's Press.

My review is live on the following sites:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CWeUa-MLuxJ/
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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4130608450
https://www.librarything.com/topic/327548#n7657291

So much potential in this one but the ending fell flat for me. I loved the atmosphere of this book. The creepy vibes gives the reader an uneasy feeling from the beginning. But as it comes to a close I found that I was expecting something more intense. It's an enjoyable, quick read but left me wanting something different.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was good. A cast of characters that I kept see-sawing back and forth whether I liked them or not. So many twists and turns and a final twist that I didn't see coming. Also, a super quick read. I essentially read this in one sitting. Fast-paced story that pulled me in. I didn't want to put it down.

Definitely would recommend this to others.

It's hard to believe the author wanted to write a book like this since she was twelve-years-old!

The characterization is so well done, I felt some of the emotions the main character felt. I really connected with Luz for quite a while; however surprising details as the book went on shifted my opinions of many of the characters.

The atmospheric feel of the book went along with the vividly portrayed setting. I enjoyed this story.

Oh yes, this was a win! When six vacationers choose to sail to Meroe Island to get off the grid and visit a somewhat haunted island, things go from perfect and exotic to something similar to Lord of the Flies. As the time goes on, things just become a little strange. Everyone starts feeling a little confined, and before everyone knows it, secrets from the past come to the surface.

I’m a setting person—and this was perfect! There were some characters I wanted to punch in the face, and some I wanted to be. It was fabulous and I devoured this in about 2 days!

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

This book is the “don’t go to a deserted island with people you just met” reminder that I didn’t know I needed. Lux, and her boyfriend Nico, agree to sail 2 women they just met out to a deserted island with a spooky past. The plan is to stay for 2 weeks and then return to Hawaii, and how bad could 2 relaxing weeks on a gorgeous beach be? Spoiler alert: very bad.

This book is a slow burn thriller, emphasis on the slow burn. I don’t want to give too much away so I won’t go into a lot of detail, but I was hoping for some crazy twists and turns and didn’t get much. Most of the book is driven by Lux and her views of her life and these new “friends.” There are some flashbacks thrown in which I would have loved to see more of. All in all, I liked it and the premise was cool, but it wasn’t as thrilling as I hoped it would be. I loved chatting with @thelittlerusticreader about this one! I think we had very similar opinions.

Thanks to @stmartinspress for my copy! This one comes out January 4th!

Reckless Girls
By Rachel Hawkins
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.5

I enjoyed reading this book and I was very curious to know the ending since I saw people saying stuff like "is that it?" but I actually liked the ending and I think people were reading it wrong like if it was the Tv show "Lost", which it isn't. Basically it's all about the reckless girls, as the title says, nothing crazy, just humans doing reckless things. I didn't really sympathize with the characters besides Lux though, they're not very likable and the whole time I was reading it I was like 'whoever dies, whatever. Unless it's Lux'. I enjoyed the Island scenario, the 'Lost' feeling and the flashbacks. In the beginning it was a little confusing because of all the back and forth with informations and history of the island, other people's experiences at the island, the backstories about each character and then the 'now'. But everything comes together at end and it's not really a coincidence that all of them went there, and if you read it paying attention to the girls instead of the island itself everything will make sense. I do think that the Epilogue was a little unnecessary and it kinda started the whole thing again but I think that was the point.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Solitude and claustrophobia are two of my favorite tropes when it comes to thrills, chills, and overall suspense. Throw in a dash of toxic masculinity, a generous pinch of privilege, and a tropical island that gets too humid for its own good, well...I'm sold.

I don't usually read suspense, but a bunch of our patrons and two of my colleagues loved THE WIFE UPSTAIRS (which I have yet to read), so I put RECKLESS GIRLS higher on my priority list. I'm glad I did.

Lux McAllister is a waitress in a ritzy SoCal restaurant when she meets Nico, a rich sea-and-surf type who feels an instant attraction to her. Lux has just been through a horrible ordeal with her mom being diagnosed with cancer, having to drop out of college to take care of her, and then losing her mother and being left as an island unto herself. Her father is a right jerk and is basically like, "Your mom took you and left me and now I have a new family, so excuse me if I don't care about her sickness, byyyyeeee." So with no one and nothing else to anchor her to SoCal, she agrees to meet Nico in Maui, then take off into the Pacific on the Susannah, his boat.

Whoops! The boat's got an issue with the hull. Looks like Lux is stuck working at a hotel and resort as a housecleaner. "Wait," I hear you say, "you said Nico is rich? Like, disgustingly wealthy." Yeah, well, turns out Mr. Trust Fund Baby is too proud to ask his family for help and too entitled to work a job himself. Consequently Lux works her behind off to save money and fix the Susannah. A break seems to come their way when, after being fired for DEIGNING to crack a joke after having to clean up an array of sex toys left in a guest's room, a pair of girls who are college friends offer to pay Nico and Lux to take them to a small uninhabited island. The two girls, Amma and Brittany, have been traveling the world together after suffering a similar tragedy, and they've heard about this little island and want to spend a couple weeks out there as a sort of last hurrah before they go home: they want to investigate the island, as it was used for an airstrip in WW2, and shipwrecks there led to tales of cannibalism and murder. What fun!

With the caveat that they have to pay to fix the Susannah, Lux and Nico agree. On Meroe Island, which is purported to be cursed, another sailing couple from Australia show up with their sleek luxury cruiser and all is well in the land of small island partying.

Until it's not.

I really appreciated the buildup of tension here. Hawkins really knows how to utilize dramatic irony and partial information to keep people reading to find out what happens. Sometimes the amount of disbelief one has to suspend for a novel like this requires too much energy, or the author isn't skilled enough to have you trust them. The trickiest thing about suspense is needing to believe that these things could really happen. Fantasy and science fiction are easy to get caught up in even when it's cheesy, because you know this world has a slim probability of existing alongside or within our own. If the world makes sense, it's fun to read. But good on Hawkins for her skill in RECKLESS GIRLS, because realistic fiction actually has to make more sense than any fantasy novel.

The pacing is taut, the characters are awful in their own rights, and the setting is just so well done. I'm honestly 100% certain that I'll be checking out THE WIFE UPSTAIRS at the end of my shift. Well done, Hawkins. You deserve all the recognition this one gets!