This was intense. Lux and Nico agree to sail best friends Brittany and Amma to a deserted island for two weeks for fifty grand. Once there, they find Eliza and Jake. Things seem cozy and everyone act like best friends, but everyone is hiding something. Reckless Girls hooked me from page one, although I found the middle kind of lacking, and wish I got more backstory on a few of the characters, the ending however, had me surprised with how everything played out. Overall, this was just an okay read for me, but I feel like this would make a great movie!

- [ ] Thank you to St. Martins Press, Rachel Hawkins and NetGalley for advanced digital copy in exchange for review!!

What can we expect when six strangers end up in a deserted island especially when they start revealing their true colors little by little every time they met. The equations among these folks keep changing and it became clear there was something weird about these people. Then there is a new person in the island and suddenly things escalate in the island from partying to fights directly. And once there is a death, the question of whether it is an accident or murder also begins. It was a fun and fast read with some twists. I definitely felt I needed to read it all the way so definitely kept me engaged.

This book had me captivated from the start. It was incredibly easy to dive in to which is why I almost finished reading this in just one day! At the start, I was worried that the plot would be repetitive based on other thrillers I've read (remote island getaway - been there, done that). However, this was not the case at all! The characters drew me in and I found myself playing detective and trying to see how they were each connected. Unraveling the character's connections to each other was one of my favorite parts of this book. Although, I will say that I didn't feel strongly for any of the characters and didn't find myself rooting for them. I also think some story lines were left out which had me asking questions at the end (why does Nico have a distraught family relationship? what happened between Susannah and Nico?). Despite some of the flaws, I really did love this book. Rachel Hawkins never disappoints and I can't want to see what see writes next. Fans of The Wife Upstairs are bound to love this read as well.

a short little intro…

Basically Lux meets Nico in San Diego and follows him to Hawaii, where they get stuck due to problems with Nico’s boat, keeping them from their plans to sail the world. Soon Nico is offered a job to charter Brittany and Amma to a remote island, which includes them paying for Nico’s boat repairs, so of course Lux and Nico jump at the chance.

The story is written with several points of view, however the main voice is Lux. The story is told in the present and also in flashbacks. You also learn the history of Meroe Island through emails, letters, and diaries.

I enjoyed the book, but I felt that the beginning and middle dragged in places. My favorite part of the book took place on the island, so much tension and suspense takes place there. You feel something is just off about the place, and it gives you a bit of a creepy feel.

The location is written wonderfully, you will feel the stifling heat and the tension, plus I love any thing that takes place on a beach or island. The characters were a bit of a negative for me, none of them really had me rooting for them, but I wondered many times as I read if Hawkins wrote them that way.

The ending gives you a very twisty surprise, one I did not see coming at all. However, I am still not sure how I feel about it.
Reckless Girls releases January 4th but I think it would make a fantastic beach read. If you have to read it asap then do so, but if it can sit a bit on your shelf, grab it and throw it in your beach bag for vacation.

Lux and Nico live in Hawaii working to save enough money to fix his boat so they can sale off on an adventure! When Brittany and Amma offer to hire Nico to take them to a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific, they pay to fix his boat and allow him to bring Lux with them. When they get to the island it’s not deserted, but a couple, Eliza and Jake, are also there. The six of them decide to make the best of it and enjoy their time together however, the island may have different plans for them.

I couldn’t put this book down while I was reading it. I finished it in a day which is rare for me. The book is suspenseful, and I just needed to know what was going to happen next. The book is atmospheric and the author transports her readers to the island. I had a sense of foreboding while reading it.

I was invested in the characters and felt the dual timeline was a good way to see what brought them to where the were in the present. However, I didn’t necessarily like the characters. They were all flawed in some way.

The problem for me was that it took a long time for anything to happen and when it did, I didn’t necessarily find it believable. I was able to figure out one of the twists which didn’t ruin the story, but I just didn’t see the characters making some of the decisions they did.

Overall, I found this story enjoyable and look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Lux, our main reckless girl, and her boyfriend Nico were hired by two women to sail the Pacific Ocean from Maui to Meroe Island—a beautiful remote island with a dark history. After a pretty scary few days sailing, they arrive to the island and realize another boat is already there. Luckily everyone gets along great! Everything is going well, until another person shows up to the island..

I listened to The Wife Upstairs earlier this year and enjoyed it! So I was really looking forward to this book. I found parts of it predictable, but there were still parts that had me questioning everything. Also… I never want to sail across the ocean. The ocean freaks me out!

If you are into island mysteries and “boat murders”—Hawkins wrote that she’s wanted to write a boat murder since she was twelve!—you should check this one out!

Publication Day is January 4, 2022

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of Reckless Girls in exchange for my honest review

Not sure how I feel about this book. . The book was a bit predictable as it was set on a deserted island. It had a Lord of the Flies vibe to it and I’m not a fan of LOTF. It was modernized, but I did think the ending was strong. There was something missing for me. Maybe the character development between Lux and the other characters of the story. I would still recommend this book to others and very grateful for the opportunity to have an ARC.

I hate to do it but this is the first book to start off my DNF pile. I always try to push through, especially when a book gets great reviews like this one, but I just couldn't do it anymore. I made it about 60% of the way through and finally gave myself permission to abandon this one.

To me, this one is painfully slow. Up to this point literally nothing interesting has happened and I'm not even sure what the big mystery or point of the story is yet. I didn't connect with any of the characters so far either. For a thriller, this one isn't thrilling at all to me.

The writing was smooth and she really seems to have done her research on boating and boat terminology. I really enjoyed The Wife Upstairs by this author and I will still read her next book she comes out with.

This book has a lot of glowing reviews, so although this book isn't for me you may like it! Thanks to #netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this one in exchange for an honest review.

Didn’t see that ending coming! This one has lots of twists and turns to keep you turning the pages. If you want to step away from reality then sail away with this one. It’s a touch too far from what my mind grasps as reality, hence the 3 stars.

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins #jaylammreviews

I became an instant fan after reading The Wife Upstairs last year so I was so excited to see Hawkins had written another thriller.

This is about Lux and her boyfriend Nico- who on a search for adventure are hired to charter two women out to a deserted island near Hawaii. Things are a bit shaky from the get go but really start to go off the rails once others show up on the island.

This was filled with unlikable characters but we do get to learn a little about them as we get their backstories in alternate chapters. The story is weaved nicely but there wasn't much real suspense in the story. I was hoping for more of a thrill but this felt like it stopped short of that.

Overall it was an ok thriller, nothing really original but well told.

Just because it looks like paradise, doesn’t mean it is paradise. A sailing trip to a deserted island turns deadly when a group of strangers decides to spend two weeks soaking up the sun on cursed Maroe Island.

I TORE through this book. Like, read it in 12 hours tore through it, and I was sleeping for about 8 of those hours. Did I figure out the ending? Sure. But it had me captivated and left just enough of a bread crumb trail to put the pieces together, which I like in a thriller. It’s an easy read and a good pick if you like your mysteries with a side of revenge 😈

Don't be fooled by the pretty cover- this book is actually pretty tragic and twisted. The opening is strong. The descriptions suck you in. Dark rumors of shipwrecks, cannibalism and murder haunt this island.
I loved the creativity of the setting! Most eerie "one by one" thrillers are set during a horrific snow storm or in an old Victorian mansion but the beach setting added a certain "lightness" to this dark story. The ending felt a bit over the top but I was still entertained. There was some slow build in the middle but most of that was character development. This is a very character focused mystery.
While 90% of the characters felt untrustworthy, I enjoyed Lux as narrator. She at least had a bit of common sense and a good intuition.
Overall, this book was a tension building guessing game that I enjoyed playing.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. (PUB DATE: 1/4/22).

Wow! I loved this book. Lux and her boyfriend, Nico, have been hired by two women to charter a boat from Hawaii to a beautiful deserted island. This island has a morbid history but no one is worried or superstitious.
Once the party of four dock their boat, they meet a couple of friendly love birds. Can anyone really know another person? Even if it's their close friend or lover?
What a wild ride! Or should I say voyage?

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins was amazing! The storyline of a group of people meeting on a vacation to a deserted island with a crazy creepy past is to die for, pun intended! The writing was so good and descriptive, I almost felt like I was on the island with Nico, Lux, Brittany, Amma, Eliza and Jake. And so many "OMG" moments that I could not read fast enough! I cannot recommend this enough!!!

In a way, it’s easier to let go. To let it happen. Isn’t that what she’s been doing this whole time? Isn’t that what led her here, to this lonely spot in the Pacific Ocean, woozy and drowning and alone?

Lux used to have purpose, but she had to put her dreams aside to take care of her terminally ill mother. Now, months after losing her mom, she is drifting, unanchored, through life. Seeing no point in returning to school, she felt that “dreams were for people who had choices, opportunities.” She no longer believed that she was one of those lucky people. Then, she meets Nico, who is both charming and handsome with dreams big enough for the two of them. He invites her to join him in Hawaii and she jumps at the chance to start fresh. Longing for direction, Lux follows Nico and his promise of adventures on the open seas.
Six months and a few setbacks later, both Nico and Lux are still in Maui, working dead-end jobs, saving for their trip around the world. And, just when Lux starts to question her choices, opportunity knocks in the form of two college girls, Brittany and Amma, who charter the Susannah and hire Nico and Lux to take them to a remote island in the Pacific to get away from it all. When they arrive at the eerie island of Meroe, their dream of a deserted island paradise is disrupted by the sight of another boat already anchored there. Next, we meet Eliza and Jake - two more characters trying to escape their pasts for some reason or another. Put six beautiful people with different personalities together on an island, miles away from the mainland, add lots of sex, alcohol, and a wildcard to the mix – what could possibly go wrong?
What follows is a lot of unexpected twists and turns that keep the reader wanting more. Rachel Hawkins has a solid grasp of writing a suspenseful thriller. I enjoyed The Wife Upstairs, but I found Reckless Girls to be much more edgy. I give kudos to any author who can keep me guessing until the end and although I had an inkling of what might be coming, I’ll admit that I did not predict the final scene playing out the way it did.
I really loved this book and I’m giving it five stars for originality and writing style, even though there were some minor plausibility issues in the plot. Without giving anything away, my first concern was that I found it hard to believe that Amma would not have expressed what she knew more openly when they met the others on the island. On my first read, I got that she was upset and standoffish, but it didn’t become clear until after flipping back through some chapters that she was aware of more than I first noticed. The second problem that I had was that although there was some foreshadowing of Lux’s true character, I had a hard time believing that she would ultimately do what she did. Overall, I think Reckless Girls is a great beach read. Although it is too mature for my classroom audience due to language and adult situations, I will recommend it to friends, family, and fellow readers.

I enjoyed this suspenseful story. This is my first book by this author which I enjoyed and look forward to reading more. This is a well written story about four people who get stranded on an island. As the island starts closing in on them one member comes up missing and another turns up dead. Will they make it off this island alive or will the island take the others as well? I really enjoyed the characters and how they are relateable and what they brought to the story. This is a fast paced story that I had a hard time putting down. It is an engaging story that has twists and turns that had me sitting on the edge of my seat just waiting to see what would happen next. This is a great story that I highly recommend. It made a great afternoon read, worth the pick up.

Let me start this explaining that 3 stars is not negative! Hawkins is a strong writer!
Yet another alluring thriller that’ll capture your attention until the last page has been read! Rachel Hawkins word’s have such a grasp you can’t help but fall under the spell of her novels.

Lux, our protagonist, and her pretty boyfriend get an opportunity to take two traveling young women to a remote island for a large sum of money. An island full of dark horrific history. Lux doesn’t think it’s a good idea, but her boyfriend does and won’t budge on his choice and she consents on going, despite her worries.

My critique with the book is with the big climax of the story. I did ask myself “that’s it?! Seriously?!” It was a let down. There were parts of the book(can’t talk about specifics, otherwise I’ll spoil it) that I was disappointed in. Despite some failed sections of the book, I still enjoyed it and was eager to find out what happened next.

This book is still worth the time in reading. I already want another novel from Hawkins.

I was wanting a fun, slightly trashy thriller to read, and this turned out to be the perfect pick! This would be a great beach read…if it wasn’t about such a creepy beach…

The synopsis lays out the story pretty well. Meroe Island is a fabled place, with many stories of dark/disturbing things happening there. It was used as a refueling stop during WWII, but now sits vacant (until people like our characters show up to play Gilligan’s Island for a few days).

Lux and Nico are hired by two young women to take them to the island, and since the money is needed, they agree. The foursome is having a great time until they arrive at the island and see their idea wasn’t as original as they thought. No worries though, as Eliza and Jake seem cool and they have a well-stocked liquor cabinet.

The four that are now six are having a blast, exploring the island’s jungle and finding the old airstrip. There was a skull, too, but it’s a weird island, right? Everything is going well until they see another boat approaching, carrying a man who just doesn’t fit in with their group. After he arrives, strange things start happening, and people start to go missing…

This was a really great lazy day read - it started slow but then started to speed along. It was pretty original and the “before” story was well done. I didn’t really like or dislike any of the characters, but that’s because the island itself is the main character (and I liked it!). Four stars for this fun thriller.

(Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Rachel Hawkins, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

2020 introduced me to the Thriller genre and one of my favs was The Wife Upstairs so when I discovered Rachel Hawkins was coming out with a new one I was so excited….maybe too excited.
Lux became lost after the death of her mother. That is until she meets Nico, a boy with a boat. He agrees to sail the world with Lux but not until they save some money. When two girls agree to pay them a nice cash reward for taking them to a deserted island Lux and Nico quickly agree. But this island is said to be cursed.
This book was so incredibly boring. I don’t know if it’s because I know Hawkins is capable of bringing out twists and turns or what; but I was waiting and waiting and waiting and felt like nothing was happening. At 85% through there’s some action but even that was predictable and boring. The concept was cool but for me it fell flat. That being said, it was a really good story and well written; just not a good follow up to her first one and definitely shouldn’t be classified as a thriller.

QUICK TAKE: Hawkins is back with another twisty thriller, RECKLESS GIRLS, trading domestic suspense for a sun-soaked thriller set on a dark and mysterious island in the pacific. Told in alternating timelines, the book follows a down-on-their-luck couple hired by two women to sail them to Meroe Island, a tropical paradise with a troubling history. When they reach the island, they run into a glamorous Australian couple hiding secrets of their own, and twists and turns ensue.⁣
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I’ve been craving escapist reads lately, and this one truly delivered. I read it in one sitting and found it to be unputdownable: sexy and fun, with plenty of island intrigue and a solid mystery at the core. I had a small issue with the ending, but not enough to detract from my overall enjoyment (there’s a plot point I’m looking forward to discussing with others).