After being let go from her job, Lux and her boyfriend Nico jump at the chance to sail two young women to a remote island for 50k. It seems like the perfect opportunity and Lux quickly bonds with the college best friends. When they reach the deserted island however, they find it is not deserted. There is another boat with a very well of couple aboard. The group quickly becomes a unit, but weird things are beginning to happen on the island. Suddenly Lux realizes how truly alone they are on this remote island.

I will start by saying this is a slow burn. It took me a good amount of time to get through the first half, but once I did I couldn’t put it down. Each of the characters had their good and bad sides, and some I kind of hated from page one. The idea of being alone on an island in paradise sounded so wonderful, but I too found myself questioning how great it would be long term. I liked the dual timelines, but I will say the twist was unexpected. If you enjoyed The Wife Upstairs I think you will enjoy this one as well!

I have read almost all of Rachel Hawkins's books and this one was by far my favorite.

I was hooked on this book by the first chapter. I found myself squeezing in time to read as much as possible.
This book was about Lux and Nico, a young couple, who sail out to a deserted, haunted island with two friends who met in college. Amma and Brittany pay Nico to sail them to Meroe Island. They end up meeting another couple, Jake and Eliza who is also on this strange island. Everything starts out magical, they are on a tropical island of course. Things start taking a turn for the worst quickly.

This novel was well written and extremely captivating. I liked the one POV from Lux. She was a strong character with good depth. I would recommend this book to anyone.

This is the perfect read for a cozy January day by the fireplace! Set in the beautiful Hawaiian islands, Lux and her boyfriend, Nico, are living paycheck to paycheck, trying to earn the money to fix up his boat and travel the world on a romantic trip. This novel has a "locked room" island vibe with a haunted beach locale. When Nico meets two rich young girls looking for adventure who need a guide and a boat. Cue the fix up of the old "Susannah" (Nico's broken down boat.) Funny how that worked out so well.
The story is a bit unbelievable, but a guilty pleasure all the same. I never connected to any of the characters in this novel, not Nico or Lux or any of the strangers who wind up on this remote, far off island with them. The book is good, not great, but good. I'd be good curled up by the fire, drinking hot cocoa and reading another novel by this author. 3.5 stars thanks for St. Martin's Press and Netgally.

I wish to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest review. I loved 'The Wife Upstairs' by Rachel Hawkins and knew the author could write thrilling, intriguing stories. I was pleased to receive 'Reckless Girls' and usually find plots that involve people trying to survive danger in exotic locations entertaining and suspenseful. I regret this story didn't work for me but will try the next book she writes and attempt to forget this one. I realize it appealed to many readers.

Seven people end up on a beautiful, remote Pacific atoll, Meroe. Its horrifying history with rumours of shipwreck, murder, and cannibalism is part of its attraction for adventurers. Lux is stranded in Hawaii with her boyfriend, Nico, while his boat needs repairs. Two backpacking girls, Britanny and Amma, barter to pay for repairs on his ship in return for taking them to the island. They say they became friends in college and are seeking adventure. Lux had been working at a high-end hotel struggling to contribute towards repairs but was then fired. She is feeling the need to get away, and the trip appeals to her.

After some rough seas, they discover a wealthy couple, Eliza and Jake, are there on their luxurious yacht equipped with fine food and liquor when they arrive at the island. The two groups bond and enjoy each other's company, swimming in the warm waters, trekking through the jungle, and feasting and drinking in the evenings. What could go wrong in this blissful, gorgeous paradise?

A lone man arrives in a sailboat. His behaviour is demented and dangerous. He wreaks havoc, stealing from them and destroying their radio equipment before running off into the jungle while being threatened.

I did not connect with the characters and regret disliking them all. I found their dialogue crude and jolting. Almost every sentence they uttered, no matter how mild, was peppered with profanity. It seemed the author believed these were typical conversations held by those in their 20s to early 30s. If the dialogue was aimed at adding authenticity, it became annoying to me very quickly. I don't mind a few vulgarities in a story when they add power to a person's anger or shock.

We learn that everyone has secrets and lies, including false background stories, attempts at new ways of presenting themselves, hidden motives for leaving civilization, a secret identity, and criminal pasts.
The group dynamic collapses amidst suspicion, threats, sexual liaisons, and fear and violence, resulting in some deaths. I kept reading until its conclusion, not caring if all the participants died, I am sorry to say. The story had some incredible twists, barely believable coincidences, and what I felt was a preposterous conclusion. I would read more by the author, with the hope they won't be so far-fetched.
I would urge prospective readers to pursue the many favourable reviews and not be deterred by my misgivings.

Read this book if you like Swiss Family Robinson vibes, vengeance, and forging your path.

When you strip everything away from Lux McAllister you see that she is a survivor. She's battled through a rough parental divorce, sat by her mother while she lost her battle to cancer, and left her college career to support herself. Then she meets the handsome, charming Nico and he offers the opportunity to live the dream. Nico plans to sail across the world on his boat "The Susannah" starting in Hawaii. Then everything is upturned when "The Susannah" accrues huge monetary damage and Nico and Lux are stuck in Hawaii. So needless to say it feels like fate when Amma and Brittany meet Nico and offer him $50k to sail them to a remote island for some time off the grid. Nico and Lux get the boat fixed and stock up for the long journey to the infamous Meroe Island. Once on Meroe they befriend Jake and Eliza and find that the six of them sync in the way that lifelong friends do. Then a seventh traveler shows up in their serene paradise that throws everyone in a loop and makes them wonder if Meroe Island's notorious reputation might be true.

Thank you Rachel Hawkins, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads review link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57693168-reckless-girls

This book was a hard one for me to rate. I felt that the premise was a good one, and I really liked the storyline set up. I had a harder time connecting to the main character, Lux, and I think that made it difficult for me to care about the outcome. It was a quick read, and kept me entertained. I was definitely connected to the plot and wanted to keep going to find out what crazy twist would happen next, but in the end it wasn't a book that stuck with me after finishing.

Rachel Hawkins does it again! I loved The Wife Upstairs and The Ex Hex (although that is under her pen name) so I was so excited for this book! This was such a fun novel and I flew through it so quickly. The title fits this story perfectly!

I really enjoyed this title. I liked the twists and turns and the writing style is nice and smooth. The story flows well and kept my attention. Thank you for the opportunity to read this title. I will be recommending this one to friends.

I loved The Wife Upstairs and so I was excites that I was approved for this book and it didn’t disappoint. It reminded me somewhat of Lord Of The Flies and Lost which I loves both. This was a hard to pur down story, for sure, so many sches, craZy characters and lots of twists and turns. I definitely recommd this one for sure.

Also, St. Martin’s Press I absolutely love the cover of this book. Its beautiful.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review

My thoughts and opinions are my own and only my own,

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

The main character, Lux, meets Nico, a rich boy with a boat, and she decides to follow him to Hawaii and travel the world. They are hired by Amma and Brittany to charter them to the deserted island of Meroe where the island has a nefarious past, where WWII sailors were stranded and turned to cannibalism to survive as well as other haunted stories.

This is a fun, escapist read, set on an isolated island. This reads like a bizarre, out there movie and you definitely need to suspend reality for many parts. I was all in for the majority of the book but the last 25% or so was so outlandish and unrealistic, that's where the suspending reality really needs to kick in for you to be a big fan of this one. There were some unanswered questions and too easy solutions for me. I did figure out one of the twists but it was still fun to see the reveal of it. Told from multiple POVs, there are many relationships, secrets, betrayals, and mayhem to unpack in this one. Recommend for a light read, escapist thriller.

Fun escapist fiction. The story does read like a movie plot where our main character is a fun-loving yet hard working girl who adores boy and follows him with the hope of sailing around the world on his boat. First stop: Hawaii where Lux takes a less than glamorous housekeeping job at a luxury resort. Her smart mouth loses her the job, but all hope is not lost as two adventurous young ladies want to her her boyfriend, Nico, to sail them to a mysterious uninhabited island said to be cursed. Nothing bad could possibly happen right? Sure . . .

Fast forward and we have secrets, betrayals, conspiracies, double crosses and mayhem. If you are looking for.a light but fun read, then I recommend this one. It was a well needed escape from reality.

The following review will go live on Jan. 2, 2022:

I happen to be going through a phase of revisiting The Eagles, my favorite band when I was in high school, and as soon as I sat down to write this review, “Hotel California” went through my head. For me, that song encapsulates the mood of Rachel Hawkins’s Reckless Girls (and if it’s ever adapted to film, I want credit for the song being used in the movie).

I was excited to read this new book from Hawkins, having really enjoyed The Woman Upstairs. The writing, again, is clean and clear, and Hawkins definitely knows how to create an atmosphere of increasing dread. In many ways, this is a feminist book, looking at how women find themselves defined by the relationships they’re in and how trapped they can become, economically, by those relationships.

The island of Meroe serves almost as a character in the book, malevolent and always lurking in the background, which is emphasized by the periodic “postings” included in the book; these postings warn of the weirdness of the island. This Meroe Island, however, appears to be completely fictional, as the Google search only turned up an island belonging to India and an archeological site on the Nile. (A search of my public libraries databases didn’t do me any better.) The fictional history is that it was named after the 1822 wreck of the HMS Meroe, a frigate whose survivors met mysterious ends on the island, including possibly being sacrificed to feed others.

It sounds much like some of the facts of the Essex shipwreck, which inspired Moby Dick by Herman Melville. In that case, though, the three crew members who elected to stay on the island did better than those who sailed on (which is where the cannibalism happened) and the vessel in question was a whaler rather than a frigate. At any rate, there were sufficient shipwrecks on atolls with grisly overtones that Meroe Island of the book resonates as a real place.

The protagonist, Lux, is trying to figure out what she wants to do about her life. She left home with Nico, a rich boy with a boat, to travel the world, but they only got as far as Hawaii, and now she’s beginning to worry about the future. Her recent past was full of pain, and that trauma informs the story. Lux’s trauma, as well as that of other characters, is something others fail to recognize, acknowledge, or feel; and yet Lux feels like she should keep it to herself, as if she’s not entitled to support and understanding. This divide between the traumatized and those who appear to live golden lives free of trauma and want is another theme Hawkins explores.

It’s definitely an unsettling book, and even at the close I still felt unsettled. I’m not sure I like that feeling, but if that was what Hawkins was trying to achieve, she succeeded. The deception of beauty, from the island itself to some of the characters, is a part of what makes it unsettling—what we generally use as a way to keep ourselves safe, judging both places and people by appearances, can have fatal consequences.

Reckless Girls is more solid evidence that Rachel Hawkins is an author to watch for deliciously scary thrillers with deep themes; I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

I'm somewhere between 3.5 and 4 stars on this one. I'm very conflicted because I really enjoyed both the writing and the overall premise/setting/trope set for the first 75% of this book. It is definitely an isolated closed circle thriller, so I was digging that as it is my total catnip. Where things got shaky for me was in the last 25%. Now, I tend to be pretty forgiving if I don't like the "what" of the solution on a mystery or thriller - it is honestly so difficult to create a wholly satisfying conclusion, so as long as I think the execution is well done, I don't tend to mark it down. However, in this case, I felt like the writing and overall execution really took a dip at the end. That may just be me, but that was my experience. So overall... would definitely recommend people giving this a try, but would note that I had some issues with the execution of the denouement

Source of book: NetGalley (thank you!)
Relevant disclaimers: None
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.

I romped through this very gleefully indeed. It’s a twisty thriller about, y’know, gender and privilege, and being stuck on an apparently cursed tropical island. Shades of And There Were None or And The Sea Will Tell, though I’m not sure I’d call this a gothic exactly. It feels like gothic is popular at the moment so everything even remotely about young women navigating their world gets the label.

In case, the deal here is that the heroine, Lux, is drifting following the tragic early death of her mother. When the novel open, she’s working in a hotel on Maui, having followed her golden boy boyfriend. They were supposed to be travelling the world together on his boat (he’s from an incredibly rich family, though he’s determined to make his own in the world) but instead the boat needs repairs, Nico seems to be content working at the mariner, and Lux is stuck and miserable. Then an opportunity presents itself in the form of Brittney and Amma, two American tourists, clearly concealing secrets of their own, who offer to pay them $50,000 for a trip to a deserted atoll with a dark history. On arriving they’re all surprised to discover the atoll is less deserted than advertised, as another couple—the obviously wealthy Eliza and Jake—are already there.

Cue: betrayals, dark histories coming to light, and plenty of murder. The book is intriguingly structured, moving between the past and the present, and has both the feel of a slow-burn character piece (at least the first 60% of the novel is setup) and a wild thrill ride (revelations and betrayals coming thick and fast in the final 40%). The setting and the interpersonal dynamics are real strengths here—and the ending is a very satisfying conclusion to all that precedes it—although I wish I’d had more of a sense of the characters as individuals. Which is not say they’re not differentiated, the women at least (the men are distinguishable only by the fact Nico is American and Jake is Australian, although that is part of the point): it’s more that I understood what they were like because I’d been told (Brittany is friendly and seems vulnerable, Amma is cold yet protective, Eliza has the sort of charisma that just draws you in) than because I really knew who they were. On the other hand, given the metric arseload of secrets everyone is keeping it kind of makes sense that this might be the case.

A swift, engaging read that carries you along very successfully, delivers exactly what you’d want from this kind of book and earns its conclusion.

I have read several novels by Rachel Hawkins, and I’ve enjoyed them to various degrees. My favorites feature characters that are a bit off the beaten path yet unapologetic about their uniqueness, and humorous/witty dialogue. This story unfortunately had neither. While I like a good murder mystery, the characters just didn’t have enough charm to make me invested in what was happening to them. I found the twists rather predictable and the ending ridiculous. Overall I just wasn’t very intrigued and had a difficult time getting into it. It reminded me a bit of Christopher Pike novels that I read as a preteen, but I really enjoyed those. I don’t know if that’s because this story was lacking or because I’m older now and have higher expectations.

A tale of hidden agendas, devious behavior and complicated relationships set on a mysterious island paradise in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Reckless Girls is a suspense-filled thriller as sharp as a machete. Rachel Hawkins delivers a compelling tale filled with intrigue and mayhem that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Lux McAllister has had a rough go of things in her young life. Her parents divorced, her mother got sick, and she had to drop out of college to wait tables in a restaurant to support her mom. But just when she’s at her lowest she meets gorgeous and wealthy Nico, who invites her to move to Maui with him before they set off on a sailing adventure. However, things don’t quite go as planned until Brittany and Amma come into their lives and pay them to charter their boat on an adventure to Meroe Island. Upon arrival at this isolated island, they find they’re not alone but quickly strike up a friendship with Jake and Eliza, a couple who also wanted to travel off the beaten path. But things get complicated when a sketchy individual arrives on the island. All of a sudden, the mood shifts. Bad choices are made, motives are questioned, hard truths come to the surface and paradise suddenly doesn’t look and feel that great. Now, it’s a question of survival for the inhabitants of Meroe Island and it’s not guaranteed everyone will leave alive.

Reckless Girls hooks you from the very first sentence and doesn’t let go until you mutter “oh shit” at the end. Rachel Hawkins does a brilliant job of storytelling by interspersing flashbacks in between present-day events, which results in revealing one puzzle piece at a time of background information until the full picture reveals itself with a big bang. It’s an ambitious novel, with twists and turns and a slow drip of critical realizations at just the right times, that keeps the reader engaged and obsessed with finding out what happens next. It’s unputdownable and easy to devour in one sitting.

Do yourselves a favor and pick up a copy of Reckless Girls upon release in January 2022. Then find a comfortable spot for 4-5 hours and dive in. It’s a fantastic thriller with which to kick off the new year.

**Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Rachel Hawkins for an ARC of this book!**

Sail away, sail away, sail away....

(If that didn't get you singing Enya's Orinoco Flow, I don't know what will!)

Lux and Nico have the ultimate dream trip in mind...if they could JUST get their boat, The Susannah, up and running. Lux is making day-to-day living happen with her job as a maid in Hawaii (again, not a bad gig in some respects since she is still IN Hawaii!) but is longing for more. Luckily for these two, friends Amma and Britney just so happen to be in need of transport to a mysterious and lovely island in the South Pacific, Meroe, and are willing to foot the bill to get Nico's boat ship-shape in exchange for passage on the vessel. Once the group disembarks, they find Meroe has a checkered past from murders to mayhem, and the group encounters the glamorous duo of Jack and Eliza.

These fellow islanders enchant Lux, giving her a sense of wonder she only had dreamed of prior, and she starts to believe Meroe has the secret sauce to make her life feel complete...until HE arrives. The creepy stranger who throws a proverbial monkey wrench into their delicate group harmony. and brings to light that perhaps NONE of these islanders know each other as well as they thought. Has their idyllic tiny slice of paradise with no interruptions, no distractions and no easy outlet to the mainland also given them no safety...from the island, the unforgiving ocean....and one another?

Hawkins' Wife Upstairs was easily one of my favorite reads last year and I absolutely devoured that book. I was nothing short of thrilled to hear she had another thriller of sorts coming out next year, and the tropical cover of this one lured me in right away. The novel started off with some sass reminiscent of Jane in the Wife Upstairs, and I was very excited for Lux and Nico to reach their tropical destination. Once they got there, however, things began to fall apart a bit for me, and there were a few reasons why:

*Timeline. This book is split into before and now, but it was done in such a way that didn't feel like it actually benefitted the plot. The segments in the past were all backstory for our cast of characters, but there were also tiny bits of emails/news stories/interviews etc. referencing some of the dark moments in Meroe's past which were sort of placed arbitrarily throughout the narrative. Many of them were interesting, but there was never enough time spent dissecting any of the island's past in a more thorough way. I would have enjoyed some of that detail more than the details we got.

*Characters: I didn't really care for any of the characters in this one, since none of them really seemed redeemable in any way. At best I felt sorry for Lux, but at worst, I felt she was unbelievably naieve. Which brings me to my main issue with this read....

*IMPLAUSABILITY. In spades. Suspending disbelief can be fun, LOTS of fun even. I couldn't really believe, however, that Lux was so quick to welcome a bunch of perfect strangers into her inner circle and never question them whatsoever.

Summed up?

"These people are basically all strangers to me, and I am alone with them in the middle of the Pacific Ocean."

Which led me to ask myself...why WOULDN'T you question every single thing...about all of them? Particularly since you know you are headed to a remote location you've never been before without any sort of fallback plan.

On top of this hard-to-believe character interaction was a plot that began as a bit out there and quickly spiraled into over-the-top territory for me. I didn't feel like anything in this book actually would have or could have happened and I didn't particularly enjoy the ending either. I think Hawkins was trying to make a point about women's empowerment, but it didn't work for me. Although I didn't predict the ending, which I always appreciate in a thriller, it didn't have that one-two punch feeling I normally get when I'm surprised by how a series of events turns out, so again, I was left wishing perhaps all of these people got swallowed up by the island instead.

Although my favorite aspect of this book was the eye-catching and GORGEOUS cover and the mental trip to Hawaii (since I haven't gotten a REAL trip there just yet!), I have every confidence Rachel Hawkins will continue to put out stories that will catch my attention and urge me to enjoy the suspension of disbelief...and the brief break from reality (although I'm never going to turn down an ACTUAL trip to Hawaii, if anyone has an inside line!)

3.5 stars

5 star thriller. This book transports you to a paradise island with sexy shady people. The characters are well developed with intriguing backstories. Lots of twists and unexpected turns. Fast read and I can definitely see this as a movie.

Thank you St Martins Press for my e-arc!

A big thank you to St Martins and Netgalley for my E-arc, this was one of my most anticipated books and I’m so happy I got it! 🎉🎉🎉

Lord of the flies meets Dead to Me, this book was a murder mystery that I FLEW through. This definitely kept me guessing up until close to the end.

Our main character is Lux. A 25 year old who meets an interesting guy named Nico during her waitressing shift and hits it off with him right away. After loosing her mother to cancer, she’s feels lost in her life. Nico’s dream is to be on the sea, living an adventurous life on his boat and after becoming captivated by Lux, he invites her to sail with him to Hawaii.

Months after arriving in Hawaii, they are kind of at a stand still. The boat needs to get fixed, Lux is working at a hotel as a housekeeper, they are crashing at a friends place….it just hasn’t been what they hoped it would be. Until one day, 2 women make them an offer that can get them started on their adventures sooner than they hoped. They offer to fix their boat and $50,000 to take them to a deserted island to get away from it all for 2 weeks as their travel guides. However when they get to the island, it’s not uninhabited like they thought. Another couple who was looking to be adventurous, Jake and Eliza, are also there. Lux, Nico, Amma and Brittany are cautious about seeing the other couple at first, but they soon end up hitting it off and getting along. However a few days after that, another stranger arrives to the island and his arrival has some of the people in the group a little shaken up.

While we follow multiple points of view, the one we mostly focus on is Lux’s. The story is also told with flashbacks that reveal secrets about our characters that they have been hiding and with that motives for what happens on the island.

I loved the mystery, the ending, all of the complicated characters. It was definitely slow burn in the beginning and then the twists were just hitting left and right! If you enjoy thrillers, mystery, settings on islands and multiple characters, this is definitely for you!

I thought The Wife Upstairs was a great quick thriller read, so I was excited for the opportunity to read Reckless Girls.

Unfortunately, this one was not for me.

I found it to be extremely slow and not very thrilling. It took a long time for anything to happen.

For me the character backgrounds also didn't work so well. We learned about the backgrounds of multiple MCs but only through one or two paragraphs each, so it was really hard to care about anyone. It was also extremely jarring to jump between the completely unrelated background stories.

The ending wasn't too exciting and after the first twist, nothing else was surprising.

There is also a MAJOR plot hole which makes everything unsatisfying.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gived eARC!