I really enjoyed the first 30% of this one. But then I really had to suspend belief in order to believe this family was able to survive the island and it’s inhabitants. And then I had to keep suspending belief to the point that I started to believe I was watching a sci-fi movie. It was entertaining, and pretty fast paced. But not the suspense I was hoping for. Heather went from newly appointed step mom to Rambo in only a few days.

When I began reading the book, as a parent I thought the idea of a vacation which involved a lot of driving (in Australia) with two young teens in the backseat to be a terrible idea, particularly since the couple had only been married about a year. That was only the start of their bad decisions. Aside from the bickering, things began to go south when they decided to visit a private island to see native Australian wildlife, but were warned by some residents to stay close to the shore. Well - they didn't, as another resident told them that they could see more wildlife nearer the center of the island.

Naturally they headed inland, where they were not supposed to be. They were trying to get back to the shore of the island when they had a terrible accident, and things went really south. They couldn't get off the island. The book turned from National Lampoon Vacation - without the humor - to a horror story. If you like books where ordinary people are trapped and fighting for survival, then this is the book for you. I liked the start of the book but it quickly became too violent for my tastes.

I received an advance reading copy of this book from the publisher Little, Brown and Company via NetGalley. These are my honest opinions of the book.

This was un-put-downable!! Fast paced terror of a vacation finds a family of 4 and 2 strangers in the midst of ha homicide clan.
4*** for characters
5**** for imagination of yourself in that situation
Rounding up to 5 stars, especially since I didn't enjoy The Chain at all!

I used to love books set on islands, but now I'm not so sure! No, seriously this was a great thriller that kept me reading so much longer than I'd planned. I loved The Chain so knew McKinty wouldn't disappoint but I had no idea this one would be so creepy and twisted! Tom and Heather are newly married and take his two children on vacation to Australia as Tom has a surgeon's conference and they plan on doing some "touristy" things as well. Taking the ferry to an island to see some indigenous wildlife seems like a good idea at the time...until it isn't! One small mistake cascades into terror for the entire family and had me gasping all day! I loved the characterizations and descriptions; and the tension never abated! I'm still breathing a little heavily just thinking about it! Go in blind but make sure you have someone close to hug when you are finished!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

A colleague asked me to review The Island by Adrian McKinty (May 17th.) The problem was that the book was on sale this Tuesday, which gave me three days to read and compose my coverage. Initially, I was reticent because three days is usually an insufficient time to read, absorb, and formulate an impactful review. In this instance, such was not the case. The Island is a beautifully written, horrifying, unpredictable, and terrorizing story of good versus evil.
A family on vacation stops at an Australian island to view rare and indigenous wildlife only found on this isolated strip of land. Unbeknownst, the animals are human and more dangerous than the imagination allows. What happens next is what makes The Island one of the great reads of this or any other year.
McKinty has a superior flare for the unpredictable and the rare ability to convey it in a way that will make all readers fans of this and his voluminous backlist. McKinty is a talent to watch.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

It was a bit of a slow start for me, but once I got a few chapters in, I couldn't put it down. The short chapters made it easy to keep going. I loved seeing the character progression as the story continued. It did not go the way I thought it was going to go and that made it all the more exciting.

Looking forward to reading more from this author!

Heather has been underestimated her whole life. She was homeschooled on a commune, never finished high school, and met her rich husband while working as a massage therapist. Oh, and he is 12 years older and has 2 kids who don't like her. When the family finds themselves stranded on a private island with a group of people who take the law into their own hands, Heather is forced to step up. Just like any book from this author, there is no telling where the story might go and what twists might await on the next page. I loved the ones in this book! I also loved how the kids each played a vital role in the story. So often the kids are just add-ons, but they are fully developed and contributing characters. Despite the page count, this was a quick read. Maybe because I couldn't put it down?

Let me start by saying that after reading other reviews, I think I am in the minority on this one. This one just didn't quite work for me. I found the character development of some of the characters to be uneven and a bit all over the place in terms of their personalities and motivations. I did enjoy the island setting in Australia, but the plot was just too far-fetched and unrealistic for me to get fully on board with. I also struggled with the writing style.....often rambling and causing me to lose attention. I also was not a fan of the short sentence style that was interspersed randomly throughout the book - it did nothing to heighten the tension for me or keep me engrossed, but rather provided and easy opportunity to skim. I think there are far better thrillers out there to pick up and read.

Talk about a gripping survival thriller filled with tension and heart-pounding moments! This book had me on the edge of my seat and there's not a dull moment.

I loved the atmospheric setting and vivid landscape (and also appreciate the author talking about the location in the acknowledgments as I was concerned that the book might paint an unfair picture of Australia). There were some gruesome scenes that I couldn't help picturing too.

Interestingly, I started out not caring about the 3 main characters at all due to their moral ambiguity. Yet somehow I ended up not only warming up to them but also rooting for them. If this isn't great writing and character development, I don't know what is.

I feel that the synopsis gives away too much so I'm glad I went in mostly blind and would recommend everyone to do the same. While this book reminded of quite a few horror movies, I haven't read that many similar books and wish there were more like it!

Overall, a gritty and unrelenting read that I really enjoyed!

Boy howdy, I needed a distraction and The Island delivered! Goodreads says this will soon be a Hulu original series. I can see it more as a Netflix or Prime made-for-TV type movie or a very limited series. Sort of a revenge flick but with a little more suspense. I was confused because my ARC said that the title of the book was The Chase, but I'm glad they changed it to The Island because that title is more fitting. I liked the shifting voices of the characters and the alternating POV from both the island's inhabitants and the main characters. Highly recommended to those who like survival stories and traveling through a book. I've been lucky to travel to a few different places in the past few books but this one makes me think Australia isn't a place I want to go except in books.

I absolutely loved Adrian McKinty's "the chain" book and was so excited when I was approved an ARC in exchange for my honest feedback. This book just didn't really do it for me. The first three chapters were good, then I felt like the book just went downhill from there. The way some of the characters speak is a little... cringe. Parts of the story just seemed way out there, unbelievable really.

4.5 ☆

Wow, I was not prepared to get caught up and drawn into this one by just the first chapter, but I was and this thrill ride didn't disappoint. It was like a movie and I was so emotionally invested that I was getting frustrated with the characters actions then also rejoicing with them at their victories. It was such a great, fast paced read for me. Definitely recommend!

The writing style was fluid and easy to keep up with. I feel like McKinty definitely has a way with words and knows how to get their readers invested into any book they create. 100% an autobuy author for me at this point. I loved the rollercoaster that is this book.

Wow this book kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish!

Heather goes in a vacation with her husband and his two kids and end up on a remote island. An accident happens and the native clan comes after them. It's up to heather to get her and the kiddos off the island.


There were a few weird dreamstateish scenes that were a little weird but overall I loved it all! I'm so excited to go watch the movie is going to be made into as well!

I couldn't wait to read this one as I loved The Chain and this book did not disappoint. Heather, her husband and his 2 children head to Australia for Tom's business trip/family vacation. Heather wants to use this time to try and bond with her stepchildren but what she ends up on is far from paradise. They end up going to an exclusive island filled with natives who quickly turn against them. Instead of a beautiful vacation with laughs and memories, they are quickly running for their lives. Wonderful, lush scenery and haunting situations. Thanks for Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever gone on a vacation where it seems that everything has gone wrong? I guarantee you that your vacation has never been as bad as the Baxters' trip to Australia. The Island was a unique take on a vacation gone horribly wrong. Several times I was internally screaming "NO, NO, NO" at some of the decisions made by the characters, which I loved because people don't always make the best decisions when they're away from home. They'll do anything to see the sights and have that once-in-a-lifetime experience. The Island was filled with action, suspense, and thrills, with a bit of horror. Parts of the story reminded me of a mix of an X-Files episode ("Home") and a horror movie about the Outback that I've seen. My heart was actually racing while reading some parts of this book. The Island is going to make an amazing limited series on Hulu! I can't wait to read more from this author.

I think lots of readers will like this one, but there were so many lines that just made me cringe. Like this one early on in the book,

“He couldn’t fix a gearbox like the Goose Island men, but he could make you a cup of hot chocolate and read you poetry on a rainy afternoon or put the kids to bed early on a Saturday night and lock the bedroom door and bang your brains out.”

Can this really be what a male author would think a woman would want? After I read this line, I knew this was not going to be good for me. The book was full of action and intrigue and was a true Thriller- but it was weird to me. I didn’t believe that characters would change opinions as quickly as they did and I didn’t buy that the main character was conveniently military trained by her father and island streetsmart.

This is just my opinion-my take on this one. I have seen plenty of great reviews- so it could very well be that this book just didn’t hit me right, hence the middle of the road rating. If I could give it a 2.5, I would have.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the ARC to read and review. Pub date: 5.17.22

Absolutely loved this one! It was action packed from start to finish and I could not even imagine where it was going to go. It had so many twists and turns that it kept me guessing until the very end. I loved Adrian McKinty’s The Chain so I knew this one would be wild, but it still managed to blow me away! Would highly recommend checking this one out for those looking for a thrilling, horrific nightmare vacation read! Thanks very much to the publisher and Netgalley for my review copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. Honestly, I could not get past chapter 2 in this one. The way the kids speak to each other is so cheesy and ridiculous. The part about the lady asking Heather if she needed the bathroom because she didn't trust a fart was just too much..

I… honestly I’m not surprised. I found The Chain to be ludicrous, but I wanted to give the author another chance. Yet here we are again with outlandish story lines and simplistic writing. The relationships don’t make sense and there’s way too much trauma happening. This is supposed to be a thriller, but it just contains some pretty harmful content about animal abuse and almost sexual assault. I don’t understand how this book could make me so frustrated when it has so many good reviews. I really did try, but this author is not suited for me,

Deliverance meets The Troop meets Crocodile Dundee meets Rambo. Heather is on vacation with her new husband and step kids when things go horribly, horribly wrong. After an accident the locals start their pursuit of the family and things go crazy. Be prepared for non stop action and a wild ride.