A remote island off the coast of Hawaii with a troubled and dark past, every character hiding something from the other, and no one is truly as they seem makes for one entertaining listen. ⁣
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I didn't overly love any of the characters, but honestly I don't think we were supposed to. It kept me entertained throughout even though I was screaming a few times at the stupidity of the characters. ⁣
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3.5/5⭐️

Not sure how I felt about this book. I love the setting. The story started out strong and I grew to like Lux and Nico, and even got into the story of how they lived on the island but it started to drag there. I started to feel bad for Lux being stuck with a bunch of self-absorbed people. Then the story picked up and it got really interesting but by then, I had been waiting too long for something good to happen. I enjoyed the story on the whole but felt that it was drawn out way too long for such a short reveal. The ending almost made up for it.


The narration was well done with easily distinguishable characters and accents.

I was anticipating this release because I liked the previous book, The Wife Upstairs, by this author. I love the cover and the premise intrigued me but I was let down. There are way too many characters for me to find one to latch onto throughout the story. Their voices were not distinctive at all; after a while, I just thought--female/male--whenever they switched POVs and timelines. All I remember is one had daddy issues that she was too old for (in my opinion) and another was a bad thief. None of the characters stood out. I get that for the premise to work, you needed a large cast but the voices shouldn't be alike between them all.
I did like the reveal at the end and then bodies started dropping quickly. I could see Brenda from The Closer investigating this one and saying, "we're going to need more chalk." Overall, I enjoyed my read but not as much as her previous book.

Hawaii is an amazingly beautiful place. Truly heaven on earth. Luz is stuck in a dead end low paying job when she and her not so loyal lazy boyfriend are hired to sail two women to a remote deserted island in the South Pacific. Sounds like an amazing adventure, exactly what she was wishing for. There is a lot of truth to the adage “never wish for what you want as you just might get it”. They reach the supposedly deserted island only to find a yacht docked there with a seemingly nice couple. They all become friends and are having a great time together until a seventh person lands on the island and things start to go awry. First one person goes missing and then another turns up dead and none of her have been been truthful about themselves. It’s a suspense filled creepy story that will have you wondering if anyone escapes alive.

The book blurb for Reckless Girls grabbed me immediately - a gothic suspense set on an isolated Pacific island with a dark history. In the opportunity of a lifetime, Lex and Nico are hired to sail two women - college best friends Brittany and Amma - to Meroe Island, which has a long history of shipwrecks, cannibalism, and even rumors of murder. Once on the island, the group discovers another boat already anchored off Meroe’s sandy beaches, owned by rich golden couple, Jake and Eliza. The group of six settles in to island life, fueled by drinks, partying, sun and sand - until the arrival of a creepy stranger throws everything off balance.

Why are these 20-somethings so desperate for an escape? Using flashbacks (which I found a little uneven and difficult to follow), the author begins to uncover what I found to be a series of predictable twists, turns and motives. Similar to her previous novel, The Wife Upstairs, I found that the author wanted to weave a tale of darkness and deception that never truly delivered. It often felt bogged down by "stage directions" around the dialogue explaining characters movements - a lot of extemporaneous direction that didn't seem necessary.

Overall, I would give this 3-3.5 stars. I listened to the audiobook and found the narrator, Barrie Kreinik, to be quite enjoyable. It was a quick listen for my first completed book of 2022. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a Book of the Month pick for January.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an early ARC of this audiobook. One piece of advice for NetGalley audiobooks - please allow listeners to choose a reading speed in between the standard 1.0x and 1.25x. For this narrator in particular, 1.0x was painfully slow and 1.25x was way too fast.

I loved The Wife Upstairs, so I was stoked for Reckless Girls. I then read that it is a "deliciously wicked gothic suspense, set on an isolated Pacific Island with a dark history" and your girl was hooked.

We are following Lux McAllister who is currently living in Hawaii with her boyfriend, Nico. Lux was stuck in a crappy job and wanting to travel the world as Nico had promised her before his boat went out of commission, until an opportunity fell into Nico's lap. Two women hire Nico to sail them to a remote island in the South Pacific. Lux is excited to finally have the boat fixed and for the adventure ahead. She becomes fast friends with the two women, Brittany and Amma, who are college best friends. They arrive on Meroe Island and it seems like just the paradise the group has been longing for. The island has a dark history though of shipwrecks, cannibalism, and murder. They then realize there is already a boat anchored off the island and meet the golden couple, Jake and Eliza. Everyone seems to be getting along and having a great time, even Lux, who hasn't felt like she belonged anywhere in years. The arrival of a lone stranger with dark intentions shakes everyone up and the cracks in the group begin to show. It turns out everyone has secrets and some of them might be deadly.

I enjoyed this book so much and loved the audiobook. This was fun and thrilling. I loved the isolated island setting with the eerie overlay of its dark history. I feel like this would make a fantastic movie!

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞𝐬: Thriller, Mystery
𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭: Audiobook
#DDTreview

Having had a surprisingly great experience with THE WIFE UPSTAIRS on audio last year, I was eager to check out Rachel Hawkins' latest release.

Contrary to the vibe the cover gives off and the tropical island setting; this book is dark and twisty.

Filled with alternating POVs, the reader is left to piece together the characters' stories trying to decide who is going to make it off the island alive.

Sure, sharks are scary, but so are people.
Sometimes a fake smile is more deadly than 5 rows of teeth.

In the end this book had the kind of teeth often lacking in some thrillers, but possibly at the cost of believability.

Nonetheless, there is plenty to keep you guessing all the way to the end.

Thank-you @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for this ALC!

𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐁𝐢𝐭𝐬:
🏝Lost vibes
✖️Multiple POVs
🗺Wanderlust
😱Twisty

3.00/5.00 🆘 Rating
3.50/5.00 ⭐️ Overall Rating

I am a big fan of locked room thrillers/mysteries and I am grateful to have received an e-arc and ALC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review - thank you!

Reckless Girls, by Rachel Hawkins, started off really strong. There were dual timelines of past and present that kept me turning the pages to know how everything was connected. None of the characters were particularly likable (which typically doesn’t bother me in a thriller) but it was incredibly hard to connect with them. (I really wanted someone to root for!) I enjoyed the secluded setting of the island with its mysterious history. There were some twists and turns but overall, didn’t live up to my expectations. The ending took me by surprise! A quick read with some thrills- you may enjoy this one more than I did.😁
Great audio narration!
3.5⭐️

I listened to the audiobook of Reckless Girls and it was amazing. I was so invested in the story and the characters. The idea of being stuck on a desert island with strangers is definitely the beginning of a scary movie or book. Lux thought she found the perfect guy, the perfect path for her life after her mom died of cancer, but perfect only looks good on paper. Lux and her boyfriend were paid to charter two women to a desert island and the fun, adventure of a lifetime turns into a nightmare quickly.

Pros: I really enjoyed reading The Woman Upstairs, so I was interested to read Rachel Hawkins’s newest book. Although I preferred The Woman Upstairs (and its modern take on Jane Eyre), I had fun reading Reckless Girls.

What I liked most about Reckless Girls is the length and pacing of the book—it was just right for reading in one sitting. Although I did not find the characters likeable, I wanted to know what would happen to them. I also thought the book had a strong sense of place. It would be fun to read this book (which mostly takes place on an island/beach) while on a beach or boat.

Cons: I can’t think of any specific cons. The 3 stars instead reflects that although I liked this book, it doesn’t stand out as anything special in an overly saturated genre.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this book.

I’ve shared this review on Goodreads and StoryGraph.
https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/6d762e7b-39b5-4dfd-bb5d-2aa3bb5fb6f9

The narrator was really good. She was able to give all the characters their own personality and I had no issue telling who was who.

After reading and loving The Woman Upstairs last year, I knew I'd be picking up Rachel Hawkins next Mystery/Thriller release. Reckless Girls follows a woman named Lux, who realizes she's been aimlessly wandering through life when she accompanies her boyfriend, Nico, on a trip guiding two other young women to the deserted island of Meroe in Hawaii. When they first arrive, the island is just the paradise they've been hoping for. That all changes when, as the blurb states, they start being picked off one by one with no way to call for help, and chaos ensues.

This story started off strong; Lux was finally getting a taste of her dream to travel, and even though it felt like she was tagging along, she was having the time of her life. The characters were interesting - I loved Lux's history and there was a lot of mystery surrounding Brittany and Amma. We were discovering some of their secrets with the past interspersed throughout the story, and we were also learning more as Lux did. I also liked Nico's character and found his choice to give up his family fortune to be intriguing. But this is where the good ended for me. There was a huge missed opportunity with the whole island of Meroe. We were given a few snippets of fictional book passages regarding ghost stories on the island, but that's it. There was no attempt at atmosphere building, and something comparable to the aura in Lock Every Door by Riley Sager or The Turn of the Key from Ruth Ware could have really elevated this story. There really were no thrills here, and I found parts of the story to be predictable. As for the ending, I found that lacking as well as disconcerting. SPOILERS I find this trend of women who simply cannot move on without murdering or exacting revenge to be incredibly disconcerting. There is nothing empowering about staying steeped in anger. I'm not saying people can immediately move on; it's a process. But there is strength in moving on or trying to, no matter how hard it is or how long it takes. Show me a woman who has that kind of gumption, and I'll have tremendous amounts of respect for her. Aside from that, there were a whole host of mental issues that cropped up at the end, making it seem as if all of the women in this story were unstable. It was disappointing to say the least.

Overall I found the end to be incredibly unsatisfying. It took a solid four star read down to a star and a half, and it painted women in a terrible light. I'm sad to say that I would not recommend Reckless Girls.

I have listened to Barrie Kreinik's narration before and really enjoyed it. Reckless Girls was no exception. The narrator had a good grasp of the characters; intonation was spot on, and quite frankly, the narration was the highlight of the book for me.

Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

4/5 🌟

I loved The Wife Upstiars so I was pumped for this new one by Hawkins and it lived up to the hype. I listened via audiobook and loved the narrator keeping up with the multiple characters was tricky but luckily she did great with accents and keeping pace.

The book follows several groups of young 20s adventurers to Meroe, an mysterious isolated island in the Pacific. Lux who has never really felt like she belonged due to a turbulent upbringing finds herself being drawn to Nico a handsome wealthy Parton of her restaurant. They are quickly falling for each other and things move fast because Lux can see the ease he can bring to her life. They move to Hawaii where Lux is a hotel maid and Nico just seems to float by. When two girls, Emma and Brittany, ask Nico to charter them to this island for a heafty sum they can’t say no. The journey is tricky but they bond through a storm and arrive to paradise on schedule.

The two girls bond with this couple quickly and because they don’t ask too many questions it all seems to be going well. Once they arrive they meet another overly friendly couple, Jake and Eliza, who seem to be harmless nomads just spending money to detach from reality.

The books flashes to before and after so we learn more and more about each characters life before this trip. Which I love and adds to the suspense and build up to a bigger reveal. As things get more intense Lux begins to see through a lot of the lies and it all boils over ending in chaos, betrayal, and death!

I love how Hawkins always plays up money and power dyamnics in relationships. She shows how someone who has always had money would make a decision versus someone who did not have that luxury. This feels authentic to reality. She did a great job with the language and when to reveal what. I didn’t love the ending because it felt too vague. However would recommend this book to start off your year with a quick suspense-filled story.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

Last year, I absolutely loved Rachel Hawkins’ The Wife Upstairs, so of course I jumped at the chance to get my hands on an early copy of Reckless Girls…and what a fun escape it was. I once again went the audio route and I personally think it’s the way to go if you get a chance.

I would describe this one as a slow-burning suspense story that really gets under your skin. I love that there are so many different points of view and that it moves back and forth in time. That really allows us to get to know all the players…or does it? Do we really know who we are dealing with here or just who they want us to believe they are? You really need to pay attention here because as the flashbacks are giving us the backstory, clues are being dropped, if you know what to look for.

This book, while a slow-burner, builds tension and suspense at just the right pace to keep you hooked. I really had no idea where things were headed, other than it wouldn’t end well. The twists were so well played and kept me guessing every time a new one popped up.

I’ve always loved locked-room mysteries and this one was just so clever, happening on a remote island. It definitely doesn’t make me want to head to one anytime soon, but I did enjoy this one all the same and highly recommend picking it up!


Audio thoughts: I was excited to see that this book was narrated by Barrie Kreinik, who is one of my favorite audiobook narrators and she did such a great job bringing this story to life. With six different characters, she really does a great job giving each one their own voice, even using different accents when needed. I also think this book just lends itself to audio so well, making it the type of book that you just don’t want to put down…and that is partly because of the story and partly because of the narrator.

In a book that gives me And Then There Were None VIbes, we meet Lux and her boyfriend Nico, who are scraping out a living in Hawaii working on boat repairs and dreaming of sailing around the world. When Nico is approached by two young women who want to visit a remote island and experience a vacation off the grid, they accept the offer of a job and a friendship. When they arrive on the island, they've been beaten to the location by a couple on an expensive boat. It all seems ok when they become a little "found family" and explore the primal nature of the remote island. But then another stranger shows up. This thriller was a tense and exciting journey that shows us that sometimes the people we think are strangers are not really strangers, and sometimes the people we think are friends are more than they seem. It had a very Agatha Christie feeling, and I enjoyed it. The characters were complex and interesting, and I loved their interactions with each other. They each had a past they were attempting to overcome, which made them feel more human and relatable to me. It was tense, beautiful, lovely, and scary. I'd recommend it to anyone who loves a twisty thriller!

The narration was great for this audiobook. I thought the voice acting added to the tense feeling of the thriller. I didn't mind that it wasn't a full cast and thought the narrator did a great job of making each character sound unique and identifiable. The pacing was great! I'd recommend this on audiobook!

Six strangers on a remote island in the South Pacific escaping reality. Cut off from civilization and all hiding something from their past, tensions arise between the 6 when a 7th and sketchy person joins them. Then things get extra creepy when one person is found dead and another is missing.

This book sucked me in from the beginning - 6 twenty somethings on a remote island living the good life, that alone was a fascinating dynamic. Plus, they clearly all have secrets and back stories and I just needed to know what was going to go wrong. I loved the flashbacks - it kept me wondering how all of these backstories were connected, and who was really the “evil” one. This one was super binge-worthy - I read it in a day. It’s a fast, fun read and would make the perfect beach read (or if you want to just pretend you’re on a beach since its winter that works too).

I went back and forth on formats and was extra impressed by the audiobook. The narrator was able to flawlessly cover all the characters with different accents and she nailed it!

Thanks to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copies.

I haven’t read Rachel Hawkins’ previous novel, “The Wife Upstairs”, but couldn’t stop listening to “Reckless Girls” audiobook narrated by Barrie Kreinik. Kreinik was the perfect narrator for this thriller.

“Reckless Girls” is the ultimate in escapism and includes:

A remote South Pacific island shrouded in mystery;
sublime tropical scenery;
a yacht and luxury catamaran;
six beautiful young people;
sundrenched days and intoxicating nights, and
an endless supply of booze, sex and drugs.

(What could go wrong?)

The tension between the characters is constant throughout each cleverly crafted twist and acerbated by the “locked room” nature of the island. No one is quite what they seem. Secrets, lies and betrayals are uncovered and the island becomes more sinister and claustrophobic by the day. The body count begins to mount and the possibility there is more than one killer on the island increases.

I’m looking forward to reading “The Wife Upstairs” and whatever Rachel Hawkins has in store for us next.

A huge thank you to @NetGalley and @macmillan.audio for this audiobook.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin Press for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

First the audiobook, this story I feel is very complicated for an audiobook because of the added in newspaper stories and other mixed media materials. But it is hard to follow because of how many characters there are.

This story is a SLOW burn.... keyword slow because the majority of the action of the book happens in the last 20%. There is a lot of character building and not a ton of plot besides eating, drinking wine, and sunbathing. And then all a sudden there is twist, after twist and another twist almost too many twists. So much happened in so few pages that I was confused at some points and had to rewind to keep up with everything happening.

All the characters are pretty two-faced and I did not appreciate that there was not at least one character who was not morally gray. I enjoyed this book and at times I could not put it down just cause I was waiting for something significant to happen. I did enjoy the dramatic ending.

This was my first Rachel Hawkins read and unfortunately, this one fell flat for me. The story kept me interested mainly because I wanted to know how it was going to end. The story just lacked depth for me, although there definitely was an attempt to give each character's backstory. It just seemed like the story really got started in the last handful of chapters. Thinking that maybe if I read a physical copy, I may have felt differently, but I just think this wasn't the story for me. I will say, there were many points in the story where I was on edge while cleaning my house and listening, which tells me that the writing is doing its job!! lol This will be a great thriller for some!

Lux lets life happen to her. She has no relationship with her father and, after losing her mother, she is sitting on her laurels. Escaping the dredge of life to go to Hawaii with her boyfriend, Nico, lends her life a little adventure. But drama comes in the form of accepting a job sailing two friends, Brittany and Amma, and meeting fellow sailors, Jake and Eliza.
Is reckless synonymous with stupid? Idiotic? These girls seem more self-destructive than anything else and I really can't wrap my mind around that in a positive manner. Unfortunately, this book simply didn't work for me. After having dipped my toes in a few thrillers last year - one of which was The Wife Upstairs - I wanted to read more this year. It's not my go-to genre, but I like the idea of expanding my horizons. I kind of want to run back to my sure thing of romance, YA, etc.
The best part of this read is the narration by Barrie Kreinik. Even though I didn't love the content, her performance kept me invested in the story line enough.
Thank you to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the alc. All thoughts in this review are my own.