Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins is a action packed thriller about a group of travelers on an abandoned & deserted island with a dark history. My favorite things about the book were the cover, the audiobook narrator, and the setting. It definitely was a great atmospheric read to put you in the mood for lush tropical getaways without being your typical beach read romance. It was an easy read and I enjoyed that it was exciting without being too scary, which is why I typically don't read thrillers. I did like some of the twists, but I felt the ending was a bit of a let down and kind of uncharacteristic, based on the development of the character. The rest of the book is so worth it though, but the ending was disappointing, especially given the rest of the twists were so good. Overally id give it 3.75 stars

I received a copy of the book from netgalley in exchage for an honest and fair review.

First I would like to say that the narrator for this book did an amazing job voicing the different characters, including American, Australian, and British accents.

The story started out strong with a great sense of adventure and strong setting. When the background for the protagonist is revealed I felt compassion for her and began to trust her narrative as a "good person". I was entertained by the story through out, although I found some parts to be predictable. The big reveal towards the end was somewhat foreshadowed and not surprising. Overall, I would recommend to fans of domestic thrillers, especially if they are in the mood for a tropical island vacation. Also found the excerpts from past visitors of Murrow Island to be a bit of fun.

3-3.5 stars.

I'm a bit on the fence with this one but leaning towards enjoyment. Hawkins nails the eerie/distrustful feeling throughout this book with her atmospheric writing. When it comes to the characters, there's no real winners here in terms of likability. I think that I wanted more focus on the suspense and deviousness versus the more mundane moments the characters had with each other.

I did enjoy the flashbacks that were interspersed from the different character POVs because it definitely added to the epic build up at the end.

Overall, it's a pretty good deserted island mystery/thriller and would make for the perfect beach read.

A gothic mystery set in the tropics? Sign me up!!

I wish I could say my enthusiasm stay the same throughout, but I couldn't get onboard with this title. It starts out promising, buy I had difficulty imagining some of the characters making the choices they did.

Reading Between the Wines book review #127/115 for 2021:
Rating: 4 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book 🎧: Reckless Girls
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Genre: General Fiction (Adult)
RELEASES on January 4, 2022! GET YOUR COPY!!

Sipping thoughts: The Wife Upstairs was a really good book and so was this one. I did not know what to expect and where the story was heading. It is one of those stories that once everything is revealed you are like, duh! Why didn’t I see that coming or figure that out! One thing is for sure, I did not like hardly any of these characters throughout the story.

Sipping synopsis in seconds: Boyfriend/Girlfriend. Sails boat with 2 strangers to remote island. Everyone is just strange. Background stories sound a little sus. Flashback to before and after. Wait there more people on this island. All 6 hang and party. I know there isn’t another person on the island. Why is he so weird? Missing person. Missing items. A dead body. Lies revealed. Flashbacks make sense. Mayhem.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley and @MacmillanAudio and @ladyhawkins for an advanced copy of @RecklessGirls.

#RecklessGirls #MacmillanAudio #RachelHawkins #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult

I really enjoyed this one. Part of me wishes that it did end a little differently, but in all honesty, I couldn't imagine a better one. Great character development and I love this narrator.

4.5 ⭐️

I really loved this book! First by the author and it was an audiobook. The narrator was amazing, easily switching between voices and really making the character come alive. Very well done. I couldn’t get enough of this story!
Working a dead end job to help her boyfriend Nico pay for boat repairs so they can sail around the world adventuring, Lux feels a bit stuck and bored with life. The same day Lux loses her job, Nico happens to meet two girls, Amma and Brittany, who are looking for someone to take them to a remote island called Meroe Island. The island is known for its seclusion and creepy history. Agreeing, the four set off on this adventure, running into Eliza and Jake upon arrival. The group of six are having the best time until the island really starts getting to them in unexpected ways.

This was a great mystery. I called one of the twists but it wasn’t confirmed until the very end. I really loved how fast paced this felt, everything was explained perfectly and the backdrop of the island was clear. The characters perspectives worked so well to keep the reader hanging, giving just enough information. Now, the characters weren’t exactly all likeable all the time, each with their own horrible secrets. However, it didn’t influence the story negatively. I think Lux’s decision that mirrored Amma’s was a bit unnecessary. I would’ve loved a longer epilogue, I really want to know more details about the end. Highly recommend!

The narrations was perfect, I was on edge waiting for something big to happen but I may feel a bit disappointed on how it all came together.

Lux and her boyfriend Nico are hired to sail two women, Brittney and Amma, to a remote island in the South Pacific. When they arrive they meet Jake and Eliza who are piloting his luxury catamaran. At first the six enjoy the wonders of being "in paradise" but their vacation quickly turns into something much darker. Hawkins tells the story from multiple viewpoints and uses flashbacks to unearth the secrets that each character hides. I liked the backstories and the revelations of how the characters fit together. There was also an interesting twist that totally surprised me. The narrator did a great job with all the accents of the various characters. The conclusion of the book was a bit too abrupt for me. The language was sometimes unnecessarily rough but overall it was a good read. I thank the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audio ARC.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this arc.

In this thriller, the reader gets to know Lux McAllister who moved to San Diego with her mother after her parents divorce. But life is tragic and she ends up losing her mom. With no money, Lux starts working as a waitress and that is how she gets to meet the hot and charismatic Nico Johannsen, who invites her to sail with him to Maui.

Eager to leave her sad past behind, Lux joins Nico in his damaged boat thinking they are going to travel the world and live the happily ever after but they meet two young women, Amma and Brittany, who offer Nico a large sum of money enough to cover the boat's repair if he sails them to the remote Meroe Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The island has a mysterious history of shipwrecks, and even cannibalism. Once they reach the island they realize they are not alone and what is seemed to be a paradise will turn out to be a nightmare. There is this tense atmosphere throughout the whole book. You know something is off with Lux and, you know something is off with the two girls who want to sail to this secluded island, and something is even more off with the wealthy couple who were inhabiting the island when they got there.

The book goes back and forth in time to gives us a little bit about the backstory of the characters. For some reason, I could not connect or sympathize with the narrator or any of the other characters. This is a fast read and I would recommend it to those who like books about desert islands, fans of Lost, and Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None or Lucy Foley’s The Guest List.

I think the audiobook narration is great, and the narrator, Barrie Kreinik, does a great job. She sure elevated this book to a new level. Overall, Reckless Girls is an ok book, it did not wow me. But I can clearly see how it can turn out to be someone else’s favorite.

🌺Book Review🌺
Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

Thank you @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the advanced audio of Reckless Girls by @ladyhawkins! Pub date: 1/12/22 🌺

4 skulls💀 (IYNYK) for this book, which I enjoyed!

The allure of a beautiful and remote deserted island becomes a nightmare of secrets, lies, and betrayal.

Synopsis: Nico gets offered a sum he can’t turn down to sail two friends, Emma and Brittany, who were bonded by grief, and his girlfriend, Lux, to Morrow Island in the Pacific. What should be two weeks of carefree fun and relaxation doesn’t go as planned. For one, they aren’t the only ones there. Another couple is there as they arrive, though they quickly become friends, spending their days together exploring and nights dining and drinking. It starts as a dream.

Lurking in the backs of everyone’s minds are the stories they’ve been told about the dense jungle on the island—shipwrecks and dead soldiers, abandoned shacks and a WWII airstrip, and how the island has the power to expose those who choose to spend time there. When a suspicious sailor shows up alone, tensions rise and the stay turns deadly.

Reaction: this was an easy listen and kept me guessing until the very end. The juxtaposition of a beautiful island with a dark history is the perfect backdrop for a “whodunit” that keeps getting more twisted by the chapter.

Read this if you liked Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, have always wanted to travel off the grid, and appreciate complicated relationships between characters.

I so, so, SO enjoyed this twisty thrill ride of a book - and it's been a long time since I've enjoyed a thriller so I'm very pleased!

Lux McAllister is a 25-year-old with visions of travel dancing in her eyes. She moved to Hawaii a year ago to follow her boyfriend Nico, a stunningly handsome rich boy who owns a boat called the Susannah. He promises her that they'll see the world on it, just the two of them, and she trusts him completely. A year later, with the Susannah broken down and out of commission before they could set sail, Lux is wondering what the hell she's doing in this dead-end job while Nico refuses to work or call his dad for more money. Enter: Amma and Brittany, two sorority girls traveling the world and looking for a - shall we say - off the beaten path experience. They want Nico (and Lux) take them to a far, tiny remote atoll in the Pacific Ocean called Meroe Island in exchange for $50,000 and the chance to spend two weeks in an unbelievably beautiful, one-of-a-kind paradise.

There's really no reason to say no - and after finally fixing up the Susannah, the four set sail. But when they get to Meroe, they find that there's already a boat there - an uber-fancy yacht called the Azure Sky. Enter: Jake and Eliza, the occupants of the yacht, a gorgeous, fun-loving couple that has plenty of seafood, wine, and music for all five. Rather than being disappointed that they're not the only ones on the island, the four quickly form a bond with Jake and Eliza and begin having blissful, Eden-like days. But the Eden doesn't last long. Soon, cracks start to form in everyone's foundation - from Lux starting to find out more about her companions to disloyalties in relationships starting to form. When a seventh person enters the story, it's the straw that breaks the camel's back, and Eden surely turns to hell.

The book travels between the past in Amma, Brittany, Eliza, and Lux's stories, then rotates back to the present-day on the island - you don't really know who anyone is until the very end; even hearing their backstories keeps you guessing over and over. Hawkins also includes interludes between the major chapters that give you Meroe's haunting backstory, and isle with water everywhere and not a drop to drink; abundant with snakes and fish, but all poisonous. It was an island that a group of soldiers during World War II stopped at, thinking that they could rest in paradise, but once they discovered they were stranded with nothing to drink and nothing to eat, they began to turn on each other, with only 8 surviving off cannibalism. Hawkins includes a Facebook post of a couple who goes their on their Hawaiian vacation only to immediately turn back due to the "bad vibes." All of this really sets the atmosphere and contributes to the growing sense of dread that you get the longer the group stays on the island. (By the way, a quick Google showed me that this island is not real - but Hawkins did such an amazing job of painting the story that I could have sworn it was legitimate!)

The plot was very, very well executed. A seasoned thriller reader could predict the ending, but it was still exciting and worthwhile to continue reading - you're guessing what happens until the very end. I will say that some of the plot points require you to suspend your disbelief a little bit, and you could definitely find holes in what happens. But overall, the twisty character backstories, the unique and strange atmosphere, and the fast-moving plot all make this a fun, quick, thrilling read. Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ARC via Netgalley!

This audiobook was fantastically done. I always find it so helpful when the narrator changes their voice for different characters, especially when there are so many like this one. I had high hopes going into this one after loving The Wife Upstairs, but I admittedly was a bit disappointed by Reckless Girls. I love a thriller that jumps around in the timeline and the description throughout the book really made you imagine the island. I get that the ending was supposed to be super twisty and shocking, but frankly I found it chaotic and not in a good way. It was still a fast paced and fun listen.

Creepy, slow burn suspense novel that has you gripped until the end. Story is divided between current situation on the island and flashbacks providing background on some of the characters. I wasn't surprised at the "reveal" but more like it confirmed my suspicions.

Unfortunately this wasn't my cup of tea. I enjoyed certain aspects of the story, mainly the low level creepiness from the beginning, but there were too many plot holes that kept me distracted. Also, there wasn't one character that I liked, and definitely have zero interest in spending any time with them on a deserted island.

I kept thinking there was going to be some connection to The Island of Dr. Moreau since the island is called Meroe Island. Kept waiting for the mutant animals/humans to show up.

Audiobook narration was well done. Single narrator provided distinct voices including accents for all characters.

The Reckless Girls tells the story of Lux, and her boyfriend Nico, hired to take two college friends to Meroe Island, a very remote, uninhabited island in the South Pacific. Lux had been lured to Hawaii by her boyfriend, with the promise of sailing and adventure. Instead, she had gotten a dead end job and a broken boat that Nico (despite being rich, and having easy access to money if he wanted it) has chosen to deny his family's wealth and make it on their own. Lux is disappointed with her life, so when the opportunity to take Amma and Brittany to Meroe comes up, both Nico and Lux jump at the chance to go. Boat fixed, they are on their way to Meroe. However, nothing ends up how any of them expect.

Reckless GIrls is engaging, and instantly pulls you into the story. Most will be able to identify with Lux, dreaming big, but life falling short of what she wanted. She is witty and vulnerable, feeling, at times, that her boyfriend is losing interest in her. We can all relate. We also can relate to the need for adventure and doing something new that draws Lux to this trip. The characters are relatable, and it is easy to understand their motivations and why they do what they do.

This book is full of surprises, with almost all of the characters hiding their own secrets, and having their own agendas. All is unraveled through a series of flashbacks, first with Amma and Brittany's relationship then with Eliza and Jake's (the mysterious Australians that are also vacationing off the beaten path at Meroe Island). The flashbacks shed light on the motivations and the back story of the characters, information that is essential to understand why some of them did what they did.

Overall, this is a worthwhile, page turning read, that will have you saying "just one more chapter!!" until you are done. The fast pace made it an easy read, and I would highly recommend for those who like domestic thrillers, and those who enjoy books where not everything (or everyone) is what they seem.

The Narrator was also excellent... She was very easy to listen to, did not try to "fake" masculine voices too much, and was fabulous at the Australian accent of Eliza and Jake. Overall, I'd definitely love to hear more books narrated by this narrator.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

You can always count on Rachel Hawkins for a suspenseful ride and a twisty ending! Lux McAllister is drifting since her mom passed away. She decides to follow her boyfriend, Nico"s, dreams instead. Sailing to Hawaii & working at a hotel to pay for his ship's repairs so that they can sail the world together. But they've ended up in Maui a bit longer then Lux would have liked. When Niko is offered a ton of money to sail Brittany and Amma to Meroe Island, an isolated tropical paradise, they jump at the chance for adventure. But Meroe Island isn't what it seems. And they're not as isolated as they thought they'd be.
Jake and Eliza, a golden couple, are already there. And as much as Lux wanted the isolation, she gravitates to these new friends. She is finally at peace. Until a creepy stranger shows up out of nowhere and throws their tenuous group into a tailspin.
The ending is so good, it's almost criminal. :)

*Thanks to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for this early audio file.*

I barely finished this book. It was too farfetched for me and the characters were so obnoxious and unrelatable. I thought the idea was great at first and settled in for a fun adventure, but then the plot goes no where.

This book is great- Rachel Hawkins is a talented storyteller and the narrator was very appealing. While I didn’t love the book as much as The Wife Upstairs, I did very much enjoy the plot twists, atmosphere, and characters.

Feeling like I needed a little bit of an escape in terms of a compelling and easier read, like a thriller, and having heard good reviews on Rachel Hawkins’ previous release The Wife Upstairs, I recently downloaded Reckless Girls thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio. I appreciate audio books like this one because they are easy to listen to and not miss anything while working through other tasks in my day.

Lux and her boyfriend Nico are stuck working mundane jobs in Hawaii (or at least Lux is) while trying to save up to fix Nico’s boat so they can set off on a grand world wide adventure. When they are approached by two travelling friends who want to pay them an exceptional amount of money to take them to a deserted island in the middle of the pacific with a rather dark past for two weeks of bliss in “paradise”, they take advantage of the offer and set sail with these two strangers. When they arrive they are surprised to find another couple has also decided to visit this strange, deserted paradise. They all quickly become friends and spend their time swimming and exploring, until things start to feel a little off, like maybe this trip and this island and maybe even each are are not quite what they seem to be.

As expected, this book was an escape, particularly to a tropical pacific ocean island. There were elements to the story that certainly did make it a thriller. Unfortunately I predicted the shocking twist much before it was revealed, before we were suppose to know what it was, making it less shocking and a little bit disappointing. The suspense wasn’t quite there for me, even though the story itself was enjoyable enough. I wish I had felt a bit more of that unknown.

In addition to it not quite being suspenseful enough, I also disliked the ending. I just felt like it was wrong. I thought the actions of the character at the end were not reflective to who she was and how she would have acted. This is one of the things I felt was off but I also have some more questions that I think ultimately are plot holes that sort of leave the story and the big reveal fallen apart.

While the plot twists, suspense, and plot holes/lingering questions left this thriller to be a bit of a letdown, I will say the narrator of the audiobook did a great job. She was easy to listen to, even with the sped turned up. It was an easy story to follow in general which means I could listen while driving or out for a walk or doing the dishes without missing anything, always a plus, and I appreciated the imagery of the jungle and the island.

All in all, a fine escape through a disappointing thriller.

I listened to the audio and enjoyed the book overall but it was such a slow build that when the end finally came, I was sort of glad to see the characters meet their fates. Characters weren’t particularly likable and I found myself rooting for no one. Overall it wasn’t my cup of tea but it did keep me engaged to the final pages.