Natasha Preston https://www.natashapreston.com is the author of 20 novels. The Island will be released 28 February 2023. This is the 104th book I completed in 2022.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of delivering a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this book/novel as R. The primary character is 17-year-old Paisley.

Paisley isn’t the typical teenage girl. Her passion is her blog which focuses on stories of true crime. The blog has made her one of the top teen social media influencers. That is what earns her the invitation to Jagged Island.

Jagged Island is a private amusement park for the very rich. It is set to open soon, and the owner wants Paisley, and a handful of other influencers, to hype the park. The six selected teens will enjoy an exclusive weekend at the park. They will be treated as VIPs and are expected to post about their experience.

Liam, James, Will, Ava, Harper, and Paisley find the park even better than they had expected. The gothic theme of the park is particularly appealing to Paisley. Their VIP experience is hosted by the park owner Malcolm Wyatt and four employees. What could go wrong with only a dozen people on a gothic-themed island?

A storm sweeps in to disable communication with the mainland. People begin to die. The thrilling amusement park weekend turns into a brutal struggle for survival.

I enjoyed the 6.5 hours I spent reading this 336-page young adult thriller. Much of the novel is written in the first person from Paisley’s point of view. The dark cover art is a perfect fit for this novel. I give this novel a rating of 3.8 (rounded to 4) out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Huge thanks to NetGalley, Delacorte Press, and Natasha Preston for a copy of this book. This review is my own honest opinion and spoiler-free, as always.

Y’all, I could not put this book down. My husband is a huge Natasha Preston fan, and I’ve been wanting to read her books so I figured why not start here? The cover is stunning.

I was sucked into the story so fast, but I have to say I am not a horror fan. I am a grade A scaredy-cat. I honestly wasn’t sure what I expected picking up this book but I didn’t expect to be completely blown away, enthralled, and scared to death all at once for the entirety of the story. There was a note about the scare factor at the beginning, but I was like “oh it’ll be fine!”

Friends, it was <i>not</i> fine.

This book is like a cross between One of Us is Lying and Glass Onion. We follow six teenage social media influencers to The Island where a multi-millionaire has built a 16th century gothic horror-inspired amusement park complete with a hotel, restaurants, haunted house, and attractions, and he wants them to blog about their experience for the world to see.

We meet:
-Paisley, the true crime podcast junkie who spends her time researching serial killers.
-Ava and Will, the beauty blogger rivals.
-Liam, the popular jock/gamer.
-James, the movie reviewer.
-Harper, the bookstagrammer.
-Gibson, the boat driver.
-Reeve, Gibson’s best friend and head of maintenance.
-Keena, the chef.
-Malcom, the owner and founder.
-Camilla, Malcom’s personal <s>slave</s> assistant.

After a seemingly fun and exciting first day in the park, Will goes missing, along with the boat back to the mainland as well as the island’s cell service and Wi-Fi. As our friends find Will’s body and try to find out what happened to him, more people start to die and the chase is on.

Who’s the murderer? Who’s lying? Who will make it off the island alive?

Natasha Preston creates scenes so incredibly vivid that they cause you to feel every emotion the characters are feeling. Told from Paisley’s point of view, we spend the entire story rooted in her utter terror and crime-solving mind. I gave this book five stars because even though I was scared out of my mind, I LOVED IT?? I hate feeling scared, but the author did her job and did it well. Hats off, Natasha.

First off, I read this whole book in ONE freaking day and let me say that I NEVER accomplish that lol. This read like a fun slasher movie only it’s starring all kinds of influencers including a Bookstagrammer, so you can imagine my excitement! I was eating this book up from start to nearly the end. It’s not written like a masterpiece but there’s something fun and easy about diving into a thriller and I happened to have the free time to sit and enjoy it all in one sitting.

Picture me, giddy with excitement.. trying to guess the killer, stoked that I’d be squeezing in one more read for January. It’s 9:42 PM and I get to the end where something VERY shocking happens.. but imagine my surprise when I can’t flip the page again and THAT is the ending??

For obvious purposes, I won’t be saying what happened but that I do feel very unsettled (which what probably the purpose?) but this kind of ending just isn’t for me and actually knocked off some stars from my rating 😅.

Overall, I don’t regret reading this one at all.. but the ending still has me in shock lol.

This book was fast paced, action packed, and filled with twists and turns. I truly was guessing the entire book. I enjoyed most of the characters, seemed one or two got a little annoying at times. The plot was good - completely captivating until the end. Felt that the story just abruptly ended. Not sure what, but thought it needed a little more. Overall a good mystery/thriller.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed the tension of this book and it kept me guessing about who the bad guy was. I loved the twists but took off a star because of the ending. It felt much more like an unfinished story that abruptly stopped than a cliffhanger. I wasn’t left satisfied. I would recommend for fans of thrillers and murder mysteries.

Very intrigued from the beginning, I love the whole island plot it’s one of my favorites, and I definitely didn’t see the ending coming on this one but definitely a great read!

I really love the idea of this. I’ve been on the search for a murder mystery/thriller and this really fit my needs. I loved the whole scene that Natasha paints with the gothic era style of Jagger Island.

Paisley was one of my favorite characters and I loved the fact that she played the little detective, even if there were some times I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and just scream.

This books held so many twists and turns. It kept me guessing which is extremely hard to do. There was always something new coming up and I loved it.

Big thank you to Netgalley and Random House educators for allowing me to read this arc!

January 2023 | The Island by @authornatashapreston | Published by @randomhousekids

I really hated the ending of this book and kind of felt cheated - how dare you, Ms. Preston! 😅 The book kept my attention and was a pretty easy and fun, albeit predictable (in some ways) read. I felt like the main character jumped to certain conclusions too quickly and with no real evidence to do so, but also couldn’t piece together what would have been genuine clues as to who the killer is. The ending.. it was absolutely the best and the worst part of this book.

I probably would have loved this book as a teen, so it’s perfect that it’s marketed to that age group. As an adult, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. And I wanted it to be. SO BADLY. The entire premise was so intriguing, but overall it just fell flat.

Disclaimer: I was given this book as a digital ARC in exchange for my review. I was not compensated in any way.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and netgalley for the digital ARC of this book.

Cross-posted to: NetGalley, Goodreads, StoryGraph, and Instagram

Everyone loves a good “whodunnit” and leave it to Natasha Preston to master the trope. Including the use of different popular social media stats of our day, this was a fast paced and fun thriller that is easy to read through QUICKLY. I absolutely loved the setting and atmosphere, and the twists and turns were almost as fun as a ride at an amusement park.

Six influencers are invited to a luxury amusement park/resort to have an experience of a lifetime before the park opens. What was supposed to be a fun, Instagram filled weekend turns deadly when an influencer turns up dead.

I have been looking forward to this book for months. I really enjoyed it but it was a little all over the place, hence 4 stars, not 5. Honestly, it took me a bit to figure it all out so the mystery is a really well kept secret. I do recommend this book for fans of thrillers.

I truly thank @netgalley and @randomhousekids for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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I am not going to lie, I requested this book because it was on a list of anticipated releases. Plus I recognized the author, I have a couple of her books on my TBR shelf.

But this book was a bit of a let down for me. Usually with the mystery/thriller genre I find myself on the edge of my seat trying to figure out the who done it. I am tearing through the pages with the lights off to add to the mood. With this book, I found myself actually disassociated. It was flat and just blah for me. I was a little surprised because it seemed like it would be something right up my ally. A bunch of teen influencers brought to a remote island theme park.
But it was like a stray string you pull at with a comfy sweater. It is one small thing that quickly unravels and then you are left with just a mess.
I actually would not mind this book to much, it would just not be for me if it was not for the ending.
I HATED it.
Normally the unhappy cliffhanger ending is my bread and butter. But the ending just felt forced. Extra, I was happy with how things had been tied up. Instead, that ending ruined it all for me.

This book! Was so good. I don’t think I’ve read a book by this author I didn’t love. If you can get your hands on this one. This book is the full and complete definition of unputdownable. This ending is just the top of the cake! This was such a great fast paced read. It may be my next favorite next to the cellar!

Six social media influencers - Liam, James, Will, Ava, Harper, and Paisley - have been invited to stay at Jagged Island’s amusement park resort for an exclusive VIP treatment weekend. All they have to do is promote the island on their social media accounts. But, after their first night, someone turns up missing. And now, their excursion has become the least of their worries...as they try to get off the island alive.

Our main protagonist is Paisley, the crime-solving YouTuber. I really like her, and how determined she is to figure out this murder mystery. Of course, it may seem like it’s too much of a coincidence that she’s the one who is telling our tale. But, I actually think Preston has made a smart decision here - it makes sense to have her POV vs. another character in our motley crew (like the beauty guru Ava).

It’s great that the main characters are social media influencers because they’re relevant to today’s younger generation. But, I will say, they’re not fleshed out. The story is very plot heavy, so I understand that there isn’t a lot of time for character development. Still, I didn’t care for them as characters, didn't feel any emotional attachment to them. And that’s unfortunate when they’re literally being murdered...

But, like I said, this book is (intentionally) plot heavy. It only takes place over the course of a couple of days. And, needless to say, a lot happens! The story is very fast paced and action-packed. I was always on the tip of my toes, especially during the middle section. And guess what? I couldn’t figure out who the murderer was before the big reveal! Who they were, why they did it...I didn’t guess any of it! So, I have to give credit where credit is due.

But the ending…not the biggest fan. Not so much the last paragraph (if you know, you know), but another unexpected twist…no spoilers, but I thought it was unnecessary. It actually seems like it was thrown in at the last minute.

Overall, The Island is an entertaining and thrilling read! 3.5/5 rounded up to 4 stars.

Wow this book was a WILD ride. From beginning to end it was so chaotic but in the best way. This book is a young adult thriller and let me tell you I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. A whodunnit meets locked room trope. I was convinced every single character was the killer at one point or another and I was still surprised by the ending. I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a quick thriller!

I'm sorry to the author but I'm now done reading her books. She was an auto-buy author for me but her last two books have really let me down.

I loved the premise of this book, influencers checking out an amusement park on an island and then people start dying? Count me in. But holy moly I struggled through this book. All of the suspense wasn't suspenseful for me, the twists were not that twisty and I could really give a hoot about them. The amount of times the main character Paisley gagged or had bile in her throat was some of the most repetitive crud I've ever read. And the ending! *Insert eye rolls here*. If there's going to be sequel for this book, why?! Everything has been revealed so what more could you really write about? If there's not a sequel planned for this book I will probably change my star rating to a 1 just because it will irritate me to no end.

The writing style was lackluster, the plot twists were dull, honestly the only thing I really enjoyed about this book was the setting sadly.

Thanks to Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for the copy for my review.

I really enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting. It is very fast paced with seemingly nonstop action. Maybe a little too much action as it was a little hard to follow at times, but still an enjoyable read. I definitely did not know who the killer(s) was/were until it was revealed!

First of all, that ending?! That last paragraph was 🤯.

Six social media influencers set off to an all new private amusement park, Jagged Island. They are promised an exclusive VIP weekend in hopes they will share the amazing park with their followers. Seems like a pretty good deal. What they didn’t bargain for was having to run for their lives.

This was a fast paced slasher novel. I can definitely see this being made into a movie and honestly, I would watch it in a heartbeat. There wasn’t much character development other than Paisley, our MC and true crime expert, however I think that was okay for the kind of story it was. Most of this book and the plot was chaotic, but if you think about it, put yourself in the situation, it would probably be quite chaotic.

Random thoughts while reading this book:

➡️ A gothic style themed adventure park would totally be a hit! Someone should make that.
➡️ Why is this girl soooo obsessed with her brother??
➡️ “He is so dead.” ~ ope
➡️ We get it, everyone is rich af 🫠
➡️ Paisley is doing a lot for this Reeve guy rn-doesn’t really add up when she’s only known him about a day…
➡️ I don’t trust any of these people

In the end, I was a bit saddened to have figured out who the killer was earlier on. The reasoning, however, I didn’t pinpoint, but it was insane and I hate to say it, but a bit unrealistic. All in all, I didn’t hate this, but it wasn’t my favorite Natasha Preston book by far.

The Island by Natasha Preston - 4/5

When six teens get an invite for a private amusement park excitement filled the air. Their arrival was over the top and the experiences where once in a lifetime. Everything was going perfect until they realized they were stuck on the island.

This is one of those mystery thriller novels that catch your attention from the first chapter, and you cannot find it in yourself to put the book down, always keeping you on the edge of your seat wanting to know what else is going to happen. The characters were a mix of teens and each one of them brought something to the story that made they feel honest and relatable. Great story fast paced but didn't miss a beat keeping my glued to the story line. The cover is breathtaking and truly catch my attention.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for the ARC.

I’m always a little skeptical of YA thrillers but this one really hit the mark. It was my first book by Preston and definitely won’t be my last. The premise was so unique and i thought the resort setting was so interesting that I found myself compulsively turning the pages to see what will happen next. I enjoyed the claustrophobic, cut off from technology setting which really made the reading atmospheric. This was definitely twisty and I think it would make a great movie or limited series!

I was over the moon when I seen this approved eARC on my shelf!

Well done Natasha on yet another fantastic, gripping book!!
This is exactly why you are one of my favourite authors!!

The Island by Natasha Preston keeps you wanting more.
If you are looking for a highly entertaining well written psychological suspense thriller, this is it!
This book is extremely well written. It truly captivated me.
Absolutely gripping storyline which I got completely sucked into.
A great unputdownable page turner filled with suspense, intrigue and twist and turns.
Addictive and thrilling, this was a roller coaster of a read with many twists all of which I did not see coming. What I loved was how an ordinary situation… escalated into a heart-stopping, palpably tense, extremely fast paced and intense story that I could not put down. Amazing!... Love this author's writing style.
And I cannot wait for more!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.