For promotion, six teenaged social media influencers are invited for a pre-opening weekend at a new “gothic-themed” amusement park on Jagged Island. While the billionaire owner seems a bit odd, the group loves the rides/vibes. But as dead bodies start mounting up they must figure out who they can trust (Each other? The park staff? The owner?).

I really wanted to like this one. Great premise, great book cover, but unfortunately that’s about where the “great” ended. This reminded me of ‘80s slasher movies where you’re always yelling when the characters make dumb decisions and stupid mistakes. I won’t go into specifics except to say that the group seemed to always be running toward the killer rather than away. There were a vast number of obvious problems with the scenarios. I basically shook my head, rolled my eyes and couldn’t wait to be done. And the ending? Totally left field and totally unnecessary…one of those “what just happened?!” moments.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Delacorte Press for providing the free early arc of The Island for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

If you like horror and are worried that YA horror won't be horrifying enough, The Island could be for you.

I was a little apprehensive about the influencer plot, but there is good news. First, the main character is a true crime YouTuber and is friends with a book tuber. So that was a relief. Plus, the influencer life isn't a huge part of the plot, as this group is plunged into a nightmare as their fun preview weekend of an island amusement park turns to murder(s).

There were plenty of twists and turns with this one. Definitely recommend The Inland to horror fans!

Excerpt: They said goodbye to their friends and family for the weekend. They weren’t counting on forever.

Jagged Island: a private amusement park for the very rich—or the very influential. Liam, James, Will, Ava, Harper, and Paisley—social media influencers with millions of followers—have been invited for an exclusive weekend before the park opens. They’ll make posts and videos for their channels and report every second of their VIP treatment.

When the teens arrive, they're stunned: the resort is even better than they’d imagined. Their hotel rooms are unreal, the park’s themed rides are incredible, and the island is hauntingly beautiful. They’re given a jam-packed itinerary for the weekend.

But soon they'll discover that something's missing from their schedule: getting off the island alive.


Review: What started as a weekend away for 6 social media influencers to explore a brand new amusement park before it opens for the public, quickly turns into a fight for survival.

I absolutely love Natasha’s writing. She has a knack for YA thrillers. This was an awesome concept and when I saw the excerpt I couldn’t wait to read this book! Once I started reading it, I didn’t want to put it down. The whole time I was trying to figure out who the killer was - and let me tell you - I did not see it coming! This book was definitely not predictable (my favorite type of thriller).

The only downside (for me) was the ending left on a cliffhanger/was fade to black. Not sure if it will have a part two or if it is left up to the imagination.

Would absolutely recommend for fans of who-done-it thrillers.

This is the third influencers-encounter-death-on-an-isolated-island thriller that I've read this year, and I would gladly read three more. So many fun tropes, dramatic twists, and a legitimately scary second half make this one a great read for anyone in the mood for teen slasher fiction.

The Island by Natasha Preston
Publishing Date - 02/28/23
Rating (4/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you Netgalley and Random House for granting my request to receive an arc copy of this digital book. Reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None , this book follows 6 well known from TikTok and YouTube all invited to come stay on the Island. However , once the six of them arrived on the Island , things are not as they seem. People start disappearing and someone is found dead. So they must all work together to find the murderer and get off the Island alive. There were so many twists and turns that I never saw coming. Highly recommend this one when it comes out in February to any mystery and thriller readers.

The fact that my students read one chapter of this and gave up should tell you all you need to know.

What a book!! This was such a fast read and is so atmospheric.
The Island follows six influencers who are invited to an exclusive weekend on an island that is opening an amusement park soon. There are only eleven people on the island who one by one start to go missing. With their way off the island gone and no communication available, it’s up to our main character, Paisley, who happens to be a true crime vlogger, to figure out what’s going on and figure out a way off the island.
I flew through this book because I HAD to know what happened next! I did guess half of the twist but not fully. The ending literally had me yell “what!” And I looked back and forth on my e-reader to see if I missed a page.

Thanks to Random House Children's and NetGalley for the e-ARC!

My rating: 3.5/5 stars

The Island takes six teen influencers (does anyone else absolutely despise that word? I sure do) and throws them onto a resort/amusement park retrofitted on an island in the middle of the sea/ocean/large body of water in order to promote the new resort/amusement park. The main character, Paisley, is a crime fanatic who dedicates her platform to discussing cases unsolved or gone cold. Others include Harper (book blogger), Liam (gamer), Will (MUA youtuber), and two others who I'm forgetting the names of (mostly because I didn't really care for them that much). Once they are on the island, all hell breaks lose.

This has to be one of Natasha Preston's bloodiest thrillers I've read, and I've read stuff all the way back from her Wattpad days. The shock value of the gore made this so much more entertaining for me to read more than any other of her books. She has this addictive way of writing that draws you in, even if you hate the characters as much as I did. Not saying that they weren't well written, they were, but they were written in such a way where you have to be skeptical of them (except for Paisley, I think. I didn't really like her, or any of the influencers, at all). However, Natasha is the queen of cliffhanger endings, and one of these days I'd love a solid conclusion. That would be quite nice.

Overall, I thought it was different (yet still on par with her past books) and I enjoyed that about this book. The plot was interesting, the characters were alright, the plot-twist was half unexpected, and the gore was amazingly gory. A solid mishmash of good and alright leads to a solid 3.5 star (rounded to 3 stars) for me. Thanks again to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

#TheIsland #NetGalley Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel. I encourage you to check this one out! Really solid read.

Meet the influencers: Liam’s a gamer, James does movie reviews, Harper is a book blogger, Ava and Will are rival beauty gurus, and our main character is Paisley, who has a true crime podcast.

Six teen influencers are invited to exclusive, private-island, gothic-themed, amusement resort. What could possibly go wrong? Well, when people start dying and there’s a killer on the loose, a lot actually.

You know how there’s like a sub-genre of young adult books that feel more ‘adultish’ and definitely appeal to an older audience, well this definitely isn’t one of those. While I’m not saying that as a bad thing, I just want to point out that this one actually feels targeted towards young adults, with its timely and relevant mentions of the TikTok lifestyle. A little young for my personal tastes but this did not negatively affect my reading experience.

I thought the book started out really well. The atmosphere and world building at the beginning is great. Our introduction to this gothic luxury mansion, the creepy rides, haunted houses, and eerie island setting is well done. I liked the introductions to the characters as well, we get a small taste of their personalities.

Warning… hot takes ensuing…

But once the sequence of events begins, all of that character and world building just stops abruptly and is never expanded upon again. I had a hard time picturing everything as it was happening. There’s literally zero world-building or setting descriptions apart from the very first part of the story when they are seeing the island and hotel for the first time, so I couldn't imagine anything in my head. I just kind of had to roll with it. It’s a fairly short book. I feel like we could have had more descriptions along the way to make the action scenes (and really it’s just one continuous action scene) come to life more.

There's also like zero characterization either. I mean I didn’t really care about any of them because I didn’t really get to know them. So the high stakes were pretty much lost on me and the betrayals felt meaningless.

This is like one of those horror movies that everyone watches just to laugh at and make of it. It feels like a parody (Scary Movie, anyone?). Everything is just so over the top and melodramatic with no build up, tension, or suspense. There is a bit of gore factor which did up the ante a little for me.

In comparison to all the flashback/cold case thrillers I’ve been reading recently, I was looking forward to this one as a fresh, in-the-moment story. I will say, this is a quick, easy, compulsive read. And I found myself inexplicably hooked into the whole thing regardless of everything else. If you like a non-stop action, fast-paced, close-quarters, who-dunnit, mayhem of a thriller, you may also find it as fun and engaging as I somehow did. It has a classic, locked-room mystery feel to it all and, in general, I do love that trope. It’s like the game Clue in a way. Everyone’s a suspect and you don’t know who to trust.

There are plot holes galore. And I mean in abundance. Nothing made any sense, everything was way too convenient, and nothing added up right. The characters’ reactions to things were laughable. Not a single decision they made, nothing they did, made any logical sense whatsoever. C’mon, they’re old enough to do better. And also, why were the adults in this story just the most dumb, useless, incompetent, clueless, idiots ever? No idea. Reading this is like watching a bunch of bumbling idiots running around like headless chickens.

I have so many questions. So. Many. Questions. Some of which I will include hidden at the end of this review because they will contain spoilers. But I just didn’t buy into the whole entire thing. It wasn’t believable at all. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, that it would come out as a hahaha it’s all a joke, but it wasn’t. It actually wasn’t a joke. But I really have to know though… is it supposed to be like this? I’m still so confused. Does anyone know? Is it serious? Is it intentionally campy?

As for the intense cliffhanger the story ends on… I recently read another thriller that ended on a similar cliffhanger and I actually really liked the ambiguity of it. But for this one, I’m not sure I understand the purpose for it. Honestly though, that part was more suspenseful than the rest of the story.

In summary…

Is it so bad that it’s good? Kind of. Was I scared? No. Was I (for some unknowable reason) super invested in the outcome. Yes.

I’m still going to tell you to read this book. I don’t know y’all it was bad but I just kind of liked it anyways. Even after all of my ranting, I still want to check out this author’s other books now.

I initially after reading gave it two stars, but since I’ve stewed over my thoughts more I think I have to bump it to three because for whatever reason I just really wanted to know what the hell was going on and I wanted a conclusion. I never actually considered DNFing it, so therefore I am changing it to three stars instead of two.

Jagged Island houses a private amusement park for the very wealthy. Six young teen social media influencers are invited to check out the park before opening day and share their thoughts about it. Liam, Will, Ava, Harper, James, and Paisley are all having fun, that is until Liam goes missing. Someone on the island starts to hunt them down one by one. Who is it and why are they doing it?

THE ISLAND was the first book I've read by Natasha Preston. I have been wanting to read one for a long time and I can see why so many people love her books. This one was really good. It was fast-paced and creepy. I didn't get the twist and the ending was really a nice surprise. If you enjoy movies, like "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "Scream", I would say you will most likely enjoy this book a lot. I know my daughter is going to love it.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be shared to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

What’s a ride!! Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this early! I finished this book on a day! First two chapters Blegh but once it gets going it’s a rollercoaster ride. Super fast moving great read! But that ending!!! Least fave part.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

***


I am in love with pretty much anything theme park or carnival related, and that certainly includes "The Island" by Natasha Preston.

It's a fast paced action filled hellscape. Several influencers are invited to a remote island where an odd billionaire has created a private theme park designed to be the destination for rich thrill seekers. The influencers are invited do to a sneak peek which will go out to their wealthy followers, but people start disappearing and popping up dead almost immediately. It's a race to figure out the mystery before becoming the next victim.

I enjoyed the characters and was engaged in the plot. I made my way through the book in two nights (because my Kindle died on the first).

I'll say this, the end wasn't for me. I am not looking for happy endings by any stretch, but I am looking for an ending and you won't quite get one here. It's left in that final act before a resolution.

Eerie and entertaining! I will definitely be recommending this for my more mature middle schoolers. Although not appropriate for my younger readers, I think many students will enjoy.

Natasha Preston has done it again! I really could not figure out who was going to be the killer this time around and the plot twists were so well executed! I loved paisley! the ending was such a killer ending too!

Paisley has a true crime podcast, and with a group of other influencers has been invited to an exclusive VIP weekend at a new theme park on a remote island. It isn't long though before things start to go wrong, and after one of the group turns up dead, the investigation really begins.

I wasn't a fan of the characters in this book - almost all of them read as bad caricatures rather than real people. Unfortunately, that meant that whilst people were dying I really didn't care very much because I had no connection to them. Some of the twists were good, but overall not a thriller that I found particularly thrilling.

Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of The Island by Natasha Preston! I first requested this book cause I am a sucker for amusement park thrillers!! My only real critique is I wish there was more amusement park and less hotel as the setting. I did not see the second partner in this and really felt for Paisley when she realized who did it. I also liked the multiple ‘love’ interests to throw off the readers on who’s the killer. I enjoyed the reveal of who the killer(s) is and the backstory to it all. BUT WHAT WAS THAT ENDING?!?!?! I am amazed and yet so incredibly frustrated/angry at it. That’s going to be an ending that people talk about! Thank you again to NetGalley for the ARC of The Island.

he Island by Natasha Preston is the perfect combination of ‘One of Us is Lying’ and ‘And Then There Were None’ but on an isolated island in the middle of nowhere called Jagged Island - an amusement park for the very rich and influential. Six teenagers - Liam a video game blogger, Harper a bookstagrammr, Will a beauty blogger, movie buff James, and Paisley a true crime podcasts - are all invited to spend an entire weekend before the parks official opening to the public. Their only job is to make posts and videos for their channels and followers of their time at Jagged Island. Once on the island, the teens are stunned at how magnificent the island is as it's better than what they’d imagined. The itinerary for the teens weekend of fun involves riding the park’s themed rides, spending time in their luxurious hotels and all the rooms that are included. However the only thing that these six influencers were not prepared for was getting off the island alive.
I loved the plot of this book - sending six influential teenagers to an amusement park for the weekend with the added touch of suspense and mystery. Preston did an amazing job building up the suspense and mystery throughout the book. She kept me second guessing at everyone's role ranging from the possibility of ghosts to robots! There was never a time that I was 100 percent sure about any of my theories while reading this book and was constantly changing my theories as I continued to read. Prestons idea to have her main characters be influencers is definitely a plus on my end as I think that many other young adults would be able to connect with these characters. There were many times that Paisley and the other influencers were referencing social media platforms like Tic Tok and YouTube that would definitely appear to a young adult audience. Preston also was able to include a diverse community of influencers inThe Island that replicate today's society. While there was some romance between Paisley and Reeve I found this kind of lacking and unnecessary most of the time. As I continued to read, I could see how their relationship played a small role in the ending of the novel, however I did not find this an essential part of the plot. The setting was very similar to the character development as it was not really established in a descriptive way but rather was shown as a gothic amusement park. For me this was just enough information as I do not usually make ‘movies’ of what I am reading, however a couple of detailed descriptions of the building's aspects would be beneficial to the novel.
I struggled with the pacing of the book. While The Island had a fantastic beginning and start that definitely captured my attention. However after Will had disappeared on the island, I felt the plot drag on a bit, while Preston kept my attention as the mystery of what happened to Will was unknown. I was able to figure out what happened to him before it was discovered by Paisley in the novel. Between this time and when next murder I think the length was a little drawn out. While there were necessary discoveries during this transition, I think that they could have been executed a little better. This did not stop me from reading or lose my interest as I was not fully convinced that Will was completely dead. One other aspect that I thought could have been a little more developed would have been the characters. While I found these characters really relatable, they were also two dimensional to me compared to other mystery and thriller as well as horror books I have read in the past.
Overall I think The Island by Natasha Preston is a great slasher book for young adults looking for a great entry into the horror/suspense and thriller genre that will keep you second guessing at every chapter. I have been meaning to read more of Natasha Preston’s book for a while now. While this was not one of my ultimate favorites. I would definitely recommend The Island to other readers as well as some friends. As for myself, I will definitely read more books by Natasha Preston in the future.
I would like to thank NetGalley as well as Random House Children’s, Delacorte Press for providing me with a free advanced copy of The Island for an honest review.

None of the characters were particularly well-developed, nor was the amusement park setting. I was excited by the logline for this book but didn't feel it lived up to its potential.

Natasha Preston has done it again with another fantastic teen thriller. The story is set on an isolated island theme park when a group of teenage influencers have been invited for a weekend of fun before the park officially opens. Unfortunately, the horror themed theme park also has a murderer lurking among the thrilling rides. As always Preston leaves her readers hanging with a cliffhanger ending that will never be finished. Great addition to all collections where YA thrillers are popular.