Who could turn down an all-expenses-paid tropical vaca?

Annabel, Chloe, Tanya, & Esther definitely should have said “no, thanks” when they received the invitation to Poppy’s bachelorette party, but they couldn’t help themselves. They were curious about how Poppy turned out; after all, it had been a decade since they were all together in school. But once they get to the island, they realize they’ve gotten into much more than they signed on for as secrets from the past & present come to light.

I will say that some of the diary entries from Poppy a decade before the bachelorette party can be disturbing to read: the bullying from these “mean girls” was excessive, & the eventual revenge was meted out mercilessly. The different POVs were crazy to read, giving you a glimpse into each of the women’s minds, & the island setting was perfect.

Thank you to NetGalley & William Morrow for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story about a buncha bitches. Sorry, no other way to say it. Or there’s no other way I care to say it.
Annabelle, Chloe, Tanya and Esther were relentless bullies in highschool and a decade later, they’re still complete and utter assholes. Unlikable, dilusional, immature, entitled af. I could go on but I won’t.

Vengeance comes for them & it comes hard and it comes crazy…

This was an ok read for me. Slightly over the top but I kept flipping pages nonetheless.
So thank you NetGalley and Wiiliam Morrow for this arc in exchange for an honest review!
Pub date: 6/13/23

I LOVED this one! These girls were all so mean - you know the ones, you've met them before! They are the worst. Such a twisty read, and they are all out for blood. Great read.

This is your classic tale of a group of friends who epitomized the definition of mean girls in high school and now you revisit them in adulthood. Have they changed?

Annabel, Chloe, Esther, and Tanya received invitations in the mail to attend the hen party of Poppy much to their surprise. They weren't really friends with her in high school and caused her significant pain and embarrassment. But the invitations come with first class plane tickets to a Caribbean island, so how could they pass it up? They arrive to the island and are told there wouldn't be any cell service and little way to contact the outside world. Poppy has exciting plans for her hen party, including lots of drinking, games, and truth telling between the friends. And from there, the story takes off.

I enjoyed the alternating points of view, plus the look back to the high school years via Poppy's diary entries. Her writing helped to explain the emotion she felt as an outsider in her high school and how much she relied on her art as an outlet. The author did a great job describing each of the main characters and showed you how each one was more unlikable than the last. If you are a fan of locked room mysteries, I would recommend checking this one out.

Thank you to William Morrow for the opportunity to read and review.

Four childhood friends - Annabel, Esther, Tanya, and Chloe - all receive an unexpected invitation to Poppy Greer’s bachelorette party, but why? None of them have heard from Poppy in more than 10 years. As teenagers, they torturously bullied Poppy without reason. The four women have stayed “friends” their entire adult lives, however, each have secrets impacting one another’s lives, unbeknownst to each of them. Turns out, some things haven’t changed for these mean girls, even now as adult women. Now receiving an invitation to an all expenses paid, first-class, extravagant, luxurious weekend away on a private island with sandy beaches and no other guests on the island, each wants to attend for their own reasons. Annabel, a stay-at-home mom feeling stuck in life and her marriage; Esther, a career-driven woman working around the clock to excel in the finance industry, despite the strings her family has pulled to help her get her job in the first place; Tanya, an event planner struggling with addiction; and Chloe, a traveling influencer trying to gain popularity and increase her social media following. They decide to accept the invitation from Poppy- she must’ve have forgiven them and moved on from the terrible things they did to her as children, right? Soon after they arrive on the island, the games begin, and they realized nothing in the past has been forgotten…

I enjoyed the overall plot of this book. It moved at a decent pace. Like many multiple POV books, it takes a bit to learn the characters’ histories, storylines, and personalities. Once you have those down, it is a smooth read. The underlying bullying motifs were powerful. The four women were mean and ruthless to Poppy during childhood. The insight into Poppy’s teenage diary was completely heartbreaking to read, and the way her storyline played out was hard to read. I won’t say more on that, as to avoid spoiling portions of the book. Because of the bullying themes within the book, it does go deeper than just a surface-level thriller. I do think the “whodunnit” style plot, moving between the multiple narrators, racing to find out who is responsible for what, was fairly similar to many other psychological thrillers. However, the ending did catch me by surprise. I thought I had an idea of how it was going to end, and I was a bit off. All in all, I would definitely read another book by this author!

Read if you enjoy:
👯‍♀️ lifelong (fake) friendships
🌴 private tropical island setting
🫢 psychological thrillers
💍 bachelorette party vibes
🔍 whodunnit plot
🤫 friendships with secrets
⏱️ alternating timelines
🔀 multiple POVs

I read this book courtesy of @NetGalley!

I received a free copy of, She Started It, by Sian Gilbert, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Esther, Chloe, Tanya, Poppy and Annabel were friends in school. When Poppy invites them on vacation nobody knows what they are in for. No cell service, and no other guests. Wow this thriller kept me on the edge of my seat, who is going to die next and who is the killer. Such a great read!

3.5 but I'm rounding up to 4 stars because it was an easy read and a definite page-turner. I read it in two sittings. The dialogue was natural, the girls' reactions and behaviors made sense, and it was well paced. However...I guessed every single twist. I feel like if you're a person who reads/watches a lot of mysteries, the signs are pretty obvious, and that's definitely holding this book back from 5 stars. Other than that...I don't have a ton to say about it. It was just another fun thriller, although it did deal with some pretty heavy topics, especially bullying. The scenes of bullying are really intense and heartbreaking, so just be warned if that's something you are sensitive to. Lately I've been struggling to get through a lot of books, so I was happy to have something that was hard to put down (even if the twists were obvious!). If you want an easy, fast-paced thriller, I'd definitely recommend this.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

I had never heard of this author, so I wasn’t expecting much, boy was I wrong and pleasantly surprised. This was a roller coaster of a story with so many turns and twists that just kept coming, I couldn’t read fast enough. Poppy invited four women, who had bullied her in school to a private island in the Bahamas’s for a bachelorette party. The four are shocked at how much Poppy has changed and wondering why she invited them since they weren’t exactly friends. They all are keeping secrets and don’t trust each other. I really liked this book it kept me guessing to the end and I highly recommend it. Thank you Netgalley for this arc.

This book was such a wild ride
The twists and turns didn’t stop coming

I can’t get over the ending. It was so good.

Poppy was bullied by four girls- Annabel, Tanya, Chloe, and Esther- while growing up. Ten years later, all four girls get an invite to a hen party all expenses paid for by Poppy. The girls decide to go and it ends up being quite the weekend.

Fast paced. I read it all in one day. I couldn’t put it down.

What was meant to be a fun bachelorette party on a private island in the Bahamas turns into a sinister plot for revenge….


The perfect, twisty summer thriller that will keep your attention until the very end! I loved getting to read from each of the character’s perspectives. There’s an eerie feeling of doom throughout the book that makes it so atmospheric! So many secrets hidden and it’s only a matter of time before everything comes to light. You get to read snippets from Poppy’s diary along the way and it’s both heartbreaking and so informative. This is such a page turning story of revenge. I absolutely loved it!


Thank you so much William Morrow and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

First, thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow/Custom House for allowing to read this ARC. I really was interested in this book when I read the description. I mean, why would someone invite people she hasn't seen for ten years to an extravagant, all expenses paid trip to the Bahamas? What dark secrets are they keeping? I read this on a road trip and blazed through it. In the beginning, I had a hard time keeping characters straight (which is the housewife, who's the influencer, etc), but soon it was easy to keep track. I like how the chapters are from the perspective of each character so that you can get into each person's head space to try to understand them better. I know this is to occur ten years after college but sometimes has the vibe of the characters still acting like they are in high school. I liked all of the secrets that came pouring out of this book, and although I kind of suspected the ending, I really enjoyed how it ended.

I really wanted to like this book but I couldn’t make it past the 20% mark. I didn’t like any of the characters so I didn’t really care what happened to them. I tried to stick it out but I wasn’t able to do unfortunately I decided to DNF.

Do people ever really change?
Four old friends get invited on an island vacation for a hen party for one of their classmates. But they haven’t seen her in a decade and they weren’t exactly friends before. None of them can resist the invite, of course. All seems well when they arrive but it quickly goes wrong when the hostess disappears leaving behind a bloody mess. Who killed her and where is her body? It has to be one of the party on this private island. Who will be the last one standing?

I really enjoyed this thriller and it had me riveted from the beginning. I guessed the twist but I was still surprised by the ending. Kind of a sad story mixed in to the suspense but it really pulled it all together and will have you rooting for the bad guy.

I don’t know exactly how to write a review of this without it just turning into trash talk, so I’ll keep this short. These characters were all terrible people, and 60% into the book, I still didn’t know who was who. From the beginning, the plot didn’t make much sense, and I stopped caring that I couldn’t remember who each character was. I found the ending to be completely absurd and predictable. I would have DNFed this if it was already released and I could easily find out how it ended, but I kept going because I wanted to see if the ending was as annoying as the rest of the book. Sorry to say this will not be one I recommend!

Thank you Sian Gilbert, NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with this ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fast paced, suspenseful and very intense! The storyline hooked my attention and I read it all in one session.

Our MC's are childhood friends who drifted apart after graduation but they reunite when they get an all expense paid trip to a secluded island from the girl they tormented all throughout school.

I won't say much more because I don't want to give away any of the twisty plot points but I will say that the last line in this book --- perfection!!

I would definitely recommend this book and will be gifting copies to my friends who love a mystery thriller.

Annabel, Esther, Tanya, and Chloe are best friends and have been for years. When they receive an invitation for an all-expenses paid trip to a secluded island getaway from Poppy they are all for it – despite relentlessly teasing Poppy over her entire childhood. Poppy’s Instagram is all about the glamourous life she leads and the women can’t wait to leech off of her generosity for an extended weekend. With no internet, and even more seclusion than they thought, the women all begin to wonder if they’ve underestimated Poppy. As dark secrets are revealed, the women wonder if they’re safe.

When I first opened this one and saw five different points of view, I was ready to write it off and call it a day because I knew I was bound to be confused. But, I decided I love a good secluded getaway thriller, that I would give it a shot and I am glad that I did! I ended up loving all the different points of view, they were so unique that they were easily distinguishable. I even loved the women who were unlikeable, and some were utterly horrible. I ended up loving this story and everything about it – the twists were also amazing.

I agree that if you love Lucy Foley, you will love this one – it was fantastic! Grab your copy of June 13th!

Instagram will be updated with more social media links once posted.

I’m very excited to be sharing this review with you because I LOVED this book so much that I got through it in one sitting.

“She Started It” takes us through an Agatha Christie-esque thriller with a tropical twist and a thirst for vengeance. When friends Annabel, Chloe, Esther, and Tanya get a mysterious invite to an extravagant hen party/bachelorette trip on a private island, they can’t resist the opportunity, despite the woman of honor being a long lost former “friend” with whom there was bad blood in the past. Is this invitation a sign of water under the bridge? Or something much more sinister?

I was really looking forward to reading this, since I love the gradual thrill of “one at a time” murder mysteries. Although there isn’t a lot of actual horror and spooks, the psychological suspense that builds as bodies start to fall and secrets simultaneously reveal themselves is both gripping and unexpected. Having multiple POVs can be tricky; I often find myself preferring some characters over others. In this case, each character was unique, flawed, and had juicy, dark secrets of their own that were addicting to read. The story takes place in such a beautiful setting, but the events that take place are anything but. Filled with surprising turns, a big twist ending, and a cliffhanger transition to a potential second book, I was hooked and am excited for more!

This was a 5 star read for me. If you’re a fan of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, or works by Lucy Foley, Riley Sager, and Alice Feeney, then you should definitely add this one to your summer reading list. Releasing June 13, it’ll be out just in time for summer vacation!

Wow! I just finished this book within a few hours and what a plot twist. I enjoyed this book a lot. However, the girls were so cruel to Poppy that it killed me to read the details. I really hated reading about all of the bullying. However, besides that it was super well-written and had me on the edge of my seat. This thriller is the perfect vacation read.

You will like this book if: you like mean girl drama and remote thrillers.

Plot: Four mean girls bullied Poppy relentlessly in high school. Now that they are all adults, they get invited to Poppy’s bachelorette party - an all expenses paid week-long private island vacation. On this remote island, the four former bullies realize they might have underestimated Poppy. Who will make it off the island with their reputations and lives intact?

Characters: There are a lot of characters that get thrown at readers right away, but they are all extremely well-developed, nuanced and differentiated. Poor Poppy getting bullied by four vicious girl classmates in high school. And boy the drama that unfolds on the island is juicy! Each character deals with the drama in different ways that aligns with their personalities… and their web of secrets. I felt like I knew them as people by the conclusion.

Setting: Mostly set on the island, I felt I was on a lush vacation with the rest of the girls. It made the drama and terror that much more exciting.

Conflict/Resolution: Once things get started they don’t stop. This thrilling book takes readers on an exhilarating, high stakes ride. The author places a breadcrumb trail leading up to the big reveal for the most satisfying conclusion that ties all of the details up in a nice little bow. Definitely an, “I don’t need sleep, I need answers,” kind of thriller.

Writing: Perfect balance of backstory, description and action to keep readers engaged and up to speed. Speaking of speed, the pacing is perfect. I felt I couldn’t read fast enough at the end to get to the bottom of things!

Overall/Other notes: Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow & Company for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Annabelle, Esther, Chloe and Tanya unmercifully bullied Poppy all through middle and high school. They made her life a living nightmare so when they receive an invitation 10 years later to be her bridesmaids, along with a week on an all expenses paid exclusive private island for her hen party, they’re surprised, but still want to take advantage of the trip. No one brings up the bullying incidents until Poppy starts dropping hints she might not have really forgiven what the girls did to her.
You have to suspend belief twice, the first being why’d they go on this trip in the first place and could they not see what was going to happen?. You torture the girl for 6 years, don’t see her for the next ten, and really think she’d want you for her bridesmaids. The second is the ending of the book. There’s too many ways to still be caught and not get off home free. But telling you why would ruin the ending.
But the writing is great, along with the books structure told through the eyes of all five women. A page turner that’s done very well.