is book was fantastic. I love the back and forth between the past and the present. The foreshadowing was done really well. Trigger warning to the book though, there are parts about self-harm. However, a book about a decades long revenge plot was interesting to say the least. I bought the book yesterday and I finished today. I stayed up most of the night reading. It does read a bit like a 90s slasher film in a sense as well, so if you're feeling nostalgic, this will do the trick. The cliffhanger at the end of the book leads me to believe there could be a sequel, which I would be equally as excited for.

I have really mixed feelings about She Started It. It started out strong and I was really invested in learning about the backstory of Poppy and the bullying she endured from the other four main characters. I thought the idea that Poppy brought them all to the island under the premise of her Hen Party after not speaking to them in years, was definitely an interesting one and I knew right from the beginning she was going to have ulterior motives.

A major plot twist happens right around the 50% mark, and at that point, I really started to question where this story was going. From there, it really was a bunch of "friends" who were simply complaining to one another and trying to figure out if they really were ever friends at all. I will say, I did appreciate the ending and thought it was a good way to end this book, but overall it didn't really seem like the most believable story.

Either way, it was an entertaining read at times, and some may find it really gripping.

Thank you, William Morrow and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC…in which I am to provide an honest review.

Poppy (Bride to be) had the ultimate “glow-up” and merely wanted to share with her gal pals…wink, wink. Goodness, the main characters were horrible during their youth….and a hot mess as adults. After arriving on a lonely island, they all agree to Poppy’s requests to ensure they have the ultimate bonding experience. Why did they agree…because she is the expectant bride. All I could think was, “It’s a trap y’all…return to the mainland ASAP!”

The drama dragged for too long and the author made you feel all the emotions regarding the characters. Things picked up towards the end and the plot twists throughout the book were great. This book definitely did not disappoint and would love to reread via audiobook.

Thank you to William Morrow Books for the eARC!

Such a good summer thriller! 👏🏼👏🏼I loved the island/bachelorette party vibes. I got invested real quick. Finished this book in 3 sittings because I couldn’t wait to see how it all unfolded. The backstory with Poppy absolutely broke my heart & I had such conflicting feelings about all the characters. I predicted some parts of the ending but I did not see the main twist coming! An amazing debut, I’m excited to read more from this author in the future. There were a few things I didn’t love. One of the plot points of this book is all the secrets within their circle. Most of these “secrets” were predictable & then revealed without much fanfare. Also, I’m usually a fan of unlikable characters & I totally get how that was used in this story. But these characters were so freaking shallow & just terrible people! I also felt like their inner voices were a little too similar. It was hard at times to remember whose POV I was reading because they were all so similar.

ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review!

Wow! Wow! Wow! This book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Sian Gilbert did an excellent job creating creating suspense. The bullying in the story felt so realistic that at times it was hard to get through. This is one of my favorite books of 2023!

Such a good thriller. So unique and really kept you guessing until the very end. I was completely shocked and heartbroken by the end.

She Started It by debut novelist Siam Gilbert immediately reminded me of [book:The Wild Girls|58677504] where a group of friends are invited to an expense paid bachelorette party to a secluded island by an estranged friend they haven’t seen in 10 years. They of course all expect this free holiday.
The moral of this story is if something is too good to be true, it probably is and if you haven’t spoken to someone in over 10 years and they send you an EMAIL to attend their “hen party” in another country…make sure you think twice!

Overall, the first half of the book was almost a repeat of The Wild Girls and that part lolled. However, the second half did pick up momentum, even with me guessing the final twist very early on. It was still a good popcorn thriller that would be excellent on screen.
3.5 stars

She Started It is definitely a contender for one of my favorite thrillers of the year - I loved the drama between the women, the shifting timelines and seeing how everything came together. I highly recommend this and look forward to more from Gilbert in the future!

4.5 stars

Thank you to William Morrow for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Four best friends. One jilted classmate. An all-expenses paid destination bachelorette party. What could go wrong?

She Started It was a revenge book at it’s finest with rollercoaster twists and turns that had me guessing right up until the end. I enjoyed the different points of view, the flashbacks that added layers to the story, and all the suspenseful drama. This would make for a great summer read…just maybe not on an island in the sun!

Thank you to William Morrow, NetGalley, and Sian Gilbert for an advance copy of this book.

I wanted to love this and although I’d read some not-so-great reviews, I still went into it with an open mind, but was ultimately disappointed. The book started off strong with 4 old high school friends getting an invitation from another former student that they had been to school with. The 4 couldn't quite call her a friend because of how they had treated her. They had basically tortured her throughout high school but the 4 figured since she invited them to a tropical island, all expenses paid, she had forgiven them. Oh how wrong they are. Almost immediately, she brings up the horrid things that they have done to her and I started to suspect that I knew how the book would end. As things devolve on the island, it becomes more and more clear that none of them have really changed all that much since high school. Turns out, I guessed the ending very early on, down to the last detail but it was still pretty fun to read although much more fun in the beginning than in the end.

I would like to thank the publisher, author, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This was quite an impressive debut novel! Four friends accept an all expenses paid trip to the Caribbean to attend a hen party for Poppy, who they used to go to school with but haven't seen in years. Once there, they get more than they bargained for. See, these girls bullied Poppy horribly when they were in school, and she might be looking for some revenge.

We learn about all the awful things that Poppy went through in school via the diaries she kept during those years. I felt so bad for her as I read these parts! It gave me Carrie/Mean Girls vibes.

This was pretty twisty, and although I was able to guess the main twist, I loved watching it all play out, and I thought the ending was brilliant!

Thank you @netgalley, @williammorrowbooks and the author for the gifted e-arc of this book!

I could not put this book down. She Started It is about a hen party on an isolated island.
4 friends get an invitation to a hen party and since it's all expenses paid, they can't say no. However, they do find it odd that the invitation came from Poppy Greer, a girl they bullied mercilessly in high school. The four head to the island and each carries secrets of their own.
This was such a great suspense novel. The twists were constant and interesting and I was so invested in finding out what happens to these characters.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. I couldn't put his book down. It's the story of 5 girls on a secluded island celebrating a hen party. The girls are shocked that they were invited to this party considering they bullied the bride. But who can pass up a free trip?! it goes back and forth between each girls perspective along with the Bride's journal entries from back in high school.

👏🏼REVIEW👏🏼
She Started It by @sianmgilbert
Out 6/13 from @williammorrowbooks

When @scaredstraightreads posted his review about this one, I headed to @netgalley. I was approved quickly (thank you to the publisher).

While this book started out like I hate all these women and why do they even exist, I quickly found out. Because this novel was addicting. I could NOT TURN the pages fast enough. I LOVED how it came together. I LOVED how it ended. And lord, these ladies are horrible humans. But I don’t think they could have been likable. Def would not have worked for this story!

Recommend 100%!

This thriller left a lot to be desired. I figured out the big “plot-twist” within the first few chapters which really detracted from my reading experience. In addition, the characters in this novel were terrible (and not in a good way). Truly none of them had redeeming qualities and I did not care when bad things happened to them throughout the story. Overall, I did not enjoy this book and probably would hesitate to pick up another title from this author.

I would like to thank NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Look for it now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.

Annabel, Chloe, Esther and Tanya were besties in high school, and although they’ve drifted apart a little since then, they have shared secrets that will bond them for life. When all four women receive invitations to a lavish bachelorette party on a private island in the Caribbean for a former classmate, Poppy Greer, they are leery. They weren’t very nice to Poppy in high school, but maybe this is Poppy’s olive branch. After all, it’s been 10 years. Surely she’s gotten over it…

This book is Mean Girls meets And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, and it’s the mashup I never knew I needed. I enjoy a good revenge story, and this one did not let me down. There are so many secrets and so many betrayals, you’ll find yourself turning pages long past when you planned to stop. I highly recommend this one.

Oh wow! I loved this story—it was a fantastic thriller full of all the twists and turns and shall we say, revenge, you could want! This story is filled with characters you love to hate and I absolutely loved the POVs of each of the women as well as our main character, Poppy, whose Hen Party it is after 10 years of not talking to these women “besties” from high school who tormented her back then. The story is great and honestly, this book would make a fantastic movie! Overall, a great read!

Wow! For anyone who has ever made fun of someone, thinking it wasn’t a big deal, you need to read this book! A book of revenge that you didn’t see coming, A story of a misfit and a group of mean girls. You never know how what you say or do to someone will affect them. This book will stay in my head for a long time. A well thought out storyline and a good ending. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

What a roller-coaster of a thriller! Tightly plotted, emotionally distressing in the best way, and with several great twists and turns, this one had me turning the pages and staying up past my bedtime.

When four young women get invited to a private island in the Bahamas for a hen party, they decide to go even though they have not been in touch with the bride for ten years and parted on very poor terms. This decision turns out to be fatal to both reputations and lives as they find themselves finally paying for their teenage crimes.

Although I guessed several of the twists and struggled with the flashback scenes of how badly they treated Poppy, there was quite a bit of satisfaction in watching the mean girls get their comeuppance. This thriller makes great summer reading and was a fun, fast, page-turning time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy.