A fun debut with characters you love to hate. The scenes set in the past were heart wrenching and difficult, which gave this over-the-top thriller moments of feeling grounded in something true. A solid blend of the fantastical with the relatable. And the cover is a stunner!

She Started It is an anxiety inducing thriller. The plot isn’t entirely original but the execution was great. The flashback chapters were heartbreaking and the present time chapters kept me interested.
I was able to figure out most of the twists ahead of time but I really enjoyed seeing how it all played out.

I have posted this review on Instagram and Goodreads

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtPCrr1rLMq/?igshid=MmJiY2I4NDBkZg==

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5590785815

And will be posting my review on Amazon on/after the pub date.

This book is Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None meets Mean Girls, with strong emphasis on mean girls. Only they’re not girls any longer, they’re selfish, self-centered, cruel adults. As children, they teamed together to ostracize another child. From middle school through high school, they made her life miserable. That child was Poppy Greer.

Poppy was a sweet girl, smart and talented. She had the misfortune of being overweight and plain. But she kept trying to fit in and to be friendly. However, she was no match for Chloe, Annabel, Esther, and Tanya when they went after her, tormenting her constantly, and in every way possible.

When ten years later, the mean girls each receive an invitation to Poppy’s Hen Party on a private Caribbean island, they debate accepting, but their greed sees them accepting. What they don’t realize is that they’re about to receive payback for all they did as children.

This book includes instances of cutting, cruelty, violence, and suicide. While there were a few surprises that popped up, overall, I found the book predictable. She Started It is very atmospheric, you get both a feeling for the isolated yet beautiful island, and for the underlying turmoil that’s churning on it.

This is a depressing book. There’s no happy ending. The women who attended that Hen Party all turned out to be psychopaths. They learned nothing from their past actions and continued to make mistakes that affected the lives of everyone on that island. I honestly didn’t like any of them.

The writing is excellent. It clearly delineates how people who think that the world owes them for the privilege of their existence can easily be led astray. I didn’t feel that there was much worthwhile in this book, beyond the message that parents and educators should have a better sense of what their children are capable of, and step in to intervene.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I thank all involved for their generosity in making this book available to me, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.

This is a brand new author we need to keep our eye on! This is Sian Gilbert’s thriller debut and wow!! It is loaded with lots of twists and turns!! This grabbed me from the very first page and I loved all the twists and turns it had. A group of women who were friends a long time ago take a trip to the Caribbean for a bachelorette party. Only the girl who is getting married hasn’t spoken to these other “friends” since they graduated from high school. Things start happening and just keep happening. The twists at the end were the icing on the cake! I really enjoyed this book and look for many more great books by this new author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release. To be published June 2023.

This was a bit of a mixed bag for me. A lot of the plot points seemed a bit far fetched, and I was able to spot the big reveal fairly early on. However, it kept me engrossed and entertained, and I finished it in two sittings, in less than a day. Fans of this genre should be satisfied by this book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The book hooks you from the very beginning. The characters are all very interesting despite being generally vapid people. A fun, quick thriller!

When I was young, "And Then There Were None" was one of the first mysteries I can clearly remember reading. I absolutely loved the concept of a group of people trapped together on an island, and watching the tension build - and trust erode - as one by one, the guests of the island turned up murdered.

She Started It has a similar premise - four friends who have known each other since their school days are invited to an all-expenses paid vacation on a private island. The reason? A bachelorette weekend for Poppy, another school acquaintance, but certainly not someone they would have called a friend. The invite comes out of the blue after ten years without any contact with Poppy, but the temptation of a free luxury vacation is too much to resist, and they go along with the trip, ignoring any misgivings.

It's clear early on that there's a lot of bad blood here - not only between Poppy and the four friends, but also amongst the friends themselves. As the book goes on, the secrets and lies among the women come to light, and the seemingly tight-knit group starts to unravel.

To be honest, I saw the book's big twist coming from pretty early on, so that took away some of the excitement. I also found the four friends to be genuinely horrific people, but even so, it's hard to say that they deserve what they get over the course of the novel. I struggle with books where I can't find a single likable character to relate to, and even here, I had a hard time seeing Poppy's actions as justified, no matter how terrible her history with the women was.

This is a pretty average thriller, and really doesn't paint women in the best light. It shows exactly the type of cattiness, backstabbing, and cold cruelty that fuels the idea of "mean girls," and I really just didn't find it enjoyable to read.

She Started It is mainly told from the point-of-view of four women who are invited to an all-expenses-paid trip to a private island in the Bahamas for the hen/bachelorette party of someone they had gone to school with. The fact that they weren't really close to Poppy and hadn't seen her in years didn't stop these women from taking advantage of this free trip. 

A couple of the women hint that they may have sometimes been unkind to Poppy, but only the chapters including parts of Poppy's diary from years ago show the extent of the bullying she suffered. Some of this is tough to read about and it's amazing that a couple of these women were able to discount their past actions. In addition to the drama surrounding their reunion with Poppy, there are plenty of other secrets the women are keeping from each other that come out during the trip. I was able to guess part of the big twist at the end, but not all of it even though the author gave a couple of good clues. I enjoyed the story even though these are not people I would want to hang out with, even for a free beach vacation!

I received an advance copy of this ebook at no cost from William Morrow and Scene of the Crime Book Club. My review is voluntary and unbiased.

SO good and refreshing! This is a pretty dark book (I’ll include trigger warnings in a spoiler tag following this review), with a few graphically violent moments, but mostly disturbing content involving bullying in the past and a little in the present. We alternate between the present, where Poppy Greer has called her 4 past “friends” to be bridesmaids in her wedding and invited them to a hen party on a private island in the Caribbean after not speaking with them for 10 years, to the past where we see just how this group of 5 ladies’ relationships evolved over their school years. It’s heartbreaking and infuriating in many ways, and I love how the author doesn’t really try to redeem these self-centered bullies; she just lays them out as she sees fit and waits for us to hate them just as much as we should. This is definitely a party of a lifetime nothing like you expect it to be as... Read it if you get the chance! This is one I will go buy once it comes out.

This 👏🏻 Book 👏🏻

What a rollercoaster - the whole time I was wondering what on earth could have happened to these women that was so bad. And just wow. There’s toxic relationships and then there’s toxic friendships, and this was TOXIC. The ending, bravo!

I loved the different point of views, and the flashbacks that were done as diary entries. The complex friendships between each of the women, added SO MUCH DRAMA which was perfection.

I loved this book, the only reason I’m giving it 4.5 stars is because, sometimes I had to flip back to see whose POV I was reading because there were so many different ones. But, that could also just be a me problem. If you got this as your @bookofthemonth pick for June, READ IT ASAP! If you didn’t, you can preorder it, it is set to release June 13th! The perfect summer read!

Dark and fun thriller. You will hate all the characters. Told from multiple point of views and not one of them is likable.. but not to worry that is what makes this revenge thriller so intriguing. Altough I did figure things out, it was still well done and I enjoyed reading.
And this is Gilbert's debut novel.. I am a fan.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced digital copy for an honest review.

Annabel, Esther, Tanya and Chloe were best friends growing up. Despite drifting apart, they have always been bonded by the secrets they share. One of those secrets is the way they treated Poppy Greer, a girl in their school they were horribly mean to. So when they all receive invitations to be bridesmaids in Poppy’s wedding, they are shocked but figure they will accept and enjoy the luxurious bachelorette weekend Poppy has promised. After all, who would turn down an all expense paid trip to a private island? But soon after arriving, they realize Poppy may not be over the past. With no cell phone service and no other people around, the women realize this is more than just a vacation.

What a fun and twisty revenge thriller! Told from each of the women’s perspectives, we see their version of events from their youth as well as Poppy’s past diary entries detailing how the girls treated her. Truth be told, I had a hard time relating to any of these women - they tortured Poppy growing up for no reason and never took any kind of accountability for their actions. It came as no surprise to me that Poppy never was able to get past it and when she had the opportunity to enact revenge she took it. The ultimate “fuck around and find out” kind of plot and I was here for every bit of it! While I would never go to such extremes myself, it was fun to read about. Thank you to Sian Gilbert, Netgalley and William Morrow for the ARC! “She Started It” releases June 13th!

This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly.

Building your bridal party is a highlight of your wedding planning. But what if the purpose of getting a party together is for revenge? In She Started It, we follow a group of life-long best friends as they travel to a private island for a bachelorette party. However, this bachelorette party is for someone they haven’t seen in 10 years. Are they going there to celebrate? Does their host have other plans? Their 4 day trip will certainly be memorable!

Going into this one, I had no idea what to expect. It did drag when all of the characters were being introduced but once they were beginning their trip, it was non-stop guessing and second guessing. The multiple viewpoints make you wonder if there’s an unreliable narrator or you just can’t trust anyone. Or maybe it’s you reading into things. By the end, my mind was blown and I slowly began to put all the small hints together. I highly recommend this if you enjoy a good “whodunit” book (it gives off minor And Then There Were None vibes)!

⭐️3.5

Despite this book being quite dark, I think this is a very fun summer thriller!

While this book didn’t pull me in in the way I had hoped in the first pages, it QUICKLY became nonstop action-packed drama, reminiscent (for me) of And Then There Were None.

This is the first thriller in a LONG TIME that threw me a twist I didn’t see coming. That alone really impressed me. I also LOVE when an author utilizes multiple POVs. However, I wished the characters had each had some more defining characteristics. I found myself having to flip through previous annotations I made to tell the characters apart and remember whose secrets were whose.

The only character I felt I had a very solid understanding of was Poppy, because of the journal entries. I think the journal entries made this book what it was for me and gave a great character development and portrayal, not just for Poppy, but all the characters.

Lastly, and one of the only things I wished was different was the ending. Personally, after the last reveal, I felt like it wrapped too fast. For me, it wasn’t the cathartic ending I had hoped for and I found myself with unanswered questions, wanting a clearer explanation of what had just happened.

Overall, If you’re looking for an action packed page turner, this is definitely one to have a go with. This was one hell of a debut for Sian Gilbert and I am VERY excited to continue following this author and see what she releases next!

Thank you to @NetGalley, William Morrow and the author for an early ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. A variation of this review will be posted on my Instagram (@emmisbooked) in the near future.

This was a fun thriller that takes place on an island with four friends and a fifth "friend" from the past. They are all self-absorbed outrageous bullies, some in the past, some in the present, and some in both. They're all hiding something and naturally everything eventually comes to light. A bit predictable at times, but still an enjoyable read.

What a wild ride! I enjoyed this book as part of my thriller binge.

Four mean girls who have grown up and gone their separate ways are brought back together when they receive an invitation to a luxury bachelorette party for a childhood friend. If you like thrillers with a group isolated in a remote location and retribution, this book is for you!

Do not read the table of contents - the chapter names contain spoilers.

YES! Found a new thriller to scratch the itch I have for satisfying revenge plots carried out by a woman who deserves to relish in every bit of misery she inflicts on others.

This starts with four best friends invited to a bachelorette party by the girl they bullied throughout school. It's on a private island and all expenses are paid so how can they say no? They assume Poppy, the lonely friendless girl they knew, still has no friends to invite to her own wedding so that's why they got invited. And they plan to mooch off the whole free trip. Although, Poppy has other plans for them.

You immediately know where this is headed from the minute the girls arrive on the island but as I mentioned before, it's truly satisfying. Even though everyone is unlikeable, I found myself rooting for Poppy pretty early on. There's a ton of mean girl drama, secrets, lies, and murder. I couldn't stop reading. The flashback journal entries from Poppy's time in high school might be a bit rough to read if high school was rough for you too, I actually got pretty emotional a few times. And this is a debut!! I'm impressed and excited to see what this author comes up with next.

OBSESSED!!! This was such a great, fun, entertaining summer beach read. Such an amazing debut. This was so nostalgic, and relatable, and heart breaking. I thought I had it figured out, but I was wrong! I thought Robin was Wendy and poppy was really poppy. The twist was so good and sad and unfortunately all too realistic. Loved this book.

WOW!!! Thank you so much @sianmgilbert, @netgalley and Harper Collins for this ARC. This book was absolutely excellent!! I couldn’t put it down and stayed up way past bedtime to keep reading! As someone who experienced bullying in school I definitely felt a connection to the main character. This is by far the best book I have read this year! If you like thrillers and a great revenge story this one is for you!!

Such a fun read. With multiple narrators and stories you can’t decide who you should like and dislike. I will definitely recommend this book to my book club.