This meal, revenge, tastes best served cold and is a delectable delight. Even though I quickly figured out the turns after following the breadcrumbs, I still enjoyed watching the plot come to fruition. Put aside the desire for plausibility and just enjoy yourself—this is a popcorn thriller.

A bloody bride's haunting words, "She started it," set the stage for this thriller that's part Mean Girls and part And Then There Were None. Four friends are invited to an all expenses paid tropical paradise bachelorette party. The only hitch? The invitation comes from Poppy, a woman they used to bully in school. What are Poppy's motivations for this trip? And how close are these four friends after years of secrets and resentments? Can any of them trust each other when left alone on a private island?

I enjoyed the storytelling as it jumped perspectives and timelines, and having each character's POV chapters read by different narrators helped keep the story straight. The characters were all unlikeable to a certain extent, but the mystery was interesting enough to keep me engaged.

When a group of four friends get invited to a luxurious hen party on a private Caribbean island, the offer is too good to turn down.

Poppy Greer is the bride to be, and also happens to be the woman the friends bullied for years.

This was such a fun mystery, and it kept me on my toes the entire time as to what would happen.

*many thanks to Harper Audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy

4 friends get invited to go to a school friend's hen party on a private island in the Bahamas. The offer is too good to turn down (first class tickets and all) and they assume that since it has been 10 years since they left school, the bride-to-be has forgotten or forgiven them for bullying her. But she has clearly not done either. Once on the island with no way of leaving or contacting anyone, the friends realize that the bride-to-be is out for revenge. She is also intent on exposing their nasty little secrets. A good plot that was also well narrated.

The story revolves around four friends who are invited to a hen party on a luxurious Caribbean island. The bride to be is Poppy Greer, a woman they all bullied years ago. The group prepares for wild nights, champagne, and making Instagram-worthy memories. However, upon arrival, the island becomes more isolated and no cell service is available. The tropical fantasy becomes a nightmare, as Poppy hasn't spoken to any of them for years. The girls are catty and identical in voice and action, making it difficult to remember the narrator. Poppy uses a diary to tell her past, but it is not authentic. The narrator's voice is also incredibly unbelievable, making her seem like an author pretending to write a diary. The worst episode of bullying the girls participated in is even more ridiculous. The book's biggest twist is revealed in the first 15% of the book, which is surprising given the hype from other seasoned thriller readers. The book feels about 20 times longer than it was, and it's difficult to gauge whether Gilbert has the potential to play her cards closer to the vest next time or if this is as twisty as she is. The ending serves as a set-up for a sequel, which may not be needed.


Thank you so much to #netgalley #siangilbert and the publishers for this free alc for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio advance reader copy of this book. I loved the idea of this book, bachelorette party amongst friends sharing an old secret, gone horribly wrong. The book could have been much better. Too many characters to keep straight and too long makes this book difficult to read in audio. Often I wondered why the author was including so much irrelevant info. She started it would have been a better book had it been a few hours shorter. 3 stars

This is a good one! It’s about a group of women that have been friends since school. Unexpectedly, the receive a wedding invitation from another classmate that they weren’t very nice to. They are surprised to be invited, but it’s an all expenses paid, extravagant trip to an island, who would pass that up?
Once there, things take a turn 👀

Oh my gosh, this book had me on my toes and kept me guessing the entire time! I absolutely loved it!

She started it by Sian Gilbert had me on my seat wanting to know what happened yet. Great book to read in one sitting.

I found the plot very unbelievable. While the characters are meant to be unlikable narcissists I do find it improbable that anyone would be that gullible. The final twist was very predictable.

I found this plot to be slow until the very end. It reminded me of Lucy Foley meets Alice Feeney! I was very curious about the ending and was sucked in, but I was ultimately hoping for something a little bit more original.

Four "mean girls" from their school days are surprised to get invitations to a bachelorette party. Ten years earlier, they bullied their schoolmate Poppy relentlessly. Now Poppy that has invited them to a luxury island to help celebrate her upcoming wedding, all seems to have been forgiven. In the 10 years since they left school, Annabel, Esther, Tanya and Chloe have stayed in touch as their lives have gone in different directions. They don't seem to have given much thought to Poppy or how cruel they were to her, either. It seems Poppy has decided to let bygones be bygones since she's paying all the expenses to fly them all from England to the private island in the Caribbean. Naturally, they are all dropped off on the island for the weekend, and have no way to leave until the scheduled pick-up several days later. Wi-fi is spotty, but that doesn't much matter since Poppy insists that this should be a "device-free' weekend since she has so many fun activities planned. When sinister events start to happen, the women begin to wonder if everyone has truly forgotten the past at all.

I really enjoyed this audiobook! The narrator did a good job of making each character distinct when narrating the alternating chapters. The story was suspenseful and I did enjoy the current story as well as the explanation of what happened to Poppy all those years ago.

This book was WOW such a plot twist I did not see coming! I was so intrigued by the flipping from the past to the present and how the group really kept things from each other! I would definitely recommend without any hesitation. Very fast paced and mind blowing!

Okay this was insane. I figure out the twist early, but it was also absurdly unbelievable. That said, I enjoyed it. 😂

This is what a fun, summer beach read should be. This book grabbed me from the beginning and kept my interest for the outcome all the way through. I did figure out the twists but it was such an entertaining revenge story that even the very unlikeable characters didn't take away from my enjoyment of reading it. I really liked the narrator for this story.

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!

Lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing and entertained throughout most of the book. The multi voice set up worked well - except listening to the audiobook made it difficult to go back to double check who had said what and would cause confusion in some cases.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with and ARC to read and review.

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.

DNF at 33%

I promised myself this year that I would not spend time reading books that fail to engage me. This debut thriller was getting rave early reviews, so of course I wanted to read it for myself. I requested the audiobook which is narrated by Sarah Ovens, Anne-Marie Piazza, Ione Butler, Billie Fulford-Brown, Sarah Cullum and Ella Lynch. While the large cast reading is excellent, I just didn’t connect with the premise or the characters. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to any of the twists or shocking ending. I am still curious, but not enough to finish it.

3/5 stars (because I have to give a rating)

Expected publication date: 6/13/23

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the ARC of She Started It in exchange for an honest review.

She Started It is the kind of book that you wish could happen in real life to all those cheeky chicks that mocked and bullied their way through high school. Proof that some of the shallow ones never grow up or out of that vein. I enjoyed the set up of the plot, the well written snarky characters and the way they all turned on each other as expected! Well read by 5 different narrators. I recommend the book or audio, a decent thriller. Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Audio for the opportunity to listen to this Audio ARC.