This is my first ever DNF. I was so excited for this one to come out after participating in the cover reveal on Insta ... everything about it sounded so good! However, I just couldn't get into it at all and after 20% in, I don't think I could tell you anything about what I read. Sigh. FYI: I won't be posting my review to any of my socials at this time ... I may try to pick this up again at a later date, but probably not.

I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this one going in, but I was so invested. Imagine Agatha Christie x Love Island x Survivor - that’s how I describe this one now. This novel follows 6 people living together on a deserted island for a new reality TV show called Iconic. It soon turns into a police investigation once one of the cast members ends up dead.

I liked how each chapter was a different episode from the show. I truly felt like I was watching this book. Every time something was italicized, I could just see them sitting in front of me on screen. At the end of each chapter, it switches back to the present during the investigation. The tweets at the end were also very fitting - as everyone needs to be up to date on reality tv and share their opinions.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! It was a fun read, and different from what I would typically reach for!

This was... not good. I read the synopsis and thought I'd love it: 6 famous people get put onto an island where they compete to win a prize- like Celebrity Big Brother, really. But the characters were crap, they had zero growth, and literally nothing happened (other than a contestant died I guess). We didn't get enough background of each character so I just didn't give a shit about them. It also bounces to after the death, where they're with the police, and even then it's like we're expected to know these cops and how they are.

THEN THINGS WENT DARK had so much potential but was a big flop. Sorry :/

(Also this was a 'Read Now' on NetGalley so I don't feel too awful being honest here)

This book is about 6 people on an island that are on a reality TV show for a month. None of them really get along and they mostly drink, have sex, and bicker. One of the contestants gets murdered and the chapters alternate between episodes of the show and police interrogations. In the end it's all very anticlimactic.

This book was much longer than it needed to be for the little bit of plot that existed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Are you a fan of those addictive, drama-filled reality shows? If so, "Then Things Went Dark" might be your next must-read book! The story follows six famous individuals who are dropped off on a remote island to compete for a cash prize. Their lavish accommodations hide their dark secrets, which the show aims to expose for viewers' entertainment. The tension reaches new heights when one of the contestants dies on camera, leaving the audience guessing whether it was murder or not.

As someone who isn't drawn to reality TV, I usually love the intrigue and drama in books. I was fortunate to receive the audiobook and ebook versions. I enjoy switching between the two formats; having the ebook handy for reference is a great perk. However, I didn't quite connect with the narrator this time around. The single narrator's portrayal of multiple characters didn't sit right with me, although she did an admirable job voicing them all.

Unfortunately, all of the characters fell under the "love-to-hate" category, but not in a remarkably captivating way. Despite this, I've noticed that the book has garnered many positive reviews. Take my feedback with a grain of salt, and give it a try to form your own opinion.

Thanks to Tantor Audio/Sourcebooks Landmark for providing ARCs of the ebook and audiobook through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

#thenthingswentdark #beafitzgerald #netgalley #audiobook #tantoraudio #sourcebookslandmark

This is one that will definitely entertain, even if it's taking on what's become well trodden ground at this point. Influencers head to a remote island on the promise of a show to increase their fame. They are all various levels of terrible people, and of course, as the title says... then things go dark. It is a little lengthy, but the juicy details keep pages turning.

A tale about a reality show that is based' on a secluded island and consists of 6 "icons". It isn't long before riffs start. I was a little put off by the sudden romance that within a few days turns into "love". Otherwise I thought the story was interesting and it definitely kept me engaged.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest option.

Honestly? I did not like this. In fact, I liked it so little I’m not sure why I finished it. Much like a bad reality show, I became invested against my will and could not turn away from the train wreck happening in front of me. But it was not, in anyway, worth powering through.

The writing was atrocious. The characters were underdeveloped and felt like caricatures. The structure was interesting, but not well done. The interludes with the detectives (who for some reason are secret scorned lovers??) felt forced and comical. Again, it was an addictive book in that I needed to know what happened, but I have so many regrets that I didn’t spend my time reading something actually worthwhile.

I really wanted to enjoy this one but just couldn't get into it. I think there was way too much going but nothing going on at the same time.
I love when there is multiple POV but in this it didn't work out. I kept getting the characters confused.

I would still recommend this book, just was not for me

A group of 'kind of' celebs get together to do a reality show. This is a pretty typical trope so I'd hoped this one would stand out. Sadly, it just didn't work for me.

I don't mind drama or snarky characters - but this one starts right off with everyone being mean to each other. I found that unlikely as most influencers really rely on their 'image' in order to keep getting their likes, comments, and follows. I just found it hard to believe that the group wouldn't even give the pretense of being nice.

Also, the story isn't really told from any POV - so you get information as though an observer with little italicized words giving the inner thoughts to some of the people in the room. For me, this made really tough characters to like even more unlikable and really kept me out from the story. I didn't feel like a camera in the room nor a participant. I just think this one didn't work for me but if you like high drama and reality shows, then it just might be for you!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

What happens when you put six influencers on an island to film a reality show? Well, in this case only five make it out alive. That’s right, one of them is seemingly murdered but who did it? All of them have motives, but how do you kill someone when millions of viewers are watching?

This book was a good locked room mystery and I really did not know how this was going to end. It explored mature topics such as domestic violence and our current influencer culture.

Another deserted island reality game show story - is it just me or have there been an influx of them of late? With one contestant dying on camera, all fingers point to the remaining five contestants. Who killed him and why? The story sounded good but unfortunately didn't deliver as strongly as I had hoped. The characters weren't overly likable and I found myself not caring who the culprit was in the end.

Synopsis: six people compete in a reality tv competition on a remote island, but only five make it off the island.

Thoughts: I really liked the premise of this one, and the reality tv aspect is fun. I enjoyed the variety of characters and learning their secrets and backstories. I also thought that the plot itself was pretty intriguing. I think the format of going back and forth between interviews and flashbacks to the show just brought me out of the story too much and felt a bit disjointed. Overall, not exactly an edge of your seat thriller, but a fine ride nonetheless.

In this thriller, six people arrive on a desert island for a reality show, but only five survive and nobody wins. The reader knows upfront that someone dies in the end, but doesn't know what led up to it and who is responsible. All of the characters have secrets and none stand out as exceptionally likable, but one character is horrible and it's not surprising that he is the victim.

The narration alternates between the "episodes" of the show and the police interviews of the surviving contestants. I don't watch a lot of reality shows like this, but I enjoy reading about fictional shows. This book was very engaging as it shows how far some people will go for publicity and the games producers will play for more viewers. In the episodes, a character is shown to be controlling and emotionally abusive and some of that was hard for me to read. Even though the book is a bit long, the ending is still abrupt. An epilogue to wrap things up would have really made a difference. However, overall I enjoyed the way the author told this story and I was entertained.

I received an advance copy of this ebook at no cost from Sourcebooks Landmark, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

2.5 stars

This has such a cool premise- six people on an island, competing in a reality television show when one of them dies on camera. It just wasn’t executed well for me. It reads from the perspectives of the contestants on the show and there is a lot of telling and not showing. Plus, there are readers’ comments throughout that just took me out of the story even more.

The characters were unlikable and didn’t really interest me. I hard time separating a few of the names from each other, too. The ending is abrupt and anti-climatic. It needs more.

I really wanted to love it, though. Sadly, I did not.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy.

Looking back, this is definitely a book I regret requesting. I'm not even quite sure why I did - I don't even really like most reality tv. But something in the synopsis got me - a murder that takes place on a reality tv show and is witnessed by everyone.

I tried multiple times to get into this, but I just couldn't do it. Now I can deal with unlikable characters. Sometimes I think a book is better for it. I mean we don't have to like a character to love a book. But when the opening prologue is filled with a bunch of whiny, spoiled, vapid twenty-somethings, sorry. I just noped on out of there. It gave me no reason to be interested in the rest of the novel.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark, Bea Fitzgerald, and Netgalley for an advance digital copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

4.5⭐️ holy hell that was a rollercoaster ride i wasn’t prepared for! This was so messy and dramatic with the most unlikeable characters!
I kept going back and forth over the who definitely didn’t guess right.
My only complaint is that the book felt a bit long, however there also wasn’t any extra fluff in it. Everything set up the story and the characters and it was highly entertaining and dramatic!

Not a huge fan of this one. It was difficult to follow the storyline and keep up with whose narrative was whose. There was a lot of additional background that didn't seem necessary and made it difficult to follow the main plot. I liked the premise but not the execution.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Bea Fitzgerald, and Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Then Things Went Dark unfortunately suffers from great plot, poor execution. I was so drawn in by the premise of a murder televised on a reality tv show, and I do think the concept works overall! There were moments I was engaged with the story, and I truly didn't know how it was going to end. However, these characters were just absolutely awful. And not awful in a fun way to hate, like truly horrible and deplorable. To the point where I was having to force myself to get through the novel just because I was mildly curious about how it was going to end. I think the structure of breaking up each chapter into an "episode" worked well, but book-ending the chapter with a present-day interview with detectives working the case did not work in the slightest. These detectives supposedly had their own background drama, but they were never introduced or explained properly, so it felt weird to be reading about them when ultimately, they had no impact on the story. The book is also long and drags in certain parts; I think a lot of repetition could have been cut out, and it would have made the book more stream-lined and biting rather than miserable. I cannot recommend this book as a whole, sadly, but I do look forward to hopefully more murder mystery on realty tv content.

I enjoyed the premise of the book, the writing was... different. Not in a bad way necessarily but just style choices I would not have made. All in all I think this is a good buddy read or book club read, a quick beach read or plane book but nothing life changing.