I really enjoyed She Started It! I'll admit, anytime I read a thriller, I try to guess who it was pretty early on. There aren't a huge amount of novels that surprise me as much as this one. This book kept me second guessing myself the entire way through. The writing is gripping and the plot is devastating. The main characters are all super flawed, but very intriguing. I would recommend this!

The mean girl trope can either go really great or really fall flat. I’m pleasantly surprised by this one, hen do, friends who aren’t quite friendly anymore , island holiday… decent pace throughout and I enjoyed this one a fair bit.
Lost me a bit with multiple people to keep up with and learn about however the premise was enough to keep me going!

I found this book very hard to follow. With so many different characters to follow so unfortunately I had to stop reading around 15% as I kept forgetting who was who

Ok wow this was dark and twisted and I adored it!! I loved the characters and the writing style, slowly finding out the backstory and the twist at the end had my jaw on the floor.

I love a good thriller when I’m in a book slump, so I was excited to be picked for this earc.
I have to admit, normally I don’t enjoy books with mean girls / immature characters. But something kept me intrigued. The writing was easy to follow and kept me wanting to keep on.
The twists were a bit predictable and the end was definitely something I had figured out, but I think it was still entertaining overall.
It would be good for someone new to thrillers. But someone who is an avid thriller reader probably won’t be fully surprised.
I would pick up more from this author.

**3.5 Rounded up**

4 friends get an invite to a friend's hen party weekend. A friend they bullied in school and haven't seen for years. They are suspicious but an all expenses paid trip to a private island is too good to pass up so they all go. They soon discover they underestimated Poppy as secrets are revealed their trip soon becomes a nightmare.

This is a great revenge thriller mean girl story. I did guess what the biggest twist was going to be very early but this didn't spoil my enjoyment of the story. It is a little slow at the start but once it gets going it was non stop to the end. Would recommend giving it a go.

Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin UK and Sian Gilbert for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was really surprised by how much I really enjoyed this book!

It was a very entertaining book of revenge!

With quite a slow start ( lots of characters to get your head around who was who) I felt the story picked up pace the further I read.

There was not a single likeable character amongst them which helped with the underlying story that emerges.

My only issue was with the supposed diary entries, which were totally far too detailed and descriptive to be a teenage girl writing in a diary. However it was necessary to see the story of anguish from Poppy’s perspective through the years of bullying and how emotionally traumatised she was.

Overall a really great read that packed a punch!

A gripping psychological thriller that explores the dark side of friendship and ambition. The story revolves around a group of five women who reunite for an exclusive bachelorette party on a private island. What begins as a glamorous celebration quickly turns into a chilling game of survival, as secrets from their pasts come to light and tensions reach a boiling point.

Gilbert masterfully builds suspense, crafting a narrative filled with twists and turns that keep the reader guessing until the very end. The isolated setting adds to the atmosphere of dread, and the complex relationships between the characters are skillfully portrayed, making their interactions both believable and unsettling.

Each character is flawed, and their hidden motives and betrayals drive the plot forward, creating a sense of unease that lingers throughout the book. While some readers might find the characters' actions extreme, it’s this very extremity that makes the story so compelling.

She Started It is a fast-paced, thrilling read that will appeal to fans of dark, character-driven mysteries. It's a tale of deception, jealousy, and revenge that will keep you hooked from start to finish.

With a blurb that includes the words "For fans of Liane Moriarty", I found myself wanting to request this on NetGalley. The blurb sounded really good. I have reviewed some books with the friends going on a vacation plot with mystery and secrets. I like this mixture of themes.

I felt the book was grippping at the beginning, and I liked the description of the characters' backstory.

However, I got lost as the story went on, and would have liked each character to have had a unique voice.

I tried and tried to continue with this book, but it just got too confusing and did not hold my interest. It was a DNF for me.

This is my first Sian Gilbert book.

Thanks to Sian Gilbert and publisher for my eARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

3 stars

This is an action-packed, crazy revenge thriller with characters you love to hate…

Four women - Tanya, Esther, Chloe, and Annabel - head to a private Caribbean island for a hen party… but it’s the hen party of a woman, Poppy, from school who they bullied mercilessly and who they haven’t heard from in 10 years. The thing that’s making them want to go? Poppy is paying for all expenses…

Of course, you know from the off that something is up, even if the four women are too stupid (or terrible at remembering how awful they were to Poppy) to realise that this holiday can’t just be a relaxing girls’ trip.

We watch as the tension builds. The story switches between the four women so we get each of their perspectives on what is happening now - and what happened all those years ago. Some of the group are more ashamed of their part in making Poppy’s life hell all those years ago, and some want to just forget about what happened and have a good time. But a good time certainly isn’t on the cards! And man do you enjoy seeing the fallout, considering the kind of people Tanya, Esther, Annabel and Chloe have become!

She Started It is a satisfying tale of revenge best served cold. It’s entertaining to read about the women’s secrets and flick back and forth between timelines as we learn what really happened at school. It addresses some very serious themes including bullying and self-harm so it’s worth checking the trigger warnings. There are also some fun twists and plenty of drama to keep you turning the pages - a fun summer read!

This was a much much stronger read than what I anticipated, a really excellent page turner and a perfect holiday/summer read.

The writing style hooked me from the beginning, I enjoyed how little preamble there was and how the reader learns about the characters and their past as the book progresses rather than a lengthy opening scene setting section. Fast paced, lots of twists, deliciously bitchy and an unputdownable page turner. Perfect for this time of year.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for my free ecopy in exchange for my honest review. This is a debit book by Sian Gilbert. Its a thriller set on a remote island where 4 friends join Poppy on her hen do. They are old school friends who haven't seen Poppy since school over 1o years ago and whilst they didn't particularly like her then, who could turn down an all expenses paid trip to the Bahamas?

The book begins with us finding the bride covered in blood by Robin who has boated them over and has come to collect them after their trip. The book is told from all the characters different POV so we get a good feel of what is going on now as well as Poppy's POV of what happened whilst they were all at school. There are lots of secrets and lies that are revealed as well as revenge dished out. I didn't really like any of the characters but definitely feel this was how they were supposed to come across. Good plotline with a twist. I will be recommending to others.

The party of a lifetime is nothing like what they expected...

Poppy Greer is getting married, so why wouldn't you invite your 4 old school friends to your hen party on a private island in the Bahamas, first class, all expenses paid, even if you haven't spoken to the them in 10 years.

Although the 4 friends: Tanya; Annabel; Esther; and Chloe, have drifted apart as they have gotten older, there are secrets which bond them for life and the invitation to Poppy's hen party has them too curious and intrigued to turn down the offer.

When they meet Poppy on the island they are all shocked by her transformation since school and the confidence she now has. As the hen party unfolds the party games start to reveal some hidden secrets, turning their paradise holiday into a nightmare.

There are so many twists within this fast paced book, that it had me hooked throughout. It's wonderfully catty and smart, with characters that you can't help but hate. It was a hard book to put down, it really did grip me, with the clever use of story telling and every time I thought I had it sussed, a long came another twist, it is an action packed book, with plenty of suspense.

TW: Bullying is a theme throughout this book, with some Domestic Violence and abuse..

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC.

I will post to Amazon & Instagram on Publication day

Wow! I got through this book so quickly because it’s a real page-turner. The story follows a group of old school friends at a hen do on a private, secluded island, and also features flashbacks from Poppy’s diary from their school days. The story is also told through the perspectives of each of the hens.

These girls are so awful to each other and I really felt for Poppy when reading her diary entries. It does highlight how unkind and cruel people can be both at school and later in life!

I did predict some of the twists so it didn’t completely shock me but I did enjoy the drama!

A great summer thriller and a brilliant debut for Sian Gilbert.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was an absolute roller-coaster, thrilling, fast-paced, and always keeping you on the edge. The pacing was absolutely perfect and I finished this in one sitting.

This is the perfect thriller to sink your teeth into over summer, following a of group high school friends who are invited to a hens-do, the catch is, the hen is a girl they horrifically bullied in high school! But who can resist an all expenses paid beach getaway?

What's the catch, well I guess you will have to wait and see.

Each character was so incredibly unlikeable it was absolutely enthralling and brilliant, with snippets of the worst facets of human nature sprinkled in these vapid souls. So many inks and so many secrets.

I loved how the author creates a pattern of deceipt that is so hard to wade through, until the truth is washing over you. The language and prose was interesting and kept my attention and the use of first-person was perfect here. I will absolutely recommend this book! Thank you.

Sian Gilbert’s debut takes us off to the Bahamas, to a private island for a hen party to die for!

Poppy sends invites out to Annabel, Tanya, Chloe and Esther, who she hasn’t seen for 10 years but the foursome receiving the invites are baffled as to why they have been invited and even more so why Poppy would want them as bridesmaids. Told from the pov from the four invited women and Poppys diary extracts from the past we enjoy the trip whilst learning of past events and underlying threats that lay ahead.

I would say this is more YA thriller, and although I figured out the end very early on it was still an enjoyable easy read.

Many thanks to NetGalley, publisher and author for my gifted digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

A DNF at 30%
The story was flawed from the beginning in the way 4 friends who bullied a girl at school were now going to a luxury Bahamas island for her hen party as bridesmaids,who would seriously do that?…….but decided to give it the benefit of the doubt but I just couldn’t get past the fact that in reality the 4 would never have gone,apologies

I have to admit what first attracted me to this book was the cover. I think it's so striking and eye catching, I love it. Then when the blurb said it was comparable to And Then There Were None I had to read it.
First off I loved the setting of Deadman's Bay in the Bahamas. I felt that having this as the setting really added to the isolation vibes.
When this started I was feeling the thread of tension that was simmering between the characters and I was enjoying it. But unfortunately this book ended up being a bit of a let down.
My main issue was the characters. I found them all to be so unlikeable and I had no idea why they were friends as they clearly couldn't stand each other. They also read like they were in their late thirties not twenties whilst at the same time I was begging them all to just grow up and get over it.
It was obvious from the start what was going to happen and it did lack any mystery or thrills for me.
The tension I was picking up on at the beginning began to fade as the whole thing becomes slightly ridiculous. This is one book you have to suspend your disbelief and just go with it.
Unfortunately this also felt a little too drawn out for me (probably because it was pretty obvious where the story was going)
However if you are looking for a popcorn escapist thriller, you might like this more than me.

She Started It gives locked room mystery vibes, which is my favourite genre. Sadly, this book was not executed very well.

I found the premise bizarre, if I hadn't spoken to someone for 10 years there is no way I'd go to their hen party?

The plot was sadly very predictable.

At 30% I guessed the whole plot and was getting a bit bored. Skipped ahead to 85% to realise I had mapped out the whole plot and even got the twist right.

Unfortunately disappointed!

A very dark story.
It starts off as a slightly mysterious invitation to a hen party on a remote island.
The bridesmaids, who should know better, can't resist the luxury holiday.
They really have remembered their past behaviour they thought they had got away with.
As things escalate, more and more of the past is revealed.
Brilliant read.