I had to DNF this book a couple of chapters in. I was trying to listen as an audiobook but found myself bored and could not continue.

I'm not a fan of reality shows like Survivor, Big Brother etc. and have never watched more than an episode or two so I'm probably not the best audience for this book. I found the characters shallow and unlikeable - I didn't really care who was the killer - or who got killed. Perhaps fans of this genre would find this book more appealing. For me, the book was just 'ok'.

Just ok.
It’s a story about 6 people on a deserted island in a reality-show game. It’s just a long story about a reality show and different “competitions”, which are mostly truth or dare type, and would be fine, except the characters are all unlikeable, and you never really get to know them beyond a superficial level. In a real reality show like Survivor, the characters might start out unlikeable but as you get to know them you become vested in their trials and successes. I never really got there with the characters in this book. So it was mildly entertaining, but I was happy to be done with it.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of the audiobook.

3 - meh. this one was just OK for me. I’m getting a lil tired of this reality tv trope, or maybe i’m just reading too much of it recently, but nothing really excites me. It has some twists and turns but felt predictable.

Six contestants are on an island to compete on a reality show for the grand prize. And then there's a murder.

Maybe I have read too many reality-show-on-an-island books, but this one didn't do it for me. There was so much drama, but not the kind that you can't get enough of (ie, like a reality show!) It was hard to connect with any of the characters and ultimately I didn't care what happened.

This book wasn't for me, but don't let that deter you from giving it a read!

I have read Bea Fitzgerald’s other book recently The End Crowns All. I like them as an author and can’t wait for more books from them but this book just wasn’t really for me. While it was enjoyable I don’t really like it. If you like crime fiction stories you’ll probably like this, I personally like crime stories where it has a smidge of truth or something that takes from a crime.

I love a good remote island thriller, so I was excited by the premise of this one. I did enjoy the dual timelines and the various POVs. The book alternates between the time the six individuals spent on the desert island and the interviews with the police after everyone doesn't make it off of the island alive. These six individuals come to a remote island to be on reality tv. Usually there is someone in a book that I like or attach to and find myself rooting for. All of these characters were unlikeable. I didn't gravitate to any of them, and that led to me not caring about what happened to any of the characters. The ending felt a little rushed, but all of the questions I had while listening were answered.

Zura Johnson did a good job narrating and bring these characters to life.

Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.
This was a decent island thriller. Kind of predictable but still a good listen. Good narrator and interesting characters. Not too many surprises. Enjoyable listen though.

This was a really fun twisty thriller with a great narrator but it didn't do anything new for the genre.

A group of people are invited to a desert island to take part in a reality show. What could possibly go wrong? There is almost no reality in reality TV as it is mostly sculpted by producers and writers. We meet 6 people who are famous or famous adjacent in their own right. There is not a decent person among them all and we listen along to people being their lowest, most despicable devious versions of themselves. It’s dark, twisted and seriously smarmy, but makes for a compelling listen. The kind of listen that makes you want a shower after, but you just want to know what happens.

I love a good remote island thriller, so I was excited by the premise of this one. I did enjoy the dual timelines and the various POVs. The book alternates between the time the six individuals spent on the desert island and the interviews with the police after everyone doesn't make it off of the island alive. These six individuals come to a remote island to be on reality tv. Usually there is someone in a book that I like or attach to and find myself rooting for. All of these characters were unlikeable. I didn't gravitate to any of them, and that led to me not caring about what happened to any of the characters. The ending felt a little rushed, but all of the questions I had while listening were answered.

Zura Johnson did a good job narrating and bring these characters to life.

Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

I’m such a huge fan on competition reality tv so this was a super fun twist on a book with that aspect to it. I honestly was so wrapped up in the Iconic episode drama that I totally forgot we were solving a murder!
The characters all were horrible in the best ways and all of them having a hand in Reese’s death just felt so fitting.

The concept of the book felt like it would have been better to watch on reality TV than to read. I just felt really bored as there wasn't a lot of substance in the words. It definitely went on too long and could have been cut shorter, but at the same time, I didn't feel a real connection to any of the characters in all that time.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bea Fitzgerald and Tantor Audio for this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Very, the circle meets survivor.

Six celebrities are sent to an island to live and compete on a tv show with a prize of fame and money. Each are there for their own reasons, and each have secrets. But the show is over, 5 of them are being questioned by police, because their sixth roommate died on tv, and someone murdered him.

I found myself really bored. It was a tv show where the premise is nothing. Just a popularity contest where no one does anything to win so it was so hard to keep me entertained. I was bored throughout, and not even interested enough to find out who, or why, Reese died.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narrator(s): ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️
Tropes, etc: Reality Show, Murder Mystery, Everyone’s a Suspect, Instalove, Love Triangle, Morally Grey Characters
POV: Multiple, 3rd Person
Song Association: Murder on the Dancefloor by Sophie Ellis-Bextor


The Praise: The premise of this book was really interesting. I think the author captured the essence of reality tv really well; the drama, the falling in love instantly, the manipulation. The audiobook narrator was great, putting on tons of different accents to fit the characters.

The Critique: The story just felt underdeveloped. The random romance subplot with the detectives felt unnecessary and out of place entirely.
I listened to the audiobook and this format just doesn’t translate well to audio so it got quite confusing at times.

Final Thoughts: Overall, it was just okay.

I listened to this book on audible, and I recommend this format over read a digital or physical copy. The narrator, Zura Johnson, was EXCELLENT - I will absolutely listen to any book that she performs in the future. She gave unique voices, in a variety of accents, to each character and the transitions from one character POV of another were SEAMLESS. She was particularly skilled at reading the asides - tweets, reddit posts, soundbytes, etc were all easy to distinguish from the main narrative and easy to follow. Having listened to other books on audio that had similar elements, I can say that this is the absolute gold standard for me now!!

On to the book…

Overall, I enjoyed the book. The premise drew you in from the get go - 6 B-listers isolated on an island, competing on a “Big Brother” style reality show for the title of the most “Iconic” and a life changing $500,000 prize. Every type of modern celebrity is represented (the tech mogul, the celebutante, the activist, a celebrity chef, a boy band singer, and the actor), all drawn in a way that feels satirical without being reduced to caricatures.

The book poses several interesting questions to the readers, the most impactful of which is whether being (or wanting to be) a public figure means that you forfeit your rights to normal human emotions and experiences? While NONE of these characters are what you would call good people, they are complex and have their moments of being sympathetic and even pitiable. To see the scrutiny they are under from the public, where no aspect of their lives is held sacred, gives equal consideration to the cost of celebrity while commenting on the toxicity of celebrity worship.

The ending was worth every moment spent reading it. I LOVED that the reader is given room to interpret which of the characters (or if all of them) is ultimately responsible for death of Rhys.

The only part of the book that I did not like was the subplot of the personal lives of the Interpol investigators. It felt like an added layer of complexity that was not needed. I would have preferred those parts of the narrative to be limited to figuring out how to get each other characters to crack - the mental challenge of outmaneuvering five highly skilled, highly motivated liars was interesting enough all on its own.

It reminded me of Liane Moriarty with an Agatha Christie twist - and if you are wanting to add this to your TBR, I highly recommend getting the audiobook format for your first read.

Thanks to Netgalley, Tantor Audio, and the author Bea Fitzgerald for the arc of the audiobook to review.

I love a good reality tv show slash trapped on a desert island with a murderer thriller and this one was loads of fun. Contestants compete on live tv to win a reality show only to find themselves stuck with a killer and at the end of the show there is no winner among the survivors, only a handful of suspects. Perfect for fans of Ruth Ware and good on audio. This was entertaining, suspenseful and twisty - a perfect summer beach read by a new to me author. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Bland writing and boring characters. This was with both the written and audio. Normally, the audio would help my environment when the book isn't, not this time. The scenario sounded like a good one. Unfortunately the execution didn't come together effectively. I've started and stopped this book 3 times. The last read, I made myself finish the book, with hope that it would get better. It didn't. The experience turned me off so much, I don't think I'll be interested in reading anything else by this author. And it's sad. I really wanted to enjoy the story.

mannnn.... i REALLY wanted to like this one. the premise of six contestants being on this remote island on a "big brother"-esque reality show drew me in, but the execution wasn't great. despite the reality show being called "Iconic" and all the contestants are supposedly esteemed by the public as "iconic", they weren't really.... iconic. in my opinion, part of what makes someone or something iconic is likability, and these people were far from likable. araminta and kalpana were my most tolerable characters, but araminta pissed me off by the halfway mark with her choices.

there was a lot of drama, but not enough thrills or suspense for my taste. for the pacing, i felt the book was way too long-- it's almost 500 pages. i'm thankful i was given the audiobook copy, because i'm not sure i would have been able to get through the entirety otherwise.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the audiobook ARC of "then things went dark"!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the Advanced Audio Copy of this book.

Six contestants are arrive on a desert island, ready to prove themselves on a reality tv show - all with their own deep dark secrets. Then, the most hated of the group dies. Was it an accident, or did one of them do it?

I loved the character development, the multiple points of view, and the duel timeline. It kept things interesting, wanting to know what happened. It started out a little slow for me personally, but once it reached a certain point and I got invested, I just wanted to keep on listening and find out what happened and what the truth was.