3.5
Read if you like:

Reality shows
Whodunit murder
Insta love
Lots and lots of morally gray characters

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for the audiobook ARC!

This was a rollercoaster. The end was intense.

I pictured this like a movie playing in my head.

At some parts, it felt like the writing fell a little flat, and for half a million dollars, the challenges were little too easy. The detectives and Internet parts at the end of the chapters felt a little rushed and confusing.

But overall, this was a good read. I love that the author was able to create such deeply flawed characters. It shows what happens when people can be consumed by fame. I literally found myself rooting for the character death at some points.

I need to start off this review by saying this: I listened to this audiobook, but I think it's one that needs to be physically read because of the reality show setting. There are social media posts, confessionals, and things like that; it's a little hard to follow while listening and I wish I had been able to see it on the page.

That being said, I still really enjoyed most of the book. I think the author did a really good job capturing the whole reality show scene. The tweets felt so real and I loved the way we would get to hear what was going on in the contestants' minds via the side confessionals. I was really invested in the show itself and it seems like something I would hate myself for loving in real life.

The only real cons I can find here are:

1. The detectives. There was this whole side plot with the two lead detectives that was totally pointless. It took away from the story and I'm honestly still kind of confused on the whole thing.

2. The ending - kind of. I say kind of because I liked the way the mystery played out, but I didn't like the actual last page/scene. It felt very abrupt and like we were owed more after everything.

Overall, I do recommend it! I just wish I had read instead of listened.

I’m no fan of reality shows but I would definitely watch Iconic, the fictional competition at the heart of this novel. Six celebrities go to a luxurious tropical island to win a prize and become relevant again. What starts as a silly show with vapid people living it up in the sunshine slowly turns into a bloodbath, with petty jealousies and rivalry poisoning every relationship. The characters are obnoxious and shallow, so I was surprised at how much I ended up caring about what happened to them. From the beginning we know that one of them died in an accident, but the police get involved when it turns out that it could have been murder. The way these people change, evolve (or devolve) and drop whatever semblance of civility they had, turning into monsters, is really nicely done. Zura Johnson nails the transformations in her audiobook narration. The story is told in two timelines, the Interpol investigators conducting the interviews of the suspects, and the episodes that started everything. Johnson shows how these people go from damaged to carefree and back again. The mystery is compelling, since we know what happened but, could everyone be lying or mistaken? The weak spot in my opinion was the ending, not because it wasn’t satisfying but because it was a little too sudden for my taste. Or, maybe, I just wasn’t ready to stop with all the drama. Satisfying and addictive.
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Tantor Audio.

If you love Big Brother, Love is Blind or any of those other reality shows like that, you will love this book. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was very good.

It starts off with a bunch of typical reality stars coming to the dessert Island and then follows them around in true reality fashion for the show Iconic. Many of them seem like despicable people and the other stars are more than happy to point out who they are. Most of the guests are not likeable and are hard to keep track of. The host like Julie Chen is constantly reading tweets or things posted to other social media. So there is a lot of @ this or that person and # this or that. I find that annoying as it totally ruins books for me. I didn't even care for the mystery part as I was already over these people by the time any of that happens.

Thanks to the Publisher and NetGalley for the ARC audiobook.

If you count trashy reality TV like Love is Blind among your guilty pleasures, if you like thriller chockful of despicable cat characters, then this one is for you!

Premise - a group of typical reality star types (think cast of Netflix’s The Perfect Match) gather on set of the hottest new reality competition show. As the stakes rise and the interpersonal tensions flare, one of them isn’t going to make it home alive…

I loved this! Give me more reality tv thrillers, it’s a match made in heaven! I literally could not get enough - I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by Zura Johnson, and I was hanging on until the very last word. I kept meaning to pause, but I just couldn’t do it! Johnson did a beautiful job with the narration, keeping me hooked in and adding extra personality and color to Fitzgerald’s gripping story. The two made a great team!

Thanks, NetGalley and Tantor Audio, for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review. What a treat!