Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC of this novel, thoroughly enjoyed and read until the early hours

4 friends gather for a friends wedding and having not seen each other for 20 years they have lots to discuss, but as secrets surface relationships are strained and a revelation from the past as shocking consequences

Zoe has not seen her friends since they graduated High School. When she is invited to a wedding in Scotland, she is apprehensive about going and reliving the painful memories of those last few months of school. The friends reunite and drive together but when they run into trouble on a desolate Highland Road, a cascade of secrets start to be revealed.

This was an okay mystery/thriller for me. The beginning was slow paced but quickly picks up after the group wakes up on the desolate Highland Road. I had figured out most of the secrets for each character and I was left wanting more on the ending. It seemed like there was no consequences for the character's actions and the conclusion still left me with questions that weren't answered. Overall, I think I was just looking for more with this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to review The Reunion. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have read this author before and everything he writes seems better than the one before. I loved this book! It had so much going on. Four old friends who have not seen each other in several years go on a road trip together and lots of things happen that cause distrust and unease right away. They all end up not trusting each other and it is impossible to figure out who done what. However the author ties it all up in the end and all questions are answered. I highly recommend thisbook to anyone who likes this genre. Great writing!
Thanks to Net Galley, M.A. Hunter, and Boldwood books for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

T

Suspenseful had me on the edge of my seat trying to guess what was going to happen next. Such a great read I highly recommend 👏

So good!
This is a gripping thriller that keeps readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish - i loved the plot
as its filled with unexpected twists and turns, making it impossible to predict what will happen next.
The writing is both engaging and suspenseful, with well-developed characters that add depth to the narrative.
The pacing of the novel is perfect, with just the right amount of tension to keep readers hooked without feeling overwhelmed.
The setting is vividly described, creating an immersive atmosphere that enhances the overall reading experience.

The Reunion was an interesting read. The issues with the characters were wild and, to be honest, several of the characters were quite unlikable. That being said, I enjoyed the setting, the book was well-paced and, while it could be a bit maddening at times, it was a fun read.

I really enjoyed this book and found the different stories of the individuals ,and how it all came together in this story interesting . The tale of the wedding and the reunion and the characters all came together in this overall enjoyable read.

The Reunion by MA Hunter was a novel the follows 4 friends who reunite for the first time in 20 years for the wedding of one of the friends. All goes wrong right away, reminiscent of a horrible night 20 years prior.

This was a good story but far fetched and slightly predictable although I still enjoyed it. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my eARC.

I was looking forward to The Reunion but unfortunately I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped. I found it to be quite predictable with characters I didn't really care for so the storyline struggled to hold my attention.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

The Reunion by M.A. Hunter
One night. One mistake. One secret…
It has been twenty years since I was last with Lily, Dan, and Rod. That night changed everything; we promised never to speak of it again.
Rod is getting married in his beautiful manor on a remote Scottish island and wants the three of us there. I couldn't say no.
When Lily suggested we drive up together, I thought it would give me time to relax and prepare. However, I didn't expect her to invite Dan and Rod along for the ride.
Things quickly took a turn for the worse…
The Reunion is yet another compelling story from this talented writer. It's a profoundly unsettling and fast-paced thriller set in atmospheric Scotland. The characters are realistic and well-developed, and you'll turn the pages eagerly to reach an excellent conclusion.
I want to thank publishers Boldwood Books, author M.A. Hunter, and Rachel's Random Resources for providing a copy to read and review.

Intriguing red, but I have to say I found it a bit far fetched. I know it’s a book, and everything can be far fetched in a story, but I felt like it was meant to feel real but it just seem unrealistic. There were odd moments as well, particularly towards the end, when some revelation were just accepted so easily, without much query.

I had a tough time with this one. The characters were infuriating. They were miserable, selfish and only had their own interests in mind. I wouldn't have trusted any one of them to tell me if it was safe to cross the street because all of the choices they made were simply horrible.
The premise of <i>The Reunion</i> was ridiculously odd with all of the travel on unkempt roads with 5 people crammed into the vehicle. This group of friends hadn't seen each other for 20 years and they were headed to the wedding with the bride and groom smashed in the truck. It was weird.
The chapters changed POVs and sometimes it took me a second to get my mind into the right character. The one redeeming quality was the twist for the ending but as a whole, I felt like it was a bizarre story to tell.

Another one I had such high hopes for . This was just too predictable . I struggled to connect with the characters.

I loved Zoe down she was resilient ! Now the secrets that were floating around were insane I don’t know how I would have dealt 😂 !There were some twist and turns which made me enjoying but nothing to shocking ! I definwoulf recommend it was a quick fun read for me !

Friends reuniting more than 20 years after an accident in which none of them were supposedly involved but all were affected. A promising reunion to celebrate Rod's wedding, since it had been a long time since he had seen all his friends together. A reunion full of secrets, memories and surprises arising from the discovery that no matter how many years you have lived with someone, people are always subject to change and not always in a way that will please you.

I have conflicting feelings about this beloved book. The beginning is engaging enough that I didn't even try to guess anything. I was there for the entertainment of getting to know the characters, their stories and the supposed most evident changes that are presented to us from the characters' own point of view. As is typical of all thrillers, at a certain point I started to create theories, but I was rarely satisfied with following the unfolding of things. The narrative becomes increasingly interesting, building to a promising climax, and perhaps that was the construction of the precipice from which I fell.

Although the story keeps the reader interested until the big plot twist, I felt that the resolution was too calm, considering the tension that existed between them and how they fired off nervous accusations at each other so easily. The whole story made me feel like we were going to have a big climax with outbursts of anger and bigger conflicts.

The shocking event of the first part remains alive only during that moment and is only mentioned again at the end as if it were an almost forgotten reminder in a footnote "oh by the way that's what happened, nothing major", which only corroborated the lukewarm atmosphere. Although the revelation surprised me, the narrative leads you not to think too much about what happened, even though it had previously implied that it would have been one of the main events there.

An interesting thriller that kept me guessing.

A group of childhood friends travel together for a wedding. Old grievances and larger issues come to light after a tragedy that nobody remembers after a night of partying. Nobody trusts anyone else and it culminates in an ending I did not expect.
The biggest issue I had with the book was just how neatly everything was tied up in the end. Some forgave each other a little more quickly than I would have expected. Had a bit of a telenovela vibe, a lot of drama. But I read on and didn't regret it. 3/5 stars.

Locked room thrillers are always on the must-read list for me! Four friends travel to Scotland for a friend's destination wedding. Everyone is assuming this will be a wonderful getaway with nothing that could possibly go wrong, right? Wrong. This book was more of a slow burn for me, didn't move quite as fast as I typically prefer. Overall a solid thriller.

I love a good psychological thriller! This was a new to me author and seeing it took place in Scotland was what got me to request this one. I loved all the twists and turns in this one--it kekpt me guessing and i oculdnt put it down!

Thanks for the early copy!

The Reunion by M.A. Hunter
⭐️⭐️½

The premise of The Reunion immediately hooked me: a group of estranged friends reuniting for a wedding on a remote Scottish island, with a shared dark secret looming over them. Unfortunately, while the setup promised an edge-of-your-seat thriller, the execution fell flat.

The story follows Zoe as she reconnects with her former friends, Dan, Lily, and Rod, after years of estrangement following a traumatic incident. A long drive to the wedding sets the stage for tense interactions, unresolved past conflicts, and a series of unsettling events. As secrets unravel and relationships strain, the plot twists toward a final reveal. However, the payoff doesn’t match the buildup, leaving me disappointed.

The first-person narrative style didn’t work for me, often feeling more intrusive than engaging. The tone was uneven, with dialogue and internal monologues relying heavily on clichés. The characters made a series of poor decisions, yet they rarely faced meaningful consequences for their actions.

The blackmail-for-sex subplot, in particular, felt implausible. The situation seemed like it should have been mutually assured destruction, with both parties having evidence against one another. This undermined the tension and credibility of the plot. Similarly, the secrets the characters were keeping felt more like shock factors than believable motivations, detracting from the story’s realism.

Despite its twists, the pacing dragged, with much of the book feeling like filler. Scenes were repetitive, and internal dialogues often felt unnecessary, stretching out the story without adding relevance. The last ten percent of the book attempted to deliver an "epic reveal," but it ultimately fell short, leaving the ending underwhelming.

While I can appreciate unlikable characters when they serve the narrative, this group left me indifferent. The lack of engaging action or compelling stakes meant I didn’t care what happened to them. As a thriller, The Reunion lacked the suspense and urgency I was hoping for.

Thank you to M.A. Hunter, Boldwood Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

The Reunion

Zoe, Dan, Lily, and Rod were once inseparable friends in school. After graduation, they drifted apart, but now Rod is getting married on a remote island, and they’re all attending. Each of them has their own secrets, and a shared secret from the past. While there’s definitely some tension among the group, they decide to make the most of it. However, after a night of partying, things take an unexpected turn, dredging up dark memories they’d rather leave behind.

A remote island, a wedding, old friends, and hidden secrets—what more could you ask for?

The story is told from the perspectives of Zoe and Dan, with a setting similar to The Guest List by Lucy Foley. However, the book could have benefitted from less focus on the characters' inner thoughts and suspicions of one another, as these felt repetitive and drawn out. None of the characters were particularly likeable or intriguing, and the plot twists were fairly predictable. That said, I did enjoy the final 20% of the book more than the earlier portions.

Overall rating: 3 ⭐

Thanks to @netgalley for providing the advance reader's copy.