Aisling Rawle shines a light on our obsession with reality tv, the promise of fame from losing yourself and your inhibitions on reality tv and our desire for material possessions. All of that is wrapped up in a book that follows 20 people who couple up in a house and compete to be the last person there in order to receive infinite items and escape from an otherwise mundane life. It’s a great recipe for a book.

The book is filled with a lot of exposition describing the rules of the show, past seasons and day to day life in the compound. It’s sometimes too much to digest but it’s also engaging and boring at times. The character dialogue was minimal but what was there provided the story/show to move forward. The main character warns you that there are rules and if broken a punishment will be provided. It’s told quite ominously and I wished punishments had been given prior to the middle of the book so there could have been a bit more tension in the beginning. I was expecting more danger and it never came. I would have liked more boundaries being pushed. I loved the concept of the plot and how the author laid out breadcrumbs of information but the main protagonist, Lily, was so boring. The only thing she had going for herself was her beauty. She brought no skills to the house, she had no value and had no personal convictions. Everyone else was so much more interesting and I kept reading because of them.

While the author truly incapsulates the reader in the compound environment, I would have liked more world building outside. There are brief mentions of war and climate issues but it’s never fully fleshed out leaving you unable to develop that side. I couldn’t imagine if the stakes in going back out into the world were high or low. But the author does such a great job building life within the compound that you hardly ever consider the outside world until it’s alluded to. I often thought about the view point of the audience and how they were seeing so much more than what the reader saw since you lived the experience through Lily only. It certainly makes you think about yourself as a viewer of reality tv. Why we’re drawn to these shows, our view point of producer manipulation, why we root for certain people and want to watch people flame out. The book is great at lifting the veil of our own love of reality while also sucking us into this version of “reality.”

It might sound like I didn’t enjoy this book because I wanted more outside world building and a main character with more purpose but I loved the story. I found myself engaged and by the middle of the book, I couldn’t put it down. The book ended exactly as it began and I’d love to read a second season.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
The Compound releases June 24, 2025

<i>Love Island</I> meets <I>Lord of the Flies</I> in this compelling debut featuring a reality tv game show where ten women and ten men compete to be the last one living in a secluded compound in the desert.

Daily communal tasks allow them to earn necessities like food and furniture, while personal tasks allow the characters to earn luxuries that would make them more comfortable or desirable.
Their stay could last anywhere from weeks to months, as long as they wake up next to someone of the opposite sex and are likeable enough to escape the occasional banishments.

I love fiction that doubles as a great character study, forcing you to question whether you can build genuine friendships when the ability to divulge personal information about yourself is removed and your main motivations revolve around earning material goods.
Analyzing all of the interactions between the characters and trying to discern whether something was authentic or actually a personal task was thoroughly enjoyable.

Rawle did an exceptional job at crafting an intimate setting in a way where it never felt like the entire world was watching them for entertainment.

A Love Island-Lord of the Flies-Traitors-Survivors mashup set in a dystopian world? I’m in. Contestants on the reality series in The Compound compete to team up with a partner of the opposite sex, stay in the house, win increasingly fancy prizes, and slowly eliminate their rivals. I wouldn’t necessarily classify the contestants as likable but I wanted to keep reading to see how things would play out for them either way. Like all good reality shows, there was a good mix of suspense, emotion, and drama. The novel’s central themes about the corruption caused by consumerism and influencer culture have given me lots to think about.

I wanted more world building outside of the compound especially around the ideas of climate destruction and war, but I thought this was really solid for a debut novel. I’m excited to see what this author creates in the future. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a dark look at a competition show from behind the scenes. It was twisted and gritty and I was here for it. It starts kind of slow but then picks up. This is the world we live in now where people will be filmed and do whatever to "win". This book was like watching a guilty pleasure just in book form.

I read this one a while back and needed to re-read the end before posting because I wanted to forget how much it creeped me out, but it stuck with me (in such a good way?) This book is almost impossible to describe, so you will have to pick it up... seriously.

The Compound is a wild, unsettling ride that blends the drama of Love Island with the raw desperation of Lord of the Flies. The story follows Lily, a beautiful but aimless twenty-something who wakes up in a remote desert compound as part of a hit reality show.

The goal? Outlast nineteen other contestants to win a life-changing prize. Along the way, she competes in challenges for luxury rewards like champagne and makeup—along with necessities like food, appliances, and even a front door. But as the game progresses and the producers tighten their grip, it becomes clear that the competition isn’t just about strategy—it’s about survival.

What makes this book so compelling is how it taps into the dark side of reality TV. It starts off like any high-stakes competition, but as things spiral out of control, the contestants’ choices become more desperate, and the lines between entertainment and exploitation blur. The book doesn’t just make you question the ethics of the show—it makes you question why we, as an audience, are so drawn to watching people pushed to their limits.

The writing is sharp and immersive, making it easy to feel like you’re right there in the Compound, watching every twist and betrayal unfold. It’s fast-paced, completely addictive, and full of moments that will have you questioning what’s real and what’s manufactured. But beneath the drama, it also digs into deeper themes—fame, power, control, and the terrifying ways people can be manipulated when they have nowhere else to go.

If you’re into psychological thrillers with a social commentary edge, The Compound is a must-read. It’s gripping, unsettling, and lingers in your mind long after you’ve turned the last page—kind of like a reality show you can’t stop watching, even when you know you should.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the eARC! All opinions are my own

Love Island meets The Hunger Games in this immensely unique and provocative story!!! The lines between utopia and dystopia are blurred as you follow the FMC as she participates in this twisted reality show.

The entire book you’re on the edge of your seat waiting for things to get dark. I found myself wanting things to get more violet and twisted. It was extremely reminiscent of The Hunger Games (in the best way) in that respect. I was no better than the fictional audience of this twisted show.

The social commentary in this is nothing short of excellence. She toes the line perfectly between showing the pull of social media, reality TV and consumerism while also showing the sinister nature of such things. I did feel like the book was a twinge longer than it needed to be and certain sections were a bit slow. The ending left me wanting more and staring at the wall. It left me with more questions than answers but I think that’s part of the beauty of the book.

This is a must read!! I was hooked from page 1 and will read anything Aisling Rawle writes in the future.

A mix between Love Island and Lord of the Flies? Sold! This one started as the book that I would read a few pages before bed, but after I was 15-20% in it turned into one where I didn't want to put down. The plot of this one was great, but the writing was just mediocre. I think that's why it took me 15-20% to get into it. And maybe that's because I read an early copy that wasn't fully edited, but it needed some work. Additionally, I think there could have been a wrap up of how people on would have done anything for material things. That would have made the book more powerful, memorable, and would have helped tie everything together.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an ARC of The Compound. I am absolutely NOT a reality TV fan so I wasn't sure I would enjoy this book, but the plot sucked me right in! I was upset when I had to go to bed in the middle because I could have easily read it in one sitting. Getting to know each of the "girls" and "boys" as if I was a contestant on the show was really fun, as was the evolving dynamic within the group as the story progressed. The ending was a little less gratifying than I hoped for, but it did have a good message, however I would have liked more information on the world outside the compound. This may have given us some better context about the characters. This was 3.5 star read that I rounded up to 4 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this uncorrected reader's eproof ARC of 'The Compound" by Aisling Rawle - expected release date of 05/27/2025.

ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If the reality tv shows Big Brother and Love Island had a baby it would the The Compound. Not bad for a debut novel but it was safe. The challenges and prizes could've had more oomph. It didn't really go anywhere or have any shocking twist and turns. Wasn't really exciting in any way either. Not really a wasted read bc I wanted to see what happened at the end but I wouldn't recommend it to a friend.

The terrific cover copy and the comps--"Love Island meets Lord of the Flies"--drew me in and made me eager to read the novel. The description promised danger, but I kept waiting for the book to deliver. Unfortunately, this is one of the rare Netgalley books I started and didn't finish. It felt bogged down in chatter and too many characters in the early chapters, as we kept waiting to find out who to focus on, what was at stake, and what was going on. When the cover copy casts the story as a matter of survival, the book needs to get to the survival part pretty early on. I just kept waiting for something to happen. I really think this may simply be an issue of the writer and the marketing department being on entirely different wavelengths, so the premise sets up a level of excitement that doesn't exist in the book.

Ah, gosh. I wanted to like this one, but I really just couldn't get into it.
I am still really thankful to the publisher, author, and Netgalley -- but this one just wasn't for me.

3.5 stars.

In The Compound, we read from Lily’s perspective as she wakes up in the house of a well established reality competition show where the goal is to couple up but mostly outlast everyone else so you can win a lot of expensive designer stuff. Yes, that’s all.

The group and each individual has to complete daily tasks that are presented on a screen. If they achieve these tasks, the producers (hidden away somewhere) will provide them with their prizes which start at lawn furniture and escalate to food and water after these resources are withheld for a period of time to cause “drama.”

The clear point of The Compound is to comment on how much our society has propped up reality competition shows, usually dating ones, to disappear into (dissociate may be a better word for it) in order to escape the depressing horror that is real life. I think it was supposed to be set in the future, but it very well could’ve been happening in our current timeline.

It’s Black Mirror coded, and full of existential dread that does a good job of sustaining that tension throughout. There were times in the plot when I would get bored, or sick of the repetitive nature of the “game” but then something would happen that would pull me back in and keep from DNFing.

I didn’t love reading from the perspective of our main character, Lily, but I get why she was our main character. She’s the exact type of person to compete on this Love Island-esque TV competition show. She has low self esteem, hates her dead-end real life, feels like being pretty is the only thing that will get her anywhere in life, and just wants to win a bunch of material shit and get famous. Different scenarios and people she meets on the show try to challenge those beliefs, but alas, expensive stuff and notoriety win out most of the time. You want to shake sense into her the entire time you’re reading.

I have to be honest, I thought this was going to get a loooooot more weird and/or violent, what with the comp to Hunger Games in the synopsis, but no, the only thing that’s similar to the Hunger Games in this is the fact that they get gifts to help them keep house and they banish each other from the compound one by one. That’s it. It could’ve gone more A24, but it didn’t quite go there.

The most unhinged reality tv show premise.

The first couple of chapters I was pretty confused- 20 characters to keep track of and I didn’t understand how the reality tv show worked other than them being in a compound in the middle of a desert.

Then I got hooked as the challenges, dynamics, and eliminations progressed.

Once it got down to the final 5 contestants I found it dragged a bit… and then turned thriller-like with unhinged chaos amongst the competitors.

Made for an addictive read overall, but no way a show like that would stay on the air- let alone for multiple seasons like in the book, haha

Thanks NetGalley and publishers for my free copy in exchange for my honest review.

That was A LOT.

The beginning of the book is so disorienting bc you have no idea what is is happening, who these people are, how they got there...and then essentially you end up in a Black Mirror episode of Big Brother/Love Island.

Lily is our narrator of indeterminate age and essentially a blank canvas. She's whoever the story needs her to be at whatever point in time. This clearly takes place in some dystopian future that they're trying to escape or maybe just Lily is bc winning feels a lot like losing her.

Interesting Lord of the Flies parallels and how we can do the most for truly so little.

This is the guilty pleasure book every psychological thriller reader craves. The book’s description compares it with popular reality shows and competition books, but it’s more than that. It causes you to think about decisions you would make if it meant your survival and that of your colleagues. Each challenge offered to the contestants of the book’s fictional show offer insights into what is truly important to people. This book is perfect for reality fans and for people who want a quick paced book nearly impossible to put down.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The Compound follows Lily, a young woman living an ordinary, mundane life, as she joins a hit reality show where ten women and ten men are dropped into a home in the desert and must complete tasks and couple up to earn necessities to survive.

This is a fascinating debut, focusing on the relationships between people in a strange environment and the lengths people will go to to get what they want, whether that be love, fame, notoriety, material possessions, or escape. It is deeply reflective in a very jovial way about the state of humanity and the desire to escape an ordinary life.

As Lily progresses through the show, friendships are made and broken, relationships form and fall apart, and violence and hatred ensue as contestants fight to be "the winner." But what exactly are they winning?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc in exchange for a review.

This was compulsively readable (although not necessarily the most enjoyable). The concept was pretty cool, and the author does a great job of building tension. This book is like a dystopian Too Hot To Handle, and it started off kind of fun, but plateaued into kind of a “meh” middle. It picks up again near the end, but the conclusion wasn’t super satisfying to me. Our main character is a bit dull, but there were enough genuine relationships or compelling plot points to keep me reading. I mean, I finished the book in one night! I would definitely read more from the author.

I loved reading this book. The compound said a lot about social issues, primarily men vs women. It allowed readers to see the inside of what a reality tv show could be like in a way I’ve never read before.

- totally enthralled with this book from the beginning
- took a minute to place each character throughout, but did get easier
- love island meets hunger games is a great way to describe this book
- would have loved to have known more about what was going on outside of the compound…? it was eluded to but not really touched on
- a component of what the viewers saw would have been an interesting POV to include
- the ended was quite abrupt that left me irritated

thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

TW: domestic violence

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. If you love reality tv you will LOVE this book. It was a quick mysterious read. I just had to know what the heck was going on! Contestants are competing against each other to try to outlast one another while being filmed and given challenges. There was also an underlying creepy feeling as they are out in nowhere desert and are not aloud to talk about anything personal with each other. Readers are going to love it!