This novel was 5/5 excellent for two reasons. First, Aisling Rawles does a masterful job of building slow burn suspense. The novel starts with descriptions of the gorgeous women and the pools and a growing sense of excitement about what’s to come. But you also get the sense extremely early on that there is something so sinister and so dark under the surface that could boil over at any moment in any interaction. Rawles does an incredible job keeping that sense at a low simmer throughout the whole book, which kept me gripped (and a little stressed) the whole time. She is a masterful storyteller and truly perfectly balanced the mundane, the ridiculous, the sexy, and the truly dark.

Second, I loved that this novel had what felt like a really sharp and sophisticated critique on reality TV culture and what it has wrought (voyeurism, consumerism, performativity, the urge toward escapism) without ever veering into being preachy or devolving into a lazy/tired “kids-these-days-with-their-newfangled-technology” trope. So few authors get that right, but Rawles absolutely does. This is an author to follow. Telling everyone about this book.

I absolutely loved this. Reading the blurb, I was excited by the concept, but not quite certain where the author was taking it. Right from the start, you could tell it was going to be dark and it made for such a great, unique read.

A fun, twisty story that is really hard to put down. Can’t wait for friends and family to read so we can discuss!

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for the advanced copy. This one has a pub date of June 24th and will make a fantastic beach read.

The Compound was an interesting read that follows Lilly as she is placed on a reality TV show that is a mix of Big Brother, Love Island and Survivor. The introduction of the characters at the very beginning of the book seemed choppy and was written in mostly narrative form. There was very little interaction among the characters, and it made the first few chapters slow to read. There are 19 contestants living in a compound in the desert, 9 males and 10 females. The contestants are meant to couple up and share a bedmate immediately. If there is a contestant who sleeps alone, they are banished into the desert. The relationships among the contestants are interesting, and it does not seem to be focused finding love, but completing challenges and winning prizes.

The compound is poorly stocked and maintained, and in order to improve conditions, the cast members must complete communal task in which they earn rewards such as food, furniture, and building materials. Contestants are punished if communal tasks are not completed, and the consequences are dire: lack of food and water, until the tasks are complete. The producers are well skilled at manipulating the contestants to do what they believe will lead to higher ratings. Individual challenges also allow contestants to gain coveted personal items such as beauty supplies, clothing and luxury items. Contestants can be banished at any time and must remain as couples until the final 5.

Lilly and the other contestants are in the compound for a long period of time, and that seems to weigh on the sanity which is slowly deteriorating. The contestants become cut throat, ruthless even, in an attempt to gain more prizes and remain in the compound. There are violent and extreme circumstances that present themselves as each remaining cast member strives to be the last contestant standing in the compound.

The idea behind this book was solid. We are a society obsessed with reality TV and the author clearly studied different type of reality TV and pulled the best aspects from each to create the ultimate drama that keeps viewers watching. The challenges were interesting and keep me engaged as the story line continued to progress. I did find the characters very shallow, and that lost some points in my rating. I would have liked to see some characters in the story that were less vapid and self-centered, but that seemed to be the whole lot. Overall, a highly entertaining story and I would recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Lily wakes up in the compound with one other girl, and it begins. As the remaining members of the compound arrive, their reality TV experience begins. Pair up, complete group and individual tasks for rewards, and try not to get banished. What starts off as an escape for some turns into more for others, and there's no telling what lengths people will go to to win.

I enjoyed this story and thought it was different in a good way, even though I felt that most of the characters were purposely unlikeable. It also had me questioning, how much does it really take for some people to lose their humanity?

This book is out on May 27th!

The Compound was as addicting and immersive as I had hoped a Love Island meets Lord of the Flies novel would be! Well-drawn characters and micro-worldbuilding. Excellent debut! Thanks, NetGalley for the copy!

This book wasn't at all what I expected it to be. For a story about a fictional reality show where contestants compete for prizes, it could have easily been a critique about materialistic fame seekers. Or a satire about reality shows. It could have been a number of things but it's definitely not Love Island meets the Hunger Games. That's dumbing it down.

Lily is on same vaguely defined reality show set in a compound in a remote desert. Lily is beautiful. Everyone is beautiful. They desperately want things and have to both work with and compete with each other to get them.

All of the characters are driven by desire of some type - things, companionship, control, escape, fame- but there's no judgement for them. None of them are caricatures of a typical reality show personality. They all felt real and human and flawed but still distinct from one another.

At first the writing felt flat but I ended up really liking it. Points aren't made over and over again. There's no endless backstories. Just enough is revealed. There's an allusion to "the wars" happening in the outside world with no further explanation. It's nice to come across a book that doesn't feel the need to over explain.

The premise of the fictional show was interesting and as it progressed, it hooked me. The competition goes from mild to uncomfortable to savage. At some points I found myself wondering why any of them would want to stay because it's not like they're being held hostage.

Overall, I feel like the description does this book a disservice and I wonder if it'll find the right audience. Hopefully it does because it's excellent.

As a lover of reality tv this was a fun read; I know it’s supposed to be dystopian but I would love to watch this as a reality show! Overall a solid read, I enjoyed it more in the beginning when more of the cast was there. When a certain person left it kind of lost steam for me, but would still recommend!

An interesting premise with potential. I wished for more time dedicated to "before" and "after" and "life on the outside" but appreciated the author's subtle hints at what might have come of the world as we know it. I enjoyed the premise more than the execution, I'm afraid. 3 Stars.

In The Compound, readers follow a group of contestants through their time at a house in the middle of a desert. They have the opportunity to earn luxurious prizes (and sometimes basic necessities) by completing challenges. Players must couple up with their housemates to avoid banishment.

I would not call the characters likable - interesting to “watch”, but not likable. They were often shallow, self-centered, and materialistic - the perfect qualities for contestants on a show aimed at rewarding bad behavior with luxuries.

I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to reality TV fans, especially those of Love Island and Big Brother. It definitely has hints of Hunger Games-esque dystopia, too.

I would have loved a little more information on what was happening outside The Compound. The story was pretty vague about the wars, the producers, and reasons people were so eager to leave their lives behind.

As an avid reality TV consumer, I was all over this concept. Rawle successfully captures the allure of reality TV that kept me hooked and needing to keep reading! In The Compound, we follow Lily as she wakes up in a strange house in the desert and begins to compete in a Love Island-esque dating competition, except we are definitely in a dystopian future and you are not allowed to discuss your past. Overall, it was a fun read if not a little lackluster by the end (but I feel that way about dating reality shows anyway, it is all about the lead-up!). I kept waiting for something truly bad to happen, to meet the game makers, or for someone to die.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing an advanced copy through Netgalley.

I love books that explore the reality show model. My favorites of these tend to have a lot of humor, so I wasn't sure The Compound would work for me, but the slow building of tension and the naked calculation in Lily's narration was really intriguing. My only criticism is I think the rule against sharing of personal details was a real hinderance to character development, but overall this was a quick and interesting read.

3.5 stars.

The press for this book calls it “Love Island” meets LORD OF THE FLIESand though I’ve never seen “LI” it was not as violent as LotF (too bad!). It WAS surprisingly engaging.

Lily is a gorgeous, but maybe not so bright twenty something who works selling makeup she could never afford. Her out is joining this long-running and popular reality show along with eighteen others. They are isolated in a house and must pair off so as not to be banished. They do various tasks, both as a group and on their own to win prizes for themselves and to furnish their home…like to get a front door, and sometimes even more vital things. Cameras watch it all and broadcast it to the public; the goal is to be the one contestant left and then you can stay as long as you like and gather as many high dollar prizes as you can, plus the fame, of course.

As I said, it was the LotF reference that drew me in but I enjoyed this way more than I thought I would. I loved that Lily wasn’t the most clever and knew it. She and a number of the other contestants were well-drawn (if not particularly admirable) and they acted in understandable ways. I could see this becoming a sleeper hit among younger readers. Nicely done.

3.5 stars!
I was a huge fan of this book going in, like Love Island meets the Hunger Games? But the last part really fell flat for me, especially the ending. I expected this story to take a significantly darker twist, but it just didn’t happen.
It’s for sure a commentary on capitalism and reality tv as a whole, and for that, I enjoyed it. This was still a bit of “safe fiction”, though. The Hunger Games aspect was how both the residents of the Compound and the producers and viewers alike would participate or watch crazy things for materialistic things or entertainment value.
I wanted to learn more about the world in this book as well, like the other residents from seasons past, the producers, the desert. I have a lot of questions left unanswered….
Still a good book! A great commentary on capitalism.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group-Random House for a ARC of this book. I’m leaving this review voluntarily

This book totally felt like *Love Island* meets *The Hunger Games*, and I was all in! The concept was so intriguing and unique that I couldn't put it down—it’s incredibly addictive. While there are a lot of characters to keep track of, I do think it could have benefited from a bit more character development to make them feel more layered. That said, the fast-paced plot and the sheer fun of the ride more than made up for it. If you're looking for a gripping, can't-stop-reading story with reality TV meets dystopian vibes, this one is definitely worth picking up.

Aisling Rawle's debut novel is completely bingeable. Twenty contestants compete to outlast each other at the Compound while being filmed for reality tv. At first the challenges are fun but eventually Lily, one of the contestants, begins to wonder how far producers will go and will this become a game of survival? This book is described as The Hunger Games and Love Island. It grabs your attention and doesn't let go until the end. I give it 5 stars. I absolutely loved it. It comes out June 3rd 2025.


Thank you #netgalley for a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

#thecompound #bookreview #5starread #bookrecs #2025read

The Love Island meets Lord of the Flies premise was irresistible for me. It began with a growing sense of unease even as "nothing" was happening in the day to day of being stuck on a reality show, waiting for challenges--like being in a fishbowl, but worse, because Lily is not just observed from afar but with pressure to "perform" for her audience if she wants to have longevity on the show.

Where the book struggled for me was in pacing past the halfway mark, as the dystopian elements increased and you are left with the tension of both nothing much happening, but a sense of distress and wishing the characters would choose to leave; and also a lack of backstory or depth in relationships (due in part to the rule to keep conversations in the here-and-now of the show). There are also mentions of war happening in the world outside but this isn't elaborated upon. I would classify the book as fiction, not a thriller. However I think as a commentary on what we ask of reality show performers the book is right to make us squirm and reflect on the sadistic, vapid and consumerist elements of this form of entertainment, as while as the appeal of participating in it. So for my discomfort this is a book I'm still thinking about. In that way, it reminds me a bit of the unsettled/tense feeling I got when reading Emma Cline's The Guest.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars; Fascinating subject matter but a bit dry for my taste. While it was a quick, engaging read I yearned for some levity. Just a joke here or there, some sarcasm or wit. The best way I can describe it is that the writing was monotonous. And while I think that was the aim - to paint our narrator Lily in the light that others saw her, beautiful but vacant - it made the story feel a little flat to me.

The story seemed to toe the line between what it was trying to be and what it really was. The vagueness of the outside world made it hard to know what world it even was. As if it was semi-post apocalyptic but not quite. And while the story is, at its core, about what you would do to survive and get what you think you've always wanted I would've been a bit more satisfied with some answers - the ending was irresolute, I wanted to know about the outside world after they all left the compound, etc.

This book is SUCH a blast. One of those where I was sad when it ended and wanted to go back into its world instead of starting a new book. Written for those of us who love dystopian vibes, but also watch Love Island every season. It was soooo up my alley.

Following a season of an unnamed reality show against the backdrop of a probably not to distant future, we get a glimpse into what reality tv will probably morph into within our lifetimes in the strangest of ways.. But we don't learn much about "the outside" world, only about the lives of the 9 boys and 10 girls who have been picked to live at The Compound. They must couple up, like Love Island, but they also much compete in personal and group challenges in order to gain rewards (they range from makeup and coveted slippers making them influencers, but also are offered important rewards too, like wood for doors for the house and even food making the show have some Survivor vibes as well). The best part? The show can last however long the contestants do. There are crazy rules like not talking about your past and no violence allowed until they've whittled it down to a certain number of players.

I had such a hard time putting this book down. I HAD to know what was going to happen next, and if our narrator Lily was going to make it to the end. It's an amazing debut, and while I think I would have appreciated some more characterization that a seasoned author could have provided, I will read ANYTHING Aisling Rawle writes next. Get this on your TBR immediately and thank me later!

The Compound by Aisling Rawle, the book is about Lily and 18 other contestants on a game show of survival where if they don’t sleep in the bed with a love interest the next day they have to leave. they’re given group task and personal task that they have the option of doing to get necessities and ultimately prizes, from toilet paper to diamond earrings. Lilly wants to be the ultimate winner because she is tired of living in the ruined world She lives in where she has to work every day and barely has enough to buy nice things and nice things are the reason she’s there. in the beginning of the book, I was so ready to read this. I love anything to do with reality shows and survivor type situations, but eventually it got to where I was bored then I thought a lot of the book was ridiculous. Not to say it wasn’t well written because it was. I just thought there would be more survivor and romance reality contest and then there was. After a certain point the whole romance thing went out the window and we were just left with bitter, angry vain, materialistic people who even win it win against their good health and well-being. They still wanted material things and would die trying to get it. I really liked and was rooting for Lily in the beginning but more than once she proved she had no humanity and kindness for those who were blind on the verge of death burn to a crisp ETC. I’m sure there will be those who loved this book and if so totally read it. This is just one person‘s opinion#NetGalley, #AislingRawle, #TheCompound,#RandomHouse

Thank you to the publisher, Random House, and Netgalley for providing me with an early copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

I was sold on this book the second I read "love island meets lord of the flies" and I was hooked the whole way through. A super ominous setting that underscored the whole book, despite not really coming into play all that much. I think it was a really interesting look at how much joy we can really derive from material goods over relationships with others, especially in late stage capitalism (if you'll allow me to be "too woke" for a moment).

I would have liked a little more background and world building, although I figure that wasn't the point, I'm super curious about the general world where this all took place. I also would have liked more of an afterward and seeing people adjust back in to life, but I digress.

Regardless, this was a great book & an enjoyable reading experience. Would highly recommend.