Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Look for it now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.

This debut novel by Aisling Rawle is described as “LORD OF THE FLIES meets LOVE ISLAND”. This is a very fitting description. I was definitely hooked on this book in the first few chapters. I loved or loved to hate the characters which made this book definitely binge worthy! I will absolutely recommend this book to readers that love a good suspenseful dystopian thriller.

This was a cool premise with a twist on reality shows with vibes of Lord of the Flies. As readers we are dropped right into The Compound with the women. They are not allowed to talk about anything of their past. They are getting situated when the men group finally arrive. We begin seeing and "oversight" speaker of sorts that gives challenges and if completed they get rewards. They have to earn everything. What we don't ever know or see is what is going on in the real world, what the audience really thinks, and what the main goals of the producers are. This makes for fun reading.

A fresh concept made for a fun, angsty, reality show type, survival of the fittest book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this gifted e-arc.

Well.....damn.

The Compound is described as Love Island meets Lord of the Flies, but.....no. This is so much more.

Set in the near-future, ten women and ten men are competing for prizes, each more and more extravagant. It's Survivor but.....a twist.

While there is a main character, this is more of a character study on jealousy, consumerism, and the shallowness of a generation. This is a story of greed and the desire to do anything to get what you want. It's The Hunger Games + Survivor minus any semblance of a soul.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I've been looking forward to this book for so long, so to finally read it was so satisfying. I love the concept, I love the setup, I JUST wish I had a few more answers. I did not fully understand where or when we were supposed to be, or even if that mattered at all. But the commentary on materialism and necessity was unbelievable, and the question of what we can and can not actually survive without is something that I will contemplate often because of this book. Set in the world of a reality TV show,I loved how the readers essentially act as the viewers of the show.

The Compound by Aisling Rawle 🏜️🏜️🏜️🏜️

I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for my honest review. Look for it now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.

Imagine your favorite reality show. Think Survivor, Big Brother, The Challenge, The Bachelor. Then imagine we live in a slightly dystopian future where wars are raging, and the people selected to appear on the show are given a reprieve from that life. What would you do stay there?

That’s the world that Aisling Rawle has imagined for her debut novel. I have already added Ms. Rawle to my list of favorite authors. I will read the next book she publishes. Was it perfect? No. Did I enjoy the heck out of it? Absolutely.

A different ending would have made it more interesting, I think, but it was compulsively readable. A friend and I buddy read this (five chapters per day was the schedule), and we weren’t supposed to finish it until tomorrow, but we both agreed today that we couldn’t stop reading it until we finished. 🤭

“It’s no worse than what’s out there! Is that what you want to go back to? Constantly living on the periphery of disaster, just waiting and waiting and waiting for it to finally reach us, doing stupid, dull work to pass the days until then? We’re safe here—we’re removed from all of it.”
— Aisling Rawle, The Compound

For whatever reason, I’m a sucker for books about reality shows. Reality shows are my guilty pleasures, and reading about a behind the scenes show is even better than watching them.

In The Compound, during an end of the world type scenario, 18 contestents are thrown together in the extreme desert to stay as long as possible in a luxury house with pool, gardens, and even a maze.

Unlike our reality shows, these contestants are not pampered at times and are thrown into very real life threatening situations. This dystopian book was more along the lines of a Black Mirror episode than a reality show which is why I probably enjoyed it so much.

*Thanks so much to partner Random House and to NetGalley for the eARC!*

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this arc!

This book follows Lily as she participates in a popular reality show with other contestants. It is better to go into the book blind because it will create a different experience for the reader. I can see the Love Island elements, especially as the current season is going on. I can see the aspects of Lord of the Flies as well. Honestly, I do not know how to rate this book, but it was a constant of wtf or light second embarrassment from Lily or other contestants. It felt like a lot went on, but nothing at the same time. I like Lily's and Sam's relationship. It was nice to see Lily win in certain aspects. While she may have doubted herself, I think she held herself okay. The ending had me because it was so open-ended. It really let me question how Lily is going to move forward. The dynamics among the contestants through Lily's eyes were interesting. At the same time, I did not love this book. I thought it would get more batshit crazy. It was regular shit that I can see really happening outside of the reality show. It was more of 3.5/5

What an interesting concept. This story was the best mix of reality tv and looking at how far people will go to win. I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to read an ARC of The Compound and am so excited to see this book in its final form.

This book was pretty good. Exactly what you would expect from the type of people "casted". The lengths people would go to for prizes is crazy and I'm sure sadly true!

The description seemed really good however I was unfortunately not a fan of the writing and did not finish this book.

Wow. Just wow. I had to take a little bit before writing my review so I could process this book. I will absolutely say, don't judge a book by it's cover. I was slightly turned off by the cover, It definitely did not grab my interest, but I am so glad I ignored that and read it. Lord of the Flies and Love Island is pretty accurate. I wouldn't say it is totally dystopian, but there are some themes- the outside world is being ravaged by war, and the way in which the contestants get to the compound is pretty wild.

Twenty contestants, 10 men, 10 women compete to see how long they can stay in the compund, but there are rules and there are prizes. Each contestant must find a bedmate, or risk being banished. They also must compete for prizes. They are not allowed to talk about their lives on the outside, which creates a superficial, fake environment. The producers are ruthless and will deprive the contestants of certain necessities until they complete certain tasks.

The MC, Lily is absolutely beautiful. She says she doesn't have much else going for her, but the more we get in to the book, the more we see how she is forced to use her wiles and dig deep into figuring out far she is willing to go to win.

This book for sure messes with your head, in a good way. It makes you think, and stay up late flying through the pages to find out what happens next. After I finished reading, I had to sit and stare, just thinking, wondering and wanting to know what happens next. I am craving a follow up. I want to know where everyone is and how they are doing and how incredibly this experience messed them up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an ARC of this book.

A dystopian reality tv show novel that is exactly what you’d expect and also wildly surprising in its execution. This debut novel from Aisling Rawle grabbed my attention in the first pages in the way a reality dating show would- who are these people, what are their goals, what are the boundaries and expectations set by the producers, and, most importantly, how do you win?

The entirety of the narrative takes place within the titular Compound, where 20 men and women have been sent to… find love? No, not necessarily. To win a big cash prize? No, not that either. To escape the dismal reality of their lives in the vaguely dystopian near-future world outside while earning basic material rewards, pleasing the brand sponsors, and providing questionable entertainment to the masses? Yeah, pretty much that. To reveal too much of how the plot progresses would spoil the experience, but suffice it to say that things get as weird and dark as you might expect, but not quite so weird and dark that it would qualify as “horror.” It’s just… bleak and surreal.

I very much enjoyed my experience reading this book and appreciated the way the author used familiar reality tv tropes to critique late-stage capitalism as well as heteronormativity and material excess without feeling too heavy-handed. This was a really refreshing debut that would make a great beach read for anyone looking for something that really rides the line between literary fiction and trashy (in the best possible way) entertainment.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to be an early reader of this title, available now!

Compulsively readable and surprisingly harrowing, this dystopian take on reality tv had me hooked from the start. I thought the book would be lighter based on the premise and cover, but was pleasantly surprised at the depth, social commentary, and plot. The characters were also fully fleshed out - a feat considering the large cast and frequently shifting relationships. This is a perfect read if you’re a fan of love island but want a dose of black mirror.

Was not expecting to like this Lord of the Flies meets Bachelor in Paradise (yes, you read that right) mashup so much - but it was so good.

The Compound is a near-future dystopia that follows a group of strangers who wake up in a desert mansion compound knowing that they are now on a world-famous reality dating show. The rules are simple - they can’t talk about their real lives or the fact that they’re on the show, but they’re being filmed at all moments. Every man and woman has to pair up and sleep in the same bed; anyone who doesn’t find a pair is banished from the compound into the desert. They can earn rewards for essential and non-essential things they need - like food, water, or diamond earrings - by completing individual or group tasks.

Although there’s certainly some salacious drama between the characters, I was surprised at how much of the book was almost like a survival thriller, with individual tensions and selfish motivations coming to the surface as the competition gets more heated and literal survival for food and water becomes harder. I found it to be an inventive, thrilling, engaging concept that asks hard questions and immerses you in this odd, alienating setting. Loved it.

The Compound by Aisling Rawles

Love Island meets Lord of the Flies in this dystopian debut that reads like your favorite binge-worthy reality show—but darker. Contestants are dropped into a remote, camera-covered desert compound to compete for luxury goods, material comforts, and ultimate survival… but the real question becomes: how far will they go to win?

If you love reality TV chaos, dark dystopian settings, and compulsively readable fiction—you’ll want this one on your TBR. This debut is addictive, propulsive, and eerily thought-provoking.

There’s also something quietly Orwellian about it—reminiscent of Animal Farm in how power shifts, groupthink festers, and individuals justify the inhumane for the “sake” of the collective.

This one dives deep into human behavior, desire, and isolation—and I couldn’t put it down. Dropped into a high-stakes experiment, you’re just as in the dark as the contestants, questioning every twist and motive as you turn the pages. The characters are deeply flawed, often unlikeable, and all too human—which, let’s be honest, makes for great reality TV and great fiction.

It left me thinking:

💭 What lengths would we go to—for comfort or survival?
💭 Does winning still mean anything when choices are being made based on manipulation?
💭 When loneliness sets in, would we trade material luxury for real connection?

A strong, unsettling debut that’s absolutely worth the read.

this is a perfect book to get ahead on your reading challenge when you really just want to be watching reality tv. an ideal beach read. it slightly heightens the stakes with traces of a dystopian future outside, but it's not too far off from traitors, which makes it fun. i expected that this would get darker or have some light themes of greed and fame take more precedence, but i'm not mad that it didn't. i enjoyed this book to the end and was desperate to find out where it would go.

The Compound has such a great premise: Lily is a contestant on a reality show where she wakes up in a compound in the middle of the desert with 9 other women, waiting for 10 men to arrive. Lily does not have much to look forward to in the "real world" and hopes to win and stay on at the compound indefinitely. I flew through the first half but then it began to feel a bit redundant, and then it went a little off the rails. I loved what it had to say about our current culture, consumerism and group dynamics in general. It was a fun read that I wish could have ended a bit more solidly. I liked Rawle's writing style and would be interested in what she writes next. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy. 3.5/3.75 stars rounded up

Brilliant, compelling, a book for the summer or fall or winter - don't box it in. A take on current reality show dating culture with a dash of Hunger Games, I couldn't put it down.

Imagine a game show that is a crossing of Love Island and a not-exactly-lethal version of The Hunger Games. If that sounds intriguing, you might be the perfect reader for Aisling Rawle’s new novel, The Compound (note: a Good Morning America Book Club pick). Reality TV meets a near future climate and tech capitalist dystopia. How’s that for a Black Mirror episode?

I think it’s best to go into the novel fairly uninformed, so I won’t say much more than what I have. However, there is something else to keep in mind here. While this novel has plenty of action, the book is really character-driven. We see and feel every piece of one contestant’s experience on The Compound. Lily’s perspective, start to finish, drives this book, and the action serves that end.

I admit that I struggled at a few points with her character’s journey, as well as with the ending. But the publisher’s description promises that this book “will linger in your mind long after the game ends”. I finished the novel two weeks ago, and that has certainly been the case for me. The more I’ve thought about it, the more Lily’s journey and the ending ring true with its message. It may not be traditionally satisfying, but it packs a punch. Recommended for readers of character-centric dystopian fiction. Ripe for discussion -- would make a great book club pick, as long as your club members can take some intensity. 3.5 stars.

Thanks to RandomHouse Publishing Group – Random House, the author, and NetGalley for providing this copy of The Compound for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc. This one was very slow for me, I felt I couldnt' get into it because it was going so slow. Also had a hard time with the amount of characters to track.