Readers are dropped directly into the action in this dystopian story focus on the contestants of a reality television show similar to Big Brother. Those who enjoyed Girlfriend on Mars by Deborah Willis or Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen. While the setting is limited to the Compound, the house and yard of a resort style house, surrounded by a desert, hints are given throughout the story that all is not right with the outside world. Just like the reality television it skewers the book is a compulsive page turner, and will keep readers progressing quickly to the end to see who makes it to the end.

On the surface level it doesn't sound so different from reality, characters hold jobs like project managers, financial analysts and students, but as the story progresses readers get some sense of the outside world through the thoughts and conversations of the characters. There are mentions of an ongoing war, anxiety about the future, some brief mentions of politics, and the willingness of the contestants to do increasingly outrageous and dangerous things to stay in the compound. Also, the willingness of the show runners to allow the contestants to do increasingly dangerous and potentially harmful acts, seemingly at the encouragement of viewers. Readers are left wondering in what kind of world entertainment like this is possible...and how close our reality is to it already. This will appeal to fans of reality television, but also to those who are interested in speculative fiction with social/political messages.

Ugh I wish this had been for me! Thank you to NG and Random House for an ARC. I think per the books description I was expecting more Hunger Games and less dystopian Bachelor. Characters were just all one dimensional and I needed someone to cheer for! It was a propulsive read but when I finished it was just kinda meh.
Knowing this was a debut I was impressed with the writing, and would read something else by the author.

Oh my god, I can't believe this was a debut. I was hooked by the premise of Love Island meets Lord of the Flies, and that is ACCURATE! It starts out with just a fairly ominous Love Island setup, and you slowly learn more about the world and the characters. I would say it definitely leans more Love Island than LOTF, but in a good way in my opinion, it's like slow, social horror almost if that makes sense.

The characters are so well done and easy to love, and really, truly, I could not put this book down. I feel like I could write a dissertation about this book!!!!!

It's hard to describe what was so enticing about this book but I was so hooked. I am not a huge reality tv fan however I could see myself hooked to this show. They allude to "the wars" and the human population dying out which may be why the personalities that emerged towards the end really did. And I could imagine the viewers at home getting a macabre sense of satisfaction of seeing chaos unfold in a controlled environment while their entire work is chaotic. The materialism was interesting - even in hunger games-esque environment there were still people motivated by meaningless items. The ending left me wanting more though.

I had a thoroughly good time reading this. As a fan of shows like Survivor and Big Brother, this book puts a fun spin on reality competition shows. There is a small amount of commentary bubbling on the peripheries of the story, but at the end I want myself wanting a little more of the outside world of the story. That isn't to say that I didn't like the book, it just left me wanting a little more. Overall, a very fun and riveting story that I found completely unputdownable.

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, 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 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!*

really good book and loved the reality aspect. It felt like a reality show and fun to meet the characters

Welcome to The Compound! A show where contestants compete for luxurious gifts, find love, make alliances, & try not to get voted out. Join Lily and the other contestants to see who will survive and make it to the end.

The concept of this novel grabbed my attention right away. Who doesn’t love a good survival show? It didn’t take me long to finish this book, yet it left me with more questions than answers. The contestants mentioned that outside of The Compound there was some sort of war going on. Not much details were given and I wish there had been more information. I was hoping for chaos, yet the characters were driven by drama. Overall, it was an engaging novel and it will leave you wanting more.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was very much a book that read like a reality TV show. Which was very much the point. It was interesting and well done. I thought it was a bit predictable but that's okay, not every book needs to have an earth shattering twist.

I think I’m an outlier here, but this book was not for me. I don’t watch a lot of reality tv but the premise seemed interesting enough for me to want to give it a try. I love thrillers and loved Lord of the Flies and The Hunger Games, but this book just didn’t do it for me. I couldn’t connect with the characters who ended up being a bunch of selfish, materialistic, backstabbing people. To be fair, I might not be the right audience for this book due to my age. Younger people may enjoy it more. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy.

I’m not sure what to make of The Compound. I liked the idea of Love Island meets Lord of the Flies, and the start was oddly compelling, but the characters didn’t really evolve which left me wondering what the book was all about at the end?

Whoa. Finished in one day. What an interesting, pretty depressing, but immersive book. Really enjoyed this. As someone who has competed on reality TV (I was on season 45 of Survivor - US) this book really struck a chord. Phenomenally done. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Overall a 2.75-3 star for me. I thought this was such an interesting concept and combined multiple themes that are commonly enjoyed in books (dystopian plus reality show). For me, the back half of the book caught my interest more than the first half. Overall I feel the story could have been fleshed out a bit more, but it was more obvious in the first half with the rapid elimination of contestants. This unfortunately made the plot seem a little flat for me as there wasn’t enough explanation for some events. I also would have liked more background on the actual world this was taking place in as it was alluded to that it was dystopian-esque but not much more. I guess this gives us the illusion almost of being a viewer as we don’t get much context besides what is in the “show”.
I did think this book was a page turner and I finished it quite quickly. I think there was a lot of good commentary on social issues in today’s world built in.

Huge thanks to @netgalley and @randomhouse for providing the free eARC!

If Serena, Leah, and JaNa are familiar names to you, then The Compound is the book you’ve been waiting for. Described as a mix of Love Island and The Hunger Games, this story follows twenty reality-show contestants competing for life-changing rewards in a high-stakes environment.

The book is just as binge-worthy as your favorite reality show, with the most compelling moments coming from the communal and personal tasks each contestant faces. These challenges not only drive the plot forward but also heighten the tension and drama, revealing the competitive nature of the contestants. The story’s exploration of capitalism and materialism is central to its themes, questioning why some people tie their self-worth to the things they own and whether the relentless desire for more is truly worth it.

While the book is engaging, I did wish it leaned more into the Hunger Games comparison. The stakes and tone never quite reached the darker, more intense level I expected. Additionally, there are several hints about a dystopian world outside the compound (mentioning wars, fires, and short life expectancies), but these elements are never fully developed or explored. I felt that either these aspects should have played a more significant role in the story or been left out entirely.

Ultimately, The Compound is a fun, fast-paced read that doesn’t offer many surprises, but like any reality show, it delivers on pure entertainment rather than profound insights. If you’re looking for something light and dramatic, this one’s definitely worth checking out! 3.5 stars

Not for me as I do not jibe with the life of the luxurious and novels like this are terribly trite and pretentious.

Do you like reality TV? If you do, this is the perfect book for you. Captivating from the start, The Compound has a lot of different elements to it. While it was never really explained what is happening outside the compound or what the “war” really is, this felt super relevant to today. I found Lily to be multi-faceted and vacillated between wanting her to win and wanting her to wake up to some of the realities around her. The Compound is an intriguing and unputdownable read.

Congrats to this author on their great debut novel! When I started this I wasn't sure - it seemed a bit shallow but then Love Island is shallow isn't it? It really feels like a commentary on all these stupid reality shows we're into as a society (I do love Love Island though, hehe).
This is such an interesting concept and twist as it slowly devolves to become more and more unsettling. At points, I couldn't put it down! In Part III, the pacing starts to drag a little bit but overall, I'm really impressed and can't wait to read more from this author!

3.5 ⭐️ I don’t watch Love Island or many other reality shows, but it says something about our society that I know The Compound would be a popular show.. and that I would probably watch it.

The concept is that there is a large compound in the desert and 5 females and 5 males are sent to live there and are given daily communal and personal tasks in order to gain prizes. Could be necessary things to get by like food and water, or everyday vanity items like clothes, makeup etc. Every night you must share a bed with a member of the opposite sex or you will be banished. There are some hunger games and survivor aspects roped into the story, having to vote people out to get specific prizes.

The story really dove into how materialistic people can be and the lengths they would go to get them. There were hints that the outside world was in a war and falling to shambles, so the show was an escape for viewers. I kind of wish there was more details about that so get a feeling for the stakes of leaving the compound.

Overall it was an entertaining read and I could easily visualize everything that was happening.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I did not know much about this book going in; I read the premise, thought it sounded interesting and requested and was fortunate enough to receive an ARC. So I went in with low (no) expectations and let myself be pleasantly surprised.

I absolutely DEVOURED this book. In my last few years of primarily consuming books through audio, I have struggled to get through most Kindle books, regardless of how much I enjoyed them; I did not have any such problem with this one. I could not wait to see what happened next, and cannot remember the last time I was so immediately pulled into a book like this. If I had the time to do so, this is one I could have read in one sitting.

The premise was simple: Lily is a contestant on a reality show featuring ten “boys” and ten “girls” living together on a large compound. There is a coupling component to it right from the start; those who wake up without a member of the opposite sex in their bed are banished. There is a teamwork aspect to it - the group must accomplish group tasks to win items to improve their living situation, from household necessities such as a chair or wood to build a front door, to luxury items like a hot tub or case of champagne, to basic necessities such as food and water. The contestants can also work to complete individual tasks to earn rewards of increasing value. They are, of course, at the mercy of an unseen group of producers. The stakes get higher as the group gets smaller, and Lily has to ask herself what she must do to win — and ultimately what “winning” even means.

I truly could not put this book down. I was fascinated by the situations the characters ended up in and read this book the way I imagine many people would binge watch a television program like this. I do wish that we got to learn a little more about the world outside of the compound. Because of the show’s rules - unless directed to as part of a challenge, the contestants cannot share any personal information about themselves or acknowledge that they are on a TV show until they have advanced to a certain point in the competition - most of the show’s relationships are developed at a superficial level, and it prevents the reader from learning too much about what exists for Lily outside the compound beyond her repeated assertions that she does not want to go back. There are references to wars, but this is not fully fleshed out, and I think it could have raised the stakes even further to better understand the reality that these reality tv contestants were avoiding. But I also think that we learned JUST enough - about the general outside world and Lily’s individual situation - where it didn’t negatively impact my enjoyment of this story.

I would give this one 4.5 stars for readability - I’m rounding down for now, but may increase my rating to round up as it gets closer to publication day if I’m still thinking about it because this is easily the most intriguing book I’ve read year to date. I’m sad it’s over.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to @netgalley and @randomhouse for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun read full of all the drama we love (or love to hate) in reality TV. Season after season, contestants join this reality TV show, live in the Compound competing in challenges, banishing others into the desert, all to be the last one standing.
Our main character Lily jumped at the chance to leave her unfulfilling job to join the show. Through personal challenges she wins material items. As the season progresses, we see how far contestants will go to win these prizes, and at what cost to each other. Some challenges were pretty tame but some parts were full-blown bananas. We see the worst of people come out for the sake of glory and greed.

The Compound 06/24