As an avid reality TV enjoyer this book was great. I felt like I was at the compound trying to be the last man standing. This book really highlighted the lengths people will go to in their own self interest. It was fast paced and very intriguing.

I loved this book and couldn’t put it down! I thought the characters were complex and the dystopian setting brutal.

Definitely a fun read but I’m not sure what to make of it overall.

It was an interesting juxtaposition because while the book is clearly a social commentary of today’s society of consumerism, social media, consumption, and even reality TV, the book reads overall like reality tv. The pace was good, it kept me hooked and interested and I kept wondering where it would go.

I would have liked to have more background about the ‘world’ the book was created in- there was mention of wars and that everyone would be dying in 15-20 years anyway but no real explanation or significant background. I guess that wasn’t really the point but it still irked me a bit.

The ending fell a bit flat for me and I had high hopes. I enjoyed it while reading but just felt the ending could have been a little stronger.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for access to this eARC.

Wow, what a ride. I love this flavor of dystopian near-future social experiment. This book is full of uneasy tension and insightful social commentary. I thought the characters were well developed and the pacing was excellent. Really enjoyed this and finished it in about a day. If anything, I wish it continued a bit longer after the ending for some resolution.

Thank you to NetGalley and the ARC!

The Compound is a deft debut novel that imagines what a reality dating and competition show would look like during the apocalypse. In short, when the world's burning down, how far would you go to earn small material rewards?

Hooking me from the first page, I was powerless to put this down until I had followed Lily through every wild twist and turn of her journey on the Compound. Every tried and true reality TV trope is here, but they all feel much more sinister with so much at stake. This book is one that has stuck with me since I finished it in a single sitting and I can't wait for more people to experience it.

Well this book had me feeling as enthralled and disturbed as you might expect from a Love Island/Lord of the Flies/Hunger Games-esque dystopian novel. The writing was incredible and covered so many issues in such a short span of time. None of the characters were very likable, but that was basically the point - nevertheless, they were all very compelling.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

The Compound is a house out in the desert where 18 young people compete in a reality competition by pairing up with another contestant. As they work together to solve challenges, they get rewarded with items from sponsors (don’t forget to thank them!) The guys and girls have to form alliances as couples but we soon see the stress of living together makes them slowly turn on each other. This book was an interesting look at reality shows, how beauty influences how we feel about contestants and how consumerism rarely fills our emotional bucket. More stuff doesn’t equal happiness. I thought this was a good book by a debut author that is perfect for summer.

4 ⭐️ This one surprised me how much I liked it! Lily is a contestant in a reality tv show set at a compound in the desert, while the outside world deals with some type of dystopian disaster that is never revealed. Couples are paired up and must sleep in a bed with someone each night or face elimination. During the day they complete challenges for rewards.

Told from Lily’s POV, the plot moved quickly and held my interest throughout. There is a cast of contestants that come to life on the pages and are gradually eliminated one by one from the compound.

We learn slowly things are not so great in the outside world, but rewards in the compound can be luxurious. There are some harrowing and tense moments but nothing extremely violent and no deaths.

This story touches on friendship, love, loneliness, greed, betrayal and material happiness and contentment. I wish it would have revealed what was going on in the outside world.

Thanks NetGalley and Random House publishers for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

My biggest recommendation for reading The Compound is to ensure you have time to read it in one sitting. Once I picked this up, I could not put it down. The author does a masterful job of showing how as things progress they get eerie and isolating. My only complaint with this book is I wanted to read more. This is a 5 star read for me. Anyone that enjoys reality TV with a dark side has found a match in this book.

Thank you to Random House Publishing, Aisling Rawle, and Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC. (I quite feel like Lily thanking her sponsors for her rewards typing this)

Love Island meets Lord of the Flies. Lily embarks on a strange journey with a cast of characters in a strange compound in the desert. At times the book is tedious like the days in the compound but it’s a fascinatingly dystopian exploration of desire and existence. It takes a while to get going but I zipped through the second half even as things got gorier and stranger. Not really a beach read but an interesting time all the same.

Thank you so much to Random House and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review 💚

I read this in a day.
I literally could not put it down.
Is it a thriller? not at all.
The way the story is written is so compelling, maybe it's that it's scratches the same part of your brain as the reality TV it present? I'm no sure, but what I know is that this book is definitely a hit. Is it perfect? no. is it absolutely mind-blowing for a debut? yes.

Add this to your TBRs people, it's definitely going to be a hit and I'm so glad I got to read it early 💚

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.