The Island

by Natasha Preston

Hot on the heels of the New York Times bestsellers The Twin and The Lake, another pulse-pounding read from the undisputed queen of YA thrillers!

They said goodbye to their friends and family for the weekend. They weren’t counting on forever.


Jagged Island: a private amusement park for the very rich—or the very influential. Liam, James, Will, Ava, Harper, and Paisley—social media influencers with millions of followers—have been invited for an exclusive weekend before the park opens. They’ll make posts and videos for their channels and report every second of their VIP treatment.

When the teens arrive, they're stunned: the resort is even better than they’d imagined. Their hotel rooms are unreal, the park’s themed rides are incredible, and the island is hauntingly beautiful. They’re given a jam-packed itinerary for the weekend.

But soon they'll discover that something's missing from their schedule: getting off the island alive.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Young Adult, Horror, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Audiobook

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 28, 2023

About the author

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author of The Cellar and The Cabin. Romance and YA Thriller writer, boy mum, Tom Hardy enthusiast. Always buried in a book and a glass of wine.

Amazon - https://goo.gl/VsxKPk
Facebook - https://goo.gl/vAAGsB
Twitter - https://goo.gl/JGrC4b
Instagram – https://goo.gl/kvk7DD

Reviews

[OutlawPoet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I post reviews on Amazon and they will not let me post curse words. This is probably good, because the words that came out of my mouth when I finished this book were foul. Extremely. Loudly. Foul.

Now, I read an ARC of this so there’s time. Time for someone – a partner, a good friend, a beta reader, a fairy godmother, a FRIGGING EDITOR – to take the author aside and say, “You know how you ended the book? Don’t FREAKING DO THAT!”

Excuse me. Blood pressure. Rising.

Whew.

The thing is, until the ending, the stupid, lazy, cheat of an ending, the book was good. It wasn’t an award winning masterpiece of literature (and who even needs that), but it was entertaining and fun and bloody and I loved our characters. And even though I knew the ‘who’ of things way too early, I didn’t care.

And then I read the last bloody sentence and I said, wait…that’s it? I tried to turn the page because surely there was more. There wasn’t.

And ebook hit virtual wall.

The 2 stars are ONLY because I was so entertained…until the last. Bloody. Sentence.

*ARC via Publisher

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 4 out of 5]

“On of us is lying” meets “And then there were none “ theme executed as trapped on an isolated island in the middle of storm where is cut out from civilization: no phone and internet reception plot line!
The targeted young people are influencers are invited to promote the facilities including the ultra luxurious resort and amusement park.

Everything starts so dreamy in the beginning. True crime podcaster- influencer Paisley is the main character who already gets haunted vibes from the place as soon as she tours around the resort and she feels like somebody is watching her.

Bookstagrammer Harper, video gamer Liam, beauty blogger Will, movie buff James are the other influencers who are also invited to the mysterious island. Malcolm Wyatt is the billionaire who is the owner of the resort accompanied by his full time servant/ loyal assistant Camille Jenkins. The other people who stay at the island are crew members and close friends Reeve, Gibson and their cook Kenna.

All of them are pleased with their accommodations and enjoying thrilling rides but when one of them gets missing and the basement room where the wires and cables of Wi-Fi and phone get vandalized, they realize something is really off about the place. There’s a killer outside targeting the influencers and it could be one of them.

Well, the pacing was good and the ending twists were also unexpected. The reasonings of the killer was a little far fetched.

Overall: definitely readable claustrophobic whodunnit! I’m rounding up 3.5 stars to 4 gripping, young adult thriller, happy Halloween month stars!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s/ Delacorte Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

[Gab · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m so pissed off about this ending lmao

[Astra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fine spooky month read. I did get invested in the story but there were some things that just didn’t need to be added and didn’t make much sense. Also as much as I love romance this book would do way better without mentioning crushes every few pages. The ending wasn’t my favorite either.

[Ashton · Rating 1 out of 5]

I quite literally do not know where to begin this review. Although I studied English Literature and have an affinity for dense texts, I am by no means a literary snob. I enjoy quick, easy reads just like millions of other women my age. This book, however, was so poorly written and juvenile in it’s excuse for plot development that I am appalled that it was published. When I got on my good reads app today, I was anticipating being validated by more scathing reviews but was shocked by how relatively highly rated this book is. Perhaps I had way to high of expectations, because I generally enjoy every psychological-thriller I read, but this was genuinely one of the worst novels I have ever read — from its unlivable characters, to several plot holes, the copious editing issues I discovered within, and the overall incredibly simple language used throughout.

I have the curse of needing to finish every book I start, so that’s why I finished it. If I were on an island with nothing else to read, I would read it; however, if I had anything else with text, say, a shampoo bottle, I might reach for it first.

[cierra ♡ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh, Natasha. This was, by far, one of the stupidest books I’ve ever read. The characters were flat, the dialogue was boring, the twists weren’t twisting, the ending was so rushed and unsatisfying. The premise of the book was great….the execution was far from it.
I’ve read The Lake by Natasha and I found that to be very unsatisfying as well, but this definitely took the cake. Here’s some things I had an issue with:

***** SPOILERS *****

1) When Ava begins freaking out after James’ death…Paisley says that she could tell even Harper was annoyed by “the dramatics” … ???? A boy freaking DIED????? And you all had to witness his dead body….??? I’d be “dramatic” too, Paisley. Any normal, real human being would be.
2) The red herrings were so obvious and so annoying.
3) If Natasha put one more “Liam was out for blood” or “Liam, who liked to kill” or whatever she said. Like yeah, we get it, Natasha, thanks.
4) Who could think of food when you all are being picked off one by one???
5) You’re telling me Malcolm had NO idea what his own nephew even looked like when Liam’s mom had been working closely with him for YEARS?? Girl, please.
6) Liam did all of this for his MOM. He also ends up killing his MOM??? Just like that?
7) Throwing Harper in there felt so last minute and so shallow of a twist. Modern day “Bonnie and Clyde” as Harper said…then what was the point of explaining the whole plan about your mom if that wasn’t the endgame? One of the laziest “plot twists” I’ve read.
8) How are you going to easily kill all of these people and then fold when you see your partner in crime stabbed in a “maybe not fatal” area? You just let your captives win just like that?
9) seriously….what was that ending?

Ugh, this book annoyed me and wasted my time.
I only chose to finish instead of DNF because I listened on audio at 1.65 speed and since it was a popcorn thriller, I was able to get through it quickly. But if I had read it, I would 100% DNF’d. I do not recommend.

SIDE NOTE: The narrator for the audiobook was great. I thought her voice really fit the character and she had a soothing, innocent teenage voice. 10/10 for the narrator.

[May (previously Violet) · Rating 3 out of 5]

» Panic Room - Au/Ra «
0:53 ─〇─────3:58
↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺

✧˚ · People listen to someone online they’ve never met more than they do to their parents, teachers, doctors. It’s tragic really, but I’m not complaining · ˚✧

⭐⭐⭐ - 3.25 Stars
Single Third Person POV
Spice Level 🌶️ - 1/5
⤷ talks of crushes, side characters making out when one has bf, talk of characters kissing, illusions to side characters sleeping with each other
Age rating - 14+
⤷ Some graphic scenes, some sexual references, minor cussing

⁺˚⋆｡° ⚔ My Thoughts ⚔ °｡⋆˚⁺
What.
Was.
That.
Ending!?!?!?!?!?!?
I flipped the page so fast expecting there to be another chapter. But NOPE. Ari was on call with me as I finished and she got to experience me shrieking “THAT’S IT?!”
I should know because all Natasha Preston books are like that, but I wasn’t expecting it to be THAT bad.

Also shout out to my bestie Ari: She knew I loved Natasha Preston and made a blind date with a book for me, and we were on FT the majority of me reading it!!

⁺˚⋆｡° 🎢 The Plot 🎢 °｡⋆˚⁺
The ending was insane, but I wasn’t super impressed with the entirety of the book itself. I guessed the murderers super easily so the “big reveal” at the end was a bit of a yawn. The book wasn’t bad per se, I just didn’t feel as invested in the story and can’t really recall a time I was on the edge of my seat in suspense. I would still recommend this as a thriller, but I would recommend a couple of her other books first.
None of the mcs could make logical choices to save their life (literally) and it was frustrating to read. I guess that’s normal for thriller/horror, but it gave me the feel of when you’re watching a horror movie and the girl leaves her phone (and brains) behind and just walks down the stairs to the dark creepy basement where she hears evil laughing and a chainsaw revving and you’re like “CALL THE POLICE AND GET OUT OF THE HOUSE AND YOU WOULDN’T HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS YA IDIOT”
*ahem*
Another thing I didn’t really like is how they assumed who the murderer was from like chapter 5 with pretty much no evidence and kept being like (imma use the name jeff as an example) “Jeff is out there killing everyone.” “Jeff saw me!” “Run here Jeff comes!” Like you had no realistically adequate evidence to make that assumption bro.

⁺˚⋆｡° 🌊 Characters 🌊°｡⋆˚⁺
➥ Paisley: I liked her, but there weren’t any outstanding or memorable qualities about her. Though that’s better than having a seriously annoying fmc. I did like how she was willing to accept help from men and not be like “I can do it myself bc I’m a big strong woman.” She accepted help when she needed it and was willing to be selfless to offer help too
╰┈> Running with the Wolves- AURORA ♫₊˚.
➥ Harper: Yesssss, I love how she was a fellow reader girlie and Goodreads girlie. I loved her character so much it wasn’t even funny, she was lwk badahh
╰┈> Don’t Blame Me - Taylor Swift ♫₊˚.
➥ Ava: She was too dumb to be realistic. I cringed every time her character spoke.
╰┈> Unsweetened Lemonade - Amelie Farren ♫₊˚.
➥ James: I feel like he wouldn’t be that bad of a character if it weren’t for Ava.
╰┈> I Won’t - AJR ♫₊˚.
➥ Liam: This man was a hottieeeeeeee. I loved him. I shipped him and Paisley the entire time.
╰┈> Burn - David Kushner ♫₊˚.
➥ Will: I think he was supposed to be like James Charles? I didn’t like his character, he gave me the ick. All I could think of was “Hey sisters 💅” but his thing was apparently to call everyone “angel”
╰┈> Born to Die - Lana Del Rey ♫₊˚.
➥ Gibson: He was sweet I liked him
╰┈> Count on Me - Bruno Mars ♫₊˚.
➥ Reeve: I HATED HIM SM. COULD HE BE ANY MORE ANNOYING BY JUST EXISTING, GET HIM OUT MAN
╰┈> Demons - Alec Benjamin ♫₊˚.

⁺˚⋆｡° 🌩 Conclusion 🌩 °｡⋆˚⁺
So there you have it.
While it wasn’t my favorite Natasha Preston book, I would still recommend it. That ending is to die for man. I will never be the same.
Can’t wait to see what she’ll shock us with next.

[bookish.reader.elle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I personally didn’t care for this book and I love thrillers and all things scary. It felt so over the top but not in a good way. It read like a movie but in a choppy tell us not show us style. It was a lot of short abrupt sentences and it felt a bit like reading an unedited diary. We basically get a stream of consciousness from the main character. As a reader I felt really disconnected from the story and characters.

The actual murders and thriller never felt scary. The main character Paisley is really into true crime and sharing all she knows about it with her followers. I think this book was trying to be serious but it almost felt like a parody… like those Scary Movie films. Characters kept doing the most obvious and stupid things that ended up getting them killed. The over the top shock at how any of them could have ended up in that situation was frustrating. We as readers were constantly being fed every moment there was no suspense. I found the writing spoiled the thriller aspects. The big reveal was lackluster and murderer wasn’t believable in the slightest. The ending felt very rushed and thrown together. I understand not all stories end happy but this just ended so abruptly I had to double check if there was a glitch on my kindle.

Overall I didn’t care for this book but maybe if you are looking for a very current contemporary YA story about TikTok influencers being killed then this might be the book for you.

Thank you Random House/ Delacorte Press and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Emily Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

all of that just for THAT ending?? There’s nothing I hate more than thrillers that don’t give you any answers

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very fast read full of twists and turns. It’s a bit of a locked room mystery since all of the characters are at a special event at a fancy resort and amusement park on an island with no one able to leave or come. The main group of teens at this event are all influencers, and while that isn’t necessarily my favorite I did like that the narrator is a true crime/murder influencer. Empty amusement parks make perfect settings for stories, especially for horror/serial killer stories. Paisley is excited to get invited to an exclusive event for influencers at a new amusement park that has a gothic theme with an attached resort on an island. But once they all get there people start to disappear. And Paisley realizes just how far away from civilization an island can be.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings on this book. I love a good locked room mystery, and adding influencers set on an island - sign me up! However, the characters were all kinda flat and literally none of them made an logical choices, just nonsensical decisions aplenty. However, I also was interested in the plot and definitely wanted to keep reading to see how it turned out. It is more of a young YA style than I expected, with a lot of time dedicated to TikTok/brand/follower type discussions, especially for the first 25%.

I felt like it almost had the vibe of one of those 90s spoof slasher movies, like Scary Movie, with how over the top it was. I was entertained by it though so like I said, mixed feelings 😂 One thing that definitely didn’t work for me was the ending. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again - I don’t like thrillers that end with an abrupt cliffhanger which this unfortunately did. Some ambiguity I like, but this was too much and felt unnecessary, like it was done solely for shock value.

I’d still recommend this if you want an easy and quick thriller with a slasher feel, just be ready to suspend belief and don’t look too close or you’ll see all the plot holes.


❌❌Warning Spoilers Below❌❌


Questions I had while reading:

❓More of a pet peeve than a plot hole, but while being chased by a murderer and finding dead bodies, why was Paisley still so boy crazy? I mean I know all YA books like to have some crush/romance aspect but it made no sense to me. Like here let me clean the blood off you - oh I’m blushing after being caught totally scoping him out. Oh I’m blushing because he brushed my bloody hair out of my eyes. 😂 No girl. Just no.

❓Paisley repeatedly talks about her phone needed to be charged. And they all mention their phones are dying b/c they took so much video. They are in the hotel with their stuff? Why wouldn’t they go together to get chargers.

❓ How did they really jump from overhearing someone mention a name to identifying the killer like that? It was such a huge stretch and yet everyone was just like yup, that checks out.

❓The motive made no sense. I get why he has anger but how was any of the killing influencers plan going to make it better? And if it was money related wouldn’t it have made sense to attack Malcolm before he threw all that money away on the island amusement park? And don’t even get me started on the famous one. How would they be famous - from jail if they got caught? None of that made any sense whatsoever.

❓ Wouldn’t the ski mask make it obvious the killer was trying to mask their identity b/c they were recognizable? Instead Paisley says its to keep them from knowing what Robert looks like. Girl, you’re on a deserted island, if you saw one person you didn’t know you could probably assume its him even if you didn’t know what he looked like!

❓ Even more than that, why did they stay in areas with multiple entry points? Go into one of the rooms which only has one door, that locks, and throw the deadbolt. Stay safe until help arrives. Duh.

❓Literally every chapter they talk about how they have to stay together and then come up with a plan that has them all splitting up and running around the park for no reason at all. Why did they all keep running around the park??

❓Really?? The only failsafe to get off the island is a rowboat?!? This billionaire had rowboats as his only emergency escape, even though he owns helicopters. Makes total sense.

❓What parent would let their teenager go to a random island with zero supervision and no way to contact anyone. C’mon, all the parents were just like ok well see ya after, hope the creepy reclusive billionaire behaves!

[ari [gin’s vrsn 🩵] [semi ia] · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.7⭐

now playing: villains aren’t born (they’re made) - peggy

spoiler free

14/15+

romance: 4/10 (mentions of reationships, possible hookup between two characters, mentions of an unknown man knocking up someone)

cursing: 2/10 (non-frequent minor curse words. No f-ck)

violence: 5/10 (stabbing, maiming, stalking, murder)

other: mentions of underage drinking, and the adults have a cocktail

tw: Death. Blood

first person, present tense

“They say my heart is almost black, well baby, who’s to blame for that?”


– OVERVIEW –

I have an addiction.
I can’t stop reading Natasha’s books even tho they bring me physcial pain.

What.

The.

Freak.

I am unwell.

I seriously have no words to even begin to explain that ending. My brain is still trying to wrap my head around it. WHY do her books always end on a cliffhanger??? I’m fr going to get her one of these days.

NATASHA WHEN I FIND YOU—

I have too many emotions to unpack them all rn 😸

The begining is a little slow to start, but it’s gets good quickly. My heart would not stop racing after, say, the 25% mark. It was a rollercoaster and I’m still trapped on it bc idk how I’m supposed to move on now.

Girl what

So far my favorite book from herrrr can’t wait to read the rest of her work hehehe

“Count your blessings, count your minutes. Played my game, hell, now you’re in it”


– PLOT –

Teenagers trapped on an island, what’s the worst that could happen? (famous last words)

“Bittersweet, my renegade and I’m anything but tame”


– CHARACTERS –

Paisley
⤷ now, out of all of Natasha’s FMCs, she annoyed me the least. She didn’t constantly make the wrong choices and she wasn’t all me me me. She didn’t get mad at people for wanting to help her either which is good, bc if she did I would’ve thrown my phone kid you notttt

Ava
⤷ She’s the classic beauty influencer, slightly full of herself and the horror movie “dumb blond” type. Honestly, it’s so bad, but she reminded me of someone ik irl… UH we ignore hehehe

Harper
⤷ She just screamed “KARMA’S A CAT PURRING IN MY LAP CUZ IT LOVES ME” idk why

Will
⤷ now, this guy reminded me of either the gay best friend or James Charles…

James
⤷ Eh, jock type. Not rlly a fan

Liam
⤷ Gamer? Idk, I might be stupid but I don’t remember much abt him ngl

Gibson
⤷ he was soooo sweet, and I loved him sm

Reeve
⤷ MY FAVORITE CHARACTER FS. WE STAN


“Grab your sword, you might just need it cuz I’m not afraid of cheating
Oh, I hate to tell you this way


– CONCLUSION –

Read. It. Thank you 🥺🔪

“But villains aren’t born, darlin’, we’re made”



- pre-review -

my hands are shaking….

WHAT WAS THAT ENDING BRO WDYM IT JUST ENDS THERE HELP WHAT EXCUSE ME

rtc…

[Francesca ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

another NP book where the ending isn’t an ending lol

[august ! · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5 stars

As much as I wanted to give this one star, I decided to be nice because the plot twists were actually mostly thought out.

Everyone knows that Natasha Preston is my least favorite author. Her books are incredibly predictable and the characters are all idiots that I wish would get killed off super fast. But this plot was really interesting, so, like an idiot, I bought it.

And where do I begin with this?

By saying that this review might not be that long. Thanks, book, for being so boring that I forgot 80% of what happened.

Anyways, every single character was extremely shallow. If their personalities were water in 5-feet-deep pools, it would barely rise to my ankles. They all had one, maybe two personality traits and I was praying for half of the cast to die just a few chapters in. They were all incredibly annoying, ESPECIALLY Paisley. She is one of the most insufferable main characters I've ever read about. I thought America Singer was the most horrendous, but holy, Paisley was a whole new breed of awful. And why was Ava the only one with a brain cell? Not even that, but why did her two personality traits waver? And her character development? I was so confused.

Also, every character disappeared unless Paisley was talking to them. I wish I was kidding when I say there was one scene where James and Ava just sort of ✨appeared✨ out of nowhere just because Paisley was speaking to them. And how did half the cast openly say "We need to confront Camilla about this" right in front of her without her noticing? They were all just gossiping about her and she just didn't notice??????? Honestly, this book needed an editor or a proofreader or literally anyone with knowledge of how to write. I was so confused the entire time.

And for the plot-- Oh, God, where do I start? I didn't know what was going on half the time. The story jumped scenes and never described where they were, and after a few short sentences they were somehow completely across the island MULTIPLE TIMES. Nothing made sense and no scenery was described unless it was convenient.

Speaking of convenience, the entire plot thrived off of it. And I swear everyone there had plot armor.

AND WHAT WAS THAT ENDING? GENUINELY, WHAT HAPPENED? WHO SURVIVED? DID PAISLEY GET OFF THE ISLAND? DID THE COPS APPREHEND ANYONE? The ending felt so cheap and rushed. Like Preston had a good thirty seconds to finish her book and just typed out the last sentence.

⚠️⚠️⚠️!!!SLIGHT SPOILERS!!!⚠️⚠️⚠️
I can understand the one killer's motive just fine. But the other? Theirs was never explained which pissed me off and confused me even more. Also, the killers were really predictable. The first caught me a little off guard; I didn't expect them to be bad (but Preston does usually pick the stereotypes for killers.) The second? I guessed them about 20% in. Yet another stereotypical killer from Natasha Preston, ladies and gentlemen. But I do have to say, there were clues that made it make sense, so I don't entirely hate the reveals.
⚠️⚠️⚠️!!!SPOILERS OVER!!!⚠️⚠️⚠️

Overall, this was a low-budget rip-off of Scream 5, Scream 4, and Glass Onion: a Knives Out Mystery. The urge to burn this book is very real. And the urge to never read another Natasha Preston novel is incredibly strong. She's way too overhyped for the bare minimum plot twists and the worst characters to ever exist.

[Chelsea | thrillerbookbabe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Natasha Preston and Penguin Audio for my copy of The Island! From the moment I heard the premise, I knew I had to get my hands on it. It is about a group of influencers who go to a private theme park for the weekend to promote it on social media. Paisley runs an account all about true crime, and she can’t wait to go to a spooky island full of fun rides. But when they get to the resort, something is off. Even though it is the dream weekend, the eerie setting and skeleton crew is unsettling. Then one of the influencers goes missing, and Paisley begins to wonder if she will get off the island alive.

Thoughts: This book was like a YA version of And Then There Were None. I loved the premise and thought it was really fun. Natasha Preston is a great writer and the story is both fast-paced and claustrophobic. The thing about YA books is that the characters always seem pretty dumb. They don’t think and the plans they come up with are so basic and unthought out, which is both funny and frustrating.

The ending was both unsurprising and thrown together. It didn’t really make sense why things unfolded the way they did and seemed like a stretch to me. Even the misdirection made no sense and seems like such a big stretch to commit to. There are also so many characters that it is hard to keep track of who is who and why they matter. It was such a fun plot, but the last 20% was disappointing and that was such a bummer. 3-stars.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The premise to this one is fun. Six teenage popular social media influencers get invited to a private island where a newly completed hotel and amusement park for the rich is located. While the hotel is obviously meant for those who prefer luxury, the amusement park has a gothic theme with gargoyles and rides meant to spook. The question is, is this just a fun, free vacation as a perk of being internet famous, or is something else at play?

This book kept my attention. I didn’t want to stop reading. I liked the main character. There were a couple good twists. It would make a good movie.

[Susan Tunis · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Well, this is a first... This novel dropped a half-star based on the final sentence alone.

[jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

let me just say beforehand i am going to full on spoil this book so if you really want to read this and experience it yourself which i wouldn’t recommend close out now 🫱🏽‍🫲🏼


to make this short there’s five influencers invited to some rich guy named malcom don’t care to remember private island which has a resort and amusement park

the five tiktokers are paisley who’s a crime podcast girl, ava and will who are beauty influencers, liam who is a gamer, james who reviews movies?? and harper who’s a booktoker


it’s told in the pov of paisley aka the crime podcast tiktoker (pippa wannabe) and ofc since she studies this for a living you think she’d be smarter right? YOURE WRONG


the entire time she’s putting herself in more danger and being stupid. i swear i was hoping she’d be killed, bc god she was annoying.


they’re all getting killed off one by one and for some reason this bitch can’t see the obvious??? i know for suspense it had to be revealed at the end but cmon LIAM WAS FLIRTING W HER THE WHOLE TIME AND DID NOT EVEN SEEM WORRIED.


reveal time 😍😍 it was liam killing everyone and the reason was bc malcom’s assistant was his mom and malcom was his uncle and malcom made her literally work day n night for minimum wage pay even tho THEY WERE SIBLINGS. and his name isn’t even liam it’s robert, which left the biggest fucking plot holes ever😒😒😒


and guess what that’s not the end. HARPER is liam’s gf and she was in on it. that i will admit i should’ve seen coming but the whole “bonnie and clyde” speech at the end made me want to rip my eyeballs out and dip them in acid for relief


anyways her and one of the maintenance workers (who also happens to be her age??) escape bc everyone else is basically dead and the rescue boat came, and they’re literally in the water swimming TALKING to the people on the boat and guess what….


SHE GETS FUCKING YANKED DOWN IN THE WATER AND THATS HOW THE BOOK ENDS



THIS IS LITERALLY THE ENDING LINE

The last thing I see before I’m dragged underwater is Reeve’s horrified expression.

if she’s dead tho i’m not complaining


this book was so uegdudidbdiddn, like i was expecting something similar to the movie the menu, but this was not it. i didn’t think it was that bad but the ending??? stop playing games w me rn 😒


that’s it for my rant. i could probably say more but i don’t want to die w high blood pressure. 🏃🏽‍♀️


forcing my brain to forget i read this book

[Kimberly R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow totally Gobsmacked by the ending!
Six social media influencers are invited to Jagged Island, an amusement park for the rich and famous. Trouble abounds and murders arise as they start getting bumped off one by one.
This was a very edge of your seat read by this great author. Thanks NetGalley and Random House Childrens for this ARC that will come out Feb. 27, 2023.

[Natasha's Reviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

What in the hell was that ending?! The author went all Friday the 13th on the characters and just abruptly ended the story on a literal cliffhanger. The buildup to whomever Robert was, was way too drawn out. The characters seemed very immature and childish and I felt as if I was watching a really bad teenage slasher flick. Let's all separate and investigate the noises we heard. What in the ever loving Scooby Doo shit was that? This could have been so much better.

[⊹ ࣪ ˖ ꒰ঌ mimi ໒꒱ ⊹ ࣪ ˖ [im back] · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf @ 30%

I don’t care enough to finish a murder mystery about tiktok influencers.

and I can’t with the pop culture references, it was too much 😭 tiktok, youtube, Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bezos, even goodreads was mentioned.

[Ta || bookishbluehead · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a huge let down for me. I was looking for a fun and creepy story set in an almost empty amusement park, but I had so many issues with this story that I couldn’t enjoy it.

First of all, there wasn’t one character that was likable or interesting. The next time I see a book, where the main characters are influencers I know I won’t touch it. The characters constantly made stupid decisions, especially Paisley the FMC.

The story is boring and not engaging at all. I wasn’t rooting for the characters and it was absolutely unrealistic. There weren’t any great twists or shocking moments, at least not for me. The killer reveal was very anticlimactic and not surprising at all.

The worst thing about this book, though, has to be the ending. I’m not opposed to open endings, when they are done right. Here though? Nope. The story just cut off. It felt like even the author was bored, didn’t want to continue writing and just wandered off.

[elly · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book is basically knives out: glass onion but with unbearable characters, too many TikTok mentions and a unfinished ending…

[bianca ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ✰

pls tell me my copy is missing the last chapter or two because i feel like writing something like that should be illegal 🤯😱 i’m so mad at that ending, why on earth…??? the rest of the book was so good though that part of me isn’t letting it affect the rating.

so uhh…this was pretty traumatizing 😬🫠 in a good way though. i hate thrillers that incorporate teenagers doing stupid teenagery things like drugs 😒 it just ruins the whole book for me and thank goodness that this wasn’t like that. it was so suspenseful and had my heart racing, i literally could not wait to get to the end of the book to find out who the killer was 🥲

on that note, my theory was correct, i knew exactly who the killer was at about the middle of the book and i pretty much guessed a little of the other stuff except for the motive and the story behind it. i mean, the author basically killed off everyone else so by the end it was pretty easy to see who it was 🤷🏻‍♀️ even though i knew pretty early on it still held my attention and i couldn’t put the book down bc i was so intrigued to see what would happen 🤭

it did take me a hot minute to get into this bc i’m not a huge fan of the whole influencer thing, and it was a little boring at the beginning, but the plot picked up pretty fast. and the influencer part wasn’t too bad, they weren’t super bratty (except for ava and maybe james 😤) and they weren’t like on their phones and recording 24/7 which i appreciated. it really helped the atmosphere of it being a thriller that way.

it was pretty disturbing to read bc it goes into more detail than i’m used to for the bodies and it honestly disgusted me 😣 it wasn’t horrible, i did like that part about it bc it made it all the more scary than a lot of the “chasing” scenes that went on. but oh my gosh, holy cow 🐮, fricking crackle muffins, did every single scene in here have me holding my breath and so afraid to find out what happened on the next page 🫣 things happened so suddenly, one page, lights are off, the next, someone’s dead, it’s crazy 😳

i absolutely loved how the power shut off and the rainstorm outside and the gothic style of the theme park gave it such a creepy feel. you can really feel the characters fear while these events are going on. it’s safe to say i won’t be visiting an island or a creepy amusement park anytime soon 😅 this was probably the best thriller i’ve read since agggtm and definitely fit the fall vibe 😁

also paisley and reeve were so cute!!! stupid ending 😭😒 and to the super annoying ✨james and ava✨ i say too bad so sad.

[scar · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked the eerie beginning and the totally baller ending, but everything in the middle was so hard to get through. it was just boring, even though so many things happened. the characters were behaving like headless chickens, constantly jumping from one plan to another. still, i enjoyed the ride. the whole idea was just fantastic, this one is for all the slasher fans out there. i'll pick up more books from this author for sure, i'm curious about them now.

[Nicole*bookaholic* · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not good. It had me on edge so I gave it 2 stars. The whole time I was thinking that if you have a killer after you and you have a display case full of weapons, you should have more then a hammer to defend yourself. It felt rushed. Natasha Preston's ending always tick me off too. This ending was horrible.

[Alison is probably reading smut · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! Except for the ending.. what the hell was that?? How could it just end LIKE THAT? Disappointed. Infuriating I swear. But the rest of the book was great, probably one of my favorite Natasha Preston reads to date. Once I started reading I couldn't put it down, literally finished in a matter of hours. Definitely was not what I was expecting, it exceeded everything I was expecting to read. Very pop-culturey and relevant. Worth the read.

[Matthew Lachman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fuck this book. What was that ending? Maybe I am being too harsh but I doubt I will read another one of her books.

[Jasmine from How Useful It Is · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you PRHAudio for the complimentary audiobook! Thank you Getunderlined for the gifted copy.

I wanted to read this book because of the influencers but as I got to know them, they were just okay. The audiobook didn't keep me wanting more either. Another And Then There Were None story except the characters aren't that clever.

This story followed Paisley, 17, an influencer on true crimes. She along with other beauty, gamer, etc influencers got invited to a wealthy man's island to play at his new amusement park and use their social influence to tell the world about the Island for the weekend. Upon arriving, she got to know the other influencers. One guy invited her to go on the rides after hours but he didn't show. At first she thought she was stood up but later when she noticed he didn't join the rest of the gang for morning activities that she began to grow worried. She went to his room to check on him and found he wasn't there. Later she got the rest of the influencers to go look for him. They found him murdered and left for dead. From there on, other influencers began to go missing.

[riri · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️ 2 stars MAYBE EVEN 1.5

Wow. I hate this book now. Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed the first half bc it made me kept guessing who’s the murderer…However, it was just getting annoying at this point bc everyone was just going back and forth when they should have never split up in the first place. The only person I like rn is Paisley because shes smart & she analyzes everything, but she just can’t keep her plans to herself. LIKE THERE WERE MANY WAYS THEY COULD HAVE SURVIVED. Im just so mad how this was played out.


(𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗿)
The plot twist was good, like really good. But you might ask then why did you rate it low & say u hate it? BC OF THE ENDING. LIKE WHAT WAS THAT?? I JUST DON’T GET WHY IT WAS RUINED LIKE THAT. It could have been perfect. The ending wasn’t a “wow” or a “omg” moment. It pissed me off and im mad bc now I don’t know if Paisley survived or not. The fact she got dragged in the end by the killer aka Liam PISSED ME OFF LIKE YOU GUYS HAD A CHANCE TO KILL HIM TOO. I can’t with this. Everything was perfect especially the PLOT TWIST. The end just ruined it for me. Not even that but some parts were just boring.