amyradak's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

What an intense ride! Ruth Ware is the master of making a reader feel suspense on behalf of her characters. I felt the despair and anxiety right along with the stranded reality show contestants as their resources dwindled and the minor group tensions escalated to abject control and even
murder.
The setting was also very well portrayed and I felt like I could picture the island they were on.

But this book was more than just an engaging survival story with high stakes - the author tackled some serious 'meat' among the thriller elements.  Ware very deftly made a case for just how toxic a not-openly-racist/sexist-but-'just-asking-questions' podcast bro can be. I was impressed at how she so accurately portrayed a victim's perspective of the control, gaslighting, and misogyny Connor doled out. I found myself, along with the FMC, being able to not quite put my finger on how he was manipulating them, to the point where I almost questioned if I/the characters were really experiencing what they were. The author then also led me to feel fully enraged at Connor once it became clear that any ethical explanation for his withholding resources was gone, and it became clear he wasn't the rational, protective hero but a controlling abuser actively
plotting murder.
 

The book provided a satisfying resolution, but didn't tie things up with a pretty bow. Lila and the three other women
who survived the ordeal will forever be haunted with what happened on the island, and question what guilt, if any, they'll carry for causing Connor's death when it was ultimately a life-or-death situation for them. They'll also feel the weight of essentially canonizing such a sick twisted villian so that they can all continue to live the lives he tried to take from them.
Lots to continue to ponder on after finishing the book.


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embelle's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

This book definitely drew me in! The first 1/3 of the book was a bit slower, but then I couldn’t put it down and ended up reading 50% of the book in one sitting! The setting was extremely atmospheric, and Ware did a good job of keeping things tense all throughout the group’s efforts to survive. There were parts of the ending that felt a bit rushed and that I didn’t appreciate as much, but overall I had a really good time following our cast of characters along their survival journey!

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dianereads2025's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25


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jmariejones's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

A reality tv show turned into island survival.
I was on edge after 40% in & could not put this book down.

This book was a bit different than Ruth Ware’s typical story. There was less mystery, more thriller and no child in danger.

• Single POV - snippets of diary/other perspectives
• Tropical island murder / survival

Read with audiobook & hardback.
Started with audiobook, but once it got intense I had to switch to reading. Only because I read faster. Still would recommend listening. 

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wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Rather repetitive and predictable, but I also kind of expected that somehow.

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gwenswoons's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.25

God this was so unrelentingly terrible. Terrible characters, terrible plot, terrible everything. And just terrible writing, somehow both repetitive and inconsistent, ugly and banal on a sentence level. Predictable, badly written, boring, meaningless. I honestly cannot believe that people can read this and tolerate it and that it got past editors in this state.

I listened to it on 2x speed while driving and doing errands and chores and I STILL wish I could get those 7 hours and 4 and a half minutes back. You could not pay me to read another book by Ruth Ware.

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kiwichill's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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kennim's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Pros:
- Santana was definitely my favorite, I loved her personality and the way she was written.
- If you’re like me and don’t live on the coast you can forget how devastating and dangerous a storm can be. Ruth Ware does a good job of reminding you. The build up, arrival, and immediate aftermath of the storm were all well written.
- The build up of tension was well done and kept me on the edge of my seat (the payoff is a different story…). Reading Lyla’s thought process as things devolved helped in understanding how things got so bad, especially with the group dynamic.

Cons:
- It took a while for me to get into the groove of the story; it was really hard to believe that Lyla would agree to being in a reality tv show.
- The marketing did this book dirty, it is not a mystery. Publishers need to stop comparing books to And Then There Were None, they’re setting their books up for failure.
- The ending was severely lacking. I can’t say more because I’d like to keep it spoiler free, but it left me wanting more.

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hal00alex's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

A bit different from her usual novels. Better than Zero Days. Not as good as It Girl. 

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havenraven23's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Least fave book from this author I've read so far. Idk it started off good, but it was too long for the story she told. It dragged too much at times since there wasn't a real mystery to solve, & everything was way too obvious. 

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