Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Reckless Girls

I realized while reading this that I'm not a fan of non linear timelines and flashbacks. Tom a while to get into the meat of the story but once it got there it wasn't bad!

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rachjellie's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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michellemaas's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.5

* Beware of minor spoilers

2.5 - ⭐⭐💫

Standalone Adult Thriller with island vibes, dual timelines, and multiple point-of-views. Also deals strongly with themes of privilege and loss.

It was a great study on human nature, but marketing it as a thriller is a bit of a stretch.

"Dreams were for people who had choices, opportunities. I didn’t believe I had any of those things."

Lux and her boyfriend, who are in dire need of some money, offer to accompany 2 college girls to a deserted island for a thrilling adventure. While things are nice, even relaxing at first, the discovery of a dead body causes them all to question whom they can trust.

"The truth is, when your world is falling apart, you stop having 'a thing.' You get so focused on just making it through each day that 'interests' or 'ambitions' kind of go out the window. You definitely don’t have time for passions."

First and foremost, I think marketing this as a "thriller" is a bit of a stretch. There were legit maybe 4 thrilling scenes in total, and even that's me being a bit generous. Now this was my first thriller so maybe I'll come to learn that that's just how it is, but I don't think so. This felt a lot more like a contemporary or speculative fiction book with a heavy emphasis on sociology.

The whole point of the book was to explore people. How they interacted, the things they did to be accepted by others, how loss affected them but also how isolation affected them. Being on a deserted island with no connection to the modern world gave everyone the freedom they needed to justify their baser human instincts. The jealousy, the possessiveness, the sexual urges, everything was dramatically heightened because there were no other people to subconsciously keep them in line with the threat of not fitting in and being accepted. It was a great study of human nature and I really enjoyed it but thrilling, it was not.

All that being said, I still think Hawkins is an amazing author. She has this way of using stylistic devices (which is not something I ever notice) to enhance the story and make the characters super realistic. Things such as her narrating past events in the third person as opposed to the first person of current events to create distance between the people our main characters were and currently are, for example. She also delivers a very slow and mundane start to the book so we can see how fast things escalate in the end. It was all just really well done.

"What am I when you strip everything else away? I’m a motherf*cking survivor."

Overall, I unexpectedly really enjoyed reading this book, especially the social commentary Hawkins made, but I wish there were more heart-pounding scenes and a bit more of a plot since things only really started happening at 65% in. The ending was pretty mind-blowing and expertly done though. Would recommend it if you are in the mood for a book that is slightly thrilling and has a cast of amazing characters.

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kerrygetsliterary's review

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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epilieaspiechick's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I have some very complicated feelings about this book having finished it. On the one hand, it was a really good thriller /mystery where it left you wondering what was really going on and how it all connected. At the same time, it took so long for the action to move from slow to fast that I started to get irritated. The plot doesn't really get moving until at least 2/3 through the book. However, once it does, it continues on at a very rapid pace.

If you are willing to wait a long time for a rapid plot completion, there is a very good chance you would like this book far better than I did. Overall, I'm just not a very patient reader.

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alexisgarcia's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Overall, this was a fun change of pace from my usual genres. However, there were a few problems for me.

First, it’s definitely “R-rated”. There’s cursing, death (not a spoiler, mentioned on the inner cover), etc. that may bother some so keep that in mind.
Second, I wish there was more character development. Some of the characters seem a little one dimensional due to the lack of development and exploration.
Third, I did also feel like there were some issues toward the end. Some of the end character plots left me a little disappointed and confused. A lot of it seemed rushed and almost forced.

Aside from those issues, the book was a pretty fun and heart racing change. The descriptions of the island are beautiful and the tangled relationships and characters were so fun to “figure out”. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a thriller about a deserted island or someone who wants to pretend it’s not winter.

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