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anne_reader's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Vomit, Violence, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Abandonment, Cursing, Cancer, Medical content, Death of parent, Grief, Drug use, Terminal illness, Sexism, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Death, and Classism
kimveach's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A quick-paced thriller with a couple of surprises.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Death, Infidelity, Cannibalism, Sexism, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Blood, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
thesaltiestlibrarian's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Solitude and claustrophobia are two of my favorite tropes when it comes to thrills, chills, and overall suspense. Throw in a dash of toxic masculinity, a generous pinch of privilege, and a tropical island that gets too humid for its own good, well...I'm sold.
I don't usually read suspense, but a bunch of our patrons and two of my colleagues loved THE WIFE UPSTAIRS (which I have yet to read), so I put RECKLESS GIRLS higher on my priority list. I'm glad I did.
Lux McAllister is a waitress in a ritzy SoCal restaurant when she meets Nico, a rich sea-and-surf type who feels an instant attraction to her. Lux has just been through a horrible ordeal with her mom being diagnosed with cancer, having to drop out of college to take care of her, and then losing her mother and being left as an island unto herself. Her father is a right jerk and is basically like, "Your mom took you and left me and now I have a new family, so excuse me if I don't care about her sickness, byyyyeeee." So with no one and nothing else to anchor her to SoCal, she agrees to meet Nico in Maui, then take off into the Pacific on the Susannah, his boat.
Whoops! The boat's got an issue with the hull. Looks like Lux is stuck working at a hotel and resort as a housecleaner. "Wait," I hear you say, "you said Nico is rich? Like, disgustingly wealthy." Yeah, well, turns out Mr. Trust Fund Baby is too proud to ask his family for help and too entitled to work a job himself. Consequently Lux works her behind off to save money and fix the Susannah. A break seems to come their way when, after being fired for DEIGNING to crack a joke after having to clean up an array of sex toys left in a guest's room, a pair of girls who are college friends offer to pay Nico and Lux to take them to a small uninhabited island. The two girls, Amma and Brittany, have been traveling the world together after suffering a similar tragedy, and they've heard about this little island and want to spend a couple weeks out there as a sort of last hurrah before they go home: they want to investigate the island, as it was used for an airstrip in WW2, and shipwrecks there led to tales of cannibalism and murder. What fun!
With the caveat that they have to pay to fix the Susannah, Lux and Nico agree. On Meroe Island, which is purported to be cursed, another sailing couple from Australia show up with their sleek luxury cruiser and all is well in the land of small island partying.
Until it's not.
I really appreciated the buildup of tension here. Hawkins really knows how to utilize dramatic irony and partial information to keep people reading to find out what happens. Sometimes the amount of disbelief one has to suspend for a novel like this requires too much energy, or the author isn't skilled enough to have you trust them. The trickiest thing about suspense is needing to believe that these things could really happen. Fantasy and science fiction are easy to get caught up in even when it's cheesy, because you know this world has a slim probability of existing alongside or within our own. If the world makes sense, it's fun to read. But good on Hawkins for her skill in RECKLESS GIRLS, because realistic fiction actually has to make more sense than any fantasy novel.
The pacing is taut, the characters are awful in their own rights, and the setting is just so well done. I'm honestly 100% certain that I'll be checking out THE WIFE UPSTAIRS at the end of my shift. Well done, Hawkins. You deserve all the recognition this one gets!
Solitude and claustrophobia are two of my favorite tropes when it comes to thrills, chills, and overall suspense. Throw in a dash of toxic masculinity, a generous pinch of privilege, and a tropical island that gets too humid for its own good, well...I'm sold.
I don't usually read suspense, but a bunch of our patrons and two of my colleagues loved THE WIFE UPSTAIRS (which I have yet to read), so I put RECKLESS GIRLS higher on my priority list. I'm glad I did.
Lux McAllister is a waitress in a ritzy SoCal restaurant when she meets Nico, a rich sea-and-surf type who feels an instant attraction to her. Lux has just been through a horrible ordeal with her mom being diagnosed with cancer, having to drop out of college to take care of her, and then losing her mother and being left as an island unto herself. Her father is a right jerk and is basically like, "Your mom took you and left me and now I have a new family, so excuse me if I don't care about her sickness, byyyyeeee." So with no one and nothing else to anchor her to SoCal, she agrees to meet Nico in Maui, then take off into the Pacific on the Susannah, his boat.
Whoops! The boat's got an issue with the hull. Looks like Lux is stuck working at a hotel and resort as a housecleaner. "Wait," I hear you say, "you said Nico is rich? Like, disgustingly wealthy." Yeah, well, turns out Mr. Trust Fund Baby is too proud to ask his family for help and too entitled to work a job himself. Consequently Lux works her behind off to save money and fix the Susannah. A break seems to come their way when, after being fired for DEIGNING to crack a joke after having to clean up an array of sex toys left in a guest's room, a pair of girls who are college friends offer to pay Nico and Lux to take them to a small uninhabited island. The two girls, Amma and Brittany, have been traveling the world together after suffering a similar tragedy, and they've heard about this little island and want to spend a couple weeks out there as a sort of last hurrah before they go home: they want to investigate the island, as it was used for an airstrip in WW2, and shipwrecks there led to tales of cannibalism and murder. What fun!
With the caveat that they have to pay to fix the Susannah, Lux and Nico agree. On Meroe Island, which is purported to be cursed, another sailing couple from Australia show up with their sleek luxury cruiser and all is well in the land of small island partying.
Until it's not.
I really appreciated the buildup of tension here. Hawkins really knows how to utilize dramatic irony and partial information to keep people reading to find out what happens. Sometimes the amount of disbelief one has to suspend for a novel like this requires too much energy, or the author isn't skilled enough to have you trust them. The trickiest thing about suspense is needing to believe that these things could really happen. Fantasy and science fiction are easy to get caught up in even when it's cheesy, because you know this world has a slim probability of existing alongside or within our own. If the world makes sense, it's fun to read. But good on Hawkins for her skill in RECKLESS GIRLS, because realistic fiction actually has to make more sense than any fantasy novel.
The pacing is taut, the characters are awful in their own rights, and the setting is just so well done. I'm honestly 100% certain that I'll be checking out THE WIFE UPSTAIRS at the end of my shift. Well done, Hawkins. You deserve all the recognition this one gets!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Alcohol, Cursing, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Murder, Sexism, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cancer, Car accident, Drug use, and Injury/Injury detail
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