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mercedesjohnson's review
3.0
Imagine Blue Crush as a suspense/mystery novel! I want a TV show. If beaches, waves, surfing, and murder are your things then this book is for you. I've never wanted to take some surf lessons more than I do right now.
booksushi's review against another edition
4.0
I saw this book mentioned in a magazine and it sounded very interesting. I decided that it was going to be my holiday read.
We meet Kenna who is an ex-surfer just doing life and she finds out that her best friend Mikki is getting married and the whole situation sounds abit off, so she leaves dreary London for Australia and shows up on Mikki's doorstep unannounced. From the get go, their interaction is awkward and what was once a close friendship is strained. Kenna ends up inviting herself along on a beach trip with Mikki and her boyfriend and some of their other friends "tribe mates" and that is where things just go from awkward, to dodgy to bad.
We got to really learn about all the characters, their lives and why they have renounced "life" and just going with the flow and living off the grid, in search of that perfect swell. Kenna starts picking away at the group and learning about them, but digging into matters that she shouldn't be.
The ending really took me by surprise as I didn't expect it, maybe there were some clues that I wasn't paying too much attention to, but was a very good ending.
This book took me awhile to read as it was out of my usual PNR books (been trying to read other books), and really enjoyed it. Definitely worth grabbing a copy.
We meet Kenna who is an ex-surfer just doing life and she finds out that her best friend Mikki is getting married and the whole situation sounds abit off, so she leaves dreary London for Australia and shows up on Mikki's doorstep unannounced. From the get go, their interaction is awkward and what was once a close friendship is strained. Kenna ends up inviting herself along on a beach trip with Mikki and her boyfriend and some of their other friends "tribe mates" and that is where things just go from awkward, to dodgy to bad.
We got to really learn about all the characters, their lives and why they have renounced "life" and just going with the flow and living off the grid, in search of that perfect swell. Kenna starts picking away at the group and learning about them, but digging into matters that she shouldn't be.
The ending really took me by surprise as I didn't expect it, maybe there were some clues that I wasn't paying too much attention to, but was a very good ending.
This book took me awhile to read as it was out of my usual PNR books (been trying to read other books), and really enjoyed it. Definitely worth grabbing a copy.
chidimmadesiree's review
1.0
SO HAPPY THAT IT’S OVER! First of all, nothing happens in this book and that’s no exaggeration. The first like 80% of this book is just Kenna trying to fit in with these group of surfers to supposedly “save” her childhood best friend Mikki. Then my main issue of this book is that the main character, Kenna, is dumb AS HELL. Like I actually couldn’t take it anymore. We go into this book knowing that the only reason Kenna goes to Australia is to make sure Mikki is not in an abusive relationship, okay got it. Once she realizes Mikki is in this cultish surf group you would think the alarm bells would start ringing but no. Kenna says she’s suspicious and wary of the group but her actions keep contradicting this. Time and time even as it’s revealed that these people are connected to dead bodies and missing people she still seems to trust them and give them the benefit of the doubt. There’s no true sense of danger and caution in her actions. Also she gets threats to stop asking questions, but she keeps asking them expecting the truth which is INSANE. It’s so funny because I feel like a person who’s not an idiot would realize that Mikki is in far too deep and she needs to run for her life. We’re supposed to believe that Kenna is this smart protagonist who’s trying to outsmart these group of people but she makes the stupidest of decisions, ENOUGH! I kept reading expecting the story to pick up and it did but for like 50 pages which shows how big of a waste of time this was. A book has not pissed me off this much in a long time like wow.
shadows98's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
abandonedquests's review
2.0
I loved the setup of The Swell. Remote location thrillers are my favourite, and I loved the idea of a beach with great surfing in the middle of nowhere, with only a few people in a cultlike group that know about it. There was some nice tension in trying to figure out the history of the different characters and who might be dangerous, and I loved the surfing and climbing scenes.
By about halfway, however, the book started to really drag for me. Kenna's constant questioning of the group wasn't very smart, and felt repetitive. And the final twist was both predictable and a bit nonsensical.
By about halfway, however, the book started to really drag for me. Kenna's constant questioning of the group wasn't very smart, and felt repetitive. And the final twist was both predictable and a bit nonsensical.
caitlynd93's review
3.0
there were some parts of this that i found really interesting, and others that just dragged on way too long. in the end it was a bit too predictable and a little boring, but i did like the 'and then there were none' vibes
jsilfen924's review
5.0
4.5⭐️ WOW! This is the type of book that is impossible to put down! It's fast paced and had me at the edge of my seat needing to see what would happen. A must for your beach bag!
Short synopsis: When Kenna goes to Australia to meet her best friend Mikki's fiance, she finds herself on a remote, isolated beach with a tight-knit group of surfers, which Mikki is part of, that call themselves The Tribe. Everyone is mysterious and secretive, hiding pasts that Kenna is eager to learn more about. And along with that, Kenna learns of some backpackers that have gone missing and thinks someone in the tribe may be to blame.
Thoughts: This book surpassed all expectations! While it is primarily told through Kenna's POV, there are single chapters narrated by each of the group members. These chapters cleverly wove the threads of the story together and were the most twisted/shocking as they were the only times we got into the heads of the supporting characters. While I never surfed or visited Australia, the author’s descriptions were vivid. The mix between a dangerous, high-risk sport and a remote, isolated setting added depth and action-packed scenes to the mystery. The ending is left open-ended, which I typically do not love but it worked perfectly for this story.
Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for this ARC. Pub date 7/19/22
Short synopsis: When Kenna goes to Australia to meet her best friend Mikki's fiance, she finds herself on a remote, isolated beach with a tight-knit group of surfers, which Mikki is part of, that call themselves The Tribe. Everyone is mysterious and secretive, hiding pasts that Kenna is eager to learn more about. And along with that, Kenna learns of some backpackers that have gone missing and thinks someone in the tribe may be to blame.
Thoughts: This book surpassed all expectations! While it is primarily told through Kenna's POV, there are single chapters narrated by each of the group members. These chapters cleverly wove the threads of the story together and were the most twisted/shocking as they were the only times we got into the heads of the supporting characters. While I never surfed or visited Australia, the author’s descriptions were vivid. The mix between a dangerous, high-risk sport and a remote, isolated setting added depth and action-packed scenes to the mystery. The ending is left open-ended, which I typically do not love but it worked perfectly for this story.
Thank you NetGalley and Putnam for this ARC. Pub date 7/19/22
chrisvill's review
2.0
2.5 / 5
Allie Reynolds sure seems to have a formula. The main character was or is addicted to **insert extreme sport**. The group of people are all "hardcore" and they won't stop until they've done something bigger and faster. And they all have secrets! Dun dun duuunnnnn. In this go around, Kenna the main character, is an ex-surfer who gets pulled back into the surfing world, where her friend is part of a group driven to control this secret surf spot in Australia. If it sounds familiar enough, its because its basically a spin on her first book, Shiver, mixed with Alex Garland's The Beach. Overall, The Swell is not terrible. I've read worse books. I was turning pages easy enough, which means I was into it, but I was also shaking my head the whole time.
Kenna is just written so poorly in this book. She's trying to make her best friend come home, but also trying to get to the bottom of the mystery of missing backpackers which she just found out about that day. Her idea of a good plan is to constantly ask her best friend, "are you okay?". Friend makes a face, "are you okay?" Friend smells something, "are you okay?". Friend eats dinner, "are you okay?". Like, damn. She acts like the overprotective parent all the time and is super anxious, constantly worrying about cell reception and being far from a hospital. She has no tact and just moves from friend to friend bluntly asking questions. And then you add the fact that she monitors people's passports and visas and immigration status. She calls people "overstayers" and aggressively asks about peoples' accents. Girl, back up, that is not your problem. You live in London, you do not work for Australian Immigration.
And then there's the group. Why do they all follow this one character who is kind of the alpha and who makes them all do crazy exercises and challenges? Red flag after red flag for most of the book and everybody just stays there and accepts it.
Just so many weird choices that lead up to a frenetic ending.
Allie Reynolds sure seems to have a formula. The main character was or is addicted to **insert extreme sport**. The group of people are all "hardcore" and they won't stop until they've done something bigger and faster. And they all have secrets! Dun dun duuunnnnn. In this go around, Kenna the main character, is an ex-surfer who gets pulled back into the surfing world, where her friend is part of a group driven to control this secret surf spot in Australia. If it sounds familiar enough, its because its basically a spin on her first book, Shiver, mixed with Alex Garland's The Beach. Overall, The Swell is not terrible. I've read worse books. I was turning pages easy enough, which means I was into it, but I was also shaking my head the whole time.
Kenna is just written so poorly in this book. She's trying to make her best friend come home, but also trying to get to the bottom of the mystery of missing backpackers which she just found out about that day. Her idea of a good plan is to constantly ask her best friend, "are you okay?". Friend makes a face, "are you okay?" Friend smells something, "are you okay?". Friend eats dinner, "are you okay?". Like, damn. She acts like the overprotective parent all the time and is super anxious, constantly worrying about cell reception and being far from a hospital. She has no tact and just moves from friend to friend bluntly asking questions. And then you add the fact that she monitors people's passports and visas and immigration status. She calls people "overstayers" and aggressively asks about peoples' accents. Girl, back up, that is not your problem. You live in London, you do not work for Australian Immigration.
And then there's the group. Why do they all follow this one character who is kind of the alpha and who makes them all do crazy exercises and challenges? Red flag after red flag for most of the book and everybody just stays there and accepts it.
Just so many weird choices that lead up to a frenetic ending.