Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - The Island

A good middle-grade or YA horror/mystery. Reminded me a lot of being a teen and devouring Fear Street books. But plot holes big enough to drive a boat through, and the last page brought the whole thing down a hald star. It was fine but I don’t think I’ll read any other of her books.

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hapalyn's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This book was enjoyable if you're looking for something fast-paced and filled with lots of action. Preston's books are definitely for younger teens, but I enjoyed this as a 19 year old just for a fun mystery.

Would've been maybe a 3.5 or 4 star (based on enjoyment not because the writing and plot and etc. was objectively the next Shakespeare) but the ending was lazy (unnecessary cliffhanger to avoid writing proper resolutions)

by lazy i mean this is the LAST line bro:

the fmc finally is getting saved from the murderer and last minute the murderer jumps on her and drags her into the ocean - "The last thing I see before I'm dragged underwater is Reeve's horrified expression" -

like Natasha Preston is known for her ridiculous endings (her other books: The Lake, The Lost) or plot twists at the end and leaving you like wtf after finishing the book (The Lake.....), but this felt like a cop out of writing a satisfying ending for a reader. I've been reading her books since I was 13 or 14 and I'm 19 now, so I'm not necessarily the target audience; however, I think this particular ending is maybe the 2nd worst of all her books (Looking at you The Lake or The Twin for #1). Just disappointing because I enjoyed everything (the action was fun) until that last line. Literally CRIMINAL okay.

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honestlyyours77's review against another edition

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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

4.5

While fluffy, I overall enjoyed the book. Was it a murder mystery where you didn’t know who the murder was by the end, no, not at all. So for that I would have appreciated a bit more intrigue and it not being so obvious. It’s definitely based on tons of cliches but in the same way you like the movie Scream.

So while I would have liked to have a “twist” that wasn’t very apparent for half the book, it still was a good quick read that took only a few hours.

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whatifem's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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hobbithopeful's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.0

Privileged influencers get invited to an exclusive weekend at an amusement park that caters to the wealthy. What could possibly go wrong?
The ending and a twist was disappointing, and felt cheap. The book was already pretty short, I'm not sure where a sequel would even come from. The twist was so unnecessary. It was like...okay? I didn't feel shocked or angry or even scared, more just let down. I'm not chomping at the bit for a sequel and don't really feel there was enough story there for there to even be one.
It was really odd and telling how often the main character, Paisley, mentioned that she wasn't "born" into money. Like girl. Just admit that you're rich and privileged. Just because your family didn't come into a lot of money when you were 7 doesn't mean you were struggling and in poverty. Rich is rich. (I don't know why rich people always are looking for cards to play, why are you trying to act like you're not super privileged?)
I also felt like it was a missed opportunity to not bring up the exploitation that true crime podcasts have on families and victims of murder. I was surprised no one called Paisley out for making so much money off of people's tragedies.
There were quite a few characters in this book, and I never really felt any true connection to any of them. Paisley had plot armor, and zero flaws in her character. She would've felt more real if she wasn't so perfect. I found it kinda odd how crappy everyone treated the mean girl influencer. (See, I don't even remember her name, that's how forgettable and blendable the characters are) The majority of people are not going to thrive in a murder situation. I for one, would also hide in a cabinet.
I could write a whole monologue about how just by saying a characters race one time doesn't automatically make them read like that. If you take away one single word from a character description and we can't tell that they are coded to be a POC that is extremely telling.

Do I recommend? It was a fine book, if the premise intrigues you, give it a read. A short and tense book. Plus, I did fear for the character's lives which is always a bonus.

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booksofautumn's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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daringreader13's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

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

0.25

0.25 out of 5 stars

Wow. I knew I wasn’t going to love this book early on. But I thought it would be a solid 3 stars.

However- between the implausibility of the “twists”, the lack of research done regarding social media influencers (which I can say as a social media manager- so much of this isn’t plausible nor would these people that clearly have nothing in common content wise be brought together), and just the total unbelievabity of the story in general makes this the first and only 1 star read of the year.

First off- I HATED Paisley with a passion. Her lack of personality combined with the fact that she’s “not like other girls” gives her no reason to root for her to live. But then to killed on the last page because you’re telling me they wouldn’t have pulled away from the island as soon as the two people said 7 victims and I’m supposed to believe that? Absolutely not. It’s just not plausible.

Secondly- so many “twists” that didn’t make sense. The whole Robert situation was too convient and the Harper thing makes no sense.

Third off- Harper pissed me off almost as much as the author putting only Booktokers in quotes in her acknowledgment section as if you didn’t write an entire book focusing on social media influencers that you need to make it seem made up? But here are all the reasons Harper’s “cover” never worked for me- 1. Eleven books for a three day trip? I am a mood reader and I would NEVER bring that many books for a three day trip that you’re supposed to be running around an island/hotel/park. It just isn’t plausible. 2. 350+ books as her goodreads goal every year? Sounds like a reach. The average booktok, booktube, Bookstagram reading goal tends to be 100. So 350+ a year, every year is unlikely. 3. You’re telling me she has 500,000 followers and still reads 350+ books a year? Do you know how much time, planning, filming, editing, and community engagement goes into 500k followers on any channel? It’s just not logical. 4. Her personality switch gave me whiplash as it just didn’t work. You’re telling me she couldn’t look at Ava’s dead body but she can kill multiple people? Absolutely not.

Fourth off- a beauty guru, a true crime, a lifestyle blogger/dancer, video game player, a cinephile, and a booktoker all going for one opening of a hotel/park/island doesn’t make sense! When I’m pulling influencers to reach out about doing something like this, they all fall into the same category of content. Plus there is a required here’s what you have to post. Not just letting them run around and do whatever. Added to that- Paisley states she is posting 5 videos in a day. Not stories- posting them. The logic of that is absent. If you post that often in a day, not only will the algorithm not like you, but you’re telling me she’s getting 5 videos out 30 days a month but her three day trip is supposed to produce a month of content/podcasts? How? Like none of what was supposed to happen could have been content for her? So what 150 videos is she supposed to have filmed?

Overall, this book reminds me why I gave up on Natasha Preston and I’m glad I got this from the library and didn’t buy it. Because this book, while it made me want to finish it to understand the absolute dumpster fire of a story, it honestly shouldn’t have been published without WAYYYYYY more research going into it. If you ever see me contemplating buying or reading another of her books, send Robert after me.

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moodreadererin's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

The Island is Natasha Preston's latest book. It is a YA thriller following six influencers as they accept an exclusive invitation to spend a weekend on a luxurious island amusement park / hotel before it even opens to public .

This was a very engaging read . I enjoyed it all the way through . I was slightly sad I guessed the twist ( well , one of them anyway. ) I also read a lot of thrillers/ mysteries though. I found the characters while not likable in aspects to be well presented . I could've used more of a character background on some of them. All together though , I definitely recommend . Rated it 4 stars .

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