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3.09 AVERAGE
3.09 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
not nearly as good as kill the boy band and Mary Shelley club of course! But still unique and fun and a modern take on lord of the flies with a fire fest twist.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Rafi Francisco spent her life savings so she could attend Fly Fest on a small island in the Caribbean with a plethora of celebrities, models, and influencers. She hopes to get close to the famous heart-throb headliner River Stone so she can expose him as the murderer she thinks he is. An interview with him is all she needs to reveal the truth and send her Music Mysteries podcast into the stratosphere.
Fly Fest, however, turns out to be a major bust. There is no music, no models, no food or shelter, and the greatest horror: no wi-fi. All they have are disaster tents and their will survive. Rafi happens to get closer to River and the truth, but there's more hiding behind his pretty smile.
--
I had high hopes for this book considering how much I loved The Mary Shelley Club. In comparison, this was quite lack luster. She does the same thing of making the main character learn that she is just as horrible as the people she passes judgment on (or is more like her "enemy" than she realizes).
The book felt a little like a spoof of a thriller. It resembled Lord of the Flies quite closely -- enough that I could recognize the similarities despite having read it the one time in high school. And then, there wasn't much of a thrill. People go missing, but is there any urgency to finding them? Maybe a little.
I think that's what was lacking for me: the urgency. I didn't feel like there was enough action or enough mystery. There wasn't anything that moved Rafi towards the answers she was seeking. People were just devolving into madness while she asked them questions they didn't know how to answer.
Some of the characters are a bit interesting, though. Honestly, there isn't much I can say about this book because it didn't have too much to offer. It's a rough start to my Hallow-reads of October but we keep it pushing.
Fly Fest, however, turns out to be a major bust. There is no music, no models, no food or shelter, and the greatest horror: no wi-fi. All they have are disaster tents and their will survive. Rafi happens to get closer to River and the truth, but there's more hiding behind his pretty smile.
--
I had high hopes for this book considering how much I loved The Mary Shelley Club. In comparison, this was quite lack luster. She does the same thing of making the main character learn that she is just as horrible as the people she passes judgment on (or is more like her "enemy" than she realizes).
The book felt a little like a spoof of a thriller. It resembled Lord of the Flies quite closely -- enough that I could recognize the similarities despite having read it the one time in high school. And then, there wasn't much of a thrill. People go missing, but is there any urgency to finding them? Maybe a little.
I think that's what was lacking for me: the urgency. I didn't feel like there was enough action or enough mystery. There wasn't anything that moved Rafi towards the answers she was seeking. People were just devolving into madness while she asked them questions they didn't know how to answer.
Some of the characters are a bit interesting, though. Honestly, there isn't much I can say about this book because it didn't have too much to offer. It's a rough start to my Hallow-reads of October but we keep it pushing.
fast-paced
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book had a really interesting concept, combining modern influencer culture and the classic story Lord of The Flies. Though, it fell flat for me. The main character Rafi was unlikeable and infuriating (but not in a good way), and the constant comments about how ugly she felt compared to other people were overdone to the point where they didn’t hold any meaning. Additionally, the rest of the characters felt very bland and one dimensional. Although they were purposefully created to be annoying, they came across as just plain stupid and whiny. I preferred LOTF to this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Excrement
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
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
It was ALRIGHT. The characters were purposefully annoying so I get it, but they were practically unbearable. If I wasn’t deep into cleaning when I listened to this book, I wouldn’t have finished it because it dragged. It was annoying to read/hear the influencers complain about shit that doesn’t matter while being STRANDED on an island (a play on the fyre festival disaster lol) and be so dimwitted. It wasn’t even close to a thriller or mystery like I thought it would be, which was even more disappointing.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Trigger warnings: body shaming, bullying, excrement, classism, death of a loved one (in the past), animal attack (in the past)
For some reason I had it in my head that this was a horror book and it's really not. It's more...light mystery + extreme satire, and I freaking LOVED it. It reminded me in a lot of ways of Beauty Queens by Libba Bray, but less capitalism and more influencers. It was laugh-out-loud funny on numerous occasions, and while I didn't love the whole"my girlfriend disappeared because she got eaten by dingoes and I didn't say anything because no one believed Lindy Chamberlain and it happened just after the remake of the movie came out" thing purely because I'm Australian and that shit hits different here, I still had an absolute fucking blast reading this.
From a celebrity/influencer named Hella Badid to beauty influencers using pig shit as bronzer, this had me legit cackling from start to finish. I did expect SLIGHTLY more of a dystopian storyline, but I was happy with what I got.
For some reason I had it in my head that this was a horror book and it's really not. It's more...light mystery + extreme satire, and I freaking LOVED it. It reminded me in a lot of ways of Beauty Queens by Libba Bray, but less capitalism and more influencers. It was laugh-out-loud funny on numerous occasions, and while I didn't love the whole
From a celebrity/influencer named Hella Badid to beauty influencers using pig shit as bronzer, this had me legit cackling from start to finish. I did expect SLIGHTLY more of a dystopian storyline, but I was happy with what I got.
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated