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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One By One meets One Perfect Couple (both by Ruth Ware). Obviously all heavily inspired by Agatha Christie but I recommend those two books if you liked this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Vomit, Gaslighting
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, Stalking, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Infidelity, Racism, Transphobia
You know what, heck with it, it is as bad as the first impression the synopsis gives you!
Or to quote the book itself, "The Netflix doc was a waste of time."
Or to quote the book itself, "The Netflix doc was a waste of time."
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
Updated version of And Then We We're None with its own YA Influencer spin on a remote island.
This book promises an enticing setup—an exclusive, invite-only paradise where ten of the world’s top influencers are flown to a luxurious, mysterious island. With its viral marketing and picture-perfect setting of white sand beaches and turquoise seas, it’s a dream destination. But there's a twist: the influencers weren’t invited for their popularity—they were chosen for their deadly secrets. And instead of a lavish vacation, becomes a deadly trap, with no guarantee the First Ten will make it home.
The story centers on the ten elite influencers—a gamer, beauty blogger, junior politician, DJ, and more. As their secrets unravel, one thing becomes clear: this isn't just about their social media fame, but about payback for the lives they’ve led behind the screens. The concept sounds thrilling, playing on the current obsession with influencers and social media perfection. Unfortunately, the execution falls flat.
The book quickly becomes bogged down by its own premise. With so many characters and points of view, the story feels overstuffed, and it's hard to care about anyone in particular. While the author succeeds in giving each influencer a distinct background, it’s still overwhelming to keep track of all ten. The murders, which should be the climactic moments of a mystery thriller, are disappointingly glossed over and lazily presented through a Reddit thread. This feels like a missed opportunity to dive into suspense and horror, and instead, the story comes across as shallow, much like the influencers themselves.
One of the book’s biggest flaws is its lack of atmosphere. For a story set on a secluded island with an ominous premise, it never builds the necessary tension or creepy vibes to make the reader feel the danger lurking beneath the surface. The narrative often drags, focusing too much on uninspired dialogue and long-winded scenes where little to nothing happens. The chapters are overly long, which only adds to the sense that the plot is spinning its wheels instead of moving forward.
As for the grand reveal at the end? It’s rushed and absurd, pulling the reader out of the story with an eye-roll-worthy twist that feels tacked on rather than earned. It’s an abrupt conclusion to a book that struggled to find its footing.
The story centers on the ten elite influencers—a gamer, beauty blogger, junior politician, DJ, and more. As their secrets unravel, one thing becomes clear: this isn't just about their social media fame, but about payback for the lives they’ve led behind the screens. The concept sounds thrilling, playing on the current obsession with influencers and social media perfection. Unfortunately, the execution falls flat.
The book quickly becomes bogged down by its own premise. With so many characters and points of view, the story feels overstuffed, and it's hard to care about anyone in particular. While the author succeeds in giving each influencer a distinct background, it’s still overwhelming to keep track of all ten. The murders, which should be the climactic moments of a mystery thriller, are disappointingly glossed over and lazily presented through a Reddit thread. This feels like a missed opportunity to dive into suspense and horror, and instead, the story comes across as shallow, much like the influencers themselves.
One of the book’s biggest flaws is its lack of atmosphere. For a story set on a secluded island with an ominous premise, it never builds the necessary tension or creepy vibes to make the reader feel the danger lurking beneath the surface. The narrative often drags, focusing too much on uninspired dialogue and long-winded scenes where little to nothing happens. The chapters are overly long, which only adds to the sense that the plot is spinning its wheels instead of moving forward.
As for the grand reveal at the end? It’s rushed and absurd, pulling the reader out of the story with an eye-roll-worthy twist that feels tacked on rather than earned. It’s an abrupt conclusion to a book that struggled to find its footing.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
And Then There Were None, but with social media influencers! The whodunnit reveal was done in a really interesting way, and Frankie's psychological manipulation and relationship with Manny was a perfect Vera Claythorne allusion
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder
Is this an Agatha Christie rip off? Yes. Did I still like it? Yes. I normally don’t like books where I barely get to know and sympathize with the characters but in this instance it was fine. I liked the ending to the book a lot because it didn’t feel like a cop out which I feel like I see in a lot of other ya novels(even though the plot twist is also ripped from a Christie book lol)
The build up to each death was so good and I had never been that on the edge of my seat before, and the end between the final 2 characters holding eachother at gun point before the superstar girl overdoses was gut wretching yes.
But the big plot twist at the end with the gamer girl being the one who did it and the crypto currency thing was so fucking stupid. Like im not trying to put down that her sister killed herself because of online bullying, but the fact that she decides to take it out on these random internet celebs through an island she buys with the crypto she got felt pretty unrealistic and way too much just to send a message.
And the fucking MEDIA ARTICLE that basically just explains everything that just happened and the aftermath felt like info dumping and made the book seem way less scary then when I was reading it. I really wished it just ended with the girl overdosing and thinking she sees her friend bringing her a pillow, because it was terrifying especially when I thought it ended like that. But no instead you get a summary of what happens after and a dumb ass muderer back story for the crypto gamer girl.
P.S half of the influencers weren't even that bad and have expressed immense guilt for their actions. And a lot of their pasts weren't even their faults and were just complete accidents.
But the big plot twist at the end with the gamer girl being the one who did it and the crypto currency thing was so fucking stupid. Like im not trying to put down that her sister killed herself because of online bullying, but the fact that she decides to take it out on these random internet celebs through an island she buys with the crypto she got felt pretty unrealistic and way too much just to send a message.
And the fucking MEDIA ARTICLE that basically just explains everything that just happened and the aftermath felt like info dumping and made the book seem way less scary then when I was reading it. I really wished it just ended with the girl overdosing and thinking she sees her friend bringing her a pillow, because it was terrifying especially when I thought it ended like that. But no instead you get a summary of what happens after and a dumb ass muderer back story for the crypto gamer girl.
P.S half of the influencers weren't even that bad and have expressed immense guilt for their actions. And a lot of their pasts weren't even their faults and were just complete accidents.
This book is really good, but not very creative it is near identical to “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie; except it is about teens. Even the murders are almost the exact same. I would still recommend it if you haven’t read “And Then There Were None.”