A review by thebooktrail88
The Bay by Allie Reynolds

4.0

Discover the locations in the novel The Bay

After reading Shiver set in the competitive world of snowboarding, this was always going to be good. This time, I was swept off to a very secretive bay in Australia named Sorrow Bay. Clue in the name perhaps….

This bay is the kind of place backpackers dream of. A place where you hope few people know about. This place is so stunning you want to keep it a secret. On top of that, you are with a bunch of surfers and this is THE best surfing spot you have ever seen. One girl follows her best friend to this secret place as she is worried about her. For one, she is about to marry someone she’s only just met. This new fiancee invites her to their secret bay. But why?

This had all the thrills of The Beach but with the Allie Reynolds touch of a competitive sporting world and some very toxic characters. Sorrow Bay was a good name for this place as it brough nothing but! Poor Kenna. She didn’t know what was going on or who to believe and neigher will you as the reader – in a good way!

I felt Kenna’s excitement as well as her fear. She ends up staying longer in the bay than she anticipated because she is captivate by the group, the so-called ‘tribe’ . When she finds out about some of the previous tribe member who did manage to leave, she becomes suspcious. Did they leave on their own free will or did they disappear?

The surfing theme added a unique layer to this story about toxic people and the idea of hiding a uptopia from the world. I know nothing about surfing but feel that I know a bit more about why people get so excited about it. Allie’s captivating writing really drew me in. The characters are a wild mix and it’s great fun trying to piece together the information Allie drops in to form the mystery. As the waves at The Bay swells in and out, you get to see a little more of what this beach represents and it is such a good mystery!

Complex, compelling and like water, it draws you in and sweeps you under before you have a chance to catch your breath. Recommended!