The Island - C L Taylor

A great quick read with intrigue and suspense. The story is set around a group of teenage friends who embark on a survival style holiday on their own private island with a guide, but as you can probably imagine not all goes to plan. The group quickly turn on each other and suspect each other as the problem maker. The style of writing keeps you guessing all the way through and made me power through it.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!

4.5⭐

Wow wow wow what a tremendous story.
This was such a quick read and I was hooked from the very first page.

The story follows a group of 6 friends who go to an island for a camping weekend only for their guide to die the next day.
The six friends are then forced to survive on the island until somebody realises that they are missing but something is Happening as suddenly all of their worst fears are coming true.

I thought this story was suitably dark for a young adult novel and I really liked each of the characters.
I felt as though they definitely had their own personalities and their own voice and I think the pace was very well written as I didn't feel as though the story lagged at any point.

Initially, I did feel that there was a lot of Missed potential with the book and potential developments, however, I understand the authors reason for having it this way upon completing the story as I can definitely see why anything additional would not have worked once the story had concluded.
Although maybe the hints to the final conclusion could have been a bit subtler as in my opinion it became very clear very quickly and some more subtle hints would have been nicer.

Do I wish this was a little bit darker? Yes I do
Did I love this book regardless ? Yes I did

Thank you to Netgalley and C.L Taylor for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This story centres around a group of teenagers that are on holiday with their parents. All the teens are friends, as are their parents, who all met each other at NCT classes when they were pregnant with their now teenage children. The holiday is like a yearly tradition. As the years have gone on each of the families dynamics and set ups have changed. And now the families have also moved into different areas of England, meaning the holidays they share are more special now. The group of teens are Jessie, Danny, twins Milo and Meg, Jefferson, and Honor. Whilst staying in Thailand, Jefferson’s dad rents him and the teens a private island to use for a week with a tour guide as a Bear Grylls type expedition. Quite soon after arriving on the island their tour guide passes away, and someone cuts the cord that starts the boat, meaning they are stranded for the next 5 days, with strange goings on happening, and secrets being revealed.

The book is set between two perspectives mainly, Jessie and Danny. And on the odd occasion we go back into previous times. The characters were all relatable and great characters, even if some did have unsavoury personality traits. The writing was great, and easy to read.
Overall, another great read from this author. Would recommend.

C L Taylor’s second YA thriller is another excellent read. Loaded with teen angst, sexual tension and natural and human-induced terror, this is a novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Written in an accessible, fast-paced style, I flew through this clever and enjoyable adventure.

Jessie, Milo, Danny, Honor, Meg and Jeffers have been friends since birth. Their parents met at an anti-natal class and have remained friends ever since. They take an annual holiday together and this year they’ve come to Thailand. As a birthday present for Jeffers, the teens are spending a week on a remote private island, where they will use survival skills to feed and shelter themselves. But the dynamic of the group is not what it used to be. There’s secrets amongst the friends and a week together might bring them all to the surface. When it becomes apparent that the group is stranded on the island, they are going to have to pull together to work out if there’s somebody else on the island, or if their tormentor is someone closer than they think...

Taylor is well known for her gripping adult thrillers, but she is equally successful in the genre with her novels aimed at a YA audience. “The Island” is her second offering and it really is excellent. What makes this such a great read is the fact that Taylor retains a maturity to both the thrills and the overarching plot. Whereas some YA thrillers are distinctly bland, Taylor takes her experience as a writer of adult fiction and adapts it to work for both YA and adult readers. “The Island” is simultaneously accessible to a 16 year old and a 33 year old (like me), which demonstrates Taylor’s exceptional abilities as a writer.

This novel is packed with unforeseen twists, epic plot reveals and I was genuinely on the edge of my seat whilst reading it. Taylor builds tension and suspense effortlessly, putting all of the characters on edge to the point that the reader is disturbed by every small incident that befalls the group. The tension rises day by day, like the sizzling heat of the sun beaming down on the island. It builds to an enormous, powerful crescendo and a conclusion that I had not seen coming. In fact, as I thought back over the preceding events I realised that there had been a few things that had pointed towards the final revelation, but despite them, I still hadn’t connected all the dots. This is another testament to Taylor’s skill as an author, as she is able to lay breadcrumbs for her readers without revealing the truth prematurely.

“The Island” is a great blend of action/adventure and suspense, with a lot of the thrills coming from the natural world. The threat of venomous snakes and spiders, the danger of running out of water or letting the fire burn out, are just as tense as any of the perceived threats from a human source. The combination of both these unsettling elements makes “The Island” an exciting read. Similarly, Taylor’s development of her key characters is also extremely well done and adds to the enjoyment whilst reading. Told from the perspective of Jessie, with chapters dedicated to Danny’s experiences too, the narrative unfolds at pace whilst also allowing us access into the lives and minds of each character. Each of the teenagers has some sort of secret or issue that they have tried to keep from the rest of the group. Jessie has recently experienced a family tragedy that has left her physically and emotionally scarred. It’s meant she has withdrawn from the group somewhat, but she still has feelings for Milo (and a complicated past with him too). Jessie is a really interesting protagonist and I found that the emotional journey she takes over the course of the narrative to be as equally engaging as all of the physical action and suspense. It was satisfying to see Jessie face up to her past, her family tragedy and find the strength to move on from that. Her return of confidence is great to see and she is a character that you can’t help but root for. Danny’s chapters are great at offering a different perspective to the events and really help to build much of the tension surrounding the group whilst they are stranded on the island. He’s another interesting protagonist and his journey is equally as absorbing as Jessie’s. The rest of the group add lots of colour to the narrative and there’s some strong themes explored that add to the overall tension (for example, Jeffers’ sexuality and whether it impacts the others’ opinions of him, Honor’s ambivalence to boyfriend Danny and what it might really mean, Milo’s true feelings for Jessie and whether sister Meg is right when she says he’s still in love with his ex). Taylor has created a novel that is highly suspenseful through the extraordinary events the characters find unfolding before them, but also fraught with the everyday tension of a group of teenage friends where feelings for each other aren’t always what they seem. I found this blend worked really well together and “The Island” is a highly accomplished thriller for it.

I highly recommend “The Island” for YA and fully-fledged adult fans of the thriller genre. It won’t disappoint!

Welcome to the trip of a eighteen year olds dream, remember to keep you friends close, your secrets closer and your head protected.

I was instantly drawn to the description of this book and loved the whole premise of a paradise island with hidden danger. The novel focuses on a group of lifelong friends who holiday every year together and this trip to Thailand includes a week, without parents on a private island. If you’ve ever watch the movie Fnatasy Island this is like a YA version, slightly tamer in its approach but overall it gives you the same vibes. I would read this then watch the movie if you left wanting more of this kind of story. I love when books give me the same feels as a movie although this was wholly original with a great cast of characters it’s felt like it unfolded like a movie and I love that.

I enjoyed the way each character’s background story was revealed gradually emphasising that although the group are friends they all have secrets that even their closest friend don’t know, everyone has secret and no one want all theirs on show but little to they know there in for a rude awakening.
The story quickly escalates when their guide dies from a stroke and in their attempt to return to the mainland for help they find their boat has been sabotaged. As the story progresses each of the friends are tested and their deepest fears become reality.

Jessie is withdrawn this year, the other know not to push her but she is very unapproachable. Danny and Honor have been together for a few years but this year Honor is pulling away from him. What is up with Jefferson the birthday boy? Everything build up as so what is going to happen next, you want to know all the secrets and you want to get to the end to find out the outcome.

Wow! Just finished The Island and my head is 🤯😳 I didn't expect ANY of that! What an incredible story! So twisty, creepy, gripping, compelling and emotionally charged. I am completely floored.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ Young Adult for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, the cover of this book was a LOT different when I requested an advance reader copy on NetGalley, it looked quite adult and when the final cover was revealed I wasn't a huge fan. But I definitely have to say, from having this on my GoodReads and NetGalley shelves this new cover has definitely grown on me. I think it's a lot more fitting to the story than the previous cover and gives off much stronger young adult vibes.

This is my first C.L. Taylor book, and as someone who doesn't read a lot of thrillers, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I didn't predict the ending of this book until everything started to unravel which I really liked, I feel like so many thrillers are obvious and generic now and this one was really unique for me.

My favourite character in this book was Jefferson, who is definitely more of a side character but I found it so chaotically random that he's a rich, private school attendee turned survivalist, and his character was the only one for me that I didn't find annoying at any time. Being annoying to me as a character isn't always a bad thing, characters intentionally have their flaws because nobody's perfect, but sometimes they do grate on me a little bit.

In general, the characters were really well fleshed out and each had a depth to them which made them feel like real people. I was apprehensive about this to begin with, as most of the characters come from rich families so I was sort of set up to expect spoiled brats, but luckily that wasn't the case. Each character was dealing with their own problems from back home and traumas, which were brought to light as each characters phobia came true for them on the island.

This book definitely managed to keep me guessing throughout, I really had no idea who to suspect until very near the end, which I think is so, so good for a thriller, especially with a young adult audience it can hard to be fresh and unpredictable but I really enjoyed the ending of this book and how the narrative panned out.

I think that the author did a fantastic job creating this eerie, isolated, atmospheric survivalist landscape on the island. I felt really immersed in the surroundings and setting of this book thanks to the concise but incredibly well-written descriptions. I was also incredibly gripped on this story and I wanted to know what was going to happen to each character, and who was behind it so I read the majority of this book in one sitting. I was just so desperate to find out!

The only flaw that has really stuck with me from my reading experience, is absolutely no fault of the author and didn't affect my overall rating of the book. But was that the narrator of Jessie's point of view mispronounced a couple of the 'nature' elements in the audiobook version of this book, which completely dragged me out of the read and back to reality in those moments.

Overall, I'm so glad I decided to take the leap to request this book on NetGalley and potentially discover a new favourite young adult thriller book, I really do hope to see more young adult works from C.L. Taylor in the future.

Woah, that was an intense couple of hours as I couldn't put this book down, but also couldn't quite figure out who was behind everything, in fact I didn't really come up with any theories as I was so absorbed in the story, I couldn't spare any space in my brain for anything other than reading the words and seeing it play out in my mind.

Well the 6 teenage friends, were meant to be on the Island for a safe survival experience, camping out and living in the jungle for a week, on a private island with a guide. Little where they expecting for the guide to die early on, and for their survival to suddenly become a real issue.

For someone clearly has it in for them, there is no way off the island, they all have phobias and well they are starting to come true.

There is definitely danger and trouble afoot on this island, and we are getting the story from two viewpoints, Jessie and Danny. As a result I felt I knew those the best out of the friends, but you do get distinct pictures of the others with them, as well as their changing group dynamics over the year.

Both Jessie and Danny are complex characters, neither have been truthful about their own phobias and both seem to have

As we get to grips with this holiday that has turned into a nightmare for this group of teens, we get to know every corner of the Island. I sort of had the big private island that was featured in a horrific storyline in Neighbours earlier this year in the back of my mind, and although both attracted danger, that is where the similarities end. I am starting to think though, having read another book recently about a private island where things go wrong, but in a completely other way too.... that private islands should be avoided at all costs.

In fact please if you ever hear me say I want to go to a remote island, talk me out of it, they are downright terrifying settings, and just perfect for psychological thrillers but not necessarily real life!

C. L. Taylor is the master of highly addictive books that I can devour in a matter of hours. I'm very glad I was able to sit and read it in one go, while ignoring the real world. Just wow! This may be a book for young adults, in which case I'm quite a bit older than the target audience but it didn't affect my enjoyment at all, as this has all the grit I need from a book and its just wow!

Thank you to HQ Young Adult and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily,

Six teenager left stranded on an island after the sudden death of their guide: what could go wrong?

This book was face-paced, thrilling and absolutely intense. After reading the synopsis and then the very first line (“Life would be so much easier if I were a psychopath. I’d be charming, manipulative and a pathological liar.”) I was completely hooked and left wondering if anyone escape the island alive?

With only two of the six characters having chapters of their narratives, it was different to many other YA books, but the change between first and third person within these chapters made me feel involved with all of the six teenagers. At the same time, mystery and tension was well-built throughout the book but, in my opinion, it felt a little predictable from quite early on at times. In addition, at times it sometimes felt a bit unrealistic but overall was well-written. It was not anything extremely different in terms of writing but the tension and fear felt by the characters shot out the page and consistently kept me reading.

Big thanks to the NetGalley and HQ for providing an eARC this book in exchange for an honest review

I had no idea this was a YA book when I requested it having enjoyed previous books by this author. In no way does this detract from the mystery and excitement of this book, the only way it “reads” YA is that it has a teenage cast.
I really liked the idea of this book, and the mystery in the storyline which kept me hooked. I felt the ending was a bit flat, but all in all a good book.

Thanks to HQ Young Adult for the opportunity to read this book. This is the second book I have read by CL Taylor, having just enjoyed Strangers and I definitely enjoyed The Island as much as the first.

The best way to describe it, is a mix of Lost and Hunger Games and it is. Six teenagers are on holiday in Thailand and the teenagers go to a remote island with a guide who dies of a stroke quite suddenly and they are left to fend for themselves and survive against the odds. is someone watching them? Their paradise turns into their worst nightmares as their worst fears start to come true. What's going on and will they all survive?
It may be listed as a Young adult book and addresses various traumas that the teenagers are going through, but is equally as good a read for an adult. Great characters and personalities.

I felt I was on the Island too as the author described the location really well.

A thoroughly great adventure with plenty of mystery and twists and turns.

This is the first Young Adult title by CL Taylor I've read although i've read several of her adult books. This is a great read - from the beginning the pace is fast and so many things happen there is never a dull moment. The group of characters who end up stranded on an island are all credible characters and the story is told from different points of view. The twist at the end is a satisfying shock and the psychological make up of the characters is very well done. Five stars from me!

Told from the present tense POV of several teenaged characters we read as Jessie, Danny and Milo as they go on a survival expedition to a remote island with friends Jeffers, Honor and Meg.

I love a story set in the wilderness, be it jungle, desert, snowscape.. anything where characters are in the great outdoors, the tension is constant whenever there's no shelter to retreat to. This is well done in The Island where the risk ranges from minor sand fleas to poisonous snakes and starvation.

The characters are befitting of a YA thriller, their behaviours and outlook are just as you'd expect for their age. Each one has a secret and as always with CL Taylor the character development is natural and well paced.

An event at the beginning of the book instigates a plot line later that I felt Taylor had escalated out of proportion. This fact quite bothered me as it was cause for a main conflict in the story that just wasn't believable.

If you're more on the ball you might guess where this is going sooner than I did! I very much enjoyed reading The Island tucked up on a gloomy winter weekend. Perfect for teens and over.

Then There Were None for the instagram generation.
Six seventeen year olds have holidayed together since they were babies, their parents NCT friends who now live miles apart but get together for this annual tradition; joined at the hip sweethearts Danny and Honor, twins Milo and Meg, Jeffers, a bit of a loner and Jessie who skipped last year due to a family tragedy and now feels like the odd one out.
This year's holiday is more luxurious than usual, a trip to Thailand where Jeffers dad has arranged for them to spend a week on a deserted island learning survivial skills. But their island paradise takes a sinister turn when their guide has a stroke and they discover their boat's starter cord has been cut. Now they really are castaway with no adult to help them - and worse, someone seems to be set on making their worst nightmares come true. Is it the two boys who swore revenge after an incident back on the mainland, is it a stranger hiding out on the island - or is it one of them? How well do they actually know each other after all?
Tense, twisty and fast pace The Island is an engrossing YA thriller. Highly recommended.

Seven teenagers on a small Thai island with a guide, what could possibly go wrong? The group have known each other since they were born- their mothers were in the same antenatal group and have pretty much holidayed with each other for all of their seventeen years. Only two have paired off and there is one brother and sister. When the guide collapses and after having discussed their phobias the night before, things start happening and Danny is convinced that there is someone else on the island and making their nightmares come true. Who could it be and why do such a thing? This is a very clever plot which I tremendously enjoyed (as ever with Cally’s books). I do hope that this is read by a wide young adult audience as it may help tackle what is still a silence over mental health issues and the more people that are aware the more can be helped. I won't give anything away other than to say a brave subject handled incredibly well and made very real. A book you may find yourself drawn into and can't put down. Clever, interesting, informative, brilliant.
(rest of links on publication)

I am a big fan of C L Taylor’s books and this action packed adventure was fantastic and I read it in a day. This is her second YA book and it is as twisty and fun as her psychological thrillers.

6 teenagers who have known each other since birth.... their parents meeting at mothers group. They have all grown up together and every year the families go away on a holiday. This year it is Thailand, and the teenagers are spending a week on a remote, jungle of an island with a guide in a survivor style challenge. No wifi, no photos and hunting for their own food. But early in, somebody dies, answer they find themselves truly on their own and running for their lives. I started there somebody else on the island or is it one of their own?

Thanks to HQ and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book to read.

CL Taylor is one of my all time favourite authors, and I have read all her thriller work, including her first YA novel The Treatment - which I loved.

When The Island came up for request I was straight on it, and so happy to be accepted for it.

The story follows a group of 6 teenagers who have been linked since birth, as their parents attended the same baby group. They have therefore all grown up around each other, doing things together and going on holidays together etc. This year they are all going to Thailand, and they are going to be facing a stranded/survivalist kind of trip.

Some of the group are thrilled, some not so much, but it all changes when things start to go wrong. And that is where the story really begins.

I enjoyed reading this one. However, I would say it is probably my least favourite of Taylor's books so far.... but that doesn't mean a lot because they are all fantastic, so they are hard to beat! :) I'm not a massive fan of YA but I enjoyed The Treatment so much that I was really anxious to read this one, and I'm glad I did.

So many things are explored in this book - teenage angst, relationship struggles, mental health, death etc - and they are explored well. I can tell Taylor has done her homework and the writing was as polished as ever. I got Lord of the Flies vibes, perhaps some Lost and Castaway vibes too - I mean they were stranded on an island! :)

Overall a good book, especially for teenagers - its market audience - but adults will enjoy this too.

The Island is a YA mystery thriller following two characters Jessie and Danny who are on a group holiday in Thailand with their family and friends. The group of teens is made up from Jessie, Danny and his girlfriend Honor, Milo and his sister Meg and Jefferson. They have all know each other forever as their parents all attended a NCT class together . The teens lol travel to a remote private island together with a Thai guide to live in the wilderness for a week for Jefferson’s birthday. When someone dies, strange scary things start to happen ! The premise is great but I felt the execution was a bit lacking. I worked out who the ‘baddie’ was from the beginning so I lost a lot of the suspense. I may try another of the authors books eventually but this just wasn’t for me

Loved it - great for Younger ya readers too as so many thrillers have too much content. Have ordered for the school library

I loved this book! It is set on a remote jungle island where six seventeen year old friends go on a holiday adventure together, but things keep going wrong. The book is very exciting and I thoroughly enjoyed it, always wanting to read on to find out what happened next. I liked all of the characters and the story. I would like to see this book made into a movie. Highly recommended!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.