As a fan of Lord of the Flies and The Beach, I was excited to start reading this book. A group of work colleagues are stranded on a desert island after a plane crash.
However, I was sorely disappointed.
The story had no tension and was full of one-dimensional, unlikeable characters (the males irritatingly switched between first names and surnames, whilst the females didn't have surnames - why???)
For those who need a spoiler alert (you won't, it was blindingly obvious from the moment the characters landed on the island) look away now - the 'twist' was that the plane didn't actually crash: the colleagues were drugged and put on an island as part of a team-building exercise.
Chapter after chapter of clunky writing left me bored and cringing, wondering if somehow the editing process had been bypassed.
And the ending...
It felt like the story just stopped.
Thank goodness.
And on reflection, the title made no sense either.

I gave this honest review in exchange for a free e-copy through NetGalley.

A good read. Yes the characters are unlikeable and sadly there’s usually someone in the work place you can relate to as one of the characters!!
I read this book quickly as I wanted to keep finding out what happened next.
Sadly for me I guessed the plot quite early on so the ending was not a surprise.
It also ended quite quickly and suddenly. I felt there was more that could have happened and the ‘retreat’ lasted longer.

Beware of catchy tag lines! I was so excited to read this book boldly coined a cross between “The Office” and “Lord of the Flies.” Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to the hype.

The characters were obnoxious and unlikeable. The plot didn’t make any sense. It had none of the comedy of “The Office” or brutality of “Lord of the Flies.” The writing was extremely amateur and needed a severe re-edit. Tenses changed between 1st person and 3rd on a whim. Characters were called interchangeably by their first and last names - which became incredibly confusing when you were trying to keep track of 8 people. Overall, it was a rambling list of dialogue and over-worked similes.

I considered DNFing this book a hundred times. I only chose to finish it out of obligation as I received an advanced copy. Needless to say, I will not be recommending this book. I appreciate the opportunity from NetGalley and the publisher to read it in exchange for an honest review. I just wish it was better executed.

This book is both helped and hurt by its length. It’s an easy, short read to pass time for an evening. However, it also means there’s zero character development and the plot is very minimal. More fun than tense. I really couldn’t connect with any character as none had anything redeeming about them.

This wasn't what I expected it to be
The premise was intriguing but I found the writing too blocky to feel any true suspense.

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨

ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ﹕ JE Rowney
ɢᴇɴʀᴇ﹕ Mystery/Thriller
ʀᴇʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ﹕ 31/10/23
ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ﹕☆☆☆☆

MY THOUGHTS:

✽ Marketed as “The Office” meets “Lord of the Flies”, this survivalist psychological thriller is a not-so-subtle lesson in the importance of team work. The story follows a small group of work colleagues who are stranded on an isolated island while on their way to a team building exercise. These mismatched characters will have to learn the importance of team work – the hard way!

✽ I enjoyed this short and quick read. It had moments of tension, humor and mystery enough to keep you interested. It was a bit predictable and I pegged the ending quite early on. I think the book would have benefited from being longer and taking more time to develop the characters and their relationships as this would have made you feel there were bigger stakes. I didn’t particularly find any of the characters likeable enough that I was really rooting for them.

✽ Overall, if you’re looking for a fun book and you’re willing to suspend a bit of belief, this one might just be up your alley. I’d not read this author before and while I felt there were some aspects of this one that could have been better, I quite enjoyed the writer’s style and narration and will be looking to check out more of her books.

✽ Thank you to JE Rowney, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

This cracked me up. I laughed so hard. It wasn't like a "good novel" if you were reading it to read a good novel. It is just funny and weird. This is right up my alley.

“The Office” meets “Lord of the Flies” in this tense psychological thriller.

This was fine, i guess. Nothing special, mostly unnecessary.

Thank you netgalley for my arc copy
I did finish this wasn't a bad story but the charecters were extremely unlikeable, didn't warm to any of them and could see the ending coming a mile off

Richard Thornicroft is frustrated by infighting, jealousy and sabotage among his seven employees. He tells them he is sending them to the luxurious Azure Haven Retreat for relaxation and team building. Beautiful beaches, calm waters and a tropical paradise are only a chartered plane ride away. Longer than that, as it turns out, because the plane is forced to crash land on a deserted island. Now the seven show how they really feel about each other. There are fist fights, threats, more threats and mishandling of resources. Only a near death event cause them to see the way to survival.

Zero Days Since Last Incident has a good premise that it does not deliver. Out of all the employees, there was no one you wanted to succeed. They were all thoroughly unlikeable. Mark might have been the worst but the others were close runner-ups. The idea that a CEO would force a plane crash, drug employees and abandon them on an island with wild boars and poisonous plants is unrealistic. As much as I can understand why he might dream of doing this, the lawsuits he will face after they survive will destroy his company. I did like the location itself. Maybe a more organized (and safer transportation) version of Survivor might work. 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial and JE Rowney for this ARC.

Richard Thornicroft is tired of all the back biting and bullying being demonstrated by his office workers, and productivity is being affected. He calls his seven workers together, and tells them they are being sent on a team building exercise, to a luxury hotel on an island where they will participate in activities designed to encourage them to work together. None of them are pleased with the thought of spending time with the others, but they are told the exercise is non negotiable.
The plane they are travelling in crashes on its way to their destination, and they find themselves on a remote island. In order to survive, they need to forget old rivalries, and put aside office politics and bickering, before someone is seriously hurt, or worse.
I really enjoyed this book, the psychological effects on the people involved, and the challenges they had to deal with, not only because of the other people, but also themselves were fascinating to read. A brilliant psychological thriller.

This was a nice easy read.

In a company that is competitive and hard driving, the people working together really don't like each other. Especially Jonathan and Mark. When Jonathan makes a mistake that dooms their current project and Mark is aware of it but says nothing, the knives come out. And don't even talk to me about Sarah, she gives HR a bad name.

The head of the company decides to send the team to an island resort for a team building mission. When the plane crashes of the way to the island, things get even worse. Each person knows best. As the other reviews say, it's corporate world meets Lord of the Flies.

I sorta figured out the ending but I still enjoyed the book.

A quick, unfulfilling read that left me very disappointed. I was expecting more brutality from "The Office meets Lord of the Flies" tagline, but what I got was seven arrogant characters and a highly illegal lesson in teamwork. There was no excitement, no murder, and no explanation as to what happened to Mark's head from the tree incident. I think I would have enjoyed this one better if it was longer and involved some gruesome attacks between the coworkers.

Thank you to the author, BooksGoSocial, and NetGalley for granting me digital access in exchange for my honest review!

While this was a quick read, I didn't love it. It was a little boring in some places and the characters were very two dimensional. There was also no one to root for really, most of the characters were questionable and annoying. The writing was decent, it kept me interested and it was a fun distraction to read on my lunch break at work. It worked well as a shorter book, but any longer I think it would have been difficult to really invest in.

𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥.

3.5 stars rounded up. Billed as 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒆 meets 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔, this title immediately piqued my interest. I've read a few of this author's books, and while they don't always work for me, I knew I had to check this one out.

There are few things I hate more than "team-building exercises" at work. I utterly loathe them and would rather set myself on fire than participate in one. In a high-pressure, every man for himself environment of a busy corporate office, the employees are used to the sabotage, bullying, and long hours. It would appear that the CEOs inadvertently create this environment to make the employees work harder; after all, if you take away the possibility of friendships, everyone will work harder, by default, right? But that doesn't seem to be the case here as the CEO is fed up with the backstabbing and bad attitudes. He orders seven employees to attend an exclusive team building retreat on a private island. What could go wrong?

As it turns out, everything. While it was pretty easy to see the direction the plot was going, it was still an enjoyable read. I would have like to see more dynamic power struggles between the employees, but other than the plane crash, there really was nothing reminiscent of 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔. A solid read filled with unlikable characters. Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for my early copy. This book will publish October 31, 2023.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

2.5 stars rounded up
A very quick read, but not at all what I was expecting. it's not a thriller, that's for sure, and there were no surprises. It tried too hard to make you think it was going to a book version of the TV show "Lost" and that didn't happen either. An office full of not very nice people get stranded on an island on their way to an employer-sponsored retreat. They have to work together to figure out how to survive while at the same time try to get off the island. As I didn't care about a single character, I rushed through this just to see how it turned out. The ending was very dissatisfying.

I was hesitant when I first started this book because the tagline described the book as Lost meets The Office (neither of which I have watched or had any intention to), however I really enjoyed the journey this book took me on.
The story was thrilling and engaging and I found myself, in parts, unable to put the book down due to its episodic chapters.
The story was also reasonably paced, neither fast or slow and I really enjoyed that about it. It really played out like a film or TV show. It made me angry at some of the characters, warm to some of the characters and it was an all around enjoyable experience.
I definitely want to try more books from the author.

Pressures Are Rising..
Toxic workplace, toxic colleagues, toxic atmosphere. Disquiet is affecting office life and mistakes are being made, tempers are building, pressures are rising and frustrations are evident. Is a team building exercise the answer? Probably not, as it goes. When the executives are bundled onto a plane headed for a luxury island resort, for said team building, a crash changes everything. An immersive and suspenseful tale with a well drawn and keenly observed cast of characters and a solid portrayal of a high pressure environment. The short and snappy chapters, often laced with a dark humour, make for a tension fuelled and entertaining narrative.

The title and premise of this book drew me in, it sounded like a really unique thriller with a funny and engaging plot. Unfortunately the delivery was underwhelming for me. I found the writing a little choppy and hard to follow, as well the characters were all quite flat and at first with the switching between first and last names constantly, it was quite hard to follow who was who.

This was a DNF for me unfortunately!

I loved the premise of the book but I just got so bored the second I started reading! I don't know of the writing style just didn't connect or if I just expected more suspense and mystery and it never really came through. The characters were all horrific and I just didnt care. At all. I more or less just skimmed half of it to get through it and get closure but I just wasn't for me