Great thriller kept me hooked the whole way through. Great writing and plot. Love this authors work and unpredictable till the ending

Sarah Goodwin is an auto read for me , if her names on thr cover I am always eager and really excited to read it.

The Island is a bingeable, popcorn read , i love the way she writes, how the story flows and how the twists reveal themselves .
I flew through The Island and enjoyed every page!

his book sadly just wasn’t for me. I didn’t finish it or even get half way through.
It was bland and boring for too long at the start and I very quickly didn’t really like Jodi. So I didn’t care what had happened between her and Nick.
The plot description didn’t really portray what actually happened in the book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the ARC in return for an honest review.

This book features a slow build that expertly creates tension, culminating in some significant reveals. After a tough breakup, Jody moves back in with her university friends and feels the pressure to make life-altering decisions. Reluctantly, she joins them at a festival in Greece, where she can't shake the feeling that she keeps seeing her narcissistic ex-boyfriend in the crowd. When a girl resembling her goes missing, Jody’s anxiety spirals, leaving her questioning who she can truly trust.

The narrative is suspenseful and atmospheric, drawing you in as the plot unfolds. It’s a gripping exploration of trust, anxiety, and the impact of past relationships.

http://thesecretbookreview.co.uk

3.5/5.

This book was great - so easy to read I devoured it in only a few sittings. I felt like I was trapped on an un-named Greek island at a dodgy music festival with Jody, Ari and Carla, watching in horror as the shine wore off and the seedy underbelly started to show. The sense of setting was very strong.

The multi-layered relationship between the three friends was believable, and the author convincingly portrayed the voice of a sheltered young twenty-something in Jody as the main character. At times, I found Jody's paranoia and anxiety a bit too much and a few of her decisions didn't make sense in light of those. There's a particular plot point I'm referring to when she falls out with her friends but I don't want to say too much as don't like spoilers in reviews! However, her complicated relationship with her mother and her ex-boyfriend were both very well done, as was the handling of a sensitive relationship issue as a key theme. I loved the ending at the festival, and also in the epilogue - they both felt really empowering.

This really should have been called The Festival, but as the publisher had another book by that name published a few weeks before this one, I can see why they had to use a different title.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

Jody, Ari, and Carla have won tickets to a music festival. When they arrive they realise it isn't the glitzy festival they were expecting disappointed but determined to make the most of the trip they join the party. Then a shocking discovery on day three turns the festival into a nightmare, and they find themselves trapped on the island with no escape.

I am a big fan of Sarah Goodwin but this book just didn't quite hit for me the first 50% was quite boring and dragged on I almost DNF. The second half of the book did pick up and I was invested in the story. I did find this to be a creepy atmospheric read and even being at a festival surrounded by people I got the feeling I get from an isolated setting read. I will still definitely read anything else Sarah Goodwin writes even though this one was a bit of a let downfor me.

Thank you to Netgalley, Avon Books UK and Sarah Goodwin for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A great setting for a thriller! I love a festival and one that's abroad so this was a super exciting setting.

Three friends travel to Greece after winning the tickets to the festival. But from the off not everything is at it seems.

It had tense moments and kept me hooked but it seemed a little longer than it needed to be and I was waiting for the reveal.
I enjoyed it though and would recommend.

I really enjoy Sarah Goodwin's thrillers. They are easy to read and get into with interesting twists. I'm always hooked from the start. The Island had a great setting and the concept was really intriguing. I did find the story start to unravel a little bit towards the end and the ending wasn't particularly satisfying, I was expecting a bit more following the main part of the book.
Still a solid thriller that I would recommend for a quick holiday read.

Cleverly written with some very breath holding moments.
Three girls that go to a festival that one of them won in Greece, but things just don't seem right...
Sometimes when things are too good to be true they usually are.

Thank you to Avon Books, Sarah Goodwin and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Jody is reeling from an abusive relationship, and going to a festival is way out of her comfort zone, but she doesn't want to let down the friends who supported her, so she goes. The reality does not live up to the hype, and things turn toxic. The ending is satisfying. I like the suspense-building and the main protagonist's positive character development.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Jody moved back in with her old friends after suffering mental and physical abuse at the hands of her boyfriend Nick. She spent most of her time in her bedroom and was missing lots of university lectures and getting behind in her work.

Ari won tickets to a music festival in Greece so Carla, Ari and a reluctant Jody travelled out to Greece. From the moment they arrived they realised that the festival was not what they were expecting and that it was more low budget than headline acts.

A missing girl and thinking she had seen her ex Nick in the crowds meant Jody felt frightened and wanted to go home but she didn’t want to let Ari and Carla down.

Jody was counting down the hours until they could leave and things just got worse and worse.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"The Island" proved to be a captivating book. Initially, it unfolded slowly, but as the festival in the narrative commenced, the plot twists began to emerge rapidly. While some developments were anticipated, others were not, yet all contributed to the compelling nature of the story that made me eager to continue reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for my ARC.

Thank you for my copy to review .
I read this in one go it was bloody brilliant!
Packed with tension and gets your adrenaline pumping this is a fantastic thriller .
Unpredictable and fast paced this is going to be one hell of a festival weekend .
Friendships ,resilience ,strength and determination run through .

A brilliant escapism story. I loved it. Dark, rende and scary at times, a brilliant psychological thriller xx

Set around a festival that goes wrong from the start. I've read and loved a few by Sarah but this one didn't hit the mark for me. For me, I found it hard to connect to the characters and the pace was rather slow. The twists were OK. Not my favourite read but still looking forward to reading the next book by this author

3.5
I have loved the authors previous work, this felt a bit slower compared to the previous books (this maybe due the others being audiobooks) ultimately Jody got right on my wick (I love an unreliable character, but she was just a moron 😂) I spent most of the book cussing her and her stupidity out.

I did love the idea of the festival, it’s true intentions, and the grim descriptions the author used, ultimately the friendship between the girls were my favourite, i completely got the frustrations of Carla and Ari. Patience of saints!

The end was brillant, Jody finally stood up fr herself thank god!

I loved the idea that this was based on fyre festival and thought that was an amazing premise for a thriller so couldn't wait to get into it. It was a bit wordy and drawn out for my liking, I felt like a lot of parts could have been skipped over since they didn't really move the plot along much. The characters were decent, the twists were fine. You do need to put reality aside, a lot! But it's a fiction so that's part of the appeal. It's a really good thriller of you down think too hard about some of the twists and reveals lol

4.5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️




✨ Festival
✨ Abuse
✨ Friendship
✨Psychological Thriller



✨ The story was focus on 3 friends Jody,Ari and Carla . But mainly focus on Jody who has come in an abusive relationship. She suffered from depression but her friends wants to do something to make there friend happy . They won a ticket for a festival, to there surprise they went and go along with it.
With a rocky start of the bus of where they going it ends up it’s true festival.
After some partying and wondering, things happening from someone getting stabbed and missing.
Jody was the one who witness everything till she met a boy. A boy that is just a lie or he really?


✨ writing style was okay. I find it quite draggy but the plot of Jody having Ari and Carla as friends is nice. To support her all the way even though she is struggling. They never leave her which is good. Just the writing style of words is okay.
✨ unfortunately I wouldn’t recommend the audiobook version, the narrator (sorry) doesn’t give justice to the story. It was a nice piece but she’s narrating it without right diction.




✨Thankyou @avonbooks for the opportunity to read this arc for a honest review.


🫶🏼shaye.reads

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for an honest review. I just with I had written this review when I first finished it as two weeks down the line I am struggling to even remember to premise of the story. Having had a quick reminder to myself…I’m left with two lasting impressions - the friendship between the main character and her two friends could have been built upon so much more, the plot itself was ludicrous and the ending so far fetched it was madness and finally the thought of the festival filled me with so much anxiety. Not my favourite Sarah Goodwin book but I will watch out for the next as it wasn’t all bad.

Jody, Ari and Carla are all living together after meeting at University and Jody having to flee quickly from an abusive relationship. Jody is struggling to keep things together after the events of her past so when Ari wins tickets to a festival on a Greek Island for the three of them she is initially unsure about agreeing to go. However it's not long until the three of them are landing at the Greek airport festival ready.

Once they have arrived at the airport they wait for the pre arranged festival bus however this does not appear and that is only just the start of the poor management the festival seems to have. Throughout the next few days several events happen causing them to question what is actually happening at the festival?

Whilst I enjoyed this book I found that it was a slow read at first with most of the action happening in the later stages of the book. The book had a good ending but nothing too surprising.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books for providing me with an advanced copy.