It’s fast paced but the ending was a bit flat but that doesn’t take away from how much I enjoyed reading this book, it’s my first time reading anything by this author and if they are as good as this one, then I have a lot to look forward.

It's reminiscent of Lucy Foley`s The Hunting Party but better, in my opinion. Four friends are about to have a little reunion, after not seeing each other in years. Rod is getting married to a woman named Bella, and he invited his best friends from school to join him-- Zoe, Lily and Dan. There is a lot of backstory, secrets, relationship/character-building from the past, and how it is affecting them all now. Three of these four friends were involved in the death of the fifth member of their group, Saul and they made a pact to never tell anyone what happened to their friend the day he was killed in a hit-and-run accident, and that also adds to the tension of this reunion. It followed the cliché formula of old friends with a secret and though the premise was far-fetched, I liked the writing and implementation of the devices of a thriller in this book. There were of course a couple of twists and turns, but unfortunately, nothing that shocked me, I figured out who was who and most of what their motives were long before the ending. I found the prologue grabbed me and pulled me in, it was a fast read, with good timing of tension and anticipation-- but I liked the ending actually, I felt at least satisfied.

Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood books for this ARC. This is my honest review.

📖 My review: 📖 Wow. This one blew me away. I was not expecting that. This is my first book by this author and it will not be my last. This book had me captivated from the start. Once I started it I could not stop until the end. It was like a game of clue all based upon omission of the truth. But did anyone know what really happened ? This thriller was a wild ride until the very end.
I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
Publication date is November 20,2024. I highly recommend preordering and adding this to your TBR.

⭐️Synopsis⭐️

Never underestimate how much people can change...

It’s been years since Zoe last saw them – since they graduated, drifted apart, and lost touch.

Years since Zoe ended things with Dan because the memories were too painful to bear.

Years since that night – the night an unexpected death shattered their close-knit group of friends.

Now, Zoe is invited to Scotland for a wedding – a grand affair at a manor house on a remote island. Apprehensive about the reunion, she hopes the long drive with Lily will help ease her nerves.

But things are far from simple. Lily has also agreed to give Dan a lift, and Rod, not wanting to be left out, is joining them as well, along with his fiancée.

And when they come into trouble on a cold, dark, desolated Highland road, it sets off a chain of events which will leave them all shaken to their very core, and questioning everything they thought they knew…

Special thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early and to give my honest opinion. I truly enjoyed this gem and discovered a new author in the process.

#netgalleyreviewer #netgalley #mahunter #boldwoodbooks #advancedreaderscopy #thrillerbooks #bookrecommendations #thrillerbooksaddict #bookstagram #kindlebooks

So I could only give this book 3 stars. I feel like the plot has been done so many times they just change the scenery, characters and the why. I had it almost figured out in the end there was a small detail that I didn’t see but for the most part you can figure it out pretty easily. If you like a murder mystery that is easy to read this is a book you might enjoy.

The Reunion is a book that I found difficult in places, due to the fact that the chapters were coming from various people. An accident years ago binds these friends together and it is only when a wedding invitation for them all from one of the friends they all come together again.

I felt the book lost the plot half way through, but then picked up momentum towards the end. It was obvious that the so called wedding was a hoax and brings home them that are love struck can see no wrong.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

4 friends reunite for the wedding of Rod. Zoe and Dan used to go out back in school. Lily was Zoe’s best friend. All of them have a secret from back then. As they travel to the wedding together it is clear somebody knows their secret from then and also their new secrets.

This wasn’t what I expected. A good read with plenty of suspense in its twists and turns. All the characters seemed flawed. I liked how the secrets were slowly drip fed to us, although I had figured out Lily’s big secret early on. The big reveal when it came was surprising. And it kept me turning the pages until I got there. This is a book that I would recommend.

Four friends are about to have a little reunion, after not seeing each other in years. Rod is getting married to a woman named Bella, and he invited his best friends from school to join him. Zoe and Lily were close, but haven’t seen each other in two years. They are planning to drive from England to Scotland for the wedding, but somehow they end up with Rod, Bella and Dan joining them for the road trip. Dan was Zoe’s boyfriend back in the day, so that’s awkward - even more awkward is that she’s now married and also has a boyfriend on the side. No, not Dan, it’s a man named Evan who she works with, who is becoming unhinged because he (wrongfully) thought Zoe might leave her husband Tim for him.

While Zoe is dealing with Evan’s psychotic messages, she’s stuck in the car with these people she barely knows anymore. Her friend Lily has had some big things happen in her life that Zoe didn’t even know about, Dan is acting morose and reclusive being around the (now married) love of his life, and Rod is his normal obnoxious self. Then there’s Bella, who doesn’t fit in with the group - not just because she seems to have a chip on her shoulder, but because she wasn’t around when these four friends were involved of the death of the fifth member of their group, Saul. They’ve made a pact to never tell anyone what happened to their friend the day he was killed in a hit-and-run accident, and that also adds a layer of awkward to this reunion.

Then they get to Scotland and at a pub, meet a girl who tells them about a party in town. They decide to go, and then the next thing they know, they wake up in their car after all passing out in it. They all have terrible hangovers - even Dan, who was the designated driver and didn’t drink - and soon realize they were drugged. What’s worse, when they get out of the car, there happens to be a dead man stuck in the grille. In their panic, the leave his body on the side of the road and continue on to their destination, again vowing to tell nobody what had happened (not that any of them really know, since they can’t remember the previous night).

Then this story started to go sideways for me. I’ve read two other books by this author and enjoyed both of them, but this one wasn’t it for me. It followed the cliché formula of old friends with a secret getting together and their secret being in jeopardy. Even the author admits, through the characters, that the entire situation is quite petty in the end, and the premise was far-fetched. There were of course a couple of twists and turns, but nothing that really shocked me. If you like slow burn mystery/thrillers, you may enjoy this one, but I found it a bit flat. Three stars.

(Thank you to Boldwood Books, M.A. Hunter and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on November 20, 2024.)

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
A reunion for Rods wedding. Four friends carrying secrets from their past come to the reunion for Rods wedding. Who is the woman he is marrying? Something is odd with her? Years ago a death shattered their friendship so how will this reunion go?

Well MA Hunter does it again! Quickly becoming a go-to author for me. This was fast paced, twisty and had very clever reveals. Characters were perfectly matched with all of their personalities, strengths and weaknesses. Totally enjoyed this one.
Thank you NetGalley, MA Hunter and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Firstly thank you net galley and M A Hunter for the opportunity to read The Reunion.

The story kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I loved this book, it was exceptionally written and executed beautifully.

We have purchased for our library.

3.5/5

When you go to meet up with some old friends from college (or university as they call in the UK) for a wedding in Scotland, but there's lots of past drama, current drama, secrets and a dead body...you know, super casual and normal things...

This book definitely starts out well, bringing you right into the middle of the drama and the heightening the anticipation. You know from the very beginning that there is a lot of stuff going on with this group of friends and there is a lot of questionable history between them. But then once you get into the thick of it, I found that it slowed down quite a bit.

The ending wasn't nearly as satisfying as I wanted it to be. The end of a book (especially in this sort of thriller or mystery category) should be the most exciting and climactic.

But another fun theme of this story is that none of the characters are particularly likable, they're all questionable and unreliable characters. And I find that can make the drama and chaos of a book even more dramatic and chaotic. And that's always a fun little twist for the reader's mind to try to deal with and understand.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

I love Hunter's books so was excited to read this one and it did not disappoint! It's a wonderfully convoluted story of a group of friends who all have their individual secrets but share others. Now they are all convening to celebrate the wedding of Rod and "new' woman, Bella. They are somewhat suspicious of her as it seems she suddenly appeared in Rod's life and is acting a bit standoffish to them on this trip. The novel vacillates between 1999 and the present as we see protagonist Zoe relive her high school years as she goes to prom with boyfriend, Dan but then as they all mourn friend, Saul who was killed in a car accident. All of this comes to a head as they are thrown together in the present and we are never sure--until the bitter end--who is telling the truth and who is lying!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Three and a half stars rounded up. I requested M. A. Hunter’s “The Reunion” because the premise was interesting to me. Zoe has been invited to attend a wedding for her childhood friend Rod at his manor house in Scotland. To get there, she has agreed to a ride by Lily, but doesn’t know that Lily will also be giving a ride to Dan, Rod, and Rod’s fiancé, Bella.

The group begins their journey and have a reservation to stay a night or two on the way to Rod’s manor house. Things don’t go according to plan, though, and the rest of the book is sorting out what happened. And also ultimately understanding what happened to their childhood friend, Saul, who died over 20 years before in an incident.

This book started off well, but I struggled at times to read the ensuing chapters. None of the characters were particularly likable. Both Dan and Lily would jump to conclusions based on flimsy premises. Later in the book Lily even gave herself credit for “making connections” and “connecting the dots” on things where her logic was flawed.

I did enjoy the last few chapters of the book and liked how the author ended things. However, I did feel the events revealed that led to Saul’s death were a little too convenient.

Overall, I recommend this book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

A group of friends reunite to attend the wedding of one of them. Even though they haven't seen each other for years, they decide to travel together to the remote Scottish island where the wedding is to be held. While travelling, they decide to stop overnight, and after a drunken party, a tragic death occurs. Secrets and lies. and old insecurities from the past resurface, and none of the friends feel they can trust each other, and they wonder which of them could or would commit murder.
I enjoyed the plot of this psychological thriller, and the ending was a surprise to me, I didn't expect it. I didn't find the characters particularly likeable though, and couldn't engage with any of them.

A terrible event separated the paths of four friends and now, after years of not seeing each other, the wedding of one of them brings them back together on a road trip. A party, a drunken binge, drugs and a new accident will bring the past to light.
From that moment on, everyone becomes suspicious of each other. Old wounds are opened and that creates dissension and misunderstandings within the group.
The truth is that the characters in general are not very likable, they are selfish and irresponsible, they do not seem to have matured too much since their split. Their past problems are joined by the problems of their current lives which makes the whole trip a big mess.
If you are a regular reader of the genre you may suspect where the plot is headed. Still, it is one of those novels that keeps you enthralled until the end.

3.5 stars rounded up- The Reunion is a thriller driven by secrets and a death mystery. Four school friends get back together to attend the wedding of one of them. Three of them harbor a secret from the past that led to the death of one of their school friends. Drunkenness and drugs lead to a new death where everyone is turning on each other and no one knows who to trust. Secrets and outright lies are exposed before the mystery is wrapped up. The mystery is twisted and keeps you guessing until the end. The characters all kind of leave a bad taste in your mouth as they all are not really likable and somewhat selfish. Overall this is a decent mystery with characters that won’t win over any fans. My voluntary, unbiased, and non-mandatory review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

They all drifted apart after graduation. Years after having lost touch, they are all forced to reunite at a wedding in Scotland. Chaos ensues shortly after the six friends reunite.

I found the prologue to be incredible! It might have been short but it was filled with anticipation. This book was very good at first. The writing was fast paced and things began happening quickly. After that, though, things slowed down. This book would have been four stars for me but the ending was unsatisfying.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Bold Wood Books so much for this opportunity!

Lily, driving her dad’s old Land Rover, is travelling north to the wedding of an old friend from high school.. On the way she picks up BFF, Zoe, then the groom Rod and his American fiancée Bella. Last to climb into the packed vehicle is Dan. A past tragedy hangs over the four friends and its consequence is a shadow over their strained relationship with each other. This It’s the first time some of the friends have been together since Zoe’s fortieth birthday party’s over two years ago. That was an event a couple of the passengers would prefer to forget. The reunion is far from ideal and secrets abound. None of the guests are as close as they once were. Rod, who has recently inherited the title Lord Astor and its estates, is even more loud and lairy than usual. Dan is morose and distant, while Bella is rude and unfriendly. Not the best mix. To break up the journey to the far reaches of Scotland and Rod’s estate on Jura where the wedding is to be held, the groom has booked a house for them all to stay in overnight before the ferry crossing. After a struggle to find the property they are far from happy with what’s been booked. However, a rubbish, damp, cold house in the middle of nowhere is only the start of their problems. They really should have let sleeping friendships lie!

Another offering on the much travelled reunion trope. It takes a good author to write such awful characters, with even the ‘nicer’ ones pretty dire. It took me a while to get into the story, and thought some conversations or eavesdropping didn’t go anywhere with no follow up. Quite a strange ending, bit of a cop out?

Lots of repetition and a thorough editing is desperately needed, but has potential once all the gremlins and unnecessary bits have been cleaned up.

2.5*

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books.

Four old friends travel up to rural Scotland for one of their friends wedding and decades-old secrets threaten to come to the surface. Fast-paced with good character development with a plot that will keep you guessing. Very well written, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.

This plotline has been done several times and while each time they very samey I still do enjot the read.

4 friends, remote holiday spot and many secrets .. Oh! and a death are what makes this pacy read not so unique.

It is well written and I enjoyed the characters and getting to know them

Filled with sspense and lots of drama there are many twists, I was satisfied with my reading but please please I want a more unique plot..