The Island By Natasha Preston

Nilufer Ozmekik

“On of us is lying” meets “And then there were none “ theme executed as trapped on an isolated island in the middle of storm where is cut out from civilization: no phone and internet reception plot line!
The targeted young people are influencers are invited to promote the facilities including the ultra luxurious resort and amusement park.

Everything starts so dreamy in the beginning. True crime podcaster- influencer Paisley is the main character who already gets haunted vibes from the place as soon as she tours around the resort and she feels like somebody is watching her.

Bookstagrammer Harper, video gamer Liam, beauty blogger Will, movie buff James are the other influencers who are also invited to the mysterious island. Malcolm Wyatt is the billionaire who is the owner of the resort accompanied by his full time servant/ loyal assistant Camille Jenkins. The other people who stay at the island are crew members and close friends Reeve, Gibson and their cook Kenna.

All of them are pleased with their accommodations and enjoying thrilling rides but when one of them gets missing and the basement room where the wires and cables of Wi-Fi and phone get vandalized, they realize something is really off about the place. There’s a killer outside targeting the influencers and it could be one of them.

Well, the pacing was good and the ending twists were also unexpected. The reasonings of the killer was a little far fetched.

Overall: definitely readable claustrophobic whodunnit! I’m rounding up 3.5 stars to 4 gripping, young adult thriller, happy Halloween month stars!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s/ Delacorte Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Mallory

This was a very fast read full of twists and turns. It’s a bit of a locked room mystery since all of the characters are at a special event at a fancy resort and amusement park on an island with no one able to leave or come. The main group of teens at this event are all influencers, and while that isn’t necessarily my favorite I did like that the narrator is a true crime/murder influencer. Empty amusement parks make perfect settings for stories, especially for horror/serial killer stories. Paisley is excited to get invited to an exclusive event for influencers at a new amusement park that has a gothic theme with an attached resort on an island. But once they all get there people start to disappear. And Paisley realizes just how far away from civilization an island can be.

Laura

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The premise to this one is fun. Six teenage popular social media influencers get invited to a private island where a newly completed hotel and amusement park for the rich is located. While the hotel is obviously meant for those who prefer luxury, the amusement park has a gothic theme with gargoyles and rides meant to spook. The question is, is this just a fun, free vacation as a perk of being internet famous, or is something else at play?

This book kept my attention. I didn’t want to stop reading. I liked the main character. There were a couple good twists. It would make a good movie.

Chelsea | thrillerbookbabe

Thank you so much to Natasha Preston and Penguin Audio for my copy of The Island! From the moment I heard the premise, I knew I had to get my hands on it. It is about a group of influencers who go to a private theme park for the weekend to promote it on social media. Paisley runs an account all about true crime, and she can’t wait to go to a spooky island full of fun rides. But when they get to the resort, something is off. Even though it is the dream weekend, the eerie setting and skeleton crew is unsettling. Then one of the influencers goes missing, and Paisley begins to wonder if she will get off the island alive.

Thoughts: This book was like a YA version of And Then There Were None. I loved the premise and thought it was really fun. Natasha Preston is a great writer and the story is both fast-paced and claustrophobic. The thing about YA books is that the characters always seem pretty dumb. They don’t think and the plans they come up with are so basic and unthought out, which is both funny and frustrating.

The ending was both unsurprising and thrown together. It didn’t really make sense why things unfolded the way they did and seemed like a stretch to me. Even the misdirection made no sense and seems like such a big stretch to commit to. There are also so many characters that it is hard to keep track of who is who and why they matter. It was such a fun plot, but the last 20% was disappointing and that was such a bummer. 3-stars.

OutlawPoet

I post reviews on Amazon and they will not let me post curse words. This is probably good, because the words that came out of my mouth when I finished this book were foul. Extremely. Loudly. Foul.

Now, I read an ARC of this so there’s time. Time for someone – a partner, a good friend, a beta reader, a fairy godmother, a FRIGGING EDITOR – to take the author aside and say, “You know how you ended the book? Don’t FREAKING DO THAT!”

Excuse me. Blood pressure. Rising.

Whew.

The thing is, until the ending, the stupid, lazy, cheat of an ending, the book was good. It wasn’t an award winning masterpiece of literature (and who even needs that), but it was entertaining and fun and bloody and I loved our characters. And even though I knew the ‘who’ of things way too early, I didn’t care.

And then I read the last bloody sentence and I said, wait…that’s it? I tried to turn the page because surely there was more. There wasn’t.

And ebook hit virtual wall.

The 2 stars are ONLY because I was so entertained…until the last. Bloody. Sentence.

*ARC via Publisher

Kimberly R

Wow totally Gobsmacked by the ending!
Six social media influencers are invited to Jagged Island, an amusement park for the rich and famous. Trouble abounds and murders arise as they start getting bumped off one by one.
This was a very edge of your seat read by this great author. Thanks NetGalley and Random House Childrens for this ARC that will come out Feb. 27, 2023.

Jasmine from How Useful It Is

Thank you PRHAudio for the complimentary audiobook! Thank you Getunderlined for the gifted copy.

I wanted to read this book because of the influencers but as I got to know them, they were just okay. The audiobook didn't keep me wanting more either. Another And Then There Were None story except the characters aren't that clever.

This story followed Paisley, 17, an influencer on true crimes. She along with other beauty, gamer, etc influencers got invited to a wealthy man's island to play at his new amusement park and use their social influence to tell the world about the Island for the weekend. Upon arriving, she got to know the other influencers. One guy invited her to go on the rides after hours but he didn't show. At first she thought she was stood up but later when she noticed he didn't join the rest of the gang for morning activities that she began to grow worried. She went to his room to check on him and found he wasn't there. Later she got the rest of the influencers to go look for him. They found him murdered and left for dead. From there on, other influencers began to go missing.

scar

i liked the eerie beginning and the totally baller ending, but everything in the middle was so hard to get through. it was just boring, even though so many things happened. the characters were behaving like headless chickens, constantly jumping from one plan to another. still, i enjoyed the ride. the whole idea was just fantastic, this one is for all the slasher fans out there. i'll pick up more books from this author for sure, i'm curious about them now.

Danielle B

Jagged Island houses a private amusement park for the very wealthy. Six young teen social media influencers are invited to check out the park before opening day and share their thoughts about it. Liam, Will, Ava, Harper, James, and Paisley are all having fun, that is until Liam goes missing. Someone on the island starts to hunt them down one by one. Who is it and why are they doing it?

THE ISLAND was the first book I've read by Natasha Preston. I have been wanting to read one for a long time and I can see why so many people love her books. This one was really good. It was fast-paced and creepy. I didn't get the twist and the ending was really a nice surprise. If you enjoy movies, like "I Know What You Did Last Summer" and "Scream", I would say you will most likely enjoy this book a lot. I know my daughter is going to love it.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be shared to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

bookish.reader.elle

I personally didn’t care for this book and I love thrillers and all things scary. It felt so over the top but not in a good way. It read like a movie but in a choppy tell us not show us style. It was a lot of short abrupt sentences and it felt a bit like reading an unedited diary. We basically get a stream of consciousness from the main character. As a reader I felt really disconnected from the story and characters.

The actual murders and thriller never felt scary. The main character Paisley is really into true crime and sharing all she knows about it with her followers. I think this book was trying to be serious but it almost felt like a parody… like those Scary Movie films. Characters kept doing the most obvious and stupid things that ended up getting them killed. The over the top shock at how any of them could have ended up in that situation was frustrating. We as readers were constantly being fed every moment there was no suspense. I found the writing spoiled the thriller aspects. The big reveal was lackluster and murderer wasn’t believable in the slightest. The ending felt very rushed and thrown together. I understand not all stories end happy but this just ended so abruptly I had to double check if there was a glitch on my kindle.

Overall I didn’t care for this book but maybe if you are looking for a very current contemporary YA story about TikTok influencers being killed then this might be the book for you.

Thank you Random House/ Delacorte Press and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kimberly R

Wow totally Gobsmacked by the ending!
Six social media influencers are invited to Jagged Island, an amusement park for the rich and famous. Trouble abounds and murders arise as they start getting bumped off one by one.
This was a very edge of your seat read by this great author. Thanks NetGalley and Random House Childrens for this ARC that will come out Feb. 27, 2023.

Mary

Wow. This was intense. Absolutely solid thriller. Gory (more than many I've read recently), but a perfect amount of gore for the situation. I was completely on edge the entire time I was reading, and had to put it down a couple of times to chill out. (Note, reading at night in the dark? Not a particularly good plan with this one).

I loved the concept of a super wealthy dude buying an expensive island...only to build an exclusive amusement park and luxury hotel on it. Literally a perfect setting for a thriller. And a perfect way to stroke his ego...if everyone loved it. Then add social media influencers, and I only wish we had been able to see more of what they were posting/sharing with their followers before people started dying. Identifying who everyone thought the killer was at such an early stage in the book seemed risky--and I was impressed all the characters went along with it--but the twist at the end made me want to re-read the book knowing about it to see if I missed anything!

I just loved this book, and hope it's a raging success. Read alone in the dark at your own risk (and peril)! I think this would be an amazing movie...fingers crossed!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, RandomHouse Children's, and Delacorte Press for a review copy of this book!

Samantha

The narration of this book is told by a true crime / murder influencer on social media, Paisley. Paisley is a part of a select amount of influencers who were invited to an island that has a gothic themed amusement park & attached is a hotel attached. No one has access to leave to come to the island & when things start to happen on this secluded island, the group of teens realize just how far from civilization they are.

I don’t think I have ever read anything that is set at an empty amusement park that has yet to open but this was a fun premise. I love that Paisley is a crime influencer I think it add such a nice element to the story.
As always Natasha will twist the ending you won’t see coming. Love her work, highly recommend this read!

Lexi

Meet the influencers: Liam’s a gamer, James does movie reviews, Harper is a book blogger, Ava and Will are rival beauty gurus, and our main character is Paisley, who has a true crime podcast.

Six teen influencers are invited to exclusive, private-island, gothic-themed, amusement resort. What could possibly go wrong? Well, when people start dying and there’s a killer on the loose, a lot actually.

You know how there’s like a sub-genre of young adult books that feel more ‘adultish’ and definitely appeal to an older audience, well this definitely isn’t one of those. While I’m not saying that as a bad thing, I just want to point out that this one actually feels targeted towards young adults, with its timely and relevant mentions of the TikTok lifestyle. A little young for my personal tastes but this did not negatively affect my reading experience.

I thought the book started out really well. The atmosphere and world building at the beginning is great. Our introduction to this gothic luxury mansion, the creepy rides, haunted houses, and eerie island setting is well done. I liked the introductions to the characters as well, we get a small taste of their personalities.

⚠️Warning… hot takes ensuing…

But once the sequence of events begins, all of that character and world building just stops abruptly and is never expanded upon again. I had a hard time picturing everything as it was happening. There’s literally zero world-building or setting descriptions apart from the very first part of the story when they are seeing the island and hotel for the first time, so I couldn't imagine anything in my head. I just kind of had to roll with it.

It’s a fairly short book. I feel like we could have had more descriptions along the way to make the action scenes (and really it’s just one continuous action scene) come to life more.

There's also like zero characterization either. I mean I didn’t really care about any of them because I didn’t really get to know them. So the high stakes were pretty much lost on me and the betrayals felt meaningless.

This is like one of those horror movies that everyone watches just to laugh at and make of it. It feels like a parody (Scary Movie, anyone?). Everything is just so over the top and melodramatic with no build up, tension, or suspense. There is a bit of gore factor which did up the ante a little for me.

In comparison to all the flashback/cold case thrillers I’ve been reading recently, I was looking forward to this one as a fresh, in-the-moment story. I will say, this is a quick, easy, compulsive read. And I found myself inexplicably hooked into the whole thing regardless of everything else. If you like a non-stop action, fast-paced, close-quarters, who-dunnit, mayhem of a thriller, you may also find it as fun and engaging as I somehow did. It has a classic, locked-room mystery feel to it all and, in general, I do love that trope. It’s like the game Clue in a way. Everyone’s a suspect and you don’t know who to trust.

There are plot holes galore. And I mean in abundance. Nothing made any sense, everything was way too convenient, and nothing added up right. The characters’ reactions to things were laughable. Not a single decision they made, nothing they did, made any logical sense whatsoever. C’mon, they’re old enough to do better. And also, why were the adults in this story just the most dumb, useless, incompetent, clueless, idiots ever? No idea. Reading this is like watching a bunch of bumbling idiots running around like headless chickens.

I have so many questions. So. Many. Questions. Some of which I will include hidden at the end of this review because they will contain spoilers. But I just didn’t buy into the whole entire thing. It wasn’t believable at all. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, that it would come out as hahaha it’s all a joke, but it wasn’t. It actually wasn’t a joke.

But I really have to know though… is it supposed to be like this? I’m still so confused. Does anyone know? Is it serious? Is it intentionally campy?

As for the intense cliffhanger the story ends on… I recently read another thriller that ended on a similar cliffhanger and I actually really liked the ambiguity of it. But for this one, I’m not sure I understand the purpose for it. Honestly though, that part was more suspenseful than the rest of the story.

In summary…

Is it so bad that it’s good? Kind of. Was I scared? No. Was I for some unknowable reason super invested in the outcome? Yes.

I’m still going to tell you to read this book. I don’t know y’all, it was bad but I just kind of liked it anyways. Even after all of my ranting, I still want to check out this author’s other books now.

I initially after reading gave it two stars, but since I’ve stewed over my thoughts more I think I have to bump it to three because for whatever reason I just really wanted to know what the hell was going on and I wanted a conclusion. I never actually considered DNFing it, so therefore I am changing it to three stars instead of two.

My spoiler plot hole questions:

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest feedback. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Jamie Loves Books

Happy Publication Day!!

3.5 Stars (rounded up)

Well my jaw is on the floor from the very last scene of this book. I didn't see the book ending like that!

This was an interesting modern young adult take on And There Were None. A group of teenage influencers are invited to come to a prestigious creepy island with an amusement park. This park is not for everyone at $6000 for 3 nights. Malcom the eccentric millionaire that owns this amusement invites these influencers in hope to help bring attention to this new attraction.

Quickly things fall apart, as Will one of the influencers goes missing. It took awhile for people to really become concern thinking he just slept in late. But after searching his room, people begin to panic as it seems he has never been in his room. Then there are reports that the boat is missing and no one has cell phone service. From there things start to get wild as others begin to disappear. Will's body is later found and now everyone realizes that there is a MOIDERER on this island.

I had moments in this book that I was super stressed out. The haunted house scene with Paisley while she is hiding with wax mannequins of the most notorious serial killers was atmospherically terrifying. There was definitely parts of this book however that seemed to regularly repeat themselves. The group leaves a safe space, goes out looking, separates, and is chased by an ominous figure with a knife. This made the middle of the book slow and I found myself scanning.

Another challenge with this book was the sheer number of characters. There were soo many and I had a difficult time following from Paisely's only perspective. I feel like this book make have been better from a multi-perspective experience.

Overall I did find this book to be a fun time. I think this book could be a hit for teens and young adults. It has a perfect sense of dread and the ending is pretty crazy.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children for this advance reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

I will be posting my review to major retail sites and my instagram page the.floofs.booknook closer or at publication date.

Valerie

The Island is the first book I’ve read by Natasha Preston. I usually don’t read YA novels, but the outline of the story (and this cover!) really grabbed my attention.

Five teenaged influencers, well-known in the social media community, are asked to visit an island resort which will be opening to the public soon. It is owned by one of the richest people in the world, a man named Malcolm. They will visit the island over a long weekend, explore everything it has to offer, and post on their social media to get people excited about visiting the resort. Little do they know that people will start disappearing and being found dead one by one.

The author does a great job introducing the characters and resort and setting up the situation for the reader. I found that I was looking forward to this thriller the more it went on. It was definitely exciting!

Even though I do not know much about influencers and vlogs / twitter / instagram / etc, I realized that didn’t matter. Preston explained things well and made sure you don’t need this social media background.

There were a few things that I had a hard time adjusting to. Some of the conclusions the characters made were not completely justified, mostly in regards to the murderer. Also, the teenagers acted and spoke like they were in their 20s when they were supposed to be high school students.

The reveal at the end was a good one. I had only guessed some aspects of it, so I liked that. The very end (last few sentences) seemed strange to me. I’m not sure why the author thought it was necessary.

Overall, this was a good mystery and a very easy read.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this book to me for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Ms. Yingling

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Paisley is a teen social media influencer whose murder related podcast has 500,000 followers. She, along with five other influencers, has been invited to spend a weekend at the extremely posh new Jagged Island resort run by Malcolm Wyatt. It's a bit odd; decorated entirely in a dark, Gothic way, accessible only by boat, and fairly mysterious. Invitees like Ava and Will, who do a beauty blogs, are a bit apprehensive; Ava is downright rude. Paisley is willing to give it a go, especially since there are some cute guys, like influencer Liam and staff member Reeve. She also hits it off with Harper, a book blogger who reads a shocking book every single day and has her Goodreads Challenge set to 350 books. (*cough* slacker *cough). There's also movie buff James, assorted staff, and Malcom's personal assistant, Camilla Jenkins. She seems less than happy to be at the resort. When Paisley arranges to break the rules and meet Will in the middle of the night to investigate the island, she's put out when he doesn't show up. The next morning, when he doesn't come to breakfast, no one is too concerned. It's a teen boy sleeping in. The others go off to sample the rides and other delights, but keep thinking that Will should have shown up. But he can't! He's been brutally murdered! Then, the WiFi goes out! Oh, no! Soon, everyone is frantically around the island trying to figure out what's going on, making bad choices, like going into dark basements. The router wires have all been cut, there's a storm going on that makes leaving the island impossible, and Paisley has to use her crime related skills to try to solve the mystery of what shadowy figure is wandering around the island killing people. They come up with a name, Robert, and a connection to the Jagged Island management, but they aren't quick enough to stop him murdering repeatedly, and he's not a man who does things in a delicate and nuanced way. When Paisley discovers that there are other connections she has been slow to grasp, will she be able to survive?
Strengths: Well, then. Having been impressed by Preston's 2020 The Twin and its nuanced, psychological horror, this was... a surprise. This was a very scary book with lots of blood and gore, which is something my readers ask for all the time. The characters are all teenagers, which makes sense, and many middle school students think that they can earn a living as social media influencers, so they will love the stories of how the characters became famous. Despite all of the frenetic action, there is a good underlying mystery, and Paisley does solve it. Surprisingly, there was very little bad language, which was quite nice.
Weaknesses: I was traumatized by the nonstop brutal murders. It would be hard for me to hand this book to students. I would not have given it to my own personal children before they were in high school. This is where I am conflicted. Yes, my students would read it. But do I want to spend limited funds on a book that might cause some students to have nightmares? I can't buy everything.
What I really think: If you have books like Polatin's The Devil in Ohio, Stoffel's Fright Night, Jayne's 2021 The Girl in the Headlines, or are buying the rereleased Christopher Pike titles because YOU read them when you were in 7th grade, go ahead and buy this one. I'm going to pass on this one for middle school and stick with Alexander's similar influencers-go-to-evil-theme-park book, The Escape, which didn't bludgeon my sensibilities quite so much. This is a great book for what it is. It just isn't what I want for my school library.

January

The Island by Natasha Preston
8h 05m narrated by Caitlin Kinnunen, 336 pages

Genre: Thriller, Young Adult, Mystery, Horror, Mystery Thriller, Contemporary, Teen, Realistic Fiction

Featuring: Social Media, Influencers, Teenagers, Theme Park, Island Trope, Billionaire, Affluence, Stupidity, Murder

Rating as a movie: R for violence

My rating: ⭐️½🙄

My thoughts: 📱18% 1:29:23 Ch. 6 - I started with this one because I needed an audiobook, and now I'm only stopping because I have an hour to read my tablet. This is kind of like the plot of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, but I know it's going in a different direction. The narration is choppy, but the characters are high-schoolers, so it's kind of authentic.
📱37% 3:00:00 Ch. 12 - This is pretty much what was promised. They lured me into a horror movie via vacation. There are some red flags/plotholes, but I'll complain about them later.
76% 6:08:43 Ch. 22 - I was hoping to finish this tonight, but I need a break from this mess.

6 people are invited to an exclusive theme park; they are all between the ages of 16-17, have rich families, are influencers, and will be traveling alone. This just does make sense to me; they are all minors. Why wouldn't you invite their families? It just seemed suspect from the prologue for me. Since it's horror and some stupidity is required, I didn't hold it against the story. Billionaire wants to invite 6 unaccompanied minors to his inaccessible island, fine, stupid parents. MC uses kill as hyperbole too many times for it to be foreshadowing; it became a joke. I couldn't tell you much about the characters, there were about a dozen of them and they weren't memorable, I found myself confusing the adults with the teens on multiple occasions, and the details of the island were hard to picture as the MC focused on adolescent things, the POV was authentic. I was all set to give this story 3-3½ stars for my time at the resort and a few rides, [the descriptions were vague] but the choppiness, annoying characters, and pointless killings got to me and I took a break. When I returned, it was to the dumbest ideas ever and then an ending that made this story a waste of my time. I had The Twin, The Lake, and The Cellar in my possession, but after abandoning You Will Be Mine, too creepy for me, I returned them all and assumed I would never read this author. However, this plot drew me in, and I was considering giving her another chance, but after this sugar storm, I'm good.

Recommend to others?: Eh! It's your call, but I'm not pushing it toward anyone without requests.

Steph

I had mixed feelings on this book. I love a good locked room mystery, and adding influencers set on an island - sign me up! However, the characters were all kinda flat and literally none of them made an logical choices, just nonsensical decisions aplenty. However, I also was interested in the plot and definitely wanted to keep reading to see how it turned out. It is more of a young YA style than I expected, with a lot of time dedicated to TikTok/brand/follower type discussions, especially for the first 25%.

I felt like it almost had the vibe of one of those 90s spoof slasher movies, like Scary Movie, with how over the top it was. I was entertained by it though so like I said, mixed feelings 😂 One thing that definitely didn’t work for me was the ending. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again - I don’t like thrillers that end with an abrupt cliffhanger which this unfortunately did. Some ambiguity I like, but this was too much and felt unnecessary, like it was done solely for shock value.

I’d still recommend this if you want an easy and quick thriller with a slasher feel, just be ready to suspend belief and don’t look too close or you’ll see all the plot holes.

❌❌Warning Spoilers Below❌❌

Questions I had while reading:

❓More of a pet peeve than a plot hole, but while being chased by a murderer and finding dead bodies, why was Paisley still so boy crazy? I mean I know all YA books like to have some crush/romance aspect but it made no sense to me. Like here let me clean the blood off you - oh I’m blushing after being caught totally scoping him out. Oh I’m blushing because he brushed my bloody hair out of my eyes. 😂 No girl. Just no.

❓Paisley repeatedly talks about her phone needed to be charged. And they all mention their phones are dying b/c they took so much video. They are in the hotel with their stuff? Why wouldn’t they go together to get chargers.

❓ How did they really jump from overhearing someone mention a name to identifying the killer like that? It was such a huge stretch and yet everyone was just like yup, that checks out.

❓The motive made no sense. I get why he has anger but how was any of the killing influencers plan going to make it better? And if it was money related wouldn’t it have made sense to attack Malcolm before he threw all that money away on the island amusement park? And don’t even get me started on the famous one. How would they be famous - from jail if they got caught? None of that made any sense whatsoever.

❓ Wouldn’t the ski mask make it obvious the killer was trying to mask their identity b/c they were recognizable? Instead Paisley says its to keep them from knowing what Robert looks like. Girl, you’re on a deserted island, if you saw one person you didn’t know you could probably assume its him even if you didn’t know what he looked like!

❓ Even more than that, why did they stay in areas with multiple entry points? Go into one of the rooms which only has one door, that locks, and throw the deadbolt. Stay safe until help arrives. Duh.

❓Literally every chapter they talk about how they have to stay together and then come up with a plan that has them all splitting up and running around the park for no reason at all. Why did they all keep running around the park??

❓Really?? The only failsafe to get off the island is a rowboat?!? This billionaire had rowboats as his only emergency escape, even though he owns helicopters. Makes total sense.

❓What parent would let their teenager go to a random island with zero supervision and no way to contact anyone. C’mon, all the parents were just like ok well see ya after, hope the creepy reclusive billionaire behaves!

Kori Potenzone

Does anyone else have a hard time deciding “what’s next”?

After reading some kick butt books these past couple of weeks I feel like I am in sensory overload . I want to continue this streak that I am on . Since January 1st I have not read anything less than a 4 star read and not even one “DNF” .

So in order to keep my streak going I need to go with a sure thing, so here we are . Depending on Natasha Preston, to knock my socks off .

The Island

Having read The Twin, The Cellar and The Lake, I knew this book would be a sure thing .

I wasn’t wrong …

Natasha Preston is a New York Times bestselling author . This is not a label to be taken lightly but instead a huge honor and it does not go without recognition.

The Island, was creepy, intense and kept my “streak” alive with another book that blew my mind and kept me on the edge of my seat.

This was a quick and easy read that flowed and allowed me to read without pause from cover to cover .

I was already a huge fan of Preston but The Island instantly became a favorite .

I am eager to see what comes next!

Teaser :

They said goodbye to their friends and family for the weekend. They weren’t counting on forever.

Jagged Island: a private amusement park for the very rich—or the very influential. Liam, James, Will, Ava, Harper, and Paisley—social media influencers with millions of followers—have been invited for an exclusive weekend before the park opens. They’ll make posts and videos for their channels and report every second of their VIP treatment.

When the teens arrive, they're stunned: the resort is even better than they’d imagined. Their hotel rooms are unreal, the park’s themed rides are incredible, and the island is hauntingly beautiful. They’re given a jam-packed itinerary for the weekend.

But soon they'll discover that something's missing from their schedule: getting off the island alive.

Janet

Six influencers are invited to a secluded island amusement park prior to opening in the hopes their online influence will draw the rich to spend their money at the park. Given posh rooms in the on-site hotel and having every need tended too… what better way to spend a weekend. Until Will, one of the influencers goes missing and then their whole world gets turned upside down.

I have to say, I’ve never read anything else from this author, however her ability to tell a tale left me breathless. I was ducking and dodging along with the trapped kids. A creepy amusement park background, a room filled with wax statues of the worst of the worst serial killers… and all the while being hunted. This kept me turning pages afraid to close my eyes less I miss the killer. Several times I thought I had it figured out, only to change my mind again and again.

I can’t even tell you how wild the ending is! Whew. Breathless, heart ponding, cat and mouse running, hiding and being hunted is enough to entertain anyone! I am definitely going to explore more from this author.

I can’t recommend this YA thrill ride enough. If your brave enough… and don’t mind being hunted …

Thank you so much to #NetGalley, the publishers and author for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. Grab this book like a life raft when it’s released Feb 28, 2023. Trust me… you’re going to need it to survive Jagged Island.

Happy reading my friends! 😊

Kari

3.5 stars
The Island is the latest by this author that comes out next week (2/28/23). Paisley along with a group of online "influencers" are invited to stay on an exclusive island and tour an amusement park and hotel. The billionaire who owns it wants publicity and the teens get a free weekend vacation. Someone goes missing and the group quickly realizes that is the least of their problems.

I was hooked from the start in this one. I did ultimately enjoy it. The story is told through only the point of view of Paisley. I think that was a good move. It ratcheted up the suspense. I didn't call the killer or his motives. It was mild on the gore. I do have 2 issues with the book. In the beginning, Paisley mentions that there is an attendant at each ride should they want to ride one. What happened to all of those employees? Also, I hated the ending. It was a horror cliché and one I've never been a fan of. Despite those two things, I do recommend it.

Nicole Yacobellis

Ummm wtf did I just read?! THAT ENDING!!! And every single thing before it 🤯 This book was the definition of unputdownable and I need a minute to pick my jaw up off the floor. Would give this 10 stars if possible!

Brit

5 stars had me hooked from the first page. This was everything hide wish it could have been. Everything had me second-guessing. Natasha preston knows how to hook you with a good book. I wish i could reread for the first time.

Katie Harder-schauer

Working on writing my review now. It will be posted here after it goes live on my blog at some point. Bear with me on that one. I will say it had a very I Still Know What you Did Last Summer feel to it.

Courtney

First off, I read this whole book in ONE freaking day and let me say that I NEVER accomplish that lol. This read like a fun slasher movie only it’s starring all kinds of influencers including a Bookstagrammer, so you can imagine my excitement! I was eating this book up from start to nearly the end. It’s not written like a masterpiece but there’s something fun and easy about diving into a thriller and I happened to have the free time to sit and enjoy it all in one sitting.

Picture me, giddy with excitement.. trying to guess the killer, stoked that I’d be squeezing in one more read for January. It’s 9:42 PM and I get to the end where something VERY shocking happens.. but imagine my surprise when I can’t flip the page again and THAT is the ending??

For obvious purposes, I won’t be saying what happened but that I do feel very unsettled (which what probably the purpose?) but this kind of ending just isn’t for me and actually knocked off some stars from my rating 😅.

Overall, I don’t regret reading this one at all.. but the ending still has me in shock lol.

Vee_Bookish

remote island theme park murdery horror? I'm reading this asap.

Pixie

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Random House Children's in exchange for an honest review.

This is how I feel in emojis.

🏝️🤯🙀😵😱😈💀🚣🏊🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪

Oh my god. From the moment I picked up this book, I could not put it down. The Island features a motley cast of social media influencers/content creators invited to explore and post about a brand new VIP amusement park on an island. And that's where everything goes wrong.

Deserted island with your fallible cellphone? No way, I wouldn't sign up for this. But oh did they agree for the klout. If you've watched Harper's Island, this is exactly what you're getting into - but with influencers. We follow the point of view of narrator Paisley (they all have such gen Z namss it totally adds to the authenticity), a content creator who posts about #truecrime and #unsolvedmysteries as she agrees to this sponsored weekend getaway.

Within a day of arrival, all hell breaks loose as the influencers start to go missing and experience weird tamperings going on the mostly deserted island, staffed by a skeleton crew, along with the founder and his PA.

Everyone is a suspect. Everyone. This was a thrilling gruesome read and it had me flashing back to everytime a character was chased and hunted down in Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. Yes, brutal. By the second murder I was 100% convinced I knew what was going on especially since this was something Paisley would be well equipped to analyse and solve.

I was wrong. I started to care for the tiny bits of romance in the story but it also felt pointless to do that in a novel like this because, who lives and who dies? I appreciated how current the author was with modern cultural references to 2021-2022 events (sans covid) and how true crime is such an in thing now. It was a super fast-paced novel that managed to wrap up all loose ends and reveal the plot and motive without feeling like it was rushed.

This one had me on the edge of my seat, or hidden under the covers in the dead of night scared for the lives of all these influencers. Major plot twists at the end and worst of all, that horrid "up to your own interpretation" ending. I'm shook. I had to go back to the previous page and the next page to be sure I read it right. I'm still processing it as I write this and I feel like I need to read more of her books.

John Kelly

This book is hard to rate and review.

I love the story, appreciated the characters, and love the premise. I was highly engaged and basically read the book in a day (which I typically do not do). The prose was descriptive and effective in creating vivid imagery. It had good pacing and good twists. It had me guessing throughout most of the book as to who was responsible for the actions taking place. It was both an easy and enjoyable read. I thought it was a solid 4-star book.....and then the ending took at least a full star off the rating.

Given that the book isn't planned to be released until the end of February, perhaps the ending will be changed prior to that. Again...otherwise I really liked the book...but the ending (or lack thereof) really disappointed me.

I do like
Natasha Preston's style and will likely seek out/read some of her other books.

chiara

nooo I hate influencer thrillers 😭😭 it's fine I might not read it

Title	:	The Island
Author	:	Natasha Preston
Rating	:
ISBN	:	0593481496
ISBN-10	:	9780593481493
Language	:	English
Format Type	:	Paperback
Number of Pages	:	336
Publication	:	First published February 28, 2023

The Island Reviews

Releated on The Island