Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Reckless Girls



Reckless Girls is an apt title for this one. There are several reckless girls- and some guys as well- but the protagonist is Lux, a young woman in Hawaii slaving away to support her sailing enthusiast boyfriend. They met in California and relocated to Hawaii to pursue his dream of sailing but mostly they live hand to mouth and she works at a resort dealing with moneyed tourists. She has loss in her life and you can watch her making bad decisions- she's looking for an escape, and like many people she sometimes gravitates towards the wrong people- and situations- to cope. 

She thinks maybe it's time for them, though, when two apparently rich tourists hire her boyfriend Nico to take them to an isolated island in the Pacific. Big money. Nico asks Lux to come along and soon they are in a tropical paradise. It's just them for a couple weeks on an island in the middle of nowhere. Well, maybe not just them. When they arrive they discover a catamaran there and soon make the acquaintance of a rich couple. They get along great, though, and it's time to party- until other things happen, someone else shows up, and secrets are revealed. 

The island is a big element of the tale, with its dark secrets and almost uninhabitable setting. Even the fish are poisonous. Paradise and danger go hand in hand here. And it appears that Amma and Brittany all have their own secrets. The story is told in the present along with flashbacks revealing what really happened with several characters. To be honest, some of this seemed a bit farfetched. 

I liked this book a lot, but I've seen raves for it and I didn't love it that much. It's very possible I let my expectations get ahead of me. I also thought the sailing was a little sketchy- which is not a big deal since this story is less about the sailing and more about what happens when people are isolated, put under pressure, and find out they don't know someone nearly as well as they think. I liked Lux, not really anyone else, although some of the reveals were not shocking. I thought also that a lot of the reveals came late enough that it felt like not a lot happened for stretches. 

Having said that, this was a readable thriller and kept the pages turning. I liked the exploration of what people will do to escape their situation, and what fractured family ties can do to people, but the ending- really? It went somewhere I had a hard time following. I just couldn't quite make that leap. Still, it's fun and who doesn't love a creepy island? 

22 comments:

  1. Creepy islands are kind of awesome! But I do like the books I read to have satisfying endings.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I had no idea that this was a thriller or adult (it's adult right?)

    I thought this was some mean girls YA lol

    It actually sounds pretty cool. I'll see if it's on audio. Sometimes I can handle far fetched better in that format. lol

    Karen @For What It's Worth

    ReplyDelete
  3. I probably ruined it for you with all my shouting about it. Sorry!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I saw some mixed reviews for this as well. But mostly good reviews. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I liked this one too but agree that some of it was a bit farfetched. I also didn't really like the characters aside from Lux. Always amazes when an author can keep me reading even when I don't care for the characters, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ooh, the farfetched stuff is going to bother me, I think! But parts of this still really appeal to me, so I think I will give it a chance!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I loved the setting and yes, I was curious to continue but, I just didn't love this one. I did think it was a bit much at times.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I didn't know Rachel Hawkins wrote a thriller. It is hard to read about characters you don't really care about. I'm glad you semi-enjoyed it though.

    ReplyDelete
  9. While it didn't live up to the hype for you, I'm glad you still enjoyed it. I'll try to go in with lower expectations whenever I get to it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh my gosh! The first part of the synopsis sounds like it could be my life if I let my husband run amok and not work and just sail his heart out. He wants to captain sailboat expeditions so bad! He learned to sail when he was 12 and it's his only passion really, but I won't work at a dead-end job just so he can sail around all day, lol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mostly because sailing is damn expensive! I don't care if he sails or if he becomes a captain of a sailboat, but he has to be able to contribute to our financial situation, lol. I forgot to add that in. (I'm not an evil wife who won't let him fulfill his dream.)

      Delete
  11. Sometimes I can roll with far-fetched and others... not so much. I guess it just depends on how the author presents it and how invested I am.

    ReplyDelete
  12. The island sounds cool, who hasn't wanted to escape to a remote island? And it would definitely add something to the story with that sense of isolation. It sounds interesting and now I want to check it out.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I would love to read that book ^^ Have a good weekend

    ReplyDelete
  14. I enjoyed The Wife Upstairs even as much as it stretched the imagination at times. I am looking forward to giving Reckless Girls a try too.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I think this is the second book in the series? Definitely remember it having a very similar cover and also getting great reviews. "Paradise and danger go hand in hand here" -- this seemed to sum up the atmosphere really well. ~Lex

    ReplyDelete
  16. I do like a good creepy island. This does sound like an interesting read even if it wasn't a total winner for you.

    ReplyDelete
  17. "Paradise and danger go hand in hand here".
    That would look good on the back cover!

    I understand your frustration about the far-fetched twists - I tend to fare better with sci-fi/supernatural books also because in them (almost) anything goes...It sounds like you did enjoy it enough though, so yay!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I've read so many mixed reviews about this one that I'm still on the fence.

    ReplyDelete
  19. It sounds interesting, thriller books are always fun to read. :)
    -Quinley

    ReplyDelete
  20. 'Even the fish are poisonous.' ...this doesn't sound like a healthy place tbh, lol.

    ReplyDelete