The Island - Likewise Book Reviews

"*WARNING THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS* Yea, this wasn't her best one in my opinion. I was trying to set off my spooky books right and a week early with reading this book thinking it'll be worth it. I can't say enough how much this bored me. I'm really shocked and disappointed because I thought I would love this one. I really didn't like how this was about tiktok influencers, it just felt weird to have this as modern as having them as the main characters. I'm pretty sure there are like this out there but it just didn't sit right with me. I spent way too much time on this book when in reality I spend at max 2 days on her books. It was pretty obvious who was the killer but I was surprised at Liams accomplice Harper but her reasoning was horrible and made no sense to go on a killing spree. Also, how did she kill James without getting blood on her, she was in super close range soooo... I will admit I liked the serial killer room, with all the animatronics styled after the most famous serial killers it was pretty cool to envision. The ending was stupid because Liam pushed and jumped with Paisley into the ocean with multiple people around, like dude you are not smart🤣. Natasha Preston is literally my auto-buy author, even though I didn't like this one, I went and bought her newest one The Haunting today(even though I received an e-ARC). This though will not be in my top 5, but I can't wait until I read her new one!!"

"This book had all my favorite fixings: a gothic themed amusement park on an isolated, exclusive island, a serious case of whodunnit, and the narratives of different online influencers intertwining amidst their ongoing fights for survival. Sounds great on paper, right? Well, think again, because unfortunately, while I initially loved this and its enticingly spooky ambiance, the decisions on behalf of the characters were nothing short of insane. Everyone was chaotically running around the park, essentially into the waiting, expectant arms of the killer, usually separately, after planning on staying together. It really was like something out of a terribly cliched, half-baked horror movie. The ending was also disappointingly abrupt and the reasoning behind some of the murders didn’t completely make sense. It didn’t unearth anything new or interesting in the whodunnit genre, ringing incredibly hollow, with a lack of twists to excite and bring it to life. Paisley, the main character, is a crime-focused influencer sought out for this once-in-a-lifetime experience to explore the new amusement park in question, a park only reachable by boat or helicopter. While there, she meets quite the cast of characters, including the other influencers, some flashy and beauty-obsessed, others more thoughtful, bookish, and inquisitive, who each could be hiding something. It is up to her and her burgeoning sleuthing kills to dig deep and find out. The fight for survival becomes a ruthless battle as the body count keeps mounting higher and higher. Is everyone who they say they are? What is out of place and why? How will all this end with lives endangered left, right, and center? Ultimately, regardless of this book’s shortcomings, I will probably give this author another chance as I really loved The Dare by her, so we shall see where her other works take me! "

"This book was a mess up until the end and ripped off a favorite book of mine by Tiffany Jackson. The ending is what saved it.<br/><br/>Merged review:<br/><br/>This book was a mess up until the end and ripped off a favorite book of mine by Tiffany Jackson. The ending is what saved it."

"This was a decent book up until the end. "

"The ending of this book shocked me so much and I loved that!"

"Such a fun thrilling short read. Pulls you in immediately. Super easy writing style. Laid back but still a thriller/ mystery. I can’t get past the ending that was the only reason I docked it a star. Still a great read. Only took a day. "

"The island is Huxley's last novel and the one he deems most important. His focus is on highlighting the shortcomings in the key drivers of modern society (education, healthcare, child-development, and labor) ultimately suggesting alternative ways to approach such topics. Huxley's answers to these questions are so incredibly simple and yet dramatically complex. It is clear he feels that modern society fails in its inability to properly develop the "full human." Central to his design is that nothing exists in isolation. Medical treatment must target the mind as much as it targets the body, literature and philosophy must be combined with intense labor, all of life's pleasure must also be experienced alongside pain<br/><br/>"Its no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society""

"I love Natasha Preston’s books, they’re such a nice read in between harder books. This book had a great plot and an awesome plot twist, but I didn’t love the characters. I felt Ava was especially badly written. I would have liked if Preston gave us a reason to dislike Ava as much as it seemed that some of the characters did. "

"Really good book up until the ending (a cliffhanger). Hopefully there’s going to be a second book!"

"This book just blew my mind! I had goosebumps the whole time, and I couldn't shake the creepy vibe! Such an amazing writer, and the ending left me wanting more. Definitely a 5 star book for me."

"Good read I enjoyed. Ofc I was already expecting a cliff hanger like Natasha Preston does in her books."

"This book was pretty great! It kept me guessing until the end, and it’s the literal definition of “keeping you on the edge of your seat.” But a slight warning, this book is NOT for people who don’t like cliffhangers (especially whenever there isn’t going to be an epilogue or second book.) For me, the ending was definitely creative, but also flabbergasting. It felt like the book was only half done and there are SO MANY unanswered questions. But from what I’ve heard, this author prefers to end books with a “choose your own ending” type of cliffhanger, so, I’m not honestly that upset with it, because I’m used to cliffhangers, it was just the overall ending that made no sense. In the last five pages the author just randomly pulled out a ton of plot twists that simply made no sense, they felt forced. It was like the author just wanted them in there, but didn’t really care about making sure they fit. One of my only complaints is the stupidity of the characters. They did so many dumb things and I just honestly was so confused by there thought process at times. But nonetheless, this book was pretty good."

"The book was alright, it’s a classic slasher/whodunnit. The premise was cool, I wasn’t able to guess who the killer was, there were twists I wasn’t expecting but unfortunately there are plot holes and the book has the WORST ending possible. If the book didn’t end so abruptly and on a cliffhanger that made no sense, then it would be rated higher. Otherwise, it’s an okay and quick read, nothing groundbreaking about it."

"DNF. I read another book by this author once and I remember being so distracted about how the main characters just LEAPT to the conclusion of the identity of the perpetrator. And then started referring to the (unseen) killer by name, as if it was a sure thing. Without any confirmation, proof or sound logic. No real people would ever behave like that. It was so annoying. Now here I am, accidentally picking up another book by the same author and good grief she’s doing it again! Once I realized, I put it down and moved on. Stupid. "

"Could have been good except the ending made me ANGRY"

"Spoilers!!!! Not the greatest read I have read. Took me a while to finish this book. Very predictable and unlikeable characters, except for Reeve and Gibson. The ending was disappointing and lackluster. Overall, this book isn’t the best but not the worst. With that being said, it was a smidge exciting at times (even though you knew the outcome). The killer whom they thought this whole time actually turned out to be the killer? Usually it’s someone we wouldn’t know or expect (ending didn’t throw me off at all) so to keep the same murderer throughout…idk I have mixed feelings about it. Give it a read and make up your own opinion. "

"Would have had a much higher review if not for the final few sentences of the book. While I enjoyed an open for interpretation, create your own ending book, this book needed a pretty little bow. The "cliff hanger" just seemed lazy and messy. Which really sucks because I enjoyed the book up until the last page. "

"I will say Ana drove me absolutely insane the whole book. Malcolm had built an private amusement park for the rich on Jagged Island. He had hired his own crew for the park but he had sent out an invitation to 6 teenagers who are all social media influencers and he was wanting them to come to the island for a weekend and check out the amusement park before it opened to the public. The invitation was very creepy and Paisley, Harper, Ana, James, Will, and Liam all got to take this opportunity and thought it was going to blast. Each one of these teenagers has millions of followers and can get the news out quick but one problem they run into is that Malcolm and Camellia are keeping a secret from everyone and it all starts when Will goes missing. Throughout the book you really get to know who the characters are and who will fight for their survival. With that being said, Paisley on the other hand blogs about crime all the time and once she figures that Will has gone missing and has possibly been murdered on the island, she begins to wonder if this trip is going to be worth it or not. When the teenagers arrive at the resort, they aren't very impressed when the lobby has a locked glass cabinet full of weapons. On the tour, they get assigned rooms and have 30 minutes to get unpacked and be downstairs so they can have the rest of the day to ride rides and explore the park. They have all had fun the first day and by the time it's dinner time Malcolm has asked around and gave permission for them to explore by themselves. One rule in mind is they are not allowed to be on amusement park premises after dark. Will gets the idea that sneaking out to see the park at night would be a good idea and would be a fabulous video to show their followers. Well Paisley ends up being the only one commiting to this idea but what happens when she gets stood up and never shows up to go tour the park during after hours with Paisley........ The resort is huge and massive just like the amusemen"

"Amazing read and great story. Probably my least favorite story of hers so far but was still so enjoyable. The twist ending was intriguing but not super surprising. ****SPOILER ALERT**** the big question that remains for me is that I understand why Robert wanted to kill his uncle and destroy his business but why kill a bunch of teenagers in the process? I would have loved that question to be asked to him just to know his train of thought for it. I guess to make a bigger splash on the media and tarnish his families name? Also the ending as always with her books was SO frustrating but I assume Paisley lives considering between Reave and the coast guards they’d likely dive in to save her but still another two or three pages would have been great lol "

" Very interesting read. The ending was upsetting, but the novel as a whole was well written and kept me interested through the entire book, even if it was a little slow at first. Great, quick read. Can’t wait to read more from Natasha Preston. "

"I loved this book! It was a classic, fast-passed slasher story. One thing I would note though is it is sometimes hard to follow. Pay attention to details."

"This book is a marvelous palet cleanser. I love crime stories and had kind of burnt myself out on biographies. This story was a great who done it! And it was a quick read! I loved the Cellar so naturally I gravitated toward Ms. Preston and was not disappointed. You truly become invested in that main character! Enjoy the read! "

"Wtf is this ending. GRRR I hated the ending sm. Rest of the book was good but I hate a cliffhanger, especially in a thriller! "

"not my favorite by her, a little slower paced but the last 100 pages made it worth the slow start! crazy ending yet again! "

"crazy plot twists through the book. the ending was no where near what i expected"

"This is the third book I’ve read from Natasha Preston, and undoubtedly, the third book of hers to make me cry my eyes out. I thought Ava was the worst, but I feel so bad. I wanted Paisley and Reeve to be endgame, but the ending broke me. I’m sitting here as I just finished still crying. I don’t know how I’ll recover from this but please read it😭"

"Amazing! I absolutely loved the setting, the characters, the plot, incredible read"

"EXCUSE ME, THAT ENDING?! <br/><br/>Merged review:<br/><br/>EXCUSE ME, THAT ENDING?!"

"Such a great book! Finished it in 24 hours! "

"Omg I loved this book a lot. Never expected the twist at the end. This book left me in shock. If you are thinking about reading this book, please do."

"A little slow to start and bland/basic at times but the ENDING oh my god it left on SUCH a plot twist and cliffhanger and that’s it. No end to the story ever. Kinda liked that though, had me screaming in my room though from shock at the fact it had ended where it did."

"quick read!! (took me 2 days) I didn't see the plot twist coming and i loved the characters, the storyline was great. i loved it. i need it to be turned into a movie"

"A story of 6 teenage influencers that are invited to a secluded amusement park to promote it before its big opening. The book had an “And then there was none” vibe to it which is fun seeing how authors turn it into their own, but this book was not doing it for me. While it took 16 chapters for me to get interested, I also found that the characters lacked chemistry. Every time they would interact it felt so bland and it felt like the book tried too hard to be relatable with its references to Squid Games, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, and the main kids being TikTok famous. The world was not visible to me like her other books and the repetition of the word “scowl” and “paperback” was excessive to the point where even I noticed! I had high hopes for this book since I loved Preston’s other work like The Cellar and The Lost, but this was not for me."

"FAST PACED AND EASY TO READ!!! it’s a cool concept and vibe - i would recommend. (i didn’t mind the ending even though it was a bit abrupt)⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️"

"Really liked this book. Kept you guessing till the end and had a nice twist. Easily goes in my favorites list by this author. "

"Such a great book. Used to be my favorite book, but I've found some others that top this one. This book was great but everything happened so quick. Loved this book and highly recommend."

"This book was actually so good. I was going to read it while I was reading a book that was a little more sad but I ended up getting sucked in and couldn’t put it down lol. I HAD to know more. The ending was ROUGH for me though because of the plot twist of the century. My jaw was 100% on the floor with this one. "

"This book was insane. I absolutely loathed the ending because (spoiler) she was sooooooo close!! "

"Loved this book! If you like reading books with slight gore murder scenes and mystery’s this is THE book for you I will forever love this book!"

"It was slow in the beginning but it quickened and was amazing it kept me on my toes (after chapter 8 it gets interesting)"

"I read 6 books by Natasha and this one was definitely the best. Super great thriller!"

"I really liked this book it kept me at the edge of my seat. There were so many things going on, and I loved the plot. When I found out who was killing everyone I was shocked. I wish the book never ended at such a cliffhanger though."

"I think it was pretty good. Many plot twist and crazy stuff. I’m not sure if I loved the ending or if I should be mad though!"

"Had me on the edge of my seat and terrified "

"I’m reading the haunting by the same author now!"

"I personally didn’t like the ending but I haven’t ready anything by this author so that’s just my thought. I don’t like to be left on a cliff hanger is there is not another book to fallow ."

"Natasha is queen of thrillers! 🙌🏼 This book had so many twists and turns. Every single page was gripping; I couldn’t put it down!! "

"I love Natasha, but this book was so slow in the beginning and reminded me of the hype house which annoyed me. The plot twist was soooooo good tho :)"

"Very good book for young adults that like mystery’s would recommend I gave it 4/5 only because it was very fast paced!"

"Loved it until the end, but enjoyable anyways."

"So did Paisley die or is it up to our interpretation? Because"

"Amazing I read this in 5th grade and still in love with it!"

"I enjoyed this book right up to the stupid ending. I will never, ever recover from reading this novel and will never again knowingly read another book by this author. "

"The ending made me mad but other than that I enjoyed it."