Author: Ruth Ware
Year published: 2024
Category: Adult fiction (thriller)
Pages: 400 pages
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Location: (my 2024 Google Reading map): USA (CA) and Indonesia
Summary: Lyla is in a bit of a rut. Her post-doctoral research has fizzled out, she’s pretty sure they won’t extend her contract, and things with her boyfriend, Nico, an aspiring actor, aren’t going great. When the opportunity arises for Nico to join the cast of a new reality TV show, One Perfect Couple, she agrees to try out with him.
A whirlwind audition process later, Lyla finds herself whisked off to a tropical paradise with Nico, boating through the Indian Ocean towards Ever After Island, where the two of them will compete against four other couples—Bayer and Angel, Dan and Santana, Joel and Romi, and Conor and Zana—in order to win a cash prize.
But not long after they arrive on the deserted island, things start to go wrong. After the first challenge leaves everyone rattled and angry, an overnight storm takes matters from bad to worse. Cut off from the mainland by miles of ocean, deprived of their phones, and unable to contact the crew that brought them there, the group must band together for survival. As tensions run high and fresh water runs low, Lyla finds that this game show is all too real—and the stakes are life or death.
Review: After a couple heavy books and a smutty romance, I was in the mood for a thriller and Ruth Ware does not disappoint. This is a gripping thriller.
Our narrator, Lyla is a good character. She is smart (a scientist) and practical, and also thoughtful and caring. She thinks about the ethical dilemmas that the group is faced with in a good way. The other characters? All seem to have a not-so-attractive side. They are mean, selfish, and out for themsleves. They are, of course, in a reality game show with a winner so some of that is to be expected. And, as the story progresses and we learn more about the people on the island, we discover they are multi-dimensional and not just the stereotypes we thought they were.
The "game" is good. I liked the behind the scenes bits where they learn how it's all going to work with the cameras, one-on-one interviews, etc. "Reality" TV is anything but.
I was hooked on this book from page one (and what a great opening it has!) and read it in 2 sittings.
Challenges for which this counts:
- Big Book of Summer--400 pages
- Literary Escapes--Indonesia
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