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mehsi's review
1.0
Dropped at 43%. Warning, this review will be a lot of WTF, a dash of rage, and wth were they thinking. And it will also be chaotic. And on my blog I will also have some gifs between stuff.
So I was REALLY eager to start reading this one, survival on an inhabited island? With the only people being other teams? Mystery and potentials murder? Oh, yes, sign me up.
Sadly, from the beginning it just wasn't all that. For instance these kids are going survivalling, they want to bring with them some electronics but then are too dumb to understand that stuff may get wet and you should put them in a plastic/waterproof/tight bag. They then proceed to be really shocked that their stuff is dead and soaked when they get to a dry point.
Not to mention that if you have x time to cross a waterway that is about to flood in a few hours that maybe you shouldn't just rely on one watch, especially when that watch is a smart watch. Instead set up multiple watches to make sure you are getting dry on the land.
I hated the mom in the then parts. Dear lord, that woman. Oh, my kid just hit a pregnant lady (my sister) with a heavy book out of nowhere, she is now angry, but it is my kid, he probably didn't mean it? Let me just hug him for an hour. Oh my kid cut off someone's hair because she didn't want to give her lunch to him, he has no issues. I will sue the school instead. And how she constantly lets Ben pick up everything, and let him/her do all the work.
Plus it made me feel real disturbed about Will. What kind of effing psychopath is that guy that he does all that shit? From small kid to what he is now, I don't even want to know how terrible and frightening he is now. He seems normal in the Now parts, but good grief, I don't want to know how fast that guy will snap. *shivers* He should have gotten help from the moment that people noticed something was wrong with him. Dad should just have done something to get that kid help, but it seems that dad was pretty oblivious to what was going on.
Ben, I keep thinking that he is actually a she. I am not too sure how to explain this correctly, but with how he acts, how he does, how he thinks, everything just screams GIRL to me. Even when eventually told Ben is a he, I kept seeing him as a girl. Eventually I gave up on telling my mind that the character is supposed to be a boy and saw him 100% as a girl.
I did feel sorry for Ben, that she had to give up so much, I wish she would just say no. Sorry, you are not your brother's keeper, you also get a chance at living. Just pick you for once.
The tooth-extraction scene? WTF WTF WTF and also NOPE NOPE NOPE *pukes*. I still don't get the reasoning behind it. How did we go from normal kids to oh hey we have to extract a tooth to have equal trade. *pukes* And then they do it in such an irresponsible way. Giving the guy medicine, drugs (magical mushrooms), and oh yes, vodka (because that is just what you want to give someone when blood is about to flow out of them). It was just so disgusting, plus again, so unbelievably stupid that it just didn't make sense and I don't see why it was added. I could see that maybe later in the story it would have worked better, but now it just felt weird (not to mention uberdisgusting). And then to hilarity sake that that happened to the tooth. Good grief.
Then later Carmen disappears, and I just knew crap was about to hit the fan, and yep. It did. In a very disgusting way. :|
How didn't they just make a list for each person on what to bring? Especially Grady, someone should have kept an eye on him and what he brought. :|
Grady, was it needed to add him to the mix? He seemed to totally not fit the whole survival trip stuff, OK, sure, the others also didn't seem the type, but he was 100% not fit for it all. Plus his conspiracies got on my nerves.
Also I am pretty sure that is a hint to something very disturbing, but when they found that note at the beginning (and also later another one) that kept going on about Elizabeth's thumb, Elizabeth's thumb. I can only guess what will happen later in the book, not that I will be around to read it.
Sorry, these kids are just badly prepared for something like this. I had expected them to at least have some form of skills, but to me they seemed to just do this for lols and oh yes, money. Because they all had some sad backstory and needed the money so desperately that they would just extract a tooth from a dear friend. :| Also who the hell eats magic mushrooms while on a survival trip?
I would have also loved to see the other teams. Now we just see them fleetingly from a distance, or read that they are around.
So yep, I am backing my way out of this one and say a big fat NOPE to this one. :|
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
So I was REALLY eager to start reading this one, survival on an inhabited island? With the only people being other teams? Mystery and potentials murder? Oh, yes, sign me up.
Sadly, from the beginning it just wasn't all that. For instance these kids are going survivalling, they want to bring with them some electronics but then are too dumb to understand that stuff may get wet and you should put them in a plastic/waterproof/tight bag. They then proceed to be really shocked that their stuff is dead and soaked when they get to a dry point.
Not to mention that if you have x time to cross a waterway that is about to flood in a few hours that maybe you shouldn't just rely on one watch, especially when that watch is a smart watch. Instead set up multiple watches to make sure you are getting dry on the land.
I hated the mom in the then parts. Dear lord, that woman. Oh, my kid just hit a pregnant lady (my sister) with a heavy book out of nowhere, she is now angry, but it is my kid, he probably didn't mean it? Let me just hug him for an hour. Oh my kid cut off someone's hair because she didn't want to give her lunch to him, he has no issues. I will sue the school instead. And how she constantly lets Ben pick up everything, and let him/her do all the work.
Plus it made me feel real disturbed about Will. What kind of effing psychopath is that guy that he does all that shit? From small kid to what he is now, I don't even want to know how terrible and frightening he is now. He seems normal in the Now parts, but good grief, I don't want to know how fast that guy will snap. *shivers* He should have gotten help from the moment that people noticed something was wrong with him. Dad should just have done something to get that kid help, but it seems that dad was pretty oblivious to what was going on.
Ben, I keep thinking that he is actually a she. I am not too sure how to explain this correctly, but with how he acts, how he does, how he thinks, everything just screams GIRL to me. Even when eventually told Ben is a he, I kept seeing him as a girl. Eventually I gave up on telling my mind that the character is supposed to be a boy and saw him 100% as a girl.
I did feel sorry for Ben, that she had to give up so much, I wish she would just say no. Sorry, you are not your brother's keeper, you also get a chance at living. Just pick you for once.
The tooth-extraction scene? WTF WTF WTF and also NOPE NOPE NOPE *pukes*. I still don't get the reasoning behind it. How did we go from normal kids to oh hey we have to extract a tooth to have equal trade. *pukes* And then they do it in such an irresponsible way. Giving the guy medicine, drugs (magical mushrooms), and oh yes, vodka (because that is just what you want to give someone when blood is about to flow out of them). It was just so disgusting, plus again, so unbelievably stupid that it just didn't make sense and I don't see why it was added. I could see that maybe later in the story it would have worked better, but now it just felt weird (not to mention uberdisgusting). And then to hilarity sake that that happened to the tooth. Good grief.
Then later Carmen disappears, and I just knew crap was about to hit the fan, and yep. It did. In a very disgusting way. :|
How didn't they just make a list for each person on what to bring? Especially Grady, someone should have kept an eye on him and what he brought. :|
Grady, was it needed to add him to the mix? He seemed to totally not fit the whole survival trip stuff, OK, sure, the others also didn't seem the type, but he was 100% not fit for it all. Plus his conspiracies got on my nerves.
Also I am pretty sure that is a hint to something very disturbing, but when they found that note at the beginning (and also later another one) that kept going on about Elizabeth's thumb, Elizabeth's thumb. I can only guess what will happen later in the book, not that I will be around to read it.
Sorry, these kids are just badly prepared for something like this. I had expected them to at least have some form of skills, but to me they seemed to just do this for lols and oh yes, money. Because they all had some sad backstory and needed the money so desperately that they would just extract a tooth from a dear friend. :| Also who the hell eats magic mushrooms while on a survival trip?
I would have also loved to see the other teams. Now we just see them fleetingly from a distance, or read that they are around.
So yep, I am backing my way out of this one and say a big fat NOPE to this one. :|
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
arvella's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
3.25
erinsbooks13's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
simisan's review
3.0
the end was dumb
everything else was really interesting and entertaining, like an action movie with interesting power dynamics
the end reminded me ending of tv show “lost”
lol
everything else was really interesting and entertaining, like an action movie with interesting power dynamics
the end reminded me ending of tv show “lost”
lol
jascel23's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
bookish_fish's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
janaybrazier's review
4.0
I have written a full review of this book over on my blog: www.janaybrazier.blogspot.co.uk
Overall, this was a really good book. It is uniquely scary and gruesome, a book that I would describe as The Hunger Games meets the Saw movies. It’s not the kind of thing I’d usually pick up but it still sounded intriguing, so I picked it up. I’m glad I was brave and went for it.
Overall, this was a really good book. It is uniquely scary and gruesome, a book that I would describe as The Hunger Games meets the Saw movies. It’s not the kind of thing I’d usually pick up but it still sounded intriguing, so I picked it up. I’m glad I was brave and went for it.
alongreader's review
4.0
I've read several of the Red Eye Books now - growing up on a diet of Point Horror and Christopher Pike has left its' mark. For terrifying, icy cold, leave-the-light-on, Alex Bell is queen. But for psychological, chilling, what-would-I-do-I'd-never-do-that-but-what-if-what-if-what, it's Bryony Pearce all the way. She simply can't be bettered. (She's also excellent at cliff hangers, but that's another topic.)
Five teenagers join an 'Iron Teen' contest, billed as an endurance test crossed with an intelligence test. Between them, they think they can handle anything. When they reach the isolated island, however, they find out exactly how wrong they are. Soon they're injured, cut off from help and being hunted down. And as they soon learn, they can't trust anyone...including each other...
There's a couple of chapters where I wasn't too sure, but once they hit the island the pace never lets up. One character reveal came as a surprise to me. The other I figured out early on, but I'm fairly sure we were meant to. A horrifying incident not too far in sets the tone for the rest of the novel, and the pace never eases off all the way to the end. Thrilling and chilling, a great story for a horror fan. Be wary of some violence.
I was reading an eARC, so I'm sure this will be fixed in the final edition, but there were several very abrupt flashbacks. A couple of times I had to stop, go back and reread to figure out what was going on. I've marked down one star for that. But I'll definitely be looking out for more Bryony books. I look forward to being chilled by her all over again.
Receiving an ARC did not in any way affect my review of this title.
Five teenagers join an 'Iron Teen' contest, billed as an endurance test crossed with an intelligence test. Between them, they think they can handle anything. When they reach the isolated island, however, they find out exactly how wrong they are. Soon they're injured, cut off from help and being hunted down. And as they soon learn, they can't trust anyone...including each other...
There's a couple of chapters where I wasn't too sure, but once they hit the island the pace never lets up. One character reveal came as a surprise to me. The other I figured out early on, but I'm fairly sure we were meant to. A horrifying incident not too far in sets the tone for the rest of the novel, and the pace never eases off all the way to the end. Thrilling and chilling, a great story for a horror fan. Be wary of some violence.
I was reading an eARC, so I'm sure this will be fixed in the final edition, but there were several very abrupt flashbacks. A couple of times I had to stop, go back and reread to figure out what was going on. I've marked down one star for that. But I'll definitely be looking out for more Bryony books. I look forward to being chilled by her all over again.
Receiving an ARC did not in any way affect my review of this title.
gabyshedwick's review
4.0
Savage Island was pitched to me as perfect for fans of escape rooms, and I can definitely see why. It follows a group of teenagers who enter a competition where they must race across a private island in search of geocaches. Of course, the major rule of geocaches is that once you take something out of them, you must replace them with something of equal value. You know this book is taking a darker tone when the first geocache contains a tooth.
This novel definitely felt like a PG installment in the Saw franchise, and it definitely satisfied my gore cravings without becoming distasteful or excessive. I think even if you are a little squeamish, this book will be digestible. However, I think the true target audience is those in seek of a little horror within YA fiction, something that often seems to be omitted.
I enjoyed the character dynamics, and Ben felt like the most neutral narrator out of the group, which allowed for a fuller picture of the friendship group, free from too much bias. It also allowed Bryony Pearce to incorporate a few reveals that I didn't foresee, although I think if I'd been looking for them maybe I would've done.
Overall, I do think Savage Island is worth the read if you're a fan of the 'game' format that has been popularised by the likes of Escape Room and Survivor. It is incredibly fast-paced and moreish as a story. I do wish more time would've been spent on the puzzles, but I think that is more of a personal preference as opposed to a flaw in the story itself.
This novel definitely felt like a PG installment in the Saw franchise, and it definitely satisfied my gore cravings without becoming distasteful or excessive. I think even if you are a little squeamish, this book will be digestible. However, I think the true target audience is those in seek of a little horror within YA fiction, something that often seems to be omitted.
I enjoyed the character dynamics, and Ben felt like the most neutral narrator out of the group, which allowed for a fuller picture of the friendship group, free from too much bias. It also allowed Bryony Pearce to incorporate a few reveals that I didn't foresee, although I think if I'd been looking for them maybe I would've done.
Overall, I do think Savage Island is worth the read if you're a fan of the 'game' format that has been popularised by the likes of Escape Room and Survivor. It is incredibly fast-paced and moreish as a story. I do wish more time would've been spent on the puzzles, but I think that is more of a personal preference as opposed to a flaw in the story itself.
ouef04's review
3.0
It’s ok for a red eye book but I didn’t enjoy it as much as some of the other books within the collection.
It just reminds me of the hunger games mostly but hey it’s still entertaining enough ! X
It just reminds me of the hunger games mostly but hey it’s still entertaining enough ! X