This was kind of all over the place. I've read another book by Elna Holst and really enjoyed it but this was just bad. It felt messy and like it needed to be edited again as I lost what was going on. There was so much promise in the beginning but this did not deliver at all.

This was a quirky and entertaining read. Think Castaway with the added bonus of an internal monologue by Dr NoName. The opening scene is worth the price of this novella alone. The author captured my interest and held for a good part of the read.

Things get a bit murky as the story progresses and new characters are introduced but the concept was a clever one and I enjoyed this escapist read.

ARC received with thanks from publisher via NetGalley for review.

A rip-roaring adventure novel with shades of Robinson Crusoe and Lord of the Flies, except with lesbians. What more do you need?

📖 In The Palm 📖
🖋 Elena Holst
Available starting today, May 20 via Kobo

📚 Series: No.
📚 Genre: LGBTQ+ Adventure Romance
📚 POV: First person.
📚 Cliffhanger: No.

⚠ Content Warnings: Vivid description of amputation.

In The Palm is my first Elena Holst read and I am very satisfied. This is a bit of a genre-bender and really got the wheels of my brain whirring.

"I am drunk and I am about to chop my hand off."

One sentence in and you know you're in for a good read. No-named character woke up in a deserted island with no recollection of how she came there, and even who she was.

After a few journeys, she stumbles upon a dog and another human (a human with limited vocabulary in French!) and their adventure unravels.

I really enjoyed this novella which is very Castaway-ish. Surprisingly, there was a number of hot scenes. And, I was even more surprised with the ending. Wink wink.

Much thanks to NetGalley and Nine Star Press for this complimentary copy. This review is voluntary and opinions are fully my own.

☁ THE CRITERIA ☁

🌻 Blurb:⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Heroine:⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Love Interest:⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Support Characters:⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Writing Style:⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Character Development:⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Romance:⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Pacing:⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Ending:⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Page Turner:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌻 Book Cover:⭐⭐⭐

☁FINAL VERDICT: 3.63/5 ☁

I have disliked deserted island books in the past, but this novella completely blew me out of the water. In such a short time, the author was able to transport me and keep me fully engrossed. I read this book in one day, and for me that is often a feat. Even when I am the most interested in a book, I usually put it down many times before I finish it, but with In the Palm that was not the case. I suppose if every deserted island book had a romance as precious and queer and this one, they might be more enjoyable for me, but for now I'll have to settle for this one book.

This was another story unlike anything I've read before, and when you've read as many as I have...that's refreshing. It was enthralling to watch the main character come to a kind of peace with her surroundings, and then...adapt. I don't want to give anything away, but I can say it felt full of surprises and twists for a novella.
You know how marketers will say "Come for the (whatever) and stay for the (whatever)"?

Start reading to find out about that crazy opening line.
Stay to find out what happens.

And if you're like me, you'll read the ending twice to be sure you read it correctly.

Twisty. Enthralling. Unexpectedly great!

This is a very enjoyable novella that is very refreshing, without being shocking. This despite the fact that it opens with the line "I am drunk and about to chop my hand off." As readers we are plunged into the narrative, as ignorant as our unnamed survivor who has no idea what her name is or what series of events led to her being washed up on a tropical island. Through a combination of luck, some remaining memories and sheer bloody-mindedness she manages to survive her amputation, find some fresh water and coconuts. However, just as she seems to have her immediate needs under control, our heroine discovers she might not be alone on the island...

I don't want to say too much and give anything away but this is really good. I read it pretty much straight through and loved it.

Elna Holst is a truly talented writer. She draws you effortlessly into her stories which have perfect pacing and are fluidly written.

The MC, suffering for amnesia, wakes up in what looks like a deserted island. No memories, no identification and about to cut off her hand; things are completely bleak. Except that the lady has this constant dialogues with herself which shows wry humour. She is completely engaging.

We wouldn’t really like to discuss more of the plot and ruin it with spoilers because this is such an interesting read. It is quite unlike anything we’ve read in lesfic before and the romance is so, so well done.

It is short, but a thoroughly enjoyable read.

One of the best opening lines I've ever read - "I AM DRUNK and about to chop my hand off."

This is a novella about a woman who washes up on a tropical island shore. When she awakens she recognizes that her hand has symptoms of a necrotising infection and she knows she must chop her hand off if she is to survive. She has a pen knife and a couple of small hotel bottles of whiskey. She also cannot remember who she is and how she ended up on this tropical island. I can't really tell you too much more for it would best to discover this woman's fate as she does.

It is a good book, well worth the read. I enjoyed it. But maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I've read Robinson Crusoe or seen Tom Hank's movie Castaway? (Yeah, I know. I maybe the only one who hasn't seen it.) Unfortunately, I don't think having seen Blue Lagoon or Disney's Swiss Family Robinson helped.

I subtracted half a star because I had a believably problem with a detail that bothered me to distraction but it is probably just me. Nevertheless, I recommend this novella for anyone who enjoys an adventure and following a character discovering herself.

I think I'm not fan of stream of consciousness style prose. That aspect didn't work for me and made me not really find the story engaging.

In The Palm is fantastic and captured me from the beginning. This is the first time I have read this author and I must read more from this author. Loved it.

This was a wonderful and completely unexpected little novella!

I loved how Holst created something absolutely different than anything else we've seen in lesfic. There's really nothing else I can think of to compare it to, and that's a great thing!

I really don't want to say too much and give away the fun, but basically, this one centers on a seemingly femme woman who finds herself stranded on a desert island. She knows she used to be a doctor, but everything else is gone and she's suffering from amnesia. As other reviewers have pointed out, you know you're in for a ride when the very first sentence in the book is about how she's drunk and about to cut off her own hand!

I really don't want to give anything away, but this one was a fun read that was completely out of the norm. Great pacing, loved the concept and writing style, solid 4 stars.

**Many thanks to Nine Star for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.**

This novella easily had the best and most intriguing opening chapter I've ever read. Honestly, the first handful of chapters had me riveted, unable to even think about putting my Kindle down. After the opening, I had no idea where this story was going but I was more than happy to take the crazy ride. Oddly enough, it all came to a crashing halt with the introduction of the other character on this tropical island, at which point all the usual lesfic tropes came into play. Dr. No Name was a strong and hilarious characters while trying to survive on her own and deal with her loss of memory. . . and loss of other things. However, with the addition of Ren, the lesbian version of Tarzan (or Mowgli; really take your pick of "wild" human fantasy characters) she became less interesting, probably due to the sudden swing from survival to lust. Maybe this would have worked more for me as a long form novel, which would have given adequate time to see an actual relationship evolve between the two rather than insta-love. There was also this added unsettling layer of the relationship between the Dr and Ren as one at times akin to an adult and child. I think more time and pages could have addressed all of this, but as it is, it was a big disappointment after such a powerful start.

If you're not hooked from the first lines of this book... then your loss! Short and exciting, it makes you want to keep reading more first to know the character... then... for other spoilery reasons! :)

The plot? A woman is stranded in a deserted island with no recollection of who she is. The book starts like this: "I am drunk and about to chop my hand off." doesn't it sound fun?!

Castaway with a companion and better ending.

You know it promises to be a good book when the first sentence is "I AM DRUNK and about to chop my hand off."

A woman has awoken on an island but has no memory of what happened or who she is.

Through her POV, we are treated to an endearingly sarcastic narration of survival on a desert island. I thoroughly loved being in her head as she experienced dehydration, fever, and suspected hallucinations. Despite her circumstances she always retained a sense of drive and respect for luck and good fortune.

She soon discovers she is not alone and she sets out through the jungle to discover who has been watching her. Will the mysterious footprint lead to her savior?

This short book was really good. I wouldn't have dreamed of putting it down. There were exactly the right amounts of description and dialogue. Always interesting and never boring. We don't even discover who the castaway really is until the very end.

I was really blown away by a writing choice the author made toward the end. Where who the castaway was is referred to as a completely different person. And that was just genius to me. Really worked to make you feel how separated from that woman she was to the island person.

The ONLY thing I did not care for was the French dialogue used without a translation. The author quickly went into English so that we would understand, but that first pit was still confusing to me.

But really, this was super good.

I recommend to those who love the outdoors, survivalists, romance, dogs, backstory, broken word, and clams...

<i> I received an ARC from the publisher for an honest review. </i>

This was a good read. I have wanted to read something by Holst for a while. When I saw she had written a lesfic novella about being stranded on a deserted island, I knew chances were good I would enjoy this. I’m not sure what it is but I always enjoy reading books and watching movies about people surviving on an island. I’m glad this held up to my expectations and I was definitely entertained.

The story is about a woman who wakes up on an island in the middle of nowhere. She has no idea how she arrived or even what her name is, but she does know she needs to cut her hand off if she is going to survive. This it, that’s all I’m going to say. Frankly, the beginning immediately captured my attention and I could not put this novella down. And while it is a novella, it feels like a good length. It doesn’t have that rushed feeling; it felt like a full and satisfying story.

There are a few aspects I would normally discuss in my reviews but I feel like if I say anything more I would be spoiling the story. I will say I thought the ending was really interesting, There was a small twist Holst gave us when we finally got some questions answered that I thought was well done. All in all this is well written and an entertaining story.

If you like stranded on a deserted island type stories this novella is for you. I’m glad I finally got to read something by Holst and I would not hesitate to read her stories again.

“I am drunk and about to chop my hand off.”

This story gripped me from the first line. Written in the first person, a woman finds herself on what seems to be a deserted island. She doesn’t know who she is or how she got there. Her handbag is a collection of odd items with no clue to her identity. The penknife is at least useful.

This is the third novella I’ve read by Holst and while it is quite different from the first two and much darker, I really like her style. The whole concept of being stuck on a deserted island is one that most people think about and the fear of how to survive has spawned many novels, movies and reality shows.

The main character’s thoughts initially flicker in and out of consciousness. She has a sense of humour about herself and a recognition of the absurdity of her thoughts. She’s also pragmatic but that doesn’t seem to be getting her closer to who she is.

It’s a hard story to describe without giving anything away. There are elements of humour, horror, survival and love. I loved it for its difference, the writing style and its engaging story.

Book received from Netgalley and NineStar Press for an honest review.