I have always enjoyed the adult books by C L Taylor and look forward to new releases. This is the first YA offering I have read. It was well written but I just couldn't bring myself to like any of the characters. The plot was far fetched, and although there was a twist, it wasn't a very enjoyable or thrilling one. The whole storyline was just sad and upsetting.

I'm not sure what age range would geuinely enjoy this read. I found it a little long winded and disturbing although it did have the classic writing style CL Taylor is famous for. Not my favourite and not one I will recommend or buy.

Six teenagers are going to The Island for a week - the ultimate challenge week of learning to forage for food, build shelters and start fires. They have whimsical fantasies of watching sunsets from the beach and swimming under waterfalls. On the face of it, they’re a group of young teenage friends whose parents have been holidaying together for years. Under the surface, they’re a group of young teenagers dealing with relationship problems, phobias, grief and loss.

When things start going wrong - their friendships are tested to the max. They’re stranded on the island and someone is out to get them... as the writing on the sand says:
“One of you will Die.”
As an adult reader, I was gripped by this story! I didn’t expect the ending and it made me feel like I was living vicariously through them... but I definitely could not have coped with tarantulas, snakes and jungle traps!

This was such a fantastic story for opening the eyes of young people to mental health and depression. I would recommend reading this to any educator working with teenagers for a way to spark conversations about mental health.

When a handful of teenagers who only get together once a year on a group holiday thanks to their parents visit a secluded island it turns out less Love Island and more Bear Grylls.

The characters all have things they re hiding, and noone wants to talk about the missing member of their holiday group. Already awkward when they get marrooned on the island they think they can just wait it out til someone notices theyre missing, except suddenly Danny has realised all of their fears are coming true. Can he help save his girlfriend Honor? Who is after them? This has a good level of mystery and drama along with the underlying question if they will all make it back safely to civilisation.

I really enjoyed this book, the characters were intresting and it was well paced.

This plot was So well thought out. Everyone things a survival type holiday would be amazing, such a good idea until it all starts to go wrong and unravel. This is a gripping read, heart stoppingly scary at some points, but I couldn’t put it down.

I was really excited to read this book as I’ve loved C.L Taylor’s other ones. Sadly, I was left a little disappointed.
It started off well and I was quickly absorbed in the story, however it lost pace mid way through. The book became fairly repetitive which meant I lost interest.
I did enjoy the ending and I’m glad I stuck with it.

Firstly, thank you for the preview. I was interested to read this book especially after seeing the not so favorable reviews which seemed somewhat harsh. As a librarian I read many books and the key for me is to realise that I am not necessarily the target audience for the books or age ranges which I order. What I am looking for are books which will appeal to all sorts of readers and age rangers. So, although I may not have enjoyed this book for myself mainly because I prefer more literary genres, I know that the YA readers of the library WILL enjoy this and the various relationships and inter dynamics of the characters. I think a lot of our readers will enjoy loving and hating the various people within the book in equal measures and be thrilled by the setting. It was well written and I do think others should think before they write a review, asking themselves, "am I the target audience" if not, then perhaps they should try to see it from a different point of view. I shall certainly be ordering this and recommending it for the YA readers

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I knew this was more of a YA novel than the authors previous books, but because I have enjoyed her other work so much I thought I’d give it a go.

It didn’t really feel like a thriller as such. It was described as a combination of Lost and The Hunger games, but it didn’t feel remotely like either. The writing was good and I enjoyed the description of the island itself but this book just wasn’t for me unfortunately. I was glad when it was finished.

I really liked the twist, I didn't see it coming almost until it was there, so great job. The middle was a bit repetitive and I skipped a bit, but in general it was a good and interesting story.

Six teenage friends travel to a remote tropical island for a week away from everything. It should be a relaxing and fun break, but things go wrong when their guide has a sudden stroke and dies and they find themselves stranded on the island. Then people's worst fears start to come true - who is doing this to them, strangers who have come to the island, or could it be one of the group of friends? A thrilling and tense tale that will keep you guessing to the end. I didn't enjoy this as much as C. L. Taylor's other books, but it was still a very good read that I recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.

After reading a couple of C L Taylor’s books, I couldn’t resist requesting The Island, which is a YA title by the same author.

The story follows a group of teenagers who have holidayed together with their parents since they were all member s of the same NCT group. This year they have chosen Thailand, after Jessie missed out on the previous year’s trip due to a family tragedy. As part of the trip they head to a deserted island for a 7 day survival experience, where suddenly lots of things start to go wrong...

This book get me guessing all the way to the end, thank you Cally!

I find this hard to rate. YA is not really a genre I enjoy but I love C L Taylor's thrillers so I thought I would give it a go. The thing is, because I don't like YA I don't really have anything to compare it to.

The writing was great and exactly what I would expect from the author and the island itself was described beautifully. I didn't connect with any of the characters (possibly because of their age), I don't think we got to know Meg at all even though she was supposed to be one of the main characters and although I was never particularly invested in the story, I still found the ending disappointing.

I feel like there is probably an audience for the book but I can't really picture anyone above the age of 14/15 enjoying it. The writing is good though and as I've said it is a bit unfair of me to rate it is as I'm just not the target audience for the book.

I don’t really know what I was expecting from this book but what I got wasn’t it for me.
I went into this book thinking this was going to be an intense YA thriller but I got a weird teen romcom with a bit of mystery splashed in.

- The characters. I firstly just don’t understand why we only had Jessie and Danny’s pov. I think the story would have been a lot better told if we got to see everyone’s perspectives. I also thought Jessie was just irritating and Danny was erratic.
- The plot felt boring and predictable. I could see where the ending was going by the fourth chapter and I was right. I didn’t think their phobias were real enough to feel that bad.

Overall, this was pitched as a mix between Lost and The Hunger Games I wouldn’t say it’s like either. It felt flat for me and although the writing was good, the characters were one dimensional.
<I>I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</I>

I really enjoyed this book and read it in two days. I'm not sure what the target age range is for YA novels but I would say this book is probably more suitable for the higher end due to some of the content.

A group of 17 year old friends take a trip to a deserted island with a guide. On the first night, around the campfire, they discuss their worst fears. The next day, the guide dies, the boat has been tampered with and the teenagers are left stranded. One by one, each of teenagers' worst fear begins to come true.

I only worked out the ending of this a couple of pages before the author made it obvious, which is always a bonus when reading a thriller.

The characters were flawed and relatable. Non of them are especially likeable but this made them all the more realistic. The twist wasn't dramatic or shocking, but (without giving too much away!) I loved the message that the author was trying to convey with the ending and I felt it was written and handled brilliantly.

Thanks to NetGalley and HQYoungAdult for an eARC copy.

Instagram: @whatamiedid

#TheIsland #NetGalley
Cally's charm is failed to bind me with this book.
I loved cally's every book but this was dissatisfying. Characters were too predictable. Plot was almost same like it's a parody of her previous novel Sleep. Something is going on the remote island. Seven days in paradise. Location change doesn't mean that you've a good story to tell. Although it's a One time read.
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for giving me an advance copy.

CL Taylor – The Island
Billed at “Lost meets the Hunger Games” fans of that famous cult show (but does it have any relevance to teens of 2020?) and the huge selling dystopian trilogy might find themselves slightly underwhelmed. CL Taylor has written numerous page-turning thrillers and horror novels and made a splash a few years ago with “The Treatment” which was also targeted at the YA market. The story is set on a remote island near Thailand which six teenagers visit for a week. After the first day the guide suffers a stroke and dies leaving the teens stranded as somebody has seemingly sabotaged their boat, their only way of returning to the mainland and the trip of a lifetime turns into a nightmare.

The problem was that this ‘nightmare’ was rather boring and the characters rather dull and unlikable. Written with a split narrative ‘Jessie’ who has issues connected to a serious accident the previous year and ‘Danny’ who is seriously possessive over his girlfriend, the outgoing Honor whom enjoys flirting with others. Early on strange things begin to happen and the story teeters along, not quite sure whether it wanted to be supernatural, weird or something else. In the end it fell between two posts and has a rather disappointing ending which I saw coming a mile off. This was rather undemanding stuff and perhaps young teens looking for an easy read might enjoy it.

OMG!! You are in for a real treat with this book, it gave me the chills reading it and it made me feel freaked out with what was going to happen. It is about a bunch of teenagers that go on holiday to a remote island. Things start going wrong quickly but why? and is there anyone else on the island? The story is fast paced we learn a little about each of the teenagers but which one has something to hide? I really liked this story a great deal it really kept me hooked till the end. It was captivating and tense, you could almost feel what the teenagers are experiencing, it was so good I didn't want it to end. The ending was superb but you can always expect that with Cally's writing. This must be my favourite one of her books yet, it will be hard to top it.

I was offered a copy of this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I so wanted to love this book, the synopsis reminded me so much of Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas, which is one of my favourite books, so I was so excited to be accepted for this book. For a while it seemed like I might get my wish. Secrets started coming out, drama was happening, but then things started to happen in the book, and because this book was written in multiple perspectives things just didn't add up and the ending was left completely flat. I think I would have loved the twist if the whole story had been from the POV of the one character but as it was it just didn't work, and unfortunately in stories like this the characters (none of whom I found particularly likeable) and twists are what make or break the whole story.

Absolutely loved this book, I was hooked from the premise and finished it over 2 sittings even though I really didn't want to put it down as I got totally absorbed had to know what happened.
I found that there were quite a few characters and it was initially hard to keep track, but i found all the characters to be likeable, even though there were plenty of twists and turns and suspicions about everyone kept me guessing.
I predicted the ending, but it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the story.
Fab escapism with a cuppa and the island was described so beautifully I still fancy a trip there myself :)
Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for my eARC in return for my honest review.
Looking forward to the next book already.

This is pretty good, a good mix of characters, good and intriguing back stories for each of them some more traumatic and having deal with their emotions and mental scars was impressive. The plot was ok.... though I could see the twist coming and knew what would happen and when so wasn’t really a surprise for me. I can see this being really well received and if I hadn’t read other similar crime/thriller books this would have definitely been really gripping.

I'm a big fan of C.L. Taylor so I was really excited for her first young adult release! The Island has a really great premise and pretty much gets going straight away. It doesn't take long for the characters to realise something is going on on the island and they might not be as same as they assumed so it definitely gets tense very quickly! I was really intrigued by the characters and it felt like they all could be hiding something but I found because there were so many of them, it was a little hard to keep track of who was who and their relationships to one another. I also thought the ending was a little anti-climatic after such a build up. I did enjoy The Island but it's not my favourite of the authors.