Ideal for fans of And then there were none and The Hunger games.

I loved this book!! I couldn’t stop reading it.
If you enjoy plot twists, a different cast of characters, mysteries and secrets, definitely read this.
A real page-turner!

What you can expect:

🏝️ young adult sci-fi/mystery
🏝️ and Then there were none and The hunger games vibes
🏝️ twists and turns
🏝️ desert island
🏝️ suspence
🏝️ dystopian world

Thank you so much Penguin Random House UK and Netgalley for the arc!

3.5 stars.

This was a fun read. It's a decent mystery, very fast-paced, and I was interested enough in what was happening. It was also very easy to visualize, which I really liked.

The only drawback for me is that I didn't care about any of these characters. Like, not much at all. And that gets in the way of the enjoyment of the story.

That being said, this was good and I enjoyed it, but it's the kind of book that doesn't leave me feeling anything in particular. It was just entertaining and that's perfectly fine.

I think it's a great Sunday read because it's a quick read, it keeps you interested, and it does feel like a movie.

I enjoyed this book. I liked the character progression and I really felt like we got to know them. Evie was easy to hate, Bex easy to feel sorry for! I found myself rooting for them even though the title suggested that they wouldn’t all survive. The format of the book was easy to follow and it kept me guessing. I had guessed which character was the murderer but didn’t see the final twist coming at all! I’m hoping there is a sequel planned because I hate it when a book ends on a cliffhanger. Who was missing?!

Then There Was One - Wendy Cross
I received this as an ARC through NetGalley and boy it did not disappoint!! This is an easy to read YA who done it! It kept me guessing and when I thought I’d cracked it my theory was blown out the window! Wendy left this on a cliffhanger and so I seriously hope there’s a sequel!🏝️

Then there was One is an incredibly creative, unique and exciting new dystopian thriller filled with suspense, complex characters to root for, and world building that transports you to the island our three main protagonists find themselves stranded in mortal danger.

Then there was One follows three characters as they enter a reality survival show, with the winners earning a huge cash prize and scholarship to a choice university. Each character has entirely different motives to enter, come from very different backgrounds, and bring different skills to the game. At the end of day 1 our characters learn that the safe, fun and beloved game show they thought they entered has taken a sinister turn, and the winners may just be the ones who can survive.

Wendy Cross does a phenomenal job building up tension throughout the novel, reaching its peak in the second half. Each new turn in the story as shocking as the last, and as intriguing as every thriller reader desires. It’s a who-done-it mystery in a dystopian nightmare, perfectly told through the eyes of three entirely complicated and sympathetic characters. The relationship dynamics that unfold being my favourite aspect of the novel.

My one criticism is that I sometimes feel that the novel may have benefited from being told on the third person, as first person limits the vast ways in which we can view and feel for each character.

Overall, I would definitely recommend Then there was One by Wendy Cross

This is a quick read which kept me wanting to know more throughout. The twist and turns definitely added to the suspense.

3⭐️

First of all, thank you NetGalley for the ARC.
“Then There Was One” is a quick YA read with sci-fi, dystopian and thriller elements.
I liked the concept of the book and the plot twists were great, especially the ending.
I appreciated the author's ability to add new details about the characters, their story, and their connections in almost every new chapter.
However, I felt like certain parts of the book were a bit rushed, but that is just my opinion.

Ideal for fans of The Hunger Games!!!

TEN COMPETITORS. ONE WINNER. NO SECOND CHANCES.

In this teenage, dystopian, sci-fi mystery, 10 teenagers are selected to partake in a contest designed to test their intelligence and physical capabilities in an unknown location. Which is why when they arrive on a remote island they think nothing of it, until they start suspiciously dying.

We follow the story along from the viewpoint of the three main protagonists; Bex, Raya and Zane, who are each introduced at the start of the novel. The rest of the characters are quickly set in motion, and their twisted backgrounds revealed to the reader. I absolutely love books with more than one P.O.V so this was an added bonus for me!

Wendy Cross has done an excellent job at creating a dystopian futuristic world, with an apparent class divide. The unlikely teenage trio is crafted perfectly, and develops lovely throughout. By the end I was genuinely concerned about their friendship and the future of the teens.

Ending on a cliffhanger it is very clear that this is just the beginning of their story! I cant wait to see what Cross has in store for the future.

A massive thank you to Wendy Cross and Penguin Publishing for the chance to digitally review this masterpiece!

I read this in one day. I loved it. Full of suspense and twists that I definitely didn't see coming. The characters are developed slowly and hints given about their background but even so, I didn't see the ending coming. Fab book, well worth a read.

In this Sci-fi mystery thriller with similarities to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, ten teenagers have been selected to take part in a reality TV contest of puzzles and challenges which takes place in a secret isolated location. The background is a dystopian world of planets and moons which have been made habitable for the last few centuries and the story is narrated by three of the contestants, Bex, Zane and Raya.
The world building and character development of the contestants is minimal but in this case, it really doesn't matter as the action in the book takes centre stage and this story could have played out to a different background and still had impact.
The plotting is clever, the reader starts off thinking one thing, then another until finally the solution to the mystery is revealed and whilst you knew there was something not right you really couldn't predict the ending. The cliffhanger at the end made me realise how much I had hopes for some of the newfound friendships surviving the whole experience.
Perfect for fans of The Hunger Games.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC

Debut author Wendy Cross’s young-adult thriller novel Then There Was One is a blend of Hunger Games and Bigg Boss staged on a unique dystopic deserted island on a remote planet, comprising 10 teens with criminal offences.

The Pinnacle is a very famous reality TV show where contestants are selected by an elite group and invitations are sent through mini drones to their respective addresses; only 10 people can participate. The reward is a huge prize of money that can change the lives of these teens and their families.

This year, they have selected 10 teenagers from different social classes in the 16-18 age group. The uniqueness of this game show is that nobody knows what the rules are or where the venue is. All this information is kept secret and revealed to the contestants as a surprise.

The contestants come from all the nearby planets and moons, which have been habitable for the past three centuries, when they were terraformed to suit the surviving needs similar to Earth.

The three main characters in this novel – Bex, Raya, and Zane – narrate the story according to their point of view as they play the game.

As all 10 members reach their nameless destination island, one by one they die in a suspicious manner – through poisoning, drowning, falling from a cliff, and so on and so forth.

The author neatly introduces the character and gives a backstory to each and every contestant, showing how some of them are already known to each other, either as friends or enemies.

If you want to know who is the traitor among the 10 contestants that go on a killing spree and who is the winner of this acclaimed reality show, read this high-voltage YA thriller and become a part of the audience and route for your favourite participant trio now!

What I loved most about this novel is the way in which the author brought out the friendship and arch-rival angles in a seamless and flawless manner through dialogues of bullying, teenage stupidity and innocence, and genuine kindness and camaraderie. Also, every teen has his or her own grey shades.

The author also does not shy away from bringing out the class bias that is one of the reasons for all the hatred, enmity, and infighting among fellow participants.

What I found off-putting is that the POV of the three main characters at times felt too repetitive, predictable, and stagnant.

If you love to read good YA thrillers with mystery elements based in a futuristic world, then give this novel a try.

"Then There Was One" is a ya mystery thriller sci-fi novel written by Wendy Cross.

Extremely compelling, dynamic and peppy book that kept me glued to the pages from beginning to end! It seemed to me like a sort of "And Then There Were None meets The Hunger Games"! I admit that I love Agatha Christie's famous mystery novel and usually, if done well, I like books that reproduce its same pattern, in any variation possible and imaginable. And in this case, in my opinion, "Then There Was One" managed it very well! I liked everything a lot!

The writing captured me! I found it simple, light and concise, characterized by a fast and tight pace and the presence of short chapters. It tantalized and entertained me quite a bit, without moments of boredom or heaviness, so much so that I finished the book in less than a day!

The world building is intriguing but little in-depth. The story takes place in the Cael Quadrant, a highly technological system composed of numerous sectors, within which there are a variety of planets, differing in wealth, welfare, and other economic and social conditions. In addition there are The Moons, a complex of satellites full of mines, where miners live in harsh and miserable conditions. As mentioned above, it is a fascinating setting, but with rather superficial descriptions, limited to the bare minimum. I liked it and did not feel the need to know more since the main story is basically set on a remote island, far from everything and everyone.

The plot proceeds fast and eventfully, rich in action, mysteries and deaths. Ten teenagers, from different planets and conditions, find themselves participating in The Pinnacle, a famous reality TV show, consisting of physical and mental challenges, located in a remote and unknown location that changes every year and with a huge cash prize for the winner. However, when participants are informed that they have been chosen because they are guilty of taking another person's life, the game takes an unexpectedly real and deadly turn, in which survival is the ultimate goal. I loved the way the idea was handled! The entrants start dying one by one, in a growing atmosphere of tension, suspicion, and paranoia. It's a story full of secrets, deception, lies, subterfuge, grudges and regrets that kept me entertained from beginning to end! I think the author was really good at creating the various interweaving, so much so that it took me a while to locate the solution!

I liked the characters a lot! Bex, Zane, and Raya are the protagonists, all with their respective first person povs. Bex is a rich girl, who wishes to escape from her troubled family. Zane is the son of a deceased politician, who needs the money to save his mother. And finally there is Raya, a miner who lives on The Moons in miserable conditions and needs to win to build a better life for herself. I can't say much to avoid spoilers, but everyone, protagonists and secondary characters, convinced me. In my opinion, they do not stand out for depth, but I think that is an intentional effect so as to make the atmosphere even more ambiguous.

From what I understand there should be a sequel, or at least I hope so, given the illegal ending!

All in all, this is a compelling, mysterious and dynamic book that I recommend to lovers of the genre!

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Gives off The Hunger Games meets The 100 (minus 90) vibes.

Ten teens are sent to an Island for a survival game show but it ends up turning deadlier than any of them expected.

The Hunger Games (THG) is one of my favourite books of all time, so to have something similar to read for the first time was so nice. It brought back that sense of wonder, fear and hope that I had when I first read THG. The ending was definitely such a twist, I really thought it'd end up being someone else and the last sentence? Excuse me Miss Cliffhanger, I need to know what happens next!!