I was really looking forward to reading this. A group of young women , looking for love wake on an island in the middle of the desert. Ten young men then arrive who walked there! They’re every move is filmed and broadcast as a reality tv programme. There is everything you would expect, jealously, bitchiness, fights, friendships and murder.
It was an okay read that left me disappointed. The end was a real let down. It had twists and turns. Characters that you loved to hate, a clever story but not for me

Brilliant. Gripping from the very first page. An observational novel about people and their behaviour. It is like Big Brother with a lot more violence. I loved that it wasn't mentioned when it was set, or indeed where!

I really liked Lily, the narrator but a lot of the characters were love to hate people. There is some toxic masculinity too, which might be triggering for some.

Thank you so much to Harper Collins and NetGalley for the ARC!

3 stars!

I really liked how this built up, the burn was enough to keep me engaged at first and when everything starts kicking off once people are getting eliminated I was really enjoying it. I really liked the idea too, it has a lot of social commentary within in about reality tv, beauty standards, morals, etc.

We reading purely from Lily's perspective and I would have honestly loved to have seen maybe even other character's perspective to try and make the tension even higher, I think this is the reason for my rating and the ending I sort of worked out.

A fantastic idea and is one heck of a read!

I have a bit of a soft spot for reality TV based fiction, and looking at the blurb for The Compound, I knew it was going to be just my cup of tea!

Lily has been chosen to go on the reality TV show The Compound - 10 women and 10 men coupled up and competing for luxury prizes in the middle of the desert. However, how far will she go to get everything she has ever wanted and what do the Producers of the show have in store for them?

The Compound had me gripped from the very start – where Lily wakes up in a strange bed, in a house that is in disarray, getting to know her fellow female contenders as they wait for the men to appear. We are instantly eased into the setting but there are certain red flags throughout which alert the reader that things may not be all as they appear. There are mentions of several wars happening in the world outside, the fact that the men may have had a hard time in the desert to start with, the themes of the tasks and the mentions of previous seasons of the show.

There are a lot of characters to keep track of initially, but these are whittled down as people got banished. I did feel like every character had an interesting progression, helped by the set-up of no personal details being allowed to be revealed until the final few were left remaining. I enjoyed Lily’s disappointment at learning everyone’s jobs – preferring the impression in her head that she had built up about the people she was living with.

For those expecting a high stakes thriller, the book is very much a slow burn. However, it has a lot to say about consumerism and the superficiality of reality television. It also touches on diversity, gender roles and objectification on both sides of the coin. The plot does build to an interesting climax, and I enjoyed the initial struggle for food, basic necessities and survival equipment versus later on down the line when the same urgency was used for luxury goods and yogurt. However, I do wish that the ending had been a little different as it felt like a lot was left unanswered and it fizzled out. It would have been great to perhaps have a final chapter from a viewer’s perspective, where the final edit of the show was revealed, for example.

Overall, The Compound is a gripping read – albeit a slow-burn one, but if you enjoy reality tv style thrillers, you will love this one! Thank you to NetGalley & Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction and The Borough Press for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you are a huge fan of reality TV then this will be your book. It has everything that someone would need, to enjoy this particular topic. The characters are marmite( you either love or hate them) and the story itself is more of a slow burn with slight elements of thrill.

I enjoyed the idea of this big brother type story and also that the characters individually are interesting. This heats up nearer the end and I enjoyed finding out the ending.
I wasn't overly keen on the book as a whole, this was mainly due to how slow it was getting into any faster paced elements. It wasn't thrilling enough for me as it didn't have me on the edge of my seat. I wanted more crazyness.

still, I would read something else by this author if it was a different genre/style.

Many thanks to the Author, Publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

Publication date 03/07/25

At first the plot seems a little too unlikely, even for a reality show, but actually looking at current offerings being broadcast it fits right in there!
The book started out slightly dystopian with women randomly coming round from a drugged sleep and finding themselves in a compound but it is soon revealed that they have voluntarily entered the show.
The author picks apart the reality show well, focussing on the contestants insecurities and desperation to win, leading to a story that flows well and has you rooting for some characters and taking against others- exactly how people respond to "real" reality shows!
Interesting concept well told!

The compound is set in the desert with all the amenities that you could want. Outside in the dystopian world war rages and everyone fights for a place in the compound; once inside every moment is tracked and filmed for viewers at home. Inside things reach boiling point with those who have little to return home to willing to do almost anything to stay....and that's when things become violent.

This was a very relevant and interesting take on the Love Island/reality TV popularity and asks the question what would someone do to escape their life. The novel was a little bit of a slow burner which took time to introduce the characters and their motivations until the final showdown. This was a really interesting take on consumerism and fame.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

Although I am not a huge fan of reality tv, I am a massive fan of reality tv based fiction and this one was very enjoyable.

I will admit it was initially a bit of a struggle to get past the first couple of chapters as Lily us insanely vacuous and looks obsessed at first but she definitely grew on me.

This was sold to me as sci-fi by some of the reviews and although there is a lot of mention of a war and how they only have 20 years left, it didn't feel very sci-fi. That being said... what war?! Why only 20 years?! Tell me everything! I could see this being an excellent start to a series where more World lore is uncovered.

Perfect for fans of reality tv or if you just like watching terrible people in isolation somehow devolve into worse people.

There are certainly echoes of Goulding’s "Lord of the Flies” here. However, instead of a group of boys being washed up onto a desert island, Rawle uses a reality show format. A group of beautiful girls wake up in a Compound. All they know is that they have been chosen as contestants for a “Love Island show”. How they got there no-one seems to know. While they wait for the boys to arrive, they quickly set about doing traditional female duties, like getting the trashed Compound into shape. Soon the boys arrive and quickly establish who will become the leaders.

As with all reality shows, the contestants are given a series of mindless tasks to complete in return for rewards. The only twist - Those who fail are voted off. As the number dwindles, order descends into chaos as one woman in particular wants to win at all costs. What becomes very apparent is how empty their ‘outside’ lives are. There is very little to return to. It is Jacintha and Sam who seem to stick to their morals while Lily and Tom don’t seem to have any to begin with.

This is a novel which challenges the concept of “reality shows” and the safety of them. While the viewing audience have a vested interest while it is on, they quickly move onto the next show, with no regard for participants. It also tackles the notion of brand endorsement, and the lengths influences will go to.

While it is brilliantly executed, I was left with a sour taste in my mouth. But perhaps that was the intention.

I highly recommend this read and thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the opportunity to read this ahead of publication.

I love 'Love Island', so when I read the premise "a cross over between Lord Of The Flies and Love Island" I was super excited to read this.
Low and behold, this book did not disappoint. It was exactly what I expected: a dystopian form of reality TV - but in book form. Absolutely loved this read! Would recommend it to anyone who likes to swap the time they spend watching reality TV to reading it.

I went into this cold, only knowing that this is a mix of The Lord of the Flies and the Love Island, which was intriguing enough. I whizzed through it in 3 days and stayed awake late at night turning the pages. It happens so rarely these days - it’s an achievement in itself! I loved the compulsive side to the story - I was completely hooked.

It appears to be a very shallow book on the surface but i like the message it’s sending., and the more I think about it, the more metaphors I recognise now about the world we live in. If we have a void inside us, it won’t be filled with materialistic goods. We need connection and meaningful relationships to be content.

What was lacking for me is more context on the background of the setting - we didn’t get a lot in terms of the motivation for contestants, just vague war mentions and that it took a long time to save up money.

This one was great fun!

An impressive debut where I feel like The Hunger Games meets Love Island is accurate.

I’ve never actually watched Love Island, but I’ve experienced enough cultural osmosis to have a broad idea what it’s about.

There are a lot of characters and couples in this so it can be hard to keep track to start with until people start getting voted off.

I really liked how it’s set in an unclear future with just vague references to the outside world and “the wars” while the couples live in supposed safety in the compound.

A compulsive page-turner perfect for the summer.

I enjoyed the story and it was keeping you hooked in for most of it however I found the ending a touch disappointing as it didn't really do anything

I'm not a fan of these kind of reality shows on TV but I loved The Compound - a really original, dystopian take on the idea. Deliciously dark, with some brilliantly awful characters, this was a real page turner that I couldn't wait to get back to each night.

I really enjoyed this. The premise is excellent and I loved all the (awful!) characters. The plot was gripping and I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen.

I’ve already recommended this as a title for the bookshop as I know this is gonna be a hot summer read. Definitely comparable to Big Brother, and was a juicy page turner. I really enjoyed the relationship dynamics between some of the characters and liked the notion that there was nothing ‘special’ about our protagonist - an interesting touch. There is a lot left unsaid in this book, and maybe that was supposed to be the case, but I needed more is my only critique. I needed deeper unhingedness - there were flashes of this in the novel but then it backed off. This left the social commentary slightly flat.

Love island meets big brother but make it dystopian. I like how the author kept what happened in the world a mystery, kept the action inside the house, an interesting character study about how capitalism is always the enemy

This book felt very unresolved and slow to me - I'm not sure if it's the writing style or the pacing, or what exactly it was, but I never got any kind of sense of urgency from it, or any sense of stakes. The wider world is hinted at (the war) but never fully developed, and the conclusion felt like it fell a bit flat to me.

couldn't stop reading this! love island but somehow even more tense and a bit dystopian. would've loved a bit more worldbuilding and info about the wider world but also not everything needs an answer! loved the analysis of the character archetypes. fun! but also v v unsettling

This was sold to me as Love Island meets Big Brother meets Survivor, and oh my gosh it didn't disappoint! In this story we follow Lily as she enters The Compound, a house in the middle of the desert where contestants enter with two goals; find love and stay as long as possible.

As soon as I started reading I felt like this was an episode of reality television; the descriptions of The Compound, how the game works, and the depth to Lily's character were all brilliant. The rules to the game were really well thought out; as a reader I'm quite often sceptical and have to suspend my disbelief, but this was all logical. This book would be great for those who read for escapism and the enjoyment factor, but also great for those who like to delve deeper into the characters motivations, and discussions that the author made a point of in this book. Rawle picked up on some of the main issues that these reality television shows have; with discussions on race, sexuality, and gender roles (which I massively appreciated).

There aren't many books that I would want to read twice, but this is one of them. It's clear that this book was planned out meticulously, and was then very well written. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes even a little bit of reality television.