I was expecting something much more sanitised than this and I was pleasantly surprised by the rawness of this book and its characters. An interesting take on reality TV and capitalism. Tore through in no time.

Such an immersive read! The description of love island meets lord of the flies was spot on. So much tension and drama throughout, not just between housemates but with the tasks as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed this twisty story. The reward system was fab, characters that you both love and hate and plenty of angst.

If I had 1 slight criticism, I'd liked to have known more about the outside world. A lot of the characters talked about the war and being on the show was better. But we never got much background on why that was. Even just as a prequel starting blurb. Just to get an understanding of what they are avoiding by being in the compound.

Big Brother meets Love Island meets Lord of the Flies. The Compound certainly packs a lot in. Lily wakes up in a compound in the desert with nine other women. They all want a better life for themselves and soon remember cameras are tracking their every move and feeding back to the outside world. The ultimate reality tv experience. Ten men are due to join them if they survive the journey but what will it take to win and what happens to the losers. We all love reality tv but this novel explores the dark side. It’s well written with plenty of characters you love to hate and will keep you thinking long after you’ve turned the last page. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK Harper Fiction and the author for the chance to review.

A deep dive into the dirty parts of reality TV

This book is just so well presented. If you love secretly binge watching trash TV in your spare time, or have a quiet love for cliche competition shows boy is this for you!
I loved how it reads like how a reality TV show feels, we are the outsiders the viewers reading about the people in the show, the parallels were just incredible, the premise for this book is unlike many others and often it can feel a little strange to read about another piece of media especially something similar to 'love island' which is often referenced to as quite a 'shallow' piece of media. In this story though, it takes the idea of 'love island' and puts a sinister twist to it, filled with greed, power imbalance and shows truly what people will do to get what they think they want.

The characters don't present as your usual "mismatched crew" it had more of a natural, air to it as if these really were just normal people you'd walk past in the street. An element I really enjoyed was that the characters in the story knew as little about each other as we did, it made a great sense of unease and mystery. The characters and how they weaved together throughout the story, flexing, changing into versions of each other. Often characters will share thoughts such as 'I can just imagine the viewer thinking how stupid I must be' and it would be as you, the reader, also think that exact thought!
The dirt, drive and determination but all for what? Possessions, prizes? But is it worth it for what you might have to lose?
Genuinely such a brilliant idea for a book I've read in a long time - highly enjoyable!

The Compound is a refreshing and original novel that I will remember for a long time! The suspense of evictions and tensions between housemates is coupled with a twisty dystopian world that doesn't seem too far off our reality. I read this book in only a few sittings and can imagine it would be perfect to end any reading slump. The characters were all flawed and balanced, adding an element of realism. Reality TV is an excellent hook for a novel. I would have liked to have learnt more about the outside world and I was surprised that the ending was the ending - I expected a bit more information to feel closure. The fact that I am still giving this book five stars in spite of those comments says a lot about the gripping and addictive reading experience. Perfect for fans of Attached At The Hip and John Marrs.

The Compound is an incisive debut that expertly blends satire with suspense, exposing how performance‑driven fame and consumer hunger can warp relationships and wills. It’s a smart, unflinching take on what we sacrifice for comfort and spectacle—and yes, it’s thrilling once the game turns lethal.

Perfect if you're craving a character‑driven cultural critique wrapped in addictive, reality‑show‑style tension. Just give it time to settle in before the compound’s cracks begin to show.

I completely and utterly loved the premise of this book and there are many things I really liked. The idea of the compound being something that develops over time for each new set of contestants. The personal vs communal tasks set up. The gendered elements of the story and the social commentary they hinted at. The exploration of performativity. The exploration of communal vs individualistic ways of living. The potential of the cast of characters.

The problem I had was that it never quite lived up to the potential of anything. Sometimes it even felt like it had set something up only to never actually pay off. In the marketing of the book, it describes the story as Lord of the Flies meets Love Island and honestly, this set it up to fail in my opinion because I kept waiting for the edge to appear. That isn't to say that it doesn't go to some intense places, but it feels like it is constantly holding back. The character of Mia, for instance, felt like one with so much potential, and the way she is set up made me thought we were going to meaningfully engage with the potential of her character but then she was gone with little to no impact, and not in a way that felt like a plot twist. This happened with several of the characters, with the author choosing to skip over long periods of time at the expense of more denser character work which I was hungry for. Even the actual tasks felt anti-climatic. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, the 'thrill' in the thriller and that's why I think the marketing was the problem. If a book is promoted as dark and like Lord of the Flies then it needs to follow up, otherwise you end up finishing the book with a sense of "that was it?". Similarly, there was a decent amount of nuanced social commentary in the book, but it doesn't quite go far enough. I would have liked more world building. I LOVED the way the early version of the rules meant there was limited information about the outside world, and I expected to slowly learn more as we approached the final five, but it never really came in any satisfying way. Again, it was a set up I was really invested in which just didn't pay off.

I really enjoyed reading this book, and it is compulsively entertaining, it is just a shame it doesn't live up to the seeds that it plants. I love so much of the ideas in the book, it just didn't give me the catharsis I wanted.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book is pretty much Love Island meets Lord of the Flies. I enjoyed it but I’d have liked to know more about the outside world and what happened after the compound.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Harper Collins U.K., Harper Fiction for allowing me to read this arc.

I have never watched Love Island, but know the gist and I imagine this book as Love Island/Big Brother/Black Mirror/Lord of the Flies all tied into one. It was unhinged in the best way possible and so much more than a reality tv show book. The depth of this book pulls you in and makes you think beyond the end of it.

While I found the chapters a bit long and the characters (at the beginning) hard to keep track of the book delivers a chaos filled ride that fundamentally is a character study in a (we assume with hints of misery of the world outside of the show) dystopian world.

The whole book is set in a reality TV dating show. We have 10 women and 10 men competing for extravagant prizes with the ultimate goal of being the last one standing. I found myself flying through the book just so I could find out what was going to happen next.

Looking forward to reading more from Rawle. Definitely recommend for those who love anything to do with social experiments, tv reality shows with some psychological flair and dystopians.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

Not quite a 4 but a good read.

I was morbidly fascinated by this book and I just kept reading. I have never seen Love Island but it is impossible not to be aware of it, all the bed hopping, false relationships etc., but I this book takes the idea one step further with the tasks set for people to win rewards - one of the characters has a record player and he says "all i had to do to get it was sleep with Mia" , one of the other contestants. One task was for a contestant to insult another's mother and another contestant was asked to poo outside in front of people!

There are, of course, too many characters at the beginning for the reader to keep track of and I stopped trying but the contestants are whittled down and it becomes easier to distinguish them. I enjoyed the main plot although I suppose there are no real twists or surprises, except for Tom's ending. I would have liked to have known a lot more the outside world. There are "wars" and fighting and a suggestion of natural disasters and the world being too hot. I almost expected that we would find out at the end that the desert is London or some such thing.

Just to round things off, I would also have liked an epilogue about what the contestants did afterwards.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Borough Press for the ARC!

I FLEW through this book. To set the scene, I read it whilst being stuck in the house with COVID. Also, the new season of Love Island UK has just started. So the parallels were parallel-ing.

This is such a unique, compelling, literary thriller.

Our main character is Lily. She wakes up in a house with other beautiful girls. The compound is a wreck - rotting food and an eerie aura. Lily and the other girls set about cleaning, because nine men are on their way to join them - for a reality show.

What follows is a fast-paced, dystopian story with plenty of social commentary. You have your alpha males, who set about taking charge of the tasks that the contestants must do to win rewards - everything from combs to food and luxury items. Then you have your sly girls, the ones who would do anything to stay in the compound and gain fame. Finally, you have the off-screen producers, who seem prepared to push the contestants as far as they will go for a good storyline.

As the competition heats up, and the numbers dwindle, so does the story. We see Lily’s state of mind shift. She’d do everything to stay in the compound and leave her life behind.

I truly couldn’t see where this story was going. At one point, I read 50% in just over an hour - even my partner commented on how quiet I was whilst reading.

This dystopian thriller - parts Hunger Games, parts Lord of the Flies, part modern day reality tv, is a real page turner. If you’re anything like me and you love reality TV, you’ll be immersed in the storyline.

The writing is excellent - immediately transporting you to the sticky desert.

If you’re looking for a summer read with a difference, look no further because The Compound is it.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and The Borough Press for an eARC copy in exchange for a review.

If Love Island and Big Brother had a dark, unhinged baby in a dystopian lab, The Compound would be it — and I mean that in the best (and weirdest) way possible.

This book delivers a suspense-filled ride that blends social commentary with wild character arcs and just enough chaos to keep you flipping pages. The world outside the compound is bleak, but it’s inside those walls where the real madness unfolds. Think: hyper-consumerist satire, fake tans, glittering manipulation, and a rotating cast of characters you’ll either root for or hope get booted off the page.

Rawle doesn’t shy away from the absurd or the uncomfortable, and that’s what gives the story its edge. There’s an art to making you question who the real villains are, and she plays that game well.


That said, I found the chapters to be quite long, and pacing lagged in places. But the pull to “just read one more” is real. I had to know what happened next — and that’s a win in my book.


If you’re into social experiments, reality TV drama with a psychological twist, and a little bit of dystopian flair, this one’s worth a read.

I read this book earlier this year in a single sitting. Has the quality of a great black mirror episode — surprising, impressive, dark and beautiful. I can’t wait for this to be out in the world so I can discuss with everyone.

I’ve reviewed The Compound for book sales and recommendation site LoveReading.co.uk. I’ve chosen it as a Liz Pick of the Month. Please see the link for the review.

The blurb had me hooked with a comparison to Love Island and Lord of the Flies, even though I haven't read or watched either, I know the premise of each and it sounded fascinating. The reality was brilliant - it fulfilled these, but if you also throw in a bit of Big Brother and a pinch of I'm A Celebrity and The Traitors too - it was like someone set out to make the ultimate reality TV show to distract viewers from a monotonous and bleak not too distant future.

As a quick summary, 10 women wake up in "the compound" - a mess of a home in the middle of the desert. 10 men are due to arrive on foot having survived their way through the desert, so the women set about tidying up the compound and themselves ready for their arrival. But there's a twist - they are all being filmed 24/7 for a reality TV show that the world is seemingly addicted to. They know exactly what's going on, but they're not allowed to allude to the fact that this is a show. And every night, the women must share their bed with a man or face banishment. They are given tasks to complete, both as a wider team and on an individual level, to earn prizes - food, a sofa, garden furniture, a comb, a dress - each prize sponsored by a company that they have to thank on camera. The winner, the last one standing, will receive whatever they want, whatever they can carry out of the compound at the end, but everyone who's banished can take with them their own personal prizes too.

It has an ominous tone throughout. The short excerpt from Animal Farm at the very beginning sets this tone and you wonder whether it'll follow the same path or go in another direction.

But as you follow the story through the eyes of Lily, you have this awareness of constantly being watched. It's fascinating to see the journey the characters take, from primping and preening for the viewers at the beginning to, at times, not caring or forgetting they exist. It's a study of human nature when pushed to the extremes.

And Lily herself is a character that we all hope we're not - vain, materialistic, the way she describes herself makes it clear that she sees herself as a pretty picture and not much else. This is her big break and she's determined to make the most of it.

There are, of course, relationships that grow and change between the characters - both "romantic" (or as romantic as they can be in the situation) and friendships. It has a few plot twist, or at least mic drop, moments that are brilliant. The plot isn't exactly fast-moving but feels as languid as the desert heat, but there's something addictive about it.

It's a story of a world of overconsumption, of a Big Brother state, exploitation and more. The resemblances between our current world and that one are not that far apart, which makes it scarily believable. You become very aware that they are just another group in the conveyor belt of this reality TV show, that they will be the stars of the moment but are so easily replaceable, just like the prizes they long to win.

I loved the book and would recommend it - very Black Mirror-esque.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for a copy of this book.

Good! Very good. One for fans of I Who Have Never Known Men and Everything I Ever Wanted. Love Island dystopia, it's a thoughtful, gripping exploration of consumerism, superficiality and identity in the modern wold.

What a great debut book, I absolutely flew through this in 3 days (which is fast now I have a toddler). I sort of knew I would love this going into it because reality tv is right up my street so I’m glad it really is as good as the reviews told me.

At first I was a little overwhelmed by all the characters but the author does such a good job with the character development that you quickly learn who are the main characters and what you need to know about them. Surprisingly I actually liked a lot of the characters too, and the ones who are clearly menacing keep you on your toes as a reader.

Whilst it’s a fun book, it also does cover some important issues in society such as greed, the desire for fame/ influencer lifestyle and consumerism and ultimately shows how lonely that can be. The book does make you think and I think it will stick with me, but the author doesn’t say any of this in a preachy way.

Clearly this is massively inspired by love island, and I can see why people are also saying big brother. Another show this reminded me of is ‘Eden: paradise lost’ which was a c4 show where contestants went to live remotely for one year and producers really didn’t get involved unless absolutely necessary. If you enjoyed this book I highly recommend watching it on 4OD I think there are some striking similarities.

Thanks so much to netgallery and the author for this ARC I absolutely loved the book and I will recommend to all my fellow reader friends

A reality TV show in the middle of a desert, valuable prizes up for grabs, and a group of total strangers—sounds like fun, right? Of course it does, especially when the book is marketed as a thriller. As intriguing as the premise may be, the story doesn't quite deliver on the thrill. It's a good read with an interesting setting and solid plot, but I wouldn’t call it a true thriller. That said, it’s still enjoyable and entertaining—definitely not a shallow read either.

I thought that this was going to be a thriller... and by the end it was just dull. It does execute an interesting examination of whether material goods are more valuable to people than personal connections, whether the world can truly be ignored in favor of an 'easy' life, but we are left wondering some key questions: what happens to contestants once they are banished? How do the producers get to the compound so quickly? Also, our main character is very shallow, and does perhaps become less so across the book, but I only really felt connected to Sam while reading. I did enjoy the drama at the end with our main character, Lily, getting a bit cunning, but it is probably one of the only moments she shines.

I loved the sound of this book, and it started promisingly enough., but then for me it stalled .I didn't find enough happening, and wasn't keen on some of the characters. It wasn't terrible, but just didn't quite hit the spot for me.