A well written fast paced thriller read with good descriptive characters. I was involved in the storyline from the beginning and it held my interest throughout.

Thank you to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for this ARC which I can thoroughly recommend.

This was a brilliant book!
As soon as I saw it listed I was hoping I would be accepted! Thank you for the ARC copy of this I really appreciate it!

I read an eARC of this book on Net Galley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

Here we have a very tense thriller, where five people think they are about to enjoy a wellness retreat in a remote location in Costa Rica but things so wrong very quickly.

This book is so fast-paced! There’s very little set up before it gets right into the action and our characters find themselves in danger. Most of the story takes place while they are on one of their first activities at the wellness retreat. They’d all expected to be spending this time with an influencer who owns the retreat. However she’s delayed and is relaying instructions to them by text message. They are sent on a hike to a waterfall in the rainforest, but things take a dramatic turn when one of their party is injured and they find themselves lost.

From here as they attempt to navigate their environment, we start to learn all their secrets, we find out who has things to hide and we see how they change whilst under the pressure of being lost in the forest.

This book was not what I expected. I was expecting a bit more content around Costa Rica, a bit more around the wellness retreat and a bit more cracking and fracturing relationships within a close space. Instead we actually have a tense survival thriller where the characters are in real danger. I would have liked more set up and more around Costa Rica itself to make the location feel unique. However I appreciated how the very fast paced ramped up the tension and increased the sense of jeopardy the characters were experiencing.

Let me start by saying, that this was really well written. I have rarely read a thriller with a prologue as beautifully written as this one.
I liked the narration from all the different POVs. The characters had distinctive voices and each of them felt tangible.

However, I found the outcome quite predictable.

I was intrigued by the premise and enjoyed the first 50% a lot, thinking I would end up at a 4.5 star rating for this book. Unfortunately, the other half of the book dragged on a bit and felt repetitive to me.

I will say, that Nikki Allen knows how to transport a feeling through writing. The sense of being lost (and trapped at the same) and not knowing who to trust really gripped me.

I definitely recommend this book, if you're into survival thrillers.
I will be picking up more from this author in the future.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this one, this it’s a book you pick up and fall straight into a lovely easy read. I loved the uniqueness of the story I liked the characters loved the twist actually didn’t see it coming. It was a good read and would definitely recommend it

People want to be on the island. They are desperate to be picked by an influencer but on arrival, she’s nowhere to be seen.

This is a common trope and there’s nothing whatsoever new here but these destination novels are perfect for the beach, or if you are at home wishing you were on the beach!

I loved this read. It is pulsatingly good.

5 strangers are winners of a competiton and head to a balmy hideaway for rest and relaxation.......

Of course it isn;t as it first seems and soon we realise that they are there for a different reason..

No spoilers from me but this is a great read and a perfect holiday novel.

Destination Thriller..
An influencer competition for a week long stay in a luxury hideaway retreat in Costa Rica brings five winners to the rain forests of Costa Rica with promises that they will leave transformed. On arrival their host is nowhere to be seen - befuddled but not deterred the group settle in but this beginning is to be the least of their worries as time goes on for biting is quite as it seems. Suspenseful and immersive with a propulsive plot and a constant underlying vein of menace - this destination thriller is as compelling as it is a stark commentary of influencer culture - with a cast of well drawn and credible characters and a well imagined, lush setting.

I enjoyed this, I really liked the premise and I thought that overall it was well paced. I enjoyed reading from different characters' POV's, but did find it jumped a little too much at points. Overall I think this was a good thriller, perfect for a summer read.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

This is a gripping thriller that keeps readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish with a great plot filled with unexpected twists and turns.
The writing is both engaging and suspenseful, with well-developed characters that add depth to the narrative.
The pacing of the novel is perfect, with just the right amount of tension to keep readers hooked without feeling overwhelmed.
The setting is vividly described, creating an immersive atmosphere that enhances the overall reading experience.
Highly recommended!

It's okay but doesn't stand out felt I've read books like this time and time again nothing special with too many POV needed some different and trimmed down to really make it stand out good try but lacked

I liked the premise, although with all the POV, at the end I got confused. They were too similar sometimes, and the killer was a bit obvious. The end was great, so I'm going to read more books by Nikki Allen.

All these people send a video of themselves hoping that holistic Megan will choose them for her retreat. All of these people have hardships and have found solace with Megan during their dark times. When they show up, Megan is stuck on another island. She sends them all a text about activities to pursue while she is gone. When they are all lost in the rainforest, it's obvious someone is out to get them. But who and why?

A great idear but i felt i had already read something similar.
Sorry but i ended up skimming quite a lot of the book and that was after picking it up on numerous occasions.
Not one for me.
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

This book was written well, but I feel like this plot is overdone. This group of people send a video to this Hannah who is all about natural things and making yourself better. She invites a number of them to her place in Costa Rica for a retreat. But when they all get there, she is stuck somewhere else. 90% of this book takes places in the rainforest. What happened there was very predictable. If you haven’t read a book with this setting before, you will probably love this book. But I have read tons with this same storyline and they all seem to follow the same basic outline, so too predictable for me.