The Castaways - Lucy Clarke

Reading Challenge Category: Free ARC from NetGalley

Official Blurb:

It should be like any other holiday.
Beautiful beaches.
Golden sunsets.
Nothing for miles.
You’ll never want to leave.
Until you can’t…

My Thoughts:

I’m reading so many books that are being released this year that have people trapped on an island. Luckily, each one that I am reading is completely different and unique in its own way. This is probably my joint favourite ‘island’ book so far alongside ‘Missing pieces by Tim Weaver’.
I didn’t know much about this book going in as the blurb doesn’t give much away, and sometimes that is for the best as you can form your own opinions along the way and let the story unfold how it is meant to with no preconceptions.
This is a truly gripping story, and I couldn’t put it down. Well, I had to force myself to last night at 2 am when I still had an hour to go, but it took all the will power in the world. At this point (80%), the book starts to give you all the answers; you are very quickly alternating between Lori ‘Then’ and Erin ‘Now’, both unveiling different parts of the story. The chapters are short and quick, so you really are flying through the much-anticipated conclusion.
Nothing was as I expected it to be, and all the events on the island had my heart in my mouth, and I was utterly terrified as to what was going to happen.
Other than the main two characters, there isn’t an overload of character development for everyone else involved. We find out enough about them to be relevant to the story, and it isn’t overdone. We concentrate mainly on Lori and Erin, how they feel, what they are doing, and in turn, we end up caring about their futures.
This was a brilliantly executed book. The pace was perfect, and the suspense was just right. I liked that we got to see an equal amount of the story from both the sisters’ perspective. We weren’t waiting around for ages wanting to know what had happened in the past; the chapters are almost alternate one for one.
A fantastic, enthralling and riveting read.

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