A Reckless Beach Read in January
I decided that in January, I wanted to do "New Year, New Me" books. It's only fitting, right? It's not something that I prescribe to, but I love seeing people post the change they made for the new year. So when I was picking a book from BOTM, I was a little disappointed that none of the books really gave off that vibe. I thought about just skipping the month, but there was one that kept pulling me back.
Enter: Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins
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| Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins |
In 2021, I read The Wife Upstairs, also by RH. It was an intriguing novel with a strong plot and great characters, so I was fairly confident Reckless Girls would have the same appeal. I decided that even though it didn't seem to fit in with my theme, I would get it. Worse case scenario, it didn't fit the theme and I would push the review back to a summer month (the scene for the book is a tropical island). Instead, I read not just a captivating book, but the epilogue screams "NEW YEAR, NEW ME!"
Before we get into the book, let me tell you a little bit about Rachel Hawkins.
Rachel Hawkins was born in Virginia, and then raised in Alabama. This was very obvious in The Wife Upstairs. As a Texas native, I felt a kindred spirit as I read TWU, which takes place in Alabama. Sometimes it's easy to tell when an author is having to fake knowledge on how people in the south behave and when you can correctly use "y'all," "all y'all," and "fixin' to," know that only good tea is sweet tea, and knows "Bless your heart" is not a compliment, I know you're legit. Rachel taught high school English for three years, and then in 2010 published her first novel, Hex Hall. Since then, she has published 14 novels under Rachel Hawkins, one novel under Erin Sterling, and contributed to a few short story anthologies. As of 2021, she and her family are still living in Alabama.
What am I when you strip everything else away? I'm a motherfucking survivor.
Lux McAllister has been floundering since her mom's death a few years earlier. When she meets Nico, a handsome, go-with-the-flow, wannabe sailor who asks her to travel the world with him in The Susannah, she thinks she has found a person to be anchored to. But when set backs keep them at their first stop in Hawaii for months, Lux begins to wonder if she is ever going to feel like her life is progressing.
When the duo are hired by Brittany and Amma to sail them to Meroe Island, Lux thinks this is their chance to finally start their adventure again. After a few days at sea, they finally make it to Meroe only to find another ship, the Azure Sky, already anchored there. Luckily, the owners, Jake and Eliza, are pretty cool, and now there are six. They settle into an easy rhythm and enjoy the beauties of the island while drinking, partying, and exploring. When a new boat with a lone passenger arrives though, the group is hesitant of the new guy with a dark side. The longer he is there, Lux begins to think on the dark history of the island.
When the first dead body turns up, Lux becomes convinced the island is cursed. She realizes that despite all of the bonding, she doesn't really know any of her island mates; she doesn't even really know Nico. Quickly, the island claims another life, and Lux is wondering how many of them will make it off the island. What she does know is that they are completely cut off from the rest of civilization and that she is a survivor.
🌴🩱🍹🌴🩱🍹🌴🩱🍹
If you're new here, I'll let you in on a love of mine: Lock door murders. This is when there is only one way in and out, and that's a door that has been locked from the inside where you find a body that has obviously been murdered. Reckless Girls is essentially the same thing, only on an island. As tempting as it is to believe the island is the cause for all the destruction and death, it is obviously someone on the island causing problems. The only question is who. For me, this is a brilliant plot. I always want to put the pieces together before the final reveal so I can feel like a real detective (if only crimes were that easy to solve in real life).
I do think the book could benefit from being a little bit longer. The characters need to be flushed out a little more so the plot doesn't feel as forced. There are some details that are mentioned once or twice and then never again, and you're left wondering what happened this part and that part. This also forces the reader to suspend their belief that all of these coincidences are possible, and there are quite a few of them.
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| Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins |
The scenery sounds beyond beautiful and the history of the island was intriguing, so I was a little disappoint to learn Meroe Island isn't real (to the best of my Google abilities). Although with the amount of uncharted islands across the globe, I'm sure RH didn't have to search too hard for inspiration for islands with a sketchy past. Hell, Google "creepy islands" and you get a whole slew of islands (including one in Brazil that is populated completely with deadly snakes, that's a no from me man).
Reckless Girls is a quick and easy read, and I definitely think the motive reveal is strong enough, so I would recommend this book if you're going to be chilling on a beach and want something to read while enjoying the waves and sun.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 10
Who should read this?: Beach bums / wannabe beach bums
Found book through?: BOTM
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Repeat Author?: Yes
Series?: No
Sources
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