Publisher: Delacourte Press
Publication Date: September 2025
Ariana could use a vacation. Her dreams of being a collegiate volleyball player have been crushed by an injury. So, when a new friend invites her and two guests to an all-expenses paid resort off the coast of Barbados, she accepts. Her only thoughts now should be about booking a masseuse, lounging on the beach, and maybe seeing what happens with Jadon, the cute guy in her villa.
But charismatic, self-help guru Juniper-Moon has other plans for the group. She keeps preaching lofty ideas on how to better oneself through unorthodox mindfulness activities, intense wellness treatments, and psychedelic microdosing. Plus, “accidents” seem to befall one guest after another, and yet Ari and Jadon are the only ones ready to run for the shores.
Once Juniper-Moon makes it clear that everyone must give back to this new community, Ariana and Jadon decide to team up to expose her web of lies and deceit before their loved ones become trapped in an iron-clad grip no one can free them from.
I really wanted to like this one but in the end it was just OK. I love closed room/stranded on the island creepy stories. However, all I got were annoying teens who clearly ignore red flags that your average teen should have paid attention to. How any of these teens had zero sense of urgency at the outset of the first sign of trouble is beyond me. Especially after the first person died. I found Ariana annoying. Constantly being reminded about her injury and how she didn't want to get involved with a boy got old very fast. The cult formation plot "twist" was kind of dumb and really unbelievable. I wouldn't really recommend this one.
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