Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult
Publication Date: August 30, 2022
Rating: 2 stars
NetGalley Blurb:
To get her true crime podcast on the map, Rafi Francisco needs a splashy case. Her plan? Land an interview with Fly Fest headliner River Stone, who rose to stardom after his girlfriend’s mysterious disappearance—and expose him as the killer she’s sure he is.
But Fly Fest, the dreamy Caribbean getaway they were promised turns out to be a nightmare. Soon, Rafi is fighting for her life against power-hungry beauty gurus and spotty WiFi. And, as she gets closer to River, she discovers that his secrets might have even bigger consequences than she suspected.
Review:
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this book for free. My opinions expressed below are honest and voluntary.
I was definitely lured by the cover on this one, along with the idea that this was probably going to be filled with satire and sarcasm and all the other s- words I love so much. Upon being accepted for this ARC, I did what anybody who likes to spoil themselves does and read the reviews on Goodreads for those who were granted the ARC and reviewed since I requested…it wasn’t great. Now, I’ve been in the minority opinion before, both positively and negatively; I’m perfectly comfortable living in my own little world. But this is not one of those times.
What I liked about the book:
1. I enjoyed the podcast scripts interlaced with the normal paragraph structures. I also enjoyed how Rafi’s personality was definitely heighted on her podcast compared to how she was normally. This is super relatable to me, given I was a radio DJ in college. I was the shy, quiet girl in all my classes, but a loud, salacious radio personality on-air and working events as a DJ.
Miss these babies…
2. The first 40% of this book was actually ok for me. It was over-the-top ridiculous in making fun of influencer and follower culture, and it was pretty hilarious. From reading reviews ahead of time, I went into this not taking it too seriously, and I think that definitely worked to my benefit.
What could have been better:
1. This book was too long and changed “missions” too much. When the main point of the book was abandoned at around the half-way mark, I quickly lost interest. This was further exacerbated by it changing points a few more times. First, dude’s a killer, then he’s not a killer like she thought but he’s still a killer, then no one wants to go home but we’re going to just let the killer thing rest since there’s a Wi-Fi problem, then he’s a killer again. I hardcore skimmed the last 20% of this book because I refused to quit that far in.
It was all very confusing and begged the question, “What is the point and why should I care?” At the end of the day, there wasn’t one and I didn’t.
2. This book reminds me of why I’ve never had any desire to go to Burning Man.
3. So much of this book is about looks, which is supposed to be the overall satirical message, but since when are bangs controversial??? Our narrator mentions this, but I have never heard of this in my life! I’ve been rocking bangs for years and have never come across this before.
While I didn’t enjoy this book all that much, I have heard other books by this author are fabulous!
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