Never Coming Home

Kate M Williams, Pub Date July 31, 2022.

4*s. Best Enjoyed:

Publisher Synopsis (Random House Children’s):

“The beach read you have been dying for! When ten of America’s hottest teenage influencers are invited to an exclusive island resort, things are sure to get wild. But murder isn’t what anyone expected. Will anyone survive?

Everyone knows Unknown Island—it’s the world’s most exclusive destination. Think white sand beaches, turquoise seas, and luxury accommodations. Plus, it’s invite only, no one over twenty-one allowed, and it’s absolutely free. Who wouldn’t want to go?

The mysterious resort launched with a viral marketing campaign, and now the whole world is watching as the mysterious resort opens its doors to the First Ten, the ten elite influencers specifically chosen to be the first to experience everything Unknown Island has to offer. You know them. There’s the gamer, the beauty blogger, the rich girl, the superstar, the junior politician, the environmentalist, the DJ, the CEO, the chef, and the athlete.

What they don’t know is that they weren’t invited to Unknown Island for their following—they were invited for their secrets. Everyone is hiding a deadly one, and it looks like someone’s decided it’s payback time. Unknown Island isn’t a vacation, it’s a trap. And it’s beginning to look like the First Ten—no matter how influential—are never coming home.“

My Review:

This was my first “influencers go to an island for some sort of preview, end up in some real hot water” YA horror novel. To be honest, I stan! There are similar books like this one available or upcoming that you may want to check out if you enjoyed this one. 

Told through revolving POVs, Never Coming Home follows a group of influencers invited to an island paradise that turns out to be anything but. The rooms they have are sorely lacking the advertised amenities. Buildings are far from finished. There are zero staff staying for the weekend, meaning they must rely on themselves for everything. At one point, one of our influencers sees a very deadly sea snake in the pool. 

Right away after breakfast one of our influencers ends up dead in a way that was clearly deliberately targeted toward that person. The group can’t figure out at first if it this is just a fluke or maybe revenge for something that person may have done, but they soon find out that it is because all of them have secrets. Everyone has done something cause the death of another person in some way, whether deliberate or not. 

Soon, the members of the group begin dying in a myriad of very specific ways and there is no way to contact anyone outside. It doesn’t help that the locals avoid that island like the plague. 

Will they be able to uncover the killer before they all die at their hands? Or will the unfinished hotel buildings in this false paradise become their tomb?

The ending of this book is very surprising. I had my suspicions throughout, but there are some twists and turns that would make a rollercoaster junkie a little nauseous. If you’re up for some darkness in paradise, I highly recommend adding this to your TBR. 

Thanks to Netgalley and Random house for the advanced ebook in exchange for this review.