3.5 rounded down. Definitely entertaining and lets the protagonist take the situation seriously. I like to have at least that piece stay realistic in a thriller.

It did get too goofy for me in the end - kind of “mwahaha” type of villain. I’d have rated it higher if it didn’t go quite so far… I think the logistics just didn’t make a lot of sense to me. Even when our villain explains the plans, I was left like, and that was supposed to work? It was distractingly implausible.

I enjoyed the reality show feel of the retreat with all its drama, so the first 2/3 of the story worked better for me. Alex’s anxiety and insecurity were relatable and believable to me.

I didn’t feel the writing excerpts added anything, so I could’ve done without. I honestly got all the characters there muddled, so I didn’t really understand that part besides it somewhat mirroring the retreat.

The audiobook was a frustrating experience. The narrator decided to use a weird half whisper that was incredibly distracting. She spoke dialogue with a normal voice, so I had to adjust the volume a good bit. I have no idea why the narrator chose to whisper, it made no sense. She also had to put on multiple accents as the story required, and I feel for her because that must have been a challenge, but they were not good. Taylor’s southern accent was probably the best.

A fun-enough time, which is not high praise, but I didn’t DNF which IS saying something.