Kayla Olson

This dystopian novel made for a fast-paced, highly compelling read. Opening in the middle of an escape, the narrator Eden finds herself fleeing from the barracks she's been confined to with three other girls she's never met before and isn't certain she can trust. They use the sailboat they escaped in to find Sanctuary Island, a place supposed to be a refuge from a warring world. However, when they find the island, things are not what they appear - one member of their group disappears, the show more plants attack them, optical illusions abound, and soon the girls aren't the only ones on the island. Overall, this is a book that's hard to put down - it reads like a thriller from beginning to end and makes for a satisfying tale. show less

This is another wonderful rom com from Kayla Olson. The main character, Sadie, takes a leap outside her comfort zone on a wilderness trek - she is normally a super prepared, overpacker who is more at home at a five star resort. Now she is hiking in the woods, sleeping on the ground, with no modern conveniences like showers where overpacking means carrying an unnecessarily heavy backpack. Sadie is determined to prove she made it through the trip. If she can open herself up to the experience, show more there is so much she can gain …perhaps even love with Thorn, the expert guide. As Sadie sheds the unnecessary weight she is physically carrying in her backpack, she sheds the preconceived notions others have of her and even how she views herself. The journey is emotional, thought provoking, enlightening and romantic. I highly recommend. show less

I found this book hard to get into, like I had to force myself to keep going. The plot was okay, I just didn't find the characters likeable and the story got confusing.

I got this book in one of my Owlcrates. This seems to be a stand alone book, but the ending didn’t tie things up very well. I went through a dystopia reading phase a few years ago and am still burned out from it; it’s not my favorite genre and this addition to the genre was mediocre at best.

I enjoyed the way the book started but once the characters get to the island and got involved with all these different competing factions the book became like a lot of other YA dystopian novels I show more have read.

The characters were really one dimensional and I didn’t really enjoy them. A ton of characters are added in the last third of the book. The plot starts to get so convoluted that it was a bit hard to follow and just plain boring. It really didn’t hold my interest and I almost stopped reading the book 400 pages in but decided to go ahead and push through.

The style of writing is very easy to read and there were some good action scenes towards the beginning of the story. It just couldn’t hold my interest all the way through

Overall an okay YA dystopia/post-apocalyptic novel but not great. I enjoyed the beginning of the book but my attention really drifted towards the end and I almost stopped reading it. There are some neat ideas in here to start but it ended up being a pretty typical dystopian story by the end. show less