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The Compound: A GMA Book Club Pick: A Novel
Goodreads Choice Award
Winner for Readers' Favorite Science Fiction (2025)
Love Island
meets
Lord of the Flies
in this must-talk-about-it book, as bingeable as the best reality TV.
Lily—a bored, beautiful twenty-something—wakes up on a remote desert compound, alongside nineteen other contestants competing on a massively popular reality show. To win, she must outlast her housemates to stay in the Compound the longest, while competing in challenges for luxury rewards like champagne and lipstick, plus communal necessities to outfit their new home, like food, appliances, and a front door.
Cameras are catching all her angles, good and bad, but Lily has no desire to why would she, when the world outside is falling apart? As the competition intensifies, intimacy between the players deepens, and it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between desire and desperation. When the unseen producers raise the stakes, forcing contestants into upsetting, even dangerous situations, the line between playing the game and surviving it begins to blur. If Lily makes it to the end, she’ll receive prizes beyond her wildest dreams—but what will she have to do to win?
Addictive and prescient, The Compound is an explosive debut from a major new voice in fiction and will linger in your mind long after the game ends.
Lily—a bored, beautiful twenty-something—wakes up on a remote desert compound, alongside nineteen other contestants competing on a massively popular reality show. To win, she must outlast her housemates to stay in the Compound the longest, while competing in challenges for luxury rewards like champagne and lipstick, plus communal necessities to outfit their new home, like food, appliances, and a front door.
Cameras are catching all her angles, good and bad, but Lily has no desire to why would she, when the world outside is falling apart? As the competition intensifies, intimacy between the players deepens, and it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between desire and desperation. When the unseen producers raise the stakes, forcing contestants into upsetting, even dangerous situations, the line between playing the game and surviving it begins to blur. If Lily makes it to the end, she’ll receive prizes beyond her wildest dreams—but what will she have to do to win?
Addictive and prescient, The Compound is an explosive debut from a major new voice in fiction and will linger in your mind long after the game ends.
Audible Audio
First published June 24, 2025
215402 people want to read
About the author
Aisling Rawle
2 books777 followersAisling Rawle was born in 1998, originally from a very small village in Leitrim in the west of Ireland, but now living in Dublin. She works as an English teacher in a secondary school. She loves working with kids, and teaches piano in her spare time. The Compound is her first book.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 19,845 reviews
May 10, 2025
The Compound is quite deceptive, I think. The promise of Love Island meets Lord of the Flies is not exactly wrong, but it does sell the book short. I went in expecting a trashy (but fun) beach thriller and was surprised to be taken somewhere deeper.
It's set in a near-future, vaguely-dystopian world. I say "vaguely-dystopian" because we are given hints about catastrophes and misery in the outside world, but we spend the whole book on the set of a reality TV dating show. Ten women, ten men, all competing for increasingly extravagant prizes, with the ultimate goal of being the last one standing and granted almost anything they desire.
Lily, the narrator, is stunningly beautiful with, by her own admission, not much else going for her. She's not quite a blank-slate protagonist, but she's close enough to make her a fitting lens through which we observe the others.
It's a character study, and a compelling one, driven by rivalry, jealousy and vanity. The tone is ominous from the beginning-- we're dropped right into the compound without explanation, leaving Lily to gradually fill in the blanks of how this thing works. As in all reality TV, there's a sense that every smile is a little bit fake, every kind gesture has an ulterior motive.
Fundamentally, this is a story about two things: performance culture and consumerism.
On performance: everything is orchestrated to entertain the audience, to give them what they want. The participants are humiliated, near tortured, and left brokenhearted—all for the sake of spectacle. In many ways, the book seems less about the contestants and more about those watching them.
As for consumerism, it captures that feeling of endless wanting—of always needing something more, even when you’re not sure what. Even when by most metrics you are happy as you are, there's still a sense of missing out on something greater. In the compound, as in life, it’s easy to lose sight of what truly matters when almost anything is on offer.
It's set in a near-future, vaguely-dystopian world. I say "vaguely-dystopian" because we are given hints about catastrophes and misery in the outside world, but we spend the whole book on the set of a reality TV dating show. Ten women, ten men, all competing for increasingly extravagant prizes, with the ultimate goal of being the last one standing and granted almost anything they desire.
Lily, the narrator, is stunningly beautiful with, by her own admission, not much else going for her. She's not quite a blank-slate protagonist, but she's close enough to make her a fitting lens through which we observe the others.
It's a character study, and a compelling one, driven by rivalry, jealousy and vanity. The tone is ominous from the beginning-- we're dropped right into the compound without explanation, leaving Lily to gradually fill in the blanks of how this thing works. As in all reality TV, there's a sense that every smile is a little bit fake, every kind gesture has an ulterior motive.
Fundamentally, this is a story about two things: performance culture and consumerism.
On performance: everything is orchestrated to entertain the audience, to give them what they want. The participants are humiliated, near tortured, and left brokenhearted—all for the sake of spectacle. In many ways, the book seems less about the contestants and more about those watching them.
As for consumerism, it captures that feeling of endless wanting—of always needing something more, even when you’re not sure what. Even when by most metrics you are happy as you are, there's still a sense of missing out on something greater. In the compound, as in life, it’s easy to lose sight of what truly matters when almost anything is on offer.
June 14, 2025
brb gonna to stare at the wall for a few hours in an attempt to put my thoughts into words
June 28, 2025
Gotta swing a little harder if you are gonna put a George Orwell quote as your epigraph
July 30, 2025
Forgive me but I should’ve dnf this
January 15, 2026
of course i want to read a life or death version of love island.
this is a perfect book to get ahead on your reading challenge when you really just want to be watching reality tv. an ideal beach read.
it slightly heightens the stakes with traces of a dystopian future outside, but it's not too far off from traitors, which makes it fun.
i expected that this would get darker or have some light themes of greed and fame take more precedence, but i'm not mad that it didn't. i enjoyed this book to the end and was desperate to find out where it would go.
bottom line: fun and fluffy with a little hint of darkness. like a s'more.
(3.5 / thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
this is a perfect book to get ahead on your reading challenge when you really just want to be watching reality tv. an ideal beach read.
it slightly heightens the stakes with traces of a dystopian future outside, but it's not too far off from traitors, which makes it fun.
i expected that this would get darker or have some light themes of greed and fame take more precedence, but i'm not mad that it didn't. i enjoyed this book to the end and was desperate to find out where it would go.
bottom line: fun and fluffy with a little hint of darkness. like a s'more.
(3.5 / thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)
September 5, 2025
okay but like was she getting the villain edit while she was in the compound i need to know
December 7, 2025
2.75
first half: addicting, intriguing, insufferable characters (in the best way)
second half: anticlimactic, unsatisfying, insufferable characters (in the worst way)
SUPER interesting concept, but i don’t think i gained anything by reading this. the messages conveyed about society were lessons i’ve already learned in my adult life. i don’t think this book was as deep as it wanted to be.
first half: addicting, intriguing, insufferable characters (in the best way)
second half: anticlimactic, unsatisfying, insufferable characters (in the worst way)
SUPER interesting concept, but i don’t think i gained anything by reading this. the messages conveyed about society were lessons i’ve already learned in my adult life. i don’t think this book was as deep as it wanted to be.
February 6, 2026
The Compound is one of those rare reads that grabs you by the collar, pulls you in with its glossy premise, and refuses to let go until long after the last page. On the surface, it's flashy and voyeuristic—twenty contestants trapped in a remote desert compound, filmed 24/7, competing for luxury prizes and basic necessities while the outside world quietly collapses. But underneath the shiny veneer of lipstick rewards and lawn furniture is something far more chilling: a sharp, timely commentary on performance, power, and the way we consume both fame and human emotion like entertainment.
Lily, our reluctant antihero, is not your typical protagonist. She’s passive, disillusioned, emotionally detached—at times frustratingly so—and that’s exactly the point. You watch her, just as the cameras do, wondering what she’s really thinking, what she’s hiding, and what it’s going to take to wake her up. As the show’s rules shift, boundaries blur, and manipulations deepen, the question becomes less about who will win and more about what winning even means.
Aisling Rawle's writing is addictive and razor-sharp, playing with pace and structure in ways that mirror the disorienting rhythm of the show itself. It’s a little bit Love Island, a little bit Black Mirror, and a whole lot of existential dread dressed up in millennial pink. Some chapters simmer with unease, others hit you with a twist that feels like a slap. The tension builds not from explosions or violence, but from the quiet horror of realizing just how much we’re willing to tolerate—for attention, for survival, for a sliver of meaning in a chaotic world.
This book will absolutely mess with your head—in the best way. It’s weird, eerie, biting, and absolutely perfect for fans of psychological thrillers that make you squirm while also forcing you to think. I couldn’t stop reading, and when it was over, I just sat there stunned, asking myself what I’d just experienced.
Massive thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a digital reviewer copy of this erratic, fascinating debut in exchange for my honest thoughts—I genuinely appreciate the opportunity to read something this bold and unforgettable.
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Lily, our reluctant antihero, is not your typical protagonist. She’s passive, disillusioned, emotionally detached—at times frustratingly so—and that’s exactly the point. You watch her, just as the cameras do, wondering what she’s really thinking, what she’s hiding, and what it’s going to take to wake her up. As the show’s rules shift, boundaries blur, and manipulations deepen, the question becomes less about who will win and more about what winning even means.
Aisling Rawle's writing is addictive and razor-sharp, playing with pace and structure in ways that mirror the disorienting rhythm of the show itself. It’s a little bit Love Island, a little bit Black Mirror, and a whole lot of existential dread dressed up in millennial pink. Some chapters simmer with unease, others hit you with a twist that feels like a slap. The tension builds not from explosions or violence, but from the quiet horror of realizing just how much we’re willing to tolerate—for attention, for survival, for a sliver of meaning in a chaotic world.
This book will absolutely mess with your head—in the best way. It’s weird, eerie, biting, and absolutely perfect for fans of psychological thrillers that make you squirm while also forcing you to think. I couldn’t stop reading, and when it was over, I just sat there stunned, asking myself what I’d just experienced.
Massive thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a digital reviewer copy of this erratic, fascinating debut in exchange for my honest thoughts—I genuinely appreciate the opportunity to read something this bold and unforgettable.
Follow me on medium.com to read my articles about books, movies, streaming series, astrology:
medium.com
December 25, 2025
I liked this. Hunger games meets love island is such a fun idea, though I felt like there could have been a little more action. That being said… there was something enjoyable about the mundanity. Sam is hot.
September 1, 2025
𐙚⋆˚✿˖° when a book promises Love Island x dystopia but delivers wet cardboard
⭐️⭐️ (and honestly… generous)
──★ ˙🧷 ̟ !!
Huge thanks to Random House Publishing Group for the e-arc via NetGalley 💌
Okay but… what even was this book supposed to be? Like it’s marketed as a thriller but there’s nothing remotely thrilling happening. It’s labeled dystopia but the “outside world” is just tossed in with vague mentions of “wars” and “political unrest” like filler dialogue in a bad TV pilot. We’re told the world is crumbling, but never shown anything beyond a few lazy lines. Literally vibes only, no actual world-building.
And the so-called characters? Insufferable. Paper-thin. No backstories. No development. No actual reason for existing other than filling out a twenty-person cast list. I kept waiting for depth, scheming, something to make them feel like real people, but nope—they’re just wandering stereotypes playing dress-up in a reality show that doesn’t even feel real. How do you write a novel about a dystopian Love Island/Survivor mashup and forget the actual horniness, backstabbing, manipulation, drama—you know, the good stuff?? Instead, we get conversations that feel like diary entries written during detention.
The pacing? Don’t get me started. First half: fine, I’ll admit, kinda addicting in a trashy, can’t-look-away way. Second half: dry, anticlimactic, and utterly pointless. I thought we were building toward some huge reveal—about the producers, the compound, the outside world—anything. But it fizzles into absolutely nothing. By the last page I was sitting there like… wait, that’s it? I wasted hours for THIS?
Also, the “commentary”? Clunky as hell. Capitalism bad. Consumerism bad. Gender roles bad. Cool, thanks for the TED Talk, I already knew. Nothing fresh, nothing cutting, nothing that sticks. It’s like the book thinks it’s doing The Hunger Games level satire when really it’s just recycling the same points you could get off a Pinterest quote board.
The wildest part? This is being pitched as a “Good Morning America Book Club Pick” with blurbs calling it “addictive” and “provocative.” Honestly… provocative WHERE? Addictive HOW?? This was bland, predictable, and so dry I wanted to skip entire chapters. If I wanted to watch twenty hot people cry about nothing, I’d turn on actual Love Island—it at least has accents, memes, and messy hookups.
Final verdict: The idea? Solid. The execution? A trainwreck. This book wanted to be edgy, thought-provoking, and addictive. Instead, it was boring, shallow, and empty. 2 stars. Generous ones.
⭐️⭐️ (and honestly… generous)
──★ ˙🧷 ̟ !!
Huge thanks to Random House Publishing Group for the e-arc via NetGalley 💌
Okay but… what even was this book supposed to be? Like it’s marketed as a thriller but there’s nothing remotely thrilling happening. It’s labeled dystopia but the “outside world” is just tossed in with vague mentions of “wars” and “political unrest” like filler dialogue in a bad TV pilot. We’re told the world is crumbling, but never shown anything beyond a few lazy lines. Literally vibes only, no actual world-building.
And the so-called characters? Insufferable. Paper-thin. No backstories. No development. No actual reason for existing other than filling out a twenty-person cast list. I kept waiting for depth, scheming, something to make them feel like real people, but nope—they’re just wandering stereotypes playing dress-up in a reality show that doesn’t even feel real. How do you write a novel about a dystopian Love Island/Survivor mashup and forget the actual horniness, backstabbing, manipulation, drama—you know, the good stuff?? Instead, we get conversations that feel like diary entries written during detention.
The pacing? Don’t get me started. First half: fine, I’ll admit, kinda addicting in a trashy, can’t-look-away way. Second half: dry, anticlimactic, and utterly pointless. I thought we were building toward some huge reveal—about the producers, the compound, the outside world—anything. But it fizzles into absolutely nothing. By the last page I was sitting there like… wait, that’s it? I wasted hours for THIS?
Also, the “commentary”? Clunky as hell. Capitalism bad. Consumerism bad. Gender roles bad. Cool, thanks for the TED Talk, I already knew. Nothing fresh, nothing cutting, nothing that sticks. It’s like the book thinks it’s doing The Hunger Games level satire when really it’s just recycling the same points you could get off a Pinterest quote board.
The wildest part? This is being pitched as a “Good Morning America Book Club Pick” with blurbs calling it “addictive” and “provocative.” Honestly… provocative WHERE? Addictive HOW?? This was bland, predictable, and so dry I wanted to skip entire chapters. If I wanted to watch twenty hot people cry about nothing, I’d turn on actual Love Island—it at least has accents, memes, and messy hookups.
Final verdict: The idea? Solid. The execution? A trainwreck. This book wanted to be edgy, thought-provoking, and addictive. Instead, it was boring, shallow, and empty. 2 stars. Generous ones.
October 13, 2025
just my taste
August 19, 2025
3.5… this was almost amazing, such a good concept but something was missssing
July 3, 2025
4.75 stars!
Love Island meets Lord of the Flies - and it was ENTERTAINING and weird! I’d say this is psychological suspense with a sprinkle of romance. I was hooked from the very beginning!! The ONLY reason this wasn’t a 5 star for me was because I felt like the climax that we were leading up to wasn’t as crazy as it seemed it was going to be. FANTASTIC book!
Love Island meets Lord of the Flies - and it was ENTERTAINING and weird! I’d say this is psychological suspense with a sprinkle of romance. I was hooked from the very beginning!! The ONLY reason this wasn’t a 5 star for me was because I felt like the climax that we were leading up to wasn’t as crazy as it seemed it was going to be. FANTASTIC book!
April 14, 2025
2.5 stars. I was intrigued by the concept of this book and some parts of it were very interesting, but overall it lacked character depth and a cohesive storyline. At the end of the book I found myself wondering what the point of it all was.
June 24, 2025
—— 𝟒.𝟓 ☆ 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬. 🏜️
❝𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑎 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔: 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑛 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑢𝑙𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑒.❞
📖┆𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐀𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐚𝐰𝐥𝐞
🏷️┆𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: 𝔻𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕡𝕚𝕒𝕟 𝔽𝕚𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟, ℙ𝕤𝕪𝕔𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕠𝕘𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕋𝕙𝕣𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕣
📆┆𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝: 𝟞/𝟚𝟙/𝟚𝟝 - 𝟞/𝟚𝟛/𝟚𝟝
📋┆𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬
「 “You wake up in a compound in the middle of the desert, along with nine other women. All of you are young, all beautiful, all keen to escape the grinding poverty, political unrest and environmental catastrophe of the outside world. You realize that cameras are tracking your every move, broadcasting to millions of reality TV fans. Soon, ten men will arrive on foot - if they all survive the journey. What will you have to do to win? And what happens if you lose?”」
❝ ”𝑌𝑜𝑢’𝑣𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑦 𝑗𝑜𝑏 𝑤𝑎𝑠,” 𝐼 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑.
𝐻𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑟𝑢𝑔𝑔𝑒𝑑. “𝐼𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑢𝑝 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑙𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒. 𝑊𝑒’𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑙 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒, 𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒.” ❞
✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧ ✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧ ✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧
❝𝑃𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑎 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑒.❞
ᴍʏ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: ★★★★½
ɢᴏᴏᴅʀᴇᴀᴅꜱ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ: 𝟹.𝟿𝟶 ☆ ꜱᴛᴀʀꜱ
ᴘᴀɪʀ ᴡɪᴛʜ: ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ ᴅʀɪɴᴋ 💧
ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: ▶︎•၊၊||၊|။|||||။၊|။• ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴅ ♪ ʟɪɴᴋɪɴ ᴘᴀʀᴋ
ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴄᴏᴍᴍᴇɴᴅ?: ✅
ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
🏜️ ʀᴇᴀʟɪᴛʏ ᴛᴠ
🔥 ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴇᴛɪᴛɪᴏɴꜱ
🏜️ ᴅʏꜱᴛᴏᴘɪᴀɴ ꜱᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢ
🔥 ꜱᴏᴄɪᴀʟ ᴇxᴘᴇʀɪᴍᴇɴᴛꜱ
🏜️ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ɪꜱʟᴀɴᴅ ᴍᴇᴇᴛꜱ ʟᴏʀᴅ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰʟɪᴇꜱ
⚠️TW: violence, animal cruelty, abuse, body horror, confinement
❝𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑏𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑡. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑒𝑡. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠.❞
✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧ ✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧ ✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧
💬┆𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
• The Compound has been one of my most anticipated releases of this year and it did not disappoint. As soon as I opened this book, I was hooked. Even when there were times it ran a little on the slower side, I still couldn’t put it down. It truly gave the feeling of binging your favorite reality show or watching an episode of Black Mirror. The rules to the game were well thought out; as a reader I often have to suspend my disbelief, but this was all logical. The author also picked up on some of the main issues that these reality television shows have with discussions on race, sexuality, and gender roles.
• The story is told through the eyes of Lily, who I instantly didn’t like. Actually, I don’t think I liked any of the characters. They were all unlikeable, though I think that was the author’s intention. But that’s what makes this such a good book: despite not liking anyone, I was still glued to my Kindle screen, watching their every moves, dying to know who was gonna get banished next.
• If you’re looking for silly, goofy vibes like Love Island tends to have, you’re not going find them here. I felt uneasy the entire time, never knowing who to trust, what punishment will be bestowed upon them if they break one of the rules, and such an unsettling feeling. I had no idea what to expect next, I was in the dark just like the contestants.
⚠️ꜱᴘᴏɪʟᴇʀ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ⚠️ ↴
• You’re probably wondering, “Brooke, if you liked it so much, why didn’t you give it 5 stars?” Well, the scene with the ducks did it for me. I understand the contestants were starving and it was a means of survivable, but the details of it all made my heart ache. And I know some of you are probably thinking, “Come on, Brooke. Ducks?” But I’m so sensitive when it comes to animals 🥺 I even got sad about the part where the pond dried up and all the fish died, lol. And then in the middle of all this, Lily realized at that exact moment she loved Sam, as he was butchering innocent creatures. Weird flex, Lily, but ok.
• Ok now that I think about it, I take back what I said above ⬆️ about not liking anyone. Lily did grow on me. I can’t ignore the drastic character development she underwent. I gotta give credit where credit is due! She went from being a superficial, vapid girl who only cared about fame and gifts to winning in the end and giving it all up for love. Respect.
• The book doesn’t come out and say what happened in the world to cause such catastrophic conditions, but some things the author had said [the brutal heat in the day and brutal cold at night, brush fires in the distance, the masks everyone was wearing on the “outside,” tsunamis] made me believe it might’ve been due to global warming.
❝𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑦𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑏𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔: 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑔𝑎𝑚𝑒.❞
✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧ ✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧ ✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧
✒️𓂃 ᴍᴏʀᴇ Qᴜᴏᴛᴇꜱ:
❝𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑, 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑎 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡, 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑑, 𝑖𝑡 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛’𝑡 𝑘𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡. 𝐴𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡: 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛, 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑘 𝑑𝑟𝑖𝑓𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑛. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛, 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑑𝑖𝑑 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛, 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒-𝑗𝑜𝑙𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚, 𝑎 𝑗𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑛𝑜 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑑𝑜. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛, 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑐𝑘 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑡, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒.❞
❝ “𝐷𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒, 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 … 𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑?”
“𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑛𝑜 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡’𝑠 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒! 𝐼𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑜 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑡𝑜? 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟, 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑢𝑠, 𝑑𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑝𝑖𝑑, 𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛? 𝑊𝑒’𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑓𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒, 𝑤𝑒’𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑡.”
“𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒, 𝐿𝑖𝑙𝑦. 𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑖𝑡, 𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛?” ❞
♡ Thank you NetGalley & Random House Publishing for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review. Be on the lookout for The Compound, hitting shelves on June 24th 2025!
✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧ ✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧ ✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧ ✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧ ✧⋄⋆
❝𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑, 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑦𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓; 𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑𝑛’𝑡 𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑡.
𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛’𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑡. 𝑊ℎ𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝐼 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑡?
“𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑔𝑜,” 𝐼 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑. “𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒.”
“𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒,” ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑. “𝑊𝑒’𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑒.
𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍.”❞
જ⁀➴₊⊹ 𝒫𝓇𝑒-𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹:
a dystopian “love island”? LFG 🤘🏼
June 26, 2025
Though I chewed through this in less than 24 hours, it was entirely too YA-adjacent to fully enjoy it, both in terms of the prose but also the story itself. There's something incredibly juvenile about this novel, from the clunky social commentary (especially on gender) to the characters to the reality show itself they're participating in. (One of the tasks they're assigned is to spit in another person's mouth and the way both the characters and the narrative itself react you'd think they'd been instructed to do something far more obscene.) This suffers most with characterization, and what constantly feels like unearned stabs at emotional moments, or even catharsis or growth or devolution, as none of these characters ever feel like people. Each of them is imbued with a bizarre mix of naiveté and earnestness when it comes to their participation in this dystopian Love Island reality show that doesn't match with any reality competition show I've ever watched (let alone one in their poorly sketched out nebulous hellscape). Where was the cunning and the manipulation? The scheming? Particularly before the third part of the novel? Also where the hell was the horniness? I get the point of this was the transactional nature of the show (and Capitalism™), but I think bringing in any kind of identifiable human emotion or response, including the incumbent horniness for a show like this, would've gone a long way rather than what we did get: these goofy characters doing whatever whenever to fulfill Rawle's outline and/or constantly, sappily, talking about being in love. I kept waiting for the reveal about the world they occasionally hinted at ("the wars" lmao) to explain why every single one of these people seemed to suffer some sort of stunted social development, but no, they all were just Like This. The narrator of the novel suffers the worst of it––having our entry into the story be, self-professed, vapid and materialistic and not very smart does not make for a stimulating read.
Also, wait, I just revisited the summary––All of you are young, all beautiful, all keen to escape the grinding poverty, political unrest and environmental catastrophe of the outside world. Girl, where was the political unrest? "The wars"???
Also, wait, I just revisited the summary––All of you are young, all beautiful, all keen to escape the grinding poverty, political unrest and environmental catastrophe of the outside world. Girl, where was the political unrest? "The wars"???
September 22, 2025
this is a thriller that is drawing a lot of inspiration from love island, because it stars a reality tv show being hosted inside a villa (aka a compound) where ten women and ten men will do challenges, get prizes, and be forced to couple up to stay inside the safety of the villa. and i use the word “safety” because outside of the compound's walls, there is a dystopian mystery that has left the world as we know it in shambles. there are wars going on, climate change has accelerated past the point of any control, the healthcare system is even more in shambles, the housing crisis has reached new devastating levels, but capitalism is still thriving.
we follow lily, as she is waking up alongside the other nine women on day one, and we continue to watch her navigate this reality, while struggling with feeling embarrassment of her past. yet, we also see her willing to do almost anything to stay in the safety of this televised production, where you are able to win food, water, construction supplies, and a ton of luxury gifts. some of these prizes are from group tasks, but sometimes they are from individual challenges, and you cannot talk about them with your costars. you’re also not allowed to talk about other things from the outside, like your job, until there are only five people left in the compound. and that is also when the rules against violence towards your costars are lifted. but if you break the rules before that, there will be consequences after the initial warning.
okay, i think you probably get the idea and vibe of what is going on. it’s eerie and unsettling to read, but it also feels impossible to stop reading. i actually thought this was going to be a five star at the halfway mark, because of the themes of living in this consumerist world, where people just want more and more unapologetically, while the world is literally burning down around us. it really successfully executes the use of satire to show these broken systems, and how most people are just trying to live in this machine that just constantly takes and takes (>.< now i am going to be hearing hamilton while writing the rest of this review). unfortunately, the themes that started out so powerful, just started feeling a little redundant to me, and the story started to feel a little boring.
again, i really respected and enjoyed what was being said. it was very thought provoking and just so very unique as a story in general. i just think the mystery of what was going on outside the compound really had me too curious. and again, i know this is not the point of this story, but i was left disappointed when turning that last page, simply because i just wanted a little bit of answers. i didn’t need to know everything, but i just needed something more. my mind was creating monsters, executions, alien producers… like lol i am insane. But i still highly recommend this one, especially if you like love island.
oh, and lily is bi, and we also meet a few other queer cast members! (and i will admit to you here, that if this would have taken the sapphic route, whew, it would have at least been a four.) lastly, i just want to end this review by saying that, even through disappointment, i did enjoy the feeling at the very end of this, that we as humans do need connection, and community, and we can’t do all of this alone.
trigger + content warnings: talk of war, talk of colorism + racism, talk of body image + food, mention of student teacher relationship in past, drowning (forcing someone underwater for a min for a challenge), misogyny + sexism, starvation, dehydration, blood, death of animals for food (ducks), vomit, fire, physical abuse on page - involving a man being abusive to a women in the villa, talk of loss of family in past, sickness / illness, talk of stalking to past, talk of suicide, cheating, self harm (to attempt to get help), talk of shitty parents, abandonment, gore, violence
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♡ buddy read with maëlys + amy
we follow lily, as she is waking up alongside the other nine women on day one, and we continue to watch her navigate this reality, while struggling with feeling embarrassment of her past. yet, we also see her willing to do almost anything to stay in the safety of this televised production, where you are able to win food, water, construction supplies, and a ton of luxury gifts. some of these prizes are from group tasks, but sometimes they are from individual challenges, and you cannot talk about them with your costars. you’re also not allowed to talk about other things from the outside, like your job, until there are only five people left in the compound. and that is also when the rules against violence towards your costars are lifted. but if you break the rules before that, there will be consequences after the initial warning.
okay, i think you probably get the idea and vibe of what is going on. it’s eerie and unsettling to read, but it also feels impossible to stop reading. i actually thought this was going to be a five star at the halfway mark, because of the themes of living in this consumerist world, where people just want more and more unapologetically, while the world is literally burning down around us. it really successfully executes the use of satire to show these broken systems, and how most people are just trying to live in this machine that just constantly takes and takes (>.< now i am going to be hearing hamilton while writing the rest of this review). unfortunately, the themes that started out so powerful, just started feeling a little redundant to me, and the story started to feel a little boring.
again, i really respected and enjoyed what was being said. it was very thought provoking and just so very unique as a story in general. i just think the mystery of what was going on outside the compound really had me too curious. and again, i know this is not the point of this story, but i was left disappointed when turning that last page, simply because i just wanted a little bit of answers. i didn’t need to know everything, but i just needed something more. my mind was creating monsters, executions, alien producers… like lol i am insane. But i still highly recommend this one, especially if you like love island.
oh, and lily is bi, and we also meet a few other queer cast members! (and i will admit to you here, that if this would have taken the sapphic route, whew, it would have at least been a four.) lastly, i just want to end this review by saying that, even through disappointment, i did enjoy the feeling at the very end of this, that we as humans do need connection, and community, and we can’t do all of this alone.
trigger + content warnings: talk of war, talk of colorism + racism, talk of body image + food, mention of student teacher relationship in past, drowning (forcing someone underwater for a min for a challenge), misogyny + sexism, starvation, dehydration, blood, death of animals for food (ducks), vomit, fire, physical abuse on page - involving a man being abusive to a women in the villa, talk of loss of family in past, sickness / illness, talk of stalking to past, talk of suicide, cheating, self harm (to attempt to get help), talk of shitty parents, abandonment, gore, violence
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♡ buddy read with maëlys + amy
April 24, 2025
3.5🌟
A new twist on reality TV.
How to describe this book?
Hmmm… how about if Bachelor in Paradise and Big Brother had a baby.
As a viewer of certain reality TV shows😉, this premise peaked my interest.
A group of singles have signed up for the latest reality show. They’ll be secluded from the world in a compound somewhere in the desert. To improve their living conditions, they must perform certain tasks to gain rewards both for the group and as individuals.
Rewards can be anything from food, furniture, personal hygiene products, all the way to jewelry. The harder (or more humiliating) the challenge, the bigger the reward.
The rules also include the expectation for everyone to couple off by the evening and if anyone wakes alone they’re banished from the compound. So pick your partner and hope it lasts!
So just how far are the producers willing to push the contestants for ratings? Because those diabolical producers are free to dish out punishments and additional banishments at any given moment.
Couple things that just didn’t work for me:
🔻The book turned out to be a very (and I mean VERY) slow burn.
🔻There were so many characters to keep track of, that until half of them left the compound I was hopelessly lost trying to keep track.
Saving grace:
🔺It did hold my interest enough that I wanted to know how this would end. Strangely addictive.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group Ballantine via NetGalley.
A new twist on reality TV.
How to describe this book?
Hmmm… how about if Bachelor in Paradise and Big Brother had a baby.
As a viewer of certain reality TV shows😉, this premise peaked my interest.
A group of singles have signed up for the latest reality show. They’ll be secluded from the world in a compound somewhere in the desert. To improve their living conditions, they must perform certain tasks to gain rewards both for the group and as individuals.
Rewards can be anything from food, furniture, personal hygiene products, all the way to jewelry. The harder (or more humiliating) the challenge, the bigger the reward.
The rules also include the expectation for everyone to couple off by the evening and if anyone wakes alone they’re banished from the compound. So pick your partner and hope it lasts!
So just how far are the producers willing to push the contestants for ratings? Because those diabolical producers are free to dish out punishments and additional banishments at any given moment.
Couple things that just didn’t work for me:
🔻The book turned out to be a very (and I mean VERY) slow burn.
🔻There were so many characters to keep track of, that until half of them left the compound I was hopelessly lost trying to keep track.
Saving grace:
🔺It did hold my interest enough that I wanted to know how this would end. Strangely addictive.
Thank you to Random House Publishing Group Ballantine via NetGalley.
August 7, 2025
3.75
This is definitely a more character/society study book vs the dramatic thriller book we all thought it was going to be. But I actually really enjoyed it!
While the plot was not very strong, it was fascinating for me to see the characters slowly fall apart. The writing itself is very simple and feels very detached, but it’s one of those books that triggers your brain to turn on and read outside of the page in a way.
Do not pick this book up if you want a fast-paced plot with likable characters and all questions answered by the end haha. I can definitely see why the reviews for this one are SO divided!
This is definitely a more character/society study book vs the dramatic thriller book we all thought it was going to be. But I actually really enjoyed it!
While the plot was not very strong, it was fascinating for me to see the characters slowly fall apart. The writing itself is very simple and feels very detached, but it’s one of those books that triggers your brain to turn on and read outside of the page in a way.
Do not pick this book up if you want a fast-paced plot with likable characters and all questions answered by the end haha. I can definitely see why the reviews for this one are SO divided!
August 18, 2025
4/5 ★
By far, the BEST reality TV show book I have read so far. Even though there were some flaws, I need a sequel!
The Compound follows Lily and 18 other competitors in a Love Island-style reality TV show set in the desert of a dystopian society. There are challenges, elimination votes, and messy relationships filled with drama as the 19 try to survive the conditions by earning rewards.
Finally, a true reality show book that focuses only on the competition. 🙌🏼 There is no crime that happens 100 pages in that takes over the whole book, like others I’ve read in the past.
Yes, it’s a slow burn, but there is enough drama between the couples and contestants overall to get invested in and fly through the pages.
I loved how the author handled introducing such a large group of characters. We only know as much as our protagonist. If she rarely talks to someone or if someone is withdrawn from her friend group, we don’t know them either. It felt very intentional. This led to more mystery for me rather than being frustrated and lost on who some people are.
I found the challenges interesting and the eliminations unpredictable. I felt they could have completed more challenges per day than they did. They would often get dramatic about tasks taking too long when they had to simply share a simple detail about themselves with the group. 🤦🏼♂️
This was a clear 5-star, new favorite until part 3. Like with reality TV, it’s only interesting if you still have people to root for. It was annoying to see some of the most interesting characters eliminated. I’m not going to lie, I skimmed the last 40-50 pages because I didn’t care as much about the people that were left.
I would love to see a sequel. I have so many questions that weren’t answered about the dystopian world.
Overall, I really enjoyed this! 😄
By far, the BEST reality TV show book I have read so far. Even though there were some flaws, I need a sequel!
The Compound follows Lily and 18 other competitors in a Love Island-style reality TV show set in the desert of a dystopian society. There are challenges, elimination votes, and messy relationships filled with drama as the 19 try to survive the conditions by earning rewards.
Finally, a true reality show book that focuses only on the competition. 🙌🏼 There is no crime that happens 100 pages in that takes over the whole book, like others I’ve read in the past.
Yes, it’s a slow burn, but there is enough drama between the couples and contestants overall to get invested in and fly through the pages.
I loved how the author handled introducing such a large group of characters. We only know as much as our protagonist. If she rarely talks to someone or if someone is withdrawn from her friend group, we don’t know them either. It felt very intentional. This led to more mystery for me rather than being frustrated and lost on who some people are.
I found the challenges interesting and the eliminations unpredictable. I felt they could have completed more challenges per day than they did. They would often get dramatic about tasks taking too long when they had to simply share a simple detail about themselves with the group. 🤦🏼♂️
This was a clear 5-star, new favorite until part 3. Like with reality TV, it’s only interesting if you still have people to root for. It was annoying to see some of the most interesting characters eliminated. I’m not going to lie, I skimmed the last 40-50 pages because I didn’t care as much about the people that were left.
I would love to see a sequel. I have so many questions that weren’t answered about the dystopian world.
Overall, I really enjoyed this! 😄
July 24, 2025
3.5 ⭐️?
This is not what I expected but I kinda loved it tbh
This is not what I expected but I kinda loved it tbh
September 3, 2025
A provocative look at society inside of a Love Island/Survivor-meets-Black Mirror-esque read, The Compound had me thinking long and hard from the very first page. Not only about a whole host of -isms, including consumerism, racism, and sexism, but about how far we’ll go to entertain. Just look at the grip that social media and TV have on our lives. Inside of this literary fiction novel, however, the long line of disturbing moments created quite the mesmerizing tale. From the social experiment angle to the focus on how far reality TV could go if we allowed it, the moral quandaries, trust issues, and power plays within this young adult crowd kept me utterly off balance from beginning to end. And to think that this was a debut?
I do have to say, though, that if you’re going into this novel looking for a clear-cut mystery/thriller, you just might be let down in the end. Slow burn is an understatement when it comes to this book. Focusing intently on the day-to-day goings on inside of the compound, for much of the novel it felt like I was watching Big Brother or Love Island without the editing. While that was fun in its own right, it wasn’t the high-stakes read that I was expecting before diving in. Instead, many of the chilling events felt more told versus shown, which lessened the impact that they could’ve had. In the end, however, the message was highly impressive, which would make it a dynamite book club selection.
All said and done, it was the razor-sharp writing that ultimately got under my skin. You see, the entire book rippled with dread as escalating events made me want to cover my eyes despite the fact that I couldn’t seem to put the book down. Thought-provoking in the extreme, I was chilled to the bone as I watched the calculation between these characters unfold. With an ominous feel throughout the novel, the near-future setting made me wonder what we have in store for us if we continue to be obsessed with what’s on our screens. Timely, thoughtful, and prescient, while it wasn’t quite what I was expecting, I still ate up every word. So as long as you don’t mind a slow-moving plot, I say to give this one a go. Rating of 3.5 stars.
SYNOPSIS:
Lily—a bored, beautiful twenty-something—wakes up on a remote desert compound, alongside nineteen other contestants competing on a massively popular reality show. To win, she must outlast her housemates to stay in the Compound the longest, while competing in challenges for luxury rewards like champagne and lipstick, plus communal necessities to outfit their new home, like food, appliances, and a front door.
Cameras are catching all her angles, good and bad, but Lily has no desire to leave: why would she, when the world outside is falling apart? As the competition intensifies, intimacy between the players deepens, and it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between desire and desperation. When the unseen producers raise the stakes, forcing contestants into upsetting, even dangerous situations, the line between playing the game and surviving it begins to blur. If Lily makes it to the end, she’ll receive prizes beyond her wildest dreams—but what will she have to do to win?
Thank you to Aisling Rawle, Random House, and @scaredstraightreads for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
PUB DATE: June 24, 2025
Content warning: violence, bullying, sexism, animal death, infidelity, gaslighting, misogyny, physical and emotional abuse, fire injury, forced confinement, racism, mention of: war, sex
I do have to say, though, that if you’re going into this novel looking for a clear-cut mystery/thriller, you just might be let down in the end. Slow burn is an understatement when it comes to this book. Focusing intently on the day-to-day goings on inside of the compound, for much of the novel it felt like I was watching Big Brother or Love Island without the editing. While that was fun in its own right, it wasn’t the high-stakes read that I was expecting before diving in. Instead, many of the chilling events felt more told versus shown, which lessened the impact that they could’ve had. In the end, however, the message was highly impressive, which would make it a dynamite book club selection.
All said and done, it was the razor-sharp writing that ultimately got under my skin. You see, the entire book rippled with dread as escalating events made me want to cover my eyes despite the fact that I couldn’t seem to put the book down. Thought-provoking in the extreme, I was chilled to the bone as I watched the calculation between these characters unfold. With an ominous feel throughout the novel, the near-future setting made me wonder what we have in store for us if we continue to be obsessed with what’s on our screens. Timely, thoughtful, and prescient, while it wasn’t quite what I was expecting, I still ate up every word. So as long as you don’t mind a slow-moving plot, I say to give this one a go. Rating of 3.5 stars.
SYNOPSIS:
Lily—a bored, beautiful twenty-something—wakes up on a remote desert compound, alongside nineteen other contestants competing on a massively popular reality show. To win, she must outlast her housemates to stay in the Compound the longest, while competing in challenges for luxury rewards like champagne and lipstick, plus communal necessities to outfit their new home, like food, appliances, and a front door.
Cameras are catching all her angles, good and bad, but Lily has no desire to leave: why would she, when the world outside is falling apart? As the competition intensifies, intimacy between the players deepens, and it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between desire and desperation. When the unseen producers raise the stakes, forcing contestants into upsetting, even dangerous situations, the line between playing the game and surviving it begins to blur. If Lily makes it to the end, she’ll receive prizes beyond her wildest dreams—but what will she have to do to win?
Thank you to Aisling Rawle, Random House, and @scaredstraightreads for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
PUB DATE: June 24, 2025
Content warning: violence, bullying, sexism, animal death, infidelity, gaslighting, misogyny, physical and emotional abuse, fire injury, forced confinement, racism, mention of: war, sex
June 27, 2025
No because the way the Compound is the dystopian version of Love Island, and I completely ate this up! Imagine the romance, the drama of Love Island, the constant, 24/7 television stream like the Truman Show, and the shock of Survivor. Plus Black Mirror and lots of dystopia-adjacent vibes? 10/10 no notes.
The pacing was incredible, and I loved how the author immediately throws the reader (and the characters) into the production set. The literary technique of providing the reader very little background into the creation of the show and the outside world mirrors the compound's isolated bubble. I was rooting for the FMC the entire time, and I really enjoyed the various character/relationship dynamics, even with the intentionally vague character backstories.
The Compound was a pretty thought-provoking book, highlighting humanity's interest in reality TV and disconnect with the world around them even as the world is plagued with disasters (the subtle mentions of "wars" continuously piqued my interest). And lots of commentary on late-stage capitalism. This book offers a glance of what reality TV may become in the near future. Based on the synopsis, I thought the twists would be darker, and the ending was slightly anticlimactic. But I loved this book, and it's one of my favorite genre blends of thriller, summer fiction, and dystopia.
The pacing was incredible, and I loved how the author immediately throws the reader (and the characters) into the production set. The literary technique of providing the reader very little background into the creation of the show and the outside world mirrors the compound's isolated bubble. I was rooting for the FMC the entire time, and I really enjoyed the various character/relationship dynamics, even with the intentionally vague character backstories.
The Compound was a pretty thought-provoking book, highlighting humanity's interest in reality TV and disconnect with the world around them even as the world is plagued with disasters (the subtle mentions of "wars" continuously piqued my interest). And lots of commentary on late-stage capitalism. This book offers a glance of what reality TV may become in the near future. Based on the synopsis, I thought the twists would be darker, and the ending was slightly anticlimactic. But I loved this book, and it's one of my favorite genre blends of thriller, summer fiction, and dystopia.
July 18, 2025
100% like a reality tv show where you can’t stop watching but there’s literally no point.
I thought of love island the entire time and found myself enjoying the read at certain parts but I just feel like the book was truly pointless. 😂
Not awful, but nothing groundbreaking.
I thought of love island the entire time and found myself enjoying the read at certain parts but I just feel like the book was truly pointless. 😂
Not awful, but nothing groundbreaking.
Read
June 20, 2025I made myself a promise that if I was not really enjoying a book that I would just give up. Life is too short. I'm not enjoying this book at all. It's going nowhere.
I'm going to waste my time with something else.
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
I'm going to waste my time with something else.
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
November 18, 2025
Honestly surprised I’m giving this one four stars, because for the first 50-100 pages I thought I was going to rate it much lower. The Compound follows a group of 20 contestants sequestered in a remote desert compound on a reality TV show. They engage in tasks that earn them “rewards,” which range from accessories like hairbrushes to items necessary to survive like food. We follow Lily, described as a thin, blonde woman in her 20s who with time gets more invested in the competition and its prizes. The stakes – and the danger – riles up toward the finale, forcing Lily to confront what she’s willing to sacrifice to win.
One of the reasons I was initially turned off by this book is that I felt that Aisling Rawle’s prose was lifeless. For the first 50-100 pages especially, the writing style rather bored me. However, for some reason I got used to it and perhaps the events of the plot superseded the prose in terms of importance; about halfway into the book I found myself curious and wanting to know what would happen. Though the writing wasn’t remarkable to me, Rawle’s commentary about performance/influencer culture and consumerism was engaging and relevant – and her writing was good enough to keep me invested in the story and subsequently this societal commentary.
I also thought Lily was such a boring protagonist for the first 50-100 pages of the book. I’m not sure if my estimation of Lily changed, rather, my generous interpretation is that Rawles purposefully made her vapid (e.g., caring about material goods, romance, men finding her attractive and datable) to highlight what forces would compel someone to participate in this type of reality TV setup in the first place. At times I wasn’t sure whether the book was endorsing or critiquing heteronormativity/amatonormativity, though I’m fairly certain that Rawles is critical of consumerism and what it drives people to do.
In some ways I feel more of a 3.5 to this book though I’ll just give it four stars because I was quite engaged once I got into it. Curious what other folks think of this one.
One of the reasons I was initially turned off by this book is that I felt that Aisling Rawle’s prose was lifeless. For the first 50-100 pages especially, the writing style rather bored me. However, for some reason I got used to it and perhaps the events of the plot superseded the prose in terms of importance; about halfway into the book I found myself curious and wanting to know what would happen. Though the writing wasn’t remarkable to me, Rawle’s commentary about performance/influencer culture and consumerism was engaging and relevant – and her writing was good enough to keep me invested in the story and subsequently this societal commentary.
I also thought Lily was such a boring protagonist for the first 50-100 pages of the book. I’m not sure if my estimation of Lily changed, rather, my generous interpretation is that Rawles purposefully made her vapid (e.g., caring about material goods, romance, men finding her attractive and datable) to highlight what forces would compel someone to participate in this type of reality TV setup in the first place. At times I wasn’t sure whether the book was endorsing or critiquing heteronormativity/amatonormativity, though I’m fairly certain that Rawles is critical of consumerism and what it drives people to do.
In some ways I feel more of a 3.5 to this book though I’ll just give it four stars because I was quite engaged once I got into it. Curious what other folks think of this one.
July 2, 2025
Ummm… ok? This has words. Not fun, no point almost seemed like a writing prompt exercise lol
July 30, 2025
THE COMPOUND is addictive, especially if you enjoy literary fiction, dystopian fiction, and either watch or merely find fascinating reality shows such as Survivor or The Bachelorette. The premise? The world is clearly unraveling, but we are with 19 contestants in a desert compound, all 20- and 30-something adults, who have to perform tasks to gain both survival staples and luxury gifts for a reality TV show. The tasks often include banishment -- or kicking someone out. And narrating it all is young Lily, a cosmetician in a department store, who is at once avaricious, cutthroat, naive, and charismatic. I clung to every story she shared. Also? This has to be one of the most remarkable and assured debut novels I have ever read.
March 20, 2025
I wanted to be free from the daily confrontation with the slow decay of humanity and everything we had built. I wanted to be left alone. I wanted quiet. I wanted to stop pretending that I cared about things.
This book absolutely hits that sweet spot of being a sinister page-turner while also offering up a critique of late stage capitalism with rampant consumerism and spiritual ennui as a replacement for meaning. The premise is the ultimate reality TV show set in the compound in the middle of a desert ringed with wildfires. The contestants have to pair up in heterosexual, almost totally white couples in order not to be banished, while accumulating rewards that get increasingly expensive (diamond earrings, cashmere, watches, designer clothes and make-up etc.).
Rawle manages to get so much social commentary in here: the lack of make-up and hair products for the single Black woman, the commodification and objectification of bodies (everyone is beautiful, natch!), the divided gender roles where the women do most of the domestic stuff around cooking and cleaning while the men mostly supervise and deal with construction and repairs. There is war in the background and submerged violence, sexual tensions as the women couple up, even if only strategically, while the men spread their, er, 'favours'. And a big driver is consumerism and consumption: they can accumulate more and more expensive stuff the longer they stay in, culminating in a kind of free-fall of goods at the late stage.
But, underneath it all, is also Lily's search for meaning - an escape from her dead-end shop job that she thinks will be overwritten by all the opportunities offered by the compound - only, the more she survives and accumulates the less happy she is.
What makes this such a good read is that it has all the gossipy fun of reality TV shows like Love Island without ignoring the deeper, darker, aspects of their cultural positioning and the deadening effect on human consciousness. In lots of ways this is a bleak book, despondent about human nature and what we are prepared to do and be for the sake of consumerist/capitalist success but it wraps up that despair in something that is bright, riveting and unputdownable as a read.
Many thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC via NetGalley
October 7, 2025
☆☆☆☆☆
The Compound by Aisling Rawle is a gripping debut that explores the dark side of human nature through a chilling social experiment. The author does an exceptional job of crafting a world that feels both unnervingly contained and oddly relatable. The concept of the social experiment really grabbed me, especially as it taps into society's obsession with reality TV. In a world where we're constantly watching strangers' lives unfold for entertainment, Rawle takes that fascination to a disturbing new level, forcing readers to reflect on the lengths we go to for voyeuristic satisfaction, and what happens when the experiment turns real.
The psychological tension in the story is masterfully executed. As the characters are pushed to their limits, their every move feels like a calculated decision in a high-stakes game. I loved how the author explored the power dynamics, trust issues, and moral dilemmas, making it impossible to predict who was genuinely in control.
The storytelling shines through with emotional depth and a sharp eye for detail. As a debut, The Compound is a powerful and thought-provoking read that left me questioning the ethics behind social experiments and reality TV culture long after I finished. I can’t wait to see what Rawle does next!
If you enjoy thrillers that make you think, with a sharp look at modern society’s obsessions, this is an absolute must-read.
The Compound by Aisling Rawle is a gripping debut that explores the dark side of human nature through a chilling social experiment. The author does an exceptional job of crafting a world that feels both unnervingly contained and oddly relatable. The concept of the social experiment really grabbed me, especially as it taps into society's obsession with reality TV. In a world where we're constantly watching strangers' lives unfold for entertainment, Rawle takes that fascination to a disturbing new level, forcing readers to reflect on the lengths we go to for voyeuristic satisfaction, and what happens when the experiment turns real.
The psychological tension in the story is masterfully executed. As the characters are pushed to their limits, their every move feels like a calculated decision in a high-stakes game. I loved how the author explored the power dynamics, trust issues, and moral dilemmas, making it impossible to predict who was genuinely in control.
The storytelling shines through with emotional depth and a sharp eye for detail. As a debut, The Compound is a powerful and thought-provoking read that left me questioning the ethics behind social experiments and reality TV culture long after I finished. I can’t wait to see what Rawle does next!
If you enjoy thrillers that make you think, with a sharp look at modern society’s obsessions, this is an absolute must-read.
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