Paradise Club - Only the Strongest Survive
I received this book in the January 2021 Night Worms package, and it officially came out for all to purchase on February 5th, 2021.
This was a rip-roaring read that was both brutal and actually quite funny in a lot of places. The story follows the Harper family who win tickets to “Paradise Club” and think they’re in for a relaxing family vacation. They arrive at their destination, a remote island that no one knows the location of, and are prompted to hand over their devices before leaving the ship (cell phones, laptops, any connection to the outside world). A sense of unease cloaks the place and employees and visitors alike seem on edge and in the dark about what “Paradise Club” really is. It isn’t even a full day before insanity, brutality, and gore overtake the island and the Harpers must fight for their lives to survive.
The writing seriously had me grinning and snickering between the bloody massacres that peppered the pages. It was like a great B-movie slasher film in book form. One description that I loved (and will probably end up using frequently in my future) was when the father, Elliot Harper, had to give up his cell phone, “This whole trip was like a meal he knew he’d get sick from later but continued to eat anyway.” Yep, that really sums up the trip, and how can you not relate to those words?
The vivid descriptions of the gore and violence that occurred on the island were staggering. I was enthralled, disgusted, and absolutely could not look away from the page. This extended to other descriptions too, often of the more spiritual/emotional variety: “He knew he sounded panicked and edgy. He was breaking down. He could feel that too, something inside his chest breaking free, floating around his upper torso. His sanity, maybe, if it was something tangible.” I definitely put my hand on my chest and pondered my sanity as a physical thing that could become detached and begin free-floating within my body after I read that.
Finally, the line I saved for last, that just had me giggling like a child - the part where Tim Meyer refers to a guy getting kicked in the junk as being “kicked in the jewel farm.” The. Jewel. Farm. I laughed so hard. I think that the hilarity that encircles the weird and terrible things that happen in Paradise Club is a perfect pairing, because there is so much hysteria happening in the story, that it only fits that you would become slightly hysterical while reading it.
I definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for a fun, slasher-type, fast-paced story with some real horror mixed into it!
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