Book Review: Lord of the Fly Fest

LORD OF THE FLY FEST | Goldy Moldavsky
08.30.2022 | Henry Holt & Co.
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Rafi Francisco needs something really special to put her true crime podcast on the map. She sets her sights on River Stone, the hearthrob musician who rose to stardom after the mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend. Rafi lands herself a ticket to the exclusive Fly Fest, where River will be the headliner. But when Rafi arrives on the Caribbean island location of Fly Fest with hundreds of other influencers and (very minor) celebrities, they quickly discover that the dream trip is more of a nightmare. And it’s not just confronting beauty gurus-gone-wild and spotty WiFi. Soon, Rafi goes from fighting for an interview to fighting for her life. And, as she gets closer to River, she discovers that he might be hiding even darker secrets than she suspected…

Lord of the Fly Fest is a fun-filled satire about influencer culture that I simply could not get enough of while reading! 

I love when stories examine social media’s  impact on society, which Moldavsky takes and places on a deserted island in the vein of the very real disaster that was Fyre Fest. The cast of characters in this book ranges from cringey to fake to downright out of their minds. Our main character isn’t without her own flaws and I loved how Moldavsky allows Rafi to realize this about herself. There’s not a ton of “meat” or heavy plotting to Lord of the Fly Fest, but I don’t think that it takes anything away from the book being a great reading experience. I would have loved to see a more developed mystery and maybe a little bit of horror…I mean deserted island simply screams horror! At the end of the day, I realized early on that this wasn’t that book and I went all in for the humor. If you’re looking for a bingeworthy and popcorn type of read, this is perfect!

A huge thank you to Once Upon A Book Club for my gifted copy! 

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