I plowed through this via audiobook in a day. It felt like all the best parts of listening to Blair Braverman on the podcast You’re Wrong About and watching reality tv like Naked and Afraid, mixed with a dollop of I Survived. I loved how Braverman really dug into the psychology of the characters as the story progressed, and it felt very true to life. Some reviewers aren’t liking the slightly ambiguous ending, but I found it to be pretty clear. Bonus points for bi/queer representation, but not making it an entire person’s character arc.

I will be withholding my review until Harper gives their Harper Collins union workers a fair contract. Thank you again for the copy.

This book had so much potential but it just fell flat on its face. I found the book to be very slow with boring characters. The last 10% of the book picked up speed and got interesting. However, we are left with so many loose ends that I was disappointed.

What a great book! I love everything by this author and this book was no different! I couldn't put this down and was up all night waiting to see how it ended!

I absolutely loved this book! It was fast paced, the characters were interesting and the setting I was great! I love any stories that have reality shows as a setting and the survival show setting of this one was particularly fun! Great book!

I couldn't put this down! I lost sleep two nights in a row! SMALL GAME is both a survival story and a deeply intimate portrait of what it means to choose who you want to be; it's about how we rely on and trust others. Braverman brings an incredible nuance to the characters, avoiding all of the one-notedness that sometimes flattens survival stories. Instead, we're invited into a world that feels deeply realistic (Braverman has significant survival experience herself, and the details feel authentic). I can't stop recommending this to friends and patrons!

I really enjoyed the survival aspects of this book; it definitely gives you a good feel for what it takes to survive out in the wilderness. The mystery aspect, however, was less fulfilling. I wanted more of an explanation for what happened to them and why, I guess.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for the arc! I thought this book sounded so good- it sounds like the tv shoe Survivor. I felt it was a good, quick read and I did not anticipate the ending! 4/5 stars!

Featuring a third person POV from the eyes of Mara, we are taken on a journey of what can go very, very, very wrong when you’re a show contestant on a “Survivor”-esque reality show. While it began with a slower start, when I made it through about 60% of the book, I could not put it down. This story deals with a few prominent things which I really thought made the book: the interpersonal relationships between the survivors, the real conversations and decisions that have to be had just to make it through the night, and also how to hold onto hope when dealing with something unimaginable.

I'll be honest and admit that the entire reason I picked up Blair Braverman's debut novel is because her dogs are lovely and happy. Turns out, this may be an excellent way to choose a book. This is the kind of thriller that takes its time, develops the characters along with a sense of rising dread and then delivers a punch that really delivers.

Mara grew up as the only child of parents intent on living off the grid, which prepared her well for her job at a wilderness school, delivering expensive "survival" weekends for wealthy people. When producers choose her for a reality show sending a group to an undisclosed wilderness location with the challenge of surviving together, she sees a way to improve her life and maybe even live somewhere with solid floors and a dishwasher. Her skills are stretched in an unfamiliar place early in Spring and her fellow contestants have their own motivations for being there, but all that is far less important than what happens with the producers and crew.

Braverman clearly spent time and effort in crafting a thriller in which the many parts hold together. This is a story that is terrifyingly believable and still it surprised me. And no dogs were harmed.

Small Game starts out as a very promising story. Four strangers are thrown together in a reality TV show based on wilderness survival. They each are allowed to choose one tool to take with them and nothing else. Working together, they have to survive on their own for six weeks.

Main character, Mara, is a survivor already. She teaches at a survival school. The reality show promises a cash reward if she makes it to the end, so she jumps at the opportunity. She is the most prepared of the group. One man leaves early. The rest of the group of four have varying levels of experience, but most have none. They muddle their way through, with the two most experienced carrying the group. At first, the camera crews are intrusive and everywhere. But, one day that changes, and the survivors are left to try to figure out what’s happened. Have they been forgotten and left in the wilderness? How will they survive?

The storyline was well-developed with rich characters, and an intriguing story. However, I felt like the ending was completely rushed, as if the author had gotten behind on a deadline and had to come up with the ending at the last minute. The ending was literally just the last page of the book, and was way too abrupt. After the excellent build-up of the story and the anticipation of a conclusion, it was a complete letdown. I had so many questions leftover. Very unsatisfying end to an otherwise good book. Many questions were unresolved. The story was exciting and held my interest. I just with the end had been done better. Flesh it out more, give more details of what happened later, tell us what happened to the crew, why did they leave, and more. I really wanted to know. I was invested in the characters and their story. It was a good read, but you will be let down by the ending, even though it does wrap up the story.

I read this book in almost one sitting—I just needed to see what happened next! When a group of 5 people agree to go on a reality show where they need to survive on their own for 6 weeks in the wilderness, what could possibly go wrong?? Just reading about their working to survive was fascinating, then, after 3 weeks, the crew disappears and never comes back. Completely on their own, they need to decide what to do and how to save themselves.

This book was so fast and unexpected. I love survival reality tv and Bler, so I was excited to read this. I devoured it on a plane ride and, despite being amazing at guessing plot twists, was wrong in the best ways. I cannot wait to hand this to several people at Christmas.

3.50 Stars. Entertaining and very readable, but not quite the gripping story I was hoping for. I’m a huge survival fan. I used to watch Survivor for years, before it jumped the shark, and then happily found Naked and Afraid and fictional shows like The Wilds. When I heard that the author of this book was a contestant from Naked and Afraid, I knew I had to read this book. I thought there was a lot of good here, and it was clear that Braverman has some mad survival skills, I just don’t know if everything transferred as well into book form for my personal tastes. And I say that as a bit of an outlier since a lot of readers enjoyed this book more than I did.

On the good side, Braverman knowing what goes on behind the scenes of a reality show, and having those good survival skills, allowed her to write a book that felt very realistic. I don’t know if this was done on purpose, but as a reader, I felt more like I was watching these contestants like I was watching them on a TV show and sometimes I would get to have special behind the scenes viewing too. The psychic character distance is not close, so you don’t feel what the characters are feeling, which normally is not very good in a book, but in this case as a voyeur, it worked really well.

The next part is kind of a good and bad part. The bad part is I thought more of the book was less thrilling than I was hoping for. I lost track but I think almost the whole first half is just about people starving, some people building a shelter, others forging, setting traps or fishing. It is all well written, and I think it would be interesting for someone who doesn’t watch Naked and Afraid XL, but it didn’t really do anything for me. Now, while I say that, I want to make clear that I stayed up and finished this book in one night so while I was not wowed, it sure was readable.

Okay one of my bigger issues, and this leads to a TW, is for animal abuse/death. I’m kind of surprised I have not seen this mentioned in other reviews as this was an awful part that goes on for too many pages and it was not about killing animals for food or any kind of survival, it was just abuse plain and simple and I don’t see why it was needed except for shock value, I guess. Braverman had already shown that the character who did it was having problems with their mental health repeatedly, so it wasn’t for that.

I was excited to know that this book had a little sapphic romance thrown into it. If you follow my reviews, you will know that I love anything sapphic, unfortunately, while I loved the added queer rep, the relationship ended up feeing very one-sided. One person seemed to have more genuine feelings while the other seemed to fall into the category of “since you are the last person around, I guess you will do.” I don’t want to give too much away but it is much easier to root for one woman over the other, so it’s hard as a reader to like them as a pair.

There has been a lot of talk about the ending, and it seems like people have issues with two parts. One, I do think the answer is there about what happened. I want to be vague here, but I feel like I might say too much no matter what so [SPOILER} The answer is what Ashley said happened near the end when she adds that extra piece of info from the director/owner. It’s so simple and almost a bit dumb, so as a reader it’s hard to believe such a simple answer is how they became stuck. (hide spoiler)] The other complaint is that the book just ends. It has a little summary wrap-up paragraph, but it is disappointing not to really finish. To be honest it felt like Braverman got sick of writing and just wanted the book to end. It’s a shame because the book was on the shorter side so having a few thrilling final chapters could have really ended the book on a strong note and bumped my rating up to 4 stars.

TLDR: I think what it comes down to is if you are a huge survival fan than this book might not be gripping enough to get out of the just okay category. It is very readable and entertaining, but it might be missing that wow factor for you. If you don’t know much about survival or are a new fan to the genre, then this might be the perfect book for you. Braverman knows her survival skills and has done an excellent job showing them off in this book. I would not read this book for the sapphic romance, but it was nice to see some queer rep. The ending is controversial and deserves it, but it makes for an interesting book discussion.

I was so excited for Blair Braverman's debut novel, which promised to be exciting and adventurous. The dread truly built in the first third of this reality-tv -gone-wrong story, and I found each of the characters to be compelling. I was ultimately disappointed that the novel didn't quite build to the level of thrills I was anticipating, but I do think that was a fault of marketing rather than the novel itself. I will certainly be interested in reading Braverman's next book!

Small Game by Blair Braverman was such an intriguing read! I really enjoyed it, different than my usual type of book because of the plot which centers around survivalist Mara and a group of people competing for money on a reality show about well, surviving.

Here’s what you need to know:

Four strangers and six weeks: this is all that separates Mara from one life-changing payday. She was surprised when reality TV producers came knocking at Primal Instinct—the survival school where she teaches rich clients not to die during the night outdoors—and even more shocked to be cast in their new show, Civilization. Now she just has to live off the land with her fellow survivors for long enough to get the prize money.

Whisked by helicopter to an undisclosed location, Mara meets her teammates: The grizzled outdoorsman. The Eagle Scout. The white-collar professional. And Ashley, the beautiful but inexperienced one who just wants to be famous. Mara’s unusual, rugged childhood has prepared her for the discomforts and hard work ahead. But trusting her fellow survivors? Not part of Mara’s skill set.

When the cast wakes one morning to find something has gone horribly wrong, fear ripples through the group. Are the producers giving them an extra challenge? Or are they wrapped up in something more dangerous? Soon Mara and the others face terrifying decisions as “survival” becomes more than a game.

I got pretty into the story and it didn’t take much for me to come to the conclusion that I would not last one full day on any show like Civilization. I’d love to see this book turned into a show, it would make a great series.

Get it now.

Maira works for an outdoor excursion company in Washington state from the age of 10 she grew up off the grid and living off the land. So when they were holding interviews for a TV show called Civilization, she thought if she got in it would be easy money. She was dropped off in an unknown location with four other people the beauty influencer Ashley, the Eagle Scout Kyle, The businessman James in the rugged outdoorsman bullfrog. At first she does the minimal to connect with her teammates but as the days go on she see’s how manipulative Lenny the producer of the show is and it makes her feel protective over her team. When something changes in the film crew disappears there left truly on their own. They have already lost one. Can the remaining four come together to survive this desolate place? Mira is used to living off the land but that was by choice can she survive when living off the land is her only option? I thought the first 70% of this book was really good and even part of the last 30% was pretty good but the ending felt rushed and like the story was going forward and just fell off a cliff and boom it was over. I only gave this book 3 stars because the ending was so disappointing but as I said most of it was really good. I received this book from NetGalleyShelf and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Not sure where to start with this one. The premise was good. I enjoyed the beginning and the setup of the plot. But the second half of the boom was a mess. There was never a payoff to the plot either. What was the point of it all? Why did the crew leave and never return? So many questions unanswered.

This book was reminiscent of The River by Peter Heller and The River at Night by Erica Ferencik, but with the twist that these characters were contestants in a reality TV survivor-type show. I like the human vs. nature themes, and the relationships that develop along the way between the characters.

Civilization is a new reality show about a group of people who try to survive in the wilderness for six weeks, and it's a competition that Mara is uniquely suited for. Having been raised off the grid, she now works at a survival school, where she teaches wealthy clients how to survive outdoors. When the producers offer her a spot on the show and the chance at life-changing prize money, it doesn't take her long to accept. Only six weeks stand between her and a fresh start, and she's confident in her own abilities.

But when the camera crew disappears without a trace halfway through filming, Mara and her companions begin to realize that there is much more at stake than just the prize money. Their survival is no longer just a game, and no help is coming.

Small Game is a vivid, character-driven survival story, and once I started it, I couldn't put it down. Blair Braverman loads the plot with interesting information about edible and medicinal plants and survival skills, while also telling a gripping, atmospheric story. The characters are so well-crafted; you can tell how much love Braverman has for them even as she places them in increasingly desperate, dangerous scenarios. I love the dual meaning of the title, too: "small game" as both a reality TV show, meaningless in the big scheme of things, and as the characters being "small game," nothing more than prey in the vastness of the North Woods.

This is a book about resilience and survival at its most elemental level, about what happens when you strip away the creature comforts and routines that make up a contemporary life and take a good, hard look at the person you are when that's all gone. It's a book about the importance of human connection and taking care of each other when other people are literally all you have. Ultimately, it's a story not so much about the "why" something terrible happens -- but the way a person responds when something does, the reserves of strength and resiliency deep within the human spirit. Small Game is a book that explores that in riveting, heart-wrenching ways, and I found it to be just as profound as it was propulsive.