I’ve tried reading this book several times and each time, I simply cannot get into it. I think I made it 20% in before I called it quits. It has potential but there’s nothing going in and it’s slow moving.

For forty years the Arcadia, and a number of other former luxury cruise liners, have been anchored off the east coast of what used to be the United States. Filled with those who fled war-torn Europe, and a virus that took no prisoners, and their families, a precarious community of sorts has been established.
On board, Esther dreams of her feet feeling land as she pursues medic training to earn a coveted spot at a university in the Federated States, following in the footsteps of her cadet sister, May. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Esther, May is hiding a completely separate life from the collaborator facade she presents. As everything Esther thought she knew falls to pieces before her eyes, she has to decide where her loyalties lie and what she’ll do for May and Nik.
Daniels does a great job of keeping the plot moving quickly, often difficult in a debut novel, while developing characters who are forced to make life altering decisions at relatively young ages. Creating futuristic technology and an antagonist that’s too easy to hate, the reader can’t help but hope for the best as a rebellion unfolds aboard the Arcadia. I look forward to the next book!
Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Brace yourself. Imagine boarding a cruise ship for a week’s vacation and not ever get off the ship. Forty plus years later, living on a crowded, rusting, smelly ship you either fight a rebellion, die trying, or go down with the ship.

These are the choices the passengers and their descendants have to make. They are living in a state of fear. The Federated States have forbidden them to leave the ship stating a false narrative for their reason. They have a police force, the Coalies, on the ship to control the inhabitants with a leader determined to break up any form of resistance.

However, there are many people determined to resist. They seek nothing more than a better life for themselves and their children. They are willing to die for that freedom. As the Coalies, work to find dissenters and break them, the dissenters find different ways to survive. The question is – who will survive?

If you love fast-paced action, suspense and villains vs. heroes, you will thoroughly enjoy this book. The first of two books takes you on a unique journey that will never end unless the ordinary person steps up. Will they?

I love a good dystopia type thriller and this one was no exception. I enjoyed the mysterious plot and waiting to see what would happen next. I'll definitely be recommending this one.

It’s been decades since the passengers on the cruise ship Arcadia have floated near the coastline of the Federated States, left isolated because of possible exposure to a deadly virus. In that time, life aboard the ship has devolved to the haves and have-nots, to the upper and lower decks, to gangs and military police. Esther has never stepped out of line and is studying to become a medic with the hopes of being one of just a few citizens who are granted land access. But then she finds herself unwillingly drawn into a plot to rebel against the order of the ship, and is forced to make choices she never thought she’d have to.

The author focused this work on three main characters – a rebel, a medical trainee, and the leader of the military police aboard the ship. This was a fun way to get a glimpse into the main three factions aboard the Arcadia. The characters were interesting, and their varied personalities and goals made for an enjoyable cast, but I felt that they were lacking in true development. They all felt like caricatures of typical YA dystopian characters, especially the main antagonist (who was absurdly evil and felt more comic than threatening).

The pacing of the work is a bit off. It starts off quite slowly, introducing characters and situating them in their daily lives aboard the ship. Action slowly builds up, then lags, then the last fifth of the book is nonstop. There’s not much conflict interspersed throughout the work; the only real conflict is the commander versus the people of the ship, and again, with him not being a relatable/realistic/engaging villain, it was lackluster. I would have loved to learn more about the rebellion, the people themselves, and some of the interpersonal conflicts that were common aboard the ship. This would have brought the setting and the characters more life.

I did enjoy this work overall though I probably won’t continue the series. My thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Alternating between three POVs, in this YA dystopian novel passengers have been stranded on the cruise ship Arcadia for forty years due to a virus and war on land.. Passengers are segregated by wealth and Hadley, who is clearly the villain, is charged with keeping the status quo. Ester is a sixteen-year-old medical cadet who gets swept into the rebellion by Nic, also sixteen, and a planner of the rebellion.

In light of COVID and the reality that cruise ships were quarantined, YA and adult readers who enjoy dystopian novels may well enjoy this novel by first-time author Sarah Daniels. Adult readers may be slightly disappointed at the lack of character development, but I do not think that will interfere with YAs enjoyment, which is the target audience.

We have The Stranded on our most recent order list. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for allowing me the opportunity to read this book pre-publication.

I wanted to love this so bad, the concept sounds amazing and I was really intrigued by it but for me the execution fell a bit flat. I thought that the beginning dragged on for way too long before actually getting to the interesting bit and even then I wasn't intrigued by it at all and I had to force myself to pick it up. I felt that the concept of the lesser people who rarely get to see the sun similarly to snowpiercer was incredible and could have really packed a punch but I felt it was glossed over unfortunately.

I was so excited for this story. And I honestly can't tell you why because dystopian, sci-fi thrillers are not my usual genre of books. But something about this book and synopsis was so compelling to me! I think I was most intrigued by a former luxury cruise ship being used as a refugee camp during an apocalyptic war. This was such a unique premise for a story!

My biggest complaint with this story is that I felt like there was so much back story missing. It jumped right in to the action, which I normally prefer, but it seemed like there was some info missing that would have helped to fill in some confusing gaps I encountered.

It looks like there is a second book coming, but I'm not sure that I'll be picking that one up.

This was a decent book that definitely kept my attention. The one thing I really didn’t like, though, was the inclusion of Person A and Person B hate each other, but because Person C dies, the first two come ridiculously close to getting together (and most likely did after the book ended). Can we please, please, please stop it with this trope? It’s silly, and it also takes away the opportunity for them to have become good friends. Strong friendships between the genders are what books are missing, not romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

A great paced story of a dystopian time, with an unexpected twist. Will have you racing to the end and wanting book 2

Finished this book today. I enjoyed the overall gist of the story. It was action packed and definitely held my attention. The ending was a cliffhanger so will definitely have to see where the story goes from here.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

A unique take on a dystopian style story. I enjoyed the setting and the characters had me rooting for them. The ending definitely leaves me looking forward to the continuation of the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for my advanced readers copy.

"The Stranded" by Sarah Daniels is an action packed Dystopian Romance full of action and intrigue. The story follows a group of young adults, May, Nik, Alex, and Esther, who have been raised on board the former luxury cruise liner, the Arcadia. Each desires to set foot on land, land that has been forbidden to them due to the ravages of an uncontrolled virus and subsequent world war. While the four pursue their plans to get off the ship, Hadley, the controlling, bitter commander of the Coalies and controlling force aboard the ship, wants to also reach the land by destroying the Arcadia and anyone who stands in his way. This book examines the desires of the individual and whether that desire will lead to taking action only with self in mind or taking action for the greater good of one's social family. An intriguing read without excessive language or smut, this book is one that I will recommend to all have want a dive in and devour read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this suspenseful, dystopian read! The details are so vivid, as are the characters. A true page turner and felt more like an adult read to me.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great thriller and it kept me on the edge of my seat.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was said to be compared to the Hunger Games and Station Eleven but I didn’t get that vibe at all. If I had to compare this to anything I’d compare it to Snowpiercer. Whether it’s the graphic novels, movie, or the tv show series it has the same similarities except one takes place on a train the other takes place on a boat. If you’ve ever read/ watched Snowpiercer and loved it…then trust and believe you’ll love this book. I love when we get multiple point of views because we get know the characters on their own individually before their stories start to intertwine together. We get to know Nik, May, Hadley, and Esther. The Arcadia ,which is a now rusted old luxurious cruise ship, is housed by survivors of an apocalyptic war. The Federated States (what’s left of the U.S.) won’t let people off the boat to the mainland but Esther has chance to do so by becoming a medic. Even though May and Esther are sisters they are the prime example of yeah we’re siblings but have no idea what the other is really doing or going through. Nik is your classic rebel who is trying to give the citizens of Arcadia the freedom they deserve. And every story has a villain right… Hadley will stop at nothing and I mean NOTHING to make sure he earns his own way off the ship by any means necessary! So if you love a good YA dystopian like I do give this book a read!!

What a book!!! I haven’t read a dystopian in a while and was so thankful to get back into the genre with an early copy of this book. This book was everything I wanted and more. I loved to see the power struggle on board the Arcadia and the rebellion, the whole thing really delivered on the hunger games/snowpeircer vibes. I loved the three POVs with Nik easily becoming my favorite. I really enjoyed Esther and Hadley’s POVs as well. Also that ENDING. I literally can’t wait for the next one.

Interesting premise. Great recommendation for readers who enjoyed The Hunger Games. Full of suspense! The idea of spending a life on a cruise ship was unique and very interesting!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The cover of this book immediately captured my attention. I was aware that this book had been previously published and it was just getting a glow up, but comparing the new and old cover it seemed like night and day. I'm always down for books getting a refresh, and good on the author for realizing this book needed it!

The Stranded takes place in a dystopian future where the inhabitants of the cruise ship Arcadia are exiled from Europe. There is a call to liberate Arcadia and the passengers aboard the ship and the comparisons to The Hunger Games and Divergent was a smart call. I definitely got those vibes, and more. There were multiple POVs (which is always a win for me) and I thought the pacing and flow was spot on.

Usually when I read YA I tend to gravitate towards more romance or fantasy focused genres but this was a hit for me and it definitely urged me to read outside of my niche.