Megan Miranda is one of my favorite authors and a queen of suspense! I always jump at the chance to read a new Miranda novel, everything else must be pushed aside for her new books. This is no exception. It's a slow burn thriller with a familiar yet captivating story.
Cassidy is one of the only survivors of a terrible bus accident in high school. The survivors of this accident gather every year to mark the anniversary of this horrific event. The novel takes place 'Now' and 'Then." The story is engaging and intriguing. There are a lot of characters to keep up with, she could have trimmed a few.
It's an entertaining plot with interesting twists and tie ins.
Love Miranda and this is a solid thriller for her, although not my favorite of hers. 4 stars.

The author did a fabulous job juggling dual timelines. It was effective in telling the story and building tension for the reader. The pacing was fabulous and I found myself repeatedly staying...just one more page. While the ending was not a total surprise, it was still a satisfying one which I feel is more important.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC of The Only Survivors!

Bravo. Simply bravo.

I love a good thriller that convinces me to stay awake until almost midnight because I know I won’t be able to sleep without reason until the end.

After reading many Megan Miranda books I have to say that her wiring style is similar to Alice Feeney. Female heroin that has been hiding a secret in effort to keep herself or others safe.

My only comment that could be constructive is on the character of Russ. He lacked any redeeming qualities. All around a horrible person. While I started to grow distaste for Grace and Amaya it turned out that their flaws turned out to be accidents.

Also a good book club question could be: did Cassidy mean to help Grace out of the river or was she reaching for Russ? She did say that you grab whoever you can

Wow. I really loved this one. I often have trouble Redding thrillers when the general premise is always the same. The Only Survivors felt original. I don’t get scared easily but this book def spooked me out. Will definitely be recommending

4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

One thing I love about each of Megan Miranda’s books is her writing style. It pulls me right in and doesn’t let go until the story is complete.

The Only Survivors is about a tragic accident that left many students and two teachers dead on what was supposed to be a school service trip. The nine students who survived forged a bond, and meet each year to commemorate the accident. To keep an eye on each other. To keep each other accountable for what really happened that awful night. Now ten years later, two of the survivors are dead, and the remaining seven are on their annual trip. When one of the seven goes missing, the group becomes uneasy and suspicious… of one another.

This book is told in two different timelines: the present, where Cassidy and the rest of the survivors are meeting in the Outer Banks; and the past, where we read about the accident from the POV of several of the survivors.

The portion that takes place in the past is told backwards, starting from Hour 7 after the accident and going back to the beginning of the accident. I really liked that you don’t know all the details of the accident until the very last pages. It reminded me of Miranda’s All the Missing Girls, which is also told backwards– a feature that I really enjoyed!

I thought this was a 4 star read. The story kept me guessing, kept me interested, and I was surprised by the final twist which isn’t always easy! I’d definitely recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this e-ARC of The Only Survivors!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
🤝🏻 share a secret pact
🏖️ love the beach
🫥 have ever felt invisible
🌪️ enjoy a good twist

• 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄

After an accident 10 years ago left them as the only survivors, Cassidy and the small group are meeting up once more at The Shallows for a week alone.

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

In 2013, a group of high school seniors set off on a trip. Only so many came back. 10 years later, Cassidy finds herself back at The Shallows again, meeting up with the other survivors. Something is off this year though. Ian is gone, and nobody trusts each other. Someone is keeping a secret, but who? What are Cassidy and the others hiding from one another? What really happened on that fateful night a decade ago?

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

This was my first Megan Miranda read (🤫) but I really loved it. I was immediately thrown into the story and curious about this shared past everyone in the group had with one another. I really needed to know everything that went down! While a little slow at times, I enjoyed the Then segments that slowly counted down to the beginning of the entire accident and ordeal. I was really surprised at the twist, but in hindsight, the author really gives us a lot of context clues! Overall, I can’t wait to read her other thrillers!

Ten years ago, two vans filled with high school seniors set out on a school service trip and crash into a Tennessee ravine, only 9 survive. The nine teens make a pact to meet once a year to commemorate that horrible night and to support and protect each other. A few have moved from their hometown and continued their lives, however, they meet once a year in a house on the Outer Banks, a refuge, to reconnect and revisit the tragedy. Cassidy Bent has decided on this tenth anniversary to distance herself from the others, she deleted the email reminders, changed her cell phone number, and is finally happy with her new boyfriend. On the morning of the reunion, she sees an email with an obituary attached and realizes that she must be with the others to mourn her friend and fellow classmate from the trip. Throwing caution to the wind and lying about a business trip, Cassidy arrives to a house filled with suspicion and distrust. Finding a locked cell phone on the beach takes Cassidy on a journey back in time to that fateful night and causes her to question her oldest friends and what exactly happened that night.
Megan Miranda has done it again. This psychological thriller with its many twists and turns will have you guessing from beginning to end. What really caused the accident and what secret have they vowed to protect? The towns people have not allowed anyone to forget the lives lost by dedicating the new library to them and hanging brass plaques with their names. Survivors' guilt has made them suspicious of each other and their role in who to save. Hard to put down, once started, you will continue breathless until the very end.

This was better than I expected. The blurb didn't do it justice. This is one of the author's best books so far.

A tragic accident in high school binds nine of you together forever. A yearly beach house reunion pact is made in the aftermath. Ten years later—only seven of you remain—and another suddenly goes missing. Those who remain are suspicious of each other because this time is different—someone is
watching you. Someone who knows what really happened that night.


*********************

I enjoyed this book. It was a solid mystery/thriller. I had an inkling that whoever was watching them would be tied in some way to the group but not ONE of the group. Definitely interesting to have Cassidy (the narrator for most of the book) be the one who caused the accident in the first place. And definitely a plot twist to have the person watching them all be her boyfriend and Clara’s brother! I thought the writing was solid and the characters were all written about in a way that made you a little suspicious of everyone—which helped keep it interesting.

I’ve read a few others by Megan Miranda and have always enjoyed them, and this one is no different. Definitely worth the read if you like a even keeled, solid mystery.

Megan Miranda is an auto-buy author for me so I was thrilled to get an early copy of her newest book, The Only Survivors. What I tend to enjoy about Megan Miranda's style of writing is that she masterfully builds suspense amongst her characters without a big "Whodunnit" twist. You tend to genuinely care about her characters who usually have a painful past and secrets to keep - the characters and the premise of The Only Survivors is no exception.

We are introduced to "The Eight" including narrator Cassidy Bent. These individuals have nothing in common except one thing - ten years ago, they survived a terrible accident while on a school trip. They have been heralded as the survivors while many of their classmates unfortunately were not. They stuck to their story that they didn't know what happened to the others who didn't survive the accident but truths begin to emerge when loyalties amongst the group are tested.

The first 1/3 of the book moved a bit slow for me as I attempted to keep the characters straight as well as understand the premise of the accident, which was a bit complicated. But the pieces came together about halfway through and I was drawn in to the story. This is the kind of book you will want to finish in just a few sittings as a lot of details and flashbacks help build the suspense. Megan Miranda is truly the master of the slow build thriller - I will continue to read everything she writes!

Its been a while since I've read a suspense and this is my first book by this author. I thoroughly enjoyed it! The tension keeps building slowly and there are several shocking moments to keep you hooked throughout.

Everything in this story revolves around a tragic accident a decade earlier, when a horrific crash during a school trip left nine high school kids as the only survivors, forced to survive on their own until they could reach help. We learn early on that after the crash there were some questionable decisions made that resulted in the survivors to keep secret much of the events that transpired. After one of them commits suicide after the first year, they make a pact and agree to meet each year on the anniversary of the crash for a week in the Outer Banks.

The majority of the story is told from Cassidy's POV, but there are flashbacks to a decade before from other characters as well, all revolving around the tragic accident that changed their lives forever. These really helped to build the tension and to get a feel for all the characters. Events of that horrific night are shared in pieces as the story develops, adding to the tension. There were a few twists and a red herring that made me wonder for awhile.

In the end, this was a fantastic thriller I didn't want to put down. The ending had quite a shock that I admit I did not see coming. All in all this book is a winner, and I'm sure suspense fans will enjoy it.

I'm a fan of Megan Miranda, so I jumped at getting an ARC of this one. And it didn't disappoint!

Miranda is a skilled writer, and that always helps, but this story is intriguing and different, too. After surviving a horrific car crash on a high school field trip, the only survivors continue to meet every year at one of their beach houses. The only thing they really have in common is the truth about what happened after the crash, so the reunion every year is dicey, but they all feel an obligation, a sort of survivor's guilt.

Parts of the story may have been predictable, but nothing that took me out of the story itself. I flew through this-- I enjoyed the flashback chapters better, but I still found the other chapters enticing. Overall, I would recommend to anyone who wants a quick, but rewarding, read!

I'm as much a fan of a slow burn as anyone, but I think they may have forgotten to set this to simmer before hastily rushing back to the metaphorical stove at about 60% to see if the thing could be salvaged. In fairness, it was mostly compelling from that point on.

I really enjoyed this one! I feel like I still have some questions/ doubts even after finishing the book. The author does a great job of keeping you guessing. I had an idea on some of the twists and turns, but definitely not all of them. I love a good thriller that keeps me on my toes, and this one fit the bill!
Thanks to Netgalley for the book to review.

Megan Miranda is one of my favorite authors and again, she does not disappoint. I was hooked within the first few chapters, and could not put this down. The Tjen and now time-line made the story so interesting amd slowly revealed each characters secrets and flaws. I did expect the antagonist to be who it was! Definitely 5 stars!

I received an ARC from Edelweiss+ and NetGalley. This wasn't my favorite of hers. The two timelines, back & forth, kept the story confusing at times. Plus the ending/resolution was silly and a letdown

This was my first Megan Miranda book and it was very good. Just as I thought things were getting to slow for me something insane would happen and it kept me reading! I was surprised at the ending but loved the whole book. It was a slow burn for sure but I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. Will def recommend.

Ehhhh I didn’t get into this one at all. I think from the get go it is a very confusing book to keep up with because…. It moves too slow? Not a book our patrons would enjoy.

I am super biased because I am a huge fan of Megan Miranda. I felt so lucky to receive this galley. She has excellent prose and great narration. I can almost never guess the twists and turns she throws into her novels. This book was just the same. I started it at 10:30 pm and binged it. Stayed up until 2am to finish because can never ever put down any of Megan Miranda is books. When it publishes, I will most definitely be buying the hard copy to add to my MM collection.

Could. Not. Put. This. Down.

Read this if you want to be up until 3am, hiding underneath your covers, questioning all of your life choices.

This book gave me major Yellowjackets meets Final Destination vibes.

I was guessing until the very end. The past timeline is done from varying POVs, offering several perspectives. I was simultaneously feeling like I was closing in on the truth, while also feeling thrown completely off the trail at every turn. Everything and everyone was under constant suspicion.

Anytime I read a thriller that is a page turner, I’m afraid to finish it. Keeping the reader hooked is not the same as delivering a deserving ending, and can often lead to disappointment. Of course, everyone has different opinions of what is disappointing/satisfying, but I was satisfied with the ending of this book.