Coming soon! I was lucky enough to get my hands on an early copy of The Only Survivors [thank you NetGalley!] and couldn't put it down! The story is about a group of friends who meet at the beach house every year on the anniversary of "the accident" - it's tradition. The entire book has such an eerie tone and everyone is suspicious. What really happened on that dark night? Who keeps digging into the past? Add this one to your "To Read" list, coming April 11th!

I was thrilled to get a chance to read the latest by Megan Miranda! I really enjoyed the present setting of the book at the beach house. The vibe really meshed well with the story. At times, I had to remind myself of which character was which as the story is told in alternating time period chapters. I thought it was a captivating thriller which kept me interested throughout!

This book was a bit of a slow burn, but when it got rolling, Megan Miranda proved why she’s the queen of suspense. I was riveted, and I totally expect this to be gobbled up by thriller lovers and book clubs all summer long.

I’m sad to say this book didn’t wow me. I feel like the odd one out here. I usually love Megan Miranda but this one fell flat. After reading the whole book I’m still not exactly sure what the big secret was that they were all keeping. The end felt rushed and didn’t really provide that oomph and twist I usually get with her books.

A group of former classmates reunite for the tenth anniversary of a tragic accident. This book is full of turns and twists. Some of the classmates do not want to go but go after learning of a classmate’s death. Once they arrive on the outer banks things spin out of control one girl leaves immediately. Cassidy begins to wonder and have questions about what truly happened and she eventually leaves as well.

Every year for a decade Cassidy Bent has met up with eight of her high school friends at a house in North Carolina's remote Outer Banks. From the outside looking in, it looks like the perfect reunion. There are watersports, there is sun tanning and gossiping, there are long lunches, and even longer dinners followed by marshmallow roasts and beers by the bonfire. From the inside, however, Cassidy feels that the trip is a prison sentence. This group isn't bonded by happy memories of proms and senior pranks, but instead by "that night." The night a class trip went wrong in the worst way imaginable when the vans bringing them home from a school trip careened off the side of a Tennessee ravine and into the rapidly rushing river below. The nine survivors clawed their way out of the wreckage, out of the river, and up the side of the ravine, making unthinkable and untellable decisions along the way.

Now, as adults they've kept to their pact never to share the details of what really happened that night, and have met year after year at The Shallows to remind themselves of that promise and to make sure that everyone is still in line. This year, in year 10, however, Cassidy Bent has decided to opt-out. She's not making the trip, has blocked everyone's email, and changed her phone number. She thinks that she's escaped when she receives a text from an unknown number, sharing that another survivor has passed away. Now, determined to find answers surrounding her friend's death, and equally determined to hold one of their own group accountable, Cassidy can't help but wonder if the pledge that the survivors made to save one another has slowly morphed into a pledge to save themselves...

I was in no way prepared for the ending of "The Only Survivors." I thought that I knew where the story was heading, but the last few chapters defied all of my expectations and left me shocked. Miranda did an incredible job laying the foundation for her "big reveal" and longtime fans of her work will not be at all surprised by the mastery that she shows tying up all her loose ends. This novel also tugged at my heartstrings. The idea of ten high school seniors bonded forever by the trauma of surviving an unthinkable accident was so, so sad. They made difficult decisions to survive, and have carried the weight of that through their entire lives and it is really sad and heartbreaking to see how that weight has shaped all of their lives. Miranda creates a group of broken adults who readers will want to hate, but will ultimately be unable to because they have always done what they thought was best in the face of insurmountable trauma and pain.

A must-read for anyone who still meets up with their college or high school friends for a yearly reunion, fans of Sally Hepworth, and your one friend who swears she can keep a secret, but really just wants to know everyone else's business. "The Only Survivors" is the perfect thriller for summer. Special thanks to NetGalley and to Scribner for providing an Advanced Reader's Copy of "The Only Survivors" in exchange for an unbiased review!

This book is told from the perspective of Cassie, one of the 9 survivors of a school-trip crash. This group of survivors meet up each year ensure that each of them keep a promise to never tell any details about the crash or what happened next. The narrative is told in both a present timeline displaying the strange events happening with Cassie, and providing details bit by bit about the crash from that time. This book kept me guessing, and I loved how everything unfolded

Every year 9 former strangers meet up at a beach house to commemorate the anniversary of an event that brought them together. During their senior year they all experienced a tragedy while on a school trip. Nine survived and now only seven remain. Cassidy tried to avoid going this year, but she received a mysterious text reminding her to be there and she decides to go out of guilt. Upon arrival she immediately knows something is off this year when she arrives. Amaya, the one who normally organizes everything, suddenly disappears. A storm is approaching which causes the group to start to worry about her and rush to try and find her. As secrets become uncovered they start to turn on each other and the hidden truth of the tragedy all those years ago is threatened to come out.

This book took a little too long to get going for me, and once it did it was just kind of "meh". I didn't think there was a twist at the end or anything like that, the story just kind of played out and revealed itself. I'll still read anything Miranda writes, because she always holds my interest, however this particular story was too slow a burn.

I finished this book a few months ago, and realized I never made a review on this story! Megan Miranda is very hit or miss for me, but yet I continue to read their books. This one is one of my favorites by this author, because it is a quick novel that I did finish quickly. It is told from two different time periods (present and the past.) While the past has multiple POVs, the present only has one. My big criticism of the novel is I felt that the "past" chapters were far more interesting than the present day

I wanted to love this book, I really did… Unfortunately I just could not connect with anything in this story. My mind kept wandering off as I was reading this, and I had to keep going back to reread several pages, paragraphs, and sentences because the going backward format really confused me.
I feel that this story had great potential, but for me it just moved way too slow. I also could not connect or empathize with any of the characters (which I felt I should have). I have read other books by this author that I have really enjoyed. This book is not one of my favorites by Miranda, but I will still be watching for future reads from her in hopes that I enjoy the next one much more.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘼 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥 𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩—𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙫𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧, 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙙𝙮.

📍 Read if you like:
• Locked Room Mysteries
• Slow Burns
• Brilliant Settings
• Character-Driven Stories

I’ve seen so many mixed reviews about this book, but I actually enjoyed it for the most part. To be fair though, I gave Such A Quiet Place five stars and I have no regrets.

I don’t know what it is, but Megan Miranda’s thrillers are always so fun to read. They’re not the greatest stories, but I just enjoy how easy they are to read and the simplicity.

I loved following a group of classmates reuniting ten years later after a terrible tragedy. It’s set up with dual timelines: the present following Cassidy, and the past following multiple characters.

It is more of a slow burn and not much happens, but I was so intrigued by the story - especially the past. Also, some moments were predictable and confusing at times.

I also feel like the trauma from such a tragedy was very well portrayed, especially PTSD. The book also feels more like it was character-driven than plot-driven so it may not be for everyone.

This was such a fun locked-room mystery. Was it perfect? No, but it was so enjoyable and I was entertained the whole time. Megan Miranda’s books are always a guilty pleasure and I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

•𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪: Car accident, death, suicide, drug abuse, drug use, stalking

This was such a slow burn mystery with way too many characters. It just dragged on and on and by the end it was so easy to predict what was going to happen. I was so surprised about my dislike of this one, as I have really liked her other books. In my opinion, this is one to skip!

I had really high hopes for this book. I just feel like it was okay. There was nothing that made me continue thinking about this book after I read it.

Just finished this one and I loved it! A slow burn mystery turned thriller with a beautiful setting and a cast of characters who all seemed to have secrets. The first third was slower, but I really burned through the last two thirds of the book. You didn’t get a very deep view into each of the characters relationships, but you got enough information and context to piece it together enough to get the story. This was an interesting mystery/thriller that I enjoyed mainly because of the setting in the Outer Banks during a storm. I loved the concept and enjoyed the reveals near the end, although I did find myself rereading parts of the reveals to make sense of what I was supposed to be understanding. If I had a better feel of the characters that may have been easier to grasp as soon as the “Aha” moment happened. Still enjoyed the book a lot!

I enjoyed the setting of this book and how it played into the story as we navigated the book. However, I felt like we never dived deep into who the characters were and the plot moved along a little too slowly for my liking. Although there was some suspense built along the way and it kept me wondering what was going to happen next, I felt like the big reveal wasn't all that shocking. This definitely wasn't my favorite Megan Miranda book but I am looking forward to reading more of her work.

Megan Miranda delivers another expertly crafted thriller that has suspense and atmosphere. This is a slower burn, but I still found it unputdownable. I needed to know where this was going. The book switched from present time at their yearly retreat and each individual perspective the night of the accident. It was gripping from the beginning and became more claustrophobic as the story went on. Each character was interesting and unique and fun to read about.

Even though the main twist wasn’t a surprise, there were still lots of little twists along the way that made it intriguing. It was a bit slow at times, but I still think it was a fun summer thriller. I recommend it to anyone who likes a twisted, character driven mystery.

Another fun thriller from Megan Miranda. This story was unique and almost left me scratching my head a bit because you are trying to piece together snippets of flashbacks and tie those memories to the present.

A group of adults meet every year at The Shallows as some kind of recognition for a tragedy they faced as high schoolers. Through out the story, we see small pieces of the past and how these characters handled an unimaginable situation. During a school field trip, the two busses transporting the students somehow crashed/were trapped into a rushing river. Only a few made it out of the buses alive and those few dwindled even further as the teenagers waited for help.

The situation around the accident is very unclear until the end of the story. The 9 people who survived the accident do not like to discuss it and as a result we are left using our imaginations to fill in many of the gaps. During the 10th trip to the Shallows, the group is on edge because one of them is revealing the truth of what happened that day in high school and talking to the media, but they don't know who. What ensues is a story with a lot of distrust and some crazy twists. It was highly entertaining and the perfect tone I need right now.

Megan Miranda is an author I will consistently pick up to see what she comes up with next.

If you’re looking for a thriller to read poolside or beachside, Megan Miranda’s The Only Survivors would make a great one. I find that her thrillers aren’t terribly heavy, and the atmosphere is so easy to get lost in.

Rating: 3.75/5⭐️

Read if you:
-don’t mind a slow burn thriller
-enjoy alternating timelines
-like the ‘friend group with secrets’ trope

Thoughts:
The slowest burn y’all. I don’t mind a slow burn, but in thrillers I have less patience for them. Overall, I thought the plot was unique and the setting was top notch. However, I was a little confused why this group of “friends” got together annually if they weren’t particularly close and only had the tragedy in common. But I let that go because it was necessary for the story. The characters were a bit one dimensional, which always makes it harder for me to get invested. But the setting/atmosphere got all the points. It was eerie yet felt reminiscent of summer camp too, and helped build suspense. This would make a great summer read if you don’t mind 70% build up.

I enjoyed the timeline and the back and forth between the characters and the past and future. I had general intrigue for the suspense of the story and the mystery behind it. However, I did not care for any of the characters or the story. If I did not have this as an ARC, I would have DNFd. 3 stars for me, it was an alright read for me.

Another atmospheric thriller from Megan Miranda. Tackling survivor's guilt after a tragic incident on a school trip, this band of nine friends meet annually at the site of the crash. Beginning right before the 10th anniversary, with two survivors having passed away in the preceding 10 years, strange things start happening during their "reunion" at the beach.

I flew through this book, finishing it in one day. Miranda is one of the few authors that keeps me guessing right until the end. But the twists and turns aren't corny or unbelievable; they are quite effective at building suspense and adding to the story.