Megan Miranda does it again! What an amazing viewpoint on what it might take to survive a disaster….and by what means you may need to survive.

High schoolers on a trip have their travel vans fall into a revine. There aren’t many survivors….but those that survived meet up once a year to be together and cope. Until the second of the survivors dies….and there’s a terrible storm. Something is off….


Told in dual timelines: today and when the accident happened. Though it doesn’t start at the beginning of the accident, rather hours later. And each dip back fo the past takes you one hour closer to the actual accident.

Brilliantly told. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

It’s been a decade since a tragic high school field trip accident left 9 “survivors” behind. It’s been 9 years since another survivor took their own life at those very cliffs over the raging river that claimed the fate of the others. Every year, the remaining 8 survivors meet and spend a week at a vacation home called “the Shallows” in the OBX. Although their backgrounds and personalities are all glaringly different, they’ve forged some kind of trauma bond based on the secrets and lies. When one of the remaining eight turns up dead prior to their trip… more and more odd things continue to happen and it begins to feels like a cat and mouse game. Someone knows they are here and is watching them. Someone wants to know the truth about the accident that night 10 years ago.

I was really excited for this one but it was meh for me. An interesting synopsis and plot line idea but it was an incredibly slow burn and draggggged until about 60% when it sped up considerably with more suspense. There were two “plot twists” at the end - one fairly predictable and unsurprising and the other hit me and I didn’t even see it coming! Just not enough excitement for me throughout all of this one. It felt like there were a lot of unnecessary fillers and unanswered questions and all the action and truth was packed into the last few pages and ended abruptly.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the gifted e-ARC and finished copy.

Megan Miranda has done it again. Her 7 chapters through told backward worked so well — she is the master of this style! Telling so many people about how great this book is.

I truly loved this book, and felt the set up in the beginning was well worth the reveal. I kept saying "one more chapter..."

A slow burn mystery that ultimately was more slow than burn for me. Read as an ebook on my kindle, I kept wondering how I hadn’t hit the halfway point yet. While the end didn’t feel predictable, it just took too long to get there. The pieces came together nicely and the character development was strong.

The Only Survivors is 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 event.

I’m a big fan of Megan Miranda! I love her characters, settings, and the tension in her novels. The Only Survivors has all of those things and the beach setting makes it the perfect read to take on vacation this summer!

Cassidy is one of the my favorite characters that Miranda has written so far. She has her flaws but she is smart and capable. I also liked the other survivors although I would have liked to know a little more about some of them. There was one character that felt unnecessary because they just kind of disappear from the story.

The plot is fast paced and has several twists and reveals to keep it interesting. I liked the tension and sense of foreboding. I started to suspect part of the ending later in the novel but it wasn’t so predictable that I was sure and there were other aspects that I didn’t see coming.

The fast paced plot and beach setting make The Only Survivors the perfect addition to your summer TBR!

I was somewhat disappointed in this book. I was hopeful for a thriller that I could not put down and instead I found myself struggling to pick this up. I couldn't really relate to any of the characters, and the flow felt choppy. I kept waiting for the book to hook me, but it never happened. I will say the big twist was a surprise that I did not see coming, so that was at least something good. I just was not a fan of this book which made me bummed because I generally love Megan Miranda books. This one just didn't hit home for me.

It's not surprising that this author created this amazing story; she's become known for them.

The characterization once again is incredibly well done. The tension and fear that so many of them face jumps off the pages. Along with that, you can tell that most of them would clearly rather be anywhere else than with each other. But what's at stake is what forces their hands.

I guessed fairly early on who was behind the messages, but it didn't make the book any less exciting. This is definitely a five star book.

This may be my new favorite Megan Miranda book. The story is told in a dual timeline. The interesting part is that the past timeline all takes place in one day and is told in reverse by hour and each hour is told by a different POV. The characters are all survivors of a horrible accident that happened 10 years ago. They continue to meet around the anniversary at the same house every year. They all have survivors guilt issues and secrets. Reading each character slowly unfold their secrets made for a fun mystery. As many other reviewers have stated, this is a slow burn mystery. I felt like the characters and twists kept it intriguing and I needed to know how everything would wrap up. At the same time, I was hooked on the countdown chapters to see how it all began. The cover is gorgeous and I can't wait to add this physical copy to my Megan Miranda collection.
Thank you @scribnerbooks @simonandschuster for a free digital ARC and @simon.audio for a free audiobook.

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Miranda nails it with an eerie thriller that keeps you hooked. Flashbacks to that fate day sprinkle just enough evidence to make suspects out of each of them. Ends with a plot twist I didn’t see coming!

10 years ago a school trip went down hill and only 9 returned alive. Every year they each came to The Shallows a beach house in the Outer Banks. On the tenth reunion, two more are dead. This book is great and the ending was a surprise.

A group of high school survived a car accident years earlier. The accident always seemed suspicious, but they each have reasons for never speaking of it. Cassidy no longer feels the need to keep meeting every year on the anniversary, but an urgent message sends her back to her classmates. The plot twists between Cassidy's current timeline and her classmates timeline from that night. Everyone has their own motives for keeping the events of the night a secret, but someone wants the truth to come out. The action moves ahead nicely and the characters are quite well rounded given the large cast. The finale is both surprising and heartbreaking, making for a satisfying read.

I really enjoyed Megan Miranda's latest thriller about a group of high school classmate united by tragedy a decade earlier. It was twisty and unexpected and kept me engaged until the very end.

A thrilling, suspense novel where a group of nine high school classmates bond as survivors of a school van crash that had sent them hurling into a raging river in the Tennessee mountains. Now in their twenties, the group continues to meet for a week every year at an isolated house, strengthening their bonds and their pledge to each other to keep the secrets of that horrific van crash that had killed 12 of their other classmates.
Interesting plot, a bit predictable but over all an enjoyable read. Thanks for the ARC

The Only Survivors is about a group of high school students that were involved in a tragic accident while on a school trip. The tragedy bonds the survivors together, whether wanted or not. The group gets together every year on the anniversary of the accident. Cassidy has gone to great lengths to be unavailable to the group, not wanting to be drawn back into the fold. But near the 10 year anniversary of the tragedy, she gets a cryptic message regarding an obituary for one the survivors, someone that she was the closest too. This jars her back to the reality that she needs to be their with her group. The group meets at a beach rental on the Outer Banks of NC and things seem strange: people seen on the beach, belongings start to go missing, and a survivor leaves without warning. These things add to the suspense and the idea that the survivors are hiding something and someone is out to let the secret come to light.

This story is mostly told from Cassidy's point of view, but does flashback to the night of the accident. Those episodes are told from each of the survivors points of view. I enjoyed this aspect. It adds to the feeling that something is being hidden, something else happened, but what and by who? Though this book is a thriller, it was not too creepy. There was enough thrill/suspense to keep the reader interested, but not over the top. I do have to say that the first 90% was really good, but the ending somewhat fell flat for me. I felt there was good resolution to the story, it did not leave me with questions, but I felt the build up throughout the book made me think there would be a more dramatic ending than there was.

This was my first Megan Miranda read. I enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed the aspect that it was partially set in NC, always enjoy books that take place in my home state. Overall a solid 3.5 star rating!

Thank you to NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Meh.

Did I read it in one afternoon? Yes. Did I enjoy it? I’m not sure.

I was hooked from the beginning but the slow pacing of the first half caused me to lose interest. Once they all left the beach house, it went downhill quickly. I did not like the ending at all. There were so many other ways it could have gone and I just can’t rationalize why this route was chosen.

“Who do you save in the moment, when you have the chance? The answer was simple, and obvious, and always, always the same: whoever you can.”

This novel is set in two different times - a Then and a Now. And majority of the narration comes from Cassidy Bent, one of the survivors. The chapters set in the past are told in the eyes of the other survivors, those still alive, that is.

The novel is filled with tension, unspoken truths, fear, and survivor’s guilt. The yearly gathering of the survivors was never a positive event, and this week wasn’t any different except for some texts from an unknown number and a phone washing up on the beach.

It was such a great read and had me on the edge of my seat the entire time - eager to uncover the events that occurred the night of the accident. The author did a great job of tying the story together and connecting the dots. I highly recommend this one!

Unfortunately, this was a miss. I love the "something bad happens to people when they're little and they come back together as adults for a reckoning" troupe, but this one never pulled me in. There were too many characters with few traits that distinguished them from one another, and the whole time I was wondering what really was keeping them together. I'd pass on this,

I will admit that when I first started reading, I had trouble connecting with the storyline and the characters, so I put the book down for a few weeks before deciding to dive back in. The second attempt was a success and I was immediately drawn into the plot. Megan Miranda has the perfect touch of suspense in her novels and I keep the light on way too long at night to continue reading. This one is worth the slow burn.

This is a very slow build. It takes half the book for things to be put in motion. You know that each character is dealing with survivors guilt, but why? The ending was neatly tied up. I’m a sucker for a beach location and a beautiful cover too.