There were some fantastic, tense and gripping moments in this book, but overall it fell a little flat for me.

The premise of Meg and Cat being followed, hiding out and being rescued by the police after a night out was an exciting start to the book. It then became confusing and it took me a while to work out the different timelines, but one I had that cleared up, the pace picked up a bit but then slowed until the main "reveal".

The pace was too slow at times and it didn't really flow, so all of those brilliant plot moments became a bit lost in the overall story. The ending felt like it went on and on and was easily predictable from around 70% onwards.

It was enjoyable, but not as punchy as I had hoped!

3 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Sarah Goodwin and Harper Collins UK Audio for an ARC in return for an honest review.

‘When the lights go out, there is nowhere left to hide’ - cover tagline

My thanks to HarperCollins U.K. Audio/Avon for a review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘The Blackout’ by Sarah Goodwin. The audiobook is narrated by Katy Sobey.

In the summer of 2022, friends Meg and Cat have been out drinking and find themselves without any money to get home. They are forced to take a dangerous shortcut and notice that two men are following them. They run for their lives and take refuge in an abandoned building, hoping that help will come. The situation does not go well.

One year later. Attempting to escape the horrors of that fateful night, Meg has left Bristol. She has moved into a dilapidated cottage at the edge of a crumbling sea cliff. She has changed her identity, working low paid jobs for cash-in-hand. She lives in perpetual fear and has barricaded the cottage. One night as a storm rages outside, a blackout plunges the house into darkness. Meg quickly realises that she’s not alone. …. No further details to avoid spoilers.

This was my first experience of Sarah Goodwin’s writing and I was quickly caught up in the story. The narrative moves between events of the past and the present day building up a picture of Meg’s situation including the reasons that she is hiding from her former life. The post blackout events were edge-of-the-seat suspenseful.

With respect to the audiobook, Katy Sobey has narrated over two hundred titles, across a wide variety of genres, including the delightful Isadora Moon series. I have enjoyed her readings of a few titles. The audiobook also contains a bonus short story titled, ‘The Breakdown’.

Overall, I found ‘The Blackout’ an engaging fast-paced thriller. I certainly am now interested in reading more of Sarah Goodwin’s works.

Exploring a novel that offered an unexpected journey, I'll be candid – drugs and revenge aren't my usual reading interests. Nevertheless, at the suggestion of a reading companion, I decided to dive into this book, and it turned out to be a worthwhile endeavor.

From the outset, the story engaged me. The author's storytelling skills allowed a connection with the characters and their challenges, evoking genuine empathy. Despite initial reservations, the author created a world that felt authentic and relatable.

The pacing of the plot caught my attention. The story developed swiftly, maintaining interest. Surprising twists and turns held engagement, and I became absorbed in the narrative. The dynamic pace brought an element of excitement to the book.

In conclusion, while drugs and revenge aren't preferred themes, this novel proved to be an engaging read. It highlighted how storytelling can broaden perspectives. The blend of emotionally charged content and a dynamic pace left a lasting impression. If you're seeking a book that offers unexpected elements and keeps you engrossed, this might be worth considering. You might find, as many do, that it's a pleasantly surprising read.

This is a very good thriller, fast paced and gripping, once I started it I couldn't stop listening. I had the audiobook of it, and loved the job the narrator did. She was engaging and made the book very easy to follow.
The story is unsettling and tense, I really felt the fear in the MC every action.

I will definitely buy more books by Goodwin and look forward to reading more exciting thrillers by her.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy of this audiobook.

I have just finished listening to The Blackout as an audiobook. This book follows Meg on a night out with a friend that goes horribly wrong and the events that led Meg to this night and her life after. I really liked the dual timelines and characters in this book. I enjoyed the ending of this book as it left you guessing but also gave you a look at a few years later. I wish that I had read a physical copy of this book as I found the audio of the book a little hard to follow along with at times.

This was an excellent book! Fast paced, gritty and completely action packed it kept me drawn in all the way through. So much so I sat up until the early hours, totally gripped by the tension.
I love that I'm still not sure how I feel about some of the characters, I love that it ends with mystery, and I loved how invested I became, even though, despite the action, it took its time to reveal the background.
Fabulous to listen to, I really enjoyed this narrator. It was absolutely fantastic! I could definitely see this as a film!

An atmospheric thriller spanning dual timelines. After a drunken night out, Cat and Meg are pursued home in the dark and end up hiding and trapped. The night ends with horrific consequences..Meg starts anew , but is haunted by that night. The past soon catched up with her, and she once again faces the perpetrators of that fateful night. Meg wasn't an innocent party, though, and choices from her early life have led to her present one. A well narrated audiobook that captures the tension of the story. #theBlackout #sarahgoodwin #avonbooks #audiobooks #netgalley

I listened to this book really quickly.
Things I liked:
- the narrator. Really easy to listen to
- easy to follow (until the end)
- felt unrealistic but not so it was creepy!

Things I struggled with:
- The ending. It became very unrealistic
- the epilogue didn’t add anything

I’d definitely pick up books by this author in future
Rating - 3.5*

This was my second book by the author and was instantly drawn in by the title which I do think is a bit misleading as it isn't really focused on the blackout. The book is quite fast based and is a quick listen and the narrator did a good job. I finished this in just over a day and enjoyed it but thought it was slightly rushed in parts , id like to give the book 3.5 stars. Thanks to netgalley and Harper Collins audio for sending me this arc in exchange for my honest review.

This is my second book written by Sarah Goodwin, and although i did like this book, i much preferred Stranded, which i read back in 2021. I really liked the suspense and atmosphere and the narrator was good, there were quite a few twists and the book did keep my interest (mostly) as an easy listen while i was cleaning the house, i just felt like i had wanted to like this book more than i did. I'd hoped the book would have been more focused on the black out (Like the title may have led me to believe it would be)

The first half was strong, but the author seemed to get a bit lost from the mid point onwards?

Three star read for me - could have been better - could have been worse.

My thanks to the author and Avon Books for my advance copy to read and review via Netgalley.

Due out 31st August 2023!

2 Stars- I absolutely love Sara's 1st book stranded and it was an instant 5 stars! Ten the resort mmmmm dont even remmber what it was about but gave it 1 star, no needless to say I did not like it.

Was aprehensive from the start with this, and never geled with the story or any of the characters. The only savig grace was that the audiobook passd by super quick so was put out of my misery.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an audio ARC of this

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an audiobook copy of this book. All opinions are 100% my own.

3.5 stars rounded up.

This book is really captivating as an audiobook. I found myself not wanting to stop listening as I desperately needed to know that Meg, the main character, was okay. Throughout the first half of the book, I had no idea where the different timelines were leading to plot wise and Sarah Goodwin did a great job of not revealing anything too soon. The book did drag on a bit after the big reveals about 2/3 through with the cat and mouse aspect becoming a bit repetitive.

The blurb of the book poorly describes this book. The plot line referred to isn’t the main plot of the book, and actually takes place before the majority of the book.

The Blackout made an engaging audiobook that was easy to listen to and provided much appreciated entertainment and distraction from the daily grind!.

The story has 3 distinct timelines, the first starts with a girls night out - one of the women is drowning her sorrows on the anniversary of a close bereavement. The night out gets out of hand as the women have too much to drink and find themselves in danger, having no option other than to walk home....

It then cuts to the second timeline, this woman is living a secluded life in a remote and rural location, she has changed her identity and has a preoccupation with anonymity and personal safety.

As the book progresses we experience the fusion of these 2 timelines as we hear the full extent of what happened on that fateful night. A 3rd timeline comes into play, making everything that bit more clear, dark and twisty!

A good story, the book has elements of a 'cat and mouse' pursuit alongside a very decent backstory. The author does a good job of executing the district timelines to make the story easy to follow and flow well. The narrator brings the story to life with skill and certainly adds something to the work.

My thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an advance copy.

This was an enjoyable read. Quite fast paced and it kept me listening - I finished it in a day. Any fans of the genre will enjoy this. The only thing I would say, is that I think the title is misleading. There is a blackout, but I don’t feel it was the main part of the story. That said, I enjoyed it and would recommend it. The narration was good and made for an easy listen. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers.

I really enjoyed this thriller (although the description says it's a locked room thriller and it absolutely isn't) which has some mystery elements to it, but is mostly a chase/escape story that relies heavily on action to keep the pace up and drive the story forwards. I think Sarah Goodwin writes this sort of peril storyline very well - I really enjoyed her novel Stranded too - but the more psychological thriller elements didn't really work so well for me. Without giving too much away, I couldn't really see how the first incident in the book had happened, or why - I never felt that it was properly explained and it didn't make much sense to me. But I really liked the cat-and-mouse chase elements of the story where Meg was attempting to outwit and escape the people who came for her.

I thought the narrator of the audiobook was very good too.

Really enjoyed this Audio book
It had lots of twists which is what I like in a good psychological thriller
When Meg and Cat are stranded after a night out they decide to walk home I don't want to spoil the story line but after listening to this you realise you need to be careful who you trust.

Slow to start with but picks up pace. I will certainly look out for more by this author .

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this audio book.

This narrator was really good, I really enjoyed this audiobook!

The story was good, I liked the elements of suspense, the way we didn't know the full extent of the backstory until the very end, even after the main conflict was over. I'm not sure how I feel about the resolution, I liked aspects of it (her leaving him in the cottage at the end, the epilogue) but other things felt either unnecessary or too far fetched. The part where she climbs up from the cliff and then it conveniently collapses right when she's at safety feels too clean- if this was a fantasy I would believe it, but because it's meant to be realistic-albeit, a crime thriller- fiction, it felt way too clean of an ending. I did like the switching between the past and the present, and the whole blackout concept, it taking place during this big storm; the scene where lightening flashes and illuminates the scene for a moment was really vivid.

Overall, it was good, I don't regret picking it up, but it could have been shorter, the trauma could've dialled back a little, and it could have been a little more conservative to maintain realism.

The story line is brilliant no boring parts and kept me guessing to the end. Can't wait for the next one!'⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Meg and Cat end up walking home after a night out they notice they are being followed by 2 men forced to run for their lives they hide in an abandoned house until the police show up to rescue them. They think that's it the night is over, but things are about to get much worse !
I enjoyed this story and wanted to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. I love an isolated setting and dual timeline, and this is delivered on the creepy factor. This would have been a 5 star for me, but the ending left me a bit confused. Maybe that's me being dumb. Definitely recommend for a fast thriller read.
Would also definitely recommend the audio. I listened to this on audio more than reading physical book as I found it engaging and easy to listen to.
Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins UK Audio, Avon Books, and Sarah Goodwin for an advance copy of this book and audio in exchange for an honest review.

🎧Audio Book Review🎧

The Blackout
Sarah Goodwin

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I loved this atmospheric, dark and twisty thriller which I just couldn't put down and raced to the end.

We follow Meg's story over a few different timelines which I thought added to the mystery.
It's clear that something from the past is haunting her and as the storylines unfold, things get more and more complex and it gets harder to work out who to trust.

First of all, I loved the setting and the atmosphere this created. Meg is staying in a ramshackle cottage on the edge of a cliff which has clearly seen better days and this really had me wondering why.
It was clear she was running from her past or hiding out and I really felt sorry for her.
When the storm hits and the blackout follows this really added to the tension and was a perfect fit for what was happening within the plot.

I spent the whole book chopping and changing whether I liked Meg or not. I can't really explain this too much as that would definitely give some major spoilers - but I absolutely loved this because it's not often I feel like this about a character - I'm generally a pretty good judge but as pieces of the story are revealed, my opinion changed. Even right up until the last page, the twists kept coming.

Even in the epilogue at the end we are left wondering - due to name changes and it being set many years later, it's unclear about who the narrator is and what happens next....

The audio narrator did a brilliant job at creating the right atmosphere and relaying the different personalities of the characters - it was a joy to keep coming back to listen during the day.


There were so many twists and "wow!" moments that made this a gripping and exciting read and I can't wait to explore more books by this author.



💕Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my ARC copy - this is my honest review 💕