Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer.

Fiona and Violet were children when a plane crashed and killed their parents. 25 years later they are still dealing with the trauma. A documentary stirs interest into the crash and someone claims it was deliberate. What secret has been hiding?

Ooo! Creepy. This one was so good and I read it in one sitting. I couldn't figure out sometimes what was the truth and what was not. The author did a great job crafting a chilling story.

I was lucky enough to be given an ARC e-book edition of this book from Netgalley on the same day I received the print ARC in the mail from Elle Marr, the author.

The Alone Time brings us the traumatic past of two sisters. Fiona and Violet need to confront their familyś tragedy and the secrets of the past. A plane with the family on it crashes in the woods and Fiona and Violetś parents die. The sisters are stranded in the wilderness by themselves for months before being rescued. It is now 25 years later and the girls are still
dealing with the trauma of their past, their past of being alone in the woods.

The sisters have gone in different directions in their lives. Fiona creates works of art, while Violet struggles with addiction. They have never talked about the details of the time being alone in the woods, as they want to bury the memories. When there is a documentary being made about the events, their version of the incidents raises
questions and secrets may be revealed. My heart went out to the sisters as they have to revisit the memories they had wanted to leave in the past.

This is a great psychological thriller that explores the lasting impact of the trauma. This is my first Elle Marr read, but I have already bought two of her previous works.

Thank you Elle Marr and Netgalley for the ARCs of The Alone Time which releases on March 26, 2024.

1.5 ⭐️'s. I started this book with such high hopes. Unfortunately, that excitement left quickly.

The premise of the book was promising. The Seng family charters an independent aircraft to go on a family vacation. The father is the pilot, and halfway through the trip, the plane crashes into the forest, killing the parents. The two children survive 11 weeks alone in the wilderness before help arrives. Twenty-five years later, new information about the crash surfaces, and everyone questions the girls' survival story. Now, as women, Violet and Fiona work to uncover the truth before a documentary launch, framing one (or both) girls as frauds.

Issue #1: Violet and Fiona fear the "truth" coming out because they received millions of dollars in GoFundMe campaigns. They think supporters will want their money back. GoFundMe was started in 2010. It's 2023, so the company is 13 years old. How did they get money from GoFundMe if the crash happened 25 years ago? The platform didn't exist.

Issue #2: There is no way the general public or police would reopen an investigation from 25 years ago based on claims made by their deceased father's ex-mistress. None of the statements could be substantiated, and even if inconsistencies were revealed, it would be chalked up to young kids getting confused after spending months in the woods alone.

Issue #3: The description of mental illness in this book gave me secondhand embarrassment for the author. First, it's described as PTSD. Then, it's a multi-personality disorder. And finally, it's a demon or spirit inhabiting the person.

Issue #4: The story is told from multiple character POVs. The author used the same tone and voice for each perspective, making it nearly impossible to distinguish who was telling the story. It became very muddied and distracted from the narrative.

Issue #5: The ending. It is a complete disaster, filled with plot holes, and entirely implausible. I was going to give this book 2.5 stars, but the last 50 or so pages torpedoed my rating.

This could have been a decent story, but unfortunately it was executed poorly. I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this! Characters and story were intriguing. I think there was a lot of detail that was rushed in the last 30 pages and the ending was a bit abrupt. Overall I would probably read other books by her!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced e-book copy. This was my first book by Elle
Marrs. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to reading more from this author.

Mystery surrounds the time Violet and Fiona spent together after their family’s passenger plane crashed on a mountain, killing their parents on impact. Now that someone is producing a documentary about their survival,
Violet’s lack of memories and Fiona’s sometimes inconsistent stories are called into question, and the sisters must reunite to protect themselves against rumors a new woman is spewing in the media.

This is a thoroughly unnerving psychological thriller that dives into the depths of family dynamics, trauma and the will to survive. I was devouring the pages to get to the end, and was still surprised by multiple reveals!

Thanks Netgalley, and Thomas & Mercer for letting me review this book.

Fiona and Violet survived a horrific plane crash in their childhood, leaving them orphaned in the wilderness for 12 weeks before being rescued. As adults, Fiona explores her trauma through sculpture, and is a working artist, while a newly sober violet is trying to rebuild her life through trying to get a college degree...again. When an outspoken acquaintance of their father starts stirring up questions, and a new documentarian dogs the sisters with questions they can't quite answer, they must revisit their memories of the worst time in their lives.

This story was interesting, and kept me reading, but it wasnt my favorite thriller of all time. However, it did keepe guessing to the LITERAL last page, so i guess mission accomplished. I thought the crafting of violets character was great but Wes as a character was superfluous and alicia as a character? an idea? was weird and unecessary. Theres definitely an audience for this book, just maybe not me.

Fiona and Violet Seng live in San Diego but their lives are marred by the Alone Time, the time where thirteen year old Fiona and seven year old Violet spent approximately twelve weeks alone in the wilderness after they were in a plane crash with their parents who died on impact. Now the sisters haven’t spoken in a year and have been generally estranged for around six years. Fiona is on the eve of her debut gallery show, while Violet, at 32, is struggling to complete a bachelor’s degree after years of substance abuse.

A documentary producer is after the women to participate in interviews about the Alone Time and he is becoming more and more persistent. What really happened during the Alone Time?

The set up for this book immediately brought to mind the TV shows “Yellowjackets” and “The Wilds,” both involving young women faced with survival after a plane crash in the wilderness (they aren’t much the same however, but I really encourage people to watch the shows, especially the great “Yellowjackets.”) I could totally understand the angst of the sisters but just didn’t buy some of what went on. However, who has ever been faced with a similar situation, right, so what do I know? Overall, an interesting book.

I really enjoyed this book. I think the author did a great job with setting the scene. She uses descriptive language to help the reader visualize the forest environment that Violet, Fiona and their parents are in. I think the story was interesting and the plot had me hooked. I didn’t see the ending twist coming. During the last 1/3 of the book I couldn’t put it down. I wanted it to keep going because I grew to like the characters. Especially violet and Fiona. I’d be interested in reading any future continuations of the story if there will be any. Thanks to the author and publisher for sharing this with me.

4.5 stars

The Alone Time by Elle Marr was the mysterious, stranded in the woods and forced to survive impossible circumstances thriller I could only have dreamed for.

The first thing that I loved about The Alone Time was the fact that it was told from the perspective of two timelines. The alone time itself, and the present day. What stood out for me the most, however, was that while the present was told from Violet and Fiona’s points of view respectively, the past was actually told from the perspective of their parents, Henry and Janet’s, who did not survive the plan crash as the sisters tell it. I thought this perspective shift was perfection as it let the story be told from an unbiased point of view, not to mention perhaps a bit more of a reliable view as the sisters were both relatively young and came away from the crash with many things to hide. As a result of this, their stories in the present day are very vague and skewed because they have so many secrets they are keeping, both from themselves and the wider world who wants to know what happened to them in the alone time. This results in them still being unreliable narrators in the present as they fight to keep what really happened hidden.

This one just got better as it went along and as memories seemingly started to become clearer. Violet, who was only 7 at the time, remembers very little of the crash and the events that happened. She takes Fiona’s lead for the most part as far as the story they tell the world. When a man named Daley comes along wanting to create a documentary about the alone time, to tell the story of the sisters and their parents, the truths that have been kept hidden for 25 years start to become unburied and Violet begins to remember bits and pieces of the time she had forgotten.

Honestly The Alone Time just got more and more intriguing and I had such a hard time putting it down. I legitimately just wanted to sit and read it from start to finish I was enjoying the mystery of it so much. I desperately wanted to know what really happened when they were out in the wilds by themselves after the plane crash and it was kept so well under wraps, with little hints dropped here and there just enough to keep the story going and the reader fueled to continue on while still living everything up in the air until the very end. I. Was. Hooked.

I am all for the story of people being stranded in the wilderness and forced to survive with nothing but their wits and survival instincts so this book was just the kind of thing I love. The only thing I could have asked for was actually more of the story from the past when the plane crash happened as there wasn’t as much as it as I might have liked, but that comes from someone who loves this part of the story more than anything. It was the more interesting part of this story, although seeing as how it wasn’t told from the sisters’ points of view, it might not have worked properly with the story being told. And having them tell it wouldn’t have been as effective considering they were both so young.

All together, I did not want this book to end and yet found it impossible not to rush to the end of it. The Alone Time was a fantastic thriller and I enjoyed every minute of it. It’s the kind of story that sticks with you even after the final page and I think I’ll be thinking about this one for a while yet.

Fiona and Violet were known as the girl survivors. When they were children, a private plane crashed and they lost their parents. After months of living in the wild, they were found by hikers and rescued. However, Fiona and Violent have always told everyone the same story and never spoke about the Alone Time. Fiona and Violent lost touch with each other until a woman came forward with new information about their father. Now that the media is involved and a documentary is being created, what will be discovered about the accident?

It was really good and kept my interest. I enjoyed the back and forth in time between the chapters. There were a lot of twists that I was not expecting and some twists that I went back and forth questioning whether or not it would happen.

Wow! This was a fast-paced and completely engrossing story of family secrets and survival. The story begins with a family flight to Canada. Piloted by the father, the 4-passenger Cessna experiences problems mid flight and crashes in the snowy forest of Washington state. Left to survive until rescue, the family attempts to hunt and make shelter while protecting themselves from the outsides elements. But what happens if you need to protect yourself from someone in your own family? Told from multiple view points in both past and present, this was a unique story of survival, mental health, and childhood trauma.

The Alone Time by Elle Marr is one of those perfect thrillers from beginning to end. The time changes, the twists, the character development...flawless. HIGHLY recommend!

The Alone Time is the second book of Elle Marr’s that I’ve read. Honestly, this book didn’t really do it for me. I felt like I had to force myself to sit down and read it. The characters choices were unrealistic and certain parts seemed to drag on. The final twist wasn’t shocking but was an ok way of tying everything up in the end. This definitely wasn’t my favorite book of the year but it won’t stop me from reading other books by Elle Marr.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. So thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this opportunity!

I don’t know how to categorize them but reading thrillers about/that had forests and woods always terrified me to my core. Because they are so unpredictable and dark, both literally and metaphorically. They are a source of life but also a reason of death as well.
This psychological thriller was very scary to me .an immediate thriller reader, and i loved how the family trauma and relationship was dealt with.
4/5

I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Couldn’t put this down!!Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The synopsis gave me a Yellowjackets vibe, which I was all about. I didn't like how things played out with Alice, but everything else was pretty good.


Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

One thing I know when I read a book by Elle Marr, there will be at least one twist that I did not see coming.
When Violet and Fiona Seng were children, the plane their father was piloting crashed. They were unable to provide their coordinates, and sadly, both of their parents died. The girls managed to survive for 12 weeks before they were miraculously rescued.
25 years have passed, and they both harbor scars from their alone time. When a new documentary starts filming, about their ordeal, something about their stories just don’t seem to add up. Fiona and Violet have not been close for years, but now they must come together if they want to ensure that only the truth is told.
Told from Violet and Fiona’s POVs in the past and the present, I managed to guess some of the secrets and lies. But I did not see the final twist coming. A page turner that had me changing my mind about what really happened all those years ago. I really enjoyed The Alone Time.

Fiona and Violet Seng were just children when their family’s Cessna crash-landed in the Washington wilderness, claiming the lives of their parents. For twelve harrowing weeks, the girls fended for themselves before being rescued.

This reminded me of the show Yellowjackets, in a good way. Loved it!

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the eARC.
Fiona and Violet Seng are still suffering the mental scars from 25 years ago when they and their parents crashed into the Washington wilderness. Their parents died and the two girls survived for 12 weeks before being rescued.
Fiona became an artist and after years of battling addiction, Violet is starting to write and find some peace of mind.
This was an amazing read with quite a few unexpected twists and turns, if a bit harrowing at times. Excellent read that I definitely recommend.