I loved this book! It is told in two halves. Just when you think you know what’s going to happen, it goes another direction. Who is the good guy? Who is the bad guy? Soooo good!

Interesting read, I went in not knowing anything about the story and really loved not knowing what to expect. It was a fast read and perfect for summer reading. If you love books set around bands and music, along with thrillers this is the one for you.

This book is exciting and heart stopping! It’s a great ride! I loved how it was told in different timelines! The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars was that I was hoping for a different ending. However, I understood it. I would suggest that you forget the title as you read along. I did, and it made for an even more exciting story! There’s a lot of lessons in this well crafted book, and I recommend it! Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

The story was told by Vienna, and I honestly from the beginning felt bad for her. Her mother couldn’t care less about her, and that annoyed me. On the flip side, her best friend Madison had overbearing rich parents. Immediately you are thrown into the accident which I appreciated. Then the story is told to show Vienna and Madison’s friendship. There was also mixed media which I love in a book, it really makes me feel like I’m reading real comments and interviews.

I was intrigued by both stories, how the girls met and their upbringing as well as the accident and how they’d survive. Their friendship was a bit toxic to say the least, and I wanted to see how the story would play out. I had my suspicions as I read, but still I was a little shook by the reveal. This is perfect for readers who enjoy isolated settings.

If you think you have this book figured out, just wait until you get to Part 2. It was a twist I didn't see coming and I loved it. The story is told from Vienna's POV before the accident and after the accident which gives us insight into how the band was formed and the transpiring events that follow.

Vienna and her best friend Madison started a bad together when they were teenagers. An impromptu video of them went viral and people wanted to find out to EmVee was. They both get a taste of fame. A few years later, while Madison is in college, they decide to put together a "real" band and recruit 3 other women calling their new band The Bittersweet. As the group is driving to a gig in the Catskills, they get into a horrific car accident. Things go downhill from there.

Mixed into the story are various new stories, blogs, and podcasts. There is a dark side to fame that is fully explored in this book. A twisty thriller that keeps you guessing. I love books with interesting characters, a good overall plot, and a twist I don't see coming. This one hits them all!

This book combines the dynamics of Daisy Jones and the 6, but with a murder mystery that unravels at a fast pace.

The book is about two best friends- Vienna and Madison- who comes from two completely different upbringings but come together to form a band in high school. After they graduate, Madison persuades Vienna to come to NYC and from there the girls for a new band with 3 additional members called The Bittersweet.

The story alternates between Vienna and Madison’s relationship in high school eventually leading us to the present, where the girls were involved in a very serious car accident and several are dead. Through these dual timelines, one learns so much about their motivations, fears, and desires. I truly enjoy thrillers that give us good character development, because it helps me connect and understand the why.

Secrets begin to appear and about half way through the book, there is an amazing twist. The build up is so tense, that you are anxiously awaiting to see how this will all play out.

The beginning was a little slow for me, but once I got a few chapters in, I couldn’t put it down. I loved the relationships of the girls in the band, learning how upbringing influenced each of them, and the secrets that began to unfold after the fatal car crash. The book is tense and thrilling. Highly recommend!

4.5 stars rounded up!

**AUTHOR'S NOTE about ONLY ONE SURVIVES**

If you’d told me a couple of years ago that I’d write a thriller about a pop-rock group, I’m not sure I’d have believed you. At that point I hadn’t touched an instrument in decades. I still can’t read music, and my vocals are so horrendous, my eldest son asked me to stop singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” when he was three. I’ve honoured our agreement ever since.

The very first whisper of an idea for ONLY ONE SURVIVES came from an abandoned house a few miles from my home. I drove past it one frigid afternoon, and saw the words "Come Play" written in red paint on the front door, which I found deliciously creepy. The image stuck with me, and I attempted to build a story featuring an abandoned lodge and work colleagues, but it didn’t sit right.

While chatting with my friends, authors Jennifer Hillier and Samantha M. Bailey, about the plot, Sam floated the idea of making the group of people a band. It gave me an immediate "oooh" moment followed by "one of them thinks the band’s worth more dead than alive."

Writing a thriller featuring a female band I named The Bittersweet felt fresh and cool, and while the story shifted quite significantly compared to my initial work colleagues idea, the abandoned house remained a constant.

Although I love music, I don’t typically listen to any when I’m writing as I get distracted, but in between working on the novel I played a lot of tunes, and it was fabulous. Just like books, songs whisk me away in an instant. Nothing lifts my mood faster than one of my favourite songs. This is why I included many different artists in the story, and perhaps while reading the novel they evoke your own memories or help you make new ones.

I always say I write to entertain, and I hope I achieved that again with this book. I'm excited for you to get to know The Bittersweet.

Don't forget to grab your free bonus material (reader letter, playlist, lyrics, book club questions, interview) from https://hannahmarymckinnon.com

Happy reading!

Hannah Mary McKinnon

Thus book delineates the toxic roller coaster of a relationship between Madison and Vienna. It’s a page-turner that will jeep you guessing and that’s what a great thriller is all about! Excellent!

Twisty! I had a feeling I knew where the story was going then a twist.
Ending was a little "eh" in my opinion but a pretty solid story.

Hannah Mary McKinnon does it again!

This one was a fabulous thriller about a rock band who get into a car accident and things quickly go downhill.

I could not put this one down. I honestly didn’t know who to trust. The twists were insanely good and I was left like 😱 especially during part two.

The girls were incredible characters. I loved their dynamics together. Trying to figure out who to trust was so much fun because I kept getting it wrong😂. That is how good McKinnon is. Her twists are spectacular!

The ending was epic. It was intense and wild. I felt it was the perfect way to end it.

I can’t wait to buy the paperback for my collection.

@hannahmarymckinnon I love you!

The Bittersweet, an all female rock band, is just starting to make a name for themselves when tragedy strikes. When going to an event, their van plummets down a mountain and they are stranded in the cold and fight for survival. After finding an abandoned cabin they think they will survive but one by one they are met with death as only one survives. What really happened to The Bittersweet was it all a tragic accident or was something more sinister at play?

I really enjoyed the journey this book took me on. It delved deep into female friendships and the complexity of fame.

A crash in a blizzard is the catalyst for someone to crack and....murder. This moves back and forth in time to tell the story of Madison and Vienna, who meet in high school, form a duo, and then later expand into a pop rock band. They're on their way to a gig when the accident leaves someone dead, someone injured, and Madison and Vienna trying to survive. This deserves to be read without spoilers because it's got some good twists. The use of media enhances the mystery a bit. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A good read for-dare I suggest it- travel.

Two best friends form a female pop rock band together but on their way to an event their van veers off the road during a blizzard.

Yellowjacket fans… the book is here! It reminded me so much of Yellowjackets. I loved the survival aspect of the story, although it did not seem to last as long as I thought it would. I also loved the earlier looks at Madison and Vienna and would have loved even more of their time together as youths. The investigation aspect of it started to drag for me but I really wanted to find out what had happened.

“Tragedies and trauma such as this can bring people together as much as it can rip them apart.”

Only One Survives comes out 7/16.

4.5 STARS - What a wild ride!!!

Only One Survives is an addictive, bingeable read that's a great blend of genres and themes. There's tense suspense, family dysfunction, the adverse side of fame and toxic relationships, oh my!

I got some wonderful vibes of a few other books I've enjoyed in the past. The focus on a band reminded me of Daisy Jones and the Six, the darker side of fame hinted at The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and the devastating wintery car crash was reminiscent of the tense and emotional book, In An Instant. I loved the overall tone of this story and how perfectly McKinnon blends these themes into a story that totally captivated me.

The story is told using two timelines - the tragic wintery car accident that strikes a young female band who is on the cusp of making it big, and an earlier timeline that shows how Vienna and Madison's friendship began and continued as they started to make their mark on the music world.

I won't go into details and ruin it for anyone, just know that this story is a fantastic blend of psychological suspense, dysfunctional and toxic relationships with shocking revelations and jaw-dropping twists will keep you quickly turning the pages.

This is a riveting story with flawed characters that digs deep into the dark and addictive side of fame and is McKinnon's best book to date!

Note: Make sure you check out the Only One Survives playlist on Spotify!

Books mentioned above:
Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by TJR
In An Instant by Suzanne Redfearn

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to the publisher for my complimentary advanced copies which were given in exchange for my honest review.

Big question: What price are you willing to pay for fame? This book was so addictive, it was hard to put down! It explores the human desire for stardom and fame; and how well do you know your friends…and yourself?? I was fully engaged in this book from beginning to end. I will say that it took a turn out of the blue… I was reading along & then a single unexpected confession gets dropped and the whole book takes a turn. It wasn’t a bad thing, just something kind of subtle; but a huge deal. I re-read the sentence a few times to make sure I knew what was happening. Truly, the subtleness was amazing!
I enjoyed the division between fan bases (team Vienna and team Madison), as that does happen in real life. However, a large section of the book revolves around that and it got tiring. I enjoyed how the author portrayed multiple characters as being suspect for “wrong-doings”, it definitely made it harder to figure out who was the murderer. The last “twist” was very predictable. In the end, the book started dragging on, it was still engaging but too long. The ending wrapped up loose ends fairly nicely.
What I learned: sometimes our dreams create our demise.
I do recommend this book!
Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC via NetGalley!

Another one you can't put down!

Two girls from wildly different backgrounds become friends after a "bad girl" incident the first day of their last year of Highschool. One from privilege - one who's lived a truly horrible existence due to the mom from hell!

How they get from there to the next hit girl band and their fall from unexpected fame are what make this a great story! Lovers of music, twisted friendships and great mystery should love this book!

A definite must read!

Only One Survives was an entertaining and thrilling ride! This book is filled with twists and turns and you never really know where they will come from. The first part of the book focuses on the past of Vienna and Madison’s toxic friendship and then on the accident that has resulted in multiple deaths. The second half of the book twists everything you thought you knew and sends you on a page turning journey to really discovered what happened in that cabin. This was impossible to put down and I will be picking up more Hannah Mary McKinnon books!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing / MIRA for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Okay, I couldn’t put this one down and finished it in one day! Another great thriller by the amazing Hannah Mary McKinnon.

A story about an-all female band, short tense chapters, easy to read writing style, unexpected twists (especially the one half-way through) reveals and misdirection, and a satisfying ending all made this one I just flew through. I couldn’t stop turning the pages! Who to trust? Who to believe?

I also enjoyed how the story looked at the price of fame, family dysfunction, complicated female friendships, and the insidious spread, salaciousnesses and divisiveness of social media.

Make sure to check this one out!

Thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Mira for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Only One Survives is a fun take on the final girl trope, combined with a locked room thriller and a little dash of fame.

Vienna is part of up and coming girl rock group The Bittersweet when the band ends in tragedy- their vehicle goes off the road during a blizzard, killing one member and injuring another. The remaining girls attempt to take shelter in an abandoned home they find while searching for help, but things continue to go wrong. The media attention is swift, with social media users taking sides and posting their thoughts in the accident and deaths.

I enjoyed this one, particularly when I got to part two and things got twisty. Loved the inclusion of radio interviews, and I thought the storyline about the girls starting their band was an entertaining premise leading up to the accident. This is a tough one to review without giving anything away, and would be best gone in to blind!

Read if you like:
⭐️ Unreliable narrators
⭐️ Slow burn thrillers
⭐️ Toxic friendships
⭐️ Twisty reads
⭐️ Rock n roll / musician main characters

Thank you to HTP books / Mira for the gifted arc. All opinions are my own.

A girl group (plus a videographer) get into a bad wreck on a snowy night in a rural area. The ones that survive manage to find a cabin for refuge but then more of them keep dying. After rescue, Vienna, the one remaining band member, finds her fame growing.

I find this one slow for a thriller. There was a good twist in the middle of the book which did retrospectively make the first part more interesting although not wildly enough so to make up for the slow pace. The twist at the end though I thought was really predictable. I just was missing the suspense and thrills I wanted from this one.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.