This is going to be a do not miss of 2024!! I legit thought I had this figured out and was 110% completely blown away. All I will say is still waters run deep! This will be a MUST for your 2024 TBR!!

This was a super-fun downward slide into crazy-town! Madison, Vienna, four members of their band, The Bittersweet and a journalist drive out to the Catskills during a snowstorm. They run off the road and are stuck in the middle of nowhere with no phone service. People start dying and not always naturally. We get a front-row seat into someone's descent into madness and it's a blast! I loved this and could not put it down! We see firsthand the impact social-media has on our lives as the story is told from a characters' perspective, a podcast and online comments. I did figure out a twist early on, but that didn't diminish anything. I highly recommend this disturbingly fun story that showcases the dark side of ambition and human nature. Hannah Mary McKinnon never disappoints!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Hannah Mary McKinnon and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I will publish my review to Amazon, Instagram and other social media and retail sites upon publication.

This was such a captivating story. I’m someone who loves rockstar memoirs and thrillers so combining the two was book heaven for me. The characters were absolutely atrocious (which was fantastic, we were suppose to dislike them), the writing was very well done, and the half way twist was seamless, I’ll be leaving my review on goodreads.

When it comes to “Only One Survives,” I must say I am very torn about my opinion. Part of me loved the book for its entertainment value, it was just a fun book to read! I liked the concept, although I will say comparing it to Daisy Jones and the Six isn’t the best comparison. This book is much much more dark than Daisy Jones. I would almost put this in a Riley Sager category or similar to the book “How to Kill a Guy in 10 Ways” by Eve Kellman. I did feel like at times McKinnon gave out too many clues or made things easy to figure out, which made the ending fall a bit flat. Please let us be trapped in the cabin with Bittersweet until the LAST SECOND when you flip the script! Overall I think this is a fascinating read if you’re a fan of the impact of social media on people’s lives and you appreciate dark thrillers. Thank you to NetGalley and MIRA for letting me read an ARC!

Whoa! Another amazing book by Hannah Mary McKinnon. I could not put this book down! Such a unique story filled with so many twists and turns I never saw coming. This follows the investigation of an all girl band after they get into a car accident, leaving multiple members dead. A story of heartbreak, mistrust and those that will go to ANY lengths for fortune and fame! This was my last book of the year and the perfect ending to 2023! Highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley, Hannah Mary McKinnon and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What price would you pay for fame? Having the rest of your bandmates dead? Kill?

Hannah McKinnon, writes a compelling, eerie, and solid psychological thriller with “Only One Survives.” We follow the story of Madison and Vienna, who are HS friends and bandmates, from their early days to their rise to fame. However, out on a snowy night, their vehicle careens off the road and the two of them and the rest of the band are stranded. They make their way to an abandoned building to ride out the storm and when morning hits only Vienna is alive and Madison is gone?

BAM! buckle up buttercup, we have an atmospheric read with mounting tension, and twists that will spin your head. I hated Vienna, and wasn’t fond of Madison either, but, love or hate them, you will be drawn in, and involved quickly.

I’m not a fan of band/music stories, but this is so much more. A quick, relentless, and excellent read to end the year.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I loved this and couldn’t put it down. The twist! 🤯 Highly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I loved this book. It to me wasn’t your normal psychological thriller— Fredia’s who i think of when it comes to a PT book. But, i love it.
This is a book about two friends who create a band called EmVee. Eventually they decide to expand their band with more people and they start to be known to the “world” through a song that makes it to the top of the charts. They end up traveling to play a gig. During their travel they wreck their car during a bad snow storm. At this point they panic not know how they are going to survive until they find an abandoned cabin. Lots of twists and turns, but I definitely didn’t see the ending play out like that. It was fast paced and the last few chapters had me turning the page so quick that I just was wanting to figure out how things were gonna play out. This could definitely be a start to a series at least a part two.

Thanks again NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC. I truly enjoyed this one!

Hannah Mary McKinnon quickly became one of my go to authors this years, I’ve read most of her books in a short time. So I had to read this. Needlesd to say, I was not disappointed

I might even say that I am finishing off 2023 with one of the best reads this year. Yep.
That was an excellent read, even though one of my least favourite tropes is it to read about bands/music. I am one of these rare people that don’t care about music, I enjoy silence the most. 🤣 So colour me surprised, but this was soooo good.

Even though they were an unlikely pairing, Madison and Vienna united in Highschool through music. Madison attends college in NYC and Madison follows her.
When their band, the Bittersweet’s, takes off, tragedy strikes and the girls have a nearly fatal crash in the Catskills. They find shelter at an abandoned cabin, but will all of them survive the night? At the end of the night, Vienna is the only survivor, Madison having disappeared…

I was so not prepared for this book! I binged it!

Read this if
🤩 you like fame
🤩 love an unreliable narrator
🤩 love yourself some girl power
🤩 you want to grip your seat and be blown away.

The atmosphere was eerie and creepy and unpredictable, especially when reading this in December with snow pulling up. The characters were fabulous, love them or hate them. So buckle up for a wild ride and watch out for Hannah Mary McKinnon!

I received a free ARC and was under no obligation to leave a review. All opinions are my own.

Publication 16 Jul 2024 by Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA

Becoming the star is easier when the rest of your band is dead…

All drummer Vienna Taylor ever wanted was to make music. If that came with fame, she’d take it—as long as her best friend, guitarist Madison Pierce, was sharing the spotlight and singing lead. And with their new all-female pop rock band gaining traction, soon everyone would hear their songs…
Except, on the way to an event, the Bittersweet’s van careens off an icy mountain road during a blizzard—leaving one member dead and another severely injured. To survive the frigid night, the rest must take shelter in a nearby abandoned cabin. But Vienna’s dreams devolve into a terrifying nightmare as, one by one, her fellow band members meet a gruesome end…and Madison simply vanishes in the night.
Has Vienna’s closest friend finally decided to take center stage on her terms?
She doesn’t want to believe it.
But guilty people run.

A great read for sure – spooky, ethereal and full of characters that you want to kill and are not sad when they are gone. A great beach read that comes out at the end of July, so be sure to take it to the beach, porch or back yard and enjoy some me time.! #shortbutsweetreviews

At what point is the price of fame too high? Only One Survives is a binge worthy thriller that follows young, talented drummer Vienna & her best friend Madison from high school to their rise-to-fame as a powerful all female 5 member pop rock group. When tragedy strikes just as the band gets its big break, it begs the question who can you really trust?

This book caught my attention immediately and solidly held it. Although a bit too drawn out at times, the premise is unlike other thrillers out there which makes it extremely appealing. I was definitely caught off guard by one of the main twists and could not put it down, just desperately begging for answers to unfold. This is my second novel I’ve read by Hannah Mary McKinnon, and she’s solidly moving up to my must read author list.

Grab your 🍿 & be prepared for an utterly satisfying, must-binge book! Easily worthy of a solid 4.25 ⭐️. Thank you to NetGalley & Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read this digital ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my e-ARC of Only One Survives!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
🫀 love Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart
🥁 ever wanted to be a drummer
👀 enjoy an unreliable narrator
🤩 would do anything for fame and fortune

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

All drummer Vienna Taylor ever wanted was to make music. If that came with fame, she’d take it—as long as her best friend, guitarist Madison Pierce, was sharing the spotlight and singing lead. And with their new all-female pop rock band gaining traction, soon everyone would hear their songs…

Except, on the way to an event, the Bittersweet’s van careens off an icy mountain road during a blizzard—leaving one member dead and another severely injured.

In order to survive the frigid night, the rest must take shelter in a nearby abandoned cabin. But Vienna’s dreams devolve into a terrifying nightmare as, one by one, her fellow band members meet a gruesome end…and Madison simply vanishes in the night.

Has Vienna’s closest friend finally decided to take center stage on her own terms?

She doesn’t want to believe it.

But guilty people run.

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

Wow! Hannah does an incredible job with this story, setting up the scene in a fantastic way. I wasn’t sure why the story was told the way it was in part one until we got to part two and it finally clicked together, but I loved it! This is definitely a “you had me in the first half” kind of story! Without spoiling it, I have to say, I didn’t totally expect the story to go the way it did, but loved it. I loved how much it reminded me of Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart during the latter half of part two as well. All in all, a great novel, and I highly recommend preordering a copy!

I absolutely loved how wild this book was! It was so cool adding the social media elements, making it feel like it was the real thing! I also loved how I thought I knew what was going to happen next BUT WHOAH!! Amazing twists, did not see that coming!!!

Thank you so much Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book! Much appreciated!

Thanks @netgalley and @harlequinbooks for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Wow! What did I just read?! I was not expecting the twists in this book, right to the very end. I wondered about one, but not until it almost happened. I loved the different writing elements in here, including social media posts and news articles. @hannahmarymckinnon is one fantastic author! A ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 read for me. Check this book out when it’s released in July 2024. #avivaandfriendsrecos

I devoured this book quickly. From the first page I knew I needed to settle in and get ready for something great because it was just descriptive enough to draw me in without losing the good pace it had.

I received a gifted copy and am providing a review.
The premise of this tale is Vienna and Madison … their story is one of meeting and becoming best friends. Their friendship lasted even after they graduated from high school. They had each other’s backs. They even went on to form a duo – they called themselves EmVee. Their band grew into The Bittersweet, a quite appropriate name, until tragedy struck.
You’ll meet Isabel; Evelina and her sister, Gabi. You’ll meet Roger, the band’s agent. You’ll even meet Libby who traveled with the band as a documentarian. These folks make up such a vast rollcall of characters, each one bringing their own bit of personality to this tale. You’ll even meet Madison’s parents; they’re quite hoity-toity, but essential to this tale. And Guy … can’t forget Guy.
This is exactly the kind of book I enjoy reading for various reasons. Best friends who are like sisters until they’re not. Characters you want to root for but then not.
This is the kind of book that had me thinking – Oh, I know what’s going to happen. Nope – another plot twist. Then again – Oh, I know who did it. Nope – wrong again. I was kind of right about whodunit, but not the exact reasons.
If you’re looking for a tale that you can spend the day with, or maybe a weekend, be sure to pick this one up. I’m sure you’ll enjoy these characters as much as I did. Twisted, sometimes dark, a bit of a love interest which is always a nice touch. And those quiet background characters. I think this is this author’s best one yet!

This story is intriguing, but at times, gruesome. The characters are not likable, but are mysterious. Red herrings kept me guessing. From the moment of the accident, the novel was disturbing. The time lines were somewhat confusing but necessary. Two girls meet, get in trouble, and chaos ensues. This talented author has written a page turner. Thanks Netgalley.

And with that, my 2023 reading season comes to an end, and I present you with my favourite book this year.

You know that feeling when you finish a book that is your new favourite and you just want to go back and change your ratings on every other book because it makes your rating of said book feel like an injustice? That’s me right now. Hannah just blew me away with my last 2 reads of the year and now I need a proper reading break to really just get over the inevitable hangover her greatness just caused.

H O L Y C R A P.

I absolutely loved every single word in this book. What an incredible thriller!
I loved the concept and loved the band even more. This needs to be made into a TV series so I can hear all of the Bittersweet’s hits. Like immediately I need it made into a TV series.

Some chaotic thoughts I had during:
- After the first paragraph i thought it might be a 5⭐️ read
- At 30% in I knew with certainty it was a 5⭐️
- At 50% I physically couldn’t bring myself to put it down and I realized this is going to be my favourite thing that I’ve read this year. Hands down.
- I’ve never wanted someone to get away with murder so badly in my life.
- That ending?! 🤯 didn’t see it coming. None of it. Wow. Fantastic twists.

I’m officially packing it in because nothing will top this. See you in 2024.

THANK YOU to Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA for the opportunity to read this delight before it was released.

I liked this story it was well written and well plotted and was like Daisy Jones and a thriller had a baby . It was really good
Thanks for the Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read and review this book

Wow, this was a twisty ride! A good one, but twisty. An unexpected ending for sure. I have seen where this book is compared to Daisy Jones and the Six but I’m not sure I agree with that. Yes, it’s good and yes it centers around a music band but this has thriller written all over it. I will admit that characters are not very likeable but that’s the storyline. It’s a story of “ be careful what you wish for, you might just get it”, and all that goes with getting it. A good read. Would recommend!