Member Reviews

High school besties from different sides of the tracks, one all girl band and a dual timeline - yes to all of the above!

The Bittersweet is riding high. Until a car crash in a blizzards sets off a domino effect of madness and murder (maybe - or is it?).

The earlier timeline peels back the layers and shows us why things are happening.

Loved every minute!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

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WHOA Hannah yes!

This is a binge worthy read. It is a realistic rendition of the dark side of fame and going viral, as well as how addicting that attention becomes.

Two friends from either side of the tracks bond together with their love for music. Then they go viral and the story follows their story.

The past and present timeless are very seamless. It is easy to follow what lead up to the accident then the unfounding of it all.

The build up is suspenseful then that *twist*. Wowza.

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This thriller begins with a tragic car crash and then through backstory, centers around the passengers in the car: the rock group The Bittersweet. While there are six members of the band, the story mainly focuses on its two founders, Vienna and her best friend Madison

The story is mainly told through Vienna's POV, but also through blog posts, news articles, radio transcripts, and social media comments.

I really liked the focus on friendship and peer pressure, and I thought the characters were well-developed. There were an enormous number of shocking twists and turns throughout, so this is definitely a page-turned.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC!

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This is possibly my new favourite from Hannah Mary McKinnon! What a totally bingeable, wild ride! If you're into thrillers, you need this one in your life. Such a page turner from start to finish!

It had everything I want in a thriller. It featured female friendships and an all female music group. The desire to be rich and famous and dreams of a better life. There was a past and present timeline in which all the pieces slowly fell into place. It had characters behaving badly. The story was full of secrets and lies, and I loved the twists - some I predicted, others I did not.

I won't give away any spoilers, just know that this is definitely one to read! Five stars from me for a highly entertaining story.

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When the young women of an all girls rock band experience a tragic and fatal accident, the reader is thrown into a world full of friendship, secrets, jealousy and trauma.

I loved the alternating timelines and short chapters - they really kept the story moving! Hannah Mary McKinnon writes stories at the perfect pace to keep you enthralled with the mystery without feeling overwhelmed or bored. The snowy and isolated setting makes this a perfect sooky season read!

Not the most complex plot but that makes for a nice and easy read. I will say I started to catch onto the ending but watching it unfold was fun.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I can't wait to read more from the author!

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This starts out as an unreliable narrator with dual timelines and as the story goes things get complicated.

I enjoyed the complicated history between Madison and Vienna but I would've enjoyed more about Madison as this story is very one sided.

Parts of this one is unbelievable which is perhaps why it is a good story but the lack of evidence based on a novice criminal and getting away with multiple murders just for one person to figure it out with the wrong colored gloves is a bit much.

I did like that the story held true to the only having one person surviving but there were some holes in this story

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I Just finished reading "Only One Survives" by Hannah Mary McKinnon. Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book is definately a mystery or psychological thriller and many lovers of this genre will enjoy this book. It is twisty, suspenseful, filled with mystery, and a GIANT twist in the middle of the book.

The story revolves around two friends, Madison and Vienna who form a band when they are in High School. Circumstance finds them in New York after graduation and they decide to add members to their duo and name it The Bittersweet. Their music takes of and theiy are on their way to the Catskills to meet people when their van crashes.

Band mates are injured and Madison and Vienna are left to find help. At the end of the ordealonly Vienna is left, and questions about what happened to the other bandmates are left hanging and the mystery deepens as the secrets are revealed.
This story is told in two different timelines, the past and the present, and there are alot of surprises. Revealing them would ruin the ending so I will stop there. Suffice it to say....there are surprises throughout that will keep the reader glued.
What I liked about this book was the pace. It was fast and furious. There were alot of characters but the story and plot were easy to follow. The ending was good.

What I didn't like about the story was the irredeamable awfulness of the characters, especially the main ones and their families. I need to have rootable characters to enjoy the book, but the only rootable characters where minor ones. Also some of the outlandish things the characters did to accomplish their goals were unrelatable for me. I won't go into detail about that because it will spoil the story.

This book is ultimately about the price of fame, and what people will do for fame, and the intricacies of friendship. The backgorund of music and being in a female band were great...I enjoyed that. Also, the toxic presence of online social media came into account and definately had an effect on the outcome of this story.

I liked this book and have no problem recommending it with the caveat that I had to roll my eyes a few times and sus[end disbelief to continue reading. Besides that, a very creative take on the price of fame. It clearly is not worth it.

Happy Reading

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Thank you to NetGalley, Hannah Mary McKinnon and Harlequin books for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This was totally fun and twisted. I enjoyed the characters, even the very worst ones and it was an easy, quick read.

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Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read this advanced copy for review.

I thought I had this one figured out but it flipped the script in the best way. Twisty thriller that will keep you on your toes. I enjoyed this read!

4 / 5

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Wowza what a wild ride. I loved all of the twists and turns. The story was so thrilling and I kept thinking I had it figured out then Hannah would twist it all again.

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Such a good read that I enjoyed! I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

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Only One Survives by Hannah Mary McKinnon is a cautionary tale about the true price of fame!

There is a lot I want to say about this thriller, but it's better to go in blind! McKinnon's dedication, "For music & thriller lovers, everywhere" says all you need to know; this one is Daisy Jones & The Six meets... meets... meets… I don't know what it meets because I have never before read another thriller that had such a well laid out smoke screen as this one does!

The characters McKinnon writes! My goodness! Let's start with the Bittersweet... McKinnon created a band out of thin air with influences and five distinct voices lending to her books rock 'n roll drumbeat. Now shifting tracks... I am simply obsessed with McKinnon's evil characters which can somehow also gain my empathy. I'm beyond impressed with the skill needed to create such utterly heartless characters. But are they actually heartless? After all, their actions could be justified.

It's atmospheric, gruesome, and believable!

It's corrupt, vindictive and humbling!

And I loved every second of this thriller that struck the perfect chord!

Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and MIRA for the complimentary copy to read and review.

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Only One Survives by Hannah Mary McKinnon is a great mix between a rock-and-roll story and a survival/suspense book. This book started off strong with the introduction of "bad girl" Vienna and "good girl" Madison getting into a fight at school on the first day of their senior year. This cements them as besties and when they discover their mutual love for '90-'00s pop rock music, they decide to start their own musical duo called MV. As we read on, we find out that they've made it as a band and added a few additional members before making it big but while they're on their way to a gig in the middle of a snowstorm their van crashes and leaves tragedy behind. The girls manage to find a desolate cabin in the woods and things go from bad to worse.

While I enjoyed the premise and it was fresh and unique to me. I haven't read Daisy Jones and the Six, nor have I watched Yellowjackets, both of which I've seen comparisons to. I truly felt like it was obvious and the twists/reveals were too easy to figure out. The part where they were trapped in the cabin ended so quickly and the last part of the book seemed to be quite repetitive and didn't hook me as much as the first part of the book.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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The Bittersweet is an all-girl rock band. Drummer Vienna Taylor & guitarist Madison Pierce had taken their high school dreams of becoming famous full-time musicians to new heights with the addition of 3 band members. With a hit single and a record deal, things are looking up. But when the Bittersweet's van crashes in a remote mountain road during a snowstorm, several band members are injured or killed. The survivors find shelter in a remote abandoned cabin.

Then Vienna is horrified to see each of her fellow band members meeting a gruesome end, with Madison vanishing into the night. A few weeks later, Vienna is keeping incognito in a new apartment.

Vienna's plans to publish a memoir may reveal what really happened to the Bittersweet. But all her fans ready to learn the truth?

A twisty, mind-bending read.

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As I was reading this I was so intrigued by the story and I think she does such an amazing job of gripping you, which is a must have for me in a thriller. Although, there were some triggers in this book I wasn’t ready for so unfortunately I couldn’t dig into it as much as I would have loved to. I will definitely read another one of hers asap.

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Get on for a wild ride! This one is a rock n roll fantasy gone wrong! 5 stars for showing the ugly side of the climb for fame.
A lot of flawed people with harsh upbringings reach for fame and fortune and our protagonist, Vienna Taylor fits that model to a tee. She is growing up poor, has a horrible mother and stepfather who use her while they go out drinking. The only person she can trust is her beloved grandmother who has dementia.
She becomes besties with Madison Pierce who seems to live the opposite life coming from a rich, two parent family. Madison seems to always get what she wants and has overbearing but attentive parents. They form a band together and start to get lots of attention. They have started the climb to fame!
The book opens with the aftermath of a horrible car accident that happens to a girl band in the Catskills Mts in a winter storm. The chapters flip back and forth between the past and present. We learn the history of the band and the evolution of Vienna and Madison’s relationship.
One by one people start dying. Is it all a result of the car accident and unyielding winter conditions or is of them a killer? This book delves deep into the dark side of fame and the ruthlessness it takes to make it to the top.
I started to suspect I had things figured out about 3/4 the way through the book. A few of the details of what happened in the second half of the book were way over the top and I had to suspend reality quite a bit. It was still worth finishing and definitely chilling.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade publishers for this exciting ARC.

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WHAT A WILD RIDE! This was my first book my Hannah Mary McKinnon and I can’t wait to read more! This story had my head SPINNING - unsure of who was lying, who was telling the truth and questioning everything and everyone. So what happened to The Bittersweet? There’s only one way to find out - grab your copy today!!!

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This is my first read from this author and it wont be my last!! This is such a fun action packed thriller, filled with lots of twists!
The book’s premise of an all female pop rock band is a pretty cool one. The story goes on into the craziness that occurs through the night when the band has an accident and ends up in a cabin. Then the drama begins! The story bounces around from past to present, but in a good way! It’s a very suspenseful and entertaining story!
I really enjoyed the writing style of the author. I will definitely seek out more of her books!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ecopy of this great story!

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Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book follows a girl band as they get stranded in the winter. They don't know who they can trust.

This book was not for me. I really struggled with the way this book was written with random flashbacks. I also felt like the characters were not likeable and I just didn't care about what happened. I also feel like the twists were very unlikely and I had a hard time believing them.

I hope others love this one.

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Unfortunately, this was not my faith by this author. I felt like the entire plot was way too far-fetched. I think if you have a knack for suspending reality and wanting some thing out of the box and you may enjoy this one.

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