Loved, loved, LOVED this book. A whodunnit with enough twists and turns to please even the pickiest of readers. I flew through this book and will be adding more of this author’s books to my tbr ASAP.

This is my first read by Hannah Mary McKinnon and it really took me for a ride. Just know in advance that you will need to make sure you have time to read this one all at the same time or it will make you go crazy thinking about it. Hands down, 5 stars! I can't wait to go get another by her. Thank you Netgalley, MIRA, and Hannah Mary McKinnon for this advance reader. I am hooked!

Vienna and her friend start a band with other female artists. They get involved in a car accident on the way to a party and… well, I guess it’s not a spoiler if it is on the title of the book.
The story is told in different moments so you have the opportunity to piece things together little by little, as we try to understand how the events unfolded on the night of the accident. It’s an interesting read I would say.

🥁Book Review🥁
*
Summary- 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 careened 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 took shelter in a nearby abandoned cabin. But Vienna’s dreams devolved into a terrifying nightmare as, one by one, her fellow band members met a gruesome end…and Madison simply vanished in the night.

What really happened to the Bittersweet? Did Vienna’s closest friend finally decide to take center stage on her own terms? She doesn’t want to believe it. But guilty people run.
*
Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
*
My thoughts- thank you @htpthehive and @netgalley for the advance copy. This is my first book by Hannah Mary McKinnon and it definitely will not be my last! I think this one was just so crazy, I enjoyed the way it was told and I highly recommend going into this one blind. I will say the ending was a bit much for me, it felt like Scooby Doo with the constantly changing bad guy. But overall this one will keep you on your toes and thinking about how far you would go to be famous!
*
QOTD

This was pretty much your average whodunnit thriller nothing crazy. Still worth the read but don’t expect anything to fun.

absolutely excellent book. nonstop page turner for sure. i would highly recommend this book!! 5/5 stars!

This is a really good summer thriller. That plot twist in the middle of the book is everything! The book is about two friends. And they form a band together. But there are problems along the way. It alternates between the present and the past so you get a full picture of what is going on in the first half of the book. And then the second half only focuses on the present. And that is when you are hit with the plot twists that make is so good! Plus the connections to social media make it so relevant and interesting.

Thank you to the author and Mira books for a Net Galley copy of this book!

An atmospheric and clever mystery with some definite twists that will keep you turning pages! I really enjoyed the premise of the book as well as the differing points of view and timelines. My one complaint....there wasn't enough suspense. Still worth a read, just don't expect any nail biting or white knuckles. My thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

ONLY ONE SURVIVES is a murderous look at the trapping of seeking fame and becoming the next big thing in music. McKinnon continues delivering binge-able thrillers that keep you feverishly flipping the pages to discover what is going to happen.

The thing about a darkly entertaining psychological mystery is when done well, it pulls you into the web of secrets, lies, and duplicitous acts right along with the characters. And this book dragged me into the blizzard toward the investigation of the deaths of these young bandmates. Also, the author used the past and the present to enrich the backstory while still misdirecting the reader in ways that only become clear as the plot unravels. Vienna and Maddison will vie for the reader’s sympathy and attention, but who will come out on top? I am not going to tell you. This you have read for yourself. Trust me, it is worth it.

ONLY ONE SURVIVES is a one-sitting (maybe two if you get interrupted like I did) read that pushes the limits of how far people will go to reach a goal. There are twists, turns, misdirections, unreliable characters, and oh yeah, murder. Honestly, McKinnon keeps getting better. I cannot wait to read what dark plot she gifts us next.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, HTP Books, and Mira Books for the advanced reading copy.

This. Was. Amazing. Beyond a thrilling ride. How such a novel came from the nicest author I've ever had the chance of meeting, I have no idea. But I am astonished and bewildered at the suspense, darkness, and complete 180 this book took. I mean the twists and turns were just phenomenal. I truly enjoyed getting to know EmVee and then later on The Bittersweet. Starting before "the accident" and ending with roughly 2-3 months "after the accident." The story is told from Vienna's point of view with snippets of interviews and articles detailing the story in such a wholesome way. The vibe of the story reminds me of Daisy Jones and the Six (with murder) and Yellowjackets (although if you've seen the show this book definitely isn't as gory I promise).

Overall, this book had me hooked from page one until the very end. It's one that I'll be recommending till the end of time.

What a wild, totally fun and twisted thriller!

What won't some do for fame? The Bittersweet all-girl pop rock band is on the cusp of finding out. Drummer Vienna Taylor and her best friend, guitarist and vocalist, Madison Pierce, are just about to realize their dream after the release of their first single. On the way to a meet and greet party in the Catskills in a blizzard, their SUV crashes. One of the band members is dead and others are injured as they make their way to an abandoned house. Not all of the women will survive, and Vienna sees her hopes and plans fall apart.

This was so fast paced and absorbing as the hits just kept on coming that I could not put it down and read it all today. I had no idea, nor did I anticipate or expect the sudden detour the story took and after that it was a mad dash to the ending. There were quite a few characters, but the author gave the main ones great attention and they came alive on the pages as individuals. Both Vienna and Madison were believable and equally surprising. As the narrative passed the halfway mark, I just could not wait to see what happened next as everything is revealed. Go into this blind and you will enjoy it a lot more. Even if you're not a fan of 80s music and perhaps the artists and songs mentioned don't ring a bell, the story is still quite entertaining, and I enjoyed it.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrator, Amy Hall, did a great job of speaking all the different characters but this definitely would have benefited from a larger cast because of the predominantly female voices. The listening always adds to the experience, and this was a well-done production.

Don't read too much about this before you dive in. Enjoy!

I love Hannah Mary McKinnon, the beginning started off strong, I was hooked. I felt like the middle dragged and there was just too much fluff. Too much about the band before that didn't really give me any important information about the characters. The twists just happened without any valid information. For me it wasn't my favorite by this author, I really wanted to love it more than I did.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for a gifted ARC copy.

I've been on such a thriller kick this summer and I was in love with the cover of Only One Survives when I saw it. I love the concept of a thriller that revolves around an all-girl band because I knew we'd have a cast of interesting characters. I found the dual timelines to be engaging as the story flipped back and forth between post-accident and senior year in high school.

One thing I really enjoyed about this book is how it tackled the issue of parasocial fans and social media. It's something I've noticed and thought about a lot in recent years. The way people act like they personally know celebrities and spend hours online speculating about their lives is so unsettling to me. I'm also always down for people behaving badly which this book has plenty of!

It's kind of difficult to talk about the book without spoiling anything, but as a big thriller fan, I was entertained! My only criticism is that it felt like some parts of the books were meandering in pace- like the scenes and conversations were maybe overexplained instead of trusting the reader to fill in gaps and keep up. Other than that though, I would recommend going into this one blind because it was quite a ride!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Vienna comes from a tough family situation and Madison comes from a wealthy family but her parents want to dictate all aspects of her life and she rebels. They accidently become best friends at school through their music. Vienna is a drummer and Madison is guitar and vocals. They are a great duo but realize they need a full band in order to get where they want to go and The Bittersweet is formed. Vienna writes their first song and it is really trending when they take a trip to the mountains with Libby who is going to do a documentary on them and their van goes through a guard rail and down the mountain. Isabel is killed instantly and Evelina and Libby are hurt pretty badly. In a snow storm, they search for shelter and help but as the time goes by they realize they might have to wait until after the snowstorm. One begins to turn against the others -- who will survive the night and why? Is there more fame in being a survivor of the hottest girl band around?

This one had my jaw dropping open a couple times! Lots of twists and turns and secrets!

Only One Survives initially captivated me as a compelling thriller, but I found that its grip weakened around the halfway mark. The story begins with an enthralling portrayal of an up-and-coming girl rock band that faces a harrowing accident. However, a significant plot twist is revealed rather abruptly at the midpoint, leading to a shift that I found to be a bit excessive. Furthermore, the evolution of the main character became grating, which detracted from my enjoyment of the book. While I would rate it three stars for its strong start, the latter half didn't resonate with me. If you have an interest in rock bands and enjoy unbelievable plotlines, this book may still appeal to you.

Only One Survives kept me on my toes the entire time. The dual timeline was expertly used to the show the tensions and challenges of Madison and Vienna's friendship. The story had layers and kept me asking questions. Fast-paced, exciting and interesting storyline and characters that kept me guessing. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

4.5 stars- This book was amazing and deserves to get more hype! There are so many twists and intense moments. It's very psychological and has a lot of unreliable characters. I really was shocked when the truth would get revealed, one by one.
I will say, some were a bit easier than others to predict or figure out. But I feel like most psychological thrillers have moments when this is the case. The final reveal I was not expecting to happen the way it did.

I will say, the first half of the book felt completely different than the 2nd half. The first half was more like fiction while we learn about the backstory of how the band, The Bittersweet, was formed. We also get flashbacks from the pov of Vienna, about her very traumatic upbringing and the formation of her friendship with Madison. After the accident, we find out how everyone was trying to survive.

But then the second half, the ugly nitty gritty thriller-y vibes kick in full force. I don't want to reveal anything that could be a spoiler!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin trade publishing for this E-ARC.

I don’t normally like books that make me feel dumb when I don’t see the twist coming but I’m am IN on this book.

I wholeheartedly love this book. Boy, did I not know what was happening. I don’t like guessing the book or really reading the back blurb of what’s gonna happen cause I don’t want to ruin the book. But I don’t think it would’ve mattered. This book was wild. I loved every second of it.

You follow Madison and Vienna from high school and on as their friendship and life expands. Their friendship and life is tumultuous, fun, sad, exciting, and going places. Unfortunately things happen and they get into a car crash in the Catskills in the winter. It’s downhill from there.

The twists in this books is insane. I loved it. What a wild ride.

If you want a book that perhaps has been done before but with a new twist, do yourself a favor and read this book. It’s the normal books of only one survivor but with a beautifully written story.

This book was frightening, intense and heart throbbing. The narration and witted twists and the well balanced pace will attract you to the very end! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

This was a story about the formation and end of a band that sounded like they would have played really uninspired songs. And before they even get the chance there is a car accident that kills all but one of them. Well, kind of. Actually, not. The one survivor is left to explain what happened to the rest of her bandmates, including the one that is missing. This book is so beyond ridiculous. I hope that was the point. What will people do to be famous? How much does the truth matter when you have the opinion of the uninformed masses of the internet acting like they are informed? There was a bit of a nod to the lunacy of hashtag fame and how fleeting it can be. And how it turns on a dime.