Hannah Mary McKinnon is at the top of her game with Only One Survives.


Everytime I pick up a book by Hannah I’m always prepared to have my mind blown. She consistently exceeds my expectations for what a twist thriller can do. Only One Survives is perhaps my favourite of hers yet.

This book explores fame, fantasy, friendship and survival through the present day when the band Bittersweet is in a tragic accident with only one apparent survivor, Vienna; and the past when Vienna and her best friend Madison meet and build their friendship and band. Hannah writes incredibly strong, powerful and morally gray women. I’d love to see Vienna and Madison perform. Their bond is electric. And their drive is endless. They’ll stop at nothing to be a success.

Only One Survives is like an 80’s rock anthem – it soars and builds and you can’t tune it out. This is one of those books that you need to have time to sit down and be sucked into. There’s twists and turns, and like with all the best thrillers, not everything nor everyone is as it seems.

I adored this book. It’s hard to gush about it without giving away spoilers. I loved the dynamics of bittersweet, the tension building up to and after the accident, and the past POVs where we meet Madison and Vienna and see their trauma bond friendship develop. Go read it!

Thank you to the publisher for a Netgalley.

I went back and forth on this rating and settled on 4 stars. The overall plot itself was a 5 star for me. The pacing was a 3 star, so I settled in the middle.

When up and coming girl band, BIttersweet, get into a horrible car accident everything changes. With most of the band dead, one missing and one surviving, the story starts off running. Vienna & Madison's story though goes way back, which is where we spend time. As McKinnon flips back and forth from then, to the accident, to after the accident, it may feel like a lot of timelines. But it is not.

What I struggled with was at some point, I needed the story to stop diving into the past so much. It felt a smidge repetitive and it sometimes slowed down the current plot line. I am not talking about cutting out chunks of plot, but at times I didn't want to be stuck in the past pre accident.

With that being said, once this book took a certain turn, I was like and there it is. The reason I kept reading. The last 50% flew by for me and I couldn't stop reading. Highly recommend.

This was a great story filled with many twists that kept me guessing throughout the book! Loved the ending !! Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to read and review!

Loved this book! If you enjoy tales of musical groups then this is for you!
The all girl band Bittersweet is heading toward stardom but also towards a tragic bus wreck. The remaining survivors seek shelter but are soon dying off! Who is guilty of these deaths?

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an advance reader copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

A real page turner that had me trying to figure everything out until the very end! For fans of Daisy Jones & mysteries for sure!

Description
“For readers eagerly awaiting the return of Yellowjackets, this novel from McKinnon blends the musical highs of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Daisy Jones and the Six with the darkness of The Girls by Emma Cline in a twisty thriller that is hard to resist.” —Library Journal

"Rock’n’roll with a dash or two of murder." —Jeneva Rose, New York Times bestselling author

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 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.

In Only One Survives, which I binged in one day yesterday on audio (but thank you @_mira_books_ for the ARC via @netgalley), a car accident occurs in the Catskills and 5 members of a girl band and their documentarian are injured and then many die. The truth behind what happened is explored through past flashbacks that explain the formation and evolution of the band and a current timeline that is written in first person in the mind of one of the survivors.

This book was so eerie and the pace was excellent - I think the back and forth timelines really moved the story forward in an ideal way because the past aspects really make you examine each character and wonder who is to blame. I was engaged the entire time and left to wonder, as usual, how a sweet person like Hannah Mary can come up with these thrilling books with a lot of malicious characters 🤣🤣

The audio narration was also great. I couldn't resist using this photo of my children 8 years ago playing the drums just like Vienna while she was in The Bittersweet ❤️

Imagine your band is on the cusp of fame, but a freak accident changes everything! The book is a blend of Daisy Jones & The Six and The Girls, making it a must-read for those who love a good rock 'n' roll mystery.
Hannah Mary McKinnon nails it with this atmospheric, character-driven story. The plot twists had my jaw on the floor, and the eerie cabin setting gave me chills. Perfect for fans of psychological thrillers and anyone who loves a good rock 'n' roll mystery.

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🥁
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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.
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Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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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!
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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!