Well, it's certainly a little scary. Bratty teenage girls are dangerous!

"Only One Survives" is presented as a dual timeline: current events in the cabin and the past meeting of friends and the start of their band. There was more focus spent on the timeline in high school which slowed down the thriller part of the story, but is framed very well to keep the truth a surprise. It's a story of competition, jealousy, and manipulation. It also highlights the transient nature of fame, especially on social media.

The big reveal happens two-thirds in, so I felt the story lingered. It might be an entertaining read for someone interested in music stardom or social media celebrities.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

If you’ve read one of Hannah’s, then you know how fast they draw you in and refuse to let you go until the very end. This one was no different BUT, dare I say, I believe it was her BEST one yet?

Vienna has not had the best life, her mom hates her existence and her “stepdad” is a predator. Her only person is her grandma who sadly has dementia. But she meets Madison in school and they become fast friends and also a music duo. A drummer and guitarist and they’re actually very good. Life happens and they both end up in Brooklyn and form an actual band. And that is where the bad happens after a really terrible car accident. The choices and things that happen afterwards are jaw dropping and really make this story complete.

Think of Daisy Jones and the Six except add murder and suspense and you have a genius story. A story that is encapsulating and that will refuse to let you go. Honestly this was SOO good and probably my top 5 of the year! Five stars for a really thrilling reading adventure!

This very likely may end up being my favorite thriller I read this year! Every time I thought I knew something or became suspicious, I was surprised with a new twist I didn’t see coming. Highly recommend!

Holy moly what a toxic, bingeable thriller! The characters are nuts and psycho, and I couldn’t stop reading until I knew the truth.

So many things had Andrea and I texting back and forth going 😱 and using expletives 😂 - just some batsh!t crazy things happening in this one!

The beginning pulls you in with a mystery in the present timeline…what really happened the night of the Bittersweet’s car crash?!!! Although I felt the past spent a little too long developing, it showed us exactly what we needed to witness in the formation of Vienna and Madison’s dysfunctional relationship.

I wish I could say more, but I don’t want to give anything away! It’s got great twists along the way to keep you hooked. This is a must read if you’re looking for a wild ride!!

I honestly wish I hadn’t waited as long as I did to read this. I was hesitant when I first started. I put it down and now I wish I had kept with it because when it got good it kept getting better! There was so many twists in this book that kept my jaw dropping!

This book follows two high school best friends- Vienna who is a drummer and Madison- who plays guitar and sings. It is such an unlikely friendship. Things go from interesting to thrilling! You definitely will not regret picking this book up.

This is one of those books where the synopsis will have to do for a recap of the book so that I don't give up any of the juicy details.I don't want to spoil anything for the reader, so I won't get into any details.

What I will say about this title is that I really enjoyed this story of two high school friends whop start a band, only to expand upon that later in life. But with fame comes other emotions like envy and competition which cause a whole lot of bad stuff going on! The story is told in dual timelines of past and present and drops enough hints along the way to keep the reader guessing, which I really look for in a story like this one. I don't want obvious, I want twisty and unreliable in a mystery/suspense/thriller type of story and I got that with Only One Survives.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this tale of competing band mates. It kept me turning the pages and I loved the dark twists and turns of the plot which kept things fresh and interesting. An entertaining read.

This was really fun. A tour bus transporting a girll rock band crashed, in the middle of nowhere, in the winter, and all hell breaks loose. Who can you trust when people keep dying?

“𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤.”

Hannah Mary MacKinnon is a must-read author; I know I can count on her for unique main characters (Lucas from Never Coming Home has to be one of my all-time favourite villains) and rollercoaster plots. Her latest does not disappoint.

MacKinnon creates a completely enthralling twisted Behind the Music-type story of The Bittersweet, a up-and-coming female band that gets hit with tragedy. I thought the Bittersweet would be in the middle of their fame, especially with documentary filmmaker Libby following along, rather than being a fairly new band, which told me right away that this story would play with my expectations. The narration seamlessly weaves from the past with the formation of the band, to the day of the accident, and to the days post-accident, which have you wondering if everything is as it seems. You never know who to trust in a Hannah Mary MacKinnon story! The inclusion of blog posts, articles, and transcripts sprinkled throughout, allowed for well-placed social media commentary (I was reminded of the classic Team Jen vs. Team Angelina discourse of the 2000s with the #TeamVienna and #TeamMadison debates). Vienna and Madison are equally enthralling and maddening, as individuals and in their toxic friendship. There are some fantastic twists, and the ending had me holding my breath right to the last page.

Only One Survives is a story of music, female friendships, craving for fame, envy, and revenge. It is another well-executed addictive ride from Hannah Mary MacKinnon. Thank you to Mira and NetGalley for the ARC!

ARC Review: Available July 16th


One One Survives by Hannah Mary McKinnon. Thank you to @htpbooks, @hp_hive for my #GIFTED copy. My opinion is voluntary and my own.

Vienna and Madison are BFFs from high school. They are the complete opposite. While Vienna comes from a broken family, on the wrong the side of the tracks, Madison comes from loving, albeit, controlling parents that are both lawyers and wealthy. The girls have a shared love for music and both sing and play instruments. They even had a two-person band in high school. Now, as new adults and struggling with the real world, the girls decide to start a band and make their dreams come true.

Vienna, the creative genius/song-writer/drummer/vocalist is the soul of the band and Madison knows it. Madison feels snubbed when Vienna starts making decisions without her and she even takes undue credit for co-writing their most famous song. Vienna takes it all in stride, but then a horrific accident occurs and the band is trapped in a snow-storm, lost in the woods.

The book flips back and forth from present to past.

My thoughts:

With missing band members, dead friends and many unanswered questions, the author took me on a thrilling ride that had me guessing up until the very end. I just did not see it coming until it was too late. Definite shock factor and such a dramatic TWIST! This book was seriously surprising! Loved it!

This book grabbed me right away and didn't let go.....I couldn't put it down!

We have Vienna and Madison who after a small rough start become best friends. They form a rock group that seems promising but falls. We then get them adding more to their group to be a band again and big success seems to be on the horizon... Until an accident claims the life of one member right away and only one survivor is found....Vienna.

At first, I thought Madison was a spoiled rich girl who was too toxic of a person. I felt bad for Vienna because of her verbally abusive mom and her jerk of a stepdad. But then the twist comes, and comes, and comes even more and you start to see fractures in the "bad girl Madison" story. We get to see Vienna go through in her mind what really took place and it's pretty chilling. And the epilogue 😱

Such a great thriller and one I'll think of for awhile!

Rating: 5/5 Stars
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Now this is how you write a thriller!! Wow, I absolutely loved this book so much that I devoured it in a day. Only One Survives is about a band The BitterSweet after an accident claimed the lives of only one and one missing. It has blood and gore and murder and toxicity and drama galore and I absolute was here for it.
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One One Survives is told in a dual timeline if you will. You get glimpses into Vienna and Madison’s past, the accident itself, and then after the accident. It is extremely fast paced and it very easy to follow.
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There is the perfect balance of likable and unlikable characters bringing in this feeling of dread as band members begin to die and as secrets get revealed. Super shocking twists start about a little past the halfway mark, leaving you with your jaw on the ground. After the initial bomb drop, McKinnon continues with multiple perfectly timed twists.
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Only One Survives was absolutely chilling; this was the perfect book to pick up during a super long heatwave here in PA. It is atmospheric and there are volatile happenings going on. It was suspenseful and everything I have been searching for in a thriller.
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Highly recommending this one to all of my thriller fans! This one was great! Only One Survives was just released on 7/16, be sure to grab this one! Huge thank you to NetGalley, Hannah Mary McKinnon and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Vienna Taylor, a drummer with a passion for music and dreams of making it big with her best friend, experiences a tragic turn of events when their all-female pop rock band, Bittersweet, meets with a deadly accident during a blizzard. Stranded in an abandoned cabin, Vienna's hopes for their music career shatter as her best friend, Madison mysteriously disappears.

Hannah McKinnon impresses with a captivating story that blends superb storytelling with haunting lyrics showcased in Bittersweet's songs, offering deep insights into Vienna's mindset. I loved the use of various mediums like blog posts and social media comments. Overall, a very compelling read.

WHO would BE the “Only one to Survive”? Clever title by @authorhannahmarymckinnon and it kept my mind spinning.

We all know what to expect in a suspense/thriller novel, but would it include 2 best friends in high school destined to be musicians with a dream to create a band, rubbing elbows with the elite and careening off a cliff leaving one dead and one severely injured? “Only One Survives” is a graphic thriller based around a 5 girl band, The Bittersweet!

Drummer, Vienna and Guitarist Madison both from very different backgrounds make up the two who started “EmVee” which became the “Bittersweet” after adding 3 others to their band! An entertaining, twisty, fun and flirty plot that is gripping to its death! Who’s death?

Their Tahoe catapulted off a treacherous cliff during the worst of storms, leaving the girls fighting for their lives! Who will survive? What will impact the reality of who will survive? “ Only One Survives” has it all, a riveting thriller that just might surprise you !

I recommend this as your next suspense filled novel as well as any of Author Hannah Mary McKinnon’s International Best Sellers!
Thank you to @Harlequin Trade Publishing/Mira @netgalley for this complimentary eARC in exchange for my honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I knew from the beginning of this book that I was not vibing with it. I should have DNF, but I really wanted to hang in there because of all of the good reviews I’d seen of this book.

This story felt very disjointed to me. There was some relevant context given in Vienna’s family history, but it all felt dragged out and unnecessary to the overall plot. The twist mid book was actually very shocking so I enjoyed that, but otherwise, this book felt like ramblings rather than a purposeful story.

I think it’s common that characters in thrillers are devious and deceptive, but not one character in this book was likable. Every single person was a villain in one way or another. It’s really difficult to enjoy a story when you have not one character to root for.

This book was just overall unrealistic. The killer’s motives didn’t make any sense to me. The final twist was over the top. The story didn’t maintain my interest. This book just wasn’t for me.

Thank you so much to HTP books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this advance reader copy!

📚 PUBLICATION MONTH BOOK REVIEW 📚

Only One Survives By Hannah Mary McKinnon
Publication Date: July 16, 2024
Publisher: Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
(Rounded up to 5⭐)

📚MY REVIEW:

EVERYBODY has been absolutely raving about this book... And I couldn't wait to get my hands on it! Even though Harlequin has consistently denied my requests for ARCs on NetGalley, I figured I'd take a chance and request this one, just to see what happened... And lo and behold, your girl got approved! 🎉

Y'all, this book WAS as thrilling as everybody said it was! It was SUCH a fast-paced and unputdownable read. I got up early today to finish before work because I couldn't wait to see how this one wrapped up!

This book has multiple timelines, providing context and insight into the characters and their pasts that culminated into what became their present. This is the story about The Bittersweet, an up-and-coming all-female band on the cusp of making it big when tragedy strikes during a blizzard on their way to an industry party in the Catskills. From there, this thriller takes off on a dark path that will utterly captivate you until its very end.

Reminiscent of Daisy Jones and the Six, this book has a rock and roll inspired plotline, interspersed with radio stories and news articles and social media snippets. But this ain't your mama's 1970s rock and roll story. This is a wild thriller with twists and turns that will find you gasping aloud as more and more truths are revealed within its pages. Even when the answer to the mystery was revealed earlier in the story than I expected, I STILL spent much of the book completely shocked by what I was reading. This was the epitome of a diabolical killer -- and I loved every minute of it.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA for gifting me this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

#OnlyOneSurvives #HannahMaryMcKinnon #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #ARC #bookrecommendations #bookreviews #thrilleraddict #thrillerlover #thrillerread #booklovers

I'll be honest: I'm quite disappointed with this book.
When I read the synopsis I got intrigued by the mystery envolving the accident with girls from a music group.
That's what I wanted from this book: to see how the accident happened, who survived and that happened later.
But what I got, from the most part of this book, were events before the accident: a lot of background of the 2 main characters - who already were best friends - and how their friendship survived after some pretty bad and heavy moments of their lives, up to the point they became a band with other girls. Even though I did enjoy some aspects of these 'past chapters', I was way more interested in the present, which only prevails after way over half of the book.
The author made some choices regarding the last 20%, and most of them didn't please me.
I didn't hate anything about it. I just had different expectations, I guess.
This book, in my opinion, ended up being much more of a character-driven lit, fiction story than a mystery/thriller one - which was what I hoped it would be.

I enjoyed this one. It was a bit predictable but I enjoyed the back and forth POV between past and present. It is a quick read due to the thrilling story being told. It's fun to watch play out even if you figure it out.

Unfortunately this was a miss for me. I couldn't relate to the characters and wasn't invested in the story. It had a good premise, but the whole girl band/boy band trope is overdone.

This is my first five star thriller in a while 🙌

I was completely engrossed from start to finish. I absolutely loved that it follows an all female pop rock band.

The Bittersweet were in a car crash that left one member dead and another injured. They had to seek shelter in an abandoned cabin in order to survive in the cold weather — but death doesn’t stop there.

The character development was done so well. In the beginning we learn about drummer Vienna and her best friend Madison, who originally formed a duo called EmVee. Vienna’s home life was traumatic and forced her to escape her hometown and move in with Madison. They have a toxic friendship, but keep coming back together. As their duo evolves into a five-member all female band, their star continues to rise until the accident.

This story showed the dark sides of fame, specifically how social media can cause harm.

The author did an incredible job building suspense. I loved the dual timelines — we get snippets of what happened on that tragic night, and then the story backtracks leading up to the accident. Sometimes with dual timelines I’ll find myself wanting to speed up one of the timelines in order to get back to the other, but that never happened with this book. I ate up every single chapter 👏

I can’t recommend this thriller enough!

I can always count on Hannah Mary McKinnon for a captivating thriller. Oooooo this one. I really enjoyed it!! I don’t want to give too much bc spoilers but it’s good!!