Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The Resort by Sara Ochs will be released on February 13th, 2024.

Okay, look. I can't figure out why I didn't absolutely love this book. It had a great mystery, a great storyline, but I just COULD NOT get into it and stay focused on it. I was constantly zoning out in favor of other things and I have very little idea of why that was. I finished the book and almost instantly forgot everything about it.

With that said, would I still recommend this book? Yes. It wasn't a bad book. I blame myself more than anything.

"The Resort' by Sara Ochs is a riveting thriller that blends the allure of a tropical paradise with the suspense of a psychological mystery. Set against the backdrop of Thailand's enchanting Koh Sang Resort, lures you into a world of secrets and shadows. An excellent escape for readers seeking a journey into the unknown, where every step brings them closer to the truth, no matter how dark it may be.

This book was super dramatic, atmospheric, and mysterious. All the things you would expect from an island murder mystery called The Resort! Some decent twists and turns and a lot of red herrings kept me guessing. The narration was decent, but audiobook almost lost me in the middle but I persevered and enjoyed it, especially the Epilogue!

Cas is a “permanent” at an island resort in Thailand. She is here because, like many others, she is running from her past. She is a dive instructor at the resort and even has a fiancé, Logan.

There has been a rash of deaths recently at the resort starting with a woman named Jacinta who fell from a cliff top. Are they merely accidents or is something else at play on the island?

Brooke is a social media influencer who has come to show here followers the island resort, but she’s also hiding a secret.

This book reminded me a little bit of Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin or We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz. It’s a bit of a “locked room” mystery, but in this case the locked room is an island in Thailand.

There was a large cast of characters, which for me, usually confuses me and I can’t keep them straight. But with this book, that wasn’t the case.

I thought this book was a solid debut! It was suspenseful and there was a twist or two I didn’t see coming!

For the audiobook, I was a little disappointed that the narrators didn’t do the accents of the other characters, but it wasn’t a dealbreaker for me.

This was rough. I did not enjoy coming back to it any time I sat down with it. I realize that makes me insufferable to say, but I did not enjoy my time with this one at all. I didn’t even care what happened to the characters or whodunit. It just was not for me.

What makes people drop their lives and move to remote islands far from everything and anyone they know? Apparently thing good! Ochs debut was entertaining enough even though it took a while to get a feel for what was going on around all the intrigue. I had a problem with a couple inconsistencies around who's book it was, Cass or Brooke, and then again when one of the characters fights off the bad guys mentioning self-defense training in middle school though earlier is painted as shy and mousy when attacked in college. Readers should know that there are major trigger warnings around sexual abuse and attempted suicide among others. The narrators were good and the reveal of the big bad at the end was a nice twist though you do get a sense of who it is earlier in the book and the reasoning behind the murders is a tad weak. I wanted to like this book more, but it's still a beach read that I would recommend. Thank you to Recorded Books and NetGalley for the early listen in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I tried really hard to enjoy this audiobook but it just wasn’t for me. I had a hard time staying interested in it and I didn’t enjoy the narration either.
Just not for me.

Three bodies... Two women... one island and a lot of secrets...

Can you ever really out run your past?

Cass and Brooke are two women who end up on the same island... Cass having arrived years ago after a traumatic past making a life for herself and becoming a scuba instructor... Brooke a travel influencer visiting the island with a secret agenda... two women have recently died on the island in what seems to be. The most recent one Lucy was one of Cass’s dive students found dead in the water and Cass and Brooke decide to investigate because they think it was murder.

Honestly I had I actually had a copy of the book not just the audio I would have skimmed it at first it was interesting but eventually it just became annoying Brooke jumped to so many conclusions constantly and would clearly have made a horrible journalist. I get that something horrible happened to Brooke but it wasn’t Cass’s fault.

So who killed Lucy? Was Jacinta actually murdered? Does and of it actually matter? Not really but I made it to the end so there is that.

On a remote resort island in Thailand, a group of transplants have found their home calling themselves the Permanents. The Resort follows two women on the island, that have a history they would like to keep secret. Cass came to the island looking for a new life, to run from her past. She is accepted into the island family, even getting engaged. A travel blogger finds her way to the resort, threatening to disrupt the comfortable peace.. When bodies start turning up, unwanted attention threatens this paradise they have built. How long can you keep secrets when the spotlight is put on the island?

I went into this blind, not knowing anything. It was so much fun. Sara Orchs kept me on my toes. Just when I thought I knew what was coming, boom wrong. The Resort's fast pacing kept the reader locked in, leaving little time to lose interest. I was so pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it! Check it out!

Cass wanted a fresh start in her life. She packed her bags and off she went. This book really made me think about what it would be like to start over in my own life. What it would be like if I made different choices for myself. There are a few heavy topics covered throughout to be noted.

Read this if you like:
-Multiple viewpoints
-Slow building mysteries
- Tropical living

As far as it being an audiobook, it was read by mainly two people. It was hard to keep track of who was speaking as they sounded a bit similar. There were also times where I zoned out and had to be reeled back in. I think I would have preferred to read the book versus listen to it.

Thank you NetGalley, Sara Ochs, and RB media for kindly sending me the audiobook to review. All thoughts and views are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media, Recorded Books for an advanced audio copy of this novel.

First off - I thought this was going to be rough after hearing the first narrator with their thick British or Australian accent, but not to fear! That narrator was not in fact voicing a main POV in the book, and only appeared at the beginning and end. I did find the main narrator, however, to be slightly monotone, but I didn't have difficulty following which POV we were in.

I do most of my reading through audiobooks, but I think this story would have benefitted from a physical read. The twists and turns that the author takes us through and the, in my opinion, long list of characters, had me confused.

For a book about murders at a resort, this book gave me a lot more than I expected, with tropes and themes that I wasn't anticipating. I really enjoyed it, and was happy with the development of the story and the ending.

The Resort by Sara Ochs was really good! I enjoyed it a lot! It has that rich way of sentence structure that just draws me in. It really reminded me of The Beach (and the movie version is even referenced in the book!) and it does it justice. I just really enjoyed the manner of writing and I would love to read more books of this author. I listened to the audiobook version narrated by Miranda Raison, Dakota Blue Richards, Joe Jameson, Pema Monaghan. It was a bit confusing at times to remember whose voice meant who but it was still a good experience.
Thank you RB Media and NetGalley for providing me with an early copy of this audiobook.

Thank you RB Media, NetGalley, & Sara Ochs for granting me early access to this audiobook. That was a wild ride. A lot happened in this audiobook.

“I chose revenge over a potentially happy future.”

This was a classic “who did it” thriller set in a quaint island in Thailand, where several expats settled and call home. Cass has been on the Island for a while and works as a scuba instructor at the resort. Brooke is visiting and working on a travel blog. They become close friends. Then some tourists staying at the resort die. Some are ruled tragic accidents but others are murder. The locals will do anything to keep the spotlight off their resort, so they can continue to live in their paradise. Everyone settled on the island is running from something and has something to hide too.

The Resort is told in dual perspectives rotating between Cass and Brooke. Though I thought I had figured it out early, there were even more twists in the last chapter. I was super intrigued. I found the characters very unlikeable (besides one), which was the point. But, I don’t think the ending had to be quite so harsh. It wouldn’t have changed the story.

🖤 Genre: Thriller
❣️Steamy rating: Mild
🤬 Profanity: Mild-Moderate

Wow-totally blindsided by the ending! This was a really good read-twists and turns and and ending that leaves you shocked. Just the kind of thriller I like! The narrator was alright- I feel like there was a missed opportunity because many of the characters are from Scotland, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden and the narrator didn’t do an accent for different characters.

Thank you for the ALC for my honest review.

This was a slow build for me but once all the groundwork was laid, I felt like things started to really pick up and dots were connecting. It got more fun to listen the further along you go all the way up to the epilogue! And WOW! What a way to end the story!! Loved that last narration change. But the narration between the 2 MC’s was hard to distinguish. There were some differences in the way they spoke but the way they sounded was very similar. Other than that, great! Thank you Source books, net galley and Sara Ochs for the chance to review the ALC.

This was for sure an interesting read..super twisty. Just the way I like my thrillers. I loved the different POVs. I did NOT see the ending coming!!

4.4⭐️ What felt like your typical traveler murder mystery, actually got quite twisty and emotional

Cass lives on an idyllic Thai island with the “Permanents”. When Brooke arrives, they strike up a friendship and she joins the tight knit group

But both young women are keeping big secrets and when travelers start to die, they’re determined to solve the mystery and hide who they really are

This was an easy 4 ⭐️ read, a perfect vacation book. But when the reveals came, it took it to the next level. Suddenly we have heart, and I felt so much empathy for Brooke and Cass

What I did miss was more of a connection with the Permanents. They were integral but kept at a two dimensional distance which seemed like a miss - I’d have loved to spend more time with them, getting more of a sense of who they were as individuals

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by 4 people. Two of them had accents but the American narrators didn’t change their pitch or accent at all, even when they were speaking as Scottish Logan or English Daniel. It was super weird and unusual for an audiobook. Odd choice and slightly confusing

All in all, a fun vacation read and excited to read more from author Sara Ochs

Thanks to Netgalley and RB Media, Recorded Books for access to this audio ARC in exchange for my honest review

This was gifted by Netgalley & the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

A fast paced vacation thriller set on the remote parts of Thailand, compared to Rachel Hawkins, and we were never here. Signed me up! In this book, we get to follow two women, a curious group, and a murder. This island vacation may not be all it’s cracked up to be. The resort has three simple rules
1)breathe even if something goes wrong
2)always go diving with someone you trust
3) don’t panic if your oxygen is running out
Simple rules right? Only one of our guests has a secret and somebody has found out the Islanders and big and there are many places to hide, so can you make it out alive?

Initially, I was drawn to the Comparisons to other authors and books that I enjoy. Plus, I also enjoy a survival style thriller with some domestic thriller elements where we’re finding out about somebody’s past. I thought this book was fun. I definitely recommend it for a nice quick summer read. I don’t think that it did anything out of the ordinary or anything that I haven’t seen before but I did enjoy the book

In "The Resort," we are transported to the tranquil setting of Koh Sang, a resort island in the Gulf of Thailand, and meet a group of enigmatic permanent residents. Having fled their pasts, they form an unlikely family. However, their harmony is disrupted when a guest's death sets off a chain of events, unveiling hidden motives.

This story was difficult to get into and it was easy to identify the red herrings the author scattering throughout the plot. The characters lack the depth needed to form a meaningful connection, and their unlikable traits make it challenging to empathize with their experiences.

The audio format presents challenges as the narrator fails to differentiate between the international characters with distinct voices or accents. This hampered immersion and added complexity to an already intricate narrative. Another drawback is the distracting mispronunciations throughout the audiobook (definitely a pet peeve of mine). I would recommend the digital or physical version over the audio format for a better reading experience.

While "The Resort" offers glimpses into the mysterious lives of its characters and the beautiful setting of Koh Sang, the slow pace, underdeveloped characters, and audio narration may leave readers yearning for a more engaging and immersive storytelling experience.

The Resort is a story filled with secrets right until the end. Cass, a girl on the run from her own troubled past, winds up on the island to start over. She fits in with a group of people who have all claim the island as their new home and are all running from things in their past. All is going well until a dive student is found dead. This just happens to be the second death in a short amount of time and there is someone else on the island questioning things and ready to turn Cass’ life upside down.

This book has multiple twists and angles as you unravel the mystery behind the deaths on the island. There are a lot of characters that you are introduced to in this book and I did find that a little confusing at first to keep them all straight. However once I learned who was who, the secrets really started to spill out. Check this book out if you want a story that will keep you wondering until the end.