This book was the epitome of a claustrophobic thriller!!! Every chapter that went by I got increasingly more absorbed into the story and kept listening because I NEEDED to know what was going to happen!

This audiobook and its narrators were so fantastic they gave the story the umph that the book deserved and added to the confined feelings of the book!

This audiobook would be perfect for people that like:
✨Multiple POVs
✨Cramped and Claustrophobic Feeling Thrillers
✨The Dark Side/Behind the Scenes of Tropical Resort Locations
✨Scuba Diving /Deep Open Water Activities

4.0⭐️

⭐️THIS AUDIOBOOK COMES OUT FEB 13TH⭐️

Special thanks to NetGalley RB Media and Recorded Books for a review ALC in exchange for my honest review!!

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the advanced audiobook!
Synopsis: Welcome to paradise. We hope you survive your stay. A local and a travel blogger meet at The Resort and form a friendship. Little do they both, both have something to hide.
My thoughts: What a debut! 👏🏻 The cast of narrators were excellent and really took this reading experience to the next level. I did notice a few oddly pronounced words but that didn’t bother me. What drew me to pick up this book was the setting. I love an atmospheric thriller and the remote island in Thailand DELIVERED! The Resort is filled with lot’s of twists and secretive pasts which always makes for a fun thriller. I definitely did not predict that ending 👀

I really enjoyed the plot, and the descriptions of the island made me want to book a flight to Thailand! But I found the characters to be valid and slightly annoying, and their motivations behind the main murders to be vague. I think the epilogue is totally unnecessary, and detracts overall from the story.

This was one of my most anticipated reads this year, and it did NOT disappoint! I love a destination thriller and this one was fantastic.

I love a thriller that starts as a half finished puzzle and slowly fills in its pieces overtime and this one was no exception. You start off with bits and pieces of what’s going on, and hints are dropped throughout that make you think you’ve got everything figured out, but you likely don’t. Everyone has secrets, everyone is lying, and people are dying while everything unravels.

I really enjoyed the dual POVs and how they came together to finally paint the full picture. This was definitely a book where not many of the characters were meant to be likable, and they were written perfectly.

Everything came together well and then the end comes up unexpectedly and slaps everything you just read away and leaves your jaw dropped!

I loved this book and am incredibly impressed that it’s a debut novel! I can’t wait to see what Sara Ochs writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley, RB Media, and the author for this ALC.
Publication date 2/13/24

I had high hopes but I just could not get into this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the setting of this book - give me water and sunshine anytime!
Told from two POVs this story unfolds slowly. There are quite a few characters, and it took me a little bit to figure out who everyone was and how they were supposedly connected. The twists and turns made this a bit more difficult (in a good way) as we learned a little bit more about everyone.
Cass is trying to escape her past, but it seems she is not the only one. Brooke is seeking closure (revenge?), but does she have the story right? Life on Koh Sang may not be as idealistic as it seems.
I enjoyed the story, but found the ending rather abrupt and unexpected.

The perfect thriller for those looking for a great setting and twists and turns!

The Resort was just what I needed. I thought the premise was intriguing, I love a thriller set in a different country with ex-pats. The dual perspective was well done, there wasn’t any whiplash jumping from Cass’s narration to Brooke’s. I would recommend to fans of Lucy Foley.

The ending was a chef’s kiss moment I thought was perfectly dark. While this book had twists and turns, there were only one or two I was really surprised at. Thoroughly enjoyable and the perfect getaway read!

This is an incredibly strong destination thriller debut! I read this book in tandem with the double cast audiobook and was enthralled from start to finish.

The lush tropical setting: isolated island in Thailand housing a popular resort known for it's dive school and tours and raging parties. Only reachable by a long ferry ride with very little government or police oversight the island is the perfect place for ex-pats to land who want a fresh start or to escape from their lives 'before.'
The narration is dual POV between Cass, an American ex-pat, and Brooke, a travel influencer who is new to the island. Cat has been living on-island for a few years and teaches scuba at the resort; she recently become engaged to another ex-pat bar owner but no one knows her true identity. Cass takes Brooke under her wing, but after one of her dive students is found dead Brooke starts asking questions that threaten to bring undesired attention to the island and possible the ex-Pats' identities. As other mysterious deaths occur, Cass also starts getting threatening letters to reveal her identity. Brooke and Cass work to investigate what the police keep dismissing in a race against time and survival!
Fast-paced, unreliable narrators, a cast of characters with secrets, and an immersive tropical setting make this thriller one you don't want to miss this summer!
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks publishing for my digital copy in exchange for my review.

I tried reading this and couldn't get into it. I tried listening to it and made it about half way through interested before it lost my attention. I made it through but honestly could not tell you much from the second half. Maybe if it were about half the length, it would have been better. ero

My Rating: 2
I received an advance review copy of the audiobook The Resort by Sara Ochs from NetGalley and RB Media in exchange for feedback. Thank you!
I’m a sucker for a pretty cover, and I thought the plot description sounded compelling, so I put in a request for this book. The narrators did a good job, and I listened to the full 10.5 hours.
Although I really enjoyed the first third of this book, in the later sections I found myself frustrated with the plot and characterization.
SPOILERS: I finished this book because I had received an ARC and wanted to give a complete review, but if not I would have dropped it when Cass’s family backstory was revealed. I had many issues with the portrayal of mental illness and mental health in this book, but I found Cass’s father particularly unrealistic and harmful. I think it is a tired and dangerous strategy to rely on the stigma of a condition like bipolar to make a character irredeemable.
Overall, this book fits the formula of a tense thriller set in a gorgeous location with a mysterious cast and plenty of plot twists. It reminded me a bit of Alex Michaelides‘s The Silent Patient, which was eventful enough to keep me reading but (in my opinion) ultimately unsatisfying due to its prioritizing unpredictably over a rich narrative.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this audio.

Oh wow! That freaking ending!!!!! Not what I was expecting! Those are always the best!! Such a great book! Couldn’t stop listening! All of the characters are great! The narrator was also great!

It’s no secret that I love a thriller set in paradise and The Resort by @saraochsauthor did not disappoint! I switched between the ebook and audiobook while reading this novel. It is set on a remote island in Thailand that is known for scuba diving and full moon parties. The prologue grabbed my attention with a murder and did not let my attention go! The story is full of secrets and twists, with an unpredictable ending!

If you are like me and love a novel about murder in paradise, then I highly recommend grabbing this book. It’s perfect for a beach read or wishing you were on a beach, somewhere warm.

Thank you @bookmarked and @recordedbooks for allowing me to read and listen to this book in exchange for my honest review.

(This same review was posted on the Barnes & Noble website)

Interesting plot

This book was enjoyable to listen to, but I have already forgotten most of it and it has been less than a day since I finished it. There were lots of twists at the end, some were unnecessary in my view.

When people keep dying on a remote tourism-supported Thai island, there are lots of people who are suspects. Pretty much everyone had a past that involved something that made them look guilty. The book alternates between several characters. One issue with the audiobook is that the female readers sounded similar and it sometimes took me a little bit to figure out who was speaking. One main character was a woman, who was a newly engaged divemaster. She found one of the bodies while taking a group on a shore dive. She didn't think she had harmed the woman she found underwater, but her use of anti-anxiety meds made her memory fuzzy. Another was an influencer who wanted to be a serious journalist and has her own secrets. There are several good looking men, all who could have killed the people.

It was good, but not terribly original.

I received an audio arc from the publisher through NetGalley. Thank you so much to RB Media for that. All opinions are my own.

Book Rating: 3.75 stars
When two women with secrets and trauma in their pasts get entangled in a series of murders, you can't trust anyone. Also, know one thing, everyone is lying about who they are.
Plenty of twists and turns, though I think the conclusion without the epilogue would have been better, as I saw that part coming about halfway through the book. Which was a letdown.
The whole mission to destroy Cass was misplaced and I am glad she finally saw that.
(view spoiler)
This book tackled A LOT of difficult issues and was quite dark. But overall, it was good.

Narrator Rating: 4 stars
The narrators did a good job. Though some words were pronounced oddly, and not as I would assume someone from that part of the US would say them.

Extra ratings: Fluff - NA Heartfelt-5/5 Helpful-NA Horror-NA Inspiration-NA Love aka Romance-1.5/5 Mystery-3/5 Predictability-2.5/5 Spice-NA Suspense-1.5/5 Tear- 3.5/5 Thrill-4/5 Humor-0/5

Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Murder, Blood, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Death, Alcohol, Rape, Drug abuse, Grief, and Death of a parent
Moderate: Self-harm, Car accident, Violence, Suicide attempt, Police brutality, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Gun Violence
Minor: Physical abuse and Adult/minor relationship

This book was giving even more messed up White Lotus vibes. At the "famous" Koh Sang Resort, people come from all over to hide from their pasts. But which of those secrets is worth murdering for?

The last 30% of this book was one twist after another.. and that epilogue? My jaw was on the floor. Literally nothing at Koh Sang is as it seems and is still wasn't clear until the very end.

The most messed up "found family" story ever. Justice for Cass.

This is my first ARC of a book from NetGalley. I received the audiobook version and really enjoyed it! The story hooked me in quickly and I finished listening in two days because I needed to know how it tied together. You follow two main female characters POV at a resort in Thailand, both of whom have not been entirely honest about their pasts with the rest of the friend group on the island. After some “accidents” occur with some of the guests, both characters begin to become suspicious of the people they have been spending time with and try to conduct their own investigation. I did not see the twist at the end coming! I believe this is the authors debut novel and I will definitely be interested in reading any future novels that she writes.

Plot twist after plot twist after plot twist.. 🤯although I do think that there is such thing as too many plot twists and this was border line there.

The Resort - located on the remote island of Koh Sang is known for its amazing diving courses and beautiful beaches. This story follows two women Cass and Brooke - Cass, is running away from her past following the deaths of her father and sister. 2 years later, she’s made Koh Sang her home and has put the past behind, until someone on the island figures out her past and wants to expose it. Brooke is a traveling influencer who comes to Koh Sang to enjoy the beauty it has to offer - or are there other reasons she’s there? When multiple murders arise, you are left wondering who the killer might be with all of the twists and turns.

My thoughts 💭

There are several different plot twists unraveling at once which adds to the suspense and keeps you guessing throughout the story

Listened to this one on Audio - the narrators were very monotone and did not add to the characters at all. The voices do eventually grow on you as the characters develop but it still didn’t do the book justice.

There was quite a bit of bouncing around in the beginning with the different povs of the characters and trying to piece them to how they fit into the plot - the beginning was just not the kind that immediately reels you in.

I love that this is based on an island - nothing beats a thriller with a good setting.

It took about 20% of the book until it got interesting but once it took off, I was hooked to know the end!

If you’re looking for a thriller, this is a good one to pick up!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ALC. This was just an ok listen for me. Nothing horrible. Nothing great. It starts out strong but then falls off.

⭐️3.5 stars⭐️

Not gonna lie, I have conflicting feelings about this book. I was really enjoying it in the beginning. The secluded island resort in a beautiful country full of interesting, complicated characters. But then there was SUCH an abrupt change in the story where the characters’ true intentions were starting to be revealed. No lead up, just BAM, this is who I really am. It threw me off.

Another thing that bugged me was the female narrators’ true accents coming out. One of the characters is supposed to be from Kentucky and makes remarks about learning to hide her “southern drawl” but the narrator seems to have difficulty keeping her real English accent hidden throughout the story.

Overall, the story was entertaining and I did enjoy it and would still recommend it to friends. I think I would have enjoyed it more as a physical book though.

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for the opportunity of listening to and reviewing this audiobook.

In The Resort, two young women--a dive instructor and a travel influencer--work together to investigate the suspicious deaths of two resort guests on a remote Thai island resort.

The book starts out strong by bringing in an interesting, varied cast of characters. The Permanents are expats from all over the world, bringing with them unique and storied histories that they attempt to keep hidden as they reinvent themselves on the island. The guests come from equally varied locales, and they bring their own fair share of life history and personal agendas. As the story unfolds, we get to see the ways in which the characters' histories impact their actions and affect the grand orchestra that is this story.

What will stick with me from this book is the plot. It's slow to start, which is good; it gives you a chance to really get to know the characters so that you can keep track of them when they all collide in the final third of the book. When the twists start coming, they don't stop--yet somehow, when the dust settles, the story stands as a glorious, genius, resolved whole. I wish I could gush further about this story, but to go much further would risk snatching from you the experience of living through these experiences with the characters.

Another little thing that I found interesting was the role of social media in the story. Many of the story's big reveals have to do with finding something on Instagram. As one of our intrepid heroines makes her living as a minor influencer, this makes some sense. I think a young reader who's into such platforms would enjoy experiencing the way social media skills determine matters of life and death in this story. Taken together with the themes of self-discovery and finding purpose, this book almost feels best-suited for a young adult audience, as long as they're prepared to handle a very emotional (but non-explicit) retelling of a character's past rape.

While the story and characters drove the book forward, it could have gone farther if the characters were developed more fully. The characterization often felt over-the-top, sometimes pushing the characters' intriguing backgrounds into one-sided caricatures. Then, when new information is revealed to the reader about a certain character, it's like flipping a light switch--the newly revealed person feels discontinuous from their previous self. Even within a scene, a character might act in ways inconsistent with themselves: take one example in which a POV character describes something as "only a few meters away", only to describe something else as "mere feet away" a minute later, switching between metric and imperial in a way no real person would.

Since I listened to the audiobook, a brief aside regarding the narration: It wasn't great. Although separate narrators were hired for each point of view, the two main narrators sounded too similar to one another to differentiate them easily. On top of that, neither narrator made any effort to replicate the accents of the book's diverse cast of characters. It was interesting to hear that a certain character spoke with a charming Scottish brogue, but it would have been even nicer to hear that feature replicated in the narration. Add to these issues the faulty pronunciation of a handful of words, and it comes out overall as a rather unpolished experience. The book earned its 4 stars on its own, but the narration falls between 2 and 3 stars for me.

All in all, it was a wonderful ride. If you're looking for a memorable story that will keep you on the edge of your seat, you won't be disappointed.