Lyrical and atmospheric, Wild Dark Shore drew me in and captivated me for its duration. I felt deeply for the characters, especially the siblings of this story, and was transported to Shearwater by the prose. It was as though I could feel and smell and hear the island all around me. Perhaps fittingly, given the walls that each character had up — with good reason — I had a feeling of them staying at arm’s length, even from me as a reader; even while reading narration from each of their respective points of view. This was the one piece that didn’t completely connect for me, though I still loved the book. I found the themes thought-provoking, and the plot and pacing consistently engaging — I just didn’t fall completely in love.

This haunting, character-driven novel didn’t seem initially like it would interest me, but I’d seen some early hype for it and was curious. I’m glad I didn’t pass on it. Desperately emotional and reflective, I kept finding myself drawn back to these characters, their struggles, and the mystery surrounding it all. The vividly described setting is dark and wild and a character of its own.

I listened to the audiobook of this novel, and I’m pretty picky about audiobooks. This is beautifully written and beautifully narrated by a wonderful cast.

This book is out now and is a captivating look at human nature and what it takes to relate to one another.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGALLEY and Flatiron Books for an advanced copy of " Wild Dark Shore" . Charlotte McConaghy is one of my favorite authors and I love how each of her novels is a love letter not only to nature and how humans are the reason our planet is suffering, in addition to focusing on the deep bond between parents and their children. This novel focuses on a father and his three children who are on an isolated island helping with scientific research. When an unconscious woman washes ashore barely alive, they are confused not only how she got there, but how she survived. We soon find out that not everything and everyone on this island are as innocent as they appear to be. Her last novel, " Once there Were Wolves" is one of my favorite books of all time, and in my opinion nothing can compare, but this novel was a close second. Her prose is so beautiful, and she reminds the reader to love not only one another, but our planet as well.

Another Charlotte McConaghy book that I devoured. This book has incredible descriptive nature writing, it was very character driven but also the plot kept moving. I was emotionally invested in this one. Tears were shed. Overall a beautiful book. I like the combination of danger and thrills, with all sort of environmental biology weaved throughout. Deep relationship building and a bit of history in the mix. I really enjoy her storytelling. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I can’t believe how perfectly the audiobook narrators were paired with their characters. The narrators were superb. The story was exceptional. An easy five stars.

Charlotte McConaghy never misses. This was a beautiful, devastating, heartwrenching book. Absolutely unput-downable. I listen in the shower, in the car, at the gym. I am in love with the story she crafted, the characters she created, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.

I was completely captivated by Wild Dark Shores. From the very first page, the book pulled me into its mysterious, windswept world, where beauty and danger coexist in perfect balance. The setting was breathtaking—isolated and untamed, filled with fur seals, penguins, whales, and birds that made the landscape feel alive. Even more than that, the ocean itself felt like a character, its vast, powerful presence shaping the lives of those who lived beside it.

At its heart, this was a beautiful, emotional story about grief and redemption, about the sacrifices we make for our children and how they have the power to change us in ways we never imagined—even if they aren’t our biological children. The characters’ journeys were deeply moving as they navigated loss, love, and the weight of the past. Their struggles with grief felt raw and real, and there were moments that absolutely broke me. This book had me in tears. More than just a tale of survival, it was a tribute to the interconnectedness of nature and humans—how the wild world shapes us, and how we, in turn, leave our mark on it.

And then there were the secrets. So many secrets. I spent the entire book trying to piece together the characters’ hidden pasts, convinced I could figure it all out before the truth was revealed—only to fail miserably. Just when I thought I had something figured out, the story twisted in a way I never saw coming. And that final plot twist? Absolutely jaw-dropping.

Wild Dark Shores was haunting, heartfelt, and impossible to put down. If you love atmospheric, deeply emotional stories with mystery at their core, I can’t recommend this one enough. It’s the kind of book that lingers long after you’ve finished the last page.

ARC was provided by the p

Dominic Salt lives on the island of Shearwater with his three children. Shearwater is near the Antarctica and is home to the worlds largest seed bank. Dominic has noticed that the sea levels are rising and his number one priorities are the safety of his children. A few months ago all of the other researchers have left the island and only four members were left to finish the project of protecting the seed bank. Now a boat has washed a shore of Shearwater and with it comes the mystery of why Rowan is on the island. She is severly injured and is being nursed by the Salt family. The more time she spends with them the more Rowan thinks there is something that they are all keeping from her. This is a book about secrets, love, and betrayal what you would do to protect the ones that you care the most for. I would like to thank both NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for letting me listen to an advanced copy of this audiobook.

life changing book. imagine an isolated island by Antarctica... a woman washes ashore, bruised and battered. this island also houses a mass storage center for all the seeds of various plants around the world. the characters of this book are so likable. the plot is totally different and innovative. cannot recommend this book enough.

A fantastic, compelling, suspenseful story. The writing sets the perfect, atmospheric tone from beginning to end. Loved the environmental themes of the seed vault, sea life and climate change. The characters all had interesting arcs- would have preferred a slightly different ending, but can’t argue with the well-written conclusion. The audiobook narration was perfectly brooding.
Thank you #Netgalley for the ARC audiobook!

I enjoyed this book a lot, but I didn't quite love it as so many other reviewers did. It started off a bit slow, but then it picked up the pace with several unexpected twists. This genre-bending novel was atmospheric, suspenseful, and thought-provoking. The author's vivid, beautiful writing pulled me into the remote and claustrophobic island of Shearwater. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Cooper Mortlock, Katherine Littrell, Saskia Maarleveld, and Steve West. I think I would have preferred to have a physical copy because the alternating perspectives and timelines became confusing. The narrators were very good, though, and I enjoyed listening to their storytelling. I especially loved Orly, who never failed to make me smile. The full-cast narration really made the story come to life, and the narrators did such a great job building tension and suspense.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the gifted ALC.

I don’t want to spoil any of the plot because I went into this not knowing it and THAT’S THE WAY I LIKE IT!! Just know you are going to get a stunning landscape, beautiful prose, lovable characters with great character development, and a story that will stick with you.

Also you’ll be obsessed with Orly and I feel like the audio makes him all the more lovable somehow. The audio was fantastic and the narrators perfectly matched their characters.

HUGE thank you to NetGalley and publishers for the audio ARC!!!

What an interesting premise! A researcher and his family are working on a remote island near Australia when a stranger washes up on their shore. Shrouded in mystery, the story takes some unexpected turns that tug at the heartstrings and delve into dark themes.

Thank you, Charlotte McConaghy, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this audiobook! The sound quality was excellent. The narrators, Cooper Mortlock, Katherine Littrell, Saskia Maarleveld, and Steve West, did a great job bringing the characters to life. I enjoy when different narrators voice the different characters’ point of view chapters.

I do not understand the hype about this book. I was pretty bored. I appreciated the multiple narrators but I don’t have much details to say in a review because I couldn’t get into this.

Wow. Wild Dark Shore started with so much action and mystery that I was hooked from the very first page—and trust me, I never saw that ending coming! The descriptive imagery in this book is stunning. You can practically feel the cold wind of the island, hear the storms crashing outside your windows, and taste the tension in the air. McConaghy has an incredible ability to transport you right into the heart of the story.

What struck me the most was the underlying theme of climate change. The book weaves this real-world issue into its narrative in a way that’s both haunting and thought-provoking. It made me reflect on the heartbreaking stories of people losing their homes to natural disasters around the world—wildfires, floods, hurricanes, and more. Wild Dark Shore reminded me that while the story is fictional, the pain it depicts is all too real.

The plot follows Rowan, a determined woman on a mission to reach a remote island—but we don’t know why. Her boat crashes, and she washes ashore, severely injured. The island is home to a family of four—father and three children—who take her in and nurse her back to health. At first, Rowan is resistant, especially to the youngest child, Ollie, but as time passes, trust begins to form between them. Each of them is hiding something, though, and as the story unfolds, the secrets come to light.

I can’t tell you how emotional this journey became. By the end, I was sitting at my kitchen counter, crying—whether they were happy or sad tears, I’ll leave that up to you to discover. But trust me, you won’t see this ending coming.

This is a must-read for 2025. If you pick up only one book this March, make it Wild Dark Shore. You won’t regret it.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio and Charlotte McConaghy for the privilege of reading this unforgettable story.

#WildDarkShore #CharlotteMcConaghy #BookRecommendation #ClimateChangeFiction #MustRead2025 #NetGalley #Bookstagram #MarchReads #Thriller #UnforgettableEnding

I was provided an ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This is told from multiple perspectives, and I appreciated that the audiobook had multiple narrators, all of whom I enjoyed. It really helped to know which person from the island you were with for that chapter based on the voice you were hearing.

This mainly follows Dominic and Rowan. Dom is a widower and his three children on a tiny island that has been used for research and as a seedbank. All of the scientists have left the island, as the sea is threatening to overtake the island and the lighthouse Dom and his family live in. He and the kids are responsible for packing up the seeds and whatever else they can salvage when the last ship comes to get them. The kids Raff, Fen, and Orly really don't know a home other than the island and spend their days among the plants and seals. Their lives are about to be completely turned upside down when they have to return to "proper" society, but as they are packing things up a strange woman washes up on shore during a storm. When Rowan finally wakes up she finds Dominic's strange family nursing her back to health. As she gets to know them she finds that while they are kind, something strange is going on and she is determined to find out what they are hiding. Turns out she has secrets and motivations of her own.

As far as thrillers go this was pretty tame, it is atmospheric though. The themes of isolation, desperation, and loneliness played a much bigger part than the actual mystery elements. This is very much about the human condition and what each character is going through and their connection to the island. This is highly character driven, and the characters are well developed. I felt the pacing was a bit slow, but I chalk that up to the fact that we swap POVs almost every chapter. While much of the story is told from Dom or Rowan's perspectives, we also get chapters told from each of the children, that tends to slow things down for me because just as you think you are getting somewhere the author takes you somewhere else. It all does come together in the end. I wasn't a big fan of the romance element, I didn't feel the chemistry between the two main characters. I feel like the romance wasn't necessary and the story would have been fine without it. I did think that the world building was excellent and I felt like I was on the beach with the seals or in the storms with the characters. The setting and flora and fauna were all described very well and you can tell that the author did her research which I always appreciate.

What an emotional and heartbreaking story. We find our main character, Rowan washed basically washed ashore on a remote island after her boat is caught in a violent storm. She is rescued by a girl and her family and is so close to death that they don't expect her to make it. But she does. The island she's washed up on is the site of what was recently a research base. It seems that the world is suffering from climate change in extremes in her time and the small island was a place where seeds were being stored in. case they were ever needed to repopulate the planet.

This book is a mixture of family drama, a little romance and a great deal of mystery. All of this is blended with a healthy dose of climate change education which is woven into the story in a way that feels very natural and is truly a vital part of the storyline and plot of the story. Rowan has come through some losses and left to find someone. But she doesn't share that with Dominic and his family. Likewise, they have secrets that they aren't sharing with her either. Trust isn't easily won in their situation.

This is my second book by this author and they have both been wonderful. I listened to the audio with this one and the narration really was lovely and felt perfect for the storyline. It kept me immersed in the story and I listened at every opportunity I had until I finished it. There were tears in my eyes when the last words of the book were spoken. It's definitely a bittersweet book but a truly beautifully written one. This author is definitely talented and I'll continue read whatever she writes (or listen to the audiobook).

Thank you to NetGalley for the early listening copy.

Dominic and his 3 children are caretakers on Shearwater, a remote island near Antarctica, home of the world’s largest seed bank. Once filled with researchers, they are the last remaining inhabitants. The rising seawaters will eventually flood the island, and Dominic’s job is to pack up the seeds to be transported to safer ground. A rescue boat is expected within a few months.

During a severe storm, a woman, Rowan, washes ashore. It's not a place that sees a lot of traffic so her presence is a mystery. Her reason for making the trip is eventually revealed and exposes secrets on both sides. Meanwhile, Dominic and his children nurse Rowan back to health, who was left barely alive.

Deeply atmospheric, with beautiful writing, there are traumas and mysteries to be revealed. I felt deeply for these characters and their relationship with one another, which makes up the bulk of the novel.

I won’t say much about the plot as it’s best discovered for yourself. The audiobook narration was phenomenal and captured the mood of the book perfectly. I felt the isolation, the desperation, and the love of this family. I was transported to the island and deeply moved. The events of the last chapters were harrowing and heartbreaking.

Words fail to convey how this book made me feel, and I always rate according to genre, how long a book stays with me, and how it makes me feel. It's a rare author who can evoke these emotions without manipulating the reader. This one is an easy 5+ stars.

The audiobook narrator was excellent!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

TL;DR: This was dark and sad and made me cry and was such a character driven story with a great mystery. It truly defies genre, mixing nature writing with mystery with family drama and it works so well.

I LOVED <i>Once There Were Wolves</i> and was highly anticipating this release. I loved the narrator, and rushed through the book I was reading prior to this so I could start this. Then, I felt like I had to sloooooow down. In the beginning, I was struggling to piece things together, and honestly, as much as I anticipated this, I was struggling to focus. I had a lot going on, so I paused for a week.

I am SO GLAD I did. I couldn't imagine if I'd tried to blast through this without giving it my full attention. It would have been a catastrophe and I would have enjoyed it so much less. This story is a story about nature and climate change. It is a story about loss and grief and family. It's a love story, too, and a mystery that is being unfolded.

It is also enchantingly written. Seriously. I lost myself in the story, and while the middle did start to lag a bit in terms of pacing, I was mesmerized by the beautiful setting and the unknown that wove itself through the family drama. I loved all the characters - especially Rowan and Raff - and while Ollie occasionally read as younger than 9, I would give the author the grace of writing him young, because of the storyline. It made sense in a way. The ending, too, was so good and I literally couldn't stop listening. I was almost late for work because of it.

I loved the characters and the plot and especially the animals. Never have I wanted to swim in the Antarctic Ocean with seals more than when I read this, and while the pacing in the middle was a bit slow, the characters really held this together. If you like atmospheric and emotional character-driven mysteries, this is a fantastic choice for you. If you need things with a steady pace, or if you need characters that are more hopeful (this was a heavy read for sure), this might not be a great choice.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was really looking forward to this book but the writing didn’t flow due to the multiple perspectives and the plot, although original in some ways, was lackluster. While the female narrators were likeable, I did not enjoy the voice of Dominic, it sounded like he was trying too hard to be mysterious.

Sadly, this one wasn’t for me.