foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, Violence, Suicide, Addiction, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Drug abuse, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Alcohol, Kidnapping, Vomit, and Sexual content
kelly_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Author: Megan Miranda
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 3.50
Pub Date: April 11, 2023
T H R E E • W O R D S
Atmospheric • Layered • Predictable
📖 S Y N O P S I S
A decade ago, two vans filled with high school seniors on a school service trip crashed into a Tennessee ravine—a tragedy that claimed the lives of multiple classmates and teachers. The nine students who managed to escape the river that night were irrevocably changed. After one of the survivors dies by suicide on the anniversary of the crash, the rest of them make a pact: to come together each year to commemorate that terrible night.
Their annual meeting place, a house on the Outer Banks, has long been a refuge. But by the tenth anniversary, Cassidy Bent has worked to distance herself from the tragedy and from the other survivors. She’s changed her mobile number. She’s blocked the others’ email addresses. This year, she is determined to finally break ties once and for all. But on the day of the reunion, she receives a text with an obituary attached: another survivor is gone. Now they are seven—and Cassidy finds herself hurling back toward the group, wild with grief—and suspicion.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Having only read one Megan Miranda book previously, I was drawn to her latest release because of the stunning cover. I picked this one up hoping for an entraining palette cleanser and it was certainly that.
What I like:
• the setting. Miranda does atmosphere really, really well. Here the Outer Banks, particularly the house, are a character all their own. It felt creepy and suspicious.
• the structure. Told in dual timelines, this one has a unique structure with the present timeline moving forward linearly, whereas the past timeline was told in reverse. This structure worked really well in helping create suspicion.
What I didn't like:
• the large cast. It took some time to sort everyone out, and because there are so many characters I never got a good sense of who each was. It made connecting or liking any of them pretty much impossible.
• the unreliable narrator. Given I never got a good sense of any of the characters, I really never felt connected to Cassidy (who narrates the present timeline), so I just didn't care at times.
A slow burn and slightly predictable thriller, The Only Survivors isn't a story that will stick with me long-term, but I did enjoyed my reading experience at the time. I can definitely see it being popular this summer, and I'll continue to explore this author's work for the entertainment value alone.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Megan Miranda fans
• readers who enjoy locked-door mysteries
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"There's a moment, when your mind rebels against what it knows to be true."
"There are things you have to do to survive, and there are things you have to believe too - and this was one of them."
Graphic: Car accident and Mental illness
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Grief, Child death, Suicide, and Violence
Minor: Stalking, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Cursing, and Vomit
sibling death, PTSD, overdoseckschroeder's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Car accident, and Suicide
Moderate: Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Drug use
Minor: Gun violence, Stalking, and Violence
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Car accident, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Blood, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Vomit, Addiction, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Drug use, and Drug abuse
milesofkiles's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Car accident
Moderate: Gun violence, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Minor: Alcohol and Violence
mshaner2133's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Suicide, Car accident, Murder, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Child death
Minor: Gun violence
markandcover's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Violence and Car accident
Minor: Stalking
bringmybooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
✨ 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 ✨ B̷O̷R̷R̷O̷W̷ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷
Okay, so, look, I'm by no means a thriller aficionado, so feel free to take all of this with a grain of salt. I'm very rarely going to guess the twist ahead of time, I'm pretty much always going to have a jaw dropping moment, and I'm generally going to fly through thrillers because of the way they're written.
ALL OF THAT BEING SAID, THOUGH - I really, really, really enjoyed this book. I loved how all of it came together, and I loved the narrative choice to go back and forth from the present to the accident (starting with one survivor's POV 7 hours afterwards and going back one hour and switching POVs until you got to the accident itself).
I was swept up in all the winding ways that everything came together, and it all seemed plausible. It is twisty, and fun, and sad, and I thought there was a very good twist at the end! I've also decided to go through Megan Miranda's backlist based on this book alone, so that's another point in this book's favor!
Graphic: Car accident, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol and Suicide
Minor: Toxic relationship, Drug use, Alcohol, Vomit, Violence, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Stalking, Murder, Gun violence, and Grief
booknerdnative's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, and Death
Minor: Suicide, Racism, Pedophilia, Bullying, Stalking, Violence, and Mental illness
theoceanrose's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Car accident and Violence
Minor: Drug abuse, Suicide, and Gaslighting