Reviews with content warning for Addiction - The Only Survivors

it was ok. the characters were all very caricature/superficial and motives felt a bit weak. it was just kind of boring with nothing much happening in the present til the end. i guessed almost all the major plot points but i liked the non-linear timeline and one reveal near the end, so 3.5.

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readingwithmeredith's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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luverbyrd's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Wasn't hooked right away. Probably took 70 or so pages into it to get invested in this group of characters. When you read the Past excerpts, you start to understand them a little better.
The thrill, mystery aspect was fun but it kind of fell flat for me by the end. Things just didn't make sense completely still, I have questions on motives and the chain of events...I guess I wanted more answers by the end and I didn't get the ones I wanted.
I did have fun reading this though and flew through the last few chapters.

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ali___cat's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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foldingthepage_kayleigh's review

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

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kelly_e's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

Title: The Only Surviors
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."

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avidreaderandgeekgirl's review

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

This book was pretty good, not as predictable as most thrillers. However, I saw a few things coming. I understand why she blamed herself, though it was her teacher's fault. I wish they'd gone a bit more into some of the other characters not just in the flashbacks. As multiple POVs would have been better. But overall a good thriller with an exploration of survivors' guilt and trauma.

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