Reviews with content warning for Grief - The Only Survivors

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."

Content Warnings

sarafrancesreads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

🌟 REVIEW 🌟

#TheOnlySurvivors by @meganlmiranda

🌟 Rating: 4.5/5 🌟

This was the first thriller I’ve read in a while. It was a little slow to start as the scene was set and the characters were introduced, but once the pace picked up, I was hooked. I couldn’t put the book down. Megan Miranda really comes through with the twists up until the very end, and kept me guessing.

The chapters alternate between the “Then” and “Now”, with the “Then” chapters told from each of the 9 survivors perspectives in reverse chronological order, ending with the main character, Cassidy’s perspective. The “Now” chapters are told from Cassidy’s perspective. I do wish a bit more development of the other characters was done, as I think it would have tied some of the threads together better and been a bit easier to follow. Initially, I was looking back to remind myself of who each of the characters were.

I did like the concept of a group of high schoolers tied together through shared trauma, and a pact made together after the death of one of the survivors on the one year anniversary of the accident.

Overall, this book got me hooked on thrillers/mysteries, and I am looking forward to reading more of Megan Miranda’s books.

⚠️ Trigger Warnings: car accident, death, drug use/abuse, gun violence, stalking ⚠️

Content Warnings

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.0

I selected this as one of my Book of the Months.
"The Only Survivors" follows a group of classmates who come together every year on the anniversary of the accident that altered their lives. When they were in high school, there was a terrible traffic accident that killed several of their classmates. They all have secrets from that night, and no one knows the whole story of why the vans crashed. Now, ten years later, their group is getting smaller because people are dying and disappearing. Can they get to the bottom of who is seeking revenge before someone takes them all out?
This novel was highly atmospheric and I really enjoyed reading about the setting. The group gathers at a beach house on a small peninsula that is kind of difficult to get to. There is also a storm that comes and makes it impossible to leave, making the setting all the more creepy.
The main mystery in this novel is not anything new for me, but it was enjoyable, and I still really enjoyed all of the plot twists. It felt cozy and dependable.
I did think the main perspective that we get, Cassidy's, was lackluster. She seems so devoid of emotion and detached from her life, which she is because of the PTSD from the accident, but I wanted more of her inner thoughts since we were reading from her perspective.
I will definitely still pick up more from Megan Miranda in the future.

Content Warnings

More...