Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - The Only Survivors

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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sarafrancesreads's review against another edition

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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 ⚠️

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lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

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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.

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leebeeloves's review

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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bringmybooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

tl;dr: I read this in one day, practically in one sitting

✨ 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!

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