10 years ago, on the way home from a school trip, a horrible accident occurred killing all students aside from 9 students. Today, 7 students remain and all gather in the Outer Banks to commemorate the 10 year anniversary of the tragedy, of their survival. During their week long stay, strange things begin to happen - someone goes missing, mysterious notes are found and it feels like someone is watching them. As the story unfolds, so do the secrets of that horrible day. Who would you save? Anyone? Or just yourself? And who wants to make the survivors pay the price?

I rated this book 4 stars. I felt the story was very interesting and found myself excited to find out all that had happened. There was definitely suspense and twists throughout the book but the twists were not super unpredictable. The book was a slow burn and very detailed and drawn out at times. But I enjoyed how the book was told from last and present, linking everything together! I would definitely read more by this author in the future.

I've read everything written by Megan Miranda in the adult fiction genre. For me she is on average a 3 star read. Her books are entertaining, characters are easy to root for, and she has some nice surprises but never completely implausible twists. In general, I can expect an enjoyable time reading with her. The Only Survivors did not disappoint. In fact, I would rate this a 3.5 star read - it would be 4 expect there were a couple of narrative/plot points that felt clumsy to me.

10 years ago a group of high school students on a school field trip endure a horrific bus accident during a violent storm. The survivors meet every year for the anniversary of the accident at a huge house in the Outer Banks. The accident is, in many ways, the only thing that really binds this group together. For the 10th anniversary, our MC Cassidy arrives at the house despite having no other ties with any of the survivors, and despite an initial feeling that she no longer wants to meet with them at all. A text from a mysterious sender changes her mind. The weekend begins with one of the group disappearing, and another horrific storm on the horizon. As the story unfolds, we get to go back in time for the POV of each of the survivors during the accident 10 years ago.

Ultimately, there are several good twists, including the final reveal which I did not at all see coming. There are a few times where the story lags a bit, but this is still a great read.

This suspense thriller will definitely be a favorite of all the Megan Miranda books! I'm still holding the edge of my seat with what happened. Ten years after 2 school buses go over a cliff, and flood waters carry them downstream, seven survivors meet yearly to talk about what happened and offer their support. Meeting at a beach house in Outer Banks called The Shallows, they share their survivor guilt and hope no one talks about what really happened. They are reeking of lies and deception, even though their resilience is evident that night that they watched their classmates perish and saved the ones they could.

The story divides into Then and Now with bits and pieces coming from characters with their own POV.
The town speaks in whispers of the ones that get together each year. No one knows what to say to them.
"We were the ghosts, staying in a ghost house."

With a storm brewing at sea, they will be closed off from safety. They realize when one of their friends leaves without a trace except a note left behind Get Out Now, they are in danger. One of the survivors was found recently from an overdose and the clues to it all may not be what it seems. Who to trust and whether or not to stay becomes the forefront of their minds. Is the storm more dangerous than themselves?
"Because you could not pull one thread without unraveling all the rest." If one person slips and tells what really happened the night of the accident, then they all will fall, unless someone stops them from it.
Thank you, NetGalley and Scribner for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The Only Survivors is a thriller told through alternating POVs and timelines. Cassidy is the only one to narrate the present, as a group of high school friends gather to commemorate a tragic accident in which this group was the only survivors. The past is told through the lens of other characters, including characters who are no longer alive. I liked this, as it allowed us to gain a fuller perspective of the events and tensions surrounding the accident. There are secrets, and hidden objects, and a stalker! It’s a great read for thriller lovers!

Riveting story of 9 classmates who survived an unimaginable tragedy only to be haunted by the memories of that tragic night for the next decade. After the death of one of the survivors, the groups make plans to meet up every year to check on each other. However, in typical Megan Miranda fashion, this is only the start of this twisty mystery.

Smart and sharp story about past friendships and making peace with tragic events. Really enjoyed the tone and characters and plenty of twists to keep things interesting!

Loved it!! From the start I was suspicious of everyone. They all seemed to be hiding something. The friends don't actually seem like friends. Do they really like each other? Most of them didn't even keep in contact with each other except for the one week at the beach house. Cassidy seemed like she was affected the least by the accident and wanted to completely distance herself from the others. Did Clara actually think the survivors should feel guilty about leaving the injured behind? It was a tragedy at what happened, but if they would have stayed by the river, they would have all perished. How would the injured have made it up the side of the cliff? The survivors all needed therapy and a lot of it. Through most of the book I thought Will was the one behind everything or maybe Jason survived and was exacting revenge on the group. For being adults, they acted more like teenagers. They never even thought to prepare for the storm, until the last minute. There were so many twists and turns. Every time I thought I figured something out, more information was revealed and I would change my mind. I really don't know how they all kept the secrets for so long. The ending was everything, especially when everything was finally revealed. I never expected who was behind everything. That person went to such great lengths to get the information. Ian must have been tormented the most, because he knew what really caused the accident. He went to such great lengths to protect that person. In the end, he was all alone.

Definitely recommend the book. It was a great mystery/thriller and kept me guessing until the end. I was definitely shocked by what caused the crash. Loved the characters, story and writing style. Look forward to reading more books by the author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Scribner through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early copy of this title, all reviews are my own.

Believe it or not, this is my first Megan Miranda. I really had high hopes for this one, but unfortunately I only have this one 3 stars. I really didn’t connect with the characters much at all, and didn’t really care what happened to them. I think it was a little anticlimactic, and far fetched. It was just ok for me!

(Thank you NetGalley for the ARC).

A group of high school friends survives a tragic accident. A decade later, they still meet to commiserate and continue their life-long bond. But this time, it seems like an uninvited guest may be throwing a wrench in their reunion.

This was fine. The pacing was a little slow. I didn't really care or feel connected to any of the characters. The plot was interesting and the mystery was there. But the bit of a Scooby-Doo like reveal was annoying and caused me to rate this 2 stars instead of 3. Honestly, I got to the 90% mark and was able to stop there and go to sleep for the night because I had already figured out everything there was to be revealed/discussed (I had). So this one was just okay for me.

This book was amazing! I couldn’t put it down. Absolutely terrifying and thrilling at the same time. One of my favorite books!!

I received an ARC copy of The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda, and this is my review of this book!

The after-effects of a high school trip tragedy have the survivors feel its impact years later. The survivors gather together once a year to be there for each other following the tragedy. However, there are many secrets and mysteries surrounding what actually happened the night of the tragedy and the years that followed that caused the survivors to make a pact never to tell a soul.

The plot switches from the present day to the past (from the tragedy's last hour to the tragedy's first hour in a backward timeline). I enjoy books that switch from past to present, but I have a hard time following when the plot goes in reverse, as it gets confusing to me to remember the storyline this way because you might not know what is essential.

I feel like I did not get to know all of the surviving characters as well as I would have liked to in order to feel truly connected to them.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the book. Set in the Outer Banks, but with dark and dreary weather, reminding the reader that tragedy looms over them the whole time and secrets lurk in the shadows waiting to reveal themselves.

The book was relatively slow-paced, and I wanted to know more about what happened. The twists at the end got me! and it was after the twist was revealed, I totally understood the impact it had on all of the book's characters, and the secrets started to make sense!

I want to read the book again, but in a different order, so that I can get a clearer picture of the timeline and how everything happened. Overall, it was a good book that kept my attention throughout!

This book was really addictive and every time I set it down, I was ready to pick it right back up.! The only thing I didn't like about the book was my lack of connection to any of the characters. I wish I cared a little more about them.

Loved this book!!! It kept me on my toes from the very first page!! I rate this book five out of five stars. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a good read!

I loved the twist at the end, but I kept thinking that there should be more. This store fell flat. One of the big reveals involved character I couldn’t even remember. I love Megan Miranda but she’s got way better out there.

*thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy. * this book will be published April 2023.

This book, what a wild ride. It varies from the past and present. They call it the now and then. A group of former classmates meet every year on the anniversary of a horrific crash that claimed the lives of all their friends their senior year of high school.

This group of seven survivors meet at the Shallows every year. For years Cassidy has tried to distance herself from the group. Every year feeling as if she can’t move forward with her life. But after learning one of the survivors killed themselves she feels compelled to meet with the rest of the group. A week of suspicion, lies, and deceit. This books was great I really enjoyed the different perspectives of all the people involved. Not to mention the ending, talk about woah I was not expecting that!

A thrilling, slow burn of a suspense novel where a group of nine high school classmates bond as survivors of a school van crash. Years later, the group continues to meet for a week every year, strengthening their bonds, protect one another and try to move on from that horrific van crash that had killed 12 of their other classmates.
After two of the nine survivors die, the rest become anxious and don't know if they can still trust each other,

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the eARC. #TheOnlySurvivors #Netgalley #MeganMiranda

Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC.

Cassidy Bent is a one of nine survivors of a high school field trip accident. She and the other survivors get together for the anniversary of the accident every year. The nine survivors are now down to 7 and it seems like someone in their group is spilling their secrets. This year's get-together in the Outer Banks may very well be the last.

The synopsis of this book sounded appealing, but it ended up being a dud for me. It was like the author took the basis of "And Then There Were None," set it with high school students, but removed the action and intrigue. The story is told in two timelines; the present ~week anniversary and the past ~7 hours surrounding 'the accident.' The present is told in a normal forward-moving storyline, focusing on Cassidy as the main character. But she is just an utterly boring character. The past is told in reverse order, starting 7 hours after the accident, and each "past" chapter is another hour closer to the accident. Each past chapter is told from the point of view of the last 7 survivors. In trying to tell the story from all the characters' points of view, it became distracting and I couldn't really keep everyone straight. Plus the mentioning of further characters in the past who didn't survive, it was a bit convoluted.

There were three final reveals at the end. One was very predictable <spoiler> Russ was the one who was blackmailing people/scaring them </spoiler>, the second was not-so-predictable, but didn't really fall in line with the rest of the story<spoiler> Cassidy was the one who caused the accident, not a deer</spoiler>, and the third was described so vaguely, that I'm not even sure I know what the reveal was<spoiler> who actually stabbed Ben? Was is Grace? Was it Clara? Was it Amaya? I think it was Grace, but I really don't know </spoiler>.

While it wasn't a bad book, it also wasn't good. I found that I just really didn't care and was slogging through to finish. This is the first Megan Miranda book I've read, and maybe she's just not for me. 2/5 stars.

**Thanks to NetGalley** This was an engaging thriller with many unexpected twists and turns! I gave it 3 stars because the amount of characters made it difficult to keep track of everyone’s story at times. There was also some ambiguity about what actually happened to night of the accident that lead to some confusion.

Ten years ago, Cassidy and 9 other classmates survived a terrible accident on a high school volunteer trip. On the anniversary of the accident, her and the other survivors shut themselves off from the world and meet at Olivers family beach house to stop themselves for thinking about what could have been. But as the years go on, and their numbers start to dwindle, it appears someone is looking for information, and will do anything to find out what really happened. As a storm rolls on, and secrets come out, the survivors begin to question one another’s loyalty and wonder who is searching for answers, and who is willing to give them.

The Only Survivors
by Megan Miranda
Pub Date: April 11, 2023
Scribner
Many Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for my honest thoughts on this book.
I enjoyed reading this thrilling mystery about a group of former classmates who reunite to mark the tenth anniversary of a tragic accident—only to have one of the survivors disappear, casting fear and suspicion on the original tragedy.

Seven hours in the past. Seven days in the present. Seven survivors remaining. Who would you save?
I highly recommend this thriller for the brilliant twists and turns , settings and mysteries!
4 stars