I have always been a fan of Megan Miranda. This one is no different. Although not a fave of hers, I enjoyed the journey. It was eery but predictable for thriller lovers. The plot twist was similar to Miranda’s previous work.

This was a very slow burn, too much for me honestly. I also don't like it when everyone knows something that the reader doesn't, and that made it more of a frustrating read than it needed to be. Couple this with a large cast of characters that aren't well defined made the book a chore to get through. Overall, there are a couple of good twists and surprises, so it's a decently successful read in the end.

Ten years ago, two vans carrying high school seniors crashed through a guardrail and went over a cliff and into a river during a storm. Many people died, but nine of them survived. One girl, Clara, committed suicide a year later, so the rest of the survivors have decided to gather each year at Oliver's family beach house to keep their bond strong. Cassidy, who narrates the story, is at a good place in her life and decides that it's time to cut ties with these people and move forward. But she gets a text from a mysterious number with information that Ian, yet another one from their group, has recently died. She decides to join the group one last time. What secrets are they all keeping about the incident? When they gather together, mysterious things keep happening. Does someone know what happened during that fateful trip?

Like I said, I did like the twists. Some I saw coming and some I didn't. But there are just too many characters for me to really care about or get to know, and a couple of them don't even have much time on the page. It takes a long, long time of setup for anything really to get going and happen, which can be frustrating if a person is looking for a faster pace, which is what I wanted. I like this author's writing, but this one didn't engage me much. I didn't really care for Cassidy's character, and since hers is the only POV we get, that impedes the flow.

The book alternates between the events of the past and the present. I liked the time spent in the past better, because it really showed how the group dynamics came into play, and why they acted the way they did.

In the end, I will keep reading books by this author because they are generally pretty good and suspenseful. This might be the case of bad timing for me, as I had just finished a super fast-paced thriller and the plodding pace of this one just didn't work well.

The Only Survivors showcases what I love so much about Megan Miranda: her use of setting is so significant the setting itself practically becomes a character. The author has many times set her books in North Carolina and does so here as well for the majority of the book, with the Outer Banks figuring prominently. Ms. Miranda writes suspense well and is a master of the use of unreliable narrators. Her established fans will enjoy this book and she will likely pick up new readers as well.

This was a great, quick read. I couldn’t stop turning the pages trying to figure out exactly what had happened and who to blame. I guessed wrong several times, but in the end I was satisfied with the story!

Megan Miranda is just one of those authors who always writes an enjoyable story. She never fails me. I am able to pick up one of her books whenever I am in the mood for something dark and twisty, and absolutely binge it.

This book starts out just before the 10 year anniversary of a crash that had 9 survivors. The group gets together each year basically as a pact to ensure their continued silence. However, these survivors start dropping like flies and through alternating timelines we start to get a glimpse of all the dark things that have been happening in the years since the accident.

What I liked:
-Alternating timelines
-Secrets, and a lot of em
-Slow burn suspense
-The setting: OBX, creepy beach house vibes
-Claustrophobic/suffocating feelings

What I struggled with:
-Cassidy was a little dull
-A lot of character tracking
-Repetitive
-The neighbor???

Despite some of my struggles, I still couldn't predict the ending and was thrown for a loop. This was perfectly creepy and a page-turner. I also saw an interview that she was inspired to write this story because her family found a phone washed up on the beach during a family trip!

Thank you Netgalley, Scribner and Megan Miranda for an eARC of this book. The perfect psychological thriller for a beach trip!

This is my 2nd book by Megan Miranda. And once again she can prove she knows how to craft a story. She knows how to set a mood and make a mystery atmospheric af. But for The Only Survivors, maybe it was not a story I really... got invested in? It sounds like an oxymoron. I enjoyed her style and all... and reading made me feel a certain type of way... but at the end I had to ask myself, "Ok.. but do I care about any of this?" I did not really care for a single character, and I definitely did not trust any of them. And I was simultaneously shocked AND not shocked by the reveal. But still, I enjoyed the writing, the dialogue, the descriptions of scenarios and places, etc enough to where none of that mattered to me. The plot was also super interesting enough for me to pull me in and keep me seated. There are elements (not big ones, but some vibes that resonated with me) of the Yellowjackets show. Iykyk... and NOT cannibalism LOL.

I do know that I will be buying whatever Megan Miranda puts out still... and I know I have a few to catch up on in her backlog!

As I look back on my past Megan Miranda reads, I discovered I haven't loved many. This is another 3 star one for me - solid story, but I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it. Slow burn they call it. So slow, I waited for it to be released and listened to the audiobook because I just could not get into reading it. Just think this author/type of story is not for me. I need a bit more action in my thriller/suspense.

Coming soon! I was lucky enough to get my hands on an early copy of The Only Survivors [thank you NetGalley!] and couldn't put it down! The story is about a group of friends who meet at the beach house every year on the anniversary of "the accident" - it's tradition. The entire book has such an eerie tone and everyone is suspicious. What really happened on that dark night? Who keeps digging into the past? Add this one to your "To Read" list, coming April 11th!

I was thrilled to get a chance to read the latest by Megan Miranda! I really enjoyed the present setting of the book at the beach house. The vibe really meshed well with the story. At times, I had to remind myself of which character was which as the story is told in alternating time period chapters. I thought it was a captivating thriller which kept me interested throughout!

This book was a bit of a slow burn, but when it got rolling, Megan Miranda proved why she’s the queen of suspense. I was riveted, and I totally expect this to be gobbled up by thriller lovers and book clubs all summer long.

I’m sad to say this book didn’t wow me. I feel like the odd one out here. I usually love Megan Miranda but this one fell flat. After reading the whole book I’m still not exactly sure what the big secret was that they were all keeping. The end felt rushed and didn’t really provide that oomph and twist I usually get with her books.

A group of former classmates reunite for the tenth anniversary of a tragic accident. This book is full of turns and twists. Some of the classmates do not want to go but go after learning of a classmate’s death. Once they arrive on the outer banks things spin out of control one girl leaves immediately. Cassidy begins to wonder and have questions about what truly happened and she eventually leaves as well.

Every year for a decade Cassidy Bent has met up with eight of her high school friends at a house in North Carolina's remote Outer Banks. From the outside looking in, it looks like the perfect reunion. There are watersports, there is sun tanning and gossiping, there are long lunches, and even longer dinners followed by marshmallow roasts and beers by the bonfire. From the inside, however, Cassidy feels that the trip is a prison sentence. This group isn't bonded by happy memories of proms and senior pranks, but instead by "that night." The night a class trip went wrong in the worst way imaginable when the vans bringing them home from a school trip careened off the side of a Tennessee ravine and into the rapidly rushing river below. The nine survivors clawed their way out of the wreckage, out of the river, and up the side of the ravine, making unthinkable and untellable decisions along the way.

Now, as adults they've kept to their pact never to share the details of what really happened that night, and have met year after year at The Shallows to remind themselves of that promise and to make sure that everyone is still in line. This year, in year 10, however, Cassidy Bent has decided to opt-out. She's not making the trip, has blocked everyone's email, and changed her phone number. She thinks that she's escaped when she receives a text from an unknown number, sharing that another survivor has passed away. Now, determined to find answers surrounding her friend's death, and equally determined to hold one of their own group accountable, Cassidy can't help but wonder if the pledge that the survivors made to save one another has slowly morphed into a pledge to save themselves...

I was in no way prepared for the ending of "The Only Survivors." I thought that I knew where the story was heading, but the last few chapters defied all of my expectations and left me shocked. Miranda did an incredible job laying the foundation for her "big reveal" and longtime fans of her work will not be at all surprised by the mastery that she shows tying up all her loose ends. This novel also tugged at my heartstrings. The idea of ten high school seniors bonded forever by the trauma of surviving an unthinkable accident was so, so sad. They made difficult decisions to survive, and have carried the weight of that through their entire lives and it is really sad and heartbreaking to see how that weight has shaped all of their lives. Miranda creates a group of broken adults who readers will want to hate, but will ultimately be unable to because they have always done what they thought was best in the face of insurmountable trauma and pain.

A must-read for anyone who still meets up with their college or high school friends for a yearly reunion, fans of Sally Hepworth, and your one friend who swears she can keep a secret, but really just wants to know everyone else's business. "The Only Survivors" is the perfect thriller for summer. Special thanks to NetGalley and to Scribner for providing an Advanced Reader's Copy of "The Only Survivors" in exchange for an unbiased review!

This book is told from the perspective of Cassie, one of the 9 survivors of a school-trip crash. This group of survivors meet up each year ensure that each of them keep a promise to never tell any details about the crash or what happened next. The narrative is told in both a present timeline displaying the strange events happening with Cassie, and providing details bit by bit about the crash from that time. This book kept me guessing, and I loved how everything unfolded

Every year 9 former strangers meet up at a beach house to commemorate the anniversary of an event that brought them together. During their senior year they all experienced a tragedy while on a school trip. Nine survived and now only seven remain. Cassidy tried to avoid going this year, but she received a mysterious text reminding her to be there and she decides to go out of guilt. Upon arrival she immediately knows something is off this year when she arrives. Amaya, the one who normally organizes everything, suddenly disappears. A storm is approaching which causes the group to start to worry about her and rush to try and find her. As secrets become uncovered they start to turn on each other and the hidden truth of the tragedy all those years ago is threatened to come out.

This book took a little too long to get going for me, and once it did it was just kind of "meh". I didn't think there was a twist at the end or anything like that, the story just kind of played out and revealed itself. I'll still read anything Miranda writes, because she always holds my interest, however this particular story was too slow a burn.

I finished this book a few months ago, and realized I never made a review on this story! Megan Miranda is very hit or miss for me, but yet I continue to read their books. This one is one of my favorites by this author, because it is a quick novel that I did finish quickly. It is told from two different time periods (present and the past.) While the past has multiple POVs, the present only has one. My big criticism of the novel is I felt that the "past" chapters were far more interesting than the present day

I wanted to love this book, I really did… Unfortunately I just could not connect with anything in this story. My mind kept wandering off as I was reading this, and I had to keep going back to reread several pages, paragraphs, and sentences because the going backward format really confused me.
I feel that this story had great potential, but for me it just moved way too slow. I also could not connect or empathize with any of the characters (which I felt I should have). I have read other books by this author that I have really enjoyed. This book is not one of my favorites by Miranda, but I will still be watching for future reads from her in hopes that I enjoy the next one much more.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘼 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.

📍 Read if you like:
• Locked Room Mysteries
• Slow Burns
• Brilliant Settings
• Character-Driven Stories

I’ve seen so many mixed reviews about this book, but I actually enjoyed it for the most part. To be fair though, I gave Such A Quiet Place five stars and I have no regrets.

I don’t know what it is, but Megan Miranda’s thrillers are always so fun to read. They’re not the greatest stories, but I just enjoy how easy they are to read and the simplicity.

I loved following a group of classmates reuniting ten years later after a terrible tragedy. It’s set up with dual timelines: the present following Cassidy, and the past following multiple characters.

It is more of a slow burn and not much happens, but I was so intrigued by the story - especially the past. Also, some moments were predictable and confusing at times.

I also feel like the trauma from such a tragedy was very well portrayed, especially PTSD. The book also feels more like it was character-driven than plot-driven so it may not be for everyone.

This was such a fun locked-room mystery. Was it perfect? No, but it was so enjoyable and I was entertained the whole time. Megan Miranda’s books are always a guilty pleasure and I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

•𝗧𝗪/𝗖𝗪: Car accident, death, suicide, drug abuse, drug use, stalking

This was such a slow burn mystery with way too many characters. It just dragged on and on and by the end it was so easy to predict what was going to happen. I was so surprised about my dislike of this one, as I have really liked her other books. In my opinion, this is one to skip!

I had really high hopes for this book. I just feel like it was okay. There was nothing that made me continue thinking about this book after I read it.