This book was Survivor, Castaway and Lord of the Flies all wrapped in one book. Maddy is looking for an escape after a tragic loss makes her feel there is nothing left for her. Luckily, she will be one of eight contestants to live and make a new community on a remote island while being filmed for a reality television show. While everyone is happy and excited at the beginning, tensions and divisions soon appear and Maddy is exiled from the group. While scared, Maddy knows she can survive on her own since she knows the boat will be by soon to pick them up. As the pick up day comes and goes tensions are at an all time high and paranoia is rampant especially after two dead bodies are found. As supplies dwindle hope for rescue gets smaller and smaller. Who will survive?

This is like an upmarket aggressive Love Island. Without the love but with fear and a fight with tooth and nail. I really enjoyed it and the story raced along. I did read it into the night and talked about it to friends and I recommend it as a good read!

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for my advance review copy of this book.

A gripping fight for survival ★★★★☆

When Maddy signs up to be stranded on a Scottish island for a year as part of a “social experiment” TV show little does she know that it will become a brutal game of survival of the fittest.

When the group realises that they really are stranded, festering divisions and desperation spill over into theft, violence, and even murder.

With the group against her and dwindling supplies can Maddy survive? Will a rescue ever come? Or will the others get her first?

A disturbing and gripping read which asks what we would do to survive and how dangerous desperation and isolation really are. Will anybody make it off the island alive?

For fans of Lord of the Flies by William Golding and The Castaways by Lucy Clarke.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story about a reality show set on an island. I got very invested in the character Maddy who I was backing all the way. The way her fellow islanders turned against her made me feel angry, upset and awkward that adults can turn back and dominate others with their childish and unfair ways. A great ready, thank you for sharing with me.

“I have learned that there is no justice…there is only survival and the victor tells the story…if it was to be survival of the fittest, I would play to win…”

If the world was ending, how would you survive? How do you picture the end? How do you resolve conflict? These are questions posed to contestants vying for a spot on a reality show where 8 strangers are left on Buidsearch Island for a year. The contestants are allowed to bring items they feel could be useful, and are provided a few cache boxes of supplies. There are no hosts or camera crews following them around filming their exploits. They each wear a solar powered camera, and the only other occupants on the island are 2 employees of the show to be contacted only for life-or-death emergency situations. So, what happens when food rations run low and tempers run high? Do you have what it takes to survive when the most dangerous element on the island is your fellow man?

WOW! This story is absolutely impossible to put down once you start! Dark and disturbing as we are told the story of a woman forced to match wits against the other occupants on the island in an ultimate game of survival. By the last page, you’ll be left wondering if you could live to tell the tale of being Stranded…

One of my fav reads of the year! Loved and highly recommend!




**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

I’ve been so lucky getting to read really good books lately and Stranded by Sarah Goodwin is one of those books I absolutely enjoyed reading. It has a very simple premise: A reality show/ social experiment type of thing with eight contestants that are to live on a secluded island and try to survive for a year, pretending that the world is ending and they are the only remaining survivors. I mean, what a very interesting scenario!

I’m absolutely hooked from the very beginning. Maddy is the protagonist of the story. She had a unique upbringing and lost her parents prior to joining the show. I loved her voice and characterization because she’s very relatable and she’s not your usual Katniss, Bella or Hazel Grace; and she’s basically just a socially awkward adult who grew up without any friends at all. I know it may sound weird for me to say that I loved that she is all that prior to meeting the other seven contestants but it’s just fun to see how she’d overcome all of those things and see her in group dynamics. There were times in the book that I got frustrated and annoyed by her; but looking back, her whole demeanor kinda worked with the whole set-up of the ‘game.’

It has a “Lord of the Flies” feel, with the whole power grabbing and we see here how wicked people are with the things they’re willing to do in order to survive. See, after their initial rations runs out, it became clear that this whole thing was very serious – and it really did turn graphic, I’m telling you. It’s very fascinating in a sickening way and I think this is what makes this book worth reading. I got really into it midway and I just couldn’t put it down. It’s very engaging, compelling, exciting, frightening and just a whole lot entertaining.

I’d definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for an exciting and a delicious thriller. Absolutely worth your time and dime!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Wow wow wow! The suspense!!

OK so I really really enjoyed this book. I loved the writing style, the suspense. It was absolutely fantastic. I feel like everything was neatly tied up at the end and all unanswered questions were answered. Loved seeing how it all panned out.
The only thing that let this book down for me was that I felt like it really didn't get exciting until about 40% in. I found the second part of the book fantastic but the first half let it down a little for me. That said I still really enjoyed the book!!

Stranded by Sarah Goodwin was not what I expected. It was much better in fact..

The novel is told from the point of view of Maddy, a twentysomething who has recently lost her parents in an accident. Maddy signs up for a Survivor-type adventure on a remote Scottish island where the chosen participants will have to survive for a year with minimal assistance from the show's production team. As we learn, Maddy has been excessively sheltered by her parents over the years - she hasn't gone to grade school or learned how to socialize and make friends or live independently in the world. This has resulted in her being socially awkward and struggling to read people and social cues the rest of us would pick up on easily.

The chosen participant group is a motley, assorted group of individuals who appear to have been selected to produce "dramatic television" through dissent and controversy. Unfortunately, working relationships deteriorate quickly and what appeared as a challenging adventure soon descends into a Lord of the Flies competition for survival.

I enjoyed this novel - especially the way Maddy uses her botanical knowledge to survive a threadbare existence on the island. Some of the characters are drawn a little one-dimensional and I would have enjoyed seeing a little more nuance in their personalities. However it was a great read and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a dash of outdoor adventure in their suspense reading. Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for providing me a copy to review.

Eight strangers accept the challenge to survive on an island for a year. Cameras constantly film them for reality TV. A social experiment to establish infrastructure, govern themselves and build a future from flotsam and the natural resources available to them.
After a while, friends become enemies and only the fittest survive. One of them becomes the prey, almost non-human for the others. When cornered, we are animals.

Blame, stigmatisation, fear, delusion that somehow they are all still civilised people at heart, that they try to protect themselves when they hunt the others.

Gripping, intense, dark, fast paced and with well developed characters, while reading it feels as a reader is on an island himself.

Unputdownable!

I wish there was more backstory to the characters as they weren’t all the unique to me but it was definitely a heart throbbing suspense that I needed to know the ending to. A little harsher than my usual writing style preference but fitting for the story. Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for this pre-release in exchange for my honest review!

I really enjoyed this. I love a book set on an deserted island and this one with its reality tv show twist was great fun. I liked how it dropped hints throughout about what was *really* going on. I was a bit disappointed with the (slightly strange!) ending but I really enjoyed it overall

I received a copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a thriller. I was intrigued by the premise of it and it did not disappoint. I liked the flip between present (the interview) and past. It gave little hints without giving anything away, which just made me want to keep reading.

The characters were very well written. The ones that were unlikeable were very unlikeable. The main character was easy to like, although she could be frustrating at times.

Overall, fantastic book. I’m a sucker for a good survival story. I will be looking for more of Sarah Goodwin’s books.

Maddy is having a tough time with the recent loss of her parents. She is offered a strange opportunity to be part of a social experiment where 8 strangers will have to survive together on a remote island for one year. The participants will be on their own for food, shelter and other necessities. Maddy quickly signs on, as she sees this as an opportunity to escape from her normal life and start a new chapter. Will the participants support each other or will this small society fall apart? Will Maddy make it off the island alive?

A brilliant five star read from author Sarah Goodwin. This is a gripping story about survival and it shows just how quickly that this small group’s moral behavior goes out the window. It definitely reminded me of the TV series Survivor but taken to the ultimate extreme. I loved it and would highly recommend STRANDED!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

Stranded by Sarah Goodwin is a very tense and twisty book. Sarah Goodwin does an excellent job writing complex characters and a storyline and plot that dives deep into the human psyche.

The story was tense and heart-pounding. Sometimes I would catch myself holding my breath when reading as the scenes were scary and some quite claustrophobic. Stranded is a very gripping story.

I admit that I was hooked as soon as I read the blurb of Stranded. I love a good survival thriller and the mystery around eight people arriving and only three surviving made me want to read this story instantly. I've been looking forward to read it, and I can now say that I definitely liked what I found. Stranded is a true survival thriller that also offers its very own little locked room mystery to boot. The story is strangely infuriating while also being highly entertaining, and it's definitely one that will have you in its claws until the very end.

The setting on the remote Scottish island Buidseach Isle is without doubt a perfect backdrop for the story. The eight contestants have to survive during a whole year on the island, relying mostly on what they can find on Buidseach to keep themselves alive. The many descriptions of the island, its fauna and everything related to the survival element in general where thorough and vivid, and I really felt like I was there right next to Maddy seeing everything unfold. The setting and the survival element of the story were both reasons I ended up enjoying this story considerably, and it made the story stand out for me too.

As for the characters... Some can be quite infuriating, and most are quite unlikeable, but somehow I wasn't too bothered by it as they make the story strangely entertaining. Maddy herself was an interesting character, and while I wanted to slap her at times for not standing up for herself, I can't say I'm surprised by her initial reactions due to her past and it was interesting to see her character evolve over time. The character development as the eight contestants spend more time on the island is intriguing in general, and especially when things start to escalate.

Like I mentioned before, this story also has that locked room mystery vibe, which is an element I always love. It was interesting to see this part of the story develop, and Stranded will definitely have more than one surprise for you in store before you reach the end. It turned out to be a highly engaging, addictive, frustrating and suspenseful read and I will definitely be looking out for any future Sarah Goodwin books.

This book had me gripped from page 1! U loved the writing style and it was so easy to get completely absorbed in the plot. This is a must read for anyone who likes the thriller/ domestic noir type genre. It is the perfect antidote to a certain island based romance TV show that is currently being broadcast on TV lol

Any book featuring an individual or group stranded somewhere inaccessible is right up my alley, and this offering by Sarah Goodwin is definitely a top pick for me. The mis-matched group of eight - four men, four women - are selected from applicants for a 'reality' type tv show to survive for a year on a remote Scottish island, and have to learn how to fend for themselves once their starter rations (about a month's worth of food and supplies) have been used up. They are expected to build a shelter, latrine, shower, furniture and to grow and forage food, catch wildlife and fish. They are told to wear body cameras at all times and there are also cameras placed strategically around the island in trees. There is also an 'out of bounds' area where the two cameramen / technicians are stationed in a portacabin.

At first the group co-operate, establish rotas and assign tasks by skillset, but it doesn't take long for the cracks to appear and the group to splinter due to greed, laziness and selfish behaviour.

The book is entirely written from Maddie's point of view. She has plenty of character flaws (being solitary, socially awkward, introverted) but also resourceful, hard-working, sensible and aware of the bullying and manipulation going on. Some characters were easily led and we get to see how power is grabbed and the majority go along with it. It's a microcosm of an office environment, a cult or even a whole society.

The writing is fabulously immersive. We feel Maddie's growing isolation, anger and fear of the danger posed by certain other characters. We know from the beginning that some people make it off the island and that there is a trial but don't know who died, who escaped and who was found out until almost the end.

A definite 5 stars. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-copy in return for an honest review.

Eight people are made to live the wild life in an island for a reality show for a year. The author has done a marvellous work with character building, changing group dynamics, altering mindset, suspicions that come with being cut off from the outside world. The emotions are all authentic. I don’t think I would be able to appreciate this book adequately. It has to be read to feel it.

A group of 8 people land on a remote island to begin their year long adventure on a reality show survival experiment. None of them was expecting what was in store for them.
All characters in this story were very unlikeable most of the time, even Maddie, the narrator at times gave reason to question her behaviour. Which makes you ask yourself, how would I act in that situation? I’d like to think I would be a whole lot nicer but I guess none of us truly know unless we’re put in said position?
I knew that I’d love this book from the off, I’m a reality tv lover, with survivor being my all time favourite so it was right up my street. I was truly hooked and bored my family giving them regular updates on what was happening next.
I would love to give this the 5 star rating it deserves but there are 2 factors that really disappointed me. Firstly, I really didn’t like the “witch” aspect and felt it unnecessary and secondly without giving away any spoilers I felt that the reason given to Maddie etc. for the production companies failure seemed very unrealistic, I honestly don’t think in the real world it would’ve played out that way. Despite this, a very exciting read and I will definitely be looking out for this author in the future. #NetGalley

This is a rapid-paced, compelling story with masterful execution. The constant action means there is never a dull moment
I love a good thriller. Something to get the mind working, heart racing and having you on the edge of your seat. Great writing, great characters and a great storyline.