I was excited when I read the premise of the book, anything written about survival is right up my street. I was a bit nervous too as I find sometimes stories of this nature can be a bit disappointing.

I was pleasantly surprised though. The first half of the book builds tension well, building the story and giving us a chance to get to know the characters. Then it starts to get dark and truly gripping. The main character, Maddy, isn't overly likable but that worked well with the storyline.

Definitely worth a read, especially if this type of genre intrigues you.

A survivor like thriller with a frightening twist! Can you even imagine being on an isolated island with strangers for a whole year even for a reality tv show? The people that were dropped off on the island were ready for adventure but they soon discovered that their adventure would take a rather dark turn. I actually felt like I was part of this story and felt the tense and fearful emotions the main character felt I love intense thrillers like this and it was definitely had a riveting, unique plot .

This is a strange book to review, I went from hating it and thinking I'd give it one star, to thinking I was being biased - just because I didn't enjoy it, didn't mean it was badly written... I stuck it out, and I have to say wow. That ending. I never saw it coming.

I'll start by explaining why I didn't like it initially. Most of the characters are truly awful, and the hidden savage nature of the average human (note I said average, I don't mean everyone, but if we are honest, most fit the bill), which tends to rear its ugly head when the going gets tough, was especially prevalent here. I really, really cannot fathom why anyone would ever sign up for something like this, but then Come Dine With Me is in its gazillionth season, so go figure.

It didn't take long for things to deteriorate, and then it all went to pot. Maddy, one of the crazies who signed up, became a pariah and was forced to fend for herself, which really would have been fine (better than sticking around with the others) if things hadn't taken a turn for the worse.

This book takes turns in suffocating, shocking, and frightening you. I didn't like the references to the rabbits and the casual way they are spoken of as if they were no more than clods of earth, it was a bit sickening and in many ways a bit too graphic. But then I suspect that was the point. It shocks me sometimes, what people are capable of, but then deep down we all know. The trick is to be clever and get them back. And if you have a witch on your side, well, all the better. Enough said.

Many thanks to Sarah Goodwin, Avon Books and Net Galley for my ARC.

I am a huge survivor fan as was excited to review this book! Sarah Goodwin did not disappoint.

Did you enjoy Lord Of the Flies? Then this is a book for you! Maddy is a sheltered homeschooled unhappy young adult who has applied to be part of a game/reality show that strands 8 adults on an uninhabited island. She hopes to make a new life and new friends and start over during the year spent on an island without any support.

Foreshadowed in the description, things go wrong fairly quickly. Maddy has trouble fitting into the group. As the description reveals, only Maddy is available to tell the story of what went wrong on the island and where are the other survivors.

I enjoyed this book immensely. I felt like the characters could have been drawn out a bit more. It was hard to emphasize with anyone really, even Maddy was a bit unlikeable. A broader backstory would have made a more interesting and thrilling novel.

There was a lot of foreshadowing to the end which I think could have been left out. I think it would been a bit more suspenseful if some of the future events were not included. I did want to know so badly how it would turn out though and I read this novel in 24 hours. Recommend!

This was really good, I wasnt sure to start with and then it got better. I loved the way you never really knew who was on trial and just loved the ending and the production notes.

Fully do recommend reading.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own

I fell straight into this book, devouring the pages and I found the writing style was perfect for me, I immediately gelled with it, and when you find a book like this it feels like coming home. Don’t get me wrong Some parts were really hard to deal with, and I found myself very emotionally bound to Maddy, our main protagonist from whose POV the story is told. I hate bullies, and reading about how one person was picked out and exiled in such hostile and unjust circumstances from the group was difficult. I found I was rooting for Maddy who was very self sufficient and calm in the face of adversity and was the only truthful and genuine member of the survival shows lineup. However is she as reliable as she seems? I love an unreliable narrator.

However I’m running away with myself, I have so much love for this book I’m word vomiting in my excitement …

This is a fast paced survivalist thriller and it really gave me Modern day Lord of the flies vibe, the camp splits into factions with a supposed leader who is actually a bully and his sycophants and then we have our ‘victim’ Maddy who basically has to go it alone. There are deep moral dilemmas at the heart of this story- We see how mob mentality plays out , and the dichotomy between civilisation and savagery. But Maddy is far from the victim she is a pocket rocket and has strong survival tendencies , if you were to be stranded I think you should want to be Maddies best friend as she knows her stuff and is a strong female lead! Go Maddy 🙌🏻🙌🏻

I loved how a potential adventure and the setting for fly on the wall documentary revealed so much, how a group of strangers can first bond and then form friendships and allegiances. It was intriguing to see how the ideals and expectations of the group when they first arrive play out and change with their circumstances. How the reality sees initial highs hopes for building accommodation on the island, and planting and growing food end up descending into chaos as the contestants descend into desperate, starving castaways who are willing to whatever they could find from rats to mouldy jam to keep their starvation at bay and how their standard of living diminishes with their hope of rescue. Themes include the tension between the group and individuality, between rational and emotional reactions, and between morality and immorality. Absolutely fascinating!!

So many questions as I raced through this book… what has happened? Why doesn’t the boat arrive to take them home? I enjoyed the build up of tension and the questions that left me grasping at various theories of what happened….

One of my favourites parts is where Maddy having been isolate and alone for a long period of time returns to the abandoned camp, the descriptions of the state it had been abandoned in and the possible circumstances surrounding it were thrilling. I loved the world building the author created, which was intense and vivid, I was there living life on the island.

The characters were so, so real and their interactions played out in front of me as if I was watching a technicolour film- so real and believable. The hierarchy of the characters was so realistic and her portrayal of how they change with the increasingly dire situation was a joy.

The authors ability to write is incredible, and when I started this book I literally disappeared into it and didn’t emerge until I had finished. It’s so compelling and I was so absorbed I literally read this in one sitting. Fast paced, dark and intense, the storyline is taut and perfectly plotted and I loved the sense of claustrophobia and paranoia. It’s eerie and beautifully written- believe me when I say this is a debut you. DO. NOT want to miss!!!

I adored this book and honestly fellow thriller readers get this title preordered and thank me later, it’s utterly unputdownable ( yes that is a even a word!!) and you’re going to love every single twisty page!!

Huge Thankyou to Avon books and Netgalley for my copy, I will still be preordering as I need to own all my favourite thrillers physically to adorn my bookcase, and Stranded is 100% up there with the best!!

Is it weird that I don't have any feelings good or bad toward this book? I loved the premise of the Survivor type theme. The book was entertaining and you definitely get sucked in during the last half of the book. The characters are good, the storyline is fully formed and doesn't drop off unexpectedly. All in all it was a satisfying read overall. The only part that bothered me was the very very end where Maddy is supposedly friends with the "witch" of the island; I felt the witch wasn't even part of the story so why add that addition.

Thank you Avon Books, Sarah Goodwin and Netgalley for this arc!

Maddy has signed up for a reality TV Show: What would happen if the world had ended and 8 strangers were sent to a remote, deserted island, with little to no assistance in the way of food, shelter and other basic necessities, for a year. 

Eight people means eight different skills sets and eight different personalities. And some of those personalities are going to clash. As Maddy and the others struggle to survive the island, some of those clashes turn into battles, creating dangerous enemies, until the lack of necessities may not be the most deadly thing on this trip. 

This book was INTENSE. Absolutely heart stopping. My heart was pounding with anger at what went on and I was terrified most of the way through - in the best possible way. There were so many characters I wanted to jump through the page and strangle but I was so gripped by the mystery and desperation of their situation, I just couldn’t put it down!

The story is told in alternating timelines - on the island and in a TV interview with Maddy after the event. The interview sections weren’t anywhere near as interesting as the rest, but by the end I saw why they were necessary. 

With a grown up Lord of the Flies feel, Stranded should definitely be on your list of you enjoy intense, Lost style mysteries!

I love a good social experiment, man. Think Survivor but no host or camera crew. Strangers becoming friends. Friends becoming enemies. Now almost everyone is dead? How? Why? IT WAS SO GOOD.

Saw this book on NetGalley, thought it sounded right up my street - and how right I was!

Maddy is looking for an escape from her lonely life and what could be better than an isolated island with a few strangers for a year as part of a reality TV show? The story begins at the end of her isolation, holding a rifle and departing a boat on the mainland in need of help….

I started this book today and finished it in one sitting. I literally could nor put it down. One not to miss.

The author did a good thing here,by giving us an awkward fairly unlikeable main character,that by the end,you're on her side.
Truly a survival of the fittest,when a group of strangers are stranded on a remote island,and left with cameras to film the fallout,that you know is going to happen.
A small enough cast of characters that made it easy to get them straight from the off.
Some tense moments,and even a few wince inducing ones.
What I'd class as a decent beach read.
If beach holidays are a thing for you this year.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

Now that’s a nice story. Not at all what I was expecting, but a pleasant surprise. Great ending. Truly twisted.

5 misanthropic stars.

This book! I devoured it. The first half slowly builds the tension, which had me tearing through the pages, desperate to discover what happened. I'm a big fan of 'love to hate' characters, and I love it even more when the protagonist is unlikeable and unreliable. The clever writing style reminded me of Sarah A Denzil, with a tight plot and perfect pacing.

Utterly immersive and unbearably tense, Stranded is a gripping debut you won't want to put down.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for the ARC.

Stranded has an interesting premise, but I was weary initially, as the execution rarely lives up to the expectations of a thrilling premise. This book, however, was a splendid read, an homage to the Agatha Christie locked-room mystery, updated for the 21st century as a reality show premise careens into catastrophe.

The plot was a balanced blend of characterization, slow-burn tension between the characters, survivalist techniques on the island, and an interview from the present teasing us with the ultimate consequences (which, to be honest, I found to be a bit hokey, used a crutch to get us through the slower moments in the beginning). The other characters were largely unlikeable, but rounded enough to make their motivations believable. Given the trajectory of the plot, there was no need for bland, "likeable," characters, and you shouldn't expect ice breakers or sentimental fantasies about "what meal you miss the most from back home." They displayed qualities that, to be honest, can be found in any office around the world: backbiting, white lies, rumor mongering, clicks, old-fashioned greed, and naked self-preservation.

A common refrain orbiting this book may be, "well, do people really turn on each other this fast?" I certainly had moments were I projected cool, rational thoughts onto the characters while I sat reading on my comfortable couch, in a temperature controlled room, eating a medley of snacks in the afternoon. Unfortunately, yes, people are savages, and all it takes is getting cut off in traffic or being mocked by a coworker for some people to turn borderline homicidal. We all like to think we would survive the zombie apocalypse, but most of us would panic, freeze up, and either become food for the zombies or rob our neighbor's house.

Goodwin's real skill is isolating her narrator while generating sympathy from the reader. The protagonist is bookish, a touch socially awkward, and an introvert, an archetype that we typically tend to dismiss for leadership positions, often at our own peril. These qualities, however, can be quite helpful for surviving on an island, especially combined with her resourcefulness and attention to detail. I found her to be a unique heroine for a thriller, equally fascinated and disturbed by her character development, and ultimately willing to hole up with her no matter how many insects were in her hair.

Yet another book I couldn’t put down and ended up reading in a day!

Stranded is best described as Lord of the Flies meets Survivor, the tv show. Eight strangers sign up to live on Buidseach island, off the coast of Scotland.
They’ll be there for just under a year, wearing solar-power-charged individual cameras to give the viewers at home an up close and personal look at a social experiment to see how humankind would survive post apocalypse.
Our protagonist is Maddy, a socially awkward woman alone in the world after the death of her parents, looking to make friends and improve her life. Unfortunately she’s singled out by the rest of the group as different and has to learn how to survive on her own when their mini society breaks down.

Things devolve further after the boat fails to pick them up on the agreed day.
In the end only three out of eight will leave the island alive, but which three, and what happened to everyone else?

This was a tense read with a good sense of atmosphere and a constant feeling of threat, which caused me some anxiety as I read it!

None of the characters are particularly likeable, including Maddy, but I appreciated that about her. She was very much unapologetically herself, not pandering to anyone.

My only quibble with this book is before it becomes completely obvious that democracy within the group has broken down, Maddy has a thought at the end of every chapter along the lines of “if I had known what was to come I would have tried harder” etc. Slightly too much foreshadowing for me when we already knew from the start of the book that disaster was on the way, but that’s probably just me being picky!
Overall I’d recommend this one! It’s a quick and gripping thriller. Out on September 16th but you can preorder on kindle now for £1.08!

With thanks to @netgalley and @avonbooksuk for the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of Stranded in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.

While his this may be a good read for others this novel isn't for me. I found the pacing slow and the plot was walking the boundary of believability . I'm not one who loves to hate characters in the book I'm reading and I found every single character in this novel unrelatable or straight up unlikeable. I think there's definitely an audience which will enjoy this novel but I just couldn't immerse myself. I got tired of reading a few chapters in, skipped ahead to skim other chapters and realized this just isn't a book that suits my taste at this time . I think I'm more picky about my reads now so maybe I'll come back to this one in a few moments.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow so tense so chilling a book I picked up and could not put down.Maddie the lead character was a compelling figure couldn’t decide whether to like her or despise her.The author has written an amazing story of a group of people whose behavior will shock you.Grab this book and prepare for a wild ride.#netgalley #avonbooksuk

Wow what a great book with a fabulous ending. I was kept on edge from the beginning. Maddy was an excellent main character because she was not entirely likeable and there were times when you just did not want to root for her but then she would do something to keep you on her side. There was a lot of grey area covered in the book keeping with the realistic idea of right and wrong and what would you need to do to survive that kind of situation.

This is an amazing read! The story jumps back and forth between the main character Maddie being interviewed in present day and her recalling the story of what happened while she was on the island filming a reality tv show. I really felt for Maddie and was drawn into the story from page 1. I loved how the author would drop a bomb on you during the present day interview and you’d be like “what! How’d that happen!” It made me not want to put this book down!

‘Let’s talk about the end of the world.’

This book is incredibly infuriating. But it is also insanely good.

When I read stranded on an island reality tv style I was expecting Survivor to be honest. And it is that but it’s also Lord of the Flies dumped in for a heady mix.

Our protagonist isn’t perfect and it’s so endearing to see in because in a world of Mary Sues, it’s refreshing Maddy, our main character, is awkward, meek, and sheltered.
She’s eventually outcasted by the rest of the group she’s with on this island and although I was literally screaming at her the entire time, I like her. I like Maddy. She reminds me so much of myself. Timid and seemingly weak to others but never hesitates to stand her ground on where she stands. Sometimes she can be just a bit too nice and it is absolutely maddening…but she’s flawed. We all are. I love characters I can relate to and also cheer for even though they’re annoying the hell out of me with every action. Maddy is great. We stan her.

The other characters? Not so much. They’re awful and their gaslighting is so intense that I didn’t think I would be able to finish but it’s worth it in the end.

Sarah Goodwin writes well and weaves a story that reminds me of Survivor, Lord of the Flies, and The Blair Witch project. Her writing is effective and beautifully simple. She holds nothing back and keeps you mesmerized until the last word. In fact I’m still replaying the events in the book in my head. A sign of a really intoxicating read.

Thanks so much to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy of Stranded by Sarah Goodwin. All thoughts = mine.