Cover Image: The Stranded

The Stranded

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Member Reviews

This was a decent book that definitely kept my attention. The one thing I really didn’t like, though, was the inclusion of Person A and Person B hate each other, but because Person C dies, the first two come ridiculously close to getting together (and most likely did after the book ended). Can we please, please, please stop it with this trope? It’s silly, and it also takes away the opportunity for them to have become good friends. Strong friendships between the genders are what books are missing, not romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

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A great paced story of a dystopian time, with an unexpected twist. Will have you racing to the end and wanting book 2

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Finished this book today. I enjoyed the overall gist of the story. It was action packed and definitely held my attention. The ending was a cliffhanger so will definitely have to see where the story goes from here.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

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A unique take on a dystopian style story. I enjoyed the setting and the characters had me rooting for them. The ending definitely leaves me looking forward to the continuation of the story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for my advanced readers copy.

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"The Stranded" by Sarah Daniels is an action packed Dystopian Romance full of action and intrigue. The story follows a group of young adults, May, Nik, Alex, and Esther, who have been raised on board the former luxury cruise liner, the Arcadia. Each desires to set foot on land, land that has been forbidden to them due to the ravages of an uncontrolled virus and subsequent world war. While the four pursue their plans to get off the ship, Hadley, the controlling, bitter commander of the Coalies and controlling force aboard the ship, wants to also reach the land by destroying the Arcadia and anyone who stands in his way. This book examines the desires of the individual and whether that desire will lead to taking action only with self in mind or taking action for the greater good of one's social family. An intriguing read without excessive language or smut, this book is one that I will recommend to all have want a dive in and devour read.

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I thoroughly enjoyed this suspenseful, dystopian read! The details are so vivid, as are the characters. A true page turner and felt more like an adult read to me.

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This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great thriller and it kept me on the edge of my seat.

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Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was said to be compared to the Hunger Games and Station Eleven but I didn’t get that vibe at all. If I had to compare this to anything I’d compare it to Snowpiercer. Whether it’s the graphic novels, movie, or the tv show series it has the same similarities except one takes place on a train the other takes place on a boat. If you’ve ever read/ watched Snowpiercer and loved it…then trust and believe you’ll love this book. I love when we get multiple point of views because we get know the characters on their own individually before their stories start to intertwine together. We get to know Nik, May, Hadley, and Esther. The Arcadia ,which is a now rusted old luxurious cruise ship, is housed by survivors of an apocalyptic war. The Federated States (what’s left of the U.S.) won’t let people off the boat to the mainland but Esther has chance to do so by becoming a medic. Even though May and Esther are sisters they are the prime example of yeah we’re siblings but have no idea what the other is really doing or going through. Nik is your classic rebel who is trying to give the citizens of Arcadia the freedom they deserve. And every story has a villain right… Hadley will stop at nothing and I mean NOTHING to make sure he earns his own way off the ship by any means necessary! So if you love a good YA dystopian like I do give this book a read!!

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What a book!!! I haven’t read a dystopian in a while and was so thankful to get back into the genre with an early copy of this book. This book was everything I wanted and more. I loved to see the power struggle on board the Arcadia and the rebellion, the whole thing really delivered on the hunger games/snowpeircer vibes. I loved the three POVs with Nik easily becoming my favorite. I really enjoyed Esther and Hadley’s POVs as well. Also that ENDING. I literally can’t wait for the next one.

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Interesting premise. Great recommendation for readers who enjoyed The Hunger Games. Full of suspense! The idea of spending a life on a cruise ship was unique and very interesting!

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Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The cover of this book immediately captured my attention. I was aware that this book had been previously published and it was just getting a glow up, but comparing the new and old cover it seemed like night and day. I'm always down for books getting a refresh, and good on the author for realizing this book needed it!

The Stranded takes place in a dystopian future where the inhabitants of the cruise ship Arcadia are exiled from Europe. There is a call to liberate Arcadia and the passengers aboard the ship and the comparisons to The Hunger Games and Divergent was a smart call. I definitely got those vibes, and more. There were multiple POVs (which is always a win for me) and I thought the pacing and flow was spot on.

Usually when I read YA I tend to gravitate towards more romance or fantasy focused genres but this was a hit for me and it definitely urged me to read outside of my niche.

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While this is listed as a YA title it will likely appeal to adults that enjoyed Divergent and Hunger Games. It took a while for me to enjoy this as it started slow trying to understand the different groups of people. The ending was rather abrupt and it seems like there should be more to tell in this story. I enjoyed the two sisters stories.

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I was honestly surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this book! These types of dystopian novels can be pretty hit or miss, but I was pulled into the story almost immediately.

For a debut novel, I was impressed with the strength of the writing and the distinct voice that came through for each of the three POV characters; I really enjoyed that each character had a different view of the Federated States/rebellion, and I loved seeing the antagonist's (Hadley) POV as well.

My only complaint with this book is that I think the beginning was more drawn out than it needed to be. I would say the last 30% of the book was definitely the strongest part, and I wish we would've gotten to that sooner, rather than spending so much time establishing who our players were and what was going on.

That being said, the worldbuilding was very well done; I was enraptured with every new piece of information we got about the past. There was no info-dumping; everything was revealed with a purpose, which I appreciated.

In all, I was pleasantly surprised with this book, and I will be keeping an eye out for the sequel to see how this story wraps up!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this novel.

I love a good dystopia, I have read them for years. The concept of this ne and the closed proximity setting on the ship drew me in. Loved the POVs and the storyline.

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ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I’m almost caught up on my backlog of ARCs and have been looking forward to this one! It did not disappoint! I really found the whole plot intriguing, especially in our post pandemic world, about a whole city stranded for 40+ years on a cruise ship and denied entry into the US when a virus broke out. Even though not a single passenger on the ship was affected, they were left having to survive on the boat and being heavily monitored and controlled by the Federated States. I really enjoyed this dystopian tale and all the characters are well developed! I hope the author plans to make this a series with more books to follow, as I’ll definitely be reading and recommending them!

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I love a good dystopian/post-apocalyptic story, and this one didn't disappoint. The premise of being stuck/quarantined on a ship and never having set foot on land was very unique in this type of story. It made for some interesting story-telling opportunities. Definitely recommend for a great YA dystopian twist!

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Oo definitely a fantastic suspense novel! If you want to be guessing the whole way through, read this book! I really liked the writing style and was impressed with how the characters seem to come alive on the page.

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This book had such an interesting premise! Quite a different dystopian/post-apocalyptic take. It was an enjoyable read for the most part. Some of it dragged a bit, but overall the plot was strong enough to carry it. I would read more from this author.

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The Arcadia. Once a luxurious cruise ship, now it is a refugee camp after a devastating virus. After forty years, the residents of the Arcadia have developed a world of their own. Some are loyal citizens, like Esther, determined to earn the chance of life on land. Others, like Nik, are rebels planning to reveal the truth. When this pair collides, both of their worlds are changed forever.
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This one left me conflicted. On the one hand, I could see a scenario like this playing out. Fear makes people do crazy things. So that part of the story was interesting. However, this was more violent than I was expecting. Many people are killed through the story. I did not need to see the villain breaking someone’s fingers, and I almost stopped reading at that point.

The story was told between three people: Esther, Nik, and the villain, Hadley. I don’t think the point of view of Hadley was necessary and the story would have been stronger. I would have liked to see more growth in the main characters.

I’m not entirely sure I would continue the story into the next book. This is definitely not for the faint of heart. I received a free copy via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own.

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