A destination wedding at a luxurious Bavarian resort sounds enticing, doesn’t it? All Mila and Ethan have to do is pay for their airline tickets and rental car. The rest will be covered by the bride, her sister Jess - a free, relaxing vacation. Or not.

Definitely not. As the afternoon of their first day turns into night, Ethan and Mila get lost. Then their car stalls and will not start again. Slowed by a blizzard, in clothing not suitable for the freezing weather, they hike to a small town that appears to be deserted. They find a house for shelter, start a fire, eat some of their leftover airplane snacks and settle in for the night. The next morning Ethan is gone. Vanished. There are no footprints, nothing. What happens next is Mila’s desperate attempt to survive. She’ll learn the unexpected about this abandoned village, her husband and her sister Jess.

The Resort moves seamlessly between the present and the past, a technique that allows you to fully understand the relationship between Mila and Jess. There are many twists and turns and a surprising conclusion that you wont see coming. 5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley, Avon Books UK and Sarah Goodwin for this ARC.

First off, thank you so much to #Netgalley, the publisher and especially the author for this ARC!

This book had such a creepy atmosphere and I had such a fun time reading it! It’s prefect for the winter season :) I don’t want to give any spoilers away but I did take it down a star because I would have liked a little more insight into some of the characters motivations but overall it was a great book!

Sarah Goodwin is back on track again after veering off her usual stile with the 13th girl. Like stranded, we’re immediately put transported to a claustrophobic space where the plot unfolds.

Mila and her husband are going to her sisters wedding. When they’re nearly there, their rented car breaks down and they find themselves in an abounded little place. It’s cold and they have no cell reception. When Mila wakes up, her husband has vanished into thin air. From now on, she has to do everything to stay alive.

The book alternates between mila’s past and the now. Her upbringing with her sister is described, and we realize there is a rift between them that Mila is desperate to mend. The reader is taken to her past right after something new has happened that leaves us wanting more. What is really going on? Why are there no footprints and who is watching her? The paranoia seeps into the pages until you feel tainted by it. Mila constantly has to think on her feet, despite being in pain from her leg being injured and having no one to help her. You can feel her strength dwindling and want to shout: Don’t give up yet! There might be a way out.

Goodwin manages to not overwhelm the reader by too much happening at once. It makes it easier to wonder what might be going on. When Mila gets her lightbulb moment I was so surprised and felt that satisfying rush when it all made sense.

To sum up my thoughts; it was engaging, clever and atmospheric.


Thank you to netgally and Avon books uk for the arc

A twisty cold and wintry ride, The Resort had me on edge. It was a mix of thriller and closed off, isolated mayhem that I love so much.

The Agatha Christie-esque description drew me to this book. I knew from the start that things were going to go very, very wrong, but I wish the author had done more to set up the characters and make the audience want to root for them. Instead, it felt like we were almost immediately thrown into the series of bad events, and they happened so back-to-back, it pulled away from investing in the backstory.

4.25 stars
I was hooked from the very beginning with this story.
And this was certainly an interesting take on the locked room mystery.
Once Ethan disappears and Mila is all on her own, it was incredibly captivating, so much so that I couldn't stop reading as I had to find out what was going on.
You feel like you're there with her trying to work out what to do next and how to stay alive and then there are all the grisly and eerie details that start to reveal themselves.
Some of it did start to feel a bit repetitive as she went back and forth between the village and where the car was located but it did keep my attention the whole way through.
I liked the flashbacks to Mila and Jess' childhoods. This made both characters feel much more fleshed out and you could understand why there might be a rift between the siblings.
These chapters or sections also gave you a slight respite from what was going on in the village.
And seeing how things between them were resolved in the end was nice.
The only thing that let this book down for me was the big twist in the end.
Even though alarms were immediately raised in my head when I noticed how deep a sleep Mila was in a few times throughout, the perpetrators ultimate motives felt a little far fetched and unbelievable.
To think that he had dated, married and lived with her for so long, all in a grand plan to eventually use her death to get closer to her sister felt a bit hard to believe.
The same thing could be said about there also being a separate drug running scheme going on in the abandoned village at the same time.
But I definitely enjoyed the creepy and isolated setting and goings on, as well as seeing Mila fight to stay alive, both in Germany and once she got back home.
I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more Sarah Goodwin books in the future.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Goodwin's books always makes for a great escape.

Mila and Ethan are away for her sister's gorgeous wedding at a ski resort.
Tucked away deep in the mountains with nothing around Mila is finally feeling like everything is starting to go as planned.
But obviously she was wrong... When their rental car breaks down and they are starting to lose daylight they starting walking to where they saw signs on their way in for some cabins.
Finally reaching the boarded up empty cabins they have a feeling they shouldn't be there.
But the snow is relentless and they have no other choice but to pop a window and stay the night.
Morning comes and Mila wakes up and Ethan is no where to be seen.
What happens next Mila must find her husband and figure out what is lurking in this creepy abandoned village.

The Resort by Sarah Goodwin was a total shocker. A true page turning story.
This gripping, thrill-packed book was difficult to put down.
Stayed up late last night reading because I just couldn't stop.
Sarah Goodwin has yet again proven why she is a favorite of mine.
This was well written and organized, and the storytelling was great.
Characters were intriguing and believable, and the vivid descriptions transported me to the empty, snowy mountains.

A twisty and addictive, page-turning locked room mystery that will take your breath away!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Avon,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This book really creeped me out! The author did a great job portraying a chilling, desolate atmosphere that made me feel like I was right there experiencing everything in the flesh. It was a good mystery that kept me guessing, but the story did drag and become a little repetitive around the 40% mark. I understand that this was probably the author's intent to establish Mila's psychological distress, and it worked; it just became stale for me. Overall, it was an enjoyable and fast read that I would definitely recommend.

Synopsis: Mila and her husband, Ethan, are travelling to Bavaria for her sister's wedding when their rental car breaks down along the way. It's cold and snowing and they have no cell service, so they walk back to where they saw a sign for some cabins to ask for help and seek shelter from the storm. What they find instead is a deserted camp with run-down cabins that look like they haven't seen a sign of life in years. They decide to wait inside one of the cabins until morning to keep warm and get some sleep, but when morning comes, Ethan is gone. Mila is left all alone with a sprained ankle, little food, no water and many mysteries to solve.

Thank you to the author, Avon Books UK and NetGalley for allowing me to preview this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Mila and Ethan have travelled abroad for her sister's wedding. Anxieties plague Mila's mind about their late arrival and the treacherous driving conditions. She has taken much from her sister, including the limelight on many former occasions, and is determined that this won't be a repeat of time's past. When their rental car breaks down and they are forced to take shelter in an abandoned village in the middle of nowhere this seems likely. However, when Mila awakes, freezing and alone with Ethan no-where to be found, other fears begin to overshadow the concerns for her sister.

I remained hooked from start to finish and found this eerie, unsettling, and gripping throughout. The isolated setting, the freezing weather conditions, and Mila's lack of knowledge about where her husband was or what was actually occurring had me as eager to gain a resolution for her ordeal as she was. I felt as haunted as Mila herself did and Goodwin did a great job of crafting an atmospheric, claustrophobic, and entirely unnerving reading experience.

Thank you NetGalley, Avon Books UK for the copy of The Resort. I am conflicted about this book. I loved the premise, and most of it was creepy and mysterious. I was disappointed that the action started and we had no insight into either of the characters at all so there was no context to explain their actions or reactions. So many things didn’t make sense to me, and I still had questions in the end. Why didn’t Mila figure out there was only one way Ethan could disappear without leaving tracks? (Other examples would be spoilers!) If you don’t need to get to know the characters, don’t need a lot of setup for the ending, and you like a creepy read, you would probably love this book. For me, it was just okay. 3 stars rounded up to 4 for the creepy factor!.

This book gave me complex feelings. I couldn’t decide if I liked it or not till I reached the final chapter.
It opened so perfect: a trip to Bavaria with your husband goes wrong and you find yourself stranded in a ghost German town in the middle of snow storm with a car not operating properly, no service reception! And the very next day your husband also vanishes into thin air without leaving footprints! That’s exactly what happened to Amelia whose only intention was being at her estranged sister’s wedding on time! Now she’s trapped in this place with swollen leg, all alone! What a perfect start! I was already hooked!

The beginning was promising but when I moved a little more Amelia’s survival in the snow storm storyline, it turned into a repetitive cycle: she keeps seeing shadows, thinking somebody watching her, thinking her past with her sister: their dysfunctional relationship. For years her family put her needs first, treating unfairly to her sister and Amelia ruined most of Jess’ special days by getting into trouble nonstop.

The second third was a little dull, flat and slow. I even thought to lower my stars to three. But then thankfully Amelia finds her way back to the civilization and thinks her juicier.

The big twist and perpetrator’s motives were a little far fetched but it was still tricky and enjoyable never see it coming twist.

The ending was well wrapped up so I decided to round my 3.5 stars to 4 psychological thriller, survival story, ghost town stars!

Most of the chapters were like episodes of true crime podcasts. They may be reflected the occupational hazard of the author!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for providing me this intriguing digital reviewer copy in exchange my pure honest thoughts.

This is not a cozy mystery. This is a full out creepy novel of mystery and intrigue…red herrings abound…it is a page turner…it is a cannot put down book written by a talented author. Do not start this at night…sleep will escape you because you have to determine what will happen next. I was surprised because of the title…it sounded like it was going to be a book about a resort vacation…whew…was I wrong. After all of that, I liked the book…the gory parts were a little… gory…the secrets were really secrets…however, it is book that stays in the reader’s memory. The main character loved her husband…he was not a devoted loving husband…enough said…read the book and escape for an afternoon…this book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review.