Title: The Only Survivors
Author: Megan Miranda
Publisher: Scribner/Marysue Rucci Books
Pub Date: April 11, 2023
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

📚Synopsis:
✨A high school service trip ends in tragedy when two vans careen down an embankment toward a ravine. Nine students survive and are left to deal with the aftermath of losing classmates and teachers. While the nine students - Amaya, Brody, Cassidy, Clara, Grace, Hollis, Ian, Joshua, and Oliver - weren’t necessarily friends or even acquaintances leading up to the trip, they will forever be bonded by the trip and the events that happen immediately following the crash. A pact is put in place among the nine - always protect each other and hide the truth about what really happened the night of the crash.
✨One year after the crash, one of the survivors decides they can no longer hide the truth and returns to the scene of the crash and commits suicide. The remaining 8 make a new pact to meet each year on the anniversary of the crash to check in and check up with one another.
✨By the 10th anniversary, Cassidy is ready to put the crash behind her and finally move on with her life. She’s changed her number and deleted her old contacts, including those of the other 8 survivors. But then Cass receives a text from an unknown number - it includes the obituary for another one of the survivors, leaving 7 of them. Cassidy hesitantly says good-bye to her boyfriend and makes the trek to meet up with the others. But Cass is concerned; she knows what the other 6 are capable of and she knows what they’re willing to do to survive. She’s seen their ruthlessness with her own eyes and vowed to never speak of it again. Soon after she arrives to the mini reunion, another one of the 6 disappears leaving 5. Are they being picked off one by one? And if so, who is behind it? Haven’t they already gone through enough? Flashing back to 7 hours before the crash and the seven days after the mini reunion, the story of that night unfolds along with the present day consequences of the decisions teenagers made 10 years ago.

📚Thoughts/Recommendations:
✨I had very high hopes for the book especially after reading the summary and early reviews. For me however, it was an excruciatingly slow burn. The action and true suspense didn’t really pick up until the last 15% of the book. I like my books to hook me immediately and for tiny action/thriller based breadcrumbs to keep me engaged until the end. Perhaps it’s my propensity for distraction but it took me much longer than normal to complete the book. I wasn’t excited and compelled to finish the book. My level of disengagement was also created due to the large cast of characters in a past vs current timeline that made it difficult to fully know and connect with them. For me, all in all, this book was a swing and a miss. However, I fully understand and am aware there are fans of the author who will absolutely love this. This is my first novel from the author so I came into this with no prior expectation or knowledge. I’m sure there are many out there who will love this book! I encourage everyone to read books that sound exciting to them to make up their own mind. I know I would be sad to miss out on a great read due to a “not for me” review from one person.

📚I’d like to extend my thanks and gratitude to Scribner/MarySue Rucci Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel ahead of its release in exchange for a candid review.

All The Missing Girls will always be my favorite Miranda book, but this one is a close second!

I love love thrillers about a group of friends who are hiding something. I felt this one had a unique twist to it.

Once I started it I couldn’t put it down. I needed to know what happened. I also felt it was nonstop. There was something happening every chapter.

There was a twist in the end that I didn’t see coming at all! I was like “What?!?! 😱. What a way to end it!

The least relaxing trip to the beach ever…….

Book Information

The Only Survivors was written by Megan Miranda. Its expected publication date is April 11, 2023, and it is 352 pages. Miranda is the New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls; The Perfect Stranger; The Last House Guest, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick; The Girl from Widow Hills; Such a Quiet Place; and The Last to Vanish. Thanks to Scribner for providing me with an advanced reader copy for review.

Summary

It’s the tenth anniversary of a horrible accident. A decade ago, two vans filled with high school seniors on a school service trip crashed claiming the lives of all but nine. A year after, one of the survivors dies on the anniversary of the crash and the rest decide to gather each year on the anniversary to support each other.

Cassidy Bent has had enough. She doesn't want to make the annual trip anymore. She has tried to distance herself and move on….but she gets sucked back in after receiving terrible news about another survivor and, despite her intentions, makes the trip to their usual spot in the Outer Banks (OBX) of North Carolina for the tenth anniversary.

But, something isn’t right…..people are on edge. The organizer leaves and doesn’t return, and a massive storm is on the way which promises to shut down the only roads in and out of town.

They are all there to support each other---or are they?

My Thoughts

The Only Survivors is both an easy read and a page-turner. Like a Russian nesting doll, each time you think you know what's going on, the story opens up to reveal a new layer of truth. It's a wild ride that will keep you guessing until the very end.

The story is well-paced and will keep you intrigued. I was so engrossed in the book that I would give my wife short updates as I was reading (we used to vacation in the Outer Banks). Even with just snippets of information, she was tense and a bit creeped out.

Miranda makes masterful use of different points of view, flashbacks, and red herrings to keep you on the edge of your seat and wondering what exactly is happening. Just about every assumption you make will be wrong as new information is provided and hairpin twists make your head spin.

It was an enjoyable book that I recommend.

Recommendation

If you like mysteries that keep you guessing and that are a pleasure to read—give this one a shot. Recommended.

Rating

4 OBX Stars

The Only Survivors survive a bus crash as children and came together to save each other. Meeting every year on the anniversary grows harder and one of the survivors begins to pull away then disappears.

Are the others working to save each other or is something more sinister afoot

The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda follows the mystery of seven survivors of a seven hour tragic accident, over seven days on the tenth anniversary. The story is told from the perspective of Cassidy Bent in the present day and her experience of someone mysterious watching the survivors on their annual anniversary trip to the Outer Banks. The characters meet to join in fellowship over their experience and to remind them of the pact they made so long ago. The story also intermittently tells the story of the other survivors over those grief stricken seven hours. This tale moves quickly and keeps you guessing to the end. I really enjoyed Miranda’s fast paced story telling and became quite invested in the story. I highly recommend!

This book was straight up awesome. I felt like I was on the edge of my seat the whole time trying to figure out the secrets and who to trust. I LOVED that the Past POV started at the end and went back to the beginning. It was so clever and really helped to build the suspense. I was thrown by the twists and would highly recommend this awesome thriller!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for access to this digital ARC.

Ten years ago they were the nine survivors of a deadly crash killing several of their high school classmates and two teachers. They gather every year on the anniversary in a cottage on the Outer Banks. One of them died by suicide on an anniversary and Cassidy cuts herself off from them until she receives a text with the obituary of another survivor so she joins the rest.. They’re down to seven when another disappears. With flashbacks to the aftermath of the wreck and multiple twists and turns, this builds to a strong climax. Miranda never disappoints.

This author always writes a great book. This one, however, wasn't my favorite. There were alternating timelines, which I like, but one of them was not in chronological order. There were a lot of characters to keep tracked of as well. It was a slow read for me. I wanted to know what happened, but I found myself not picking the book back up. Though I guessed the twist, I thought it was a good one. I will definitely continue to read this author.

This is my sixth book by this author, and I’ve come to really enjoy her books for their descriptive nature, atmospheric settings, slower burn mysteries, and complex characters. I do find her books more on the mystery side versus thriller but always enjoy the journey and the outcome of each. I was a bit nervous going in with so many characters to keep track of. I still found myself having to mentally remember some of their storylines at times, but the dual timelines from the past perspective of each character helped. I did have a bit of a hard time understanding exactly why they were all being so protective and living in such fear from an accident stemming from a decade ago but by the end I feel like I did have clarity, even if the justifications seemed not quite as shocking as I was expecting. Overall I would recommend! The stormy Outer Banks setting will make for a perfect summer thriller and I think that if you’re familiar with Miranda’s style of mysteries and enjoy her somewhat lyrical writing, I think you’ll really enjoy this!

Thank you so much to Scribner and Netgalley for this eARC!

#TheOnlySurvivors
#NetGalley
Megan Miranda has a book that is another bestseller. It is clever, with well written plot that has you guessing all throughout the book.

WOW! I have several of Megan Miranda's book on my TBR list and a couple on my shelf that I have recently purchased, but this is the first book by her that I have read. I will be running to grab my copies so I can start reading more!
It was very well written, and I loved the flashback chapters that didn't give anything away until the very end. I found that the characters were realistic, and relatable-their trauma and coping methods felt real. And I totally didn't see the twist coming until the last possible second.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Ten years ago Cassidy Bent and her classmates were on a field trip, when an unthinkable accident left only nine remaining survivors after the two vans crashed into a ravine. `On the first anniversary of the accident, one of the survivors takes her own life and the remaining eight vow to meet up every year to be there for one another. On the tenth anniversary of the accident there are only seven survivors left to meet up at a beach house in the Outer Banks where they've been holding their anniversary meetings for years. Cassidy almost decides not to go this year, but a last minute text ends up sending her to the Outer Banks to meet up with Oliver, Joshua, Brody, Hollis, Grace and Amaya. Cassidy quickly becomes alarmed that things aren't quite right. Amaya goes missing, she finds a cell phone on the beach, and an impending storm threatens to leave them stuck on island without power or access to the mainland. Told over seven days in the present and seven hours over the course of the accident and the students fight for their lives, The Only Survivors was my favorite Megan Miranda thriller so far!

As always Megan Miranda is a thriller genius. I almost alwaysgive her five stars, I took one back this time becuase it is the frist of her books where I figured out "who done it" before she told me.

A decade ago, two vans filled with high school seniors plunged into a ravine. Now the seven remaining survivors are trying to come to terms with what happened. Someone is hiding something.

Megan Miranda is a hit or miss from me. I either really love her books or I really dislike them. It was the latter in this case. This one really struggled to keep my attention. I didn't feel super connected to the characters or story. I found the flow to be a bit confusing. I do think many will enjoy this one, it just wasn't for me.

I have loved many Megan Miranda books. This one was my least favorite. I simply struggled to connect with anything in this story. Her writing, particularly in the beginning, felt needlessly bloated. The beginning reminded me of a student that is desperately grasping at word to try and meet a word count for an essay. I did think that things started to pick up and resemble Megan's other books around the 10 % mark. Now, it might seem as though I did not like the book. The truth is quite the opposite. I enjoyed the book after the 10% of the beginning, which was rough to get through. Over all, story wise it was a 3.9, which I rounded up to four stars.
Pros-
Good Characters
Good Editing - after the 10 % in
Good flow story wise

Cons-
The beginning was difficult to get through
The characters were a little bland

10 years ago, tragedy struck a high school senior class trip and many classmates and teachers passed away. 9 students were lucky to survivor and each year on the anniversary of accident of the remaining people gather in the Outer Banks. On the first anniversary, one of the survivors dies by suicide and now at the 10th anniversary, another survivor has passed.

The remaining 7 get together, but the vibes are just off. Amaya goes missing almost immediately and Cassidy tries to get in touch with her with no success. Cassidy regrets coming to OBX and had even blocked most of the survivors and even changed her number to get away from the horrible memories. It’s only when she hears Ian has also passed that she returns. She doesn’t even admit to her boyfriend where she is, and tells him she’s on a business trip.

There’s the threat of a massive storm coming their way and Amaya is still missing. She wouldn’t do this to them after all they have been through. So what’s going on?

I really liked this book! It’s got different POVs and it flashes back to each person at the original accident. I liked that they weren’t really friends, but bonded together after this life changing accident they all survived.

Megan Miranda is one of my favorite authors and this was a shining example of her work.Thank you so much to @marysuericcibooks @bookclubfavorites and @meganmiranda for my gifted copy! The Only Survivors is out April 11!

I really enjoyed The Only Survivors. It was fast paced and kept me guessing the entire time. I liked that it gave you snips of the past along with what was going on in the present. I have read a few Megan Miranda books and I will definitely be reading more! I would highly recommend this book to those who love mystery and thrillers. I am so thankful to have been given and advance readers copy of this novel through NetGalley.

When you can't save everyone, how do you choose who to save?

The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda dives deep into the darkness to find the secrets hidden within this group of survivors. What really happened that night, and who is after the truth ten years later?

*I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

“A 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.”

Cassidy and her classmates reunite once a year as a sort of support group for the survivors of a tragic accident. By the 10th anniversary only 7 of the 9 survivors remain. This twisty mystery keeps you questioning everyone’s motives.

This is my third Megan Miranda book and I really enjoyed this one! Definitely a slow-burn but it kept me guessing. This will definitely be a fun beach read this summer. I liked getting snippets of the past told in reverse order to work your way back through the mystery! Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Megan Miranda fans, rejoice! She's back with a new thriller perfect for spring and summer reading session. If you enjoyed any of her past publications, then you have a good chance of eating this one right up too.

One thing that I loved about the first thriller I read by Megan, All the Missing Girls, was that the story was revealed to us backwards. I had quite the revelation when I realized a portion of this story was being revealed to us in a similar fashion!

So many characters are placed within this story to throw the reader off from sniffing out the "villain." I had a good feeling I was onto something halfway through and I was glad to see I was heading in the right direction with my thoughts. There were even a few plot twists I didn't see coming that added to the suspense of what really happened on that night a decade ago between these survivors.

Towards the end it did become overwhelming with information being thrown at us which I have to admit became a bit confusing to keep track of it all. The action really unfolds in the concluding chapters of the book and it goes from a slow burn to unputdownable at rapid speed. Megan always does a fantastic job of leading the reader on a thriller tale that you think you've seen before but are led in an entirely different direction than the rest of the pack.