Well that ending sure packs a punch.

I'll be honest I wasn't sure where this story was heading - it started off super descriptive and the sheer number of adjectives made it feel a little bit forced. But that ended pretty quickly and I fell into the rhythm of the story. I looooove unreliable narrators and we had two of them!!

I really like books where the main characters have a secret past that is alluded to throughout the story and you don't quite get the details until the very end. It's very Freida McFadden.

Some of the plot lines were a little far fetched/campy and I got lost towards the end a few times but it was a very entertaining book. Maybe I would have benefited from more character development from the side characters, who ultimately all were pretty important.

I normally hate epilogues. This one was incredible.

I will definitely read more books by this author.

Man alive the first 60% of this dragged for me - but the end flew - so much going on it was a little wacky but pretty satisfying.

This was quite the thriller! Set in a gorgeous tropical setting, it was one of those edge-of-your-seat thrillers you just cannot stop reading!

The Resort is one of those thrillers that is an easy read that you think you have figured out. The twists take a little longer to play out but once they do you won’t want to stop reading until you get to the very end! This book explores how far people will go to preserve themselves, their lifestyles and outrun their pasts. The twists when even your chosen family is not what they seem to be is too too good! This story kept me hooked from the first page to the very last! Highly recommend.

I do think it’s worth mentioning though that the content warnings should be noted prior to diving in, as the content could be too disturbing for some: self harm, mental illness, parental abuse/parental mental illness, rape and grooming/pedophilia.


Thank you NetGalley, Source Landmark and Sara Ochs for this ARC.

"The Resort" by University of Louisville law professor Ochs was a total page-turner. I'm sleepy today because I couldn't put it down last night. It reads like research for when "The White Lotus" will go to Asia, and we will get a glimpse into the employers' side of things. Well, the only rich guest at this resort is influencer Brooke, and let's say she's got a few secrets up her sleeve. But she's not as twisty as the characters in "The White Lotus" - I mean, have you seen that show?

Anyway, what surprised me about "The Resort" was how heartfelt it was. The characters' intentions were good, but things kept going from bad to the very worst for them, talking about having the most rotten luck. The tension between the diving instructor Cass and influencer Brooke was a blast to read. Like watching the train wreck that was the Armand/Shane interaction, but in a more wholesome way. The plot was expertly woven together to keep me guessing until the end. My one point of contention was the ending, and I know endings are important in thrillers. Still, by then, I already was all in, so even if it felt like a scrimmage, and the epilogue could have been cut, it didn't dim the rest of this delightful novel. The weather is crappy here, but this is the obvious choice for a beach read.

Sure, there were some occasional awkward sentences, but honestly, that just added to the charm. It was like the book was saying, "Hey, I may not be perfect, but I'm damn entertaining." And it was! Overall, "The Resort" was a tense, hilarious, and thoroughly enjoyable read. I'm excited to see what this talented author comes up with next!

I love a good thriller set in an isolated-locale. The Resort is set at the Koh Sang Resort on a remote Thai Island. There is a crew of expat resort staff that call themselves the "permanents." All of them have come to the island to escape something in their lives, and the rule is they don't talk about their pasts. But, even the resort guests seem to have something they are hiding.

Along with an isolated-locale comes the closed circle of suspects, and in The Resort, with some many people hiding from their past, it made for many plausible suspects when resort guests started dying.

This one definitely kept me guessing, I was trying to put the pieces together, but with a couple big twists I didn't see coming, and the gaslighting of characters, it was hard to figure out who could be trusted.

Having read so many thrillers, I've been struggling to find stories that are unique and unpredictable. This one definitely was that. This was an unputdownable thriller that had me surprised even to the very end.

That being said, and this isn't a fault of the book, this is entirely my preference, the ending didn't leave me satisfied. I like to have my thrillers all wrapped up, the villans get their just desserts, and those who are left can slowly heal and move on with their lives. But, again, that's just me!

I'd say, if you are looking for an exciting and unique thriller, this is a good one to try!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for an advanced digital copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

“𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞. 𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧. 𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝.”
 
I’m always attracted to gorgeous covers, and this book is no exception; add to the fact that it is set on a remote tropical island had me excited to dive in.
 
Sara Ochs creates an atmospheric story set on in paradise, a tropical island with a tight-knit group of friends, known as the Permanents, a chosen family. The Permanents live and work on the island of Koh Sang, all of which are running away from their past and all have things to hide. They are all unlikeable in their own way, yet I couldn’t help but root for Cass and Logan, as a couple in particular. Cass and Brooke’s points of view are strong, distinct and also very unreliable, for a multitude of good reasons. There are so many layers of deception and hidden agendas, which Ochs balances well, making sharp observations behind the way in which a woman’s anger is often interpreted as crazy. The descriptions of the island, especially when the characters are diving, are vivid and easy to picture. The story also really highlights how quickly we trust others, especially when we are desperate to fit in, leading to the question how well do we really know those around us? The ending didn’t quite live up to the rest of the book for me - partly because I predicted early on that one character would be involved, which saddened me, however the twist at the very end made up for it!
  
The Resort is a story of envy, hiding from the past, doubt, rage and trust. It’s a solid debut that shows a lot of promise in Sara Ochs’ writing. Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the ARC!

I'm so bummed I didn't enjoy this one, but there were several aspects to it that disrupted not only my belief in the plot but also my overall enjoyment. There was a lot of disconnect between our two main characters, Cass and Brooke, and what they already knew or felt about each other or the other characters before we even met them on the first chapter. Later on in the book when the truth was revealed, I only grew frustrated because I felt as though there was a shift in the story. There were no hints or one-liners leading up to the reveals, so I felt like they came out of nowhere, especially when it came to Brooke's purpose in being on the island. I also thought that the epilogue ruined how I viewed the entire rest of the book, and I was sort of just over it all. The Resort was a pretty addicting read, and I loved the setting, but overall, I just didn't understand how the true character motives could be so non-existent except to be used as shocking plot twists that were just unbelievably out there - to me at least.

CW for murder, overdose, heart condition, violence, blood, loss of loved ones, cheating, addiction.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC of The Resort by Sara Ochs.

The Resort is a page turning, soapy destination thriller that absolutely flew by. Gorgeous, dreamy back drop of a Thai island but add some suspicious deaths and people with a lot of secrets and it makes for a high drama story. An excellent escapist read for the winter blahs.

Talk about twisty!
The Resort starts a bit slow. The character introductions were somewhat confusing. But once all that settles and the twists come, they dont stop!
The Resort is located on an island as what seems to be a safe haven for people fleeing their past. This causes every character to have some sort of messy and dark background, leaving everyone a suspect. When murders start, the "expats" try to protect their island and the family they've build there, meanwhile hiding the truth!
If you enjoy, an easy read who dun it with lots of twists. This is it!
Thank you, Netgalley, publisher, and author for the ARC.

I really like the premise of this. It was definitley unique being on a tropical murder island. Some of the middle of The book started to drag on a bit with the pointing fingers and trying to figure out who did what. I thought I had everything figured out, and actually was going to be a bit disappointed with how The book ended. But then!!! I read the epilogue. That immediately took this from 3⭐️ to 3.75-4⭐️.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I just finished this book and I was blown away by it. Sara has written a mystery/thriller that will stay with you long after it’s over. I find myself over the day thinking about this book and just how sharp edged and dark it really is. It took me to places (physically and emotionally) that I did not think it would. Thrills and chills galore that will leave you thirsty for more. I finished a NetGalley Copy of this book.

⭐️⭐️.5


I really love the cover of this book and the synopsis really piqued my curiosity…

…but…

I’m going to be blunt here, I have no idea how I finished this book. I forced myself to finish it. I thought it was awful. 😐

I thought the character introduction was a bit hazy, it really didn’t need to be almost 400 pages, the end just rambled on, annnd I was sooooo bored throughout the entire thing. Even the plot twists at the end weren’t enough for me to change my mind.

I didn’t think the book was going to be what it was. I had intentions that it was focusing more on scuba diving and that someone runs out of air or something.

There are also quite a few TW in here.

Most people loved this book, but personally it just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for a DRC. The Resort is available now.

Welcome to paradise! Apparently it's located on Thailand's world-famous party island at the Koh Sang Resort (fictional). Or is it a place people go to hide?

Cass is living the dream, teaching students how to dive in the beautiful waters of Koh Sang. Brooke is a social media influencer with a large number of followers. The story is told by these two characters in alternating chapters. There are plenty of side characters and lots of deceit as the bodies pile up and the book winds its way to the tension-filled ending. I thought the book was very well written, especially for a debut. It leans a bit into young adult territory at times but enjoyable all the same. As another reviewer said, the epilogue is pure gold!

TW: Mention of grooming, suicide, familicide but none are a predominant element of the story.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark via Netgalley for providing an advance digital copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: February 6, 2024

Set on an island resort, this book promises a thrilling mystery of murder, lies, and secrets.

While I definitely didn't hate this book, I also didn't love it. There was a lot going on, and some of the reveals just felt off. It really read as the debut it was. With that said though, this wasn't an awful book by any means. It had potential, I just didn't vibe with the way things were revealed, and I didn't really like the final reveal at the very end. If it had been done differently, I think I would have liked it more, buy the way it was dropped at the very end just threw me off.

Although I said this book read like the debut it was, I think this author has the potential to become a future favorite. I really look forward to watching her hone her craft and really develope her writing style.

Fantastic debut novel. This book was absolutely amazing! Kept me guessing the entire time! Never a dull moment!

This amazing book is exactly what I love in beach/island thrillers and made for a tantalisingly gripping read. We get multiple POVs in this one that help us get into the minds of our main characters and the potential secrets that they, along with everyone, may be hiding.

Full of more twists and turns than a rollercoaster at Thorpe Park, I had the absolute time of my life reading this one, and I can’t wait to read all of Sara’s future books.

If you like thrillers then you’re not going to want to miss out on this one.

I was expecting to like this more than I did. I felt the characters were slightly predictable and I thought the story was going to catch my interest from the beginning. Overall I still liked it and I thought the characters were relatable but not the best thriller ever.

I got this book during a hyperfocus on scuba diving reads. I'd been in a slump with thrillers, but this one was exceptional! This would be the perfect read on a sunny island beach, so long as you have no secrets hidden - they will come to light.

Nobody is who they say they are...

This book reminded me of The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio.

I'm not surprised BOTM snatched this one up!


Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for my copy!

The Resort by Sara Ochs had me guessing the entire time. She is great at planting seeds of doubt for the reader. I kept thinking I knew what was going on and then something else would have me start second-guessing myself and going in a whole other direction. Her characters are likable and you want to empathize with them for all they have been through. Great read and I will be looking for more by Ochs!