For a debut novel, I thought this was great! It was not the best book I have ever read nor was it the worst. Although slightly on the unbelievable side, it kept my interest. There are multiple trigger warnings so please make sure that you are aware of them. I would be willing to read her next work.

This was an entertaining thriller. The start off was a little jerky (own personal thing about starting with a lot of dialogue), but overall I would recommend to anyone looking for a satisfying mystery and suspense.

This was surprisingly way better than I thought going into it. First, I loved this being set on the island of Thailand. All the descriptions of the island made me feel like I was right there with the characters. I enjoyed our two main characters Cass and Brooke, especially Cass because she turned out to be an unreliable narrator which I enjoyed because I could never figure out what was really happening in her POV. I loved the twists that were slowly revealed at the end because most of them I did not predict and that epilogue was amazing. If I’m going to get an epilogue in a story, this is what I want. My only critique of this story is that I had a hard time believing in one of the characters backstory, their story/secret was hard to picture and I just couldn’t believe something like that would happen. Overall, really enjoyed the story and would highly recommend.

“I know who you are and soon everyone else will too”…

Cass is a scuba diving instructor on the beautiful island of Koh Sang, Thailand. She leads her students in their first diving expeditions and on one such expedition, finds that Lucy, one of her students is dead. Shocked by coming face-to-face with death, it’s unfortunately not the first death on this island, as a young woman recently fell from a cliff. Cass is no stranger to death either, and hides a dark secret about her past. Koh Sang has been her refuge and place to start over. But it seems someone knows her secret and will stop at nothing until she reveals it to the whole world.

I absolutely loved the setting of this book! I had never heard of Koh Sang, but the author described the island in Thailand beautifully! The atmosphere - the water, the beach - played a pretty big role too. I love “locked room” type thrillers and an island makes for a pretty prefect creepy setting - especially if there are storms rolling in and a killer on the lose! The added role of scuba diving also added another layer of that whole “locked room” - underwater, what if something goes wrong etc. Without giving any spoilers, I felt like each of the characters was well developed and had their own secrets to hide. It was creative how the author tied them all together and wrapped up their stories. It definitely had a Young Adult vibe to it as well, at least for me. I’m not sure what it was exactly but I just didn’t love the story as a whole. Sara Ochs has a great writing style though and I will definitely be reading her next book!

Thank you to Sara Ochs, Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC and RB Media for the ALC! This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark & Sara Ochs for a digital arc of The Resort in exchange for an honest review.

I've had this on my highly anticipated list for a LONG time, so I was thrilled to receive the early digital copy.

Sadly, this book fell a bit flat for me. The cover is absolutely STUNNING & I know it will turns heads in the stores immediately.

In a nutshell - Cass has created a new life for herself on a resort island in Thailand after escaping from a childhood tragedy. She has a great life as a diving instructor and just got engaged to the love of her life. Everything is fabulous...........until bodies start turning up.

There were honestly too many characters to try and keep up with. A name would be thrown out and I thought "who the heck is that?" It was just too many. I would say that Cass and Britt are probably the main characters. Britt is on the island under the guise of a social influencer and becomes besties with Cass, however Britt blames Cass for something that happened to her in the past and has come for revenge.

Unbeknownst to them both, there is a bigger enemy to fear who is equally dangerous to them both.

This just wasn't an edge-of-your-seat thriller. It was entertaining enough to keep listening, but at the end, I just said "Meh." The reasoning behind the killings and the whodunit were a bit far-fetched. And the little twist at the VERY end - I saw it coming from a mile away.

I think this book could have been better if it had eliminated some of the characters that weren't really necessary.

Thank you Sourcebooks for this review copy! I enjoyed this story overall, it was fun and escapist, but it was a bit slow for me at the start, getting into the characters and plot was a bit hard for me but the story picked up and I enjoyed it.
What worked:
The setting and the building sense of tension, the plot moved forward for me about 1/2 through and the development of the story worked well. I also love an island/resort setting!
I love plots that deal with secrets and hidden pasts so I enjoyed those themes too!

What didn't work as well
As noted I felt the pacing was a little hard to get into, this is often why I don't love dual POV stories as at times I feel the story doesn't progress as quickly because we go back and forth with perspectives. I am not sure this story quite needing this approach to achieve the storytelling goals.

Thank you to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Sara Ochs for as advance copy of The Resort in exchange for an honest review. What is it about destination thrillers that just always work for me? The Resort is told in multiple point of views from Brooke and Cass. Most people head to this island to escape their pasts and hide their secrets. As the story progresses, secrets are threatened to be discovered and people end up dying. I enjoyed the last 25% of the book the most as there were many twists and turns that I was not anticipating. This one is out on February 13th and deserves a spot on your TBR!

This was a gripping book from the beginning. I enjoyed the thrill it gave while reading. The storyline was well written and characters developed.

The Resort was a little slow to start but all of a sudden you realize you're extremely invested in the story and you won't be able to set it down. It's one of those novels where you don't know who to trust. Everyone is potentially a suspect on this island. They all seem to have found themselves on the island to get away from something shady in their past, especially Cass and Brooke.

This one definitely kept me guessing (and second guessing) right up until the end!

The Resort was definitely a wild ride.

The story is told from two points of view. Cass, a woman who is obviously running from demons that she wants no one to find out about. And Brooke, a woman who is obviously on a mission to uncover secrets that the island holds.

When a woman dies while out on a hike in the early morning, people begin to get suspicious about what might be happening at this small dive resort in Thailand.

If you are a fan of a twists and turns whodonit, The Resort will be right for you. I will say that the novel got a bit wordy at times and kind of went around to get to the conclusion. But, I enjoyed the reveal at the end.

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the setting, and the premise, but the execution fell a little flat. The characters were two-dimensional, and I often found myself forgetting who was who, even with the two main characters. I also wasn’t a fan of the author’s writing style or the long chapters- both slowed the story down, and I prefer a faster-paced thriller. But most importantly, I felt like there was so much explaining to “justify” the final twist.

Thank you, NetGalley for an early copy of this ebook, out 02/13/24.

3.5 stars

Everyone has secrets on the island of Koh Sang.

For Cass, those secrets are the story of the day her younger sister and father died in their shared hotel room. Fleeing the states to escape her public persona as the Hudson Massacre Killer, she's found a family and a career on the small Thai island of Koh Sang. But, when letters show up on her doorstep threatening to reveal her past, she begins to spiral.

For Brooke, it's that her life as a glamorous travel influencer is a means to escape her rough upbringing in Kentucky and her crash out of college years prior. Brooke lands on Koh Sang shortly after the death of another traveler and within days of her arrival, another resort guest is dead. With a dream of once being a journalist rising to the surface, she's sure she can track down who was responsible for both deaths.

But with everyone having a secret, everyone also has a motive to keep the quiet resort running and the guests arriving. That drive will put both Cass and Brooke in danger.

Ochs' debut suspense/thriller trades POVs between Cass and Brooke, who are both trying to uncover what happened to the resort guests. The action is fast-paced, and there are enough twists to keep you guessing. Once you think the murders have been solved, another motive, another secret, and another dark past is revealed. The book races towards a conclusion and it feels like the story wraps up quickly and cleanly...until it doesn't.

It's that conclusion, which I won't spoil here, that feels a bit unsatisfying. Ultimately, it dropped my enjoyment of the book down a few notches, but I think readers of Rachel Hawkins and Mary Kubica will enjoy it.

* Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review. *

The Resort was marketed as We Were Never Here by way of the The Beach, and I think that’s exactly what we got. Perfect for readers of Rachel Hawkins or Lucy Foley, The Resort sets a thrilling murder mystery on a lush remote island in Thailand. A place that looks picture perfect but contains some ex-pats hiding some deep secrets. Multiple deaths, shady pasts, and nothing and no one is as it seems. And some outsiders are determined to crack the inner circle of ex-pats known as The Permanents to get to the bottom of these suspicious deaths. Unreliable narrators further muddy the waters. The writing started off a little on the slow side to set the scene and as the deaths and secrets pile up, the suspense builds. Well-plotted and well-written, this book had me turning pages as quickly as I could to get to the ending. Also, did not see that final reveal coming!

Author Sara Ochs’s debut destination thriller is a slow build two person POV thriller that exposes the dangers of paradise in a taut, entertaining suspense novel. On the Thai party island of Koh Sang, dive instructor Cassie and social media influencer Brooke, are both likable narrators, but both are escaping from something in their past. They tell simultaneous stories about a mysterious accident that has left dive student Lucy drowned. Another young woman also died shortly before Brooke arrived. Cassie is definitely trying to remake herself at the resort after something happened 3 years ago and Brooke has used all her money in order to investigate something. But what?

The narrative starts out steadily, then finally revs up and produces multiple twists. Author Ochs creates well-developed characters and a plot that kept me engrossed until the very end. It’s gripping and action-packed and the perfect beach read for those who aren’t always in the mood for a happily-ever-after romance. 4 stars!

An audiobook usually enhances the experience, but in this case, I felt that the voices of Cassie and Brooke seemed too similar — I had to rewind too often to the chapter beginning to figure out if Brooke or Cassie is speaking. This is a rare case where I’d suggest reading the book over listening to the audiobook.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO Blue, gray and brown, but no green.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): YES/NO

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark/RB Media and NetGalley for a free advanced ebook and audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

The Resort is one of those novels that is easy to read, thought-provoking, and one that you don't want to put down. I had a great time reading this book and the twist caught me off guard, which is something that I always like in a book. I'd recommend this one to friends and to anyone looking to get into psychological thrillers.

This thriller is set in a resort with diving classes exploring the ocean around the island. There are twists and turns with all the characters that keep you on the edge of your seat the who time - even through the epilogue.

I appreciated the dual point of views, but it was hard to relate to the main characters. When we learn how the one main character is connected to the other main character - it feels like a stretch.

This thriller wasn’t my favorite but if you are looking for a good edge of your seat book this one is for you.

Thanks to @netgalley and @bookmarked for providing the ARC.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC!

THE RESORT is a twisty, toxic thriller debut from Sara Ochs that you won't want to miss! Featuring multiple POVs and a group of highly suspicious expats on Koh Sang Resort, THE RESORT is the sort of thriller that makes you keep cleaning so you can keep listening to your audiobook. Remote island settings, tropical storms, multiple murders, and constantly questioning who to trust make this thriller excellent. This a great rec if you like thrillers with girls trips, vacations, shady friend groups, or island settings, like ONE OF THE GIRLS, SHE STARTED IT, or THE ONLY SURVIVORS. And since this is her debut, I can't wait for more from Sara!

Audio is definitely the way to go for THE RESORT, since it's done in an excellent full cast (Miranda Raison, Dakota Blue Richards, Joe Jameson, Pema Monaghan).

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark for my free ARC of The Resort by Sara Ochs — available Feb 13!

Read this if you:
🌴 are on vacation and need a matching-setting thriller
🤿 want to make your fear of scuba diving even worse
🐢 don't mind a slower pace in your thriller/suspense reads

Cass is in hiding, but she's doing it in style. She's fled to idyllic Koh Sang, a beautiful island in Thailand, where she's taken a dream job as a scuba instructor and managed to find a tight-knit group to call her family. But things are about to take a turn, because someone recognizes who Cass really is and starts sending her threatening messages. When one of her students turns up dead, Cass starts spiraling and doesn't know who she can trust anymore...

This was an easy, twisty thriller set in a beachy paradise, though I did find it a bit slow for my personal tastes (a whole lot of talking to each other and perspective switching). There are several reveals that I wasn't able to predict, but a handful of others that were obvious to me, including the final one, which was kind of a drag. If you enjoy a slow burn and want to feel like you're in a tropical paradise, this is definitely an option for you!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

First off, I love this cover and the setting of a tropical island. This one is highly entertaining and filled with twists and turns that will keep you guessing!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC.

I liked this read, but I didn’t love it. I found myself invested half way through and slowly losing interest to the end. The end had a good twist, but by then I no longer cared for the characters.

I’d recommend this to fans of thrillers with drama or newbies to the thriller genre.