I absolutely five-star LOVED Michallon's last book (The Quiet Tenant) and was super excited to read this. Alas, it was a DNF at 50% - the pacing was extremely slow, the flashbacks felt disjointed, and the characters were one-dimensional. This one was a big disappointment for me, but I'm hopeful future books by Michallon are able to match the thrills and depth of The Quiet Tenant.

Another fantastic read by Clemence Michallon! I was so looking forward to reading this as soon as I saw it's upcoming release, and it very much lived up to what I was hoping to get out of this story. While I hate to compare author's books against themselves and I think this story is very different plot-wise from The Quiet Tenant, I still got that same fantastic writing style that immediately hooked me in with her debut. I really love cult-based stories so I really enjoyed that element of it, as well as the frequently alternating timelines that kept the story moving very quickly for me.

Big thank you to Knopf for my early review copy! Already have a gorgeous finished copy of this beauty living on my shelves, and I highly recommend you get yours too.

I walked into this book blindly. If I had read the synopsis I might have forgone it because cult stories usually don’t work for me. Funny enough the cult portion of OUR LAST RESORT was the most interesting part.

In the contrary, the current timeline set in the Ara resort in the Utah desert didn’t feel very realistic. The more it progressed the less believable it became.

I think there were pacing issues, the current timeline felt too dragged out. In the end the story was neither thrilling nor surprising.

Thank you @netgalley and the publisher for the eARC.

I really enjoyed this book. It was just what I needed in an intriguing summer thriller. The storytelling was interesting, and it was a fairly easy read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage and Anchor for providing me with an eARC of Our Last Resort in exchange for my honest review!

Considering The Quiet Tenant by Clémence Michallon was one of my favorite books of 2023, my expectations were raised for Our Last Resort, and I'm glad that it ultimately turned out to be a suspenseful journey with a tragic weight comprising its core. I'll admit, the very opening draws me in fast, but then we've got a significant amount of plot after this that moves along at a slow pace. I understand that this is an intentional choice in order to gradually build up the narrative and give it time to breathe as we cut back and forth between the past and present timelines, but it's still an element that leaves me thinking it could have paced things out more effectively and fleshed out Frida and Gabriel more fully earlier on. That being said, once I dive deeper into the tale, that's where this lets more of the payoff rise up to the surface. That's where I'm able to realize just how much trauma these two humans continue to wrestle with thanks to the cult that had locked them up within its clutches during their younger years. There's a point in the third act in which it hits me that we'll probably learn a certain piece of crucial information, and this prediction ends up coming true. When it does, it changes my perspective on this tale and the darkness and heartbreak that resides within its soul—all for the better. This reminds me of how much of a somber tone Michallon had used to handle The Quiet Tenant, too. Both of these books land as stories that are capable of summoning up tension, and yet I wouldn't be fully confident in outright referring to them as thrillers. It's interesting to see how Michallon carries them out like that.

All in all, I'm giving Our Last Resort an overall rating of 3.75 out of 5 stars, which I'm rounding up to 4 stars. I'll keep anticipating more of Michallon's writing.

I really enjoyed The Quiet Tenant, so I’d been looking forward to this one for quite some time. It fell a bit flat for me though.

🏜️ Book Review 🏜️
Our Last Resort
By: Clemence Michallon
Published: 7/8/25
Genre: Thriller/suspense

Highly recommend this book! It had so many layers of backstory, mystery, and suspense. I really enjoyed the alternating past and present chapters. Most of them were also fairly short. The cult theme was quite interesting, and I just couldn’t put it down! I’m rating it 4.5 ⭐️, but rounding up to 5 🌟 stars on Goodreads.

Thank you @aaknopf and @netgalley for the opportunity to read the digital arc! Had to get a physical copy, too! 😂 @clemencemichallon is an autobuy author for me!

#ourlastresort #julynewrelease #summerreading #cultreading #thrillerbooks #netgalley #aaknopf #clemencemichallon #suspensenovel #bookstagram

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

The book had an interesting set up, but it just didn’t feel fleshed out enough. I think for it to flash between three different subplots/periods of time, we needed more detail in any of them. As it was, I felt like I only got a shallow level reading of all three.

Thank you Netgalley for earc in exchange for honest review.

The premise of this sounded good but fell a bit flat. It switched between present day and flashbacks to 15 years earlier when they were part of a cult. It was a slow burn thriller but the ending felt a bit rushed and short. Not sure true resolution was ever there for either character.

Unfortunately a bit of a disappointment after Michallon's tour de force debut. Still, it was a quick read with good suspense.

This thriller kept me on the edge of my seat. It was so good! This is an auto-read, auto-buy author for me! Highly recommend for the twists and turns.

I loved Clemence Michallon's first book, but this one wasn't as unique as that one. While I flew through this book, I didn't find the twists all that surprising. It was engaging and entertaining, but not my favorite thriller.

Thank you Netgalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor Publishing for the ARC. After escaping a cult two women reunite for a vacation, but when someone is murdered secrets from the past resurface. This book kept me hooked the entire time. I couldn’t guess what was going to happen next. I loved Clemence Michallon’s books and am excited to read more!

First time reader of this author. Frida and Gabriel grew up in a cult and always considered themselves siblings. When they came of age they escaped after the truth was discovered about their leader Emile. Told in dual timelines from Frida’s perspective, the reader discovers why she and Gabriel are so bound to each other and why they’re now estranged. The scene building and inner dialogue is excellent. The novel is suspenseful, but I found the overall pacing to be slow for me, until the climax at the end. Frida and Gabriel are deeply flawed which make their actions and the final twist not totally surprising. I struggled with the combination of unlikable characters and slow pacing. Even though the conclusion is far, very far from being original or unpredictable, I thought it was satisfactory enough. 3.5 rounded up. Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Knopf for the opportunity.

a murder mystery that also talks about cults?? truly my type of book! I was hooked from the start with this plot and really enjoyed the past and present tense chapters that helped me learn more about the characters. the ending was a little predictable but overall, I really enjoyed this book!

Not sure if I liked this one or if I like it. Still haven't really made up my mind. Anyway, this one is about a brother and a sister that have escaped from a cult fifteen years before and now are going to try to reconnect as they have grown apart, at dare I say, a luxury resort. May I say White Lotus meets this book! That is what it reminds me of. Yes, it is that good and then I am still not sure if it is. I guess you have to read it and make your own mind up.
When Frida and her brother Gabriel get to Escalante in the desert of Utah they try to get over the tragedy that happened long ago. Only once again not long after another murder happens. The main suspect is Gabriel and of course, it isn't the first time......

This will leave you twisting and turning and you will not want to put this down. Happy reading!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the early read!

📚 ARC/AUDIOBOOK REVIEW 📚

Our Last Resort By Clemence Michallon
Publication Date: July 8, 2025
Narrator: Saskia Maarleveld
Publisher: Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage & Anchor | Knopf
and PRH Audio Publishing Group

📚MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
(Rounded Up To 5⭐)

Thank you to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage & Anchor and NetGalley for this #gifted e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

📚MY REVIEW:

Our Last Resort is a slow-burn thriller told primarily in dual timelines. In the present day, the storyline centers around a murder mystery at a posh luxury resort in the Utah desert. In the past timeline, the story centers around children growing up in a cult and the abuses they experience. At its core, however, this is a story about found family, sacrifice, and resilience. I found this to be a captivating read that initially pulled me in with its intrigue and kept me immersed with its character development and atmospheric writing style.

Frida and Gabriel grew up as child members of a cult, who 'trauma-bond' through their shared experiences of abandonments and abuses, and consider themselves to be siblings throughout their lives.In the past timeline, we learn all about their experiences growing up in the cult and the close bond they forged in their desire to survive and escape the sheltered lives of the cult. In the present timeline, Frida and Gabriel are vacationing together at a posh resort in Utah when a fellow guest is murdered. Flashbacks reveal that Gabriel's wife Annie died several years ago, and Gabriel was always suspected of having killed her - even though the police never had enough evidence to prove it. The death of a fellow guest at the resort is reminiscent of Annie's death for Frida and Gabe, which creates interesting cracks in their already-strained relationship.

The tension in this book was often palpable, only seeming to increase as more and more of the past's secrets were revealed throughout these pages. The dual timelines shared in alternating chapters really helped to build the suspense in each time period too.

I really enjoyed the combination of listening to this audiobook through Everand and reading the e-ARC through NetGalley. Maarleveld did a phenomenal job with the narration in this audiobook - I loved her changing voices and the emotional inflections throughout her reading. She really brought this one to life for me!

This was my first read from this author, and now I really want to go back and check out The Quiet Tenant, which so many people loved. If you're a fan of slow-burning thrillers, dual timelines, and suspenseful reveals of truths and secrets, I think you'll really love Our Last Resort! And I can definitely recommend the audiobook of this one too.

#OurLastResort #ClemenceMichallon #Knopf #PRHAudio #gifted #NetGalley #NetGalleyReviews #ARC #audiobooks #thrillerlover #thrilleraddict #booklover #bookreviews #bookrecs #bookrecommendations

Set at an isolated luxury resort, the story follows guests and staff whose lives become entangled as secrets—and a shadowy cult connection—surface. The cult element was intriguing, though it could have been explored in greater depth. Told in shifting timelines, it leans more toward suspense than a true thriller. While it moved a bit slowly in places and could have used more bursts of excitement, it was still an engaging and enjoyable read overall.

Our Last Resort is a taut psychological thriller that follows Frida and Gabriel, two tied-at-the-hip survivors of a cult, who reunite at the lavish Ara Hotel in the Utah desert seeking reconnection. Their hopes evaporate when a glamorous vacation guest is found murdered, and Gabriel becomes prime suspect. The narrative alternates between present-day tension and haunting flashbacks to their upbringing and dramatic escape from the cult.

I enjoyed the atmospheric setting & tension building in this story. The isolated desert resort is almost a character itself—beautiful, opulent, and suffocating, heightening the suspense in a subtle, simmering way. I also thought the psychologically complex dual timeline were crafted in such a layered narrative that weaves past trauma and present dread, keeping me off-balance and deeply invested in the characters’ unravelling.

Our Last Resort offers a satisfyingly slow-burning psychological suspense experience. The story is anchored by emotionally complex characters, atmospheric tension, and a dual timeline structure that keeps you guessing until the final page. If you're drawn to trauma-laced mysteries, morally ambiguous protagonists, and deeply human tension over high-octane thrills, this will likely haunt you long after you finish it.

Frieda and her brother escape a cult - and begin to learn to navigate the world. Flash forward into the future, and her brother is accused of murder - not once but twice. Is that what happens when you need to figure out a world you never experienced before? The story navigates through many types of relationships - sibling, marriage, affairs, police, the haves and have nots. It’s all deliciously interwoven to create a compelling read. Thanks to NetGalley for the read.