Mysterious, engaging, and emotionally complex. I don't often listen to novels because I find it difficult to keep up with the story if I zone out for a second. I did NOT have that problem with this book. I was engaged the whole time and I LOVED having the full cast of narrators. This was my first book by this author, but I will be adding her to my auto-read list.

Thank you to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for a review copy of this book

Another Favourite by this author, I can not wait to revisit this book a little later this year. I found the story to be captivating from the first sentence

I have read and loved every one of this author’s books. She’s a master at blending eco fiction and mystery. This book was slower paced and character driven yet was incredibly suspenseful. The characters were fully developed and I found myself pulled into the narrative.

The story took place on a northern remote island near Australia full of marine animals including seals, penguins and whales. It was a beautiful setting in which I loved spending time. Yet, there was also despair due to global warming. Floods, fires and other natural disasters had led to the destruction of plants and animals across the world. This island was a biological research station where plant seeds were being kept to help keep species alive. However, when a woman washes up on the beach, battered yet still alive, a man and his three children inhabiting the island take her in and help her heal. As she recovers, she realizes that there are no other people on the island except them four. All of the other researchers are gone. The radio equipment is destroyed. And both she and the others are keeping secrets.

This was a story full of descriptive prose and thoughtful analysis. It broke my heart but also made me feel many powerful emotions. The audiobook performance was terrific with different narrators playing the various character perspectives. Saskia is one of my favourite narrators and I adored her performance in particular.

A gracious thank you to #MacMillanAudio and #NetGalley for an audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Isolation. Grief. Secrets. Choices...

"Wild Dark Shore" is set on Shearwater Island, a research station and the world’s largest seed bank, between Tasmania and Antarctica. With sea levels rising, the research has ended, and it feels like the island is sinking.

Dominic Salt and his three children are the island's final caretakers. They seem broken, yet loving and committed to one another. Then, during a violent storm, a mysterious woman washes ashore, who also appears broken...

"Wild Dark Shore" is a contrast of emotions. It is beautiful and moving, surrounded by the island's lush vegetation, sea life, and each character's innate love of nature. Yet it is horrifying and gripping concerning the progressively dangerous storms and the churning, rising ocean. The atmosphere feels peaceful and welcoming, while becoming increasingly threatening and dangerous.

As an immersion read, I am mesmerized by McConaghy's gorgeous prose and storytelling. The audiobook's multicast narrations bring the characters to life and deliver unique and emotional recountings in shifting perspectives. The audiobook is an unforgettable experience and my preferred format.

"Wild Dark Shore" is the first book I have read by McConaghy, and I wonder why I waited so long to experience her talent. This story was a layered, complex, and visual experience from beginning to end.

5⭐

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Charlotte McConaghy for the gifted ALC through NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I have to admit...I wasn't sure about this book after reading the premise. However, I saw many people reading this and heard good reviews so I decided to give it a try. Thank you to @macmillanaudio for the book!

With the many different viewpoints in this book (I counted 6), the various voices and narrators helped distinguish each. I had a harder time understanding Dominic's thick accent but eventually got used to it.

Mrs. McConaghy has a fan in me and I will try be reading her other books this year as well!

𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗲 was one of my most anticipated books of 2025. I absolutely loved the author’s earlier books and, like those, this story mixes romance and mystery with a focus on nature.

The fictional setting of Shearwater is inspired by the real Macquarie Island, located between Tasmania and Antarctica, and the seed vault that the Salt family is watching over is based on the one in Svalbard, in the Norwegian archipelago. It is obvious that extensive research went into this book, and while it wasn’t as compelling for me as the author’s earlier books, I still enjoyed the story.

It's part thriller about climate change, part mystery, and part literary fiction. It also includes nature writing from the researchers' work, creating a story that explores themes of grief, loss, and love.

The different audiobook narrators especially Steve West did a great job bringing this slow, dark story to life for me.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for my complimentary audiobook. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed the suspense and pace of the book and liked that the characters were not making the most ideal decisions. Each character was finely crafted with distinct personalities, back stories, and how they lived was so out of the ordinary that it was fun to read. I thought the story developed nicely and had a few interesting turns to keep it suspenseful. I've recommended it many times in our store both in audio and book form.

“But here is the nature of life. That we must love things with our whole selves, knowing they will die.”

Charlotte McConaghy, Wild Dark Shore

I know a lot of people have already read and recommended this one, so I’ll keep my comments brief. This book completely swept me away! (Pun intended.) Part eco-fiction, part mystery, part literary fiction, it explores grief, love, and climate change while beautifully capturing the tension between our deep connection to nature and its power to both sustain and destroy us. The remote island setting isn’t just a backdrop—it’s a force of its own, shaping the characters as much as the elements threaten them.

McConaghy’s writing is raw and immersive, making this a haunting and thought-provoking read. Special thanks to Macmillan Audio for the complimentary audiobook—its multicast narration was phenomenal. I can already tell this one will linger with me for a while. Easily one of my top read/listens of the year!

All the freaking stars!!! The audio was brilliant, but I loved listening while following along the most. Such an amazing story. These characters. This island. Forever will think about them!

Wild Dark Shore is a quiet, contemplative novel. Set on a fictional island near Antarctica called Shearwater, it’s about a father and his three children, the Salt family, who left behind a family tragedy on the mainland, finding solace in caring for this wild, remote place and the seedbank housed there. Shearwater was once a vibrant research station, but now, with sea levels rising and storms becoming more frequent, it’s being shut down, and the Salt family are the last inhabitants, responsible for packing up the seeds for shipment to a more secure location. But then one of the storms washes a mysterious woman ashore, sending reverberations through the entire family. Will this woman be the Salt family’s salvation or their destruction? And what truths about Shearwater and its final residents will come to light with her arrival?

Wild Dark Shore is a character-driven family drama set on the brink of climate disaster, a cautionary tale, an ode to the natural world, and a literary mystery all at once. However, these pieces don’t always work in complete harmony in the narrative. Although the book unfolds across several perspectives, I never really felt like I got to know any of the characters in a meaningful way. They felt distant and one-dimensional to me – a series of traits rather than actual people – and the romance plotline just seemed strange, given all of the distrust and suspicion on both sides. The passages explaining the history of several of the vault’s seeds didn’t always connect back to the story the way I think Charlotte McConaghy wanted them to, so they didn’t serve to do much other than take me out of the book’s flow. And the book keeps coming back to its central mystery, which is revealed in the final act in a way that didn’t make a lot of sense to me – never mind the fact that things could’ve been resolved much earlier, if the characters would have just had one (albeit difficult) conversation. One aspect of the conclusion seemed unearned and emotionally manipulative, rather than organic to the rest of the story.

McConaghy’s writing is absolutely gorgeous, so evocative and atmospheric as she brings the island of Shearwater to life. Wild Dark Shore is definitely a book that honors the natural world, and there is a scene involving whales that is so perfectly done it gave me chills. The book is at its best when it’s focused on its introspective themes of family and belonging, healing from trauma, the importance of conservation, and the endurance of the human spirit. The audiobook production is high, but I have to admit that I didn’t enjoy all of the narrators. Please take my opinion with a grain of salt (pun intended) because lots of people are loving this one. Ultimately, it just didn’t end up aligning with my expectations. Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the complimentary listening opportunity.

The Salts, a family of four - Dominic, Raff, Fen, and Orly - are living on a remote island not far from Antarctica. They were sent there on a mission to preserve seeds of all the world's plants in case of major disaster. But the water is rising and the seeds are being moved. Before the evacuation crew is scheduled to arrive, a stranger appears on their shore, almost dead from a boat crash. Who is she and what could she possibly be doing so far away from civilization?

Rowan arrives on the shore of Shearwater, nearly dead, to find that there are only four people remaining on the island. She came looking for something and is determined to find answers, but she needs to heal and she is left at the mercy of this family of strangers to help her. What happened to the rest of the crew sent to the island and why is this family of four acting like they're hiding something?

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy is a must read! There were so many emotions written into these pages and it is really hard not to be both furious and empathetic towards all of the characters. Each person has a powerful story that helps further the plot and gives understanding into the full picture that no one on the island really seems to have. There is love and laughter followed by heartbreak and disaster all woven beautifully together to make this story come to life. This book absolutely lived up to the hype that I have seen all over social media, and I will recommend this to anyone who will listen!

I loved Wild Dark Shore! It was wonderful nature writing and I loved the shifting perspectives. I thought the mystery was revealed well. Audiobook narrator was good too

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy left me feeling uneasy throughout the entire book. Dominic and his three children are on an island close to Antarctica and working as caregivers for a defunct research island and seed vault. A woman washes ashore, and the family takes Rowan in to nurse her back to health. There is a huge storm coming and lots to learn about each other. A freshly dug grave, broken radio equipment, and the hidden reason why Rowan set off for Shearwater Island. The isolation was like an additional character, and it was so interesting to see how climate change was threaded throughout the story. I loved learning more about Rowan and all the sacrifices that she made throughout the book.

I should mention that I would listen to Saskia Maarleveld read an encyclopedia - her narration was impeccable, as usual. Her diction and ability to change her voice to match characters is beyond impressive. Cooper Mortlock, Katherine Littrell, and Steve West also gave great performances with perfect diction and pace.

Overall, a book that left me uneasy for more reasons than just the character interactions. Many thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the chance to review this book.

Charlotte McConaghy's books are always beautiful, tragic, and take turns you don't expect, and this one is no different. The writing is gorgeous. I listened to the audiobook version and found the narrators effective, although the main who reads for Dominic a little hard to understand at times. I did find the end a little rushed and the emotional swings by one of the characters a little lacking motivation. But all in all I loved the book.

DNF at 50% this is so wildly slow and dull. I think the premise is great and the writing is good but this story like really needed to be moved along

Such high ratings and so, so slow. It was so slow that I never felt any progress was made so I finally had to give up and waive the white flag 🏳️ 😔

@netgalley
@bookofthemonth
#wearebookish
#readinggoals
#readin2025
#audiobook

Riveting. Cold dark and beautifully executed. Her best performance yet! I loved the the reflection of the scene described by the author. She does an excellent job binding the natural world and plot together. It’s particularly why I keep coming back to this author. Must read.

What a devastatingly gorgeous love letter to Earth & to family & to connection between the natural world & the human world.

The majority of the story is set on a remote island, the fictional Shearwater, where a woman, Rowan, washes ashore. The family, a father & his three children, two teens & a young boy, have lived on the island alone aside from a research base occupied by scientists. However, rising seas have destroyed most of the research base & the family has to leave as well.

With a few weeks left before the final boat will come & move the family to the mainland, the family's story and Rowan's story intertwine, and a mystery unfolds. Human struggles & pain are set against a backdrop of the consequences of climate change & the struggles & pain of the plants & animals in a fight for survival.

I loved this novel & the way it explores the themes of love & survival. Reading it right now, while it feels like the urgency of climate change has to take a backseat to the urgency of human rights just made it feel even more incredibly relevant.

Wild Dark Shore is a moody, atmospheric, slow burn mystery, particularly recommended for fans of dystopian stories about climate change.

The novel is set on a fictional remote island that serves as a research base and seed bank, where scientists store and protect seeds from the world's plants for preservation for future generations due to the disastrous effects of climate change. The MMC (Dominic) is a widow who lives there with his children. When a mysterious woman (Rowan) washes ashore, Dominic and his children nurse her back to health. The book is told from alternate POVs as we learn about the backstory of Rowan, Dominic, his children, and some of the other scientists who were on the island.

I listened to the audiobook and liked the narrator. While I enjoyed the story overall, I did not love it the way may others did, apparently, based on all the other glowing reviews. Parts of the book dragged and then some of the action sequences and plot twists were crammed in at the end. I also struggled to relate to the main characters. Overall, I decided to give this 3.5 stars rounded down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately, I find myself being the exception to the rule on this one. The reviews for this book are incredible, however I did not find it living up to the hype.
This book was very well written, but I found it to be boring. If you are interested in climate change- this will certainly be your cup of tea.