“I cannot, in this moment, fathom the men who came here on their boats to kill these creatures. I can’t comprehend what could allow you to do that, what could drive you to it. They do not seem like they could belong to the same species, but maybe it is the animals in me that feels the love, the human that can detach from it.”

“I can understand why he might not, in fact, be alright. Why maybe none of this will be, because we have, all of us humans, decided what to save, and that is ourselves.”

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

🎧Thank you to @netgalley for providing me with an advance listening copy. Spectacularly done! The audiobook is genuinely terrific. With a cast of narrators bringing to life the characters you areas fully immersed in who these people truly are. A perfect companion to the beautifully written words.

If you love animals more than people, but love YOUR people more than anything — I implore you to pick up this book. Charlotte McConaghy has created another masterpiece of human connection, inner grief and evolution, vibrant settings and imploring climate awareness. Set on an island near Antarctica this frozen land is both breathtakingly harsh and beautiful. We spend time among the elements and also in communion with whales, penguins and seals. The Salt family is at the end of their nine-year stay on the island, a young boy and two older teens with their father, when a woman is found, nearly drowned. They nurse her back to health and secrets unfurl.

The story is so well told. Each reveal impactful and compelling so that you will be desperate to understand what is really going on. This is EASILY a favorite of the year! This moved me to my core. Similar to her other novels; “Migrations” and “Once There Were Wolves” I founds so much of my own passions for the natural world and also my need for deep connection, on its pages. This book is quite sad, at times, but it is also alive with joy and love. The scenes between the Salt family, Rowan and the animals were my favorites. I felt I was there, and wanted to be.

I wanted to write more about my personal journey with this book but I find it just gets me crying again. We do not deserve nature, not for what we have done — and not done — but I am so grateful that we, however briefly, are given moments to touch the grass, feel the wind on our skin, to see these wonders of flora and fauna and to learn from them, through them, and be changed… if we allow it. If we try.

This book was lovely- the family dynamics and haunted feeling of this novel really stood out to me. The different narrators also made all the difference for the listening experience, I enjoyed all the different voices and this helped fully immerse me.

I have loved the last 3 books Charlotte McConaghy has written. All of them have been incredible stories revolving around aspects of climate change. None of them are in a fully dystopian world, but they do show a future that seems more realistic if we don't take action to save our planet.
This story was a beautiful fiction story of one family's heartbreak and love. There was a lovely story which also happened to touch base on what is happening and what can happen to our environment in the future.

Wild Dark Shore captivated me as soon as I hit play on the audiobook. The story follows the Salt family who are caretakers on a desolated island outside of Antarctica called Shearwater. The family faces the realities of global warming as the rising tides threaten their home. They are awaiting the arrival of the ship, which will take them back to Australia, when a woman washes ashore. Rowan is looking for her missing husband when a storm capsizes her ship and kills her captain. The narrators captured the characters fully and helped the listener connect to them. The silent character in the novel was the island itself. The author vividly describes daily life on a remote, inhibited island between Australia and Antarctica. The suspense is a slow burn as the author explores the importance of friendship, family, isolation, and the hidden lies in between. I couldn't stop listening. The twists and turns throughout the story are gripping. I recommend this story to anyone who like suspense, learning about new places, or fans of Where the Crawdads Sing. 5/5 Stars!

Thank you to Netgalley and McMillan Audio for this free audio arc in exchange for my unbiased review.

(4.5 rounded up)

What a beautifully heartbreaking story of resiliency, loss, secrets, love, and healing. When I finished this book, my heart was racing and was up in my throat as tears were rolling down my face. This was my first book by McConaghy and I really enjoyed her writing style, even though I was confused for a bit, once all the pieces to the puzzle started to fall into place the more I was invested. She crafted a mysterious feel alongside a picturesque setting, including some incredible animals, at Shearwater Island, located between the Tasmanian coast of Australia and Antarctica. But the island is being threatened due to climate change and rising sea levels, the island and everything living on it is being threatened.

I did feel like the first half was a little slow and kind of confusing, with it mostly being character development and world building while setting the tone. I kept thinking maybe I was missing something. However, the second half most definitely made up for it. When I finished this book, my heart was racing and was up in my throat as tears were rolling down my face.

I enjoyed the full cast narration. Having a full cast helped keep the many characters straight and helped bring each one to life. Dom was hard for me to understand, I had to slow the speed down drastically from where I normally listen, but after a few chapters it got easier to understand. However, his voice really helped with setting the tone of the story and fit his gruff character. I wish I would have also had a copy of the book to follow along with the ALC. I had a hard time keeping the timelines and multiple characters POV straight for the first half of the book, so I think reading it in tandem would have strengthened my overall experience.

Thank you @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for the #gifted ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This beautiful story blends layers of secrets and suspicion with environmental consciousness and personal reflections on grief and purpose and overall it is perfect. The audio was great too, especially both of the primary narrators!

I liked Once There Were Wolves but LOVED this one. Have to pick up Migrations ASAP for comparison’s sake. Thanks to Flatiron and Macmillan Audio for my advance listening copy!

Charlotte McConaghy delivers a haunting and immersive tale with Wild Dark Shore, an ecologically dystopian novel that feels both prophetic and deeply current. Set on a remote island that houses the world’s largest seed bank, the novel follows a family desperately trying to preserve what remains of the planet’s biodiversity as climate change and corporate greed threaten to consume everything.

McConaghy’s writing is beautifully lyrical, weaving a melancholic yet gripping narrative that explores survival, loss, and the fragile connection between humanity and nature. The world she paints is a stark reflection of our own—one where ecological collapse is not some distant future but a stark reality unfolding before us.

One of the most striking themes in the novel is the question of what, in the end, we choose to save. As the protagonist reflects:

“All of us humans have decided what to save; and that is ourselves.”

It’s a chilling and thought-provoking statement that lingers long after the last page. Wild Dark Shore is a must-read for fans of speculative fiction that leans into realism, reminding us that the dystopian warnings of literature are often closer than we’d like to believe.

Thank y0u to the Author, Macmillan audio and NetGalley for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

“Wild Dark Shore” by Charlotte McConaghy was an engaging book. The audiobook with multiple narrators effectively conveyed the story’s emotions, immersing me and making me eager to finish it. I enjoyed the educational chapters about nature and seeds by the youngest Salt family member. The multiple viewpoints in each chapter enhanced the storytelling. Highly recommend.

Holy cow, it has been a long time since a book has ripped my heart out and put it back together like this one. Her books are always scary because it genuinely can happen, but also make you see the world in such a different way.

The location of this book is perfect. This little family is flawed but perfect. There are so many things you can learn from it!

This would be a perfect book club book.

Charlotte McConaghy sure knows how to break your heart in the most beautiful way. Wild Dark Shore is a gorgeous literary fiction novel set on the remote island of Shearwater, not far from Antartica. Dominic Salt and his three children- Raff, Fen and Orly- are living on the island by themselves. They have stayed behind after all of the other researchers have left to pack up and protect the seeds they've been housing at the world's largest seed bank. During a particularly bad storm a woman washes up on the shores of their island. Rowan is saved by Dominic and his children and soon becomes immeshed in their life on the island. Everyone is hiding something from each other, and as their secrets come to light will they be able to work together and save the seeds and put their pasts behind them. McConaghy truly is one of the most beautiful story tellers, the nature, the emotions, the characters are all perfection!

After seeing nothing but rave reviews, and many “best book of the year” comments I was so excited to get this audiobook from @macmillan.audio!

Set on a remote island, this is a mysterious drama of an isolated family and the woman that washes up on the shore.

The best part of this novel was the setting, I did feel like I was right there in the wind and rain and watching the ocean. The audio was incredibly atmospheric and the full cast of narrators really brought it to life.

Although I did like this one, I’m not quite as obsessed as others. There was a good chunk in the middle of the book that I grew a bit tired of it, and wondered where exactly this story was going. I wish it concentrated more on the drama of the characters and less on the mystery, as a lot of what was being forecasted as plot twists ended up falling flat. But the characters, and the setting were so well done that I was still wowed by the writing and I’d like to finally read her other books.

Wild Dark Shore is an exceptional, emotionally intense read that captivated me from start to finish. While I thought it would be hard for Charlotte McConaghy to top Once There Were Wolves, this book came incredibly close. Set on a remote island between Australia and Antarctica, the story follows a father, his three children, and a mysterious woman who washes ashore, all struggling with grief and trauma. The plot is action-packed and full of suspense, with constant twists that will keep you hooked. McConaghy’s beautiful writing and vivid descriptions of nature, paired with a genre-bending narrative, make this book a unique and unforgettable experience.

The characters in Wild Dark Shore are unforgettable, and I felt deeply connected to each one. Their emotional struggles, their bond with the natural world, and their personal growth throughout the story had me invested from the very first page. The exploration of grief, love, and the environmental crisis felt raw and real without being preachy, making the book both moving and thought-provoking. The pacing is perfect, with every chapter driving the story forward, and the ending left me in tears.

Dominic Salt and his three children live on a remote island off the coast of Antarctica, called Shearwater. The island is home to the world's largest seed bank. The waters are rising and soon the island will be uninhabitable. All of the other researchers have already left and the Salt family will only be there a few more weeks finishing up saving and sorting the seeds. After a huge storm, a mysterious woman washes up on the shore, barely alive. They take her in and help nurse her back to health. As we go on, we learn that all is not what it seems and that both Dominic and the woman, Rowan have secrets to hide. As Rowan keeps growing closer to the family she slowly starts to uncover some things. They must decide whether to put aside their differences to work together to save the seeds and themselves. There are lots of twists and turns in this atmospheric story. The island is so well described and definitely becomes a character itself. As the tension continues to mount, you feel like you are trapped on the island with them. The writing is really beautiful and keeps you right in it until the end.

The multicast narration was excellent and really added to the atmosphere of the story. I thought it was maybe a bit long, but overall a great read! Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillanaudio for this gifted, advanced listeners copy. If you love climate fiction with a bit of mystery and suspense, give this one a try!

I was expecting Wild Dark Shore to have mysterious and chilling scenery, and a bleak but interesting story of natural disaster. What I got was a truly compelling novel with dark beauty, enigmatic secrets, broken trust, and multi-layered characters that kept me reading late into the night. I wasn't ready to care as deeply as I would for the seed bank caretaker family on Shearwater Island. Nor for Rowan, the woman who washes ashore mere weeks before they must abandon the island and bank due to rising seas and terrible storms resulting from climate change.

I'm not usually a "slow burn" novel kind of reader, but I found myself fully engrossed in the harshness of the situation on Shearwater. I was breathless as each character's onion was slowly peeled back, exposing the raw grief, pain and (surprising) hope inside. The captivating experience of Wild Dark Shore kept reminding me that THIS is why I read. THIS is why I love books.

I had not heard of Charlotte McConaghy before this novel, but I will certainly go to find other works of hers, as she is such a talented story teller.

I have never read one of Charlotte McConaghy's books, but they have always sounded beautiful, and her connection with nature has almost seemed something of a spirital thing, so I have been telling my self ...pick up Migration...pick up something she has written. I finally picked up Wild Dark Shore. Now. I can't compare this book with her others, because I have said, I haven't read them, but I will say this, I hit it right the nail on the head on how I felt her writing would be.

As I listened to Wild Dark Shore I was so pleased at how well crafted each of her characters were. Instantly I felt connected, and invested in them . I did not have to wait for the story to develop deep into the book to finally like them. I hate that, I am a very character driven reader.

Ummm, I don't know about you, but I would LOVE to live on an island and be a light house keeper. I know. In no book or movie has that ever turned out well....But...there is a first for everything? Right? I thought the island was a perfect setting for this book and McConaghy's descriptions are colorful and beautiful.. Great for a mystery. Isolated location, wild rough ocean that surrounds you. You can just see the rough seas pounding against the rocks, and maybe even depositing a body there for you to discover and nurse back to health. Yes, the mystery is a bit of a slow burn , but there is a lot taking place within the family as you wait. I never felt the story dragged.

I was lucky enough to receive an advance listen from MacMillan Audio, and it was excellent, with a full cast of narrators that brought this entire story to life.

If you, like me, have heard the constant praise of McConaghy's previous works, and wonder if you should believe the hype...you can. This one did not disappoint

Wild Dark Shores is absolutely amazing! This marks my third Charlotte McConaghy novel. I loved both Migrations and Once There Were Wolves, but this one takes the cake! Set in a not too distant future, on an isolated island off the coast of Antarctica, single dad Dominic and his three kids, caretake and keep watch over the Earth’s largest seed bank. Things get wild when a storm hits and Dominic's daughter saves a drowning woman from the sea. But who is she, and what brought her to such a remote spot?

McConaghy continues to give us deeply relatable characters, and I love how she makes them beautifully flawed. Plus, as an eco-horror fan, I’m all in for the terrifying climate change themes throughout the story.

This story is a mix of bleakness, tenderness, and mystery, but it also shines with hope for the future. The characters are all brave and show deep respect for the land and sea.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by a full cast, and I highly recommend that format—it truly brings the story to

4.5 stars for McConaghy's latest climate fiction, this time set on Shearwater, a small (fictional) island between Australia and Antarctica. As fierce storms and rising waves imperil the island where the Salt family lives are caretakers, a woman washes ashore. When she regains consciousness, she tells the Salts she has come to the island to find her husband, who was the leader of a research group that had been working on the island. She learns that the researchers have departed, and that another ship is expected soon to take the Salt family and the remaining research specimens off the island.

Even as Rowan grows closer to the family members, she remains suspicious: why would her husband leave without contacting her, after he had specifically requested that she come to the island? What is the secret that they seem to be hiding?

The characters in this novel are well developed and complex, and the plot is spooled out at a good pace, revealing backstories and new mysteries. The audiobook was well narrated and very engaging.

I am not generally a fan of climate fiction, but this novel was incredibly compelling. The setting is described so thoroughly that I formed a vivid picture of what this tiny island looked like. The small cast of characters (a welcome change from too many recent reads with so many characters I couldn’t keep them straight) allows the reader to get to know each one intimately, as individuals and in relation to one another. The premise of the story: the body of a woman washes up on the shore of this island near Antarctica, inhabited only by a caretaker and his three children. Incredibly, the woman is alive, and as she recovers, the wary relationships that are formed are captivating. There are so many questions—and pondering those and the possible answers keeps this novel going. I am grateful for the opportunity to have listened to the audiobook, narrated by a cast that really brought these five characters to life. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to provide an honest review. I highly recommend this book!

Anyone who has ever read a Charlotte McConaghy book knows how powerfully she writes, weaving science into a story with gorgeous, fully-fleshed out characters and exciting twists. Wild Dark Shore is another beautiful story from an immensely talented author.

In Wild Dark Shore, the Salt family are the caretakers of Shearwater Island amidst catastrophic climate change. When Rowan washes ashore, the family aren't quite sure what to make of her. The writing is atmospheric and the story is sweeping. McConaghy's Shearwater Island is a bleak, remote place and she perfectly deposits the reader right onto it.

I tandem read the audio with the print version and I can safely say both are excellent. The multi-cast narration really adds an extra layer to the book's feel and the production quality was excellent. I would highly recommend the audio version.

THIS WILL BE MY FAVORITE BOOK OF THE YEAR! Wow, this exceeded my expectations and I cannot stop thinking about the characters. The setting was so detailed, unique, and mysterious. The characters were SO well-developed. I haven't read a book cover to cover as fast as I did in a long time!