Charlotte McConaghy does it again!

Wild Dark Shore is a beautifully haunting story that unfolds like a movie—set on a remote island where secrets, family rules, love, and grief collide against the backdrop of climate change.

The audiobook production is top-notch, with a cast who completely pulls you in. Their voices...Cooper Mortlock, Katherine Littrell, Saskia Maarleveld, and Steve West... are immersive, capturing both the tension and tenderness of the story.

As with Migrations, McConaghy’s research and storytelling shine. The world feels real, the emotions hit deep, and the stakes feel urgent.

Big thanks to NetGalley for the advanced listener copy—this one was impossible to pause. If you love atmospheric, thought-provoking stories, add this to your list!

Let me start by saying this is probably my favorite book I’ve read this year, which is saying something because I have truly read some phenomenal books this year.

This book is SO stunningly written, I was blown away in every sense. The story is breathtaking, and heartbreaking but also healing in some wild ways.

Some quotes I just have to share because they actually took my breath away:

“ she isn’t frightened of the dead. It is only the living that have the power to harm.”

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

“ It is really fucking sad that it should take loss to know the precise quality of love.”

I felt so many emotions while reading this, everything from hope to pure emotional destruction. The amount of pure raw love in this book is insane. Love between siblings, between parent and child, between two people. The love felt in grief, in life. I mean it is all in this book. All while there is a mystery element taking place, and while I was indeed invested in the mystery plot line, I was even more invested in the people and relationships happening.
The blend of genres happening in this book is brilliant, you have this mystery element, this dystopian almost science fiction element to it, it’s steeped in literary fiction. It all blends together so smoothly.
I listened to the audiobook of this three days ago and I am still in pure awe of this novel and how much it made me feel and how all around stunning it is. Also! The narrators? Brilliant! I always appreciate a book that has multiple points of view having multiple narrators, it makes the experience so immersive, and it makes it really easy to know whose POV it is. The narrator for everyone was so well cast and the voices fit perfectly, especially the narrator for Dominic.

Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and the author for this AudioArc.

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced audio edition of Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy.

This is an atmospheric beauty of a suspense novel. It's just brimming with frigid ocean spray and all sorts of tension.

If you find yourself feeling lost every now and again, just keep reading, it will explain itself to you later. This is written so well, with vivid detail and amazing character development. The audio has great, multiple narration, making this all the more worthwhile.

"But here is the nature of life: that we must love things with our whole selves, knowing they will die."

WILD DARK SHORE is my second title by Charlotte McConaghy, and I continue to be gripped by her perspective of the world.

The action is set on a remote island; a woman washes ashore, and the remaining residents — one family consisting of a widower and his children — nurse her back to health. What had been a research station with an expansive seed bank has lost communications, and rising waters threaten everyone, so it is soon to be abandoned.

The tension is heightened as many questions abound: how did the woman actually arrive in this treacherous place? What are her ties to the individuals who left? What secrets are the various family members hiding from her and from each other? Deep themes of sacrifice, family, and love are on display.

The audiobook is a moving experience, narrated by a full cast that creates a rich complexity and pulls in listeners. This was a searing, layered read, an emotional gut punch that is lingering with me.

(Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing this audiobook for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.)

The narration definitely fits the story. I really enjoyed the setting and the weirdness of it all. I was fully feeling all the science facts. I spent hours thinking about flowers and dandelions.

Loved the lyrical writing in the emotionally and nature filled novel. I love this author’s writing.and how incorporates nature into her stories.

What a suspenseful and twisty surprise. This almost apocalyptic tale had me engaged from the beginning and never lost me as we followed these interesting characters. The audio readers were great.

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan_audio for the free copy of this book. The below is a voluntary review in exchange for an early preview.

The narrator does a great job of walking through the slow burn mystery and the detail of the family drama. There were moments I found myself thinking I knew all the secrets the family had to offer only to find out I had no idea.

Thought provoking narrative with just enough suspense to keep you going. I enjoyed the environmental narrations as well and thought they added to the mood of the book.

Love love love the audiobook readers, especially Saskia Maarleveld.

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan_audio for the free copy of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all opinions are my own.

🎧Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy - Storms rage, secrets are kept and isolation is harsh in this very atmospheric mystery that is based on our changing climate. As the climate shifts and storms and seas rise the small island that is home to several researchers and an important seed bank need to be vacated. Soon the island will be underwater and uninhabitable.

The family that is left is broken. The father stuck in his grief over his dead wife, the daughter who seems distant from the rest of the family and the two boys one who is desperate to help his father move beyond his grief and the youngest who seems to have a connection to the land. When a woman is washed up on shore after a shipwreck the family nurses her back to health but they are wary about why she is there.

This is a brilliant book that really pulls you in. You feel the desperation, and as the secrets are slowly revealed you understand what is driving this family and the strange woman who was washed ashore. Keep a box of tissues for the end which is as heartbreaking as it is perfect.

The narration for this book is fantastic and really held my attention and kept the story moving. I swear I could hear the waves crashing on the shore, the seals making noises, and the whales blowing air out of their blowholes.

This is another story perfect for this political time when we have climate change deniers in charge and yet hurricanes, hotter weather and strange storms are becoming more frequent.

Wow, I’m honestly not sure how to describe this one! It’s an incredibly in-depth exploration of family, relationships, and the intricate dynamics between them. The setting—an isolated island near Antarctica—really sets the tone for this atmospheric story.

I loved the mystery surrounding the woman who washed up on the beach. It unravels perfectly throughout the book, and was very shocked at the twists that were revealed. The science and nature descriptions were fascinating, and the concept of a seed storage facility being preserved like that was both thought-provoking and compelling.

The story builds to a huge, unforgettable climax, and I was truly shocked by how everything unfolded. Part mystery, part family saga, part realistic fiction—this book is hard to categorize, but it certainly captivated my attention in a powerful way.

I listened to the audio version, and the narrators did a great job bringing this story to life.

This one hurt....I had such high expectations going into this book. However, most of them just fell short for me. I was not nearly as invested in the story as I thought I would be. Which is CRAZY considering how much I love a family drama.

I will say that the full cast narrators did an absolutely fabulous job, and I would highly recommend picking this up on audio.

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for my early audio arc.

I can appreciate that the author wanted to write a story inspired by her trip to a similar island, but overall I think there’s too much going on with this story.

I listened to the audiobook and I think it was well done but maybe I would have enjoyed this more as a physical book.

✨ ARC REVIEW ✨

Wild Dark Shore by @charlottemcconaghy

4.5⭐️

A perfect blend of mystery, cli-fi and family drama, I was completely obsessed with this beautiful book.

The plot kept me engaged the whole way through, at times I was at the edge of my seat wondering just where this story would go! The characters were crafted in a way that made you feel every single one of their emotions as if they were your own…

Their desperation, their fear and their passion…

Of course, there were themes of climate change and its devastating impact throughout, but these darker topics were handled in a way that was so accessible and impactful. It was an eye opening experience exploring these themes through the minds of the Salt children who approached their world with such curiosity, something we all could do a bit more of.

A story that will equally entertain and make you think - another home run for Charlotte McConaghy! ❤️

Thanks to @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review! WILD DARK SHORE is out now!!

This was a very enjoyable book and the first book I've read from Charlotte McConaghy. Will definitely be checking out her other work.

Wild Dark Shore was the first book I’ve read from Charlotte McConaghy, and it won’t be my last! I was hooked from the first few pages and the mystery kept me scream-whispering to myself “what is happening?!” throughout the whole story.

I felt truly immersed in the inspired “fictional” island of Shearwater and its many wildlife inhabitants and even fewer human guests. I was gripped by the Salt family and their various quirks, personalities, and secrets. I loved the different perspectives of the characters and being able to understand them individually and together as a family unit.

When Rowan washes ashore during a storm, tensions rise as trust is tested — a trait that is paramount whole living in such bleak and dangerous shores. The secrets that are being kept by both the Salt family and Rowan come together in truly wild ways. The many twists and turns in this novel kept me guessing what would happen until the very end. And even then, I wasn’t prepared!

I was struck hard by the imagery and prose regarding climate change, nature preservation, humanity, survival, and grief. There were a few moments while reading where I could not stop the flow of tears. There were many deep undercurrents and themes throughout the novel that will stick with me for a very long time.

Thank you NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for providing me with the audio arc of this book! The different narrators brought the island and characters of Shearwater alive in very impactful way.

After seeing the hype for this book, I had to request it from NetGalley!

📖: Dominic and his three children take in Rowan, a woman injured in a boat crash off the coast of Shearwater, an island between Australia and Antarctica. As Rowan heals and bonds with the family, there is also a growing curiosity as to why she arrived in the first place.

🤝: This may be a good fit if you enjoy:
- atmospheric novels
- family dramas / slow burn mysteries
- a splash of romance

💭: LOL I think I have another God of the Woods on my hands. To me that means a book everyone is obsessed with that I think is... pretty good. So take my thoughts with a grain of salt. It has a lot of positives: interesting and unique concept, relevant commentary, emotional and captivating moments and some endearing characters. But something didn't click for me. It's hard to explain, but I felt like some storylines that were kind of a tease. For example, I wanted more Raffe and Alex. And while I love books dealing with heartbreak and grief, this crossed my threshold to depressing.

🎧: I was today years old when I learned Saskia Maarleveld was from New Zealand. I had never heard her narrate with a non-American accent before. She's wonderful as always. I will always appreciate a full cast audio, and while two of the kids had the same narrator, I enjoyed Orly having a fun, young voice. It took me a bit to get my bearings, but then I was glad I requested this format and recommend it if you're an audiobook fan!

Rating: I liked it! (3)

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Wild Dark Shore was a fantastic exploration of the ends of the earth and the people who live there. I was not expecting to fall in love with the characters so quickly, but the audio narration pulled me in with an excellent full cast. The family's backstories were engrossing and the slow unfolding of the drama on Shearwater Island kept me hooked until the very end. McConaghy's talent is evident in this and I can't wait to discuss this with other avid readers!

I was sent a complimentary audiobook of this from Flatiron as an ARC & I am unfortunately getting to it a bit late. The multiple POV worked really well in this and was done mixing 1st and 3rd person, which is rare and appreciated. For me I felt a small amount of drag in Rowan finding things out, and I found myself wishing for more detail to leak in, but the building of relationships made up for this, and I didn't see any of the end twists too far ahead of time.

Highly recommended! I’m not quite sure how to describe this book, to be honest: partly climate fiction, partly family drama, partly mystery/suspense. It takes place on an island between Tasmania and Antarctica, a place that used to be a busy research station and which holds a huge seed bank, whose purpose is to save all sorts of seeds against a climate catastrophe. And a catastrophe is coming because the water levels have risen far enough to threaten to engulf the entire place.

The main characters are Dominic Salt, a widower, and his three children, two teens and a 9-year old. When a woman washes up on shore and they nurse her back to health, Rowan becomes virtually another family member, despite questions about why she was headed there in the first place. All this is happening while the Salts are trying to rescue as many seeds as they can by bringing them to higher ground, as they wait for their rescue/evacuation ship to arrive in a few weeks. That’s all they can do is wait because all their communication equipment has been sabotaged by someone. (We do eventually find out who and it’s a stunner.) Mysteries abound and there are plenty of secrets held by each of these remaining inhabitants.

NOTE: This fictional island is based on a real place, Macquarie Island, full of penguins and seals and other hardy wildlife.

I was pulled into the story immediately. I had the privilege of listening to the audiobook which was narrated by a full cast. The narrators are: Cooper Mortlock, Katherine Littrell, Saskia Maarleveld, and Steve West. I loved all the different voices and accents.

The descriptions of this remote place were beautiful and I felt I could imagine it all (with a little help from looking up some info online about Macquarie Island, I confess). The scenes with the humpback whales were so emotional.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to a review copy of this audiobook. It was stunning and I had a hard time “putting it down” to attend to other matters. But I was able to listen to most of it on a long flight and it was a perfect way to pass the time.