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Stranded
Eight strangers.
One island.
A secret you'd kill to keep.
When eight people arrive on the beautiful but remote Buidseach Island, they are ready for the challenge of a lifetime: to live alone for one year.
Eighteen months later, a woman is found in an isolated fishing village. She’s desperate to explain what happened to her: how the group fractured and friends became enemies; how they did what they must to survive until the boat came to collect them; how things turned deadly when the boat didn’t come…
But first Maddy must come to terms with the devastating secret that left them stranded, and her own role in the events that saw eight arrive and only three leave.
One island.
A secret you'd kill to keep.
When eight people arrive on the beautiful but remote Buidseach Island, they are ready for the challenge of a lifetime: to live alone for one year.
Eighteen months later, a woman is found in an isolated fishing village. She’s desperate to explain what happened to her: how the group fractured and friends became enemies; how they did what they must to survive until the boat came to collect them; how things turned deadly when the boat didn’t come…
But first Maddy must come to terms with the devastating secret that left them stranded, and her own role in the events that saw eight arrive and only three leave.
12 pages, Audiobook
First published September 16, 2021
6525 people are currently reading
23508 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Goodwin
23 books770 followersAlso writing as Amy Cunningham (The Serial Killer's Party) and Amelia Wildwood (rom-com coming in summer 2026)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,578 reviews
September 17, 2021
I’ll get right to it. Stranded is problematic.
Not for me as a reader, but rather as a reviewer. How can I get this book into the hands of as many people as possible despite its generic cover and title, unknown author, and spoilery synopsis? Let me give it my best shot.
Of the 155 books I’ve already read in 2021, Stranded is in my top five across all genres. It is also my favorite “thriller” of the year so far. The thing about the cover that grinds my gears is that it looks like Mundane Police Procedural #17, where in reality this book is a well-crafted, standalone, literary fiction novel that happens to have an increasingly suspenseful plot.
Readers follow the single-person perspective of Maddy, a young woman who signs up to participate in a reality series that drops eight people on an island off the coast of Scotland for a year to chronicle how they craft a society together. What follows is an insightful - and maddening - look at human behavior that proves that Sarah Goodwin isn’t just here to deliver cheap thrills.
I listened to the audiobook and spent 11 hours in nature and deteriorating conditions with Maddy and felt rage at characters I haven’t experienced in quite some time. Of all the Survivor/Naked and Afraid/Castaway comparisons swirling in my mind, landing on an adult, modern Lord of the Flies feels the most appropriate. (It’s okay if you hated that “classic.” I did.)
If you’re still with me and are considering adding this to your To Read/Must Buy shelf, please do me a favor and skip the publisher synopsis. I read it for the first time when I was at the 80% mark, and it still managed to spoil what was yet to come. This one descriptive blurb is worth sharing for its truth in advertising though: “A gripping, twisty page-turner about secrets, lies and survival at all costs.”
My thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio, Avon Books and the author for the advance listening copy via NetGalley. I enjoyed (new-to-me) narrator Esme Sears’s singular performance and would recommend it for people who prefer the audiobook format.
Blog: https://www.confettibookshelf.com/
Not for me as a reader, but rather as a reviewer. How can I get this book into the hands of as many people as possible despite its generic cover and title, unknown author, and spoilery synopsis? Let me give it my best shot.
Of the 155 books I’ve already read in 2021, Stranded is in my top five across all genres. It is also my favorite “thriller” of the year so far. The thing about the cover that grinds my gears is that it looks like Mundane Police Procedural #17, where in reality this book is a well-crafted, standalone, literary fiction novel that happens to have an increasingly suspenseful plot.
Readers follow the single-person perspective of Maddy, a young woman who signs up to participate in a reality series that drops eight people on an island off the coast of Scotland for a year to chronicle how they craft a society together. What follows is an insightful - and maddening - look at human behavior that proves that Sarah Goodwin isn’t just here to deliver cheap thrills.
I listened to the audiobook and spent 11 hours in nature and deteriorating conditions with Maddy and felt rage at characters I haven’t experienced in quite some time. Of all the Survivor/Naked and Afraid/Castaway comparisons swirling in my mind, landing on an adult, modern Lord of the Flies feels the most appropriate. (It’s okay if you hated that “classic.” I did.)
If you’re still with me and are considering adding this to your To Read/Must Buy shelf, please do me a favor and skip the publisher synopsis. I read it for the first time when I was at the 80% mark, and it still managed to spoil what was yet to come. This one descriptive blurb is worth sharing for its truth in advertising though: “A gripping, twisty page-turner about secrets, lies and survival at all costs.”
My thanks to HarperCollins UK Audio, Avon Books and the author for the advance listening copy via NetGalley. I enjoyed (new-to-me) narrator Esme Sears’s singular performance and would recommend it for people who prefer the audiobook format.
Blog: https://www.confettibookshelf.com/
September 27, 2021
Believe the Hype!
Stranded is a tension-packed read about a social experiment gone awry.
Maddy, a former botanist, is desperate for a change. Unable to deal with the grief stemming from the loss of her parents, she is eager to earn a spot on a new reality show taking place on a deserted island. This is not a competition-based reality show, a la Survivor, but rather a study on what happens when a group of 8 strangers become stranded on a remote island off of the coast of Scotland. What seems like a challenging experiment becomes a life or death situation. Only the strong will survive.
Narrated solely by Maddy, it was a little exhausting spending time in her head. I was constantly questioning her reliability and also wondering what was really happening. I would have loved to have the perspective of other characters, but at the same time, I can appreciate the tension and drama that stemmed from Maddy’s narration.
Every chapter ends with a sense of foreboding. Maddy’s narration could have been a bit more subtle, which would have added another layer to the events, but this is just a small criticism.
Stranded is a page-turner. It’s a fascinating journey into the mindset of being in survival mode. The last 20% had my heart pounding, and my nerves almost got the best of me. I don’t think I would last a day on Buidseach Island.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Avon Books UK in exchange for an honest review.
Stranded is a tension-packed read about a social experiment gone awry.
Maddy, a former botanist, is desperate for a change. Unable to deal with the grief stemming from the loss of her parents, she is eager to earn a spot on a new reality show taking place on a deserted island. This is not a competition-based reality show, a la Survivor, but rather a study on what happens when a group of 8 strangers become stranded on a remote island off of the coast of Scotland. What seems like a challenging experiment becomes a life or death situation. Only the strong will survive.
Narrated solely by Maddy, it was a little exhausting spending time in her head. I was constantly questioning her reliability and also wondering what was really happening. I would have loved to have the perspective of other characters, but at the same time, I can appreciate the tension and drama that stemmed from Maddy’s narration.
Every chapter ends with a sense of foreboding. Maddy’s narration could have been a bit more subtle, which would have added another layer to the events, but this is just a small criticism.
Stranded is a page-turner. It’s a fascinating journey into the mindset of being in survival mode. The last 20% had my heart pounding, and my nerves almost got the best of me. I don’t think I would last a day on Buidseach Island.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Avon Books UK in exchange for an honest review.
September 17, 2021
This book is a great reminder as to why I prefer staycations!
Maddy signs up for a reality TV show that basically throws her and 9 other individuals (7 contestants and 2 cameramen) onto a deserted island for a year. They’re meant to rough it out and pretend like the world outside of the island has ended.
Mob mentality eventually turns everyone against Maddy (the narrator). Not all of them will survive. And NOTHING will go according to plan.
This is such an atmospheric read that’s hard to put down...but I will admit, the beginning was a struggle. It was hard remembering who was who, and took awhile to get going. Once that was settled, the scenery and dread of the situation took over. The ending felt a bit rushed though.
Whether you like to camp and be adventurous or not, you’ll find something here that raises your anxiety. Kudos to the author for letting that tension build to almost fever-pitch proportions. This is highly suspenseful, and will keep readers gripped.
TW: Poor 🐰🐰 . Granted, I should’ve known...given the plot. In this case, it fits into the storyline, and only one scene is a little more descriptive than I would’ve liked.
Thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Now available.
Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com
Maddy signs up for a reality TV show that basically throws her and 9 other individuals (7 contestants and 2 cameramen) onto a deserted island for a year. They’re meant to rough it out and pretend like the world outside of the island has ended.
Mob mentality eventually turns everyone against Maddy (the narrator). Not all of them will survive. And NOTHING will go according to plan.
This is such an atmospheric read that’s hard to put down...but I will admit, the beginning was a struggle. It was hard remembering who was who, and took awhile to get going. Once that was settled, the scenery and dread of the situation took over. The ending felt a bit rushed though.
Whether you like to camp and be adventurous or not, you’ll find something here that raises your anxiety. Kudos to the author for letting that tension build to almost fever-pitch proportions. This is highly suspenseful, and will keep readers gripped.
TW: Poor 🐰🐰 . Granted, I should’ve known...given the plot. In this case, it fits into the storyline, and only one scene is a little more descriptive than I would’ve liked.
Thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Now available.
Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com
October 7, 2022
Wow! That is how you write a thriller!
I honestly had extreme difficulty putting this one down until I was finished. It was the first thing I grabbed this morning after reading until I fell asleep last night. Don't be tempted to skip on by because of the cover that looks like every other cover in this genre, and the synopsis is very misleading, so skip reading that too and just get yourself a copy of this book.
What you need to know about it:
Maddy has a very unfulfilled life and has been floundering since her parents died. She signs up for and is selected to appear on a reality show where a group of eight people are living on a remote Scottish island for a year with no interference from the outside world. They wear cameras 24/7 and will be picked up after a year has passed.
This book is like Survivor meets Castaway meets Lord of the Flies. It is tense throughout, and although the reader knows from the first page that Maddy makes it off the island, the sense of fear and trepidation for her life and her survival comes off the pages in waves. I'm not sure I could have continued reading without the knowledge of her survival because the tension would have done me in. The not knowing who would survive and what exactly happened to them kept me totally glued to the pages until the end.
For me, the wrap-up is a bit abrupt, especially as the story alternates between the time on the island and an interview with Maddy, and the interviewer alludes to a trial, prison, etc. and those facts are just tied together very quickly at the end without the satisfaction of being able to take a breath in the knowledge before it's all over. That said, this is a uniquely plotted, well-written thriller that should definitely go on every thriller-lover's fall reading list.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
I honestly had extreme difficulty putting this one down until I was finished. It was the first thing I grabbed this morning after reading until I fell asleep last night. Don't be tempted to skip on by because of the cover that looks like every other cover in this genre, and the synopsis is very misleading, so skip reading that too and just get yourself a copy of this book.
What you need to know about it:
Maddy has a very unfulfilled life and has been floundering since her parents died. She signs up for and is selected to appear on a reality show where a group of eight people are living on a remote Scottish island for a year with no interference from the outside world. They wear cameras 24/7 and will be picked up after a year has passed.
This book is like Survivor meets Castaway meets Lord of the Flies. It is tense throughout, and although the reader knows from the first page that Maddy makes it off the island, the sense of fear and trepidation for her life and her survival comes off the pages in waves. I'm not sure I could have continued reading without the knowledge of her survival because the tension would have done me in. The not knowing who would survive and what exactly happened to them kept me totally glued to the pages until the end.
For me, the wrap-up is a bit abrupt, especially as the story alternates between the time on the island and an interview with Maddy, and the interviewer alludes to a trial, prison, etc. and those facts are just tied together very quickly at the end without the satisfaction of being able to take a breath in the knowledge before it's all over. That said, this is a uniquely plotted, well-written thriller that should definitely go on every thriller-lover's fall reading list.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
January 28, 2022
I can hardly catch my breath! What a heart-pounding, claustrophobic, relentlessly chilling book this is. I loved it!
Maddy is a botanist that is selected to be one of eight contestants to live on an uninhabited island off the coast of Scotland for one year. From here they will need to forage for food, build shelters, ultimately building their own community now that the supposed world itself has come to an end.
It all starts off well and people are chipping in doing anything they can to help but as the months progress, food starts to dwindle, and once the winter weather begins to set in the tempers start to flare. Maddy finds herself ostracized from the group. Everything she does and says fuels the fire of their group hatred.
Things really go bananas though when their boat doesn't arrive to pick them up at the one year mark like they were told. Days turn to weeks and then turns to months. Where is everyone? Why has no one come to rescue them? Maddy realizes just how dire her situation is when she is sure that any one of the other contestants would not hesitate to kill her.
"The things that started happening to us after Christmas ... I thought it was all just random tragedy; accidents, mistakes. If I 'd known then that there was some reason for it, some intent, I don't know if I could have held on like I did.
You might have given up hope?
I almost smile. 'I'd lost hope by then. No, I might have given up holding on to my delusion that somehow we were all still civilized people at heart. I might have tried to get them before they came for me."
I really don't want to say anything more about the plot. 🤐 I have been a fan of the show Survivor since it began over 20 years ago but nothing prepared me for this book. This makes Survivor look like child's play. It was as if the author knew exactly what I would want from this kind of story. Do I have any survival instinct? HA! I'd be in the fetal position weeping like a baby so maybe that's why I find these stories so fascinating. They are just so beyond me and my abilities. Maddy was a character that I really came to care for and the misery they put her through had me ripping my hair out in utter frustration. I'm not a violent person but I would have loved to punch a few characters in the face on behalf of Maddy and I was wishing Maddy would do just that. My only small niggle may be that all the foraging of wild weeds and mushrooms went a little over my head - also the reason I will probably die if left in the wild. As for the ending, I loved it, and I closed the book with a satisfied smile on my face.
Super fun and highly entertaining, what more can I ask for? 5 stars!
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for my complimentary copy.
Maddy is a botanist that is selected to be one of eight contestants to live on an uninhabited island off the coast of Scotland for one year. From here they will need to forage for food, build shelters, ultimately building their own community now that the supposed world itself has come to an end.
It all starts off well and people are chipping in doing anything they can to help but as the months progress, food starts to dwindle, and once the winter weather begins to set in the tempers start to flare. Maddy finds herself ostracized from the group. Everything she does and says fuels the fire of their group hatred.
Things really go bananas though when their boat doesn't arrive to pick them up at the one year mark like they were told. Days turn to weeks and then turns to months. Where is everyone? Why has no one come to rescue them? Maddy realizes just how dire her situation is when she is sure that any one of the other contestants would not hesitate to kill her.
"The things that started happening to us after Christmas ... I thought it was all just random tragedy; accidents, mistakes. If I 'd known then that there was some reason for it, some intent, I don't know if I could have held on like I did.
You might have given up hope?
I almost smile. 'I'd lost hope by then. No, I might have given up holding on to my delusion that somehow we were all still civilized people at heart. I might have tried to get them before they came for me."
I really don't want to say anything more about the plot. 🤐 I have been a fan of the show Survivor since it began over 20 years ago but nothing prepared me for this book. This makes Survivor look like child's play. It was as if the author knew exactly what I would want from this kind of story. Do I have any survival instinct? HA! I'd be in the fetal position weeping like a baby so maybe that's why I find these stories so fascinating. They are just so beyond me and my abilities. Maddy was a character that I really came to care for and the misery they put her through had me ripping my hair out in utter frustration. I'm not a violent person but I would have loved to punch a few characters in the face on behalf of Maddy and I was wishing Maddy would do just that. My only small niggle may be that all the foraging of wild weeds and mushrooms went a little over my head - also the reason I will probably die if left in the wild. As for the ending, I loved it, and I closed the book with a satisfied smile on my face.
Super fun and highly entertaining, what more can I ask for? 5 stars!
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for my complimentary copy.
September 21, 2021
What a fun read!
Maddy had an overprotective upbringing and the untimely deaths of her parents have left her reeling. She needs a change and signs up for a reality Survivor-type show where 8 contestants (four men, four women) are left on an island off the coast of Scotland, where they will live for one year. It’s an experiment to see how they will survive, and no one is voted off. But alliances are soon drawn, and Maddy, having few social skills, becomes the scapegoat for everything that goes wrong. If you wonder what would happen if society breaks down and it's survival of the fittest, this is a prime example of mob mentality.
The book opens with Maddy sitting for an interview for a tv show. She’s painfully thin and bedraggled, after unspecified criminal charges and time in prison. Things obviously have gone terribly awry, and not everyone made it back from the island. Maddy tells her story, and what a story it is!
Please note I hate camping or rustic anything. My idea of roughing it is making reservations at a luxury resort where I will just have to make do without my Tempur-pedic mattress. But, still, I loved the setting and the descriptions of how the group uses their skills to forage and provide shelter and food for themselves. The second half of the book was riveting and unputdownable, and the ending...well, I needed to talk about it!
As an aside, you do not have to be a fan of camping or roughing it in order to enjoy this book. My husband and I were huge fans of the show Survivor in its early days, and he would always joke (not really joking...) that had I been on the show I'd be the first voted off the island for two reasons:
a. I would tell everyone once every 2 minutes that I was hungry. Seriously, I have an uncontrollable urge to voice it repeatedly. I don't do hungry well
b. I have a 2-degree temperature level of comfort. I'm either too hot or too cold. The proper temperature is elusive and I have a need to repeatedly tell him how hot or cold I am.
My fellow survivors would hate me and couldn’t get rid of me fast enough.
However, I do like living vicariously, and there was the Survivor nostalgic factor. Plus, this story was unique, which I appreciate. So many books are a variation of the same theme but this was different and I will likely remember it for that alone.
At the 50% mark, winter is setting in and conditions deteriorate rapidly after a surprising discovery. The tension ramps up, and I simply could not put the book down. I was glued to the page to find out what would happen and who would survive. I was at 95% at the end of a very long car trip, but I found myself urging my husband to run an errand so I could finish the book. He wasn't buying it.
Is it perfect? No. Told in the 1st person POV, we only hear Maddy’s story with no input from the others. It left me wondering why she was ostracized and if she was an unreliable narrator. But that also works in the plus column because it left me, as a reader, uncertain. Secondly, foreshadowing annoys me, and there was too much “if only I’d known how much worse it would get…”. To be fair, it DID get much, much worse, but I didn’t need to hear it repeatedly. Thirdly, the ending is problematic and requires some suspension of disbelief. Just read it, accept it as a purely entertaining read, and move on.
· I received a digital copy via Netgalley for review. All opinions are my own.
* for our duo reviews please visit https://yayareadslotsofbooks.wordpres...
Maddy had an overprotective upbringing and the untimely deaths of her parents have left her reeling. She needs a change and signs up for a reality Survivor-type show where 8 contestants (four men, four women) are left on an island off the coast of Scotland, where they will live for one year. It’s an experiment to see how they will survive, and no one is voted off. But alliances are soon drawn, and Maddy, having few social skills, becomes the scapegoat for everything that goes wrong. If you wonder what would happen if society breaks down and it's survival of the fittest, this is a prime example of mob mentality.
The book opens with Maddy sitting for an interview for a tv show. She’s painfully thin and bedraggled, after unspecified criminal charges and time in prison. Things obviously have gone terribly awry, and not everyone made it back from the island. Maddy tells her story, and what a story it is!
Please note I hate camping or rustic anything. My idea of roughing it is making reservations at a luxury resort where I will just have to make do without my Tempur-pedic mattress. But, still, I loved the setting and the descriptions of how the group uses their skills to forage and provide shelter and food for themselves. The second half of the book was riveting and unputdownable, and the ending...well, I needed to talk about it!
As an aside, you do not have to be a fan of camping or roughing it in order to enjoy this book. My husband and I were huge fans of the show Survivor in its early days, and he would always joke (not really joking...) that had I been on the show I'd be the first voted off the island for two reasons:
a. I would tell everyone once every 2 minutes that I was hungry. Seriously, I have an uncontrollable urge to voice it repeatedly. I don't do hungry well
b. I have a 2-degree temperature level of comfort. I'm either too hot or too cold. The proper temperature is elusive and I have a need to repeatedly tell him how hot or cold I am.
My fellow survivors would hate me and couldn’t get rid of me fast enough.
However, I do like living vicariously, and there was the Survivor nostalgic factor. Plus, this story was unique, which I appreciate. So many books are a variation of the same theme but this was different and I will likely remember it for that alone.
At the 50% mark, winter is setting in and conditions deteriorate rapidly after a surprising discovery. The tension ramps up, and I simply could not put the book down. I was glued to the page to find out what would happen and who would survive. I was at 95% at the end of a very long car trip, but I found myself urging my husband to run an errand so I could finish the book. He wasn't buying it.
Is it perfect? No. Told in the 1st person POV, we only hear Maddy’s story with no input from the others. It left me wondering why she was ostracized and if she was an unreliable narrator. But that also works in the plus column because it left me, as a reader, uncertain. Secondly, foreshadowing annoys me, and there was too much “if only I’d known how much worse it would get…”. To be fair, it DID get much, much worse, but I didn’t need to hear it repeatedly. Thirdly, the ending is problematic and requires some suspension of disbelief. Just read it, accept it as a purely entertaining read, and move on.
· I received a digital copy via Netgalley for review. All opinions are my own.
* for our duo reviews please visit https://yayareadslotsofbooks.wordpres...
September 19, 2021
4.5 stars
Eight strangers.
One island.
A secret you'd kill to keep.
Talk about a book that would make a great movie! Seriously, this book played out like a movie in my mind while reading this. But I digress...
Eight people, equipped with cameras on their chest are left on the remote island of Buidseach Island. Local fishermen tell tales of the island being haunted by a witch. It's hard to get to but makes the perfect stage for a reality survival series. WE have all see that show right? Survivor this is NOT!! But the eight people must survive because they have been stranded! They will live off the land for one year with a care package thrown in here and there. What could go wrong?????
Well, things do go wrong. People being people form alliances, they develop a group mental mentality, they will do whatever they need to do to survive, until the boat comes to get them off the island. But what if the boat doesn't come?????
I loved this book. It sucked me in and had me reeling with how events played out. The synopsis was not fooling around when it described this book as "A gripping, twisty page-turner about secrets, lies and survival at all costs.” This book had an underdog character that I rooted for and felt appalled at how she was treated. Bullies and those who would go along with the majority lest they become bullied as well really ticked me off but made for fantastic reading.
This was so good! If this is not on your radar, it needs to be. This book is a chilling, gripping, and emotion evoking page turner. There is a sense of tension throughout. My pulse was pounding a couple of times (woohoo I love this!) and the pace was spot on. BTW -If you have a rabbit, you will want to give it a hug after reading this book. Plus, you might think twice before agreeing to be on a "survivor" type reality show. Just sayin.... that will never be me!
Quite the clever tale.
A MUST Read!
Thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
Eight strangers.
One island.
A secret you'd kill to keep.
Talk about a book that would make a great movie! Seriously, this book played out like a movie in my mind while reading this. But I digress...
Eight people, equipped with cameras on their chest are left on the remote island of Buidseach Island. Local fishermen tell tales of the island being haunted by a witch. It's hard to get to but makes the perfect stage for a reality survival series. WE have all see that show right? Survivor this is NOT!! But the eight people must survive because they have been stranded! They will live off the land for one year with a care package thrown in here and there. What could go wrong?????
Well, things do go wrong. People being people form alliances, they develop a group mental mentality, they will do whatever they need to do to survive, until the boat comes to get them off the island. But what if the boat doesn't come?????
I loved this book. It sucked me in and had me reeling with how events played out. The synopsis was not fooling around when it described this book as "A gripping, twisty page-turner about secrets, lies and survival at all costs.” This book had an underdog character that I rooted for and felt appalled at how she was treated. Bullies and those who would go along with the majority lest they become bullied as well really ticked me off but made for fantastic reading.
This was so good! If this is not on your radar, it needs to be. This book is a chilling, gripping, and emotion evoking page turner. There is a sense of tension throughout. My pulse was pounding a couple of times (woohoo I love this!) and the pace was spot on. BTW -If you have a rabbit, you will want to give it a hug after reading this book. Plus, you might think twice before agreeing to be on a "survivor" type reality show. Just sayin.... that will never be me!
Quite the clever tale.
A MUST Read!
Thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com
October 1, 2021
Just what lengths would you go to be on a reality TV show? For that matter, and maybe even more interesting, how far will the producers go to have a hit show!?
Think Survivor…but on steroids!
Eight strangers, deposited on a remote island to fully live off the grid. Do they have what it takes to build a community? Come together as a team to successfully coexist? Or will it become every man for himself, a survival of the fittest? Leaving the weaker members in jeopardy.
Maddy is thrilled to be chosen as one of the contestants. She’s lived an extremely sheltered life under the wing of her parents. Now with the chance to be on her own, she’s anxious to jump in with both feet. But given her overly-protective back-ground, can she fit in? Or is she bringing too much drama and unresolved issues?
Sarah Goodwin writes a chilling unputdownable thriller that will keep you super-glued to the pages as the storyline plays out. Precisely what the producers of this reality show wanted! Lol!🍿📺
Posted to: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK.
Think Survivor…but on steroids!
Eight strangers, deposited on a remote island to fully live off the grid. Do they have what it takes to build a community? Come together as a team to successfully coexist? Or will it become every man for himself, a survival of the fittest? Leaving the weaker members in jeopardy.
Maddy is thrilled to be chosen as one of the contestants. She’s lived an extremely sheltered life under the wing of her parents. Now with the chance to be on her own, she’s anxious to jump in with both feet. But given her overly-protective back-ground, can she fit in? Or is she bringing too much drama and unresolved issues?
Sarah Goodwin writes a chilling unputdownable thriller that will keep you super-glued to the pages as the storyline plays out. Precisely what the producers of this reality show wanted! Lol!🍿📺
Posted to: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK.
September 16, 2021
This was seriously unputdownable.
Eight contestants have signed up to live on an island off the coast of Scotland for a survival show. They will be able to bring a limited number of supplies with them. For everything else they will have to use resources from the island to survive the next year.
Fast forward eighteen months later, one of the contestants, Maddy, reappears, bedraggled and frightened, and everyone is desperate to know the truth of what occurred on that island. What went off the rails that left only three survivors.
I was totally wrapped up in this one, I finished most of it in one sitting. All of the characters felt like real people, most were pretty much unlikeable. There were plenty of twists and turns that I did not see coming.
This deftly explores how people’s adherence to the laws of society might disintegrate when there are no longer any rules to follow.
My only gripe would be that the foreboding was emphasized a little too much. It’s a thriller, the reader knows stuff is going to start flying every which way, it’s not necessary to keep pressing the point. Otherwise, I was totally riveted while reading this.
The entire time I was reading this I had that song “castaways, we are castaways” stuck in my head. This psychological thriller has elements of the movie Castaway, Lord of the Flies, and the tv show Survivor. If any of those appeal to you, I think you’ll love this one.
Thank you to Avon for providing me with an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Eight contestants have signed up to live on an island off the coast of Scotland for a survival show. They will be able to bring a limited number of supplies with them. For everything else they will have to use resources from the island to survive the next year.
Fast forward eighteen months later, one of the contestants, Maddy, reappears, bedraggled and frightened, and everyone is desperate to know the truth of what occurred on that island. What went off the rails that left only three survivors.
I was totally wrapped up in this one, I finished most of it in one sitting. All of the characters felt like real people, most were pretty much unlikeable. There were plenty of twists and turns that I did not see coming.
This deftly explores how people’s adherence to the laws of society might disintegrate when there are no longer any rules to follow.
My only gripe would be that the foreboding was emphasized a little too much. It’s a thriller, the reader knows stuff is going to start flying every which way, it’s not necessary to keep pressing the point. Otherwise, I was totally riveted while reading this.
The entire time I was reading this I had that song “castaways, we are castaways” stuck in my head. This psychological thriller has elements of the movie Castaway, Lord of the Flies, and the tv show Survivor. If any of those appeal to you, I think you’ll love this one.
Thank you to Avon for providing me with an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 15, 2021
Note to self-- Never sign up for any survival reality T.V. shows!
I don't even enjoy camping, so this one really had me unnerved as things started to spiral downward.
Tons of tension that builds as the story progresses, many love to hate characters, and lots of backstabbing behavior. Sound like the perfect storm? It was.
If you want to bite your nails off while spending time stranded on a deserted island with a bunch of gossipy cliques, selfish, reckless mates, this is a trip you won't soon forget! The victor tells the story. "The truth is a slippery thing......"
My GR friends made me pick this one up! I'm glad they did, check out all the glowing reviews.
Thanks to NG and the publisher for my review copy. OUT Sept 16, 2021
I don't even enjoy camping, so this one really had me unnerved as things started to spiral downward.
Tons of tension that builds as the story progresses, many love to hate characters, and lots of backstabbing behavior. Sound like the perfect storm? It was.
If you want to bite your nails off while spending time stranded on a deserted island with a bunch of gossipy cliques, selfish, reckless mates, this is a trip you won't soon forget! The victor tells the story. "The truth is a slippery thing......"
My GR friends made me pick this one up! I'm glad they did, check out all the glowing reviews.
Thanks to NG and the publisher for my review copy. OUT Sept 16, 2021
October 5, 2021
After reading so many excellent reviews, I was more than excited to receive this from NetGalley and can't believe how enthralled and involved I became. This is definitely one of my top 5 this year. When you feel like Lord of the Flies published in 1954 captured everything we needed to know about the defect of our society...that we are all too human...kick it up to an adult level with the development of rules and a system of organization and you will still find violence and brutality. This book is developed on the most deceptive simplicities: food, shelter and love. When those are altered, fear and survival mode change into a gripping, & suspenseful page-turner.
Eight adults ...4 men, 4 women...agreed to take part in a study on society & human behavior while stranded on an uninhabited Buidseach Island off the coast of Scotland. This seclusion will deliver solace and rest from the frills of today's society and prepare them for the apocalypse. LOL...right?? They have one year until the ship returns and prove they can perform as a functional society with very little means and talented adults to make it work. ....What if the ship doesn't return?
With a few care packages delivered and 2 cameramen on sight, as well as fitted for their own personal camera to ensure footage later to be shared via screen, let the fun begin!
Maddy, has skills to contribute as a former botanist. She has recently lost her parents and lacks social skills, so just as the young will do, the adults begin to ostracize the weak and form a mob mentality. This character is the only POV you experience and it is enough with the sadistic views of the others compounding on the atmospheric plot. I felt for her as if it were myself and the situations we incur and cringed at the group's scheme.
Shifting from present to past, the anxiety builds with an interview of Maddy, as a survivor, revealing most of the islanders dead. You will be gripping this book until the end with twists woven throughout with the need to survive. I was disgusted with the heartless, human behavior when the food dwindled and winter approached. At what costs would you expend to survive? Check out other reviews on this one. I can't do it enough justice!! You must read it!!
Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books for this outstanding Book for my honest review!
Eight adults ...4 men, 4 women...agreed to take part in a study on society & human behavior while stranded on an uninhabited Buidseach Island off the coast of Scotland. This seclusion will deliver solace and rest from the frills of today's society and prepare them for the apocalypse. LOL...right?? They have one year until the ship returns and prove they can perform as a functional society with very little means and talented adults to make it work. ....What if the ship doesn't return?
With a few care packages delivered and 2 cameramen on sight, as well as fitted for their own personal camera to ensure footage later to be shared via screen, let the fun begin!
Maddy, has skills to contribute as a former botanist. She has recently lost her parents and lacks social skills, so just as the young will do, the adults begin to ostracize the weak and form a mob mentality. This character is the only POV you experience and it is enough with the sadistic views of the others compounding on the atmospheric plot. I felt for her as if it were myself and the situations we incur and cringed at the group's scheme.
Shifting from present to past, the anxiety builds with an interview of Maddy, as a survivor, revealing most of the islanders dead. You will be gripping this book until the end with twists woven throughout with the need to survive. I was disgusted with the heartless, human behavior when the food dwindled and winter approached. At what costs would you expend to survive? Check out other reviews on this one. I can't do it enough justice!! You must read it!!
Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books for this outstanding Book for my honest review!
September 16, 2021
HAPPY PUBLICATION DAY!
As I've sat with my thoughts on this one, it's become my favorite "underdog" book so far this year. Much like the main character Maddy, this unassuming little book has way more under the surface than expected.
Survivor (and the far superior Alone) meets Lord of the Flies in this unputdownable take on groupthink and the chaos that ensues when the social contract breaks down.
Maddy is one of four women and four men chosen for a reality show that involves them being dropped off on a remote island for a year and expected to use their combined skills and ingenuity to survive. They are allowed to bring some survival items and rations, and they are each given cameras to be worn at all times, but other than that, there is no interference. No host, no silly games, no rewards to be won (outside of a few hidden “caches” randomly scattered around the island). Each of the eight has their own reason for being there, and Maddy’s is that she needs an escape. She’s always been a bit of a loner and having just lost the only two people she truly feels any human connection to, her parents, she feels lost and without a purpose. Unfortunately for her, her lack of social skills comes back to bite her nearly immediately once she’s on the island. She’s often objectively correct, but lacks the finesse to get others on her side, leaving people bristling with defensiveness or slowly taking sides against her to avoid their own ostracization. Tensions build, tempers flare, and soon outright hostility has Maddy fearing for her life. We know from the prologue that something has gone truly and terribly awry on the island, but just exactly what happened, and what lengths did Maddy have to go to in order to survive?
I’m not going to say it’s absolutely necessary to have an interest in the outdoors to enjoy this, but you should know going in that a very large portion of the book is dedicated to the minutiae (and inherent squalor) of survivalism. I don’t “do” camping, but I find things like Alone fascinating to watch from afar. If you don’t, I think this is going to be a tough read for you, as it will feel like a slog to get to the thriller “good stuff”.
But man oh man, was there good stuff. This was a slow build, but after about the halfway mark I could not put this down. My stomach was rumbling with hunger (though of course not nearly as bad as the starving islanders’ stomachs…), and yet I found I wanted to finish this more than I needed dinner. I was so angry on Maddy’s behalf that I’m sure my heart rate was spiked. And I couldn’t even content myself with thoughts that I knew she survived because what’s to say this wasn’t all her dying fever dream? (I’m curious if I’m the only one who wondered about this?) I had to get to the end and know!
My biggest criticism was a fairly obnoxious overuse of foreshadowing. We start the book knowing something has gone very, very wrong and the events themselves provided a nice slow build of foreboding atmosphere. So every time there was an “If only I’d known what was to come…” stuck in there, it felt unnecessary and only served to take me out of the reading experience.
I also felt this was slightly too lopsided. Maddy is our protagonist and storyteller, so of course there is going to be a heavy bias in favor of her, but there was just very little to like about most of the other people on the island, and nearly all of them had failings much more glaring than “doesn’t play nice with others”. It made it somewhat unbelievable to me that they would turn on her with quite such ferocity (especially when she provides a huge source of food for them as a foraging expert) and it gave a bit of a cartoon villain vibe versus a realistic feel to the whole thing.
4.5 stars that I ended up choosing to round down because of the above issues, but still highly recommended especially if the nature aspect is already appealing to the reader.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an advance copy of this title for review.
As I've sat with my thoughts on this one, it's become my favorite "underdog" book so far this year. Much like the main character Maddy, this unassuming little book has way more under the surface than expected.
Survivor (and the far superior Alone) meets Lord of the Flies in this unputdownable take on groupthink and the chaos that ensues when the social contract breaks down.
Maddy is one of four women and four men chosen for a reality show that involves them being dropped off on a remote island for a year and expected to use their combined skills and ingenuity to survive. They are allowed to bring some survival items and rations, and they are each given cameras to be worn at all times, but other than that, there is no interference. No host, no silly games, no rewards to be won (outside of a few hidden “caches” randomly scattered around the island). Each of the eight has their own reason for being there, and Maddy’s is that she needs an escape. She’s always been a bit of a loner and having just lost the only two people she truly feels any human connection to, her parents, she feels lost and without a purpose. Unfortunately for her, her lack of social skills comes back to bite her nearly immediately once she’s on the island. She’s often objectively correct, but lacks the finesse to get others on her side, leaving people bristling with defensiveness or slowly taking sides against her to avoid their own ostracization. Tensions build, tempers flare, and soon outright hostility has Maddy fearing for her life. We know from the prologue that something has gone truly and terribly awry on the island, but just exactly what happened, and what lengths did Maddy have to go to in order to survive?
I’m not going to say it’s absolutely necessary to have an interest in the outdoors to enjoy this, but you should know going in that a very large portion of the book is dedicated to the minutiae (and inherent squalor) of survivalism. I don’t “do” camping, but I find things like Alone fascinating to watch from afar. If you don’t, I think this is going to be a tough read for you, as it will feel like a slog to get to the thriller “good stuff”.
But man oh man, was there good stuff. This was a slow build, but after about the halfway mark I could not put this down. My stomach was rumbling with hunger (though of course not nearly as bad as the starving islanders’ stomachs…), and yet I found I wanted to finish this more than I needed dinner. I was so angry on Maddy’s behalf that I’m sure my heart rate was spiked. And I couldn’t even content myself with thoughts that I knew she survived because what’s to say this wasn’t all her dying fever dream? (I’m curious if I’m the only one who wondered about this?) I had to get to the end and know!
My biggest criticism was a fairly obnoxious overuse of foreshadowing. We start the book knowing something has gone very, very wrong and the events themselves provided a nice slow build of foreboding atmosphere. So every time there was an “If only I’d known what was to come…” stuck in there, it felt unnecessary and only served to take me out of the reading experience.
I also felt this was slightly too lopsided. Maddy is our protagonist and storyteller, so of course there is going to be a heavy bias in favor of her, but there was just very little to like about most of the other people on the island, and nearly all of them had failings much more glaring than “doesn’t play nice with others”. It made it somewhat unbelievable to me that they would turn on her with quite such ferocity (especially when she provides a huge source of food for them as a foraging expert) and it gave a bit of a cartoon villain vibe versus a realistic feel to the whole thing.
4.5 stars that I ended up choosing to round down because of the above issues, but still highly recommended especially if the nature aspect is already appealing to the reader.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an advance copy of this title for review.
December 30, 2022
Are you a long-time fan of the Survivor series? Secret or not-so-secret fan of 'Naked and Afraid?' Speculated on whether you could be a contestant in 'Alone?' Then this is the book for you. Four men and four women are dropped on an island off the coast of Scotland -- for an entire year. And they all are wearing body cameras. Our narrator is Maddy -- a bit of a loner in real life. Lived a sheltered life growing up and has recently lost both of her parents in an accident. There are three timelines feeding us information: 1)After Maddy escapes from the island. 2)What happened on the island. 3)Her life and prep for the show (think, rating manipulation). Reading this book is like watching a train wreck in slow motion. You can't not look. The thin veneer of civilization peels away pretty quickly when rations are short and magic mushrooms are readily available. I am so impressed by this debut. There are some spectacular details to be discovered when you read this one all the way to the end. Will be looking for more titles from Sarah Goodwin in the future.
If you enjoyed this one, be sure to check out her new title: The Resort.
If you enjoyed this one, be sure to check out her new title: The Resort.
September 16, 2021
4.5 rounded up.
Buidseach Island off the west coast of Scotland is the location for a reality tv show ‘The Last Refuge’ in which four men and four women have to survive a year with limited resources. It’s an end of days scenario, the mainland isn't safe and they have to create a Utopia using the resources around them, all the while being filmed. Maddy is a botanist and she is our narrator of this incredible tale.
How to describe this gripping novel??? Well, I guess it’s Lord of the Flies meets (not) Love Island with elements of Castaway (no football though) and more than a soupçon of Running (very) Wild with Bear Grylls and in his ‘soupçon’ we would probably have a magic mushroom or three. You can see straight away that the group dynamics are, shall we say, interesting? Maybe explosive is a better phrase. None of the characters are very likeable but that’s all in the producers wicked plan. Good telly would definitely not be the eight chatting happily around a campfire and allocating tasks they amicably carry out, amicable is definitely not the word that springs to mind with what ensues. You even question just how reliable a narrator Maddy is because it’s all from her perspective which is maybe a minor weakness of the book. However, I do root for her.
If you can imagine that campfire again, this time with a bubbling cauldron above it, simmering to a rapid rolling boil with a number of tasty ingredients spilling over the top. Inside we have more than a dash of rejection, several tablespoons of hatred and aggression, flavoured with provocation and a teaspoon of two of contempt to name but a few! Talk about mob mentality and the survival of the fittest!! The tempo gets faster and faster as the book progresses and it’s genuinely hard to put down.
Overall, as thrillers go they don’t get much better than this as Sarah Goodwin sure can write! Highly recommended.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Avon Books UK for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
Buidseach Island off the west coast of Scotland is the location for a reality tv show ‘The Last Refuge’ in which four men and four women have to survive a year with limited resources. It’s an end of days scenario, the mainland isn't safe and they have to create a Utopia using the resources around them, all the while being filmed. Maddy is a botanist and she is our narrator of this incredible tale.
How to describe this gripping novel??? Well, I guess it’s Lord of the Flies meets (not) Love Island with elements of Castaway (no football though) and more than a soupçon of Running (very) Wild with Bear Grylls and in his ‘soupçon’ we would probably have a magic mushroom or three. You can see straight away that the group dynamics are, shall we say, interesting? Maybe explosive is a better phrase. None of the characters are very likeable but that’s all in the producers wicked plan. Good telly would definitely not be the eight chatting happily around a campfire and allocating tasks they amicably carry out, amicable is definitely not the word that springs to mind with what ensues. You even question just how reliable a narrator Maddy is because it’s all from her perspective which is maybe a minor weakness of the book. However, I do root for her.
If you can imagine that campfire again, this time with a bubbling cauldron above it, simmering to a rapid rolling boil with a number of tasty ingredients spilling over the top. Inside we have more than a dash of rejection, several tablespoons of hatred and aggression, flavoured with provocation and a teaspoon of two of contempt to name but a few! Talk about mob mentality and the survival of the fittest!! The tempo gets faster and faster as the book progresses and it’s genuinely hard to put down.
Overall, as thrillers go they don’t get much better than this as Sarah Goodwin sure can write! Highly recommended.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Avon Books UK for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
September 16, 2021
I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for this advanced copy of Stranded, an unbearably tense story of a descent into cruelty and madness. It is a breathtaking, dark, haunting, and claustrophobic story.
As a fan of intense survival shows on TV in hostile environments, such as Alone and Naked and Afraid XL showing danger, hunger, sickness, injury, and group tensions, I thought I would find Stranded a book to keep me riveted to its pages, and I was not disappointed. This book carries the premise of these TV shows to its extreme limit.
Eight participants are dropped off at a remote, uninhabited island off the coast of Scotland to participate in a year-long reality show. They must build a shelter, hunt, fish, and forage for food. There are also 2 cameramen situated at a distance to be approached only in an emergency. Each contestant has a solar-powered camera, and cameras are placed at strategic positions in trees for the 'entertainment' of the viewing public. The four men and four women participants start by dividing up the tasks. This begins to fail due to a self-appointed group leader, selfishness, greed, laziness, and conflicts over how to proceed. They experience violence, shocks, and human behaviour reduced to its darkest element. Rumors and lies abound. It shows how a bully group evolves and chooses its target. Their need to survive causes a breakdown in morality and turns them into savages. When the return boat fails to return at the end of the year, they are stranded. The human drama becomes sinister and terrifying.
Eighteen months later, a dishevelled, haggard woman shows up on a mainland settlement with a gun and asks a homeowner to call the police. The story switches back and forth in time from events on the island to Maddie in the present. She is being interviewed for her TV account of what happened. Is she a reliable narrator? We are told early that of the ten on the island, only three survived, and there is going to be a trial. Who died, and by what means?
Maddie is the story's predominant character. She is introverted, socially awkward, and was home-schooled by her overly protective parents, who discouraged her socializing. She has no friends, and her parents recently died. She is depressed by her lack of personal development and hopes the year's experiences will lead to self-improvement and friends. When she challenges some of the leader's plans, she is considered disruptive, and when not speaking up, she is regarded as timid and weak. Maddie becomes the target of the group's scorn, is bullied, and eventually unjustly exiled. There is a desire of the others to conform to the leader's lies and hostile intent. Maddie is the object of blame for wrongs for which she had no part. Her expertise in identifying edible and poisonous plants is a loss for the group.
Her situation, while exiled by herself, is mainly in a gross, suffocating hiding place. She remains the target of theft and violence by the group. Her suffering and determination to survive are disturbing but mesmerizing.
Recommended to anyone who likes gripping and disturbing survival stories. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
As a fan of intense survival shows on TV in hostile environments, such as Alone and Naked and Afraid XL showing danger, hunger, sickness, injury, and group tensions, I thought I would find Stranded a book to keep me riveted to its pages, and I was not disappointed. This book carries the premise of these TV shows to its extreme limit.
Eight participants are dropped off at a remote, uninhabited island off the coast of Scotland to participate in a year-long reality show. They must build a shelter, hunt, fish, and forage for food. There are also 2 cameramen situated at a distance to be approached only in an emergency. Each contestant has a solar-powered camera, and cameras are placed at strategic positions in trees for the 'entertainment' of the viewing public. The four men and four women participants start by dividing up the tasks. This begins to fail due to a self-appointed group leader, selfishness, greed, laziness, and conflicts over how to proceed. They experience violence, shocks, and human behaviour reduced to its darkest element. Rumors and lies abound. It shows how a bully group evolves and chooses its target. Their need to survive causes a breakdown in morality and turns them into savages. When the return boat fails to return at the end of the year, they are stranded. The human drama becomes sinister and terrifying.
Eighteen months later, a dishevelled, haggard woman shows up on a mainland settlement with a gun and asks a homeowner to call the police. The story switches back and forth in time from events on the island to Maddie in the present. She is being interviewed for her TV account of what happened. Is she a reliable narrator? We are told early that of the ten on the island, only three survived, and there is going to be a trial. Who died, and by what means?
Maddie is the story's predominant character. She is introverted, socially awkward, and was home-schooled by her overly protective parents, who discouraged her socializing. She has no friends, and her parents recently died. She is depressed by her lack of personal development and hopes the year's experiences will lead to self-improvement and friends. When she challenges some of the leader's plans, she is considered disruptive, and when not speaking up, she is regarded as timid and weak. Maddie becomes the target of the group's scorn, is bullied, and eventually unjustly exiled. There is a desire of the others to conform to the leader's lies and hostile intent. Maddie is the object of blame for wrongs for which she had no part. Her expertise in identifying edible and poisonous plants is a loss for the group.
Her situation, while exiled by herself, is mainly in a gross, suffocating hiding place. She remains the target of theft and violence by the group. Her suffering and determination to survive are disturbing but mesmerizing.
Recommended to anyone who likes gripping and disturbing survival stories. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 24, 2021
Talk about a page-turner! Stranded kept me up late at night reading because I just couldn't stop. Sarah Goodwin knocked it out of the park with this debut!
8 people are chosen to spend a year on a remote island off Scotland's coast for an end of the world type reality show. The story is told from only one perspective, Maddy's. She is a botanist, was raised by somewhat oppressive parents, doesn't have many friends, lives a mundane life, and just wanted to escape it for a while which is why she decided to sign up.
This is an immersive and atmospheric read. You truly get to see and feel everything through Maddy's experiences on the island. By no means am I an outdoorsy camping type, but I found the day to day descriptions of life on the island fascinating and not at all tedious. With Maddy's growing mistrust of the group, the tension continually builds until it is almost unbearable. I found my heart pounding and caught myself holding my breath many times while reading. The anger and frustration that I felt towards some of the characters was palpable. My only minor critique is that the ending felt rushed to me. I remember being at the 90% mark thinking, "how is this going to wrap up with only 10% to go?". Bottom line, I really loved this book and look forward to reading Ms. Goodwin's next story. 4.5 stars rounded up because it was just so good!
I didn't read the synopsis before reading the book, I chose it based on the recommendations of a few GR friends. Sometimes less is more and this is one of those times when the synopsis definitely gives too much information.
Many thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
8 people are chosen to spend a year on a remote island off Scotland's coast for an end of the world type reality show. The story is told from only one perspective, Maddy's. She is a botanist, was raised by somewhat oppressive parents, doesn't have many friends, lives a mundane life, and just wanted to escape it for a while which is why she decided to sign up.
This is an immersive and atmospheric read. You truly get to see and feel everything through Maddy's experiences on the island. By no means am I an outdoorsy camping type, but I found the day to day descriptions of life on the island fascinating and not at all tedious. With Maddy's growing mistrust of the group, the tension continually builds until it is almost unbearable. I found my heart pounding and caught myself holding my breath many times while reading. The anger and frustration that I felt towards some of the characters was palpable. My only minor critique is that the ending felt rushed to me. I remember being at the 90% mark thinking, "how is this going to wrap up with only 10% to go?". Bottom line, I really loved this book and look forward to reading Ms. Goodwin's next story. 4.5 stars rounded up because it was just so good!
I didn't read the synopsis before reading the book, I chose it based on the recommendations of a few GR friends. Sometimes less is more and this is one of those times when the synopsis definitely gives too much information.
Many thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
September 24, 2021
The last thirty percent of the book, things became screwball-y … cuckoo…unhinged…ludicrous!
The unrealistic horrors were almost laughable…. off the wall absurd…(its beyond suspending belief when acts of cruelty and murder are concerned in my thinking)
Absurd was goofy-okay…
UNTIL…
it went from absurd to being MORALLY DISTASTEFUL.
I’m not a fan of savagery.
I really felt the author made emotionally cruel choices in the later part of this book.
Not only was this a reality game - [a National televised Reality show similar to ‘Survivor’], but it also became an ugly game with reader’s emotions-
I DIDN’T like it -
I DON’T RESPECT IT!!
Murder in the context of a National TV reality show is JUST BAD TASTE!!
and…..
it’s a damn shame - because the author articulated poignant insightful compunction and genuineness about the contestants earlier.
“Stranded” had some decent qualities going for it - until it
took a nose dive sabotaging all credibility.
The redeeming qualities
strangulated ‘itself’!!!
I did like the beginning set up:
“You are half of a team of eight brave survivors, searching for an unsullied refuge. Together you will remake society, starting again from the ruins to create utopia. You have one year to get it right, establish infrastructure, govern yourselves and build a future from flotsam, jetsam and the natural resources available to you. If you fail, humanity fails with you”.
Sounded fun… as in ‘Let The Games Begin”.
Given “The Last Refuge” was being sponsored and produced by a national TV network, I assumed their own integrity wouldn’t be an issue.
Silly me!
The eight contestants chosen for the reality TV show called
“The Last Refuge” were:
four men and four women.
They were sent to
Buidseach Isle (a dot of an island close to Scotland)
All the contestants brought interesting attributes — not all of their characters were fully developed-but we had tidbits of information about each of them.
The bulk of ‘Stranded’, is centered around *Maddy* (protagonist and narrator).
Maddy was dealing with loss and grief. She had insecurities - but her knowledge of plants made her an interesting contestant.
She was a pharmacological botanist (very useful skill to have for this type of reality show).
For anyone who has watched the reality show ‘Survivor’ —
we are familiar with the objectives.
It’s a reality competition TV series. A group of contestants are deliberately marooned in an isolated location… where they must provide food, water, fire, and shelter for themselves.
There are challenges, rewards, immunity, and elimination.
A lot of strategy goes into the game.
In Stranded, Sarah Goodwin, describe (well) many of the same objectives, challenges and struggles … both physically and socially competitive …were almost identical to that of the real show TV show Survivor.
Just like in ‘Survivor’, in ‘Stranded’, the contestants bumped up against their fears, limitations, as well as their strengths.
Work needed to be done: Building shelter, bringing in daily food, (meagre rations), cooking, working together as a group and making decisions.
They were fighting the elements- seasonal weather changes, insects, and often each other.
Everything they did was recorded for national TV. The camera crew was nearby.
People want to be on these type of stranded/survivor type National TV shows for a variety of reasons …
Maddy wanted to be part of “The Last Refuge” for personal freedom, and a space to heal….[anger, loss, death, grief, loneliness, insecurities, fears, worthiness]
And…..????
What is it about Reality TV- that people like?
“They like to watch, as long as the bad things were happening to someone else”
“Throwing a group of bullies and victims together for the viewing public to bet on, is like horses in a race”.
Sleep deprivation- short food supplies- the physical toll - worry of infections - social anxiety- gossip - missing their families back home -backstabbing - mistrust of each other - trying to develop allies and real friendship-
arguments- ( made for good television watching)
Pairs getting chummy-
Laziness accusations of one another-
Judging, comparing, stomach growling- competing- trust issues - hunger - losing nutrients - lost weight — annoyance with one another - complaining about others, strategizing- conflicts- missing their families at home- shitty behaviors - disagreements- working together as community - trying to find one friend - building allies -
Getting injured - getting sick - etc. is part of the deal!
Sarah Goodwin did an excellent job painting the visuals her eight contestants
faced daily.
Every bit as good as forty past seasons of the Survivor TV show.
NOTE… the 41st season of Survivor started this week. Paul and I are die-hard watchers. We’ve never missed watching a season.
Much of the first half of Stranded was engrossing… laced with authenticity (changes the contestants went through, daily uncomfortableness, behavior learning opportunities under grueling hunger and exhaustion, etc.)
But…. It was that last 30% of this book that turned my stomach—
Rather than continue to be compelling… it was lame, inconceivable, incredulous, disputable, lacking
virtuousness, fairness, and all respectability.
I actually felt wounded by this book. The only reason I gave 2 stars instead of 1 is because I really did think
Sarah Goodwin wrote a gripping-entertaining survival adventure story (some of the characters could’ve been developed better)… but her insightful thoughts were good.
Yet..
I felt the last part of the book was sooooo ugly —
-trickery
-controlling
upperhandedness prose —
Rather than a human story with a bare minimum of supplies - fighting the elements- facing all the trials and tribulations of being part of a community - while fighting individual demons-
written with respect and sensitivity at first….
turned into a disgraceful over-dramatized emotional slaughterhouse.
The unrealistic horrors were almost laughable…. off the wall absurd…(its beyond suspending belief when acts of cruelty and murder are concerned in my thinking)
Absurd was goofy-okay…
UNTIL…
it went from absurd to being MORALLY DISTASTEFUL.
I’m not a fan of savagery.
I really felt the author made emotionally cruel choices in the later part of this book.
Not only was this a reality game - [a National televised Reality show similar to ‘Survivor’], but it also became an ugly game with reader’s emotions-
I DIDN’T like it -
I DON’T RESPECT IT!!
Murder in the context of a National TV reality show is JUST BAD TASTE!!
and…..
it’s a damn shame - because the author articulated poignant insightful compunction and genuineness about the contestants earlier.
“Stranded” had some decent qualities going for it - until it
took a nose dive sabotaging all credibility.
The redeeming qualities
strangulated ‘itself’!!!
I did like the beginning set up:
“You are half of a team of eight brave survivors, searching for an unsullied refuge. Together you will remake society, starting again from the ruins to create utopia. You have one year to get it right, establish infrastructure, govern yourselves and build a future from flotsam, jetsam and the natural resources available to you. If you fail, humanity fails with you”.
Sounded fun… as in ‘Let The Games Begin”.
Given “The Last Refuge” was being sponsored and produced by a national TV network, I assumed their own integrity wouldn’t be an issue.
Silly me!
The eight contestants chosen for the reality TV show called
“The Last Refuge” were:
four men and four women.
They were sent to
Buidseach Isle (a dot of an island close to Scotland)
All the contestants brought interesting attributes — not all of their characters were fully developed-but we had tidbits of information about each of them.
The bulk of ‘Stranded’, is centered around *Maddy* (protagonist and narrator).
Maddy was dealing with loss and grief. She had insecurities - but her knowledge of plants made her an interesting contestant.
She was a pharmacological botanist (very useful skill to have for this type of reality show).
For anyone who has watched the reality show ‘Survivor’ —
we are familiar with the objectives.
It’s a reality competition TV series. A group of contestants are deliberately marooned in an isolated location… where they must provide food, water, fire, and shelter for themselves.
There are challenges, rewards, immunity, and elimination.
A lot of strategy goes into the game.
In Stranded, Sarah Goodwin, describe (well) many of the same objectives, challenges and struggles … both physically and socially competitive …were almost identical to that of the real show TV show Survivor.
Just like in ‘Survivor’, in ‘Stranded’, the contestants bumped up against their fears, limitations, as well as their strengths.
Work needed to be done: Building shelter, bringing in daily food, (meagre rations), cooking, working together as a group and making decisions.
They were fighting the elements- seasonal weather changes, insects, and often each other.
Everything they did was recorded for national TV. The camera crew was nearby.
People want to be on these type of stranded/survivor type National TV shows for a variety of reasons …
Maddy wanted to be part of “The Last Refuge” for personal freedom, and a space to heal….[anger, loss, death, grief, loneliness, insecurities, fears, worthiness]
And…..????
What is it about Reality TV- that people like?
“They like to watch, as long as the bad things were happening to someone else”
“Throwing a group of bullies and victims together for the viewing public to bet on, is like horses in a race”.
Sleep deprivation- short food supplies- the physical toll - worry of infections - social anxiety- gossip - missing their families back home -backstabbing - mistrust of each other - trying to develop allies and real friendship-
arguments- ( made for good television watching)
Pairs getting chummy-
Laziness accusations of one another-
Judging, comparing, stomach growling- competing- trust issues - hunger - losing nutrients - lost weight — annoyance with one another - complaining about others, strategizing- conflicts- missing their families at home- shitty behaviors - disagreements- working together as community - trying to find one friend - building allies -
Getting injured - getting sick - etc. is part of the deal!
Sarah Goodwin did an excellent job painting the visuals her eight contestants
faced daily.
Every bit as good as forty past seasons of the Survivor TV show.
NOTE… the 41st season of Survivor started this week. Paul and I are die-hard watchers. We’ve never missed watching a season.
Much of the first half of Stranded was engrossing… laced with authenticity (changes the contestants went through, daily uncomfortableness, behavior learning opportunities under grueling hunger and exhaustion, etc.)
But…. It was that last 30% of this book that turned my stomach—
Rather than continue to be compelling… it was lame, inconceivable, incredulous, disputable, lacking
virtuousness, fairness, and all respectability.
I actually felt wounded by this book. The only reason I gave 2 stars instead of 1 is because I really did think
Sarah Goodwin wrote a gripping-entertaining survival adventure story (some of the characters could’ve been developed better)… but her insightful thoughts were good.
Yet..
I felt the last part of the book was sooooo ugly —
-trickery
-controlling
upperhandedness prose —
Rather than a human story with a bare minimum of supplies - fighting the elements- facing all the trials and tribulations of being part of a community - while fighting individual demons-
written with respect and sensitivity at first….
turned into a disgraceful over-dramatized emotional slaughterhouse.
September 30, 2021
EXCERPT: Prologue: Frozen to the bone, I stumble from the boat and look around me at the village. It's not Creel, but some place exactly like it; houses tumbling like rocks down towards the hungry sea. Fishing boats and cracked concrete. I stand there, swaying slightly with the motion of the boat I've left behind. There's no sound or movement from the houses.
Somehow, despite coming so far, through so much, the idea of going up to one of those doors and knocking, being confronted by a stranger, has me frozen. What is waiting in those houses? Is there even anyone there?
'Are you all right, poppet?'
I turn so fast I nearly fall over. On the doorstep of a tiny cottage is an old woman in a wool skirt and fluffy slippers. Her eyes are wide and she has a wire cage of milk bottles in one hand, her back still half stooped to put it on the doorstep.
As I turn, her eyes fall to the strap of the rifle and she drops the bottles. They smash, throwing glass all over the concrete step. Fear is etched on her face as I remove the rifle and lay it on the ground.
I rise, and glance down at my ripped and muddy clothing, hanging off my skeletal body. With effort, I part my sticky, salt encrusted lips.
'I need the police.'
ABOUT 'STRANDED': Eight strangers.
One island.
A secret you'd kill to keep.
When eight people arrive on the beautiful but remote Buidseach Island, they are ready for the challenge of a lifetime: to live alone for one year.
Eighteen months later, a woman is found in an isolated fishing village. She’s desperate to explain what happened to her: how the group fractured and friends became enemies; how they did what they must to survive until the boat came to collect them; how things turned deadly when the boat didn’t come…
But first Maddy must come to terms with the devastating secret that left them stranded, and her own role in the events that saw eight arrive and only three leave.
MY THOUGHTS: In all honesty, I believe you would need to be a fan of TV 'reality' shows like Survivor to appreciate this book. In hindsight, I am probably the wrong demographic. I was thinking that this would be more of a murder mystery, and it is not.
Maddy is the narrator. She is grief stricken following the death of her parents. She lost her job as a botanist after clashing with her boss, and is temping office work. She is lost and lonely and believes she needs this challenge to find herself. So she isn't very happy when life on the Island starts to mirror the life she left behind. Tensions between the contestants escalate until . . .
Initially I found the personality clashes between the contestants interesting, and while I knew that bad stuff had to happen, I was expecting a more even division into 'sides' than occurred.
While I never quite lost interest, Stranded seemed inordinately long. It felt like we lived through every day of those eighteen months, task by repetitive task. And in the end? It became tedious. And frankly, unbelievable.
⭐⭐.7
#Stranded #NetGalley
I: @sarah_goodwin_author @harpercollinsuk @avonbooksuk
T: @SGoodAuthor @HarperCollinsUK @AvonBooksUK
#contemporaryfiction #crime #mystery
THE AUTHOR: Sarah Goodwin is a novelist who grew up in rural Hertfordshire and now lives in Bristol. She was raised on C. S. Lewis, Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie by her parents and spent her summers in castles and on battlefields making up stories about women struggling for survival against war, poverty and dragons.
At Bath Spa University Sarah studied for a BA in Creative Writing and self-published seven novels across various genres, including YA magical realism, contemporary women’s fiction, romance and horror.
While undertaking her Master’s degree, Sarah participated in writing and performing in sketches for Bristol-based What Have You Comedy and now appears regularly on Bristol Youth Radio Rocks as part of a weekly mental health hour for young people.
Sarah graduated in 2014 with an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins UK audio for providing an audio ARC of Stranded by Sarah Goodwin, and narrated by Esme Sears, for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
Somehow, despite coming so far, through so much, the idea of going up to one of those doors and knocking, being confronted by a stranger, has me frozen. What is waiting in those houses? Is there even anyone there?
'Are you all right, poppet?'
I turn so fast I nearly fall over. On the doorstep of a tiny cottage is an old woman in a wool skirt and fluffy slippers. Her eyes are wide and she has a wire cage of milk bottles in one hand, her back still half stooped to put it on the doorstep.
As I turn, her eyes fall to the strap of the rifle and she drops the bottles. They smash, throwing glass all over the concrete step. Fear is etched on her face as I remove the rifle and lay it on the ground.
I rise, and glance down at my ripped and muddy clothing, hanging off my skeletal body. With effort, I part my sticky, salt encrusted lips.
'I need the police.'
ABOUT 'STRANDED': Eight strangers.
One island.
A secret you'd kill to keep.
When eight people arrive on the beautiful but remote Buidseach Island, they are ready for the challenge of a lifetime: to live alone for one year.
Eighteen months later, a woman is found in an isolated fishing village. She’s desperate to explain what happened to her: how the group fractured and friends became enemies; how they did what they must to survive until the boat came to collect them; how things turned deadly when the boat didn’t come…
But first Maddy must come to terms with the devastating secret that left them stranded, and her own role in the events that saw eight arrive and only three leave.
MY THOUGHTS: In all honesty, I believe you would need to be a fan of TV 'reality' shows like Survivor to appreciate this book. In hindsight, I am probably the wrong demographic. I was thinking that this would be more of a murder mystery, and it is not.
Maddy is the narrator. She is grief stricken following the death of her parents. She lost her job as a botanist after clashing with her boss, and is temping office work. She is lost and lonely and believes she needs this challenge to find herself. So she isn't very happy when life on the Island starts to mirror the life she left behind. Tensions between the contestants escalate until . . .
Initially I found the personality clashes between the contestants interesting, and while I knew that bad stuff had to happen, I was expecting a more even division into 'sides' than occurred.
While I never quite lost interest, Stranded seemed inordinately long. It felt like we lived through every day of those eighteen months, task by repetitive task. And in the end? It became tedious. And frankly, unbelievable.
⭐⭐.7
#Stranded #NetGalley
I: @sarah_goodwin_author @harpercollinsuk @avonbooksuk
T: @SGoodAuthor @HarperCollinsUK @AvonBooksUK
#contemporaryfiction #crime #mystery
THE AUTHOR: Sarah Goodwin is a novelist who grew up in rural Hertfordshire and now lives in Bristol. She was raised on C. S. Lewis, Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie by her parents and spent her summers in castles and on battlefields making up stories about women struggling for survival against war, poverty and dragons.
At Bath Spa University Sarah studied for a BA in Creative Writing and self-published seven novels across various genres, including YA magical realism, contemporary women’s fiction, romance and horror.
While undertaking her Master’s degree, Sarah participated in writing and performing in sketches for Bristol-based What Have You Comedy and now appears regularly on Bristol Youth Radio Rocks as part of a weekly mental health hour for young people.
Sarah graduated in 2014 with an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins UK audio for providing an audio ARC of Stranded by Sarah Goodwin, and narrated by Esme Sears, for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
September 1, 2021
In a Nutshell: That lovely cover, the intriguing premise and the strong Goodreads rating promised me a strong, suspenseful thriller. What I got was a mixed bag.
Story:
First things first.
DON’T READ THE GOODREADS BLURB!
It was so irritating to see that it mentions the exact count of the survivors. I found myself doing a mental countdown while going through the audio. At the end, this was the main suspense killer for me and spoiled my whole experience.
Where the book clicked for me:
✔ The author creates the right mood with her descriptions of the island, its remoteness and the slow mental degradation of its inhabitants. In fact, these psychological elements are the highlight of the book and create a fabulous dark and atmospheric setting for the story.
✔ The way drugs and isolation can wreak havoc with the human mind is depicted well. The approach takes ‘survival of the fittest’ to a whole new level.
✔ The eight characters are crafted very well. With four men and four women, there are ample opportunities for the plot to bring in sexual tensions, jealousies, insecurities and leadership struggles.
✔ The first half of the book is more about build-up with not much happening. Interesting, nonetheless, but not ‘unputdownable’. Things turn around at the halfway mark and the writing becomes darker and the characters more complicated and unpredictable. The ending has a little twist which, while not a surprise, will give you satisfaction.
Where the book could have worked better for me:
❌ This book is categorised as a thriller but most of the book is just drama with some atmospheric suspense thrown in. The thrills come only in a few chapters in the second half. So if you are someone like me looking for a nail-biting suspenseful experience, please realign your expectations or you will be sorely disappointed.
❌ The story is dragged in many chapters with too much of internal rationalisation being vocalised. Especially because it is written in first person, some segments sound like someone is whining on and on and on to no end. This further kills the minimal thrill.
❌ I couldn’t really connect to any of the characters. Of course, I didn’t expect to connect with them given how different their circumstances were. But none of them seemed realistic to me. The plot explains why they behave the way they did but it still felt implausible and farfetched. (Could this be my failure to accept the depths of darkness possible in human nature? Could be. Let’s chalk this down to my shortcoming than the book’s.)
❌ I am usually neutral about whether a book is in first person or third person. As long as it is written well, I don’t mind either style. But in this book, I didn’t find the first person narrative working very well. For only one person’s voice to be heard across eight people simply leaves you wondering about what the others were doing, what is she not telling us, is she an unreliable narrator,… Add to this the fact that the character whose perspective we hear in first person is quite irritating and I ended up rolling my eyes more often than sympathising for her.
❌ There is too much of needless foreshadowing in the writing. Rather than serving to increase my suspense, this simply meant that I waited for the upcoming event than wondering when things would change.
❌ The prologue too is a big spoiler because it tells you right at the start that one of the persons survived, and you can even guess who it is because of the writing style. After all, both the prologue and the main story are written in first person. So guess who survived? Yup, the narrator.
The audiobook experience:
The 11 hrs 16 min audiobook is narrated by Esme Sears. I have no complaints about her performance as such. She does her best to bring this book to life and narrates her character well. I had assumed that having so many characters would be a problem in the audiobook as one tends to get muddled up at times. But the writing makes it easy to keep track of who is who, all the more so because we only see things from one character’s perspective. HOWEVER, the story is written mainly in flashbacks with some chapters in the present timeframe. There is no verbal cue to understand when things are moving from past to present and back. With only one narrator, only one character to hear from, and both timelines written in first person, this takes some getting used to and becomes confusing at times. It is quite possible that I might have enjoyed this more had I read it.
I feel that this book ought to work for most traditional thriller lovers. I always find myself setting a higher benchmark for thrillers, no idea why, and hence I end up disappointed more often than not. This is still a good book with some well-written scenes, just not an exceptional one. A one-time read for me, but a must-check-out novel for thriller aficionados. Just remember that the book functions more on “What happened there?” approach rather than a “Who survived?” approach and you’ll enjoy it more than I did.
3.5 stars rounding up to 4.
Thank you, NetGalley, Avon Publishers, and HarperCollins UK Audio, for the audio ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.
***********************
Join me on the Facebook group, Readers Forever! , for more reviews, book-related discussions and fun.
Story:
Eight strangers have been selected for an upcoming reality show whereby they will be spending a whole year together on an isolated Scottish island named Buidseach Island, which means “the witch’s island”. The show is based on the idea that the world has ended and they are the last eight survivors on Earth.
(I’m wondering how to continue without giving spoilers! Ok, I’ll just make it straightforward…)
The group needs to survive in isolation, work in cooperation and somehow make it to the end of their year-long commitment. Will they succeed?
The story is a little bit of Lord of the Flies, Big Brother, Survivor, and Castaway put together in a weird atmospheric kind of setting. The suspense is more about how far human nature can fall than about anything ghoulish.
First things first.
DON’T READ THE GOODREADS BLURB!
It was so irritating to see that it mentions the exact count of the survivors. I found myself doing a mental countdown while going through the audio. At the end, this was the main suspense killer for me and spoiled my whole experience.
Where the book clicked for me:
✔ The author creates the right mood with her descriptions of the island, its remoteness and the slow mental degradation of its inhabitants. In fact, these psychological elements are the highlight of the book and create a fabulous dark and atmospheric setting for the story.
✔ The way drugs and isolation can wreak havoc with the human mind is depicted well. The approach takes ‘survival of the fittest’ to a whole new level.
✔ The eight characters are crafted very well. With four men and four women, there are ample opportunities for the plot to bring in sexual tensions, jealousies, insecurities and leadership struggles.
✔ The first half of the book is more about build-up with not much happening. Interesting, nonetheless, but not ‘unputdownable’. Things turn around at the halfway mark and the writing becomes darker and the characters more complicated and unpredictable. The ending has a little twist which, while not a surprise, will give you satisfaction.
Where the book could have worked better for me:
❌ This book is categorised as a thriller but most of the book is just drama with some atmospheric suspense thrown in. The thrills come only in a few chapters in the second half. So if you are someone like me looking for a nail-biting suspenseful experience, please realign your expectations or you will be sorely disappointed.
❌ The story is dragged in many chapters with too much of internal rationalisation being vocalised. Especially because it is written in first person, some segments sound like someone is whining on and on and on to no end. This further kills the minimal thrill.
❌ I couldn’t really connect to any of the characters. Of course, I didn’t expect to connect with them given how different their circumstances were. But none of them seemed realistic to me. The plot explains why they behave the way they did but it still felt implausible and farfetched. (Could this be my failure to accept the depths of darkness possible in human nature? Could be. Let’s chalk this down to my shortcoming than the book’s.)
❌ I am usually neutral about whether a book is in first person or third person. As long as it is written well, I don’t mind either style. But in this book, I didn’t find the first person narrative working very well. For only one person’s voice to be heard across eight people simply leaves you wondering about what the others were doing, what is she not telling us, is she an unreliable narrator,… Add to this the fact that the character whose perspective we hear in first person is quite irritating and I ended up rolling my eyes more often than sympathising for her.
❌ There is too much of needless foreshadowing in the writing. Rather than serving to increase my suspense, this simply meant that I waited for the upcoming event than wondering when things would change.
❌ The prologue too is a big spoiler because it tells you right at the start that one of the persons survived, and you can even guess who it is because of the writing style. After all, both the prologue and the main story are written in first person. So guess who survived? Yup, the narrator.
The audiobook experience:
The 11 hrs 16 min audiobook is narrated by Esme Sears. I have no complaints about her performance as such. She does her best to bring this book to life and narrates her character well. I had assumed that having so many characters would be a problem in the audiobook as one tends to get muddled up at times. But the writing makes it easy to keep track of who is who, all the more so because we only see things from one character’s perspective. HOWEVER, the story is written mainly in flashbacks with some chapters in the present timeframe. There is no verbal cue to understand when things are moving from past to present and back. With only one narrator, only one character to hear from, and both timelines written in first person, this takes some getting used to and becomes confusing at times. It is quite possible that I might have enjoyed this more had I read it.
I feel that this book ought to work for most traditional thriller lovers. I always find myself setting a higher benchmark for thrillers, no idea why, and hence I end up disappointed more often than not. This is still a good book with some well-written scenes, just not an exceptional one. A one-time read for me, but a must-check-out novel for thriller aficionados. Just remember that the book functions more on “What happened there?” approach rather than a “Who survived?” approach and you’ll enjoy it more than I did.
3.5 stars rounding up to 4.
Thank you, NetGalley, Avon Publishers, and HarperCollins UK Audio, for the audio ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.
***********************
Join me on the Facebook group, Readers Forever! , for more reviews, book-related discussions and fun.
November 7, 2021
A suspense, thrilling, gasping and awesome read!
A TV show.
Mandy is the main character with eight other contestants.
Dropped off on an island somewhere in Scotland.
This covers the raw dark side of human nature that will have you reeling in your seat.
It started off slow and arduous then just pumped right up a high mph from 30 to 100! The pace of it threw me right into the story with a breathtaking gasp for air.
This truly is a rewarding read. So if you like your reading to feel intense, if you prefer to read a book in one day…..this is it, you won’t be able to put it down until you’ve read the last page.
A TV show.
Mandy is the main character with eight other contestants.
Dropped off on an island somewhere in Scotland.
This covers the raw dark side of human nature that will have you reeling in your seat.
It started off slow and arduous then just pumped right up a high mph from 30 to 100! The pace of it threw me right into the story with a breathtaking gasp for air.
This truly is a rewarding read. So if you like your reading to feel intense, if you prefer to read a book in one day…..this is it, you won’t be able to put it down until you’ve read the last page.
March 18, 2025
DON’T TRUST ANYONE!!!!!
The plot opens up with Maddie being interviewed for a reality TV show called The Last Refuge skinny bedraggled she is protected by her parents & doesn’t know much about anything 4 girls & four boys are picked to go on a reality show an experiment for 12 months.
You would think they all would help each other out wouldn’t you? Not on your life!!!
The group start to form an alliance agains’t Maddie blaming her for their mistakes foraging food anything you can think of it’s her fault… she is ostresized by every one leaving her to fend for herself what happens from here on in is brutality at its worst it’s everyone for themselves, I won’t give anything away but the ending was satisfying I hated Duncan, Sean they were creeps Maddie was my favourite she was tough & never gave an inch but had a fragile side highly recommended this book was gritty, compelling I could not put this down I must admit I hate reality TV but this had me glued to the pages from beginning to end I listened to the audio version with an excellent narration by Esme Sears she brought this thriller to life Kudos to her all those 🌟 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ just one more thing the setting is on a remote island in Scotland it has dark secrets!
The plot opens up with Maddie being interviewed for a reality TV show called The Last Refuge skinny bedraggled she is protected by her parents & doesn’t know much about anything 4 girls & four boys are picked to go on a reality show an experiment for 12 months.
You would think they all would help each other out wouldn’t you? Not on your life!!!
The group start to form an alliance agains’t Maddie blaming her for their mistakes foraging food anything you can think of it’s her fault… she is ostresized by every one leaving her to fend for herself what happens from here on in is brutality at its worst it’s everyone for themselves, I won’t give anything away but the ending was satisfying I hated Duncan, Sean they were creeps Maddie was my favourite she was tough & never gave an inch but had a fragile side highly recommended this book was gritty, compelling I could not put this down I must admit I hate reality TV but this had me glued to the pages from beginning to end I listened to the audio version with an excellent narration by Esme Sears she brought this thriller to life Kudos to her all those 🌟 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ just one more thing the setting is on a remote island in Scotland it has dark secrets!
January 30, 2023
What a heart-pounding ride this was. Reading the story I realized I have a new favorite genre in addition to psychological thrillers; people stranded on islands. I loved the main character, how clever and stubborn she was. And the twist was brilliant!
September 10, 2021
Well that was exciting! Eight strangers sign up for a social experiment (to be filmed for reality TV of course) to live in isolation on a deserted island for a year. Survivor is not a patch on this!
They get dropped at the remote Scottish island of Buidseach. They have all brought along some tools and emergency rations. There are caches of supplies buried around the place but mostly they will have to fend for themselves. The group comprises women Maddy, Gill, Maxine and Zoe. The four men are Shaun, Duncan, Andrew and Frank. Maddy has applied for the show as, after the recent deaths of her parents, she is truly alone. She has led a rather sheltered life and wants to discover herself and connect better with others. But it is not so easy.
The first imperative is to build a shelter. Duncan soon becomes the self-appointed leader of the group and it is not long before things get a little heated and tempers start to fray. Maddy doesn’t have quite the polished social skills of some of the others so, while she may be in the right at times, she isn’t able to convey this very tactfully and she soon finds herself the target of much of the group’s angst and vitriol. It becomes quite uncomfortable for a while until, after about 4 months, she is banished from the group completely.
From the start you are aware that things have not gone well and that not everybody made it back from the island. But it is not until you actually read about what happened that it really sinks in. I don’t remember much about Lord of the Flies which was on the high school curriculum but I imagine this was quite similar. Maddy was happy enough doing her own thing as she knew she wasn’t popular. But when the group started actively working against her it became very menacing. There was a pervasive sense of impending doom.
There has been quite a spate of locked room mysteries and deserted island stories lately but this really is one of the better ones. I stayed up late to finish reading it as I just couldn’t put it down. It’s very telling how quickly the thin veneer of civilisation can be stripped away when lives are on the line and survival is at stake. I found it quite confronting at times how vicious the group became. The characters were all very different and, of course, that was done on purpose by the producers of the show. They do always like to foment a bit of drama. Unfortunately, in this case it all went too far! Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.
4.5 stars rounded down.
They get dropped at the remote Scottish island of Buidseach. They have all brought along some tools and emergency rations. There are caches of supplies buried around the place but mostly they will have to fend for themselves. The group comprises women Maddy, Gill, Maxine and Zoe. The four men are Shaun, Duncan, Andrew and Frank. Maddy has applied for the show as, after the recent deaths of her parents, she is truly alone. She has led a rather sheltered life and wants to discover herself and connect better with others. But it is not so easy.
The first imperative is to build a shelter. Duncan soon becomes the self-appointed leader of the group and it is not long before things get a little heated and tempers start to fray. Maddy doesn’t have quite the polished social skills of some of the others so, while she may be in the right at times, she isn’t able to convey this very tactfully and she soon finds herself the target of much of the group’s angst and vitriol. It becomes quite uncomfortable for a while until, after about 4 months, she is banished from the group completely.
From the start you are aware that things have not gone well and that not everybody made it back from the island. But it is not until you actually read about what happened that it really sinks in. I don’t remember much about Lord of the Flies which was on the high school curriculum but I imagine this was quite similar. Maddy was happy enough doing her own thing as she knew she wasn’t popular. But when the group started actively working against her it became very menacing. There was a pervasive sense of impending doom.
There has been quite a spate of locked room mysteries and deserted island stories lately but this really is one of the better ones. I stayed up late to finish reading it as I just couldn’t put it down. It’s very telling how quickly the thin veneer of civilisation can be stripped away when lives are on the line and survival is at stake. I found it quite confronting at times how vicious the group became. The characters were all very different and, of course, that was done on purpose by the producers of the show. They do always like to foment a bit of drama. Unfortunately, in this case it all went too far! Thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.
4.5 stars rounded down.
September 16, 2021
2.5 stars This just didn’t work for me. I felt myself struggling to keep reading and often times procrastinating from picking it back up and at times even skimming(which I hate to do)The idea sounded good and had kind of a castaway, survivor, survival of the fittest vibe that I believe the author pulled off very well, just not my cup of tea. The characters are all despicable and hard to relate to some of their actions, but I’ve never been stranded on an island so my opinion could be irrelevant .Based on other reviews I’m definitely an outlier on this one.
Thanks to Netgalley and Avon for my advanced copy in exchange for honest review
Thanks to Netgalley and Avon for my advanced copy in exchange for honest review
September 27, 2021
One things for sure, you would never find me being on one of those survival shows. I love my creature comforts and would be the first to say plodding through a Forrest or taking an RV trip sends shivers down my spine.
Reading the book Stranded reinforced that view. To me, placing myself not only in the wild but with people who I didn’t know seems to be an exercise in stupidity. The main character of the story finds herself the eventual pariah of this motley group of eight left on an island close to Scotland, meaning this is no tropical oasis.
Things start to go wrong almost immediately as the division of duties and tasks seem to be inequitable and groups start to form eventually leaving Maddie out, seemingly because of her what one might call her common sense concerns.
The group, particularly their leader, comes to hate Maddie infusing this animosity into all. Eventually, she is thrown out of the camp left more or less to fend for herself.
Meanwhile time passes and various occurrences happen which start to boil over and tragedy in many forms stresses the group to a breaking point. Will Maddie or anyone make it out alive?
This was a somewhat interesting tale reminding me of Lord of the Flies but it did have many plot holes which decreased the enjoyment level for me. It was a good effort but this book left me with more questions than answers.
Jan and I discussed all of the details plus the various omissions and inconsistencies of the story. Jan liked it a tad more than me but for the enjoyment level, we both agreed that this book managed to hold our interest.
Bottom line is point me in the direction of a Four Season hotel and I will be a happy “camper” This book convinced me I am not a roughing it girl.
Thank you to Sarah Goodwin, Avon, and NetGalley for a copy of this story.
Reading the book Stranded reinforced that view. To me, placing myself not only in the wild but with people who I didn’t know seems to be an exercise in stupidity. The main character of the story finds herself the eventual pariah of this motley group of eight left on an island close to Scotland, meaning this is no tropical oasis.
Things start to go wrong almost immediately as the division of duties and tasks seem to be inequitable and groups start to form eventually leaving Maddie out, seemingly because of her what one might call her common sense concerns.
The group, particularly their leader, comes to hate Maddie infusing this animosity into all. Eventually, she is thrown out of the camp left more or less to fend for herself.
Meanwhile time passes and various occurrences happen which start to boil over and tragedy in many forms stresses the group to a breaking point. Will Maddie or anyone make it out alive?
This was a somewhat interesting tale reminding me of Lord of the Flies but it did have many plot holes which decreased the enjoyment level for me. It was a good effort but this book left me with more questions than answers.
Jan and I discussed all of the details plus the various omissions and inconsistencies of the story. Jan liked it a tad more than me but for the enjoyment level, we both agreed that this book managed to hold our interest.
Bottom line is point me in the direction of a Four Season hotel and I will be a happy “camper” This book convinced me I am not a roughing it girl.
Thank you to Sarah Goodwin, Avon, and NetGalley for a copy of this story.
October 11, 2021
New Wave Survivor meets Lord of the Flies
“If it was to be survival of the fittest, I would play to win.”
Maddy is grieving the sudden death of her parents and craves an escape from her dead end temp job and loneliness. What better way to leave all of that behind, than to audition for the cast of a survivalist T.V. show. When she accepts the role, she has no idea what awaits her on Buidseach Island. Maddy and seven others will video document their experience surviving the island for just under a year. Unfortunately, things don’t go well for Maddy on the island. She is ostracized by the others for her outspokenness and winds up counting the days until the experiment is over. When the boat doesn’t arrive to take them home, things go from bad to worse. Maddy must figure out how to stay alive when enemies surround her. What happened to their rescue boat? How long will she be forced to survive? Is anyone coming?
When I saw this book up for request on NetGalley my initial instinct was to pass, as these types of books rarely live up to my expectations.
Then I saw the early glowing reviews on Goodreads and immediately downloaded a copy. I am absolutely eating crow right now because this is a fantastic debut thriller!
Here are my thoughts: The first half of the book was intriguing, but very repetitive. I was interested, but not yet invested.
Then I hit the 50% mark and couldn’t catch my breath. If you think you have seen it all already, Goodwin makes sure that you have not. I was rooting for Maddy the entire way, even though I knew she was able to escape from the very first chapter.
What worked for me:
1. Maddy. She is a fully developed character and ultimate survivor!
2. Tension and suspense. I read this book in two days while already knowing the ending before it played out.
3. The witch. I love this supernatural aspect of the book. It really added a spookiness and uncertainty to Maddy’s state of mind.
4. The mystery. Yes, there is a puzzle to figure out and you won’t know the answer until the last page!
What didn’t work:
1. Frank! He is one of the eight islanders and only had one line in the entire book! He is forever off by himself fishing and not catching much. Maddy seems to agree with this sentiment as she comments, “Frank I’m not too bothered about.” I laughed out loud when I read that!
2. The slow start and early repetition.
3. Long chapters. I think the tension could have been amped up even further with shorter chapters.
4. How does Maddy constantly outsmart seven others in the same predicament? This seemed unlikely to me.
Overall, I loved Stranded. It is not your typical survivalist story and will have you on the edge of your seat! If you enjoyed Survivor and Lord of the Flies, this one is for you!
4.5/5 stars rounded down
“If it was to be survival of the fittest, I would play to win.”
Maddy is grieving the sudden death of her parents and craves an escape from her dead end temp job and loneliness. What better way to leave all of that behind, than to audition for the cast of a survivalist T.V. show. When she accepts the role, she has no idea what awaits her on Buidseach Island. Maddy and seven others will video document their experience surviving the island for just under a year. Unfortunately, things don’t go well for Maddy on the island. She is ostracized by the others for her outspokenness and winds up counting the days until the experiment is over. When the boat doesn’t arrive to take them home, things go from bad to worse. Maddy must figure out how to stay alive when enemies surround her. What happened to their rescue boat? How long will she be forced to survive? Is anyone coming?
When I saw this book up for request on NetGalley my initial instinct was to pass, as these types of books rarely live up to my expectations.
Then I saw the early glowing reviews on Goodreads and immediately downloaded a copy. I am absolutely eating crow right now because this is a fantastic debut thriller!
Here are my thoughts: The first half of the book was intriguing, but very repetitive. I was interested, but not yet invested.
Then I hit the 50% mark and couldn’t catch my breath. If you think you have seen it all already, Goodwin makes sure that you have not. I was rooting for Maddy the entire way, even though I knew she was able to escape from the very first chapter.
What worked for me:
1. Maddy. She is a fully developed character and ultimate survivor!
2. Tension and suspense. I read this book in two days while already knowing the ending before it played out.
3. The witch. I love this supernatural aspect of the book. It really added a spookiness and uncertainty to Maddy’s state of mind.
4. The mystery. Yes, there is a puzzle to figure out and you won’t know the answer until the last page!
What didn’t work:
1. Frank! He is one of the eight islanders and only had one line in the entire book! He is forever off by himself fishing and not catching much. Maddy seems to agree with this sentiment as she comments, “Frank I’m not too bothered about.” I laughed out loud when I read that!
2. The slow start and early repetition.
3. Long chapters. I think the tension could have been amped up even further with shorter chapters.
4. How does Maddy constantly outsmart seven others in the same predicament? This seemed unlikely to me.
Overall, I loved Stranded. It is not your typical survivalist story and will have you on the edge of your seat! If you enjoyed Survivor and Lord of the Flies, this one is for you!
4.5/5 stars rounded down
May 1, 2022
Now that was a heart pounding awesome thrill of a ride! Eight strangers voluntarily agree to be stranded on an island for a year. The things they do to survive! The secrets they keep, the alliances that are made and the one member kicked out of camp trying to survive on her own. Who will make it and who won't?
This story held me captive and thinking about it when I was not reading. I could hardly wait to see how everything played out. I give a round of applause 👏 and all the stars! 400 pages flew by so fast! You don't want to miss this one!
This story held me captive and thinking about it when I was not reading. I could hardly wait to see how everything played out. I give a round of applause 👏 and all the stars! 400 pages flew by so fast! You don't want to miss this one!
September 29, 2021
This book is a perfect example of why I cringe at shows like "Survivor" and "Naked and Afraid" - they play into my every phobia of being left on an island and the unpredictability of human nature when survival mode kicks in. P.S. Also why there is no way that seven castaways could have survived 15 years living together without killing someone on "Gilligan's Island" ... 🤷♀️🤣
This book sucked me in from page one, and I read it in less than a day - most of the time with sweaty palms from the intenseness! Similar to "Reckless Girls," which I also read recently, it is a locked room island mystery; but I think this one is the better read. The plot centers around Maddy, who recently lost both of her parents, and who decides to shed her lonely, unhappy life and accept a spot on a reality show that strands eight adults on a deserted island for one year. The four men and four women have to survive the year by relying mainly on what they can find on the island to keep themselves alive. You know from the first chapter that something went terribly wrong, and that Maddy seems to be a lone survivor, as she is the one relaying the story of what happened to the others.
The setting of the remote island of Buidseach Island is the perfect backdrop to this story. The descriptions of the island and the survival elements are so vivid, you feel like you are there with a birds-eye view to everything as it unfolds. The characters were an interesting bunch for me, as they were most unlikable, which made it hard to emphasize with any of them, even Maddy at times. That being said though, much of their unlikability was circumstantial and related to the fact that they were cut off from the outside world, hungry, tired, with suspicions running rampant. I thought Goodwin did a fabulous job with the way in which she subtly changed the group dynamics and altered the mindsets of the characters throughout the book. I will say that there was A LOT of foreshadowing to the ending, which I found to be the biggest weakness of the book. I think it would have ultimately been a bit more shocking if there hadn't been so many clues as to where things were headed. The "witch" element also felt somewhat unnecessary, but that was minor.
Overall though, a pulsating thriller with an unpredictable plot! This was my first Sarah Goodwin book, but I will certainly be on the lookout for any of her future works. 4 ⭐.
This book sucked me in from page one, and I read it in less than a day - most of the time with sweaty palms from the intenseness! Similar to "Reckless Girls," which I also read recently, it is a locked room island mystery; but I think this one is the better read. The plot centers around Maddy, who recently lost both of her parents, and who decides to shed her lonely, unhappy life and accept a spot on a reality show that strands eight adults on a deserted island for one year. The four men and four women have to survive the year by relying mainly on what they can find on the island to keep themselves alive. You know from the first chapter that something went terribly wrong, and that Maddy seems to be a lone survivor, as she is the one relaying the story of what happened to the others.
The setting of the remote island of Buidseach Island is the perfect backdrop to this story. The descriptions of the island and the survival elements are so vivid, you feel like you are there with a birds-eye view to everything as it unfolds. The characters were an interesting bunch for me, as they were most unlikable, which made it hard to emphasize with any of them, even Maddy at times. That being said though, much of their unlikability was circumstantial and related to the fact that they were cut off from the outside world, hungry, tired, with suspicions running rampant. I thought Goodwin did a fabulous job with the way in which she subtly changed the group dynamics and altered the mindsets of the characters throughout the book. I will say that there was A LOT of foreshadowing to the ending, which I found to be the biggest weakness of the book. I think it would have ultimately been a bit more shocking if there hadn't been so many clues as to where things were headed. The "witch" element also felt somewhat unnecessary, but that was minor.
Overall though, a pulsating thriller with an unpredictable plot! This was my first Sarah Goodwin book, but I will certainly be on the lookout for any of her future works. 4 ⭐.
July 20, 2021
Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for the ARC.
Stranded has an interesting premise, but I was weary initially, as the execution rarely lives up to the expectations of a thrilling premise. This book, however, was a splendid read, an homage to the Agatha Christie locked-room mystery, updated for the 21st century as a reality show premise careens into catastrophe.
The plot was a balanced blend of characterization, slow-burn tension between the characters, survivalist techniques on the island, and an interview from the present teasing us with the ultimate consequences (which, to be honest, I found to be a bit hokey, used a crutch to get us through the slower moments in the beginning). The other characters were largely unlikeable, but rounded enough to make their motivations believable. Given the trajectory of the plot, there was no need for bland, "likeable," characters, and you shouldn't expect ice breakers or sentimental fantasies about "what meal you miss the most from back home." They displayed qualities that, to be honest, can be found in any office around the world: backbiting, white lies, rumor mongering, clicks, old-fashioned greed, and naked self-preservation.
A common refrain orbiting this book may be, "well, do people really turn on each other this fast?" I certainly had moments were I projected cool, rational thoughts onto the characters while I sat reading on my comfortable couch, in a temperature controlled room, eating a medley of snacks in the afternoon. Unfortunately, yes, people are savages, and all it takes is getting cut off in traffic or being mocked by a coworker for some people to turn borderline homicidal. We all like to think we would survive the zombie apocalypse, but most of us would panic, freeze up, and either become food for the zombies or rob our neighbor's house.
Goodwin's real skill is isolating her narrator while generating sympathy from the reader. The protagonist is bookish, a touch socially awkward, and an introvert, an archetype that we typically tend to dismiss for leadership positions, often at our own peril. These qualities, however, can be quite helpful for surviving on an island, especially combined with her resourcefulness and attention to detail. I found her to be a unique heroine for a thriller, equally fascinated and disturbed by her character development, and ultimately willing to hole up with her no matter how many insects were in her hair.
Stranded has an interesting premise, but I was weary initially, as the execution rarely lives up to the expectations of a thrilling premise. This book, however, was a splendid read, an homage to the Agatha Christie locked-room mystery, updated for the 21st century as a reality show premise careens into catastrophe.
The plot was a balanced blend of characterization, slow-burn tension between the characters, survivalist techniques on the island, and an interview from the present teasing us with the ultimate consequences (which, to be honest, I found to be a bit hokey, used a crutch to get us through the slower moments in the beginning). The other characters were largely unlikeable, but rounded enough to make their motivations believable. Given the trajectory of the plot, there was no need for bland, "likeable," characters, and you shouldn't expect ice breakers or sentimental fantasies about "what meal you miss the most from back home." They displayed qualities that, to be honest, can be found in any office around the world: backbiting, white lies, rumor mongering, clicks, old-fashioned greed, and naked self-preservation.
A common refrain orbiting this book may be, "well, do people really turn on each other this fast?" I certainly had moments were I projected cool, rational thoughts onto the characters while I sat reading on my comfortable couch, in a temperature controlled room, eating a medley of snacks in the afternoon. Unfortunately, yes, people are savages, and all it takes is getting cut off in traffic or being mocked by a coworker for some people to turn borderline homicidal. We all like to think we would survive the zombie apocalypse, but most of us would panic, freeze up, and either become food for the zombies or rob our neighbor's house.
Goodwin's real skill is isolating her narrator while generating sympathy from the reader. The protagonist is bookish, a touch socially awkward, and an introvert, an archetype that we typically tend to dismiss for leadership positions, often at our own peril. These qualities, however, can be quite helpful for surviving on an island, especially combined with her resourcefulness and attention to detail. I found her to be a unique heroine for a thriller, equally fascinated and disturbed by her character development, and ultimately willing to hole up with her no matter how many insects were in her hair.
September 30, 2021
Stranded is a riveting, adrenaline-fueled ride through paranoia in this adult version of the Lord of the Flies with a reality TV twist.
This is a character-driven story but it is also undeniably thrilling. Our MC, Maddy, joins 7 other contestants and 2 cameramen to a secluded island to fend for themselves and start a new civilization from scratch in just one year.
What could possibly go wrong? Jeff Probst can't even get his contestants to act right after a day or two on Survivor. And trust me, Survivor's elements are a luxury vacation compared to Stranded.
What follows is a harrowing depiction of herd mentality and paranoia. As the days pass, tensions slowly build as hunger begins to take over. The author did an incredible job making me feel what Maddy was experiencing. I was losing my freaking mind right along with her! It was brilliant writing.
Sarah Goodwin must really know her survival and outdoorsy stuff because this reads like a How-To book. Either that or her research was incredible. Her details are so intricate. I feel like I learned a lot just reading this haha. However, it didn't always play in her favor. I feel like there was too much detail that altered the pacing quite a bit. There are also a few things about the ending I didn't love, even though I was mostly satisfied with it.
4.5 stars, but choosing to round up in favor of the writing over my minor gripes.
This is a character-driven story but it is also undeniably thrilling. Our MC, Maddy, joins 7 other contestants and 2 cameramen to a secluded island to fend for themselves and start a new civilization from scratch in just one year.
What could possibly go wrong? Jeff Probst can't even get his contestants to act right after a day or two on Survivor. And trust me, Survivor's elements are a luxury vacation compared to Stranded.
What follows is a harrowing depiction of herd mentality and paranoia. As the days pass, tensions slowly build as hunger begins to take over. The author did an incredible job making me feel what Maddy was experiencing. I was losing my freaking mind right along with her! It was brilliant writing.
Sarah Goodwin must really know her survival and outdoorsy stuff because this reads like a How-To book. Either that or her research was incredible. Her details are so intricate. I feel like I learned a lot just reading this haha. However, it didn't always play in her favor. I feel like there was too much detail that altered the pacing quite a bit. There are also a few things about the ending I didn't love, even though I was mostly satisfied with it.
4.5 stars, but choosing to round up in favor of the writing over my minor gripes.
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