The Blackout starts off well with two narratives, past and present, running concurrently. The suspense builds in the first half and I was hooked, however it didn’t seem to make as much sense as it went on and the perpetrators motives became less believable over time. I enjoyed it, and liked the narrator, but it wasn’t as thrilling as I expected it to be.

A poignant tale follows a young girl from pre-teen years through college to The Blackout. Unconventionally described as heartbreaking for a thriller, the story revolves around Meg, mourning her brother's loss and seeking solace in work and her best friend, Cat.
Meg's lack of maternal support intensifies the impact of her brother's death, explored through alternating, captivating timeframes. The author's detailed narrative creates a vivid experience, akin to watching a movie, with the crumbling sea cliff cottage described so vividly that it feels familiar.
Despite its descriptive nature, I found the story enhanced, reminiscent of Simone St James' style of word.
Thank you to Avon Books for the ARC copy; in exchange for a review.

With thanks to the author, publishers HarperCollins UK Audio, and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

This was an enjoyable thriller, with an interesting storyline. I didn’t really feel any particular attachment to the main character, and the storyline jumped about a little to the point that it was at times hard to follow, but overall I enjoyed the story. The narrator also did a fine job or playing the different character parts, and added to my overall enjoyment of the book.

The Blackout is a twisty psychological thriller set in 2022 and one year later. Meg and Cat find themselves in a dangerous situation following a drunken night out. When things take a sinister turn, Meg runs for her life. A year later, Meg’s past has caught up with her and she needs to do everything she can to protect herself.
If you are a fan of the genre, you will probably enjoy this book. It was a little far-fetched for me with too much explanation and unrealistic twists. I also felt the narrator of this audiobook was not the best given the first person narrative.

Really gripping and so atmospheric. I listened to the audiobook in the height of summer yet felt the cold, wind and rain so vividly. A boo to inhale in one go, you just can't stop!

The Blackout by Sarah Goodwin
Narrated by Katy Sobey

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

When Meg and Cat arrange a night out in Bristol, it’s the perfect distraction from Meg’s grief over her brother. But, after accidentally spending their cab money on drinks, they must walk home all the way across the city. Hungry, exhausted and barefoot, they decide to take a shortcut along a dark canal path.

That’s when they notice the two men silently following them.

Suddenly forced to run for their lives, Meg and Cat scramble into an abandoned house and hide for hours before eventually the police show up to rescue them.

But then the night goes from bad to worse…

My Opinion

The cover gave nothing away about the contents about this book, but still it really appealed to me. There is so much packed into this book, it is not a book that should be started if you are short on time. This isn't the first book that I have read by Sarah Goodwin but I am positive that it is not going to be my last - I have previously read Stranded and also loved that one.

Goodwin uses multiple timelines to drip feed the reader information about why the events of The Blackout happen and it is done in such a way that it managed to keep me on the edge of my seat. An entertaining, fast-paced read.

Rating 4/5

I really enjoyed this title.
From a narration perspective it was read wonderfully the voice artist was great at emoting and making it clear who was speaking well. I've listened to a lot of audio books and this one was done really well.

The story was gripping and characters, whilst not what I'd call likeable, were interesting and kept me engaged enough to the end. There are twists and turns and question marks all the way through. As the story jumps time lines it risked being confusing, especially as an audio book, but it really was well written to work this well and kept me engaged to the end. A great read thank you.

Now this was a thriller! Loved it, highly recommend this one! Thanks to NetGalley, the editor and the author for the opportunity to access this copy.

The Blackout is a fast-paced thriller with alternate timelines a year ago and the present.
The blurb made me want to read it as soon as possible it was so enticing.
It was an intense read, and quite scary if you put yourself into the main character’s shoes.
Both timelines were good, we learn the backstory to why things are happening in the present. I wasn’t keen on any of the characters.
Overall it was a good quick read. It kept my attention from start to finish.

I really enjoyed this audiobook and I especially felt the narration was done so well and I felt really connected to the characters.
Although the story was very far fetched, it gripped me and I was enjoyed all the twists and turns along the way.

3.5 stars rounded up. I enjoyed my first book from this author and would read more from them in future. This book centres on Meg in 3 periods of her life with something awful happening in each one.

This book was a lot more graphic than I was expecting so look up trigger warnings before reading if you have triggers.

I enjoyed each of the time periods but the present day was the most interesting for me. With recent UK headlines this storyline was unfortunately all too believable and therefore more chilling.

The writing style was great, I thought the pacing was a little quick to begin with then realised why the beginning passed so quickly and the pacing then felt right.

A good thriller book, I had the as an audio book. The narrator was good and suited the story. Some good twists, and kept my attention.

A truly terrifying thriller that reels you in and leaves you breathless.
Captivating and shocking, this story of consequence, terror and the will to survive is uniquely written and encourages the reader to catapult themselves into the shadows, almost an onlooker in a relentless game of cat and mouse where the past catches up with the present.
Without doubt, a highly recommended read and worthy of a five star rating.
Don’t miss out.

A well thought out and carefully plan piece of literature that had me hooked, Human frailties exposed and pulled apart, leaving you breathless by the end.

I'm sorry, I cannot listen to this audiobook, there is an audible gasp after every sentence. Shame as liked the cover and the blurb, in this case it will be better printed, not audio.

This one started off quite strong, falling a little flat for me midway, but thankfully came home with a satisfying ending. The characters weren’t all particularly likeable and some of their decisions were questionable. But the writing was strong and full of tension, keeping me on the edge of my seat. I really enjoyed the narrator, Katy Sobey - she bought the characters alive.
Many thanks to @harpercollinsuk @Avon for an ALC 💌🎧

Attempting to escape the horrors of one fateful night, Meg barricades herself into a safehouse at the edge of a crumbling sea cliff. As a storm rages outside, a blackout plunges the house into darkness. But Meg’s not alone and someone wants revenge.

Unfortunately this book fell a bit flat for me. The plot was all over the place with no real clear direction and left me a bit confused at times. The writing style was good. I could not relate to any of the characters or form any real connections with them. I did like the past and present timelines as it helped to piece some of the plot.

Overall the story was a bit slow and I would expect a bit more from a book labeled as a thriller.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for the opportunity read and review this ARC.

The Blackout is the fourth book I have read by Sarah Goodwin and as had really enjoyed them all and had given 5 star reviews for Stranded, The Resort and The thirteenth girl, so I was looking forward to her next instalment as has become one of my favourite authors.

A night out in Bristol for Meg and her best mate Cat turns into a complete nightmare for them both when they end up drunk and without phones or any money to get home so have to walk and soon think someone is following them. Things go wrong and then go from bad to much worse and at times was quite a difficult read.

Unfortunately compared to Sarah's previous books, this one fell fell short for me, as although the writing was good and the story well paced, I could not like any of the characters and in the end couldn't care less whether what happened to any of them. The background became gave them less appeal and flipped between the present and the past. The story ended very quickly, which actually was a relief, but had expected a last minute twist but not on this occasion.

On the plus side, the audio version was narrated by Katy Sobey who did a good job and there a a creepy short story at the end called The Breakdown which lasted just over 20 minutes.

A big thank you to HarperCollins UK Audio, Harper Collins and Avon for the opportunity to read and review this book and look forward to reading the next book by this author.

There were some fantastic, tense and gripping moments in this book, but overall it fell a little flat for me.

The premise of Meg and Cat being followed, hiding out and being rescued by the police after a night out was an exciting start to the book. It then became confusing and it took me a while to work out the different timelines, but one I had that cleared up, the pace picked up a bit but then slowed until the main "reveal".

The pace was too slow at times and it didn't really flow, so all of those brilliant plot moments became a bit lost in the overall story. The ending felt like it went on and on and was easily predictable from around 70% onwards.

It was enjoyable, but not as punchy as I had hoped!

3 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Sarah Goodwin and Harper Collins UK Audio for an ARC in return for an honest review.

‘When the lights go out, there is nowhere left to hide’ - cover tagline

My thanks to HarperCollins U.K. Audio/Avon for a review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘The Blackout’ by Sarah Goodwin. The audiobook is narrated by Katy Sobey.

In the summer of 2022, friends Meg and Cat have been out drinking and find themselves without any money to get home. They are forced to take a dangerous shortcut and notice that two men are following them. They run for their lives and take refuge in an abandoned building, hoping that help will come. The situation does not go well.

One year later. Attempting to escape the horrors of that fateful night, Meg has left Bristol. She has moved into a dilapidated cottage at the edge of a crumbling sea cliff. She has changed her identity, working low paid jobs for cash-in-hand. She lives in perpetual fear and has barricaded the cottage. One night as a storm rages outside, a blackout plunges the house into darkness. Meg quickly realises that she’s not alone. …. No further details to avoid spoilers.

This was my first experience of Sarah Goodwin’s writing and I was quickly caught up in the story. The narrative moves between events of the past and the present day building up a picture of Meg’s situation including the reasons that she is hiding from her former life. The post blackout events were edge-of-the-seat suspenseful.

With respect to the audiobook, Katy Sobey has narrated over two hundred titles, across a wide variety of genres, including the delightful Isadora Moon series. I have enjoyed her readings of a few titles. The audiobook also contains a bonus short story titled, ‘The Breakdown’.

Overall, I found ‘The Blackout’ an engaging fast-paced thriller. I certainly am now interested in reading more of Sarah Goodwin’s works.