The challenge is clear, find a way to survive on Buidseach Island for one year. Eight people have accepted the challenge. But it’s not until a year and a half later that one of those eight people turns in a fishing village. Mandy is ready to explain what happened on the island, how the group became divided, how friends turned against each other and how of the eight participants, only three actually left the island. Forget about those ridiculous TV survival shows about alliances and petty disagreements, this is some scary stuff

Amazing story with twist and turns that will grip you in and keep you guessing turning the pages wondering, i really love this authors style of writing as i have once mentioned it before. The character development was really well written. So very well written, kept me engrossed and have the feeling which i love like i'm sitting on the edge of my seat. I would highly recommend, great work. I am writing my honest review and this book will be added to my now favourite books, so very well done and i can't wait to see what the author brings out next.

Highly recommend thank you 5*

I haven't read anything by this author before, but in Stranded, Sarah Goodwin tells a heck of a tale. It's dark, atmospheric, and compulsively readable. Once I got into the story, I found it really hard to put it down.

Eight people arrive on Buidseach Island to participate in a reality tv-style program: they'll live there alone except for each other for an entire year as a type of social experiment. It's sort of like Survivor, but with no host or camera crew (with the exception of two stationed away from them in case of emergency). They are responsible for everything, right down to wearing solar-powered cameras everywhere they go.

The book starts at the end, with a haggard woman clutching a gun asking for the police. She's desperate to tell her story: how she arrived on the island eighteen months ago and how it all started to go wrong. How strangers became friends and then enemies. And how nearly everyone ended up dead.

At times, sure, things strained at the very boundaries of believability, but it never seemed to matter much to me. I was really curious as to how the whole thing wrapped up. As you vaguely know the ending from the beginning, you're left desperate for the details. This was a satisfying thriller that I'd definitely recommend for fans of the genre.

Thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for a review.

Lord of the Flies for adults!

A really tense novel, full of shocks, violence, hatred, and humans' dark natures.

I couldn't put this down. Sometimes it felt so claustrophobic and real, I had to take a breath. The cave scenes are particularly indicative of this.

There are many books centered around groups being stranded. This book has an edge. It delves deep into psyches, looking at what makes us become uncivilised or were we savages already waiting to show our true colours?

A great read. Thoroughly recommended.

Thank you NetGalley, Avon Books UK and Author for this amazing ebook copy!

Give me a group of people on a remote island to do a challenge, add some creepy stuff.... I'm there for it!!

This book was fabulous. Sarah Goodwin outdid herself with this novel Stranded.
I was totally hooked from the first few pages and that right there is worth a star rating to me!
The story was totally intense and intriguing. Which I just devour books similar to this.
Anyway this story held my attention, the characters were so well written and very well developed.
The writing it feels like you're there with them. Amazing.... Right! Yeah because it was!
This was such an awesome book. And I can't wait to share it with my family and friends!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review Stranded it was the bomb!

Eight people move to the remote Buidseach Island, taking part in a challenge to survive there for a year. Eighteen months later, one of the women is found in a little fishing village, desperate to tell her story. What happened on the island? Where are the rest of them? Where did it all go wrong between them? A tense and thrilling story with an interesting variety of characters. Gets you thinking what it would be like to have to live with a bunch of strangers on a remote island for so long, surviving on what they can forage from around them. Shows how secrets and the need to survive can tear people apart and threaten your life. A gripping book that I recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.

This is an amazing read! The story jumps back and forth between the main character Maddie being interviewed in present day and her recalling the story of what happened while she was on the island filming a reality tv show. I really felt for Maddie and was drawn into the story from page 1. I loved how the author would drop a bomb on you during the present day interview and you’d be like “what! How’d that happen!” It made me not want to put this book down!

Just plain brilliant. I really liked the fact that the main character was trying to be likeable and gain sympathy but not always succeeding. Even when all the others were being a horrible, it was kind of enjoyable. Just the kind of thing you'd expect from a reality tv show.

Wow so tense so chilling a book I picked up and could not put down.Maddie the lead character was a compelling figure couldn’t decide whether to like her or despise her.The author has written an amazing story of a group of people whose behavior will shock you.Grab this book and prepare for a wild ride.#netgalley #avonbooksuk

Wow what a great book with a fabulous ending. I was kept on edge from the beginning. Maddy was an excellent main character because she was not entirely likeable and there were times when you just did not want to root for her but then she would do something to keep you on her side. There was a lot of grey area covered in the book keeping with the realistic idea of right and wrong and what would you need to do to survive that kind of situation.

I fell straight into this book, devouring the pages and I found the writing style was perfect for me, I immediately gelled with it, and when you find a book like this it feels like coming home. Don’t get me wrong Some parts were really hard to deal with, and I found myself very emotionally bound to Maddy, our main protagonist from whose POV the story is told. I hate bullies, and reading about how one person was picked out and exiled in such hostile and unjust circumstances from the group was difficult. I found I was rooting for Maddy who was very self sufficient and calm in the face of adversity and was the only truthful and genuine member of the survival shows lineup. However is she as reliable as she seems? I love an unreliable narrator.

However I’m running away with myself, I have so much love for this book I’m word vomiting in my excitement …

This is a fast paced survivalist thriller and it really gave me Modern day Lord of the flies vibe, the camp splits into factions with a supposed leader who is actually a bully and his sycophants and then we have our ‘victim’ Maddy who basically has to go it alone. There are deep moral dilemmas at the heart of this story- We see how mob mentality plays out , and the dichotomy between civilisation and savagery. But Maddy is far from the victim she is a pocket rocket and has strong survival tendencies , if you were to be stranded I think you should want to be Maddies best friend as she knows her stuff and is a strong female lead! Go Maddy 🙌🏻🙌🏻

I loved how a potential adventure and the setting for fly on the wall documentary revealed so much, how a group of strangers can first bond and then form friendships and allegiances. It was intriguing to see how the ideals and expectations of the group when they first arrive play out and change with their circumstances. How the reality sees initial highs hopes for building accommodation on the island, and planting and growing food end up descending into chaos as the contestants descend into desperate, starving castaways who are willing to whatever they could find from rats to mouldy jam to keep their starvation at bay and how their standard of living diminishes with their hope of rescue. Themes include the tension between the group and individuality, between rational and emotional reactions, and between morality and immorality. Absolutely fascinating!!

So many questions as I raced through this book… what has happened? Why doesn’t the boat arrive to take them home? I enjoyed the build up of tension and the questions that left me grasping at various theories of what happened….

One of my favourites parts is where Maddy having been isolate and alone for a long period of time returns to the abandoned camp, the descriptions of the state it had been abandoned in and the possible circumstances surrounding it were thrilling. I loved the world building the author created, which was intense and vivid, I was there living life on the island.

The characters were so, so real and their interactions played out in front of me as if I was watching a technicolour film- so real and believable. The hierarchy of the characters was so realistic and her portrayal of how they change with the increasingly dire situation was a joy.

The authors ability to write is incredible, and when I started this book I literally disappeared into it and didn’t emerge until I had finished. It’s so compelling and I was so absorbed I literally read this in one sitting. Fast paced, dark and intense, the storyline is taut and perfectly plotted and I loved the sense of claustrophobia and paranoia. It’s eerie and beautifully written- believe me when I say this is a debut you. DO. NOT want to miss!!!

I adored this book and honestly fellow thriller readers get this title preordered and thank me later, it’s utterly unputdownable ( yes that is a even a word!!) and you’re going to love every single twisty page!!

Huge Thankyou to Avon books and Netgalley for my copy, I will still be preordering as I need to own all my favourite thrillers physically to adorn my bookcase, and Stranded is 100% up there with the best!!

Is it weird that I don't have any feelings good or bad toward this book? I loved the premise of the Survivor type theme. The book was entertaining and you definitely get sucked in during the last half of the book. The characters are good, the storyline is fully formed and doesn't drop off unexpectedly. All in all it was a satisfying read overall. The only part that bothered me was the very very end where Maddy is supposedly friends with the "witch" of the island; I felt the witch wasn't even part of the story so why add that addition.

Thank you Avon Books, Sarah Goodwin and Netgalley for this arc!

Maddy has signed up for a reality TV Show: What would happen if the world had ended and 8 strangers were sent to a remote, deserted island, with little to no assistance in the way of food, shelter and other basic necessities, for a year. 

Eight people means eight different skills sets and eight different personalities. And some of those personalities are going to clash. As Maddy and the others struggle to survive the island, some of those clashes turn into battles, creating dangerous enemies, until the lack of necessities may not be the most deadly thing on this trip. 

This book was INTENSE. Absolutely heart stopping. My heart was pounding with anger at what went on and I was terrified most of the way through - in the best possible way. There were so many characters I wanted to jump through the page and strangle but I was so gripped by the mystery and desperation of their situation, I just couldn’t put it down!

The story is told in alternating timelines - on the island and in a TV interview with Maddy after the event. The interview sections weren’t anywhere near as interesting as the rest, but by the end I saw why they were necessary. 

With a grown up Lord of the Flies feel, Stranded should definitely be on your list of you enjoy intense, Lost style mysteries!

I love a good social experiment, man. Think Survivor but no host or camera crew. Strangers becoming friends. Friends becoming enemies. Now almost everyone is dead? How? Why? IT WAS SO GOOD.

Saw this book on NetGalley, thought it sounded right up my street - and how right I was!

Maddy is looking for an escape from her lonely life and what could be better than an isolated island with a few strangers for a year as part of a reality TV show? The story begins at the end of her isolation, holding a rifle and departing a boat on the mainland in need of help….

I started this book today and finished it in one sitting. I literally could nor put it down. One not to miss.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

Now that’s a nice story. Not at all what I was expecting, but a pleasant surprise. Great ending. Truly twisted.

5 misanthropic stars.

This book! I devoured it. The first half slowly builds the tension, which had me tearing through the pages, desperate to discover what happened. I'm a big fan of 'love to hate' characters, and I love it even more when the protagonist is unlikeable and unreliable. The clever writing style reminded me of Sarah A Denzil, with a tight plot and perfect pacing.

Utterly immersive and unbearably tense, Stranded is a gripping debut you won't want to put down.

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.

Yet another book I couldn’t put down and ended up reading in a day!

Stranded is best described as Lord of the Flies meets Survivor, the tv show. Eight strangers sign up to live on Buidseach island, off the coast of Scotland.
They’ll be there for just under a year, wearing solar-power-charged individual cameras to give the viewers at home an up close and personal look at a social experiment to see how humankind would survive post apocalypse.
Our protagonist is Maddy, a socially awkward woman alone in the world after the death of her parents, looking to make friends and improve her life. Unfortunately she’s singled out by the rest of the group as different and has to learn how to survive on her own when their mini society breaks down.

Things devolve further after the boat fails to pick them up on the agreed day.
In the end only three out of eight will leave the island alive, but which three, and what happened to everyone else?

This was a tense read with a good sense of atmosphere and a constant feeling of threat, which caused me some anxiety as I read it!

None of the characters are particularly likeable, including Maddy, but I appreciated that about her. She was very much unapologetically herself, not pandering to anyone.

My only quibble with this book is before it becomes completely obvious that democracy within the group has broken down, Maddy has a thought at the end of every chapter along the lines of “if I had known what was to come I would have tried harder” etc. Slightly too much foreshadowing for me when we already knew from the start of the book that disaster was on the way, but that’s probably just me being picky!
Overall I’d recommend this one! It’s a quick and gripping thriller. Out on September 16th but you can preorder on kindle now for £1.08!

With thanks to @netgalley and @avonbooksuk for the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of Stranded in exchange for an honest review. As always, all opinions are my own.

This is a rapid-paced, compelling story with masterful execution. The constant action means there is never a dull moment
I love a good thriller. Something to get the mind working, heart racing and having you on the edge of your seat. Great writing, great characters and a great storyline.

I was excited when I read the premise of the book, anything written about survival is right up my street. I was a bit nervous too as I find sometimes stories of this nature can be a bit disappointing.

I was pleasantly surprised though. The first half of the book builds tension well, building the story and giving us a chance to get to know the characters. Then it starts to get dark and truly gripping. The main character, Maddy, isn't overly likable but that worked well with the storyline.

Definitely worth a read, especially if this type of genre intrigues you.

A survivor like thriller with a frightening twist! Can you even imagine being on an isolated island with strangers for a whole year even for a reality tv show? The people that were dropped off on the island were ready for adventure but they soon discovered that their adventure would take a rather dark turn. I actually felt like I was part of this story and felt the tense and fearful emotions the main character felt I love intense thrillers like this and it was definitely had a riveting, unique plot .

This is a strange book to review, I went from hating it and thinking I'd give it one star, to thinking I was being biased - just because I didn't enjoy it, didn't mean it was badly written... I stuck it out, and I have to say wow. That ending. I never saw it coming.

I'll start by explaining why I didn't like it initially. Most of the characters are truly awful, and the hidden savage nature of the average human (note I said average, I don't mean everyone, but if we are honest, most fit the bill), which tends to rear its ugly head when the going gets tough, was especially prevalent here. I really, really cannot fathom why anyone would ever sign up for something like this, but then Come Dine With Me is in its gazillionth season, so go figure.

It didn't take long for things to deteriorate, and then it all went to pot. Maddy, one of the crazies who signed up, became a pariah and was forced to fend for herself, which really would have been fine (better than sticking around with the others) if things hadn't taken a turn for the worse.

This book takes turns in suffocating, shocking, and frightening you. I didn't like the references to the rabbits and the casual way they are spoken of as if they were no more than clods of earth, it was a bit sickening and in many ways a bit too graphic. But then I suspect that was the point. It shocks me sometimes, what people are capable of, but then deep down we all know. The trick is to be clever and get them back. And if you have a witch on your side, well, all the better. Enough said.

Many thanks to Sarah Goodwin, Avon Books and Net Galley for my ARC.

I am a huge survivor fan as was excited to review this book! Sarah Goodwin did not disappoint.

Did you enjoy Lord Of the Flies? Then this is a book for you! Maddy is a sheltered homeschooled unhappy young adult who has applied to be part of a game/reality show that strands 8 adults on an uninhabited island. She hopes to make a new life and new friends and start over during the year spent on an island without any support.

Foreshadowed in the description, things go wrong fairly quickly. Maddy has trouble fitting into the group. As the description reveals, only Maddy is available to tell the story of what went wrong on the island and where are the other survivors.

I enjoyed this book immensely. I felt like the characters could have been drawn out a bit more. It was hard to emphasize with anyone really, even Maddy was a bit unlikeable. A broader backstory would have made a more interesting and thrilling novel.

There was a lot of foreshadowing to the end which I think could have been left out. I think it would been a bit more suspenseful if some of the future events were not included. I did want to know so badly how it would turn out though and I read this novel in 24 hours. Recommend!

This was really good, I wasnt sure to start with and then it got better. I loved the way you never really knew who was on trial and just loved the ending and the production notes.

Fully do recommend reading.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own

I received a copy of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a thriller. I was intrigued by the premise of it and it did not disappoint. I liked the flip between present (the interview) and past. It gave little hints without giving anything away, which just made me want to keep reading.

The characters were very well written. The ones that were unlikeable were very unlikeable. The main character was easy to like, although she could be frustrating at times.

Overall, fantastic book. I’m a sucker for a good survival story. I will be looking for more of Sarah Goodwin’s books.

I really enjoyed this. I love a book set on an deserted island and this one with its reality tv show twist was great fun. I liked how it dropped hints throughout about what was *really* going on. I was a bit disappointed with the (slightly strange!) ending but I really enjoyed it overall

Stranded by Sarah Goodwin is a very tense and twisty book. Sarah Goodwin does an excellent job writing complex characters and a storyline and plot that dives deep into the human psyche.

The story was tense and heart-pounding. Sometimes I would catch myself holding my breath when reading as the scenes were scary and some quite claustrophobic. Stranded is a very gripping story.

Maddy is having a tough time with the recent loss of her parents. She is offered a strange opportunity to be part of a social experiment where 8 strangers will have to survive together on a remote island for one year. The participants will be on their own for food, shelter and other necessities. Maddy quickly signs on, as she sees this as an opportunity to escape from her normal life and start a new chapter. Will the participants support each other or will this small society fall apart? Will Maddy make it off the island alive?

A brilliant five star read from author Sarah Goodwin. This is a gripping story about survival and it shows just how quickly that this small group’s moral behavior goes out the window. It definitely reminded me of the TV series Survivor but taken to the ultimate extreme. I loved it and would highly recommend STRANDED!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

I admit that I was hooked as soon as I read the blurb of Stranded. I love a good survival thriller and the mystery around eight people arriving and only three surviving made me want to read this story instantly. I've been looking forward to read it, and I can now say that I definitely liked what I found. Stranded is a true survival thriller that also offers its very own little locked room mystery to boot. The story is strangely infuriating while also being highly entertaining, and it's definitely one that will have you in its claws until the very end.

The setting on the remote Scottish island Buidseach Isle is without doubt a perfect backdrop for the story. The eight contestants have to survive during a whole year on the island, relying mostly on what they can find on Buidseach to keep themselves alive. The many descriptions of the island, its fauna and everything related to the survival element in general where thorough and vivid, and I really felt like I was there right next to Maddy seeing everything unfold. The setting and the survival element of the story were both reasons I ended up enjoying this story considerably, and it made the story stand out for me too.

As for the characters... Some can be quite infuriating, and most are quite unlikeable, but somehow I wasn't too bothered by it as they make the story strangely entertaining. Maddy herself was an interesting character, and while I wanted to slap her at times for not standing up for herself, I can't say I'm surprised by her initial reactions due to her past and it was interesting to see her character evolve over time. The character development as the eight contestants spend more time on the island is intriguing in general, and especially when things start to escalate.

Like I mentioned before, this story also has that locked room mystery vibe, which is an element I always love. It was interesting to see this part of the story develop, and Stranded will definitely have more than one surprise for you in store before you reach the end. It turned out to be a highly engaging, addictive, frustrating and suspenseful read and I will definitely be looking out for any future Sarah Goodwin books.

This book had me gripped from page 1! U loved the writing style and it was so easy to get completely absorbed in the plot. This is a must read for anyone who likes the thriller/ domestic noir type genre. It is the perfect antidote to a certain island based romance TV show that is currently being broadcast on TV lol

Any book featuring an individual or group stranded somewhere inaccessible is right up my alley, and this offering by Sarah Goodwin is definitely a top pick for me. The mis-matched group of eight - four men, four women - are selected from applicants for a 'reality' type tv show to survive for a year on a remote Scottish island, and have to learn how to fend for themselves once their starter rations (about a month's worth of food and supplies) have been used up. They are expected to build a shelter, latrine, shower, furniture and to grow and forage food, catch wildlife and fish. They are told to wear body cameras at all times and there are also cameras placed strategically around the island in trees. There is also an 'out of bounds' area where the two cameramen / technicians are stationed in a portacabin.

At first the group co-operate, establish rotas and assign tasks by skillset, but it doesn't take long for the cracks to appear and the group to splinter due to greed, laziness and selfish behaviour.

The book is entirely written from Maddie's point of view. She has plenty of character flaws (being solitary, socially awkward, introverted) but also resourceful, hard-working, sensible and aware of the bullying and manipulation going on. Some characters were easily led and we get to see how power is grabbed and the majority go along with it. It's a microcosm of an office environment, a cult or even a whole society.

The writing is fabulously immersive. We feel Maddie's growing isolation, anger and fear of the danger posed by certain other characters. We know from the beginning that some people make it off the island and that there is a trial but don't know who died, who escaped and who was found out until almost the end.

A definite 5 stars. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-copy in return for an honest review.

A group of 8 people land on a remote island to begin their year long adventure on a reality show survival experiment. None of them was expecting what was in store for them.
All characters in this story were very unlikeable most of the time, even Maddie, the narrator at times gave reason to question her behaviour. Which makes you ask yourself, how would I act in that situation? I’d like to think I would be a whole lot nicer but I guess none of us truly know unless we’re put in said position?
I knew that I’d love this book from the off, I’m a reality tv lover, with survivor being my all time favourite so it was right up my street. I was truly hooked and bored my family giving them regular updates on what was happening next.
I would love to give this the 5 star rating it deserves but there are 2 factors that really disappointed me. Firstly, I really didn’t like the “witch” aspect and felt it unnecessary and secondly without giving away any spoilers I felt that the reason given to Maddie etc. for the production companies failure seemed very unrealistic, I honestly don’t think in the real world it would’ve played out that way. Despite this, a very exciting read and I will definitely be looking out for this author in the future. #NetGalley

Eight people are made to live the wild life in an island for a reality show for a year. The author has done a marvellous work with character building, changing group dynamics, altering mindset, suspicions that come with being cut off from the outside world. The emotions are all authentic. I don’t think I would be able to appreciate this book adequately. It has to be read to feel it.

Wow wow wow! The suspense!!

OK so I really really enjoyed this book. I loved the writing style, the suspense. It was absolutely fantastic. I feel like everything was neatly tied up at the end and all unanswered questions were answered. Loved seeing how it all panned out.
The only thing that let this book down for me was that I felt like it really didn't get exciting until about 40% in. I found the second part of the book fantastic but the first half let it down a little for me. That said I still really enjoyed the book!!

Stranded by Sarah Goodwin was not what I expected. It was much better in fact..

The novel is told from the point of view of Maddy, a twentysomething who has recently lost her parents in an accident. Maddy signs up for a Survivor-type adventure on a remote Scottish island where the chosen participants will have to survive for a year with minimal assistance from the show's production team. As we learn, Maddy has been excessively sheltered by her parents over the years - she hasn't gone to grade school or learned how to socialize and make friends or live independently in the world. This has resulted in her being socially awkward and struggling to read people and social cues the rest of us would pick up on easily.

The chosen participant group is a motley, assorted group of individuals who appear to have been selected to produce "dramatic television" through dissent and controversy. Unfortunately, working relationships deteriorate quickly and what appeared as a challenging adventure soon descends into a Lord of the Flies competition for survival.

I enjoyed this novel - especially the way Maddy uses her botanical knowledge to survive a threadbare existence on the island. Some of the characters are drawn a little one-dimensional and I would have enjoyed seeing a little more nuance in their personalities. However it was a great read and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a dash of outdoor adventure in their suspense reading. Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books for providing me a copy to review.

Eight strangers accept the challenge to survive on an island for a year. Cameras constantly film them for reality TV. A social experiment to establish infrastructure, govern themselves and build a future from flotsam and the natural resources available to them.
After a while, friends become enemies and only the fittest survive. One of them becomes the prey, almost non-human for the others. When cornered, we are animals.

Blame, stigmatisation, fear, delusion that somehow they are all still civilised people at heart, that they try to protect themselves when they hunt the others.

Gripping, intense, dark, fast paced and with well developed characters, while reading it feels as a reader is on an island himself.

Unputdownable!

I wish there was more backstory to the characters as they weren’t all the unique to me but it was definitely a heart throbbing suspense that I needed to know the ending to. A little harsher than my usual writing style preference but fitting for the story. Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for this pre-release in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for my advance review copy of this book.

A gripping fight for survival ★★★★☆

When Maddy signs up to be stranded on a Scottish island for a year as part of a “social experiment” TV show little does she know that it will become a brutal game of survival of the fittest.

When the group realises that they really are stranded, festering divisions and desperation spill over into theft, violence, and even murder.

With the group against her and dwindling supplies can Maddy survive? Will a rescue ever come? Or will the others get her first?

A disturbing and gripping read which asks what we would do to survive and how dangerous desperation and isolation really are. Will anybody make it off the island alive?

For fans of Lord of the Flies by William Golding and The Castaways by Lucy Clarke.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story about a reality show set on an island. I got very invested in the character Maddy who I was backing all the way. The way her fellow islanders turned against her made me feel angry, upset and awkward that adults can turn back and dominate others with their childish and unfair ways. A great ready, thank you for sharing with me.

I’ve been so lucky getting to read really good books lately and Stranded by Sarah Goodwin is one of those books I absolutely enjoyed reading. It has a very simple premise: A reality show/ social experiment type of thing with eight contestants that are to live on a secluded island and try to survive for a year, pretending that the world is ending and they are the only remaining survivors. I mean, what a very interesting scenario!

I’m absolutely hooked from the very beginning. Maddy is the protagonist of the story. She had a unique upbringing and lost her parents prior to joining the show. I loved her voice and characterization because she’s very relatable and she’s not your usual Katniss, Bella or Hazel Grace; and she’s basically just a socially awkward adult who grew up without any friends at all. I know it may sound weird for me to say that I loved that she is all that prior to meeting the other seven contestants but it’s just fun to see how she’d overcome all of those things and see her in group dynamics. There were times in the book that I got frustrated and annoyed by her; but looking back, her whole demeanor kinda worked with the whole set-up of the ‘game.’

It has a “Lord of the Flies” feel, with the whole power grabbing and we see here how wicked people are with the things they’re willing to do in order to survive. See, after their initial rations runs out, it became clear that this whole thing was very serious – and it really did turn graphic, I’m telling you. It’s very fascinating in a sickening way and I think this is what makes this book worth reading. I got really into it midway and I just couldn’t put it down. It’s very engaging, compelling, exciting, frightening and just a whole lot entertaining.

I’d definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for an exciting and a delicious thriller. Absolutely worth your time and dime!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

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. Rumours 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 book follows our main character Maddy as she sets off to a remote island for a reality TV show. The show is described as what would happen if the world ended and people were forced to survive on their own instincts, forming alliances and working together for their own benefit. At first, things are going fine, soon the group starts to divide and outsiders are quickly separated. What was a reality TV show starts to turn into a fight for survival.

Our main character Maddy is a 29 year old pharmacological botanist, and is surprisingly unlikable for a main character. She’s a social outcast trying to fit in while also dealing with the horrors of her personal life outside of the show. However, as she fights to survive her resilience and drive is admirable. While I can’t say I ever liked Maddy as a person, she’s an interesting main character, a refreshing take from the many perfect heroines often seen in novels. She had flaws, and that’s what makes her so interesting to read about.

This novel kept me on the edge of my seat. While it was a bit slow to start, things started picking up about a quarter of the way through the book and I couldn’t put it down. It switches from the past, where Maddy is on the island, to the present, where she is undergoing an interview about what went on there. I think this was a really smart way of maintaining the reader’s interest. I wanted to know both what Maddy was going to say in the interview and how she survived on the island. It was like two mysteries unfolding at once. Another mark of a good thriller, I never saw what was coming next in the book, whenever more information was reveled I was shocked. In books like this I often can guess what is going to happen next and the motives of the characters, but every time I thoughts I knew what was coming around the corner in this book I was wrong.

The other characters in this book were interesting, though their personalities could be a bit shallow. Other than one character aside from Maddy, don’t go into this book expecting major character development or complex backstories. The author’s style of writing was enjoyable. It was detailed and descriptive without going overboard. This made for an enjoyable read without any unnecessary flowery language.

Overall, this was a thrilling read with an unpredictable plot. I couldn’t put it down.

I would recommend this to: Anyone looking for a good survivalist thriller.

This book was Survivor, Castaway and Lord of the Flies all wrapped in one book. Maddy is looking for an escape after a tragic loss makes her feel there is nothing left for her. Luckily, she will be one of eight contestants to live and make a new community on a remote island while being filmed for a reality television show. While everyone is happy and excited at the beginning, tensions and divisions soon appear and Maddy is exiled from the group. While scared, Maddy knows she can survive on her own since she knows the boat will be by soon to pick them up. As the pick up day comes and goes tensions are at an all time high and paranoia is rampant especially after two dead bodies are found. As supplies dwindle hope for rescue gets smaller and smaller. Who will survive?

This is like an upmarket aggressive Love Island. Without the love but with fear and a fight with tooth and nail. I really enjoyed it and the story raced along. I did read it into the night and talked about it to friends and I recommend it as a good read!

Eight strangers get dropped to a remote island for a survival television show. Eighteen months later a woman turns up on the mainland disheveled. What exactly happened on that island?
The writing had me hooked from the very first pages, intriguing and exciting, I finished this in just a day. even though you know the lead character Maddy survives, you are still totally taken into the story and gripped wanting to find out exactly what happened to the other contestants and how Maddy escaped.
Written from Maddy's point of view you really get to know her and get a real feel for her character. and I became really fond of her, both because of her background and her sheer determination to survive.
The story was really well researched and felt so real! This added to the atmosphere and and tension and you really felt like you were on a deserted island and made it all totally believable.
The pace was perfect, slowly building the background to begin , with changing timelines to hint at the action to come, making this a real page turner.
One of my favorite reads of the year so far, atmospheric and exciting, the setting was perfect and the characters so well written that they made this feel like such a menacing situation. I loved the hint at the supernatural this just brought an extra magic, mythical and creepy edge. It truly was a thrilling read.
Thank you to Netgalley, Sarah Goodwin and Avon for the copy, I look forward to exploring more by this author.

What an amazing story of survival. Touting the harrowing tale of an ostracized and misunderstand woman and the groups herd mentality that ultimately fell them. The concept was interesting and the setting was easy to imagine as it was rich in detail. The emotion was palatable coming off the pages. Couldn’t get enough. Well done!

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

Compelling Suspense…
What happened on the beautiful, remotely situated Buidseach Island? From the very first page the reader is drawn into this chilling, atmospheric and completely compelling suspense and will absolutely need to know. Well constructed read with a solid sense of place and well drawn characters, tense and intriguing.

What happens when strangers embark on a reality television survival experience? This book dives deep into the daily realities of living on a deserted island, as well as the mental challenges of a group of strangers forced to rely on one another. I’d recommend this book to fans of reality shows, survival books, and thrillers. The writing is atmospheric and packed with escalating tension from beginning to end.

Stranded by Sarah Goodwin

A group of people take part in a social experiment for a TV show . They get taken by boat to a remote Scottish island and have to exist on a few items brought with them and their wits.
Wow ! I cannot say just how much I loved this book. I've read lots of books this year , and this has to be up there with the best of them.
It centres on slight misfit Maddie , but she has the determination to survive.everything that comes her way , and the people who are out to harm her.
I can imagine this book as a film , or even better a TV series.
Excellent does not give it the credit it deserves. READ IT .