Stranded

This story is like a modern adaption on lord of the flies, the story is wild yet is definitely believable with you feeling like you are there with them on the island, the audio narrator was amazing really bought the story to life, absolutely loved it

Oh my goodness, that was a tale and a half! Big Brother meets Lord of the Flies. What is likely to go wrong? These people are truly horrible and you’d really like to believe there was someone back home keeping an eye on things, but obviously not. I was horrified and enthralled. Loved it!

Compelling Suspense, Narrated With Edge..…
What happened on the beautiful, remotely situated Buidseach Island? From the very start the reader is drawn into this chilling, atmospheric and completely compelling suspense and will absolutely need to know. Well constructed tale which is narrated with edge, well nuanced, intense and solidifying the sense of place and well drawn characters. A tense and intriguing listen

What a wild ride! I listened to this book on audio and really enjoyed it. I found myself wanting to get back to it when I wasn't listening.
I really empathised with the MC and honestly, I was so disgusted at how she was being treated, I just wanted to rescue her myself.
The book examined how people changed under extreme circumstances with nods towards books such as Lord of the Flies.
Big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a tv reality show - One island, eight strangers, one year - who will survive? The contestants have to forage their own food and make their own shelter. One year on, the boat that is meant to pick them up doesn’t arrive. Eighteen months later a woman is found in a remote village desperate to explain what happened to her and the group. This is a truly gripping story - unputdownable , tense and all consuming. It exposes the uglier side of human nature when people need to survive. The main character Maddy is so well drawn - I could feel her isolation and loneliness as if I were there. And all of this is being captured on camera for the world to see. I listened to the audiobook performed chillingly by Esme Sears. Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins for my gifted copy!

A good book should make you feel things. Things like joy, anger, hope and or satisfaction. This was such a book. At 38% I was raging. I could not believe what was happening! It had taken a huge unexpected turn and crazy is an understatement. Well written and exciting I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how it would end. The story was about survival and control. Peer pressure and injustice. Esme Sears narrated this audiobook and did an excellent job.
I highly recommend if you love a suspenseful thriller.
Thanks HarperCollins Audio via Netgalley.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins Audio and Sarah Goodwin for an audio ARC in return for an honest review.

This book is absolutely incredible. I spent all day listening to do, I was totally captured by it. It had me gripped from the start. I was instantly engrossed and gripped. I have not been this obsessed over an audiobook before. It is dark, scary and gritty- a brilliant psychological thriller. I can’t recommend it enough. You are not left with any unanswered questions.

Stranded - Sarah Goodwin
Narrated by Esme Sears

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

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…

This was unputdownable, I had to listen on to find out what happened to the residents of Buidseach Island. I listened to the majority of this in one sitting, it is such an interesting premise for a book.

I would highly recommend this book. A gripping story about survival, with pacing that just adds to the tense feeling that this book will leave you with. The timeline alternates between past and present which just makes for an intriguing storyline.

Rating 5/5

Stranded is a gripping psychological thriller set on a remote Scottish island. Eight people are chosen to be a part of a fly on the wall tv documentary, and are required to survive for a year in a hostile environment with few resources to help them. Tensions soon rise and personalities clash leading to shocking outcomes. The novel moves between the time on the island, and an interview with Maddie, (one of the contestants) after the show is over. It is clear from the interview sections that things became desperate on the island and not everyone came home.
I found this novel quite difficult to get into, mainly due to the many irritating characters who I struggled to connect with. Although I did find the book a little slow at times, it soon kept my attention and I was completely hooked by the end. I also wasn’t sure how the contestants had got off the island, and found the ending to be believable and well constructed.

I couldn’t put this book down. It was a weird concept, people sent to an island as if the world had ended and they need to repopulate the planet. But they knew it was just a show. What was so gripping about this book, was the way humans behave (often badly). As the characters get to know each other the leaders and the lazy ones become obvious. I don’t know why the main group took offense to Maddie, but they did and they made her life hell. I really liked her strength and tenacity- she didn’t let them wear her down. I loved the witch character, that may or may not be real. The myth behind the real story worked well for me.
All in all a very chilling, but very entertaining book. I listened to it as an audio book and felt it really helped bring the characters to life, the narrator did a great job on their voices.

Lord of the Flies meets Survivor ...

Maddie lost everything when her parents died in a car crash. In her grief, she is unable to see a way forward. When an opportunity to leave civilization and live on a remote island suddenly crops up, she is determined to be chosen to participate.

Now she is one of a group of eight people chosen to live off the land on Buidseach Island as part of a reality show. They will be simulating the rebuilding society after an imaginary apocalypse. Each participant brings along a set of skills and a few tools, with the intent that they will work cooperatively to survive on the island for one year with no help from the outside. Each contestant is equipped with a body camera to record everything that happens and footage collected over the course of the year will be edited to create the show. Two members of the production company will be housed on the far end of the island with the understanding that the contestants will only make contact in the case of a grave emergency.

As the days progress into weeks, one of the other contestants, Duncan, takes on a leadership role in the group. As cliques begin to form, tension builds within the group until tempers flare, accusations are made and one member of the group is cast out.

Beginning eighteen months after the group arrives on the island, a haggard woman appears in an isolated fishing village asking for the police. From here, the book jumps back and forth between the groups experiences on the island and the aftermath.

Stranded had me hooked from the opening line and kept me engrossed until the end. The author did a great job of building tension and suspense. The characters are well-developed and the island is so well described that you can almost see it. Esme Sears was fantastic with the narration.

Too many psychological thrillers have naive female lead characters that behave in an unrealistic manner and move through the story doing one stupid thing after another. I love the fact that Sarah Goodwin gives us such a strong, smart female protagonist in Maddie.

A tv reality show gone awry, this audio book made compulsive listening! Maddie is one of eight strangers who are dropped on a remote Scottish island for one year to see how they can live and work together cooperatively to survive. They begin to work together but Maddie feels alienated, others in the group gradually show their true colours, and their trust in each other becomes compromised. The atmosphere of remoteness and isolation is brilliantly portrayed, as is Maddie's fear. A chilling, tense and compulsive read. I thought the narration was brilliant. Thank you to Sarah Goodwin, Net Galley and Harper Collins Audio for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The concept of this book leapt right out at me!!
Maddie is heading out to a remote Scottish Island as a contestant in a reality show. Alongside other contestants they will mimic survival after a major catastrophe rebuilding civilisation. Each contestant carries a camera to record their progress for a documentary. The contestants arrive on the island but within weeks the divisions have started to form and then there’s a death ..
This is such a fascinating subject, looking at the day to day practicalities of survival, foraging, fishing, building shelter..and how the personalities come together as a team. The story is narrated by Maddie, interspersed with interviews with the tv company. She is an only child, home -schooled, with poor interpersonal skills and very soon she has alienated the others.. is it her or is it them? She is the filter through which we understand what’s happened, but can we believe her?
I really enjoyed this! The narrator is great and I really felt she conjured up the voice of Maddie, conjuring up the moods and tensions of the story. I felt that the day to day detail of survival was really well balanced to give enough information without being too dry. The balance of personalities and the way the relationships begin to break down is beautifully done and there’s a wonderful gentle building of tension!
With thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins Audio for a copy of this book.

Buidseach Island is remote and uninhabited but for one whole year it is going to become the temporary home of eight new reality TV contestants. Four males and four females, along with two cameraman and an untold number of remote cameras, are going to populate the island. The show will focus on them attempting to feed, clothe, home, fend, and entertain themselves without any modern conveniences.

This sounds like a hard enough of an undertaking but when the group are stripped back to their roots rivalries soon form, which further complicates their attempts to survive. They will soon find that the verbal attacks from each other will not be the only thing they have to fend off, and it becomes increasingly doubtful if all those who stepped onto the island will also return home from it.

I love survival stories and I love fictional reality TV or competition storylines, so this novel seemed like one I was sure to enjoy. I came for the action but stayed for... well, everything! All aspects of this novel were seamlessly delivered to bring to life this unsettling and terrifying read.

One aspect I really appreciated was how Goodwin introduced the reader to all eight contestants. We grew to understand their distinct personalities through the eyes of one of the eight, Maddie. Her isolated childhood made her a bit of a social pariah. She struggled to relate to her peers and only ever had her parents to confide in. This altered when a car crash stole their lives and, left reeling and alone, Maddie sought an escape to the island. Her character was an awkward yet lovable one and I immediately empathised with her struggles. It also helped me to bond with her as both protagonist and reader were aligned in their roles as outsiders to the events that occurred.

The eight arrived at the island very close to the book's opening and so we got to see them attempt to grow connections as they dually struggled to build shelter and fires. The initial focus was evenly split between their physical tasks and the emotional bonds forming. A hierarchy was quickly formed and this early order dictated the quick descent into barbarity and insanity that followed.

I don't think a book has ever made me feel so anxious before! This is a book focusing on adventure and survival but the gaslighting and abuse the protagonist had to endure was what made me so angry at the other characters and so eager to fly through the pages and find some sort of peace or resolution delivered. I genuinely felt shaky at the endless scenes of confrontations and emotional attacks, which is a testament to Goodwin for how believable her fictional story felt to me.

In all, this was just the perfect thriller. It was fast-paced, well-constructed, and with many different elements that ensured the reader was never quite sure where the next attack would stem from.

Oh my God - seriously!! I've just finished a 12 hr audiobook in two days!!
Completely riveting, unputdownable, terrific read!

Can't wait for more by this author!
She chose a perfect narrator and wrote a great story - can't ask for much more than that.

Thanks so much HarperCollins UK Audio, via NetGalley and Sarah Goodwin for gifting me an audiobook copy for review.

Stranded by Sarah Goodwin is a whopper of a book. Suspenseful, enthralling, Big Brother meets Lord of the Flies. This is on hell of a ride. Amazingly narrated by Esme Sears.

Hell is other people. Sartre explored that theme in Huis Clos and there are elements of that concept in Stranded. A group of people sign up for a reality tv experiment. They’re taken to an isolated Scottish island for 12 months and have only limited resources. They have to learn what to do to survive. All starts well as the happy band hunker down and agree what needs to be done and who has the appropriate skills.

As expected, things go pear shaped fairly quickly. Resentment and petty jealousies develop and the dynamics of the group changes with alliances being formed, backbiting tittle tattle and a self appointed leader. Having set that scene, Sarah Goodwin ratchets up the plot and pace with a twist. This is a very cleverly drawn plot and character driven thriller. Who’s to be trusted? Who has dark secrets from the past? Why are they there and how will it all end?

We know from early on that Maddie is a survivor, but what appalling events happened on that island over the many months they were there? This is a book of substance; chilling, creepy and dark and it set my flesh crawling. Strong characters and a plot that’s so intense, you almost feel the cold, the isolation and the fear. Absolutely loved this; a first rate thriller and I finished it in a couple of sittings. Excellent narration throughout.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

This is an absolutely stonker of a debut! The narration I must say is fantastic too. The story is very much Lord of the Flies meets reality TV and at times made me so mad. Scarily accurate, I should imagine, of the 'every man for themselves' attitude. How the main character was outcast and continually dismissed, despite her knowledge, before the rest of them swiftly realised how her skill of foraging would potentially stop them from starving. A year on a remote island sounds like a dream but with strangers whose characters you couldn't predict, put together, like Big Brother, with personalities the producers knew would clash. Because of this I found the ending to be very satisfying. I tore through the book at breakneck speed and it's become one of the favourites I've read this year. Already looking forward to reading the author's next book, she's likely to have a wonderful career!
Thanks to the publishers, Netgalley and the very talented Sarah Goodwin for the opportunity to read.

Narrator 5 stars
Beautiful soothing voice

Story 4 stars
Parts of this book made me so angry because I felt Maddy was such a push over and the other characters were unreasonably weak and pathetic... But I guess that was probably the authors intent. The concept was fantastic though. Lord of the flies with adults

As soon as I read the synopsis for this I was getting vibes of that old TV show Castaway, but with an added Lord Of The Flies element, so was looking forward to getting stuck in!

As part of a new reality TV show, 8 contestants, 4 men and 4 women, are sent to a remote, uninhabited island for a year. Apart from two camera operators, a bodycam each, and a whole load of remote cameras filming their every move, they will be alone. The programme is hoping to see how they will survive away from modern life in an attempt to replicate conditions and see if life could continue on such an island should the need arise.
All islanders bring their own skills in the hope that it will make for a well-rounded and co-operative population that will work well together and survive for the year.
But as cliques form and groups separate, this is not going to go as smoothly as anyone hoped.

I liked that this book started 18 months later, then gave us a back and forth narrative throughout to unravel the story from both on the island and in the aftermath of the events that took place. It was done very well, built and then kept up the tension, making it a very moreish listen!

All in all, a tense yet enjoyable read that had some great characters, both likeable and not so much!

In a modern day Castaway scenario, a group of people are left in a deserted Scottish island as part of a reality TV show. Of course, any group of people who have been ‘randomly’ selected by a TV company are destined to rub each other up the wrong way, to fall out and to gang up on others.
So The Lord of The Flies scenario unfolds dramatically on Bushart Island, stealing food rations bullying, death threats, and total betrayal become the norm.
A compelling book, well narrated and full of drama, foreshadowing and hooks to keep the listener engaged.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review

A woman called Maddy and another three women and four men, are chosen to go on a reality tv show, which is set on a remote island in Scotland. They have to stay there for one year and use their instinct and survival skills to stay alive. How will they get on?

I loved this book and it really drew me in. I loved the adventure of it all, the suspense, the setting, the wild natures of each different character and I found the story really interesting and exciting. I felt like I was there on the island with them all, watching them and interacting with them even.

The narrator of the book was very good and she kept me entertained. Highly recommended!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Avon Books for allowing me to read/listen to this thoroughly exciting unputdownable book.

Stranded is a mixture of Bear Grylls survival TV shows/Hunger Games/Lord of the Flies/The Castaways by Lucy Clarke and The Island by CL Taylor, so if you like any of these, you should thoroughly enjoy this read, though there's a lot more to it than that and was only disappointed when it reached the end.

Th audio book is narrated by Esme Sears and I cannot fault her at all. She was a brilliant narrator and had the exact voice I would have imagined for the main character - Maddy, and kept the pace of the book and excitement flowing perfectly. A real spine tingling chiller.

The premise sounded great, and I loved the fact they were going to the island for a whole year, not just the 12 weeks they often do on the Survivor shows. This is a real test for 8 strangers to live together on an island in Scotland for a TV show/experiment. However I can imagine this being made into a very entertaining movie.

My only negative point is that I think the blurb gives away a bit too much of this book. If you're new to it, don't read the whole blurb. Stop at the first two paragraphs as is much more exciting if you don't know how many leave. Luckily I only read the first two paragraphs and there's a lot more tension if you don't know in advance how many leave.

I'll definitely be looking out for any other books by Sarah Goodwin, as if her writing and descriptive text is as good as this, I'll be in for a treat.

Wow! I absolutely loved this audio book and devoured it over 2 nights.

I was immediately drawn into this clever, dark intriguing story and honestly did not want it to end.

To say, it is a cross between the shows Survivor, Castaway and Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None does not really do it justice. The story on the island is cleverly interspersed with chapters giving snippets of what
happened afterwards and this is done well.

The intricate details of the groups efforts to survive by building a shelter, foraging and growing crops is brilliantly portrayed and I loved this element of the story. This then turns to unimaginable horror and fear, as the bullying and gas lighting begin and we share Maddy's every struggle and terror, willing her to make it through. The tension and increasing menace is palpable and the more I listened, the more anxious I became!

The remoteness and wilderness of the island is brilliantly described, enabling me to clearly picture it as I was listening. The narrator, Esme Sears, was excellent, effortlessly portraying the different characters and especially Maddy's increasing fear.

This is an accomplished atmospheric thriller and it's hard to believe this was the author's debut novel. I would highly recommend it to everyone and will be eagerly awaiting her next book.

Thanks to publishers Harper Collins UK Audio and Net Galley for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Imagine Lord of The Flies, but with adults meets Big Brother. Sounds like a nightmare right? And that would be the correct assumption, at least in Stranded. Told from the perspective of one of the 8 people left to fend for themselves for a year a nightmarish tale unfolds. Friends become enemies, paranoia breeds contempt, bullying and violence.

The narrator of the story is Maddie, a woman used to feeling like an outsider. Whilst the story is from her perspective the author has made her quite an introspective person. One who questions her own actions and motives, thus allowing us to see there are two sides to every story. But also clearly letting us see poor Maddie is stuck with a bunch of a-holes. God I have very rarely been so angry with the behaviour of fictional characters. Because they really are awful and sadly very realistic!

This kept me listening every night into the small hours. I have a habit of dozing off no matter how good an audiobook is. There was absolutely no chance of that with this book. It's tense and enthralling throughout.

This was the first time I've heard Esme Sears narrating, and I was surprised to see she hasn't done many audiobooks yet. After this I'll be surprised not to see her name many more times.

An easy 5 stars for a superb thriller.

I’m a huge fan of the reality tv show Survivor so this really caught my attention but wasn’t sure if it would hold my attention in story format but I enjoyed this way more then I thought I would. Told in the past and present which is easily identifiable. Really well written story with such unlikeable characters but I really did like the main character Maddie. She had it all and even in extreme circumstances she held her own. It had me gripped for 3/4’s of the book but for the last 1/4 I found it lost it’s way a bit and I was urging it to move on quickly. It picked up again and all became clear. Overall a really good listen along with the author having an engaging voice that kept your attention. Would definitely recommend…

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK Audio for the opportunity to listen and review this ARC thats due to be published on the 16th of Sept.

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 bit 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.

Absolutely brilliant twisty and atmospheric psychological thriller. Very accomplished and hard to believe this is a debut novel. Great narration, capturing the differing characters and the unnerving brooding menace of the situation.

I thoroughly enjoyed this as my first EVER audiobook.

I finished this audiobook within two days! I felt like this was a modern adaptation of Lord of the Flies meets Big Brother. I was completely grasped by the suspense and the narrator added a good edge to the audiobook.

But overall absolutely loved it!

A HUGE thank you to HarperCollins UK, Sarah Goodwin and NetGalley for gifting my an audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review.