Tuesday 5 November 2024

Book ~ "Only One Survives" (2024) Hannah Mary McKinnon

From Goodreads ~ Becoming the star is easier when the rest of your band is dead ...

All drummer Vienna Taylor ever wanted was to make music. If that came with fame, she’d take it - as long as her best friend, guitarist Madison Pierce, was sharing the spotlight and singing lead. And with their new all-female pop rock band gaining traction, soon everyone would hear their songs.

Except on the way to an event, the Bittersweet’s van careened off an icy mountain road during a blizzard - leaving one member dead and another severely injured.

In order to survive the frigid night, the rest took shelter in a nearby abandoned cabin. But Vienna’s dreams devolved into a terrifying nightmare as, one by one, her fellow band members met a gruesome end ... and Madison simply vanished in the night.

What really happened to the Bittersweet? Did Vienna’s closest friend finally decide to take center stage on her own terms?

She doesn’t want to believe it.

But guilty people run.


Vienna and Madison have been friends since they met in grade twelve. Vienna comes from a broken home with no money while Madison comes from a wealthy family who don't want her hanging out with Vienna because they think she is a bad influence. After graduation, Madison moves to New York City to go to university, which is all paid for by her parents, and Vienna, after a fight with her mother and stepfather, follows her there. 

Vienna and Madison had formed a band in high school and eventually form on in New York City called the Bittersweets. Just as they are starting to get popular, they get in a car accident in the middle of nowhere. One of the band members died on impact and another is serious injured. The four surviving members plus a friend find a cabin to take shelter in. By morning, Vienna is the only one left as a couple more have passed away and Madison has disappeared.

Vienna is left to suffer the ramifications. The Bittersweet's popularity rises even more but really happened at the cabin, where is Madison and what did she do?

It was a fun read and there was an interesting twist around the halfway point. I kind of had to leave my sense of belief behind at some points but I just went with it. It's written in first person perspective in Vienna's voice. As a head's up, there is swearing.

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