• Book 100 of 2024 •

📖 The Resort by Sarah Goodwin

The story in emojis: ❄️💊🚗

My Top 3 things from this book:
•Claustrophobic Vibes
•Bavarian Setting
•Winter Weather

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Goodness - this book was nothing what I was expecting but it was really very clever and I enjoyed it.

The isolated setting itself would have been scary enough, but make it Bavarian and it added a much darker vibe to it. There were times I was a little worried to what was going to happen next!

I did not expect the twist of the ending at all - I was pretty convinced on some dystopian element being the culprit!

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As a rule isolated location suspense/thrillers tend to be more entertaining than good, and that’s certainly true of this book.

Though I liked the premise and pacing of this, it’s tough to rate it well when there are so many books that play on this theme and most of them are of at least marginally better quality, and sometimes far, far better.

There’s nothing wrong with the basic plot here and the first half of the book is actually pretty good, even if it’s very, very obvious who the villain is right from the start.

What’s strange about this book is its structure, and the unusual things about it really, really don’t work for the genre in general or the story specifically. We spend the first 60 percent or so of the book in the isolated, abandoned Bavarian town, where the author does a good job of creating a claustrophobic feeling and a sense of menace. But the protagonist escapes this situation far too early in the story and with no real climax of action or any kind of reveal, and everything that comes after that feels like it was tacked on awkwardly.

In addition to this slow decline of compelling content for almost half the book, the ending is…not good. As previously mentioned, it’s very obvious who the villain is, so this comes as a surprise to absolutely no one but the protagonist, who feels less sympathetic once you realize how absurd it is that she didn’t pick up on this in the years and years worth of opportunities she had to do so. And the “why” of it all feels forced and disappointing.

In the end I felt like I read two separate books. The first half being a solidly entertaining, creepy thriller and the second half being a clumsy, lumbering suspense novel that doesn’t actually have anything suspenseful going on.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy

Thank you Avon Books and Netgalley for this ARC
Another amazing book from Sarah but I found it a little repetitive, otherwise a fun read.

This would normally have been the kind of story that I'd not finish. The first half, nothing much really happened, but somehow it kept me intrigued. The second half is where it really came together and was a totally different pace.

Both parts were anxiety inducing and I really enjoyed reading it. I smiled a few times throughout, as the sisters argued, said hurtful things but ultimately we're very close, as it reminded me of me and my sister.

All in all a great book, well written. Would definitely read another by this author.

Mila and her husband, Ethan are travelling to her sisters wedding at a luxury ski resort. Whilst things have not been good between Mila and her sister, things now seem to be back on track. As the pair travel through the beautiful country surrounded by snow covered forests the pie begin to experience cult trouble. Suddenly they are stranded. They stay in the car or sat off on foot to a place where they saw some cabins. The cabins are all boarded up and are in this repair. However it is a lifeline for the couple.

On waking the next morning Mila discovers that Ethan is gone. Has he set off on foot to try and get help?. However, the longer she stays in the cabin. The more she begins to worry. She begins to sense that she’s not alone, she is in fear of her life . As she tries to survive in the wilderness she makes certain discoveries that makes her stay all the more worrying.

Will Mila make it out of this Hamlet? What happened to Ethan?. Does anybody know that they’re missing?

A great mystery. that’ll have your heart pounding as you to get to the conclusion.

Great read but peppered with repetition which became really annoying. Yes, we know you don't want to be late o the wedding. Yes, we know you don't want to ruin your sisters wedding.

Otherwise a fun read.

Stranded, cold, and alone, as you read The Resort you will wish you were in cozy a room full of all of your loved ones. The atmosphere was perfect in this book, really making you feel like you were there with Mila and desperate to help her. A wonderful book that I wish I had saved for a winter day.

5/5 Stars

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with access to this e-arc.

This is a highly claustrophic, very creepy and very action packed read. Full of tension and suspense. I raced through it and am looking forward to reading more from the author.

Sarah Goodwin is a new-ish author for me. I've read three of her books and she's firmly added herself to my list of auto-buy authors.

The first part was a little slow, which I've come to expect from the author. However I rushed through the second half of her book, which is also not unusual for Sarah Goodwin's books for me. Loved the book. Some parts felt very unrealistic but also not? But loved it all the same. Jess was a little unrealistic, but she wasn't there for a lot of time, so it's okay I suppose.

Mila and Ethan are on their way to a luxurious mountain retreat for her sister's wedding. Unfortunately their car breaks down and they find themselves at an abandoned Ski resort which has boarded up cabins. It's cold and dark and with no phone signal they decide to stay the night in a cabin. But when Ella wakes up the next morning Ethan has gone.

Now that Ella is alone she can't stop feeling that she is being watched. Is she really alone?

A great gritty thriller, the location gives it an eerie and chilling feel that gave me goosebumps.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Claustrophobic, haunting, chilling, addictive... just some of the adjective I need to use to describe The Resort.

Although perhaps unputdownable, unguessable and shocking would actually be more accurate.

It's certainly a ridiculously good book, only the second I've read from an author who is fast becoming a favourite.

The location, the descriptions of Mila in his really weird feeling village are so vividly described you feel as though you are there experiencing it for yourself.

I was coming up with theories constantly but the only thing that made sense to me, until I of course read the actual happenings, but my theories were well off the mark and completely unrealistic.

Even while I was fearing for Mila's survival chances, I was also interested in discovering the family dynamic between her and Jess, her sister.

This was utterly fabulous, I'm almost lost for words as to how much I enjoyed this. I devoured it in less than a day, and was using any excuse to return to my kindle, despite my work mountain. And it was so worth it. I will say thought that I'm glad I read this in summer, or else the chilling descriptions of the cold and snow may have completely frozen me.

I'm now so hooked on this author, I'm already ready to sit down and read her newest book.

Thank you to Avon and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I flew through this book as it was an easy read that was hard to put down. I ended up reading it in two or three sittings. Really enjoyed it. Very suspenseful edge of your seat story about a woman who gets trapped in an deserted village in the middle of nowhere surrounded by snow. I truly terrifying concept for most people!

I am going to say that I definitely guessed the twist early on as I felt like that was the only possible explanation but it didn't take away from the enjoyability of the book.

This would make a great holiday read as you don't need to concentrate too much and there are not a lot of characters to remember.

Would recommend!

'The Resort' is a dark, chilling read that kept my interest but I also found it odd and ridiculous in places. This starts off well and I was pulled into the book and intrigued as to what would happen. Once Ethan disappears, I did think events quickly spiralled and as I said, some events were just not believable.
Having said this, the book kept my interest to the end and I did like the ending. The characters are good too and I enjoyed getting to know them and learning about the dynamic between them.
Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an advance copy.

Cold and claustrophobic. So very very claustrophobic. I don’t know what I expected when I went into this, but it certainly wasn’t a thrilling, freezing-cold, addictive read. I was hooked from the very beginning. I love a book that involves snow/a storm/being snowed in etc, and this definitely ticked my boxes. I liked the writing style and I sped read through it in 3 days. I enjoyed the characters and it didn’t feel too far-fetched, which I found impressive. I definitely need to read more of Sarah Goodwins' books as she knows how to build tension like a queen!

This was a good atmospheric book that featured one of my favourite settings. However, as many have said before me, it was very predictable and it felt like the storyline has been done SO many times, therefor it gets an average 3 stars from me.

***** I have received and read an e - ARC from NetGalley in exchange for giving my honest feedback. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.*****

Nothing new here,

Fairly predictable, and it often times felt like the author had to pull a rabbit out of a hat to make something work.

I’ve read worse, but I’ve definitely read better.

The tension Sarah builds in this story is phenomenal and a true testament to how great her writing is!! What a fantastic book that will keep you on the edge of your seat!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read this in return for an honest review.

It was a tale of two books for me. I haven’t read any by the author before, however I can acknowledge that the writing style was nice and the suspense and uncertainty was well portrayed to the audience captivating you into the story. It had all the expected twists and turns for a thriller.

However for me, some of the twists were just ridiculous. I won’t say what to avoid spoilers but there’s just so much complete unbelievability in this it slightly ruined the story for me. I will pick up another from the author and see if she can change my opinion a little but this was so far fetched I was left questioning the premise of the book.

This was a little bit predictable for me but I enjoyed the setting and the characters and it kept my interest.