Ein perfides Katz-und-Maus-Spiel in einem verlassenen Bergdorf.
Mila und ihr Mann Ethan sind auf dem Weg zur Hochzeit ihrer Schwester in einem luxuriösen Skigebiet in den Alpen. Doch dann bleibt ihr Mietwagen plötzlich stehen und springt nicht mehr an. Zu Fuß machen sich Mila und Ethan auf den Weg zurück zu dem letzten Ort, an dem sie vorbeigekommen sind. Als sie ihn endlich erreichen, finden sie dort lediglich verlassene Hütten vor. Da der Schneefall immer stärker wird, bleibt ihnen nichts anderes übrig, als in eine Hütte einzubrechen und dort die Nacht zu verbringen. Als Mila am nächsten Morgen aufwacht, ist Ethan verschwunden. Und sie ist ganz allein. Oder etwa nicht? Denn schon bald nimmt sie dunkle Schatten zwischen den Bäumen wahr...
Like in stranded, we’re immediately transported to a claustrophobic scene where the plot unfolds.
Mila and her husband are going to her sisters wedding. When they’re nearly there, their rented car breaks down and they find themselves in an abandoned little place. It’s cold and they have no cell reception. When Mila wakes up in the cabin they used for shelter, her husband has vanished into thin air. From now on, she has to do anything to stay alive.
The book alternates between mila’s past and the present. Her upbringing with her sister is described, and we realize there is a rift between them that Mila is desperate to mend. The reader is taken to her past right after something new has happened and that leaves us wanting more. What is really going on? Why are there no footprints and who is watching her? The paranoia seeps into the pages until you feel tainted by it. Mila constantly has to think on her feet, despite being in pain from her leg being injured and having no one to help her. You can feel her strength dwindling and want to shout: Don’t give up yet! There might be a way out.
Goodwin manages to not overwhelm the reader by too much happening at once. It makes it easier to wonder what might be going on. When Mila gets her lightbulb moment I was so surprised and felt that satisfying rush when it all made sense.
To sum up my thoughts; it was engaging, clever and atmospheric.
Thank you to netgally and Avon books uk for the arc
This book gave me complex feelings. I couldn’t decide if I liked it or not till I reached the final chapter. It opened so perfect: a trip to Bavaria with your husband goes wrong and you find yourself stranded in a ghost German town in the middle of snow storm with a car not operating properly, no service reception! And the very next day your husband also vanishes into thin air without leaving footprints! That’s exactly what happened to Amelia whose only intention was being at her estranged sister’s wedding on time! Now she’s trapped in this place with swollen leg, all alone! What a perfect start! I was already hooked!
The beginning was promising but when I moved a little more Amelia’s survival in the snow storm storyline, it turned into a repetitive cycle: she keeps seeing shadows, thinking somebody watching her, thinking her past with her sister: their dysfunctional relationship. For years her family put her needs first, treating unfairly to her sister and Amelia ruined most of Jess’ special days by getting into trouble nonstop.
The second third was a little dull, flat and slow. I even thought to lower my stars to three. But then thankfully Amelia finds her way back to the civilization and thinks her juicier.
The big twist and perpetrator’s motives were a little far fetched but it was still tricky and enjoyable never see it coming twist.
The ending was well wrapped up so I decided to round my 3.5 stars to 4 psychological thriller, survival story, ghost town stars!
Most of the chapters were like episodes of true crime podcasts. They may be reflected the occupational hazard of the author!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for providing me this intriguing digital reviewer copy in exchange my pure honest thoughts.
A destination wedding, snowy mountains, and an abandoned ski resort set this stage for this wintery thriller.
Mila and her husband, Ethan, were traveling to her sister's destination wedding when things began to go wrong. First their directions took them down a steep road, then they had car trouble. Lost and stranded in the snow filled mountains, they had no choice but to seek out shelter. They found an abandoned ski resort with boarded up windows. They decided to bunker down for the night. Tired, hungry, and cold they went to sleep. When Mila woke up the next morning, Ethan was gone!
She's all alone yet can't shake the feeling that she is not alone. She is also drowning in guilt about not being there for her sister's wedding.
This was an atmospheric thriller which had me asking the same questions that Mila was asking: Where was Ethan? Did something happen to him in the night? Did he stumble off and get lost in the snow? How will she get to help? What should she do? Where should she go? Should she stay put?
The author did a good job describing the snow cold environment. The lost and desperate feelings of Mila. This book is told in real time and through snippets of the past. Readers learn more about Mila and her relationship with her sister.
I enjoyed this book but there were some things in this book that did not work for me. As I mentioned I enjoyed the atmosphere and the way I could feel Mila's desperation and lost feelings. The second half of the book really picks up and there are a couple of twists. I have to say that I had 'concerns' about one character and was not surprised about the major twist.
I loved Stranded by Goodwin and had high hopes for this book. I enjoyed it and read it in one sitting. I put this is in the good but didn't blow me away category. I will still be on the lookout for more books by this author. She can write and excels at creating atmosphere.
3/3.5 stars
Thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Mila Swift and her husband Ethan are traveling to reach the resort in Germany where her sister (Jess) is getting married. But before they reach the resort their rental car breaks down in a deserted, very snowy area. They discover a nearby village named Witwerberg, take shelter in an empty cabin, and go to sleep for the night. Mila awakens to find Ethan has disappeared without a trace. Then she feels like she is being watched. And with barely any food she has to struggle to stay alive, with the feeling that there is a presence out there, watching her.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It was a very captivating, atmospheric read. I really felt Mila’s isolation and paranoia. The story kept having flashbacks into the past, mostly about Mila’s relationship with her sister Jess. I enjoyed the twists and turns as the story progressed. A fine read by Sarah Goodwin. I look forward to reading more by this author.
I’m already exhausted from the long walk and my muscles are screaming at me to stop. I have to keep going but fear can only give me strength for so long. It’s so hard to make any progress. I’m stumbling, sliding, my legs straining. Am I still being chased?
The Resort by Sarah Goodwin had several of my favorite tropes. What I liked about it the most was the suspenseful atmosphere as Mila is all alone in this creepy place, cut out from everything and possibly watched. I also liked the mystery, even though it was pretty predictable and you can guess it early on.
However, having only one character for a large portion of the book inevitably leads to everything being very repetitive. It's just her for days, facing all the same problems and with no one to talk to.
Also, while I didn’t mind the twist, there were other options for this book’s ending. And I thought some of those other options were way better than what actually happened.
Still, The Resort wasn't a bad book. I did enjoy many aspects of it. Maybe my expectations were just too high.
If you want to see my much more in depth review, you can check it out on my book blog NovelOnMyMind .
Thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Resort by Sarah Goodwin in exchange for an honest review.
Yes, I am giving this new Sarah Goodwin five stars. Here are five reasons why:
1) Set in Bavaria -- such a gorgeous location for a destination wedding 2) It is winter -- not a good time for your Satnav and then your rental car to stop working out in the middle of nowhere 3) A creepy, chilling tale of survival -- woman vs. blizzard and more 4) Sisters before misters? You will have to read it and find out 5) A believable and (for Mila) happy ending
So, if you loved Stranded last year I encourage you to try this one. For me it was an amazing, though at times frustrating, ride.
Thank you to Avon Books and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 Stars. In her first psychological thriller, Stranded, Author Sarah Goodwin showed she could write an unbearably tense, heart-pounding survival story. The Resort establishes her ability to deliver a chilling, claustrophobic, edge-of-your-seat thriller while making the reader feel for the protagonists.
Mila and her husband, Ethan, are travelling by rental car to her sister Jess's destination wedding, to be held at a luxurious mountain resort in Bavaria. Milla and Jess have had a dysfunctional relationship since childhood. Mila was spoiled and favoured by the parents, while Jess was often blamed for Mila's misbehaviour. Mila has a history of disappointing Jess. She has been careless about being late or not showing up. She is anxious to show up for the wedding celebrations in time and to make sure everything goes smoothly for her sister. She is determined to prove that she wants the best for Jess.
The first part of the book is fast-paced, relentless and grim. So much unexpected happened on their journey and continued to worsen. The GPS on the rental car breaks down, and they become hopelessly lost on a poorly maintained, remote road. The car's engine dies, and there is a raging snowstorm. While hiking for help and shelter from the cold and snow, Mila injures her leg. They have left warm clothing and provisions behind in the vehicle. They take refuge in an abandoned settlement where the cabins are in a state of disrepair letting in the cold. Mila and Ethan break into a cabin to spend the night without heat, electricity or phone connection.
On waking the next morning, to her horror and despair, Ethan is missing. He has vanished, leaving no footprints outside in the snow. After a futile search, the alarmed Mila fears her husband may be kidnapped or dead. The creepy surroundings make her feel that she is being watched. Without Ethan, it is all about surviving on her own with no heat and very little food or drink. She struggles with her sore leg to make it back to the car, but it is now in a steep ditch and retrieving their provisions is futile. While further searching for Ethan, she makes some grim and horrifying discoveries.
This is a relentless survival story. She is distraught about letting her sister down once again, although it is not her fault. The backstory of the difficulties between Mila and Jess and what led to their estrangement is essential to the drama, but I wished these passages were shorter.
Does Mila make it out of the eerie and terrible surroundings? Can she reach a mountaintop resort? What happened to Ethan? I enjoy a nerve-shattering survival story like this one, with plenty of twists and turns. I will be looking for Sarah Goodwin's next thriller. Thank you, NetGalley and Avon Books UK, for this enjoyable ARC. Its publication date is January 5, 2023.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
My first read from this author and whilst she does a brilliant job of creating an atmospheric abandoned ski resort setting, the mystery as a whole felt somewhat lacking.
The sections when Mila and husband Ethan are travelling to Bavaria for her sisters wedding, only for the car to break down was quite gripping. Things got even more intense after staying the night in a boarded up resort only for Ethan to have disappeared. Mila's isolation is really well handled!
It's once the book tries to add an element of mystery along with flashbacks to Mila and sister Jess relationship that I found less interesting.
The cover picture gives a different impression as to what the book is actually. Whilst it didn't entirely grip me, it was still an entertaining read.
Mila and Ethan have travelled abroad for her sister's wedding. Anxieties plague Mila's mind about their late arrival and the treacherous driving conditions. She has taken much from her sister, including the limelight on many former occasions, and is determined that this won't be a repeat of time's past. When their rental car breaks down and they are forced to take shelter in an abandoned village in the middle of nowhere this seems likely. However, when Mila awakes, freezing and alone with Ethan no-where to be found, other fears begin to overshadow the concerns for her sister.
I remained hooked from start to finish and found this eerie, unsettling, and gripping throughout. The isolated setting, the freezing weather conditions, and Mila's lack of knowledge about where her husband was or what was actually occurring had me as eager to gain a resolution for her ordeal as she was. I felt as haunted as Mila herself did and Goodwin did a great job of crafting an atmospheric, claustrophobic, and entirely unnerving reading experience.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, Sarah Goodwin, and the publisher, Avon Books, for this opportunity.
Wow, absolutely loved this book, from start until finish. I have read Sarah Goodwin's two previous books and loved them both so was looking forward to reading The Resort.
This book does not disappoint. The Resort has the same, if not more mystery, intrigue and suspense. I was immediately drawn to the characters in the book and the location and loved every minute of this rollercoaster ride which had so many unexpected twists and turns I couldn't get enough of it.
Mila is on her way to her sister's luxurious wedding at a mountain resort in Bavaria. Mila and her husband Ethan get a little lost on route when their sat nav gives up in their hire car and the car breaks down and wont restart. They find shelter in some old nearby abandoned cabins and decide to sleep there as its getting very late and the weather is drawing in, and all seems very eerie. However the next morning Ethan has disappeared, but there are no footprints in the snow...
A big thank you to Avon Books UK for the opportunity to read and review this book. I'm really looking forward Sarah's next book.
Holy moly! I am so pleasantly surprised. This book was actually good 😁. It’s been awhile since I enjoyed a thriller as much as this one. 5 stars just for new and interesting material. It’s not literary classics by any means but it was a yay for me.
The minor nit picky things…The name. It should’ve been called The Village or something else. The Resort didn’t fit. There are some redundancies in the first 3/4ths of the book. Kind of hard not to be with a single narrator all by herself dealing with the elements and possibly something or someone else for several days.
Most thrillers, you wonder why wouldn’t someone do something or not do something etc. Thankfully, Mila wasn’t an idiot and made fairly wise decisions but to be honest, I would have probably went for a long as* freezing walk up the road until a car eventually came by. But, I will give her props for being very brave and having a serious pair of cajones. So, not much to nit pick.
I really don’t want to say much about the plot (read the synopsis) because so much could be given away but this one was a creepy, well plotted and smartly written thriller that I couldn’t stop listening to. It was also a very random and good winter find that I had heard nothing about.
An atmospheric, claustrophobic, blood freezing journey to a destination wedding gone wrong.
Mila and Jess have a strained sister relationship, but regardless of this, Jess invites Mila and her husband Ethan to join them at an all expense paid destination wedding in Germany. Mila (notoriously late to everything) is determined not to be late to her sisters wedding when she finds they are lost, the car has broken down, and a terrible snowstorm is coming. Trudging along she sprains her ankle, further slowing them down, when they happen upon an abandoned village of six huts. No help or hope in site they bunker down in one only for Mila to wake up alone and cold. Ethan is missing. And that’s not all Mila will be up against.
Told in alternating views from Mila in her current situation and flashes from the past, this engaging thriller will have your blood running cold as you battle the elements and fight for survival right along with Mila.
The ending will blow you away!
Highly recommended for people who like spine tingling chills, cat and mouse tension, creepy abandoned towns and horrific surprises around every corner. A perfect one to grab up in chilly January of 2023!
Thank you so much to #NetGalley, the author and publishers for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.
Perpetual screw-up Mila & her husband Ethan are enroute to her sister's destination wedding at a beautiful mountaintop retreat in Bavaria. After picking up the hire car, Mila falls to sleep whilst Ethan drives & when she wakes up, they are lost. As they pull over to get their bearings, the car engine dies & they can't restart it. The weather is turning cold & snowy & no cars have come past whilst they have been there, so they decide to head down to a village signposted on a nearby post.
When they reach the village, it is obviously deserted but as it's too late for anything else, they decide to break into & sleep in one of the empty cabins. It's not easy but they finally fall to sleep, but when Mila wakes up hours later, Ethan has disappeared. The snow outside shows no sign of Ethan having gone outside so where is he? And why does Mila feel as if she is being watched by someone or something in the deserted village?
The narrative is from Mila's point of view & we get the present-day & an occasional flashback to Mila & her sister's childhood. Mila is a difficult main character to like at first as she seems to have been the 'golden child' whilst her sister was the scapegoat & she really played into that, but Mila really wants to make it up to her sister & give her the wedding of her dreams.
It did irritate me that the blurb & the cover picture make you think it's a deserted ski resort, but it's not really, it's just a deserted village of 6 small wooden cabins. It was also pretty easy to work out what was going on, I had worked it out really quickly as the clues are all there, & just kept waiting for the realisation to dawn on the main character. The final few chapters certainly made up for the rest of the book in intensity & nerve-racking tension. 3.5 stars (rounded up).
Sarah, who hurt you??? 😭😭 Bruh. I’m ending 2023 off with my first 1 star review. Sorry, but I’m choosing violence today. I don’t know what I want back more, the time I spent reading this book or my 99 cents I used to purchase it. The ending was so predictable. I guessed the “twist” in the first chapter. The writing was also so annoying with all the repetitive questions being asked by the protagonist over and over again. I found my myself rolling my eyes with all the repeated questions…”Where is my husband? How did this get here? Who did this? Is someone watching me? Is it a ghost? Where is my husband? What happened to him? Where is my husband? What happened here?” Also, the word whilst was written 50 TIMES in this book. So unnecessary!! I really don’t get why this got such good reviews. I feel like the author did me dirty. I would have DNF’d had I not needed this to count towards my end of year reading goal. I’m salty. I’m about to go read Fourth Wing for some much needed pallet cleansing. Gah.
I’ve read and enjoyed Stranded by the same author, so was keen to read The Resort. The cover is quite nice and the title stands out, but I thought it looked very similar to other books in the genre.
Ethan and Amelia have travelled to Bavaria for Amelia’s sister’s wedding at a luxury ski resort. They get lost and end up in an abandoned village, then Ethan disappears. Amelia is left alone and terrified, feeling like someone or something is watching her. When she finds bodies she begins to fear for her own safety.
The book had a promising start, but once Ethan disappeared not much really happened for quite a chunk of the book. The story is mostly told from Amelia’s point of view. It alternates between the present day and her childhood, giving an insight into the difficult relationship between her and her sister. Towards the end of the book the pace picks up, but it felt like too little too late for me.
I couldn’t connect to any of the characters and found the storyline quite predictable. I had guessed a couple of key parts very early on and I was really disappointed with that.
I expected this to be a book I would race through and be keen to pick up and read, but this wasn’t the case for me.
Unfortunately, I wouldn’t recommend this book. The pace was too slow and the plot was predictable yet far fetched. However, I’m not put off the author and would read another book by her.
Thanks to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for a copy to review.
Its sometimes so much fun to be wrong - Sarah Goodwin tricked me with her plot twists in this novel. Good story of sisters who drifted apart over time and yet come together to support each other when its really necessary. Enjoyable read!
I did enjoy this book although I found the main character a little annoying and limp. She came across a very clueless and not able to think ahead. Apart from that it was a good story with a twist. I got it completed wrong and was suprised by the ending. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.
I was excited to read The Resort mainly because I love the idea of characters being stranded in the remote wilderness. I don’t think there’s anything much more threatening than blizzards and snowstorms keeping you stuck in one place. The cold seeping into your bones, the lack of visibility, the body’s senses being assaulted, and the subsequent confusion setting in. You begin to wonder if you’ve seen that shadow and question if you’ll ever see the blue of the sky again. I liked the main protagonist and her story of a torn childhood, but I couldn’t fully invest myself in the story for multiple reasons.
Mila and her husband Ethan are travelling to Bavaria for her sister’s wedding. It’s quite the lavish affair and she’s determined to get there on time. Unfortunately, she has the habit of arriving late for everything, I think she’d even be late for her own funeral if it was up to her. Her sister, Jess has paid for everything except their flights. Mila is determined that everything is going to go without a hitch. They’ve not had the best relationship growing up and things were left very fragile on their last meeting – at their mother’s wake.
The couple is hit with a catalogue of disasters on their way to the luxurious ski resort. First of all, the sat nav goes dark and they have no way to truly find their way to the resort. They didn’t think to bring maps with them, I mean why should they? Then the car won’t restart, and they are forced to hike to the nearest village which turns out to be completely deserted. There are a few cabins, but all have been abandoned. They chose the most intact cabin to spend the night out of the storm but when Mila awakes the next morning Ethan has disappeared into thin air.
The main problem I had with The Resort was its believability of it. Now, I know with reading fiction you have to suspend belief a bit, but I felt this was pushing it a bit too far. I think I would have questioned more about the situation I had found myself in whereas I felt Mila got taken away by the wind a little.
I enjoyed the way the author described the brutal weather, I myself could almost feel the chill and the wet clothing seeping into my blood. I felt sorry for her and her situation and could feel her desperation seeping through the pages. It was a solid read and I’ll definitely check out her other novels.
There is something so creepy and atmospheric about this book. From deep under my covers, I peeked out to read the story. I could feel shivers crawling up my spine.
Synopsis: Mila and Ethan are traveling to a luxurious ski resort to attend her sister's wedding. As they drive through deep snow, everything proceeds smoothly until the car stalls.
As night begins to set in, they walk back to some cabins they saw on the route. They find it difficult to take shelter because cabin windows are boarded up and the buildings are in disrepair. They seem eerily out of place, but have no choice but to break into one to stay overnight.
Upon waking up the following morning, Mila discovers that Ethan is nowhere to be found. She has no one to turn to for help. It seems that she is all alone...or so she thinks.
Final thoughts: It gets under my skin to think of being stranded alone in a snowstorm. While not the scariest book I have read, the setting and plot twists played on my psyche. The novel held my attention and kept me turning pages quickly.
The Resort by Sarah Goodwin is available on January 5th. (4/5)
Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books UK, for sharing this nail-biting thriller with me. Your kindness is appreciated.
This started off promising and fell flat on its face. There were so many things that irritated me about this book, I only finished it because I wanted to see if the beginning had any relevance to the end… it didn’t, and I don’t like leaving a book unfinished. The characters are bland and unlikeable. The constant ‘I must make Jess feel good. Jess must not worry about me. Jess must not be upset. Jess must be priority’ got old about 10% into the book. A large chunk of the book is in Witwerberg, and had the potential to be really good, however it became monotonous and boring very quickly. Ethan’s disappearance seemed like it was going to be interesting but when it was revealed what had happened to him I felt let down and also confused… how long was this tunnel that it lead so far away from witwerberg that it was then close to a seemingly busy road and the resort? Why were the police not involved in the search for her after her husband turned up having claimed to have crawled through said tunnel? Why was Witwerberg in an actual local guidebook but the local police had never heard of it?? Why did she so easily Google the town when she got home and found it but they could do a map view of the resort and find the abandoned town?! Soooooooo many plot holes. Mila, Amelia, Millie, Mils (whatever the lead characters name was, which changed constantly) seemed like a complete drip as soon as the book began. Her weird thing about germs that seemed to completely overtake the need for actual survival with the refusal to eat snow melt unless it was boiled (? Girl you literally are seemingly dying in an abandoned village with no food or drink. Drink the bloody snowmelt) and her internal monologues (often about how she needed to make sure her disappearance and impending death didn’t affect Jess’s wedding) were irritating and I felt myself skipping paragraphs to get to any semblance of drama to keep me interested. She seemed to be right in the thick of potentially being murdered, then all of a sudden through the tunnel, rescued by hikers, and being maid of honour for her sister (who the hell gets married less than 24 hours after their sister is found after being missing for a week??) The ending was disappointing. It made no sense at all, seemed to unfold suddenly, yet at the same time very slowly (I think that is down to me just wishing the book would finish). I just can’t believe there are 5 star reviews for this. It had so much potential to be a great thriller but really felt like the author had merged a number of ideas into one and couldn’t quite find her direction. Shame.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Massive spoilers - Mila awakes to find herself alone in a cabin in an abandoned village after a series of events lead her and her husband to shelter there. Where has her husband gone? Why is someone watching her? Why is someone trying to kill her? Why are there bodies? Why are there so many ways she shouldn't have survived her ordeal? Why are there such huge plot holes? Why isn't her disappearance taken more seriously by the hotel, who should be familiar with search and rescue in a snowy mountain resort. Why didn't her disappearance taken more seriously by her sister, OR her husband. Even when you have gotten this far in the story itself and haven't read the rest of it, this is the prevailing thought in my mind. The hotel would have called in a search and rescue team who would have been well versed in finding missing people, especially when a tourist is involved. The smoke didn't give them any hints, maybe?? A very drawn out ordeal, for both the character and the reader
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This started out promising, and I was quite eager to keep reading until half the way in. I was pretty sure what was going on, but then I thought, surely not. Hasn’t this been done before? Too often?
I kept reading, because the writing was fairly decent. And was even ready to give it 4 stars at one point. But when I finished, I was ultimately disappointed. I had guessed most of it way too early. One complication I foresaw, didn’t happen. Kudos for that anyway.
If you’ve never read another suspense novel you may be surprised by the ending. But don’t be surprised if you’re not.
The first thing I did, after reaching the end of this book, was go back to the beginning, to the prologue, and read the thing once more. Because, last night, lying in bed, with just the last chapter to be read, I realised I was not seeing how that prologue fitted the entire story. I had my suspicions and now, with the whole book read, I think it’s safe to say I was right: the prologue is not about main character Mila, but someone else. And this is where I say this kind of annoyed me. What is described in that prologue doesn’t happen in the story, so I was confused. Now that I have understood, I’m wondering if it was the best idea for a prologue.
Another gripe with this book is the title. The story does not take place at a resort, at least not most of it. There is a resort, but where Mila and her husband end up in the beginning of the story is not a resort, it’s an abandoned little village. ‘The Resort’ as a title give a completely wrong idea.
And let’s not get into the cover of the book which is very in line with the title, but not with the story.
So I’ll ask for the umpteenth time: why do publishers do this? What is the point of a misleading cover and title?
Anyway, regarding the story, which does not take place in a resort, I felt a little bored for almost the entire first half. In my opinion, Mila’s husband, Ethan, disappears quite soon in the story and then we just follow Mila around as she tries to get a grip on the situation. The second half was a bit better because there are a lot of things happening and also revelations.
But the whole story didn’t work very well for me. The first part dragged for a while and we only understand what happened to Mila and what she experienced through someone else’s perspective. Because another character explains everything. Mila’s perspective was muddled and didn’t give away much. So I’m in two minds with the revelations.
I did like to see how the relationship between Mila and her sister, Jess, evolved. There are some chapters describing events from their childhood, how Mila was a difficult, yet spoiled, child, how their parents treated both girls differently, and I found those interesting.
But I still find the whole thing was resolved pretty quickly, given everything that happens and what is revealed.
Two and a half stars (rounded up to three) for this one. And wondering if I should still give it a go to another Sarah Goodwin book.
Mila and her husband Ethan are heading to her sister Jess' wedding when their rental car breaks down. They then find themselves stranded during a snow storm in a deserted village in Germany. While having no cell phone service, they decide to wait it out and sleep in a decrepit cabin for the night. When Mila wakes up the next morning, Ethan has vanished. She tries to search for him, but he is no where to be found. Where did he go??
I was so blown away at the beginning of this book, I could not stop reading! I would say the less you know about this book, it's better going into this one. I am a huge fan of Sara Goodwin and I am so happy I was able to be one of the first people to read THE RESORT. I will be recommending it to my friends and fellow book lovers!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Avon Book, 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.
Mila en haar echtgenoot zijn op weg naar de bruiloft van haar zus, die plaatsvindt in een luxueus skioord. Voor het eerst in tijden heeft ze het gevoel dat ze haar leven weer op de rails heeft – het contact met haar zus is weer goed en ze is gelukkig met Ethan. Dan valt de auto stil, midden op de weg, hoog in de bergen – de motor wil ook niet meer starten.
Mila en Ethan zijn gestrand. Omdat ze geen bereik hebben stappen ze uit de auto en lopen terug naar een afslag die naar enkele blokhutten leidt. De houten huisjes zijn vervallen en Mila krijgt het gevoel dat ze er niet langer dan nodig moeten blijven. Wanneer Ethan de volgende ochtend verdwenen is, blijkt haar akelige voorgevoel te kloppen. Nu is ze helemaal alleen, of lijkt dat maar zo?
'Het chalet' draait om Mila en Ethan. Ze zijn op weg maar de bruiloft van Jess, de zus van Mila, maar onderweg valt de routeplanner uit, krijgen ze autopech én sneeuwt het ook nog eens enorm. Ze besluiten uit de auto te stappen en in de omgeving naar hulp te zoeken. Niet veel later komen ze bij een verlaten plek aan en er staan alleen maar zes blokhutten. Mila en Ethan besluiten er de nacht door te brengen en dan is Ethan opeens in de ochtend verdwenen...
De spanning is eigenlijk al meteen voelbaar vanaf het moment dat ze op de verlaten plek komen. Je voelt gewoon dat er iets is, iets slechts. En als Ethan plotseling verdwijnt, wordt het nog mysterieuzer. Af en toe kreeg ik echt een 'spooky' gevoel. De verlaten omgeving is goed omschreven en je voelt de paniek van Mila.
Ook ga je af en toe terug in de tijd en lees je meer over hoe Jess en Mila zijn opgegroeid. Na een tijdje kreeg ik toch een bepaald vermoeden, dus misschien dat het verhaal een klein beetje voorspelbaar is, maar... de sfeer vond ik echt goed omschreven en ik wilde eigenlijk niet stoppen met lezen.
'Het chalet' is mij dus goed bevallen en ik wil @amboanthos heel erg bedanken voor het recensie-exemplaar!
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.