Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy #WildDarkShore #CharlotteMcConaghy #5Stars – Over The Rainbow Blog
Book Synopsis:
A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A storm gathering force.
Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny weather-lashed island that is home to the world’s largest seed bank. As Shearwater risks being lost to rising sea levels, the island’s researchers have fled, and only the Salts remain.
Until, during the worst storm in living memory, a stranger washes ashore. The family nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, but it seems she isn’t telling the whole truth about why she’s there. And when Rowan stumbles upon sabotaged radios and a recently dug grave, she realises that she’s not the only one on the island with a secret.
A novel of breathtaking twists and dizzying beauty, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love.
My Review:
Wild Dark Shore is an atmospheric, gripping and thought provoking read which I’ve continued to think about long after finishing it .
The story takes place on a remote, wild island off the coast of Australia which is slowly being claimed by the sea. The story is told through the point of view of the family that lives on the island and the mysterious Rowan who washes ashore during a storm. From the start things seem off on the island as Rowan discovers a fractured family cut off from the rest of the world, broken communication equipment and missing residents.
I thought the author did an amazing job with the descriptions of the isolated island that the characters find themselves on and I loved exploring it alongside them all. It often seemed like a character itself prone to quick weather changes that helped or hindered the characters and I wish it existed in real life as I’d love to be able to explore it myself. The family was just brilliant, especially the fabulous Orly and despite initially being a little apprehensive of them I slowly found myself falling in love with them as the story went on.
The mystery side of the story was really well done and I loved following Rowan as she slowly discovers all that has happened on the island. There were multiple twists that I didn’t see coming and sent the story in a completely different direction to what I had assumed which I always love. The ending, oh my goodness what an amazing ending! I was in tears as I read and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since I finished reading. I was very sad for the book to end as I really didn’t want to say goodbye to the wonderful family. It’s one of those books I’d love to see a sequel to (even though I know there never will be) as I just want to be able to spend more time with them.
Huge thanks to @canongatebooks for sending me a copy of this book. Highly recommended by me, don’t hesitate just read it!
About The Author:
Charlotte McConaghy is the author of the New York Times, USA Today, and Indie Bestseller WILD DARK SHORE, named Amazon’s Best Book of the Year So Far for 2025; as well as the New York Times Bestseller ONCE THERE WERE WOLVES, winner of the Indie Book Award for Fiction 2022; and the international bestseller MIGRATIONS, a TIME Magazine Best Book of the Year and the Amazon Best Fiction Book of the Year for 2020. Her books have been translated into more than 25 languages, and are being adapted for film and television. She lives in Sydney with her partner and two children.
