This was actually pretty good. At first, it was intimidating and a little slow to get into, and it seemed like it would be a long book. But then, it picked up and I was able to read like it was nothing. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did, but I’m pleasantly surprised and I’m glad I’ve finally read it after it sat on my shelf for so long. It was fast paced and sad and dramatic and insane. Also I read this on a beach trip, which probably made it better, weirdly enough.

Apparently there’s a second book coming out this July, and I’m not sure if I’ll read it. I do want to see more of Esther and Nik and apparently there’s a love triangle. So I probably will end up reading it. Also the ending line of this is so, so good. It feels so final and I feel sentimental after reading it. And it makes me want to read more. So I probably will end up with the second book. 4 stars

Decades after the spread of a virus in Europe, cruise ships still linger in the harbors. Filled with generations of people - forced to stay aboard, never touching ground.
A rebellion has been rising for years - a quiet tide, inching closer and closer.
Esther studied for years, beside her boyfriend Alex, to be become a medic; desperately hoping to gain entrance to med school in the Federated States. Following every rule only to be snatched from her home. Brought to the side of a young man shot, bleeding out and poison in his veins.
Esther can't go back - she finds herself consumed with terror of the Coalies. May, her sister, drags her in farther.
Creative world building, human rights - just very well done and had me obsessed.

Life aboard a cruise ship turned refugee camp is less than luxurious, especially with governmental regulations and oversight placing strict restrictions on the residents who already have few options available to them, making conditions particularly ripe for a rebellion in The Stranded by Sarah Daniels.

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Aboard the Arcadia are residents descended from European refugees from an apocalyptic war that featured the dangerous spread of a virus; floating near the coastline of the Federated States, which fractured from the United States, there are limited ways to make if off the ship and finally reach land, and a potentially freer life: becoming a medic or cadet for the Federated States. Esther, a loyal citizen, has been working and studying hard to become a medic alongside her boyfriend Alex with the goal to make it to dry land shortly after her cadet sister May does but her entire life’s plan is drastically altered when events occur that bring her sphere together with Nik’s, who is a rebel deeply involved in the long-developing plans to liberate the Arcadia and its residents from the oppressive control of the Federated States, dished out on the ship by head of security, Hadley, and his prolific amount of spying drones. As Esther, unknowingly at first, becomes more deeply intwined with the rebellion after her initial interaction with Nik alliances begin to morph and priorities quickly change, the results of which will impact everyone aboard the ship.

Within a socially stratified society contained in a limited amount of space on a decrepit ship and in a surveillance state led by corrupted governmental powers, a dystopian world with advanced technology is detailed and the narrative has a propulsive momentum throughout moments of action where suspicions that had been slowly developing are eventually revealed as part of a much larger plot. While the characters themselves easily (if too overtly) fit within stereotypical roles common of the genre, they serve the purpose of quickly delineating for readers the “sides” of the fight yet to come to a head without reliance on more nuance to their development and potential growth, they were afforded some emotional complexities, through their backstories and interactions with one another as told through the chapter perspectives of Esther, Nik, and Hadley, that helped to make them feel a bit less like a generic placeholder. Though leaving endings of stories within dystopian societies open-ended is common and allows for readers to envision what might happen next, the conclusion of this narrative instead came across as abrupt and incomplete, without an adequate amount of resolution for the fate of the ship and its residents, and instead is heavily reliant on a sequel to complete and address the loose threads.

Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This had a slow start, and Alex made me so angry the reading sped up so that I could find out what his fate was.. In the end though I wanted more. I wanted to know what happened, it felt incomplete. I enjoyed the premise, and the characters drew me in. But i hate ambiguous endings, and it pulled the rating down as a result. This was still a solid read and I would recommend to those who like ambiguous endings.

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.