Wild Dark Shore - Charlotte McConaghy

Wild Dark Shore

By Charlotte McConaghy

  • Release Date: 2025-03-04
  • Genre: Fiction & Literature
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 1,776 Ratings

Description

REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK • INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • #1 AMAZON BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR SO FAR 2025

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR (NPR, TIME, USA Today,
The Economist, Scientific American, Good Housekeeping, Reader's Digest,BuzzFeed, BookRiot, HuffPost, Jezebel, The Globe and Mail, Kirkus, and more!)

"A breathtaking novel of ROMANCE, MYSTERY, AND TWISTS that will shock you...I love this book so much." —Reese Witherspoon
"A WILDLY TALENTED writer."
―Emily St. John Mandel
“Absolutely ASTONISHING. McConaghy's writing knocks me over every time.” —Fredrik Backman
“SPELLBINDING...Exceptionally imagined, thoroughly humane.” —Washington Post

A family on a remote island. A mysterious woman washed ashore. A rising storm on the horizon.

Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island not far from Antarctica. Home to the world’s largest seed bank, Shearwater was once full of researchers, but with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants. Until, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman mysteriously washes ashore.

Isolation has taken its toll on the Salts, but as they nurse the woman, Rowan, back to strength, it begins to feel like she might just be what they need. Rowan, long accustomed to protecting herself, starts imagining a future where she could belong to someone again.

But Rowan isn’t telling the whole truth about why she set out for Shearwater. And when she discovers sabotaged radios and a freshly dug grave, she realizes Dominic is keeping his own secrets. As the storms on Shearwater gather force, they all must decide if they can trust each other enough to protect the precious seeds in their care before it’s too late—and if they can finally put the tragedies of the past behind them to create something new, together.

A novel of breathtaking twists, dizzying beauty, and ferocious love, Wild Dark Shore is about the impossible choices we make to protect the people we love, even as the world around us disappears.

Reviews

  • Enjoyed

    5
    By Mahone67
    This was a wonderfully written book. Definitely not the type of book I would read normally, but so glad I did. Would love to read another book about this family and where they settled. Each sibling was such a surprise especially Orly!!!
  • Loved

    5
    By shans ipod
    The writing in this book was as beautiful as the images I conjured up from it. I loved how the natural beauty, animal and plant life were all described and more than that the characters in the book.
  • Seeds

    3
    By Pepino53jh
    Interesting story; I figured out where the storylines were going. Could not really connect with any of the characters, however.
  • Love

    5
    By mts456
    Breathtaking!
  • Wonderful Book

    5
    By Alan Walter
    Just a terrific read. An amazing blend of fiction and unfortunately non-fiction. Never have read anything quite like it but this will not be my last read from this amazing author.
  • Loved!

    5
    By eh1571
    Absolutely stunning!
  • Emotional

    5
    By nikxie l
    Very good all the way through but so incredibly emotional. Almost too much for me. But I guess that’s the point. Highly recommend
  • Loved this book!!

    4
    By BS2222
    Although I had some issues with consistency, I loved this book. It takes you on a wild, exotic adventure while discussing the inevitability of climate change and it’s affects on our world, all while having real feelings for the characters.
  • Special

    5
    By Susielf
    This book was really special. I read about 20 books each year, and this one stood out. It has an engaging writing style and an intriguing story. I definitely recommend.
  • Beautiful and haunting tale of isolation and intrigue.

    4
    By filmguyryan
    McConaghy does a masterful job of transporting the reader to a land a million miles away in a place we have never been and will never see. Despite this abstraction, each page feels as if we’re there. This rugged and unforgiving setting serves as the set piece in which a peculiar and driving mystery unfolds. As we move from character to character, each reveals a critical piece of the backstory.