“Because ours had been one of the last lifeboats to be launched, the water before us was congested. I saw two boats collide as they tried to avoid a mass of floating debris, and a calm center of my mind was able to understand that Mr. Hardie was aiming for a patch of clear water away from the rest. He had lost his cap, and with his wild-looking hair and fiery eyes, he seemed as suited to disaster as we were terrified by it. ‘Put yer backs into it, mates!’ he shouted, ‘show me what yer made of!” ...

The law of survival is always controversial. And so is the writing in The Lifeboat. Charlotte Rogan tackles a very sad and horrific subject: a shipwreck and the desperate need for salvation among the few surviving passengers during and after the maritime tragedy. The plot and its development are fast-paced, smooth, and utterly compelling. The Lifeboat grabs you and refuses to let go. Everything unfolds quickly, terrifyingly, sadly humanly, and quite shockingly. Yet, there's a certain missing e...

Oh boy... This author has a new book coming out... I can't help but wonder if I'll be less cynical when I read it. I was dying laughing—rolling on the floor laughing—sharing all my thoughts about "The Lifeboat" with my husband, and later my kids. Something about it hit a giggle nerve. I was rewriting this novel as fast as I was reading it in my head! (Mine was a comic tragedy, of course—mostly heavy on the comedy). I never understood why "The Lifeboat" was so popular for a while. Maybe for a gre...

Imagine 39 souls crammed onto a woefully inadequate lifeboat, adrift for a harrowing 21 days. In *The Lifeboat* by Charlotte Rogan, we're given a stark glimpse into how tragedy can warp and reveal the true nature of different personalities. The story unfolds through the eyes of Grace, a 22-year-old newlywed, who is not only a survivor but also stands accused of murder. She and her husband were aboard the ship, their marriage a secret due to the disparity in their social standing – his family wea...

Rating: 3.875* out of five stars **The Publisher Says**: Grace Winter, 22, is both a newlywed and a widow. She is also on trial for her life. In the summer of 1914, the elegant ocean liner carrying her and her husband Henry across the Atlantic suffers a mysterious explosion. Setting aside his own safety, Henry secures Grace a place in a lifeboat, which the survivors quickly realize is over capacity. For any to live, some must die. As the castaways battle the elements, and each other, Grace re...

I flew through "The Lifeboat" and enjoyed it while I was reading, but then I got to the end and just thought, "Huh." That’s it. Just… "huh." It left me with no other thought except a sort of neutral feeling that I was glad it was over and I could move on to the next book. So, is it enough for a book to be entertaining as you read it, and then completely forgettable? I suppose that *should* be enough, but this is territory that Alfred Hitchcock has already explored, and done better. Where Hitchc...

I went into "The Lifeboat" by Charlotte Rogan with incredibly high expectations; the plot sounded fantastic. The story centers around 39 souls adrift in the vast ocean, crammed into a lifeboat after a mysterious explosion rocks their ocean liner – imagine the Titanic sinking. Grace Winter, a newlywed suddenly widowed, finds herself among them, struggling for survival on a tiny lifeboat never meant to hold so many. How do 39 people, with clashing viewpoints, meager water supplies, and even scarce...

Let's set the scene: it's 1914, and 39 people, including our narrator Grace, are adrift in the Atlantic in a lifeboat never meant to hold so many. Their supplies are dwindling, and the chance of rescue feels slim. But for us, the story really kicks off later, when Grace is about to stand trial, her life hanging in the balance. To prepare, Grace has to dredge up every memory she can of what happened on that lifeboat, and when. What unfolds is a gripping, believable, and utterly harrowing survival...

Honestly, *The Lifeboat* by Charlotte Rogan was a bit of a letdown. I'd seen some glowing reviews and was really drawn in by the premise: a young woman survives a shipwreck in the Atlantic in 1914, and then there's this intense power dynamic that develops among the people crammed into the lifeboat. Sounds gripping, right?I'm usually all over survival stories and books that explore what happens when civilized society crumbles, but this one was a real slog. First off, the writing felt surprisingly...

1914.The Atlantic Ocean.39 people.One lifeboat.Where people stop being polite and start getting real.Oh, yeah...I loved this book. It's a gripping survival story with all the twists and turns of a well-crafted mystery. Alliances form, motives are hidden, lies and misdirection rule the day, and the harsh conditions push even the best people to the edge, making them a little crazy and untrustworthy.The premise is brilliant, and Charlotte Rogan writes it beautifully. The story is framed around a su...