I had the opportunity to ARC read the new book by Megan Lally called ‘What we did to Survive’ through Netgalley. With this opportunity coming up I had to pause my 10 before the end challenge but that’s fine.

This is the second book I’ve read by Megan Lally, the first one was called ‘that’s not my name’ and was a good one. This book will be released in March of 2026. Let’s dive in to this one;

Hannah and Emmy have been best friends for years; they are more like sisters then anything else. When Emmy’s parents invite Hannah along for Autumn break to go to Puerto Vallarta because the two friends are almost done with senior year and will split ways after that; Hannah says yes.

Little did she know Emmy’s brother Jackson would tag along to, he would’ve been the reason to say no at the invite. Why? She’s had a crush on him that’s lasted a decade and is still an ongoing thing. Once in Puerto Vallarta the girls enjoy every second of it; daily spa treatments, sunbathing, secretly ogling Jackson when Emmy isn’t looking. While Emmy has had a different vacation boyfriend a day.

With her newest boytoy named Ben but Hannah will call him Mr. Moneybags; Hannah is used to being the third wheel and she doesn’t mind. She gets to do some exciting things and have some peace of mind. When Ben invited Emmy and Hannah to go sailing, the only condition Emmy’s parents will let them is if Jackson tags along; to Hannah’s dismay he does.

On the day of what was supposed to be a sunny and fun day filled with sailing, picnicking, snorkeling and swimming takes a turn for the worst when every commercial boat doesn’t set sail due to oncoming storms. The black clouds are rolling in but seem a couple of hours away which is why Ben sweet talks the three into trusting him because he’s found a private sailor that will take them out to sea.

Once at sea, Ben and Emmy only seem to have eyes for each other until it’s time to eat. Ben and the captain seem to be butting heads a lot which results in a fight. Hannah can’t believe they’ve gone on a boat with someone who seemed charming but looks like a psycho. Who actually has a smile on their face when breaking somebody else’s nose? Well, he did.

It all goes from bad to worse when the storm hits, the captain incapable of bringing them back to shore and no one else knowing how to operate a boat. No one even knows they went out to sea, so nobody will be looking. They go from one storm to another and from shipwrecked to being stranded on an abandoned beach. But only three of the 5 make it to said beach and only two of them will survive the encounter overall.

Who do you think will survive? What happens to the rest of them?

I’m giving this book ⭐⭐⭐⭐ stars.