I loved this book so much! The twist and turns were crazy and I couldn't put it down at all. I also liked that it brought climate change to the foreview.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review!!

I love a good thriller that's set in an isolated location, and the synopsis of Adrift made it feel like it would mostly take place on a boat in the ocean. Except, it's not. The synopsis does mention the main character landing in a small town in search of answers, but what I wasn't expecting was that it was going to happen so soon. I fully expected a solid part to be set on the boat. Maybe I just misunderstood the premise here.

The other area I was expecting - this is set in the future. 2038 to be exact. While it is a thriller, I would classify this more as a sci-fi/dystopian novel. With that said, I found parts entertaining. There was some good mystery to it, and questioning what was going on, but more often than not, I found myself zoning out and curious when more action was going to start happening. I stuck with it because I really wanted to find out Ess' backstory and why her memory was gone. After finishing it, I kind of wish I DNF'd it. The ending was a real letdown, at least for me. Readers do get answers, but I was hoping for something more exciting than what it was.

I did like Brideau's writing style and while I was uninterested in the plot itself, she did keep the story well-paced.

Was I crazy about this? No. Would I read something else by her? Absolutely. I honestly think this was just one of those books that wasn't for me, but others will probably love.

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the eARC.

Ess suddenly awakens alone on a sail boat in Canada with no memory of how she got there. She finds a note that says "Start Over, Don’t make yourself known, Don’t look back."

Her memory is fuzzy and she can't remember how or why she's there. She starts to follow clues. But how far must she go for answers?

This was a different type of book about amnesia. I enjoyed her journey to figure things out about who she is etc.

Great ending.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Adrift by Lisa Brideau
Rating: 3.5 stars
Pub Date: 5/9

Ess wakes up on a sailboat in Canada with no memory and a note that tells her not to go digging into her past. It seems that she wanted to get rid of her memories, but why? And should she start over like the note suggests or try to figure out who she is?

After Ess decides to try and find out what exactly happened to her, she learns that there are other people with amnesia like hers and that there might be people looking for her.

I wouldn’t classify this as a thriller but more of a slow-burn mystery. It was a little confusing at first, but that’s to be expected while Ess tries to figure out where her memory went. I really liked putting the puzzle pieces of the mystery together, the sprinkling of romance, and the picturesque landscapes of British Columbia. The story was well-written and easy to follow, and I enjoyed the futuristic, dystopian vibe.

This is not my usual genre, and the extreme storms and the discussion of climate change being the cause stressed me out. I also think there were just a few too many sailing references that went right over my head.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read that had me on the edge of my seat. I would definitely recommend this one to readers who enjoy a good mystery. Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Landmark for my ARC to read and review.

I really enjoyed this. Ess wakes up on a boat with a splitting headache and has no idea who she is. No memory of her past, her name, how she ended up on the boat, nothing. Other tidbits: this is set in the year 2038 or so, and we have done so much damage to our planet that catastrophic things are starting to happen. The book is set in Canada, and everyone else in the world seems to be migrating that way. However, Canada isn’t letting everyone in at once. People with amnesia start popping up on ships with no ID and no money. Are people taking this extreme measure to skip the immigration line? Is Ess part of this?

Things to know – it’s a slow burn. The synopsis compares it to The Last Thing He Told me, and I couldn’t agree more. Things do happen, but we are focused on what is going on with Ess and character development. This isn’t a thriller. I still loved it. I also loved the climate aspect. There are areas where the book discusses memory and how it works, and I can see some people not loving that. Me? Yep, still loved it.

Excellent debut by this author.

Such a great debut novel!
I felt the fear and panick Ess must have felt when she woke up and had no memory.
This book had so many of the things I love!
-mystery
-short chapters
-intrigue
-suspense

It also really makes you think about the world we are living in and what the future could bring.
Great debut novel!
Thanks to Netgalley, sourcebooks and Lisa Brideau!

I picked this one up last minute and went in completely blind. I wasn't expecting the dystopian/sci-fi premise of this story, but I liked how the author put the reader into a future where climate change is causing increased weather craziness. I wasn't a huge fan of the "amnesia" trope, but it did make the story better in this case. I really need to have a sequel to this novel because I have so many unanswered questions!

So no spoilers, but be sure to get this one on your list. It's a bit of a slow burn, but totally worth the reading time!

Awakening

Adventure, danger. a sprinkling of romance and a mystery are in store with this story set in the wilds of Canada. A young woman wakes up in a sailboat with no memory of who she is or her life. This the story of her voyage to find out who she is.

The only thing she has to go on is a note left on the counter that says " Start over, Don't make yourself known, Don't look back." After finding a boat repair card slid in amongst the cabin of the boat she sails hundreds of miles to try and find answers.

In her quest she puts her life at risk and that of her new friend. She must make a choice to find her answers or save her friends life.

It is a story of a young woman reclaiming her life and rediscovering herself. A young woman in crisis and how the two help each other rediscover life.

I thought the characters were great, the story was interesting and fast moving. It was a bit scary that something like this really could happen. I did enjoy reading the book, it was quite different that what I usually read, but it is good for me to read something different once in a while.

Thanks to Lisa Brideau for writing a great mystery, to Sourcebooks Landmark for publishing it and to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy to read and review.

3.5 out of 5. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy.

Great premise and interesting mystery but was lacking the umph for me. I wouldn’t recommend it, but was glad I read it.

Imagine waking up alone on a boat, with no memory as to how you got there. In fact, you have no memories of who you are, where you're from, who your family is... Ess finds herself in that exact situation. A note left on the boat makes everything worse: this was all done to her on purpose.

I enjoyed this book, it was gripping from the very first page. It was more of a mystery than a thriller. Maybe a bit too much description of the sailing, which held no interest for me, but it was definitely a good read.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
*
Imagine waking up on a boat, not knowing where you are, and you have no memories of any events leading up to this point. This was such a unique storyline that is set in the future and incorporated almost a sci-fi effect to the story. The beginning is a little slow and I was trying to figure out which way the story was going to go. However, that being said, once you get past the first little bit and into the meat of the book, you won’t want to put it down. Overall, definitely a book I would recommend!
*
This review will be posted to my Instagram blog (read_betweenthecovers) in the near future!

I was surprised how much there was about sailing in this book! This was neither positive nor negative to me, just interesting. I wish this book had more thriller. I would describe it as a mystery mainly. And it was a slow burn. I think maybe the book was too long. The writing was good.

Ess wakes up in a sailboat adrift in the Pacific Northwest, all of her memories gone. Determined to figure out what happened to her, she sails miles and miles to the nearest town. Here she discovers that she’s not the only person who has woken up in a boat abandoned. As more and more of the story unfolds, Ess uncovers that unlike the others, she might have had a reason for wanting to start fresh… and that there are people after her. A puzzling mystery, “Adrift” by Lisa Brideau is interesting from start to finish.

Kind of love, but kind of stressed about the plot on this one. In general, I’m not a big “end of the world” type reader. This isn’t quite that extreme, but the future world that Brideau has created is stressful environmentally to say the least. That plus the futuristic drugs that can steal your memories. Definitely not stressed about that now…

But Ess’s journey to discover her identity and what happened to her was interesting from start to finish. More of a puzzle than a thriller, but still consuming. Unlike your normal memory loss book, Ess doesn’t have those random flashbacks or glimpses of what her life was like, it’s all just blank. This creates the main drive: who knows what happened?

In the end, this book didn’t have the ending I was expecting. Ess has to decide if she likes the life she has or if she wants to dive back into her past headfirst. Overall, it was a 4 star read for me!

Thanks to Sourcebook Landmark and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! This book comes out on May 9th!

This one was more of a mystery than thriller. The premise was cool to see the impact of climate change in the world in the future. But I’m not huge into sailing so it was tough to follow at some points

Is she Sarah Song? And who is Sarah Song? Those are the urgent questions facing a woman who wakes up on a sail boat- an expensive well equipped sail boat- in the Pacific Northwest off the coast of Alaska. There's a note telling her not to look for info about herself, ID, a cash card, and head ache pills. But she wants to know and, after finding a business card, sails alone to Nanaimo (gorgeous place in IRL btw) where she is eventually boarded by the Harbor Police who are looking for Americans hoping to skirt Canadian immigration requirements. Hito, the officer, asks her out and then introduces her to his sister Yori, an unstable but brilliant artist who helps her in the plan to find out the truth about herself. This ha all the elements of a thriller - and the sailing sections are great- but it was a little confusing with regard to why Sarah (or Ess as she begins to call herself) woke up on the boat (even when the answers come). And yes, there's a climate change theme but it largely stays in the background. That said, it was a page turner for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

This book pleasantly surprised me. Although it was not a thriller in my opinion, it was still a non stop edge of your seat read. I read this one in one sitting, I just couldn't not know why this happened to her and what would be the outcome. It was a bit on the slower burn side, but it kept its intrigue and mystery throughout.

Ess is a great character that gets to rediscover herself after waking up in the middle of the water with no memory at all. I loved how she grew and the relationships she created with Hito and Yori. I enjoyed the life lessons through it all. It is a big part the mystery of finding out who she was, but also learning to accept her new reality and reinventing herself.

This book was very well written, it was really engaging and the emotions were felt through the pages. Brideau has immense knowledge of sailing and boats, I really loved how it added to the story. The climate change reality was also very interesting and well done in my opinion. Of course her being Canadian and this book being set in British Columbia made me enjoy it even more.

If you're looking for a very well written, utterly engaging psychological mystery definitely don't miss out !

This one had so much potential but almost nothing happened during the entire book. At the very end, the story picked up but by that time I wasn't invested and it ended up being anticlimactic. It's a great premise for a book, but it unfortunately didn't deliver for me.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This book was pretty good!! I enjoyed it. The story was set in Canada in 2038. The climate was changing drastically. Ess wakes up on a little sail boat not knowing how she got there. She found this note telling her not to dig into the past. She has no idea who wrote it or why. She has no idea where she’s going or why she’s on a boat in the ocean. Why has ess lost her memories? And why doesn’t this person want her digging into her past?

DNF at 42%. While this book grabbed my attention at first, I quickly found myself skimming the text. To me it was overly technical with the sailing of the boat and I found the amnesia aspect to be repetitive without giving more information. Unfortunately, this book was just not for me.

Adrift is a fascinating and riveting story that takes place in the future, about a woman who wakes up alone on a sailboat in the remote Pacific Northwest with no memory of who she is or how she got there. She finds a note, but it's more warning than comfort: Start over. Don't make yourself known. Don't look back.

Sarah Jane Song tries to find her way based on the little information left for her. Choosing to go by Ess instead of Sarah, tries to do as the notes say to keep herself in the shadows as she quietly investigates what happened, and where she needs to go to find the answers. Not sure if she is a sailor or not, she reads everything she can about the sailboat she now owns in order to set sail. Nearly drowning in the effort, she sails to a town hundreds of miles away, where she begins again looking for answers.

Ess learns that there are over twenty-five victims just like her, no memory, headaches, and seizures. All of these people are being held in custody until the truth about the Amnesiac Refugees is learned. Ess is determined to discover how she is connected to this group of people and how to survive without her memories as well as staying free from capture.

This is a suspenseful and intriguing plot involving amnesia and the choices that come as a result. I thought it was well written with great characters. Looking forward to reading more from this author.