I’ve honestly never read a book with this kind of plot line. I thought the idea of using amnesia was excellent and it really helped Ess find herself as a person.

DNF at 50%. There was so much boating/sailing talk that I just couldn't get into this. The main character had no motivation to find out what was going on with her so why would I care? I felt like the plot/premise seemed like it would be really strong starting out but just kind of fizzled as the book went on and got super bland. Not the book for me.

Special thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark & NetGalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

I will say this book is unlike anything I’ve ever read before. Set in the future of the 2030s and paints a lot of backstory of the climate crisis the entire Earth is in.

We meet Sarah as she awakes on a sailboat alone, and confused not knowing who she is or why she’s there. She quickly finds a note telling her not to dig up her past, and that she will not be able to remember anything from her prior life because her memory has been wiped.

After sailing to Nanaimo and meeting a Harbor Authority sailor named Hito, we start to watch Sarah (now going by Ess) try to unravel the story of how she came to be, and what is going on. She quickly befriends Hito and his sister Yori, and is on a thrilling chase to figure out who she was in her past life, and why this memory wipe, and fresh start was necessary.

Read like a true thriller, I could not put this book down. I kept telling myself one more chapter, as I read late into the night. The story ends with all your questions answered, which is something I really appreciate in a suspenseful story like this.

I think this book will for sure be one of the hottest thriller reads this summer!!

I really enjoyed reading this book. From the start the story grasps you with such a wild beginning, a woman waking up in the middle of the ocean with no knowledge of who she is and how she got there. With each page it helped you better understand who Ess truly was- smart, thoughtful and a truly good friend.

There were several parts in the book though that frustrated me: the intensity of the storms just seemed to be overdone but yet the damage was not mentioned again at all throughout the rest of the book. The meeting of Hito seemed so off its hard to think about someone immediately going on a date with an officer who just searched the boat of a "possible criminal".

Although there were holes in the book I find it easy to overlook because the book overall was a great read with lots of detail and an interesting story line. I would recommend this book.

I am still trying to work out my thoughts on this read. It is a slow burn that can be a bit muddled in the beginning. Which you can attribute to the main characters amnesia, you are just as confused as she is. Why is she waking up on a sailboat in the remote Pacific Northwest. She does not know her name, why she is bobbing around in the ocean, and what she is supposed to do. There is a note telling her not to look back, not to dig up her past, to move forward. If I was put into this position, I know I would want to know what my real name is and want to know my story. Ess of course decides to dig, having her sailing over traitorous waters. Dealing with the ever-climbing seas, and terrifying storms that are caused by climate change. Will she ever find out her story?

There were certain aspects of the book that bugged me. How can they clean up after category five hurricanes so fast? This my biggest hurdle of the book I could not overcome. If you enjoy dystopian novels, with complicated characters I would suggest this book. The mystery of who exactly is Ess is a fun one to be in the middle of. The people she meets along the way add an interesting element that makes you want to keep reading. Thank you to Lisa Brideau and Sourcebooks Landmark for my gifted copy.

This book hard to classify, but I wouldn't call it a thriller. It's more of a psychological mystery. I love the premise. The main character, Ess, wakes up on a sailboat, alone, and has no idea who she is. Her efforts to reveal her identity, layer after layer, are compelling. It's more of a slow burn than I would like, but it maintains its mystery and intrigue throughout.

The author's knowledge of sailing is obvious, and some of the best parts of the book are when Ess is re-learning how to sail and fighting the ocean alone on her boat.

I think adding more "thriller" elements would have improved the book overall.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

I very much enjoyed Adrift!
I found the premise very interesting, and the memory loss logically portrayed. I enjoyed all of the main characters, though especially Yori’s character. The pacing of the plot and the reveals of information were well handled; there were no bits of slowness of story and I was always wanting more information. The end was a little neat and tidy - the final “twist” was not a huge reveal, but was enjoyable and a sufficient end to a well-written story.

I liked the premise of this book and there were things that I found interesting about it but for some reason I just didn’t connect with it.

Maybe because Ess’ memory is erased and she doesn’t know anything about herself that it felt like there wasn’t much there to connect to?

It’s more plot driven and a little heavy on the info dumps. I found myself skimming sections and I wasn’t overly engaged in the story, I was more curious about the outcome.

One thing I did like about it was this feeling of hopefulness that Ess finds in starting her life over. It takes her awhile to come to terms with the loss of her old life but she begins to see it for the second chance that it is.

I know this is marketed as a thriller but I think it’s more a mystery... Sarah, who goes by Ess, is trying to remember who she is. She has no previous memory and the world is dealing with climate issues due to global warming.

The mystery was intriguing. I definitely wanted to know what Ess was going to do. Was she one of the amnesia refugees? Will she listen to the note or will she look back into how she got there? But just know it’s a slow burn mystery. It took me a little bit to become invested in the story and for it to actually unravel.

I like the sailing parts! They made for some tense moments when Ess was navigating through them. Even though I know nothing about sailing, it was nice to learn a little bit about it. Did it seem repetitive or drag sometimes with all the sailing? Yes. But I still enjoyed those moments.

Overall, it was a solid debut novel. I’d say go into this one as more of a mystery with some self discovery and you’ll be set. Don’t look at it as a thriller or you’ll be disappointed.

Upcoming D E B U T novel to put on your radar, “Adrift” by Lisa Brideau!

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

Sarah/Ess wakes up on a boat with terrible pounding migraine. She is all alone with no recollection how she got there .. and zero memory to boot. She finds a note onboard that urges her to move forward and NOT move back:

“There are pills in the drawer for the headaches. You want answers, but this has been done to keep you from them. This is the only way out alive. Start over. Don’t make yourself known. Don’t look back” 🤯

And with that, the downward spiral begins! This book is incredibly atmospheric, emotionally charged and touches on themes like climate change issues in the future, hidden identities and memory loss!

Thank you kindly to @bookbrideau @bookmarked @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This unique debut releases on May 9, 2023!

I wasn't totally expecting the slightly dystopian feel of a story set a decade into the future, where climate change is wreaking havoc on the world, and the main character finds herself waking up on a boat, alone, with zero memories of how she got there, who she is, or where she came from.

There isn't a good way to describe this book without giving too much away, other than to say the mystery of the amnesia refugees is totally compelling, watching Ess trying to find her way in a world where she knows nothing about herself was fascinating and I really enjoyed just rooting for her as she went. I liked the suspense aspect of Ess's past being a huge off-limits mystery that she is trying to solve and I have to say, I really liked how this story all came together in the end.

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!

This book was so refreshingly captivating. Set into the future the main character, Sarah but she goes by Ess wakes up alone on a sailboat. Her memory is gone, she doesn’t know how she got there but finds a note that says: Start over. Don't make yourself known. Don't look back.
The book takes place in the Pacific Northwest area of Canada. From the first chapter I was installed hooked to the mystery of what was happening. She struggles with wanting answers about her past life but also fear of who to trust to be able to find that information. Slowly as she uncovers a few details so more of the reason she is in the situation she is in becomes more apparent. This book was a thrilling read, the chapters flew by. The cover is also beautiful! Such a fantastic well written debut. The details of the story and location were well done. Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I'd long to thank the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC of Adrift.
I wouldn't call this a thriller but more of a mystery. This book was an interesting read. It takes place in 2039. The entire world is dealing with global warming, which in turn is causing a host of climate issues. All the climate issues are causing a mass amount of people to flee, and as a result there's a refugee crisis dealing with amnesia. Ess, short for Sarah, wakes up on a boat and cannot remember anything about her life. Ess is confused as she knows how to sail, is on a boat, and has money. Ess is determined to find out about her prior life and how she ended up on this boat.
This was an intriguing book, but as someone who isn't huge in sailing, it left my kind wandering at times. I did enjoy Adrift though. The pace built up as the story went along. The ending was great.

Adrift is a 2023 novel by Lisa Brideau. Readers follow Ess, a woman who wakes up on a sailboat in the middle of the ocean with no memory of who she is or how she got there. As she tries to piece together her past, she must also contend with the dangers of the open sea and the possibility that she may not be alone.

The book is well-written and engaging. Brideau does an excellent job of conjuring up a sense of suspense and mystery, and Ess is a sympathetic and relatable character. The setting of the open ocean is also well-realized, and Brideau does an excellent job of capturing the beauty and danger of the sea.

However, the book is not without its flaws. The pacing is a bit slow at times, and the ending is somewhat anticlimactic. Additionally, some of the characters are not as well-developed as Ess.

I can't think of many topics that are as imminently relevant as climate change and this book does an amazing job highlighting it.

That said, it's a bit slow to start. After the first few chapters though, I was hooked!

Synopsis (It's a fiction book, so it helps…from Netgalley, the provider of the book for me to review.)
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For fans of The Last Thing He Told Me comes a page-turning thriller about hidden identities and the terrifying realities of climate change.

The truth won't always set you free...
Ess 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. Ess must have answers. She sails over a turbulent ocean to a town hundreds of miles away that, she hopes, might offer insight. The chilling clues she uncovers point to a desperate attempt at erasing her former life. But why? And someone is watching her…someone who knows she must never learn her truth.
In Ess's world, the earth is precariously balanced at a climate tipping point, and she is perched at the edge of a choice: which life does she want? The one that was taken from her—and the dangerous secret that was buried—or the new one she can make for herself?
A galvanizing riddle that is just as unmooring as it seems, this sharp character-driven odyssey explores a future challenged by our quickly changing world and the choices we must make to save what matters most.
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There is nothing quite like a book with a heavy dose of climate change shaming involved...it actually annoyed me at times. We get it, we suck at protecting the planet and you are better than us: the whole mantra ended up turning me off and it was hard to truly enjoy the book when it was being shoved down one's throat. Terrifying reality? I guess so, if you have kids which is, frankly, the worst thing that you can do, climate-wise if you look at it in a nitty-gritty way. (Yes, Alex Baldwin I am calling you out on that!)

As a Canadian, I enjoyed the setting of Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii/Queen Charlotte Islands. The story was ***mostly*** enjoyable to read if you ignored the lecturing tone being hidden in a fiction book.

MOTR for me ... 2.5 stars rounded UP only because I was not overly ticked off at the moment about the mantra hidden behind the fiction.
#shortbutsweetreviews

I so wanted to like this book. However, it was so slow, contrite and predictable.
Everything was so tied up neatly I thought I was looking at a christmas present.
The main character Ess, is wooden (not because of the memory loss) but overall interactions with others, no chemistry between any of the characters.

Everything was just off with this book. The bad guys weren't really that bad. The amnesia wasn't all that was supposed to be.

it was just a meh thriller book.

I feel that with time that the author may get better, but this book is going to be a hard pass for die hard thriller/mystery fans.

This novel starts with an absolute bang, and only gets more complex and interesting from there.

<b>Ess 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: <i>Start over. Don't make yourself known. Don't look back.</i></b>

Imagine waking up on the floor of a sailboat, nauseated and with a pounding head... and worse, absolutely <i>no memory of who you are, or how you came to be there</i>. That's the situation our heroine, 'Ess' is in. She finds a few clues in the boat - a name 'Sarah Song' (which she takes only the diminutive 'Ess' from), a note that warns her not to ask questions or seek out her past, and a faulty water tank, leaving her dehydrated, frightened and unwilling to follow orders.

Setting out on a quest to find out who she is and why her memory has been erased takes Ess to the coast of Canada and to a cast of characters including a charismatic Harbour Authority patrolman named Hito and his compelling, messy and electric sister, Yori. Yori is easily one of the best (if not THE best) characters in the book, and I was always pleased when she sashayed back into the fray with her wit, anger, flaws and huge open wounded heart.

Being set in the future, on an earth that is on the cusp of disaster from climate change, made this novel feel all-too-possible and all the more terrifying for it. The action seems believable and every bit of Ess' struggle after realizing she can't even remember how to be a HUMAN rings true. Consequently, her relationships with Hito and particularly, with Yori, tugged on my heartstrings more than once.

In the end, this is more than a thriller, and the ending proves that. Without giving away too much, it's about finding your sense of self, when everything that was *you* has been ripped away.

Great idea for a story but I just didn’t love how it all came together. It seemed to go on in the wrong places and it felt like it fizzled were we needed more.

just finished reading the advanced readers copy of this book and I liked it a lot. Ess woke up with amnesia and it shows how she started a new life. The relationships she formed were endearing. Book is full of mystery and intrigue. Can’t wait to read more from this author.