Speculative thrillers are where it's at!! I couldn't put this one down and thought it was a very strong debut novel. Not only was this a page-turning thriller, but I loved the way it managed to look at deeper topics of immigration, refugees and climate change with excellent characters. Thank you so much Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC of this excellent novel!

I really loved the premise of this book and really enjoyed time spent with Ess. I loved the themes of identity and self, but felt like the added layers of immigration, climate emergency, and tech privacy was a bit overloaded. It was like a really good meal, but they gave you WAY too much of the sides. I really wanted this book to focus on the concept of self and identity more than it did.

I loved Yori and Rene. Yori was the kind of woman I'd want as my friend - she will show up for you no questions asked and quite accepting of even the most ridiculous of experiences. She's a good one to have. Rene was understated but so purposeful. I liked and trusted him.

I liked Hito, but I really wanted him to be in therapy. He took on way too much responsibility for things people never asked of him and then seemed to resent them for not meeting his expectations.

I found the writing to be engaging and accessible. The author wrote everything I needed to be exactly where she wanted me to be. I could see it and I loved that.

Overall, 4/5 and I will absolutely be on the look out for Lisa's next book!

Thank you NetGalley for the giving me the chance to read and review this author's book. It was a great read from a debut author. Hoping for more books to come!

Very strong debut novel from Lisa Brideau. Ess wakes on a sailboat off the coast of British Columbia, alone, with no memories, and a note that says: Start over. Don't make yourself known. Don't look back.

Set in the near future where climate change has caused a global crisis, Ess soon realizes that there are others like her---people who have waken up on a boat with no memories. How and why is this happening to people? Is Ess a victim? And why is someone following her?

Nicely paced plot that follows Ess's attempts to navigate a life with no memories, and if she should try to recapture her memories, or is there a good reason she shouldn't?

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC!

Adrift is a compelling speculative thriller that reckons with the climate crisis in a deeply human way. The story follows Ess, who wakes up on a sailboat up the coast of British Columbia having lost her memory. As she fights to understand herself and her place in a Canada that is much changed by a climate-driven refugee crisis, we're pulled through a gutsy mystery about identity and the role it might plays in a post-apocalyptic future.

Thank you to the publisher for my copy - all opinions are my own.

I totally went into this one blind, and I think I am glad I did. 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 is such a great speculative thriller! and a debut?! so good! I was rooting for the heroine the entire time and couldn't put it down. I recommend this for anyone who is looking for a dystopian thriller with depth.

Good storyline. A new author for me. Great characters. Look forward to more by this author. Kept me entertained and wondering what was going to happen

3.5 stars! The premise and location for this story hooked me instantly -- a woman who wakes up on a sailboat with no memory of who she is? And a note that hints at the danger from which she's running?

The setting was fabulous. As someone who has lived and travelled in the Pacific Northwest, I loved seeing these locations come to life on the page. There were a lot of sailing elements to the story, which occasionally dragged for this non-sailor, but were interesting to learn more about, nonetheless. Set in the future, we also see a world impacted by increasing climate change -- and this was fascinating. I thought the amnesia refugees created a unique plot that will leave readers thinking about the long-term impact we're leaving on the environment.

While I enjoyed the writing, the characters, and the premise -- the pacing was slow and it took too long for me to get into the actual story. From the start, we see that Ess is on the run from someone or something. But while this was partially dealt with, I wasn't satisfied with the ending. Perhaps this was a more realistic outcome to the story but I did feel cheated by the promised suspense that was built at the beginning.

Overall, this was a strong debut. I would recommend it for those who enjoy slower-building thrillers with unique premises!

Adrift by Lisa Brideau was a bit different than I was expecting. Ess slowly wakes up on a sailboat in the Pacific Northwest with no memory of who she is or what has happened. She finds a note that warns her to start her life over and not to call attention to herself. She is advised to go and live a quiet life. Ess is confused and wants answers about her life. Who was she and where was her family? She has a boat, means of survival, and money.
Ess begins to seek some answers and later notices a stranger who seems to be watching her. Is he a friend or an enemy? The plot of the story is very interesting as Ess and her past self begins to try to reconcile. Some memories slowly ping back into her mind. She must make choices to either leave a mostly unknown past behind or pursue the truth she ran from.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the opportunity to read this book. The publication date is May 9, 2023

Let me begin by saying that this was an excellent book. If it hadn’t been about 20 pages too long, it would have been an instant 5-star book. As it was, I’m giving it 4.5 stars.

The story of Ess and her amnesia was compelling, and I read this in just over a day. I also appreciated how Ess’ story showed the inherent grayness of being a human. No one is purely good or purely evil, but we don’t typically allow for this.

Another nice touch was setting it 15 years in the future. Being able to show how devastating climate change continues to be — and how quickly it escalated — will hopefully help some ‘important’ people make the right decision.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

I was initially drawn to ADRIFT because of the local PNW setting. As the reader, we are given very little information to go on (just iike our main character Ess) and kept in the dark for most of the book.

A good debut novel with an interesting premise and an enjoyable story, However, I felt that it took a bit too long to really suck me into the story.

Thank you to Netgalley, author and publisher for my #arc! I will definitely be keeping an eye out for Lisa Brideau's next novel!

This book was a great read. Solidly in the speculative thriller genre, leaning toward women’s fiction for less suspense than expected. But don’t get me wrong, it was enjoyable.

Sarah wakes up alone on a sailboat on the Pacific Coast and has no memory of anything that’s come before. She has to piece together her story, and decide whether knowing her past is more important than making a future.

I really liked getting to see how Ess figured life out as an amnesiac. How she saw what was important, how she made judgments, how she used the resources available to her, and how she approached personal relationships. Her first sailing excursion after she woke up had me terrified for her!

Solid read that made me a little worried about boat trips…

Adrift is such a different kind of read. It’s a thriller with a touch of sci fi thrown in.

I did enjoy this one but it took me a while to get through it.

Ess is a cool character and the premise here is intriguing. Memory loss on a boat. It is tons of sailing jargon that I really didn’t care about but you might if you sail.

Overall I’m glad to have read this one and find it to be an interesting and worthy debut!

Thanks for my review copy!

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. A woman wakes up on a boat. She cannot remember anything about her life at all. She has a note with instructions. But. Who is she? Where did she come from? Is she in danger? And the pages keep turning in anticipation from there. Highly recommend. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

3.25/5 stars. As a former sailor in the Navy, I actually really appreciated all the sailing references and terms. But I can see where this would be exhausting to the common reader. The storyline is phenomenal. The idea that someone had their memory wiped and was left only vague instructions to keep safe alone on a boat in the middle of the ocean, is both exciting and new. It felt like it took too long for the story to go anywhere. This was a great first effort, but I'm hopeful future stories feed the story at a more reasonable pace.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

I loved the premise of this book but it fell flat for me. I had trouble getting into it and kept putting it down. I couldn't figure out why because the writing was solid. As I picked it up again and again and got a little more intro it, I figured out my issue with it, it is more sci-fi and speculative than I like. If I'm honest, I don't like or read any speculative or sci-fi.

But if you are into sci-fi, you just may enjoy this book.

Ess wakes up on a boat with no memory of her previous life or how she got there. She finds a note telling her this is the only way to keep her safe. When no memories come back she starts searching for answers. She sails to a new island, realizing she’s a skilled sailor, and starts to feel like she’s being followed. She also starts to read news stories about amnesia refugees who wake up just like her, but with no identification. With the climate constantly causing storms, floods and much worse everyone starts to worry these refugees are doing something nefarious to skip visa lines. Is Ess one of these refugees or is she running from something much more dangerous?
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I really really enjoyed this book. It is beautifully written and the story of Ess is so enthralling. It’s also set on the future so it’s a little scary to think about happening. I love that Ess makes meaningful relationships while searching for answers of her past. She also is very trusting for someone who can’t remember anything. She is selfless and even when she gets an idea of who she was before, she continues to be trusting. Overall, a beautifully written thriller
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

There was so much sailing/boating detail in this book that it left me very bored. I wasn’t invested in figuring out what happened, and I found the main character to be really difficult to root for. I understand she lost her memory, but she was so wishy washy that I couldn’t follow her choices. This was really difficult to get through.

SUPER cool premise. The plot absolutely pulled me right in. The beginning was a little bit slow, it did seem to take me a little to get into, but I’m glad I stuck with it. Definitely thrilling and it hit I point where I didn’t want to put it down. Again, the premise was just so freaking creative and nothing I’ve read about before, so I was definitely satisfied.