This book was very different than I anticipated. Even though I read the synopsis and was aware of the theme, I expected more of a survival on the seas (sailboat) story. Great concepts and themes, though!

Hmm. So. Lots of thoughts about this one. I don't think amnesia thrillers are for me? Because I've only read one or two that have been done well. And this one, uh, let's just say I probably would've DNFed it if it hadn't been an arc?

This is an INCREDIBLY slow burn. I found the first third of this book so boring and ended up switching to something else because my brain refused to concentrate, it was so bored. (I was reading this at work and could only read so I didn't have any other options to get up and do something else and come back to it since work was slow.) The other two thirds weren't too bad. So I am glad I powered through. But I might also avoid amnesia thrillers in the future??

What I did really like about this book is the commentary on climate change. This is set in a future that could all too easily become a reality so, in a way, this read more like a horror story than anything. I liked that this book wrote a world that could easily exist (as much as I dearly hope it never does).

As a thriller though, I just wasn't a fan? This ended up being more of a mystery but the pieces were easy to assemble so I guessed all of the twists before they happened. This ultimately ended up being more about sailing than anything which really took the edge off the thriller aspect. It did get it back by the end though??

Overall, this was just pretty meh for me? It did get better after a VERY slow start but it ultimately didn't really stand out to me? I was mostly just glad to be done so I could focus on the other book I'd started as I was enjoying it more.

Anyway. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review!

In ADRIFT, Lisa Brideau, a sustainability specialist, has written a fantastic debut eco-thriller. It is fantastic in both senses of the word: well written and engaging, and also a fifteen year stretch into the future when global warming has changed the world's landscape. The setting is the Canadian coast, where refugees who have lost their homes to the rising oceans and heat farther south are arriving. Wild storms are pounding the coastline, each more unprecedented than the last, adding to the sense of life's fragility.

On the ocean, a woman wakes up alone on a sailboat with a horrific headache and no autobiographical memories. She has no memory of sailing in the past, but must find her way to safety in part by freeing her mind from logical constraints and letting her body's muscle memory take over. Throughout the book, she searches for an answer to the question of her past. Her efforts are successful enough that she knows she was part of something illegal. As she builds a new life, she grapples with the conflict between needing to know her past and becoming a new version of herself in the present.

This was truly an un-putdownable book for me. Ess, the main character, struggles to find her place and identity all while facing peril from the elements, border patrol, criminals, and the medical establishment. The various locales in the book are extremely well written and transportative. The storms are almost characters in themselves: frightening, villainous characters. Human characterization is very strong, with the reader feeling the disorientation Ess feels as she tries to make sense of how to live in this new life in which she finds herself. The supporting characters are equally well written, making each feel like a real, complex person. Brideau drops bits of experience into the plot just as Ess must have experienced them, as tiny clues to her past.

The plot, with the criminal, medical, natural, and authoritative world all threatening Ess in either her current or past identity, is very fast-paced and fully engaging. I stayed up into the wee hours of the morning to read the last half of this book, unable to put it down. Even in the midst of this strong plotting, Brideau manages to make the reader reflect upon the nature of identity and social responsibility, bringing a depth to the book that far exceeds most thrillers.

It's hard to believe that this is a debut novel, given its complexity and finesse. I will certainly be watching for Brideau's next effort.

Wow! What a great debut. This one had me hooked right from the start. The ending was very satisfying too.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5

Adrift - Mini Review 🛥️⬇️

ARC - Pub Date May 9

Okay, so we know I don’t always love a mystery/thriller so this book wasn’t necessarily for me but it did keep my interest and I do think it’s 3 star worthy 😁

The story was different, I did like the characters and the ending was decent. Overall, if you like mystery/thrillers give this one a try 😊

Adrift is a complete surprise of a debut. It’s a unique speculative thriller. I was intrigued with the choices Ess made throughout. It’s a fast-paced page turner I’d recommend reading.

A woman wakes up on a sailboat, and has no memory of who she is, or where she is.
So begins this book, which is set in 2038, during a climate change crisis.
People are fleeing areas that have been destroyed by storms and rising sea flood waters, and Canada has become a safe refuge.
Ess, as she names herself, has found a note that tells her to hide, never try to find her true identify, and don’t seek any answers about her past life-or else she will be in grave danger.
She has no memory at all, yet she is still able to read navigational charts, tie complicated boat knots, and raise the sails. Thus, her journey begins to start a new life, AND find answers to explain her amnesia, despite the warnings on the note.
This was an interesting book, with an intriguing premise. Certainly a look into the potential future is quite frightening, but human nature of kindness and goodness remains still exists.
4 stars
Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmarks publishing for the ARC in return for my honest opinion.

This book was not what I expected. Right away there was a twist I didn't see coming and it surprised me. I love when books do that. It was interesting the way the author created her setting. The book however, was slow in some parts and nothing was happening. It really picked up towards the end, but the end itself was bland. The book was entertaining and I enjoyed it.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy.

I wouldn’t call the book a thriller, more of a mystery. But it is as an enjoyable read.

Adrift - Lisa Brideau

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this captivating eARC.

Imagine waking up alone a boat on the open sea, with no meinmory of how you got there, and no idea if you ever learned how to navigate a watercraft, with only ONE botte of fresh water on-board...

That is just the beginning of this mind-blowing story, Finding out WHO is responsible for putting the book's main character (Ees) in this dire situation will really blow your mind.

Until next time, hold on tight, you are in for a heck of a ride!

I’m going to be very honest and say that at first I wasn’t at all sure about this book. I did keep reading and I am glad I did. This book is unlike anything I have read and the more I think about it the more things I realize I liked. It’s so unlike anything I have ever read and I definitely want to read the author’s next book.

Ess wakes up and has no idea who she is, where she is for what happened. All she has is a note basically telling her what not to do and to just live her life.

What follows is Ess’s search for answers and also learning who she is and wants to be. It was so interesting realizing she had some knowledge, for example how to sail, but no recollection of learning it.

In the background of this story and also playing a major part is what has happened to our planet by the year 2038. So much of this could happen regarding areas being underwater and increased daily temperatures.

The book being set in the future, but not so far that it seems out of reach was also interesting to me. The year 2038 is one most of us will live to see and we are already seeing things described in this book.

This story is quite the journey with Ess. I found myself wondering what I would do in the same situation. I’m still not sure.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for the copy of this book. All views are my honest opinion.

This book had a very unique plotline that I found refreshing. Unfortunately, the pacing in the beginning was much too slow. I didn't find myself truly invested in the story until half way, and it still was missing something. Overall, I enjoyed the setting and plotline but found the writing and pacing a little off.

This book sounded so interesting! But I found myself bored and after picking it up and putting it down a few times I ended up DNFing it.


Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this src in exchange for my honest review

I will admit, this book started out very slowly for me and that is usual, for me, the kiss of death. However, I persisted because the subject matter of the environment and the planet was an interesting plot for me.

About chapter 4 or so, the story picks up and then I kept the next few days picking this up, even if I only had 5 minutes to read. Turn after turn, I was completely twisted around and by the end of the book, I was asking myself "how did the author bring me here?". I LOVED it.

Writing is crisp and I could not find any issues with the plotline.

Loved this one.

A little bit of sci fi and speculative fiction, the novel wass entertaining because of the premise, the unfolding of an original and unusual plot that focuses on the severity of climate change and what could happen in the future. The book is set not too far in the distant future, only about 12 years, so it is a wake up call about what continous flooding and global warming could bring to all countries.

Ess wakes up adrift on a boat, not knowing who she is or why she is marooned on the vessel. The plot slowly reveals who she is and her influence on what people might be doing during the drastic times of countries under climate devastation.

I enjoyed the novel of suspense and was surprised at every turn by the prediction of a kind of dystopian future of our own making.

This book had so many twists and moved at a rapid pace. What would you do if you woke up on a sailboat with a splitting headache and your memory erased? As the main characters digs to find out what happened, layers are peeled back in this story that touches on climate change and the power of friendship and humanity.

Adrift addresses whether a person would go to the lengths to wipe their memory in order to start over with a new life. Ess wakes up on a boat and doesn't know who she is, but she soon finds herself possibly in danger and wondering if it's worth finding out. She sails to Nanaimo on a hunch that someone there knows her former identity and in the process becomes friends with siblings Hito and Yori. As she gets to know them more and settle more into herself, she decides this new life wouldn't be so bad especially compared to the solitude her previous identity seemed to have. Overall, an interesting concept of how memory makes a person. The aspects of climate change and the stress that causes is another major focus of the book.

Synopsis:
"The truth doesn'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 taken from her―and the dangerous secret that was buried―or the new one she can make for herself?"

My Thoughts:
This book starts off slow as Ess is trying to understand her situation. I think the author did a great job writing the confusion, terror, and total loss that Ess was feeling. I will say that the story felt a bit monotonous and at times frustrating throughout the first half, but I feel like that may have been intentional to help the reader connect with Ess.
At the 60% mark I guessed the twist, but I kept reading to confirm that I was correct. The second half of the book picks up with some excitement and the reader is rewarded with a well crafted story.
As someone who likes a scare or thrilling twist in my books, this one doesn't have that and took me a while to read. However, I'm so glad that I kept reading because it was a fun and unique story.

⭐⭐⭐💫 (3.5)

Thank you to @netgalley and @bookmarked for the gifted copy of this book.

What did I just read? As a reviewer, I'm reading a lot more books of a similar vein. So you start to see certain trends and stuff. When I read the synopsis of this book, I was excited. It was different and it caught my attention. Even though I wasn't fond of how it started, I thought it would get better and tell a different story. Unfortunately, it just kept getting worse. The both the writing and characters were infuriating. I cared nothing about this story or the outcome. I don't like giving bad reviews, it takes a lot to write a book. Unfortunately, this really was a one star read for me, but gave a star foe the creation to tell it a different direction.

#ADRIFT. # NETGALLEY #LISABRIDEAU

Imagine waking up on a sailboat and having no memory of anything before. That is how Adrift starts and if you're like me, the story will captivate you into reading it as much as possible and thinking about it when you're not reading it. Sarah Song wakes up with a terrible headache and can't remember anything. She finds a note on the sailboat that tells her not to look into her past or she will be in danger. The note tells her to lay low and not make herself known to anyone. She looks in the mirror and doesn't recognize the face looking back at her. How is this possible? There are pills for her headache left by someone. She takes one each morning to help with the pain. She finds papers that she owns the boat the Sea Dragon, she finds cash, id for Sarah Song, a passport, and an offshore bank account. Even though she can't remember anything she knows how to make complex sailing knots somehow. She finds a map and sets off to one of the closest towns.

Why does Sarah who calls herself Ess have no memory of anything? Who is responsible? Why does she know how to tie knots and sail, but can't remember ever doing it? How is she supposed to live without making connections with people? Who can she trust? She must hide that she has no memory and try to act normal, but what is normal when you have no prior memory? As she's sailing why does she keep seeing the same boat behind her? Is she being followed? Is someone after her? When Ess sails over a rough ocean to a town hundreds of miles away, will she be up to the journey? What will happen when the Harbor Authority pull up behind her and board her boat? Will she be arrested? Will she be found out that she's a fake? News reports are now saying that other amnesiacs are being found floating in boats. Others like Ess? What is going on? Will Sarah find out who she was before? Does she want to? Will Sarah Song be happy with her new life? You'll have to read Adrift to find out!

I absolutely loved Adrift and was shocked to learn it was Lisa Brideau's first book! Wow, what a fantastic debut!! I can't wait to read more from this amazing author! I rate Adrift 5 stars and give it my very highest recommendation!
I'd like to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advanced copy of Adrift in exchange for a fair review.
#Adrift