Drowning is a story of many people’s worst fear. You are on a flight when the worst happens and the flight goes down.

I loved every page of this book and read it in one day because I stayed up way to late reading. The story keeps the suspense going by announcing the time since the plane went down and how much time until the passengers are out of oxygen. The relationships make you root for the characters. I loved this book!

4.5 Stars 🌟

This is my second book by this author so I was excited to be awarded this ARC. In a bit of the same vein, this time we still have the story revolve around an aircraft, but this time instead of in the air, the drama occurs in the water. I think one of the reasons her first book did so well was because of Ms. Newman's long time experience as a flight attendant. That knowledge definitely came through - in the first book and in this one as well.

One thing that is a definite good sign for me is when I find myself saying "okay...one more chapter" as I'm reading or listening to a book. Unfortunately for me, (because I had to wake up early the next day) I decided to start this book right before bed thinking I would just read a few chapters to get an idea of the storyline. Needless to say, I finished it in one sitting - that just happened to go much later into the middle of the night than I was expecting :)

But, truly, isn't that we as readers always hope for?

This storyline has an aircraft experiencing a catastrophic emergency directly after take off and losing not only the engines, but the hydraulic fluid and any ability to steer the plane. It took off from an airport in Hawaii so without the ability to turn around, they much crash land in the ocean. It is called "ditching"(definitely learned some new things from this...).

We get to meet a great cast of characters and get some back story on the main protagonists -Chris and Will. Left on the plane there is our male MC Will and his daughter Shannon, an unattended minor, a couple of the flight attendants including the captain and of course, an a**hole - because doesn't that always seem to happen?

The differences in the personalities of the remaining 12 characters in the plane was extremely well done and made it easy to imagine the situation as it was unfolding.

I enjoyed this story from beginning to end.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. The opinions above are mine and mine alone.

Flight 1421 departed Honolulu 6 minutes out for California when engines fail, back up systems fail, an engine on fire and a wing torn. The plane ends up “ditching “, an emergency landing on water. Passengers evacuate on a slide and raft but stop due to fuel in the water and igniting. Many perish except 12 passengers who remain in the plane. The plane ends up sinking. They have 6 1/2 hours of oxygen, water inside and a plane on the edge of an underwater cliff causing the plane to see-saw.
From the first page this was an intense, dramatic, edge of your seat story. It was also emotional and heart aching . There is alot of tech information which showed the author did her research.

I loved TJ Newman's debut, "Falling", and definitely looked forward to see how she followed it up. Boy, did she blow it out of the water, literally and figuratively. I found myself rooting for the survivors, yet asking "NOW what will go wrong?" all the way to the end.

Now to wait and see what TJ pulls out of the air for next time!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of Drowning by T.J. Newman. Whew! That was a ride. It was like reading the movie Gravity. I kept finding myself holding my breath. This was an emotional, stressful, suspense thriller that didn't slow down.

This was entertaining in a way that watching classic American action/thriller movies is - think Die Hard and company.

The fast pacing, the familiar cast and plot line, the suspense and the action: it feels good because it gives us the adrenaline jolt within a comfy and familiar set up, where we know from the start exactly who are the unlucky few who won't make it, and that everything else will eventually work out.

This is exactly what you get here, delivered by solid writing - no more, no less. Personally, I feel that it would make for a better movie than it is as a book, because, in book form, you have a bit too much time to... well to think. For example, I am pretty sure I would have been more blind to the lack of credible reasons/motivation behind the dubious decision making of the Navy and rescue team. I might also have been more entertained despite the extremely stereotypical nature of everything, while I became a bit bored through the last third or so of this. Etc.

I was going to write that this book would make a good beach or airport novel, but I wouldn't recommend reading the crash part while waiting for your transatlantic plane. I should know, because I did. The result? I have now googled the subject of survival odds and best practices in case of plane crash extensively. You've been warned.

The author's first book was FALLING, with this second one just as exciting, although perhaps a bit of a reality stretch. A plane falls apart just after take=off from the Honolulu airport and goes down in warm waters. Fire limits rescue attempts, with a small group of people seemingly trapped inside the plane as it sinks. The group finds a pocket of air inside the sinking plane, which helps them to initially survive. This is where reality gets stretched, in my opinion. Still, it is an action-packed read. Thanks to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for providing an ARC.

Okay Ive almost finished this in two days (I would have read it faster but I’m reading on kindle) , and I have to say, this book has me HOOKED. Everything about this book has my jaw dropped all the time. The writing style in the book is amazing! I love everything about it.

Thank you netgalley for my E-copy of this book! I absolutely love it!!

I fell in love with Falling when I read it last year and Drowning is even better! I was completely hooked from the first page.

I loved the story, the wide cast of characters and the tension OH MY GOD. I was actively sweating during the rescue!!!!

I am SO excited for more of T J Newman’s books!

Drowning was an extremely tense novel set in an airplane that crashed into the sea. When the plane finally sinks below the surface, a dad and daughter are just two of the survivors. Can they escape before time runs out?

Drowning by TJ Newman secures the author's place on my auto-read list. Newman is an absolute master of suspense from all angles, and this is no let down after their last amazing novel, Falling. Newman puts their knowledge from years of being a flight attendant to use in their writing to not only provide top tier suspense but also provide comfort to readers who may fear flying that the attendants, crew, staff, pilots, etc. all have extensive training on what to do in terrible scenarios. This was one that I simply could not put down, thrilling and adrenaline inducing from cover to cover.

Six minutes into its flight, Flight 1421 careens into the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Amidst the chaos of the evacuation, an engine detonates, unleashing a torrent of water into the plane's interior. Frantically, the remaining survivors struggle to seal the doors, but their efforts prove futile. With a grim inevitability, the aircraft succumbs to the depths, leaving twelve individuals trapped within its submerged confines.

More than two hundred feet beneath the ocean's surface, engineer Will Kent finds himself immersed in a watery nightmare, his eleven-year-old daughter Shannon by his side. Desperation propels them forward as they valiantly fight for their lives.

Their glimmer of hope materializes in the form of an expert rescue team, led by Chris Kent, a seasoned diver and Shannon's mother. Despite their impending divorce, Chris and Will must set aside their personal differences and collaborate to navigate the treacherous depths. Their shared mission: to save their imperiled daughter and liberate the trapped passengers from the airframe, precariously perched on the brink of an undersea precipice.





Regenerate response

Thanks to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Newman's debut book and was happy to see her returning to her niche of airplane disaster books. I liked Drowning even more than her previous book - what a wild ride. The details of rescuing an crashed plane underwater were compelling and believable and kept me on the edge of my seat. There are plenty of missteps and false starts as they take on a once in a lifetime rescue mission and I stayed up way past my bed time to see how it ended.

The relationships and character depth added to the story as well and I really cared about what happen to the dsyfunctional family thats half in the plane and half trying to rescue it.

Definitely another huge hit for Newman and highly recommended. This is a great vacation read but, as with Falling, I would not recommend reading it on a plane.

A plane crashes into the ocean shortly after take off. Most of the passengers die, either in the crash or in the burning ocean after escaping the plane. However, 12 survivors remained on the plane as it sank into the ocean. What follows is a desperate scramble alternating between the survivors and the people attempting a risky underwater rescue. Among the survivors are a father and daughter. Coincidentally, the father’s estranged wife is part of the rescue team.

This author definitely has a knack for creating suspenseful plots and thrilling scenes. She uses her experience as a flight attendant to add authenticity to her books. I have no idea how she learned so much about underwater rescue. There was a little too much sappiness in the story of the estranged married couple, but overall I enjoyed this book as much as her first one.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

After reading T.J. Newman's previous novel Falling, which I had a few problems with, I decided to give her sophomore novel, Drowning a chance and I'm so glad I did. Drowning gripped me from the first page and didn't let go. I was on my couch reading it and saying "Oh no!" and other things while my husband was next to me. I was giving him a play-by-play at the end of what was happening. He seemed as intrigued in the story as me, if only he was a reader. I'm glad I picked up the audiobook too, which is narrated by Steven Weber (he also narrated Falling) and Laura Benati, as I'm sure I'll re-read it at some point in the future.

Thank you to Avid Reader Press for access to an e-copy of Drowning in exchange for my review.

Drowning is scary. It could happen. T.J. Newman's authority comes through in this novel. Her past experience shines, showing that she is an expert when it comes to the airplane experience. This pulse-pounding novel starts off with a plane crashing into the ocean. Few survive, stuck in the plane at the bottom of the ocean. The rich details made me feel like I was there too. The characters were believable and I was rooting for them.

Intense read.

Drowning is the second book by TJ Newman after Falling, her debut. It is another action packed thrill ride filled with nonstop action. I could have read it in one sitting if I’d had the time. But it might make you never want to ride in a plane again!

Highly recommend if you need a thrilling beach read this summer, as well as her first book too.

The only complaint I have and the reason I’m giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is how wrong the author got some medical aspects of the story especially CPR and AED use, which a google search would have fixed. Also, maybe it’s different with the military being involved and it’s different in Hawaii (I’m in gulf coast Florida) but I have seen the decompression machine that is used to remove excess nitrogen from the blood after a diving accident and they’re not mobile, the patient has to be brought to the machine not vice versa.

**thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the e-arc I received in exchange for my honest review.**

Wow! TJ Newman knows how to tell a story... This follow up book was every bit as compelling as the first, proving her chops beyond question.

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to finish this one - I have a 10 year old daughter and some of the emotional impact of the parent- child interactions really hit close to home, but I'm so glad I persevered because this was one hell of a tale! The pathos was unreal, in the best possible way. The writing is as crisp as a fall day and every bit as enjoyable - even, if not especially, when you're hanging off the edge of your seat waiting to see what comes next.

There were so many fabulous quotes about family and love and the importance of living every moment of every day... It was an incredibly powerful story about families - made and found - as well as an especially well paced adventure-thriller, and it's no small feat to blend those two things together seamlessly, yet Newman has once again not only managed, but managed with aplomb.

She is definitely one of my new favorite authors...

I really need to learn to read TJ Newman when it's not vacation with air travel involved season - I did the same thing with Falling and was up all night finishing the book and stressed lol. Drowning grabbed me in a hot second, and refused to let go until the very end. I really enjoyed the personalities in this book, in addition to the insane drama and suspense of the plot, Newman did an amazing job of bringing the characters off the page. I will say, I wanted more from the ending than what was delivered - I kept thinking "that's it?!?!" But all in all - awesome new novel!

This was a one-night read for me; like a bag of candy, I couldn't put it down. It reminded me of action thriller TV binge-watching, captivating in the moment though difficult to remember a few days later, I've heard it will be made into a movie, which I would certainly go see. This story will translate to the big screen remarkably well.

The characters were likeable, if slightly one dimensional. Some suspension of disbelief is required when considering the logistics of certain characters all winding up in the same place for this event. Like the authors first novel, "Falling", this second book involves another plane, family relationships, struggles to recover from devastating tragedies, and technical details about planes...lots and lots of technical details about planes (which I found myself skimming over). Enough said, I don't want to spoil the plot.

Fans of the genre will likely anticipate plot twists and reliably guess at which characters won't make it. Nonetheless, this is a worthwhile read for adventure thriller fans, particularly for aviation enthusiasts.

Disclosure: Thanks to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster for the ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.