I adored FALLING which was the debut novel by TJ Newman. As someone who used to fly every single week, that book terrified me but in a good way because I’m strange like that. DROWNING hit different and I didn’t dig it as much. It was so hard not to continually compare the two because they’re so closely connected. I think my biggest issue was there wasn’t much dialogue and character development. That’s what fuels a story for me, this one just had a lot of intense storytelling what was almost too intense that made it seem flat in the end. This would make a fantastic film and I would definitely watch it for sure.

Drowning is an unforgettable thrill ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Well done!

I just loved this. I worried it would be a little slow given the amount of time and size of the book but it was so fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat.

“Drowning” by T.J. Newman is one of the most exciting literary thrillers in recent memory! It was like an aeronautic Michael Chrichton novel. The story wastes no time setting up the core conflict by having an airliner crash into the ocean off of Hawaii within the first handful of pages (this is not a spoiler!). The aftermath involves tragedy, interpersonal conflict and revelation, and a tense race against time. Despite the relative brevity of the novel, the protagonists were relatively well-developed and easy to root for. The specificity with which Newman writes about an underwater rescue was impressive and took an immense amount of time and research to pull off (see her notes at the end of the book). I was a fan of her first novel and am wholeheartedly recommending her second novel!

I loved this author’s first novel, and this one certainly didn’t disappoint! The action was non stop, and each character well developed. I cannot wait to see what she does next!

Wow, Hang on to your seats, this is a wild ride! Loved, loved this book, I had read her first book Fallen and didn’t think there was anyway she could top that, but fortunately she proved me wrong. I couldn’t put it down, had to keep reading to see what would happen next. Run don’t walk and pickup this book , you won’t be sorry. 5 stars and best book I’ve read this year. Can’t wait to see what T.J. Newman writes next. Thank you Netgalley.

When a flight crashes into the ocean and sinks with passengers still inside, the rescue team above water as well as those in the plane will have to work together to try to save everyone. With time and oxygen running out, all involved will find their relationships and willpower tested beyond their personal breaking points. Author T.J. Newman comes back with her second thriller that outdoes her first book for a summer blockbuster in Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421.

Engineer Will Kent is boarding a flight in Hawaii with a heavy heart. He’s taking his 11-year-old daughter, Shannon, to camp on the U.S. mainland., but he and his wife, Chris, have decided to separate and it’s tearing Will apart. A tragedy years earlier left them shattered, and the Kents haven’t been able to figure out how to put their family back together again.

The smallest things make fights erupt between Will and Chris. Like this flight. Chris insisted that Shannon could travel with a flight attendant watching her. Will fought for the right to go with Shannon and eventually won, but he knows Chris isn’t happy with the situation. For now he’ll settle for spending time with Shannon on the long flight from Hawaii to the mainland. Chris is the love of his life; he knew that from their first date. Somewhere along the way, though, they’ve lost sight of each other as all their hurts and faults have dominated one another’s view.

He and Shannon board the flight and get settled in. Then the unthinkable happens: shortly after takeoff, before they can even leave the islands behind, the plane malfunctions. The plane heads right back down into the water, and one of the engines catches fire.

Flight crew members begin preparing their passengers for evacuation, but Will’s training as an engineer makes him speak up and fight to stay on the plane. He and Shannon end up with ten other passengers sinking in the damaged aircraft 200 feet below the surface. Their time, and their usable air, are limited, but panic is in unlimited supply.

As soon as word comes of Flight 1421’s dramatic accident, Chris races to help. Her company is comprised of the best welders and crew. It’s literally their job to fix large metallic vessels so they can continue to float safely. Nothing in the world is going to stop her from rescuing her daughter; not government officials, not airline higher-ups, and not even her ongoing feud with Will.

Author T.J. Newman returns with an arms-wide-open thriller in the grand tradition of American classics like Die Hard, Top Gun, and, yes, Apollo 13. Newman gives readers the novel version of those types of stories, and every page will keep her audience flipping or swiping pages as fast as possible to find out what happens next. While some comparable books struggle to balance various elements along with the thriller elements of the plot, Newman handles everything like a pro.

There’s a little something for everyone in this book. Readers will get glimpses of Will and Chris’s love story as well as the heart-wrenching tragedy that pulled them apart. Gearheads will enjoy the technical aspects of the plane crash and the MacGyver-style rescue efforts. Fans of ensemble casts can pick their favorite character to cheer on inside the plane. Audience members who want a sweeping epic that emphasizes the best of the human spirit and our ability to work with one another in the worst of circumstances will come away believing once again in humanity.

Newman’s experience as a flight attendant offers an underlying authenticity to the book that makes it ring true on every page. Even if an idea for part of the rescue feels a little farfetched, Newman offers just enough detail to make readers more than willing to suspend their disbelief. Those who want a grand story to kick off their summer should definitely check this out.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
T.J. Newsman’s newest thriller, Drowning, is nail biting and will leave you gasping for air.
I found the synopsis to be intriguing and captivating and was lucky to receive an ARC read. I was NOT disappointed. Newman has done her background in depth investigation about planes and scuba rescues to bring this story to life. I was on the edge of my seat visualizing the action packed sequences of events. I can see this in movie form!!!
Why 4 stars and not 5? I’m not an aviary person and found the details and vocabulary to much in depth. At times rolling my eyes. However, the more I read, I understood the lessons, and the time spent researching this information.
Thank you Netgalley and Avid Reader Press/Simon & Shuster for ARC digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Drowning was an action-packed thriller, and I am not surprised to see that Jerry Bruckheimer is trying to option this as a movie. It will be the blockbuster action movie of the year when it's released.

This is a survival story at its heart, but it is also about surviving loss and continuing to live as Will, his soon to be ex-wife Chris and Shannon are still in grief over the loss of Shannon's sister. The tension of their story added drama and depth to the plot.

Flight 1421 loses all engines and plummets to the ocean after takeoff in Hawaii, and from then on, the story is focused on the survival of its passengers while also detailing the backstory of a family drowning in grief.

T.J. Newman was a flight attendant and used her knowledge and experience to rivet readers with a healthy amount of survival protocols, science, and engineering - Will is the engineer trapped in the plane on the ocean bottom while Chris has special qualifications and ideas that may rescue them all.

You may see where this is going, but it is a great ride - I confess I read this and finished it on a flight to Florida. This was a good story that I am sure translates well to the big screen. I give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars. The novel had a solid, if somewhat stereotypical cast of characters. I enjoyed the engineering aspects of survival. I read it in one sitting – fast thrill ride of the summer.

Oh my goodness, best thriller of the year! This had my heart racing the entire way through. The writing makes you feel as if you are literally trapped in the plane under the ocean with the characters. Super intense and dramatic. You will not be able to put down this book!

🅶🅴🅽🆁🅴—𝒯𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓇 / 𝓈𝓊𝓈𝓅𝑒𝓃𝓈𝑒
🗓ℙ𝕦𝕓 𝔻𝕒𝕥𝕖—𝕄𝕒𝕪 𝟛𝟘 , 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟛

✂️ P L O T L I N E
Flight 1421 flying from Honolulu to San Francisco crashes 6 minutes after departure. 12 people are forced to take their chances of survival inside the airplane as it sinks to the bottom of the ocean. Two of the current survivors are father and daughter Will and Shannon. Their chance of survival comes down to professional diver Chris, soon to be ex-wife of Will. Time is running out and air is limited. This emotional and suspenseful novel will have you gripping your seat as we see who survives the impossible odds.

💭 ⓂⓎ ⓉⒽⓄⓊⒼⒽⓉⓈ
Holy $hit that was a roller coaster of a ride!!! Talk about suspense and keeping me on the edge of my seat the whole time! This book was also more than just a thriller/suspense. It was a book about forgiveness, family, and the importance of working together, and really LIVING your life. I felt all the emotions while reading this. I laughed, cried, was super freaking anxious the whole time, and felt so much love for the characters. I enjoyed how involved chemistry was in this book. Everything related to gas laws and scuba diving involves chemistry and as a chemistry teacher, I purely loved seeing that aspect intertwined in the book. The only thing that kept me from giving this 5⭐️ was that there were a lot of characters. I didn’t feel like I knew them all until almost the end. Regardless, this is definitely my favorite thriller book this year so far!

📚 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
💫Fast paced page turners 😮
💫Books that keep you on the edge of your seat 💺
💫Books that make you feel hope and despair 😌 😔
💫Both plot and character driven reads 📖

⚠️ 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: death/death of a young child in flashback form⚠️

✈️𝕄𝕐 ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾✈️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

💕Q U O T E : “𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓈. 𝒮𝒽𝒾𝒻𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝒶𝓁𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒, 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝒹𝒶𝓎, 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝒶𝓀𝑒 𝓇𝑜𝑜𝓂 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒿𝑜𝓎 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝑔𝓇𝒶𝒸𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝒸𝒾𝓇𝒸𝓊𝓂𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊’𝓋𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝓉 𝒷𝑒𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒 𝓇𝓊𝓃𝓈 𝑜𝓊𝓉.”

🙏 Thank you NetGalley, Avid Reader Press, and T.J. Newman for this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts 💕

I may have been too chicken to read this on the plane, although I did think about it.
.
Drowning was every bit as propulsive as Falling, maybe more so. While there were a lot of characters to keep track of, TJ Newman managed to get me invested in all of their stories.
.
This book is a wild ride and you won’t want to put it down.
.
Happy pub day to this one. Thanks to Avid Reader Press for the galley copy.

This book…WOW! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC! I have been anxiously checking my approval list hoping for this one after DEVOURING “ Falling”. This book moves insanely fast, and throws so much information at you, but you cannot stop reading. I ignored all of my responsibilities the last two days to get through this adrenaline rush of a book. It was the perfect start of the summer thriller!

Happy Pub Day!!! Solid 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars! This book would make a cool action/adventure movie. The book, Drowning, starts off immediately with a potentially tragic scene - which hit me with some sadness as people realized they might die. It made me think how I might react in a similar situation. Time is short, and the rescue operation must move quickly. As the story progresses, you see the relationships between strangers evolve. Some are selfless and others are selfish. I wish there had been more development between some of the characters, but others were well explored. It’s a fast paced narrative which takes the reader from despair to hope and relief, and then back to desperation and resignation and back and forth again. It’s a quick, easy read full of emotion and action. Thank you to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster for the eARC.

Amaze balls! It’s a good thing I’m typing cause I just finished this taut thriller and my jaw is hanging open and I can’t speak! Loved the characters. Was rooting for a bunch of them. Closed room thriller with a time crunch to boot. A ticking time bomb. Great read.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an arc copy of this amazing book.
A tear slipped from my eye at the last page. 💜 so happy.
Must read thriller of the year, decade even!

I loved this book. This author writes the best suspense stories and this was no different. Definitely check TWs, but I highly recommend.

Wow, I couldn't put this down! The book starts out with parents debating if their child should be on a flight and soon after that flight is headed toward the water after the engine blows... The way that T.J. Newman writes makes you feel like you are there, it keeps you so engaged. I love how there are backstory scenes interspersed and how her knowledge about aircraft and air travel makes this a thriller until the end!

Thank you to Netgalley and to Avid Reader Press for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley for a preview of this title Ive heard so much about and is sure to be on many summer TBR lists. This tells the story of an ill fated plane that takes off from Hawaii and minutes later has massive engine issues and they end up ditching in the ocean. Some passengers stay on the plane, which is good..but isnt thus the title. I liked the non stop pace and the obvious technical knowledge the author needed about airplanes, underwater rescue, etc. The many characters/POV was confusing until about halfway, when I finally got everyone straight. The whole time I was reading I was thinking this will be a major movie and picturing The Rock and maybe Julianne Moore as the leads..it just reads like an action movie..which it will be! Overall this a quick read, fast paced action thriller.....nothing too deep here but just good summer action packed fun!

Nobody writes airplane action/thriller like TJ Newman. I read her first book Falling and loved it. Drowning did not disappoint. Tense, edge of your seat, spine tingling. Her books have the feel of a Die Hard movie. Solid entertainment

Drowning by T.J. Newman

Six minutes into take off and flight 1421 crashes into the pacific. Being forced to close the plane’s exits for the slim chance of survival, the plane sinks 200 feet below the surface. Trapped inside are Will and his daughter Shannon and a select few passengers who are counting on rescue. Their only hope is professional diver Chris Kent, Shannon’s mother and Will’s soon to be ex wife. With the plane sinking and air running out this is a harrowing story of survival and the ties that will forever bind us together.

This may be the most intense first 10 chapters in a novel, I’ve ever read; I couldn’t put it down. This story was absolutely gut wrenching and wrecked me in the best way. Completely original; T.J. Newman, incredible! 👏🏼👏🏼