Disclosure: Received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster (Thank you!) in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of those books perfect for the beach, and normally I might also say "or for reading on a plane" but given the topic, don't read this one on a plane. I gobbled it up like candy or pink rosé and read it in one afternoon.

I liked the characters and following along to see how this airplane disaster unfolded. In this second book by T.J. Newman, the premise involves another airplane and is centered around a family, already broken from a prior tragedy. I'll leave it at this so as not to spoil the rest of the plot.

Discerning readers will likely be able to anticipate all the twists and which characters won't make it. And some may not appreciate all the technical information presented, it was a bit much. I recognize that the author took the time to be as accurate as possible but when I am reading fiction, anything goes and at times, it became techno-babble since I am no subject matter expert. Nonetheless, this was an engaging read and if you are a fan of thrillers or airplane-fiction, you won't be disappointed.

I’d say this was a great beach read, but you probably don’t want to read it on a beach if you have to get on a plane to go home. T. J. Newman, former flight attendant and author of the bestseller “Falling,” returns to the skies with a thriller about a plane crashing into the ocean. Pretty much every fear of flying is at play: crashing, drowning, claustrophobia, the “bends,” you name it. Newman sets up a scenario where the margin for saving the passengers who survived the crash is razor thin, and anything that can possibly go wrong does.

At the center of the story is a broken family; Will, Chris and their daughter Shannon. Will and Chris’s marriage is on the rocks and Will and Shannon are traveling together. By a strange coincidence that only seems to happen in books, Chris is a pro diver who may hold the only hope of saving the passengers. We hear a fair amount about Will and Chris’s backstory, but very little about the other passengers. This is a short book and it moves quickly, so there would have been plenty of time to delve into the other characters. Knowing the people who are affected makes a reader more invested in what happens to them.

Many thanks to Newman, Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Drowning is a gripping and hard to put down tale of survival and rescue after a plane crashes into the ocean meme minutes after take-off. This book is intense from the very beginning as the plane loses power and goes down into the ocean. This scene is anxiety provoking and scary. The author taps into a fear that some travelers have - a plane crash.

The book tells the story of the pilot, crew, and several passengers on the plane. Will was traveling with his daughter, Shannon, when the plane went down. His estranged wife, Chris, is a diver who is attempting to save the survivors.

Whew! From the very beginning this book is action packed and tense. The only respite from the non-stop onslaught of tension is when the author takes readers back showing how a horrible loss fractured Will and Chris's relationship.

I enjoyed the show of courage, bravery, sacrifice, and support in this book. This tale of survival also shows triumph of the human spirit, courage, and teamwork.

This book was captivating and pulse pounding. Wowza, what a book! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, turning the pages, crossing my fingers, and feeling all kids of emotions.

4.5 stars


Thank you to Avid Reader Press, Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com

this was not what i expected it to be. i thought it was a mystery thriller as listed on goodreads but it was just a survival read with a very claustrophobic plot and it was hard to follow because of so many povs.

thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the arc.

Super fun, high-pressure, read-in-one-sitting book that everyone will enjoy. This is a classic beach read for me - lots of suspense and action with loads of characters pulling at my heartstrings. Go get this one - just don’t read it on the plane heading to your vacation destination. Save it for dry land. Thanks to Avid Reader Press for the advanced copy!

In this harrowing tale, a plane leaving Hawaii for the mainland crashes into the ocean only six minutes after taking off. Those who survive the crash are forced to bail out into the ocean- or remain on the plane to avoid the flames circling the crash. Twelve passengers are left inside the plane as it begins to sink. They are completely dependent on the rescuers to come up with a plan to save them quickly, before their air runs out.

This is TJ Newman’s second novel, and I enjoyed this one even more than her first. Her experience as a flight attendant lends itself well to this type of suspenseful read. I also appreciated the backstories of the passengers, because important issues such as child loss, divorce, and illness are told. This book is intense, suspenseful, and thrilling from the first pages all the way through to the last sentences. It will make you ask yourself how far you’d go to survive and how far you’d go to save the ones you love most. I’d highly recommend this book to fans of intense stories of survival who enjoy edge of your seat, suspenseful writing.

Thank you very much to TJ Newman, Avid Reader Press/Simon and Schuster, and Netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I was so excited to get this arc as I had loved Falling. I am an avid flyer and am fascinated by airplanes. This second book was so good. The suspense killed me. It is obvious the author did a lot of research. One of my fears has always been a water rescue. Hopefully I will never have to go thru one. This will make a great movie.

I really didn't enjoy the use of the third person narration in this book as it made you feel very detached from the emotions of the characters. I also felt too many characters were introduced and all the characters had very little depth for them. These two factors combined meant I wasn't invested in the story at all and it didn't elicit any emotions i.e. panic/fear that a book surrounding a plane crash and the resulting rescue mission should .

This was a high octane thriller full of edge of your seat moments. If I wasn't afraid of flying before, I am now. The visual, descriptive scenes that unfolded are what nightmares are made of. This is one of those books that from the first sentence to the last, you see the potential movie playing out in your mind as you read making every moment just that much more intense. This is original and unforgettable. Four Stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Avid Reader Press for this ARC.

Wow! Seriously, I was tired after reading this. My adrenaline was pumping full force!
Highly recommended! Loved the authors first book but think I enjoyed this one even more!

Best book I’ve read all year. I could not put it down. I absolutely loved the characters and the nonstop action. Grab some tissues and read this immediately!

Planning a trip? If you are worried that your flight could be delayed, your suitcase lost or hours wasted in a TSA boondoggle, just sit back and hold on. Drowning is a nightmare waiting for you. From the first sentence “Will Kent opened his eyes just in time to see the engine explode” to the last, this sure-to-be bestseller pulls you along with non-stop action in an hours long time frame as a plane ditches in the ocean shortly after takeoff and slowly sinks underwater trapping some of the passengers. A rescue attempt is immediately planned. Things get worse.
T.J. Newman develops unforgettable characters using themes of grief, forgiveness, love bravery and the possibility of a second chance. This thriller is impossible to put down and deserves every one of five stars. I’m excited and terrified to see what Newman thinks of next. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avid Reader Press and T.J. Newman for the ARC.

A definite thriller. I am already nervous about flying. A plane takes off on an ordinary day but it does not end like an ordinary flight. This is one of those situations where everything that can go wrong does. The characters are well developed which has you rooting for them. I finished this in a day. I could not put it down.

I did not expect to start or finish this so quickly, but here we are! A whiplash ride of a book, once you start you'll never put it down until the story ends.

This is the second book by TJ Newman, a former air hostess who writes about the worst case scenarios in a flight but as she says, the things you want your pilots and air hostesses considering. In an absolute twist of fate, I happened to have started reading this (thanks NetGalley!) as she was interviewed on tv ahead of the book’s release, so if I wasn’t already hooked, I became totally immersed and flew threw this (puns intended) in a day.
A nightmarish situation enfolds six minutes after take off from Honolulu when a plane needs to ditch - land on water. So not only is this a thrilling rescue story but a story of choices, relationships, life and death decisions and human nature.

The book is devastating , evocative, pulse pounding and heart aching thriller. It was such a rollercoaster ride. I felt so many emotions while reading the book. The book will keep you at edge of your seat. The author has created such a realistic and emotional characters with complex family dynamics. Flight crashes more than two hundred feet below the surface into the pacific ocean, and the engine gets exploded trapping the passengers in the inevitable web of darkness and hopelessness. Their only hope is an extraordinary rescue operation but will Chris and her team succeed in rescuing them or this unfortunate crashing of flight will set apart the families?

Past memories gets intertwined with tragic turn of events blurring the line between life and death. Turning the worst nightmares into reality. Unsettling feelings comes at edge and what was left unsaid years ago has been said now but with the uncertainty of life, lives may get forever drowned in grief and darkness. Where there was once hope and life, now lies just fear of losing life. The grief and all the unsaid words with evocative memories will get submerged beneath the innumerable depth of water. Fighting for survival and what if scenarios in mind. Surviving seems to be a miracle and the only way to get out of inevitable darkness.

It’s about forgiveness, acceptance, love, grief, tragedy, unexpected turn of events and hope. It has twists and turns. The ending is impactful. I am still wondering how the book can be so perfect? How much time it has taken for an author to write down all the things and narrating them in such an appealing way?

Tropes:
•Complex Dynamics
•Flight Crashing into Pacific Ocean
•Adrenaline situations
•Heart aching twists
•Rescue Operation
•Suspense

Thank you Netgalley, Author and Publisher.

Once again, Newman wrote an edge-of-your-seat nail-biter. As I said about Newman’s first book, Falling, it’s best to start it when you have some uninterrupted reading time ahead because once you start it, there’s no putting it down.

Flight 1421 plummets into the ocean minutes into its flight leaving some dead, some wounded, and others trapped. The entire book takes place in a five hour window beginning when the plane crashes and following the few survivors for as long as their oxygen supply doesn’t run out.

I enjoy books that have decent, believable science behind their premise. The storyline was propulsive and I give this book 4 stars/5.

I devoured this book in about five hours or so. It was heart pumping and it made me feel like a little kid again. The excitement I felt while reading this was so intense. I loved the relationship between the father Will and his daughter. The way TJ describes what’s happening in the story is so specific and creative. I felt like I needed air while reading this! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Five stars!

Thanks to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for the ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.
Intense. Heart pounding. Edge of your seat. Action packed. Phew! What an incredible story. I read this in one sitting and I swear my heart was beating faster than normal for the last 20%. I couldn't finish it fast enough. I almost felt claustrophobic. It grabs you from the very beginning and doesn't let go. I won't repeat the synopsis but don't want to spoil anything either. It's fiction, but if even a small percentage of what flight attendants do in this story is true, I have definitely gained so much more appreciation for them and their responsibilities. You will absolutely be thinking of this book the next time you step onto a plane!
I loved her first book Falling and somehow this was even better. Definitely one of my top reads for the year. Highly recommend!

This book needs to come with a warning: Once you start reading, you aren’t going to want to stop until the end. This was definitely a page-turner, and a very quick read!

Flight 1421 has just taken off from Hawaii when it loses an engine, and within the next couple minutes, the crew has lost all control of the plane. The only option is to do a water landing - aka, ditch the plane.

When the plane slams into the water, many are killed instantly. As the plane starts flooding, the passengers start evacuating - until one passenger, an engineer named Will, realizes they’ll be safer on the plane. The ocean is full of jet fuel, and the engine is still burning. Will turns out to be right, as many more people die while waiting for rescuers to arrive.

Will isn’t alone; he has his pre-teen daughter with him. He also has a pilot, three of the six flight attendants, an elderly couple celebrating their anniversary, a newly-married couple, a couple random passengers, and another pre-teen who was flying by herself. They realize that the plane is sinking, but luckily, it’s sinking slightly vertically, so they have an air pocket.

That air won’t last long, though, and Will is furiously trying to figure out how to keep himself and his daughter safe. The Coast Guard and the Navy are involved, but he doesn’t trust their ideas. He wants his ex-wife, who is an underwater mechanical expert. They’re taking too long. Will help arrive in time to save all of them?

This was so intense and dramatic; the suspense was definitely there. The characters were well-written, the whole story was amazing, and the ending will tug at your heart. I can’t think of a thing I’d change about this book, so it gets the full five stars from me!

(Thank you to Simon & Schuster, T.J. Newman, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on May 30, 2023.)