When I picked up Matt Riordan's debut novel, "The North Line," I wasn't sure what to expect—it's not the kind of book I usually go for. But wow, did it surprise me. Riordan pulls from his time on fishing boats to write a story that's full of action and high-seas drama and rings true in a way that only someone who's lived it could capture.

The book follows Adam as he joins a commercial fishing crew and learns to navigate the waters and the dynamic personalities onboard. It introduces a cast of characters that are as strange as they are intriguing. Even with zero knowledge of commercial boating, the story kept me engaged. I might have gotten even more out of it if I knew a thing or two about the industry, but that didn't really matter overall.

Riordan's storytelling blends excitement with humor and personality. It's impressive how he's crafted such a fascinating read, and it definitely makes me want to see where he'll go next. Overall, "The North Line" earns four out of five stars from me. I definitely recommend this book if you're in the mood for something that combines real-life grit with the thrill of adventure.

A stunning debut! I didn’t think that a book about the fishing industry in Alaska would be something I would be interested in but I loved this. Very tense, lots of insight into the brutality of the industry. You can tell that the authors experience on fishing boats really informed his writing, giving an authenticity to this story Gritty, raw and tense. Lots of colorful language. Exactly what you would expect with three men alone on a boat spending every minute together. Adam, a lacrosse player in college loses his scholarship after selling drugs. He needs to make enough money to cover his last year of tuition. How far will he go to make the money he needs? How much can he endure? So much happens. Exciting read

The North Line was a cautionary tale of the outcomes our bad decisions can lead to. We follow the main character Adam, as he starts his first ‘green’ year of commercial fishing – an occupation not for the faint of heart. I was fascinated by his story, the evolution of his character, and the twists and turns throughout the book. I think this book captures many facets of human nature without throwing it ‘in your face’. While the ending was good, it felt a bit abrupt. I would have liked to read more about what happens next for Adam. Thank you Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for the eARC.

A great book with great characters but it was t completely my style book. If you love Alaska or fishing/crBbbg stories you will love this. Great writing too.

Fishing in Alaska's Bering Sea gives Adam a chance to not only make money for his education but also to learn more about himself. The challenges and hard life on an aging fishing boat offers him a chance to see himself differently. Well written and readable.

Really enjoyed this one. My dad is the captain of a commercial fishing boat and I’ve been up twice and I felt like the author did a great job capturing what it’s really like up there. Well written characters and plot.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for gifting me a digital ARC of the debut novel by Matt Riordan - 4.5 stars rounded up!

Adam is a college student, an athlete, never quite feeling like he fit in. But one big mistake lands him in serious trouble - he lost his scholarship and needs to earn $26,000 to finish his last year of school. Through an acquaintance, he gets a job with an Alaskan fishing crew and he learns what he's really made of. A strike among the fishing crews ignites a whole different powder keg.

Wow - if you would have told me that a book about fishing would be this tense and gripping, I wouldn't have believed it! This is why people watch reality shows such as Deadliest Cast. It sure puts a different definition on the word "work" so that the rest of us can buy our frozen seafood neatly shrink-wrapped into individual portions without too much thought about where it came from or who made it possible. This is gritty, realistic (Riordan did this work and it shows), and your heart will be in your throat. Amazing debut!

The North Line by Matt Riordan is an enthralling debut!
I was hooked from the first page, and the book kept me up for half a night until I was finished.
Riordan is an incredible writer the way he creates his characters was very well done.
The suspense is riveting and this was one story I was glued to.

Thank You NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am not sure what I expected for this story but I was pleasantly surprised by this one! This is such a riveting and well written story! The characters are well developed, likable, real and gritty. It was like watching a version of Deadliest Catch but being on the deck with the men during the mackerel season. The ending was a surprise as well.

Adam joins an Alaskan fishing crew that’s promising quick money as he is a senior in college who lost his scholarship and has some legal troubles. Hired for the dangerous work, Adam quickly embarks on a dark-hearted exploration of who he really is. Adam soon finds himself drawn in to the work. But when a strike threatens to end the season before it even begins, Adam and his newfound friends find themselves in a war between crews and even each other.

Highly recommend.

Book Review/ Pub Day 🎉

4 ⭐️ for being an incredible debut!
Another step closer to my aim of reading more debut novels, and all I could say is "Bravo" followed by a round of applause for the author and a thank you to Net galley for my digital copy!

I started this expecting a mystery/thriller involving the sea, perhaps even a locked-room mystery, but it wasn’t, instead it was exhilarating and suspenseful, not your typical thriller. Which made the reading experience more interesting and intriguing overall, a wonderful twist on the genre, and I'm satisfied. I appreciated the rugged men being pushed to their limits with a dash of funny moments. I thought the ending was smart and unexpected, but also a little bit of a letdown as it was just a few pages and left a few questions. That's my only gripe about this exciting and interesting novel; the rest was fantastic.

✍🏽After Massachusetts college student Adam gets caught selling ecstasy pills and loses his lacrosse scholarship, he sets off for Alaska to earn his senior year tuition. Despite having no experience, he’s hired aboard the well-worn trawler Miami Vice and embarks with captain Nash and fellow crew member Cole for the Bering Sea. Adam, who’s desperate to avoid dropping out of college and returning to his Podunk hometown in Ohio, takes to the work eagerly.

After losing his scholarship, a college kid takes a job aboard a commercial fishing ship headed to the Bering Sea. Along with fishing, he learns life lessons from his fellow shipmates. I really
really wanted to like this one, but I could not connect with the characters. I think many will enjoy this one, it just wasn’t for me. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book!

This book might be my husbands wet dream. He watches all those icy fishing stuff and ice road trucking shit that I can't be bothered with.
I was so surprised that I actually liked this book. The main guy has gotten himself in a bit of trouble and lost his scholarship to a snooty college. He needs 26,000 bucks in a hurry so he can finish school.

Someone suggests commercial fishing.

I no longer really want to eat fish and I'm terrified of the ocean and the angry ocean is even worse.

Then the ending. Lort.

3.5 stars

Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.

So I learned some things from reading this book, mainly that I wouldn't want to be a fisherman for a living. The author does a great job at portraying just how difficult and dangerous that job is. It's a very well written book and an amazing feat for a debut author, I just didn't enjoy the subject matter. My thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The North Line by Matt Riordan is an adventure thriller following a commercial fishing crew at the Bering Sea in the early 1990's. It is highly recommended.

Due to a poor choice in his junior year at Danby, Adam has lost his lacrosse scholarship. College officials will allow him to return and finish his senior year, but he need $26,000 for tuition. A friend sets him up to join a commercial fishing crew at the Bering Sea. He has no previous experience, but very quickly learns what the brutal, dangerous job involves. Surprisingly, Adam finds an authenticity in the lifestyle, and even finds the relentless work and way of life invigorating. There are unforeseen challenges coming and an untrustworthy boss, both of which will force Adam to face who he really is.

The descriptions of life at sea and the work involved are extremely well done and will pull you right into the narrative. Once you start reading you will likely want to keep reading right to the end. This is truly a dirty job that people do for one reason: to earn a lot of money quickly. Reading what the job encompasses will make you question if it is worth it, but it clearly is for Adam. He needs money for college and this is his only hope. It begs the question: what would you do in the same situation?

Adam is a complex, fully realized character. The work aboard the ship and interaction with others help establish who he is and also the skills he has that others wouldn't realize. The action does slow a bit in the middle, but picks up the pace again to the dramatic ending. For Fans of "The Deadliest Catch" and novels pushing a man to his limit, this would be an excellent choice. Thanks to Hyperion Avenue for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.








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The North Line by Matt Riordan caught my eye with its unique setting aboard an Alaskan commercial fishing boat. Our protagonist, college junior Adam, is desperate to make a quick $26,000 over the summer to finance his final year of school, and although he knows nothing about the industry, he decides that being a deck hand on a Bering Sea fishing boat will be the answer to his financial woes. Unfortunately for Adam, the gig comes with great risk to his body and soul.

This is an impressive debut my Matt Riordan, and I assume he knows what he is talking about concerning the commercial fishing industry; I certainly don't;) The writing was strong and descriptive. I was enthralled to learn about this cutthroat industry, as the competition among fishing boats sounds fierce and the working conditions brutal. Adam, along with Nash and Cole, are pushed to their limits and then some. When many of the fishing crews prepare to strike for better prices, Adam's crew goes out to fish - not making any friends. The story was intense with graphic scenes of violence with fishing and crude banter among crewmates. This book is not for the faint of heart, and it may have ruined me for eating salmon.

Adam's character is complex and nuanced. I couldn't decide whether to cheer him or jeer him. The ending surprised me and I must admit, disappointed me. This was an excellent debut, and I can't wait to read the author's future work.

I will recommend this to readers who like intense fiction with a gritty plot.

Thank you to Hyperion Avenue and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

“The North Line” by Matt Riordan was amazing, and hard to believe this was the author’s first book! The story is about a 3rd year college student on the Lacrosse team who losses his scholarship because of being caught selling drugs. In order raise the money for his final year he joins the crew of a fishing vessel in the Bering sea. The dangerous work and harsh life was not what he expected to say the least. I was reading this book and holding my breath the whole time. An amazing suspenseful read with an unexpected ending.

Thank you NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Genre: Adventure/ Suspense
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Pub. Date: April 2, 2024

The book’s blurb compares Matt Riordan to Jack London. Indeed, there are similarities between “Call of the Wild” and “The North Line.” In the 1990s, Adam, a college student needing quick money, finds work on an Alaskan commercial fishing boat in the unforgiving Bering Sea, which sits at the edge of the world. The author will make you feel the strong winds, freezing temperatures, and icy waters. I learned that these combinations make for some of the most ferocious waves on the planet, where the water can rise and fall 30 feet on a typical day. The vivid authenticity of the writing is superb. I was surprised that this book is the author’s debut novel.

Although his thumbnail is ripped off on his first day, Adam finds that day’s adventure and labor exhilarating. He also enjoys crude comradery with his crewmembers, feeling they possess hard-earned knowledge. However, Adam is thrown into a despicable fight when a fisherman’s strike threatens the entire season. By the novel’s end, Adam will no longer have teeth and no longer resemble the college student he once was.

“Some lines should not be crossed, even at the ragged edge of civilization.” The surprise ending seems to say survival of the fittest is cruel. This novel is recommended (even if you know nothing about commercial fishing for a living, as I didn’t). It would be best to go in knowing you will be fascinated and repulsed simultaneously.

A gritty and immersive thriller with a stunning sense of place. Perfect for fans of The Deadliest Catch, S.A. Cosby, and Sebastian Junger.

OMG! What an awesome and exciting book! Don't hesitate to get this and start reading it. I want to read it again! What a debut to start your writing career with. How I loved the ending also! To start off with you may think it's slow but worth every minute to me as I learned a lot of how Ocean fishing works! Such a hard job and not only thrilling but very dangerous. The entire book pretty much keeps to the boat and ocean in the story and you may even get sea sick yourself! I am so happy I got to read it, thank you and highly recommend to all.

3.5 Stars, rounded up

Imagine you're facing your final year of college. You've lost your free-ride scholarship. What would you do?

Although Adam knows nothing about the fishing industry, he's desperate to earn the $26,000.00 he needs for his tuition. This leads to his decision to join an Alaskan fishing crew that promises quick money. Adam is shocked to find he find he likes the challenge of the dangerous work and harsh lifestyle. He's witnessing a whole new side of himself!

The North Line is a riveting and graphic look into the fishing industry. I found it to be a well-written book, although I may never eat fish again...

Many thanks to both #HyperionAvenue and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of The North Line The expected publication date is April 2, 2024.