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Read if you like:
✈️ sci-fi thriller
✈️ short, action-packed chapters
✈️ countdown to “the event”
✈️ heart-pounding rescue missions
✈️ beautiful relationships between characters

TJ Newman sure knows how to suck you into a story right from the very first page! It starts with the heart of the action immediately and there’s literally no way you can’t be hooked immediately. I flew right through this book because I didn’t want to put it down!
I love the format of this book, with each chapter counting down to “Zero Hour” (the time when the major event takes place), and anticipation building with each chapter and every time we get closer to the “event”. Will they stop it in time????
There are so many random facts thrown in this book, and while I haven’t personally fact-checked them, I feel like the author did a ton of research about many different topics to be able to include these things.
I really appreciate Newman’s writing style; there is no fluff or unnecessary detail… it is action packed and keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time you are reading.
The book kept switching back-and-forth between 2 rescue missions, which really made for an adrenaline packed story! I have a 4 year old boy myself so one of these rescue missions really resonated with me. I shed a few tears more than once while reading this ❤️
This was such an intense, horrible situation book but the way everyone came together to help out for the greater good was really beautiful. This was exactly the kind of book I needed to read with the way the world is right now.
I really loved all of these characters and there were so many relationships that were beautiful to see: but one father/son relationship in particular was really enjoyable to see. Heart-breaking, but so beautiful at the same time.
I did not expect to shed so many tears while reading a sci-fi thriller (which is not usually my reading style), but I guess that’s why TJ Newman’s book are so loved ❤️ Heart-pounding, edge of your seat adrenaline read with also so much love and goodness between the characters…. This was very truly a whirlwind of emotions and it was one of my favourite reads in such a long time 🩷🩷🩷

What a fantastic book from TJ Newman, AGAIN! This was edge of my seat exciting. I felt for the characters and the whole town as they battle the worst case possible. A jet plane that crashes into a nuclear powerplant. The characters, the situation, had me cheering, laughing and crying. Sometimes on the same page. Newman is a master at creating a riveting story. She manages to keep the story flowing quickly and yet weaves in just enough backstory to keep you invested in her characters. TJ Newman is solidly an auto buy author for me.

Wow. T.J. Newman is such a talented author. This is a fast-paced thriller that starts off with a plane crashing into a nuclear power plant.

Newman has a gift of being able to write a story that will educate you, keep you on the edge of your seat, and make you cry. I could not put this book down. It was thrilling and terrifying. It was raw and heartbreaking.

I cannot say enough good things about the writing. There were no plot holes, or undeveloped characters. The story was deep and gripping from start to finish. The characters were… wow. I found myself cheering them on while reading. They were real. I would want all of them by my side if tragedy were to hit.

Newman is 3/3 for her books so far and I hope she continues writing more. I was so excited to get an ARC copy of this amazing thriller. I was anxiously waiting release day so the fact I got to read early was so exciting!!!

This is definitely a heartbreaking book, but if you love thrillers, this is the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for sending me an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

This novel is without a doubt the most intense and suspenseful book I’ve ever read - just incredible!! My heart was pounding while feeling the emotions of hundreds of people affected by the tragedy as well as the devastating aftermath. An extremely powerful and well-written book…highly recommend. That being said, it evokes all of the emotions and is not for the faint of heart. The in-depth research and descriptions are phenomenal.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

What an amazing thrill ride! I was hooked from the first chapter. A roller coaster of emotions. Filled with edge of your seat cliffhangers. The survival of the country hangs in the balance. A great cast of characters, a plot filled with twists and turns. This is a great way to wrap up summer reading.

This is what a summer thriller should be like: characters that feel like people you know and care about, non stop action and breath taking situations, and near terror as it feels like there is no possible way for anyone to survive. My heart rate soared and I found new things to be terrified of, but I loved every moment of reading this book.

YES! My summer blockbuster book! T.J. Newman does it again with one of the most intriguing worst case scenarios - nuclear meltdown.

Everyone who loved HBO’s Chernobyl is going to love T.J. Newman’s new thriller, Worst Case Scenario. In the small town of Waketa, Minnesota disaster strikes as a flight goes down in the most importune area - a nuclear power plant. With the Mississippi River as the closest water source, the clock is ticking for the employees at Clover Hill Nuclear Power Plant to repair the damaged building before an explosion changes the entire world forever.

A great cast of characters with heart and grit, Worst Case Scenario will fan the flames of your American spirit. I You will smirk. You will cry. You will certainly raise an eyebrow with Dr. Jocelyn Vance.

Thank you to NetGalley, Little, Brown and Company, and the author T.J. Newman for an ARC of Worst Case Scenario in exchange for an honest review!

T.J. Newman knows how to write a book that'll have you holding on for dear life! Starts off with a bang from the first paragraph and doesn't let up until the last.

Contingency planning for catastrophe can only take you so far which the small town of Waketa, Minnesota finds out when a commercial airliner crashes into the local nuclear power plant. As the hours quickly pass, the threat of a national radiation crisis becomes more real.

Really liked this one but I didn't think it was quite as riveting as Newman's first two novels, Falling and Drowning. In my opinion, this one didn't have the same sense of claustrophobic, heart pounding, breath holding intensity. With that said, I finished in 24 hours because the girl can write some suspense!

Thank you to Little, Brown & Co. and Netgalley for the early copies!

read if you like:
✈️ plane thrillers
🥺 crisis stories told from multiple angles
☢️ nuclear disasters

summary:
I received the audiobook ARC of this book earlier and loved it, so when I had the opportunity to read the book itself, I figured, why not? Sometimes it’s harder to catch some of the details in an audiobook, so I figured it was worth the read.

A quick recap: a plane crashes into a nuclear power plant in Waketa, Minnesota, and we follow the chaos of the accident from many perspectives — the power plant workers, firefighters, government officials, and teachers at a nearby school. The story counts down in a race against time, and follows these characters as they try to deal with the situation and save the town and themselves.

For some reason, I was far more overcome with emotion reading the book versus listening to the recording. Maybe it’s seeing the words on the page and being able to re-read them. The characters in this book are just incredible. In all of Newman’s books, she does an amazing job of pulling you in, putting you in their shoes and connecting you to them in a way that almost feels tragic. Everyone in this story makes sacrifices, for their families and their community, and it’s heartbreaking to read how each of them put others before themselves. She makes you feel them so deeply, even the President, reporting from hundreds of miles away, and makes you feel a part of the Waketa.

Like the audiobook, the technical jargon about nuclear power plants can be a little bit complex at times, but it feels important to the integrity of the story and more importantly, feels like a parallel to what everyone in the town is facing - this crisis that no one understands.

The ending. Whew. I cried real tears, just like I have in her other books. But it feels so satisfying and complete that it’s hard to complain.

This book will make you feel ALL the feels, I promise. THANK YOU to Little, Brown & Company and Net Galley for the ARC, and do NOT miss this book when it comes out August 13.

Thank you, NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the copy of Worst Case Scenario by T. J. Newman. Wow, what an astounding book. The action moves at a breakneck speed, and the countdown clock at the beginning of each chapter adds to the tension. The characters were so compelling and well-written I got attached to them. It’s hard to find a thriller that has genuine emotional impact and this book hit a home run. Do not miss this book.

5/5! ✨✨✨✨✨

➜ Oh my goodness, I absolutely devoured this book and could not put it down. As a fellow flight attendant, I'm not sure why we get a thrill out of reading about our own potential demises, but I soaked this up. (Still never hoping I come even remotely close to going through something like this). 🫠

➜ We start off at 35,000 feet, where a pilot is having a heart attack, the other pilot can't get back into the flight deck, a flight attendant is trying to fly the plane, and it's plummeting.....straight for a nuclear power plant in the small town of Waketa, Minneapolis. Unfortunately, it hits said power plant, and we end up seeing a nation in complete chaos, trying to figure out how to stop the power plant from causing mass extinction, or in other words a level 8 on the nuclear event scale, a level higher than the catastrophic Chernobyl and Hiroshima were. (I don't ever wanna think of a world where this is the case🥴🥴).

➜ Along the way, we meet the president of the United States, nuclear scientists, military, and ordinary small-town folk, who all come together to try and save their town, and potentially, their world. We get to read the story from each one of their point of views. This had to be my favorite part of the entire book. I loved all of the characters and what each one contributed to the story. There is a lot of heartbreak and sadness that comes with getting attached to these characters and it definitely triggered some emotions. 😩😩😩

➜ Overall, this was a fast paced thriller that kept you on the edge of your seat and on the verge of a complete meltdown. As you progressed through the book, each chapter got significantly more stressful and intense, making it ridiculously hard to put down. I absolutely enjoyed this book, and am forever a fan of this author.

➜ A big thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown, and Company for giving me the opportunity to read this incredible thriller. Definitely add this to your TBR right now!

Worst Case Scenario by T J Newman

Worst Case Scenario is a fast paced action packed thriller that keeps you waiting to see what will happen next. When the pilot of a Boeing has a widow maker heart attack, killing him instantly, a series of disasters occur, each causing a more dangerous and deadly reaction than the one before. When the plane crashes, leaving a debris trail with a path of devastation and destruction in its wake, no one is prepared for the ultimate resting place of the plane, right into a nuclear power plant.

The book moves at such a fast paced speed, with the workers of the power plant and multiple government agencies trying to problem solve this catastrophic situation. I enjoyed the different characters, quickly becoming invested in them and their lives. Parts of this book made me think of Armageddon and Bruce Willis, making me hum Aerosmith I Don’t Want To Miss a Thing.

I didn’t want to put this book down. While the many points of view seemed to much in the beginning, I quickly understood why. This book also makes you go through a range of emotions, so be prepared for not only a roller coaster of a story, but an emotional ride as well. This was my first read by T J Newman, but it definitely won’t be my last. Definitely recommend this, but be prepared because you won’t want to stop reading until the very end.

TJ Newman blew me away with her debut, Falling. Dare I say, Worst Case Scenario is even better! This is truly a heart stopping story and will have you on the edge of your seat the whole time!!! The character development in this book will have you feeling like you personally know the town and the people. And while there are a lot of characters, they all fall into place and with all the scenarios occurring simultaneously, they’re all pertinent. This story will horrify you with its plot, with knowing it truly is a real possibility, and with the author’s ability to make you feel like you are on the plane, on the bridge, in the plant. Newman has evoked emotions of shock, fear, thill, suspense, heartbreak and redemption. It will be a top thriller of the year!!! Just…WOW!
When a pilot suffers a medical emergency, he sets off a catastrophic event in a small town in Minnesota which houses a nuclear power plant. The ordinary people of Waketa, Minnesota – the plant employees, the firefighters, teachers, community members- must make decisions that will have rippling effects to the world at large.
I also received the audiobook, phenomenally narrated by Joe Morton! He captured the voice of each of the characters perfectly, expressing their confusion, fear, horror, love and compassion. The radio transmission sound effects were so jarring and greatly enhanced the audio version! Excellent addition!!

This book was action packed the entire start to finish, and so well done with the voice acting!! Made you feel like you were in the story.

What would you do when faced with the worst case scenario?? This book poses that question and delves into the lives of several characters during one of the worst tragedies to happen, and the actions/effects that take place to and with these individuals!
This was my first book by this author, but this was a fantastic, fast paced, action packed, and heart pumping book that will keep you flipping the pages to know what happens next.
Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for the audiobook of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, TJ Newmann and Little, Brown & Company for the ARC/ALC!

The Queen of emotional, action-packed thrillers is back! Truly no other author tugs at my heart strings or gets my anxiety spiked quite like TJ Newman - Lol! Her previous book, “Drowning”, was one of my top books I read last year so I was very excited when her newest book, “Worst Case Scenario”, showed up on Netgalley. The tension truly radiates off the pages (and comes across in audio) with this story. I couldn’t even begin to put myself in the headspace these people were in - what do you do when you are living the worst case scenario? The terror, the sadness, the absolute uncertainty of the situation is something I can’t imagine, and Newman wrote it SO incredibly lifelike. Everyday people became heroes, putting the welfare of others above their own, refusing to give up if it meant saving a life. Without giving spoilers, my heart both broke and was put back together in this story, and it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

”Drowning” releases August 13, 2024! This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

TJ Newman merged my two (of many) fascinations, planes and nuclear power plants. We’re given multiple POVs in to this horrific situation and how everyone is handling it; from firefighters, the president, the townspeople, people in the plant, and all of their families. Worst Case Scenario is thrilling and anxiety inducing but made me cry.

Thank you Little Brown and NetGalley for providing eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was lucky enough to have a physical and ALC. I went back and forth between both. The author captured me from the beginning and I would consider a real thriller. The narrator did an excellent job.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for both copies.
4/5 star

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of Worst Case Scenario by T.J. Newman due to be published August 13, 2024.
I had previously read Falling and Drowning so I was excited to get this newest book by T.J. Newman.
A pilot suffering a heart attack sets off a chain reaction of a catastrophic nature when it crashes into a nuclear power plant near the small town of Waketa, Minnesota. Level 7 is bad; this is Level 8 – the first one of its kind. Will they be able to save the town and everyone around it?
This was a heart-stopping thriller with the disaster told from many different viewpoints – from people in the town to those working at the nuclear plant to the president of the United States – each involved in their own way.
It was a riveting, hold-on-to-your seat non-stop action book to say the least. The way it counted down from 16 hours to 0 for the ultimate disaster.
Another good one from T.J. Newman – it may be a long time before I get on a plane!
#NetGalley #TJNewman #LittleBrownAndCompany #WorstCaseScenario

First I would like to thank Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for the ARC of this novel.

I have been wanting to read a T.J. Newman book forever and I was so excited when I received this one. The reviews are right about what a fast paced exciting thriller this is. I loved the characters in this book and how each of them had a way of contributing during the crisis.

I think my favorite aspect of the book was the way the community came together. The small town vibes of this book, the love everyone had for each other and the way they were willing to sacrifice for each other..

My only complaint was how sad this book was. For a thriller I wasn’t expecting it.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was a solid 4/5 read for me.

Imagine an accomplished pilot suffering a widow-maker heart attack while 295 lives are in his hands at 35,000 feet. The plane crashes into the worst possible place: a nuclear power plant in the small town of Waketa, Minneapolis, creating damage more catastrophic than expected, potentially reaching Level 8 on the nuclear event scale—a level higher than Hiroshima and Chernobyl. This catastrophic national crisis has global implications, including a leak from the plant that contaminates the Mississippi River, affecting agricultural resources, forcing evacuations, and disrupting the entire balance of habitation sources.

The book follows numerous perspectives and crowded characters dealing with the situation in their own ways, including the White House crew. The entire world's eyes are on Waketa's race against time, with a countdown of 16 hours and 38 minutes. The bravery shown, the solutions embraced, and the sacrifices made for the greater good of humanity are genuine and extremely touching.