If you're looking for a fast-paced, thrilling adventure, this is a great novel to pick up! Set in a believable near future, Annie is 9 months pregnant and is shopping for a crib at IKEA when a massive earthquake hits Portland, Oregon. The rest of the story is Annie's journey through a broken city to try to find her husband with alternating flashback chapters that showcase Annie's life leading up to the earthquake. This is fast-paced and suspenseful but rooted in a future that could exist. Recommended!

Another underrated book to add to your tbr!

Thank you @marysueruccibooks for my #gifted copy!

Annie is 9 months pregnant when she finds herself in IKEA when a massive earthquake hits. Unable to reach her husband, she sets out to find him admist the destruction of the quake. Told in alternating timelines, Annie reflects on her past as she prepares for the birth of her first child and hopes to find her partner alive.

I FLEW THROUGH THIS BOOK!!!! I’m not sure why I haven’t seen it on here, but it needs to be on your tbr. The writing was beautiful and the story was so engaging.

Annie was such a great protagonist and learning about her and her journey was captivating. If you’re looking for a fast, thoughtful read, you should check this one out.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What happens if you are 9 months pregnant and there is a massive earthquake? Buildings ( including the one you are in ) collapse, roads buckle, services are crippled. You have no car, no phone and no way to get in touch with your husband. This is the premise that Emma Pattee explores in Tilt. With humor and heartache Pattee writes a page turner that also explores one young mother's maturation.

I was a little torn on how to rate this. It was probably more of a 3.5, but I rounded up. It was intriguing enough to keep me reading and I was able to get through it quickly, but I also just was left without a lot of questions (I’m sure that was kind of the point). I also live in an area that is supposed to get a bad earthquake sometime in my lifetime, so that aspect was a bit terrifying for sure. Annie’s journey home after the earthquake was harrowing and full of devastation, as well as some hope; but, I just don’t quite know how I feel. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this.

3.5 rounded up to 4

Well-written and poignant novel with shades of The Road and disaster stories. Lots of contemplative passages about motherhood, grafted on top of a realistic look at how "the big one" might actually unfold in Portland, OR. Would recommend.

I ran through this book!

I could not put it down!
The premise: Annie is nine months pregnant and shopping for a crib at Ikea when a massive earthquake hits Portland Oregon. She has no phone,,no money and no way to reach her husband.So she starts walking.
This book is set over the course of one day and it was so good.

Highly recommend if you want a quick read that sets your heart pounding!

Thank you to NetGalley for the Arc. All opinions are my own.

Tilt is a read I haven't been able to shake (!) since I finished it. It has stayed with me, and I've recommended it to all who allow me to Book Talk. It's about one of my home towns, and the detail with which that town is described is spot on - I can close my eyes and be right on that corner, in that aisle, or order counter. I KNOW that rack in IKEA. Seriously. All my place love buttons were pushed - not one "yeah, but. . ." could be found in my judge-y mind.

Also - am a fan of earthquake lit (fic and non-fic), and this one is stunning and compelling. Also - have given birth like it was a hobby, find all those bits perfectly placed. Also - grew up in earthquake country and have experienced earthquakes and know the immediate dive into another reality, the before and after, all manmade resources turned to decor in one wild snap (survival training kicks in, safe water, shelter and firepits being first contemplated). This read hits all that - readers will want to pull out their most recent plan for when The Big One hits. . . .and take a nice hot shower. . .

Highly recommended if a can't-put-it-down-read is wanted. Keep basics available - like water and fully loaded backpacks for you and all yours. Oh, and you may want to call your mother and thank her for those first primal moments you spent together - no matter how it's all turned out.

*A sincere thank you to Emma Pattee, Simon Element | S&S / Marysue Rucci Books*

This book was really weird and visceral, especially the scene where she runs into the teenagers. However it was also gripping and page turning. I enjoyed it for being a wild ride. I do not think I will be going to Ikea in person again.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was interesting. I feel like we were just reading the free-flowing thoughts and memories of our narrator. I actually really like that type of narration as it is similar to Sandwich by Catherine Newman. I also identified with a lot of what our main character was thinking/feeling about her pregnancy, the world's reaction to that, and her husband. While I have never been in a natural disaster of that magnitude, I found the story to be very relatable and felt very honest. The pacing is a bit slow but that is due to the fact that it is centered around one womans inner world versus the action of what's happening around her. I was a bit disappointed that we did not get any wrap up at the end. It kind of just ended with the culmination of one thing and left me with a lot of questions about after and other characters. I feel like that is kind of the point of this book though. Sometimes you are just left not knowing and never getting to know. It also allows for you to imagine what might happen next.

Prepare to devour this one...

Summary
Set over the course of one day, a heart-racing story about a woman facing the unimaginable, determined to find safety. Annie is nine months pregnant and shopping for a crib at IKEA when a massive earthquake hits Portland, Oregon. With no way to reach her husband, no phone or money, and a city left in chaos, she realizes there’s nothing to do but walk.

This short, heart-pumping book somehow completely immersed me and I was really surprised at how much depth there was and how thought provoking it was.

Thank you @netgalley for the advanced reader copy and @libr0fm for the complimentary listening copy - I think either format would work, but I primarily listened and I COULD NOT STOP.
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This is a story of perseverance and hope in an unimaginable situation. It will make you question how you would react and behave in a similar disaster scenario. A page turner for sure!

There were parts of this book I enjoyed and other parts that didn’t land well for me. As a Portland native, I enjoyed the setting as I could visualize where everything was happening. “The Big One” happening is often in the back of mind for those that live here. That being said I found this book rather slow and the pacing off. I found the ending unfulfilling and too sudden without tying up many loose threads. This had potential but just wasn’t as good as I anticipated.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Element for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Emma Pattee's Tilt is a brilliant debut that combines fast-paced storytelling with deeply emotional undertones, leaving me both breathless and reflective. Following Annie's harrowing journey across a post-earthquake Portland, the novel captures the rawness of survival, the fragility of human connections, and the weight of motherhood. As a climate scientist, I was super impressed by the meticulous research that anchors the story in a plausible reality, making the disaster feel all the more immediate. Annie's resilience and her bond with her unborn child, Bean, are beautifully rendered, pulling the reader into her fears and hopes. Pattee’s background in journalism shines through in the tight, compelling prose, and the book's ability to keep you hooked while navigating themes of marriage, career, and self-discovery. This is a must-read for anyone who loves stories that blend emotional depth with gripping action!

I really loved the beginning and middle of the book—it definitely felt like the story continued to develop and build and the grueling journey of a woman who wasn’t sure she wanted to be a mother but grew into her survivalist nature was inspiring. But the closer to the end it got, the more the story felt unfinished, and rushed, and it just lost me.

I think with a little more refinement at the end with a really solid conclusion it could have been a great story. Everything after she abandons her new friend, and all of her potential safety and resources…it just didn’t make sense to me. The ending was especially underwhelming.

@simon.audio @simonbooks | #partner I have to admit that I was initially skeptical about 𝗧𝗜𝗟𝗧 by Emma Pattee, but I’m happy to report that I was completely wrong. This story is about a woman, nine months pregnant, who’s shopping at an IKEA in Portland, OR when a massive earthquake hits. Miles from home and with no other options, Annie sets off to walk the miles it will take to reach her husband. So, why was I skeptical? There was a book published in 2016, 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 by Elizabeth Percer, that had a very similar set up. I worried this might be a story I’d read before. It wasn’t!⁣
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I loved what debut author Pattee did with her story. It took place in the present or near future, but climate issues were even worse than we have now and that played a role in Annie’s journey. I also very much like how she told Annie’s story, alternating between her journey toward her husband and her relationship with him, their history and her mixed feelings about having a child. She became more and more sympathetic as her story evolved and I so appreciated the way she grew on me over the course of the book. Pattee also did an amazing job imagining all the consequences of a massive earthquake in a city ill-prepared for one. ⁣
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I can’t conclude this review without giving kudos to the audiobook’s narrator, Ariel Blake. She did an incredible job bringing Annie to life, conveying terror, hope, exhaustion, love, fear and so much more to the character. Between Pattee’s masterful storytelling and Blake’s performance 𝘛𝘪𝘭𝘵 is a story I won’t soon forget. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

This book was really a page turner for me. Does the Annie get through the day of this earthquake? Does she make it home? Does she find her husband? The author wrote this is a way that made me really want to know what happened. I could picture the story taking place and really wanted to know the outcome. Compelling reading.

What a scary premise. A major earthquake in Portland, OR and a pregnant woman walking across the city in search of her husband.

Annie was shopping for a crib at an Ikea store when the earthquake hit, she tried to stay safe by crawling under a rack. When the shock ended she was rescued by an employee realizing that her purse with her phone and car keys were under a pile of boxes as she headed for the exit. There is a lot to make me very afraid of an earthquake as Annie deals with no food or water and fires start in the city.

Annie also finds out that her husband had been less than honest about where he was going to be that day. Will she find him, will she stay safe? Will she make it to safety before her baby is born? You have to read to find out.

Solid four stars. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

It’s one of those books that sneaks up on you—not flashy, not overly dramatic, but it gets under your skin in this quiet, thoughtful way.

The whole story has this slightly off-balance feeling (which, I guess, fits the title perfectly). It’s about grief and identity and memory, but it never feels like it’s trying too hard to be deep—it just is. The way Pattee writes is subtle and sharp at the same time. Her sentences are simple but pack a punch, and there’s this underlying tension that keeps you leaning in, even during the quieter moments.

What stood out to me most was how human it felt. The characters weren’t overly polished or dramatic—they just felt real, in all their messiness and contradictions. There were moments where I caught myself thinking, “Oh... I’ve felt that before,” and that kind of connection is always a sign of a solid read.

The plot isn’t super fast-paced, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s more about the slow unraveling, both of the story and the characters. By the time I got to the end, I was just sitting there like, “Huh. That hit harder than I expected.”

Tilt by Emma Pattee had me completely hooked from the very first page. The story follows Annie, nine months pregnant, shopping for a crib at IKEA when a devastating earthquake hits Portland. With no way to contact her husband and chaos unfolding around her, she makes the bold decision to walk home. The novel takes place over the course of a single day, and it pulls you along with an intensity that makes it nearly impossible to put down.

As Annie navigates the wreckage—both physical and emotional—she’s forced to make one tough choice after another, and you can’t help but ask yourself, “What would I do in her place?” The pacing, the tension, and the emotional depth kept me fully invested. I was ready to put this book at the very top of my list… until the final chapter.

The last chapter felt like a sharp shift in tone and perspective, almost like it belonged to a different book entirely. It jolted me out of what had been such an immersive and gripping story, and left me a bit unsettled. That said, I know not everyone will feel the same—and I would love to sit in on a book club discussion to hear other perspectives on that ending.

Despite that one hiccup, I still highly recommend Tilt to readers who enjoy fast-paced, emotionally charged stories, especially those with a “what would you do?” kind of hook. It’s a quick but intense read, perfect for book clubs—especially if you’re ready to debate that final chapter.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

Wow! This book blew me away. Annie is 9 months pregnant, shopping in Ikea, when a major earthquake strikes, destroying the entire town of Portland. She walks across the city, trying to find her husband and get back home. Along the way, she meets people, reflects on her life and relationships, and tries to avoid danger. This is an interesting character study, but it will also make you think: what would you do when the world collapses and all rules of society are broken? What would you do if your town was destroyed? I do wish there had been just a bit more to the ending, as the reader is left with a lot of questions. But I flew through this and absolutely loved the writing.