The premise of this story of an earthquake and a pregnant woman in an IKEA store was the initial reason I read the story. The entire story is told within 24 hours and written is a realistic manner. I felt I was with the main character as she navigated the situation.

My only criticism was I wished the author had wrapped up loose ends with certain characters. I was left wanting more at the conclusion.

I’d recommend this book for readers who want a peek at what happens when a city falls apart from a natural disaster and how people react and handle the situation, especially when being pregnant.

Put this on your radar for 2025. It's getting a lot of buzz, deservedly. Was just put on the New York Times' list of books to look for this spring.

Tilt is a difficult book to put down. In alternating chapters, the novel follows a pregnant woman in the aftermath of a colossal earthquake on the West Coast. Her experience is juxtaposed against snippets of life throughout her relationship and pregnancy that show feelings of disconnect between her partner, job, and unborn child. After reading the author’s notes, this novel comes across as an exploration of fear at the prospect of a real earthquake in Portland, and the city’s lack of preparedness for such an event.

The thriller aspect of the novel was very gripping, but I struggled to connect with the main character. I found her frustrating, as well as her decisions or lack-thereof in both timelines. I was largely disappointed in the ending – I found It fairly predictable, and was hoping that it would go in a different direction. I’m glad I had a chance to read Tilt, as it was a title I was really anticipating, but it ultimately fell short for me.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Simon Element for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

As someone who loves disaster books and lives in Oregon, Tilt was very appealing!

I was immediately drawn into the story and I didn’t want to put it down. I liked how the book alternated between the past and the current timeline to add layers to the story. It was super short so it felt like it flew by. I really enjoyed the author’s writing and was surprised when I found out it was a debut novel. It is incredibly engaging and I cannot wait to read more books by this author!

My only complaint is the end seemed a bit abrupt. I wanted just a little more or maybe an epilogue or something.

Overall- a super enthralling read and one I’d recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

The book opens with Annie, nine months pregnant and shopping for a crib alone at Ikea. She's in the warehouse when a massive, catastrophic earthquake rocks Portland. The rest of the book follows her as she searches for her husband across the city and struggles to choose between morality and survival. Annie's not a perfect person, but I liked her and was right there traveling with her, wondering what I'd do in a similar situation. In the author's note, Pattee says what's described in the book is believed to be what will actually happen when a large-magnitude earthquake hits the West Coast. So yeah, here's me halfway across the country adding earthquakes to my list of things to worry about.

Scary as it was, I did really like the book. It was well-paced, with flashbacks from Annie's life interspersing the present-day action. I think both character-driven and plot-driven readers will find something to enjoy, as this book is a good mix of both.

My one minor critique - I would have kinda liked an epilogue!

This book had me totally invested in the main character right from the start. She is pregnant and stuck in the aftermath of an earthquake. It is told over one day in the present with flashbacks to before the earthquake. A quick and suspenseful read. I would have liked to see an epilogue just to wrap up some loose ends, but overall I really liked it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this advanced reader’s copy.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon Element for the free book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars. Chances are you’ve already started hearing the buzz for this one, and I am so thrilled to join the hype train! This one is so good. Annie is nine months pregnant and shopping for a crib at IKEA (yes, she knows she procrastinated too long) when a massive earthquake hits. The city quickly descends into chaos, and Annie sets out on foot to find her husband across town.

This was the absolutely perfect combination of plot and character development for me and it lives up to the premise. I flew through this in just a few days because of the fast pace and how short the book is. But we also got flashbacks to learn more about Annie and her husband, and the writing was so good I saved multiple quotes (which is rare for me!). I also loved that the book is based on so much research into what will likely happen if or when this earthquake hits, from the length and severity of the shaking to the emergency response to all the other dangers Annie encounters. Even Annie’s path through the city real, which is an element I love in books (I suppose you could take a walking tour if you really wanted to). Don’t miss the acknowledgments that explain more!

There are a lot of books coming out this year, but don’t miss this one!

This is the story about Annie a 30 something who is pregnant with her first baby. She goes crib shopping one day and while in the store an earthquake happens. I did enjoy the story but I felt it was missing something, I wanted more. Gave it 3 stars and will recommend.

This was a bit depressing. Pregnant women get impatient waiting for childbirth, and they get emotional. This poor woman is full of self pity as she awaits birth , laments her lack of finances, and is unhappy with her husband. After birth she is happier, but I could not feel happy for her as there was no indication that there was no permanent relief for her attitude or problems. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc and no pressure for a positive review.

Thank you, NetGalley and Simon Element | S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books for this ArC for review. I couldn’t put this down, it was so good. A pregnant woman is out shopping for crib before her baby arrives any minute when an earthquake hits the city and disaster strikes. Phone lines are down and she doesn’t know if her husband is still alive. She is literally just trying to survive to find a safe place before she delivers her infant. This is a bit of an apocalyptic story, but also just the human story of survival and compassion.

Tense and harrowing, it really makes you feel the protagonist's panic. But it isn't only a disaster/survival story; it's a carpe diem tale that reminds us never to put off our dreams or leave any regrets, because you never know what tomorrow will bring.

WHAT. A. RIDE.

First — all the things. This is going to be big. Compulsively readable. Important. Heartbreaking. Funny. Prophetic in the worst and best ways.

But also so quiet and beautiful in its look at the embarrassing pain of having chosen to put your dreams aside in order to pay rent, have life insurance, afford food. The tension of that within a marriage. Love and fear and rage during unimaginable disaster. The city of Portland as a character I got to know so, so well.

There isn’t much I feel I can say without spoiling, but good lord, read this.

Warning for a couple extremely difficult scenes, but dealt with tenderly.

First thing is first: Don't read about this one - go in cold. Trust me. You will not be able to put this one down. Not only is it a nail-biter but it also has a fascinating story that had me thinking about relationships and regret and friendships and choices. It checked every box for me and I stayed up WAY too late reading it from start to finish in a day. And it's a DEBUT?! Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy. LOVED IT.

In Tilt a woman, 37 weeks pregnant, is caught in a devastating earthquake. She walks with great difficulty across the destroyed city hoping to find her husband. Her whole world is upside down and she takes in all around her, thinking of having her baby soon, helping some and being helped by others. Tilt is a reflective journey during a major event when only the unknown is ahead. A captivating read.

This is the closest thing to a thriller that I've enjoyed in a long time, because it actually had some substance and depth. I was on the edge of my seat and rooting for her and frustrated and scared and all of the emotions. The ending will be polarizing, but I thought it was perfect.

This was a bingeble book, I love how the whole book was our main character Annie talking to her unborn baby. It was easy to follow and Annie was so relatable. It felt very elder millennial and I was 100% here for it.

We meet Annie, 37 weeks pregnant and trying to buy a baby crib at IKEA when a massive earthquake hits Portland. She is trapped in IKEA but a nice woman helps her out and gets her out of the building. Annie has no phone or car keys anymore and no way of contacting her husband, so she does the only thing she can think of and starts walking towards the cafe her husband, Dom works at.

This is no easy task because she’s 37 weeks pregnant and this is a multiple miles long journey in sandals. Along the way she meets many people struggling to survive and make sense of this tragedy. This isn’t a small earthquake, half of the city is flattened.

As we follow Annie along her walk, she talks about what is currently happening and also flashbacks to memories.
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😃 the good
This was a fast read, I read it in a 24 hour period. I found Annie to be very real and deep as a character. It felt like a friend was telling me about her day.

🤔food for thought
This book has some heavy stuff in it due to the devastating earthquake, it details a death and mentions death of a child (not in detail). You see the darker side to humanity during an emergency.
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Overall this book reminded me a lot of the book Severance which is an all time favorite of mine.

I’m not generally a dystopian novel fan, but this one has been second guessing that. Beautifully written, fully immersive, terrifying.

IKEA, a mega quake and a very pregnant woman make for a very interesting combo! The story opens with Annie, who is 9 months pregnant, shopping at IKEA for a crib. She is exhausted, short tempered and thinks she is at the end of her rope when Portland is hit by a huge earthquake and she discovers her troubles have just begun.
Trapped under rubble she discovers kindness in a stranger she previously treated terribly. They form a bond as they make their way through a now alien world as around them Portland lies in ruins. With no phone to contact her husband and impassable roads, Annie sets out to her husband’s work to find him.
During this painful walk Emma Pattee is able to give us insight into Annie’s past. Although she moves with painful resolve with the singular goal of finding her husband, she has been living under the burden of the regret of her marriage and its potential disillusionment. She has lost respect for her husband who refuses to take responsibility and lives in the dreamland of becoming an actor.
That being said this book is about love for family. It is also about perspective. When all else is pulled away Annie realizes how important her child and her husband really are to her. We see how far she is willing to go to fight for them. Tilt also has a gentle side to it in the lovely way she talks to her unborn child. We see a kindness there and the love and fear of a young mother.
This is a wonderful book of determination and self doubt that was hard to put down. I found it hard to believe that Pattee is a debut author. Kudos to her!
I would like to thank Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. These opinions are my own.

I loved this book so much. After a devastating earthquake, 9 mos pregnant Annie is walking through the aftermath, trying to get home. It takes place over 1 day and the chapters alternate between present day and the past, with Annie narrating both timelines as telling a story to her baby, "Bean". I loved Annie's internal monologue, it really captured the spirit of an elder millennial. It was funny, sad, poignant. I laughed out loud and I cried.

The ending was open-ended which I typically do not like. But it worked perfect for the story.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

After a massive earthquake decimates Portland, Oregon, heavily pregnant Annie must navigate her way from the IKEA where she was crib shopping through the devastation to her home and her husband. Tension builds as Annie must walk through a city left in chaos, making this book, set over the course of one day, hard to put down.

As she walks, Annie reflects on her struggling marriage, her disappointing career and her anxiety about having a baby. Along the way she experiences humans in the throes of a natural crisis that brings out both the good and the bad: strangers offering help, looting of stores and an unlikely friendship with a young mother. If she makes it through, will she change her ways?

The author poignantly captured the rawness and desperation of the crisis and had me anxiously turning pages to see Annie’s day to the end. While I wasn’t completely satisfied with the conclusion, this gripping thriller has left me pondering what I would do in the event of a natural disaster. I especially enjoyed how the author utilized some of Annie’s thoughts and introspection to bring a lightness to such a heavy event. It made Annie’s character a little more likeable and relatable, which helped me connect to her more.

Thank you to Emma Pattee, Simon Element and NetGalley for a gifted digital copy of the book for an honest review.