Adrift
Author: Lisa Brideau
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 4⭐️

Synopsis: Ess wakes up alone on a sailboat off the coast of Canada. The only thing she knows is her name, having no memories of her past like or how she got there. A note on the boat says: don’t make yourself known and don’t look back. Ess sets off on an adventure to figure out who she was.

Thoughts: As someone who was not a fan of The Last Thing He Told Me, this one was a better read. It starts off slower but once you get to the main component of the story, it takes off. The idea of the world in the near future with people immigrating to Canada is very interesting and makes you wonder what would you do.

Read if:
* You loved The Last Thing He Told Me
* You question what the world will look like in the near future

Thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC!

This book was quite the wild ride. I never got bored and it kept me guessing the entire time. The ending was just perfect and really tied everything together. Such a unique book and so many twists and turns. One of my favorite this year, so far!

This book was fascinating! Mystery/thriller aren't my normal genres but this one was different. Set in the PNW, we get dropped into the action right up front and have to figure out what characters to trust / not trust. The book deftly weaves in climate concerns and concerns about immigration/refugees all while staying focused on the central mystery. While it doesn't resolve to my satisfaction, there was something comforting in the epilogue. Ess as a character is well developed - which felt impossible, given she has no memory - a successful feat on the author's part. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the free advance copy.

ADRIFT (Release May 9 2023) is a complicated and complex, but fascinating, Psychological/Climate Change Thriller. Set on Canada's Pacific Coast (North of Vancouver) in 2038-2039 (so not that far into the future), the globe is near or possibly just past, the Tipping Point of Climate Devolution, with many island nations already submerged and frequent "unprecedented" storms. Emigration and Immigration are hot topics, urgently, and as an estimated 50 million populace are confined to refugee camps or endangered by rising sea levels and flooding, established nations such as Canada struggle to balance national needs with the intensifying influx of Immigration. Suddenly a new issue arises: individuals discovered alone, on rickety boats, completely amnesiac. They speak English, have grasp of tasks, function normally, yet their autobiographical memories (personal experience) are absent. One of these discovers herself on a boat, Sea Dragon, anchored near an island chain in Canada's Haida Gwaii. With no recall, she sails to the mainland and from there to the town of Nanaimo, in pursuit of bizarre clues she finds on the boat, several times unwittingly endangering herself.

The outworking of the puzzling mystery of the "amnesiac refugees" is convoluted but ultimately valid. Author Lisa Brideau skillfully delves into deep-level characterization and study of Memory; and the Climate Change consequences are realistically depicted.

I absolutely adored this book! Ess is such a compelling character- I love the setup and how we are just dropped right into the action. I never quite knew who to trust and I really appreciate that the author was able to fold in very real environmental concerns with an action-packed story. Highly recommend!

Adrift is a dystopian, futuristic thriller set in a climate change crisis, as one women finds herself alone on sailboat with no memory. Ess has no idea where she's come from or how's she arrived in the middle of sea. Day-by-day she slowly begins to retrace her footsteps to undercover her past. This is a slow-burn has she uncovers the deadly truth, and determines what's next since her memory has been wiped.

The opening chapter draws the reader in, and soon you find yourself crashing into wave and wave of drama. The ending was incredibly satisfying. I would definitely read future works by this author.

Thank you SOURCEBOOKS Landmark for the complimentary copy.

ᴛʜᴇ sᴄᴀʀɪᴇsᴛ ᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇ ᴛᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴍᴇᴍᴏʀʏ ᴀɴᴅ ʙᴇ sᴛʀᴀɴᴅᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ᴀ ʙᴏᴀᴛ ᴀʟᴏɴᴇ ᴡʜᴇɴ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀᴋᴇ ᴜᴘ 🤯 ᴛʜɪs ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ɪs ғʀᴏᴍ ᴏɴᴇ ᴘᴏᴠ ᴀɴᴅ ɪs ᴀ sʟᴏᴡ ʙᴜʀɴ. ɪ ʜᴀᴅ ᴀ ʜᴀʀᴅ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴘɪᴄᴋɪɴɢ ɪᴛ ᴜᴘ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ sʟᴏᴡ ʙᴜʀɴ, ʙᴜᴛ ɴᴏᴛ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ɪ ᴡᴀsɴ’ᴛ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏɪɴɢ ɪᴛ ᴡʜɪʟᴇ ɪ ᴡᴀs ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ. ɪ ᴡᴀs ᴀ ʟᴏᴛ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ɪɴᴠᴇsᴛᴇᴅ ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀs ᴄᴀᴍᴇ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴘʟᴀʏ. ɪ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ sᴀɪʟɪɴɢ/ʙᴏᴀᴛɪɴɢ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴡᴀs sᴜʀᴘʀɪsᴇᴅ ᴀᴛ ʜᴏᴡ ɪ ᴅɪᴅɴ’ᴛ ғɪɴᴅ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴇ sᴘᴇᴄɪғɪᴄ sᴀɪʟɪɴɢ ᴘʀᴏᴛᴏᴄᴏʟs, ᴛᴇʀᴍɪɴᴏʟᴏɢʏ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴘᴀʀᴛs ʙᴏʀɪɴɢ. ᴛʜɪs ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ɪs ᴛɪᴍᴇʟʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛᴏᴘɪᴄs ʀᴇʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴄʟɪᴍᴀᴛᴇ ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴍᴍɪɢʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ʟᴀᴡs. ᴛʜɪs ɪsɴ’ᴛ ᴀ sᴛᴏʀʏ ᴏʀ ᴛʀᴏᴘᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪ’ᴠᴇ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴀ ᴠᴇʀsɪᴏɴ ᴏғ ʙᴇғᴏʀᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ɪɴ ᴛʜɪs ᴅᴀʏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀɢᴇ - ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪs ᴀ ᴡɪɴ ɪɴ ᴍʏ ʙᴏᴏᴋ! ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴡᴀsɴ’ᴛ ᴀɴʏ ᴍᴀᴊᴏʀ ᴛᴡɪsᴛs ᴏʀ ᴊᴀᴡ ᴅʀᴏᴘᴘɪɴɢ ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛs, ʙᴜᴛ ᴏᴠᴇʀᴀʟʟ ɪ ᴡᴀs ᴠᴇʀʏ sᴀᴛɪsғɪᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴅɪɴɢ.

📖 ʜᴜɢᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ @bookmarked ᴀɴᴅ @netgalley ғᴏʀ ᴛʜɪs ᴀʀᴄ ᴄᴏᴘʏ ɪɴ ᴇxᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ ғᴏʀ ᴀɴ ʜᴏɴᴇsᴛ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡ 📖

Adrift is set in the near future with a world that is experiencing natural disasters never seen before thanks to climate change. Ess wakes up on a boat-no recollection of her name, her past, how she got to the boat and why, etc. ess finds she’s not the only one as there are news stories developing about the amnesia refugees washing up in boats on shores. Ess is determined to piece together what happened to her and these others and why..

I give the author credit here as it’s not common to find thrillers that are unique but this plot is. As others have mentioned, though, this is really a science fiction novel with a mystery developing rather than a straight on thriller. The climate change aspects aren’t heavily featured in the plot either and are more of a background device.

While I enjoyed elements of the plot, the story lost my interest as it plodded along, as it was paced to be a slow burner and not necessarily a page-turner. Great concept, uneven execution.

Thanks to the publisher for an advanced copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thriller this is not. Psychological slow-burn mystery is a more accurate classification for this novel. Ess wakes up on a boat in the waters outside of British Columbia with no recollection of how she got there. She doesn’t know her name or have any memories of her past. All she has is a semi-stocked boat and a note from someone saying it's better this way.

It kind of reminded me of a less-action packed, lower stakes, Jason Bourne story as I haven’t read a whole lot of amnesia stories in my lifetime. The story unravels pretty slowly and since Ess is basically a blank slate with no identifiable personality straights I felt adrift for the vast majority of the novel. There is a lot of inner monologue and few interactions with other people. Towards the later half, events start to pick-up, our cast of characters grows slightly, and we start to piece together more information. The mystery was obvious only that there was a reason this happened to Ess and it was probably nefarious but I wasn’t able to piece together the details until it was revealed. I love when books can keep their mysteries just that until the time where it is supposed to be revealed.

I wished the climate aspect that is hyped up by this synopsis was better explored. Yes, natural disasters are featured and the effects are briefly mentioned. But it mostly felt like plot devices. The author just assumes everyone knows how the world got to this place. There’s nothing about politics or preventive measures. It just is. It's a reality of the characters lives without ever being examined.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book so much! The twist and turns were crazy and I couldn't put it down at all. I also liked that it brought climate change to the foreview.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review!!

I love a good thriller that's set in an isolated location, and the synopsis of Adrift made it feel like it would mostly take place on a boat in the ocean. Except, it's not. The synopsis does mention the main character landing in a small town in search of answers, but what I wasn't expecting was that it was going to happen so soon. I fully expected a solid part to be set on the boat. Maybe I just misunderstood the premise here.

The other area I was expecting - this is set in the future. 2038 to be exact. While it is a thriller, I would classify this more as a sci-fi/dystopian novel. With that said, I found parts entertaining. There was some good mystery to it, and questioning what was going on, but more often than not, I found myself zoning out and curious when more action was going to start happening. I stuck with it because I really wanted to find out Ess' backstory and why her memory was gone. After finishing it, I kind of wish I DNF'd it. The ending was a real letdown, at least for me. Readers do get answers, but I was hoping for something more exciting than what it was.

I did like Brideau's writing style and while I was uninterested in the plot itself, she did keep the story well-paced.

Was I crazy about this? No. Would I read something else by her? Absolutely. I honestly think this was just one of those books that wasn't for me, but others will probably love.

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the eARC.

Ess suddenly awakens alone on a sail boat in Canada with no memory of how she got there. She finds a note that says "Start Over, Don’t make yourself known, Don’t look back."

Her memory is fuzzy and she can't remember how or why she's there. She starts to follow clues. But how far must she go for answers?

This was a different type of book about amnesia. I enjoyed her journey to figure things out about who she is etc.

Great ending.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Adrift by Lisa Brideau
Rating: 3.5 stars
Pub Date: 5/9

Ess wakes up on a sailboat in Canada with no memory and a note that tells her not to go digging into her past. It seems that she wanted to get rid of her memories, but why? And should she start over like the note suggests or try to figure out who she is?

After Ess decides to try and find out what exactly happened to her, she learns that there are other people with amnesia like hers and that there might be people looking for her.

I wouldn’t classify this as a thriller but more of a slow-burn mystery. It was a little confusing at first, but that’s to be expected while Ess tries to figure out where her memory went. I really liked putting the puzzle pieces of the mystery together, the sprinkling of romance, and the picturesque landscapes of British Columbia. The story was well-written and easy to follow, and I enjoyed the futuristic, dystopian vibe.

This is not my usual genre, and the extreme storms and the discussion of climate change being the cause stressed me out. I also think there were just a few too many sailing references that went right over my head.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read that had me on the edge of my seat. I would definitely recommend this one to readers who enjoy a good mystery. Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Landmark for my ARC to read and review.

I really enjoyed this. Ess wakes up on a boat with a splitting headache and has no idea who she is. No memory of her past, her name, how she ended up on the boat, nothing. Other tidbits: this is set in the year 2038 or so, and we have done so much damage to our planet that catastrophic things are starting to happen. The book is set in Canada, and everyone else in the world seems to be migrating that way. However, Canada isn’t letting everyone in at once. People with amnesia start popping up on ships with no ID and no money. Are people taking this extreme measure to skip the immigration line? Is Ess part of this?

Things to know – it’s a slow burn. The synopsis compares it to The Last Thing He Told me, and I couldn’t agree more. Things do happen, but we are focused on what is going on with Ess and character development. This isn’t a thriller. I still loved it. I also loved the climate aspect. There are areas where the book discusses memory and how it works, and I can see some people not loving that. Me? Yep, still loved it.

Excellent debut by this author.

Such a great debut novel!
I felt the fear and panick Ess must have felt when she woke up and had no memory.
This book had so many of the things I love!
-mystery
-short chapters
-intrigue
-suspense

It also really makes you think about the world we are living in and what the future could bring.
Great debut novel!
Thanks to Netgalley, sourcebooks and Lisa Brideau!

I picked this one up last minute and went in completely blind. I wasn't expecting the dystopian/sci-fi premise of this story, but I liked how the author put the reader into a future where climate change is causing increased weather craziness. I wasn't a huge fan of the "amnesia" trope, but it did make the story better in this case. I really need to have a sequel to this novel because I have so many unanswered questions!

So no spoilers, but be sure to get this one on your list. It's a bit of a slow burn, but totally worth the reading time!

Awakening

Adventure, danger. a sprinkling of romance and a mystery are in store with this story set in the wilds of Canada. A young woman wakes up in a sailboat with no memory of who she is or her life. This the story of her voyage to find out who she is.

The only thing she has to go on is a note left on the counter that says " Start over, Don't make yourself known, Don't look back." After finding a boat repair card slid in amongst the cabin of the boat she sails hundreds of miles to try and find answers.

In her quest she puts her life at risk and that of her new friend. She must make a choice to find her answers or save her friends life.

It is a story of a young woman reclaiming her life and rediscovering herself. A young woman in crisis and how the two help each other rediscover life.

I thought the characters were great, the story was interesting and fast moving. It was a bit scary that something like this really could happen. I did enjoy reading the book, it was quite different that what I usually read, but it is good for me to read something different once in a while.

Thanks to Lisa Brideau for writing a great mystery, to Sourcebooks Landmark for publishing it and to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy to read and review.

3.5 out of 5. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy.

Great premise and interesting mystery but was lacking the umph for me. I wouldn’t recommend it, but was glad I read it.

Imagine waking up alone on a boat, with no memory as to how you got there. In fact, you have no memories of who you are, where you're from, who your family is... Ess finds herself in that exact situation. A note left on the boat makes everything worse: this was all done to her on purpose.

I enjoyed this book, it was gripping from the very first page. It was more of a mystery than a thriller. Maybe a bit too much description of the sailing, which held no interest for me, but it was definitely a good read.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
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Imagine waking up on a boat, not knowing where you are, and you have no memories of any events leading up to this point. This was such a unique storyline that is set in the future and incorporated almost a sci-fi effect to the story. The beginning is a little slow and I was trying to figure out which way the story was going to go. However, that being said, once you get past the first little bit and into the meat of the book, you won’t want to put it down. Overall, definitely a book I would recommend!
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This review will be posted to my Instagram blog (read_betweenthecovers) in the near future!