Thank you to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for the electronic advanced copy of The Drift which ia post-apocalyptic horror thriller. We see the world from the perspective of Hannah who comes to after a bush crash in the middle of a blizzard after trying to get from a boarding school to safety while a virus is brewing. Our second main character is Mego who awakes in a cable car suspended above a snow storm, surrounded by strangers, with no memory of how they got there. Finally, we have Carter who works at an abandoned ski chalet with a small group of other survivors as their generator starts to fail. The book is a puzzle and it was fun to see it come together. But there is a bit of gory scariness. So be warned. I thought it was a fun read though and what I thought might be too much ended up being just enough.

The Drift by CJ Tudor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A big thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for this eARC. This one is expected next week!

This one was grotesque in all the right ways. Gory, graphic, all around explicit. Any of those is the perfect adjective to describe this one.

This one made me cringe a few times. It also kept me on the edge of my seat. I wanted to figure out what the heck was happening, and I was more than surprised when the connection was linked.

People will definitely draw parallels to COVID, but I didn’t feel like it was too in your face. I don’t want this review to say too much for fear of spoiling anything. The book is worth the read - just maybe don’t read it when you’re eating!

I Loved this!!! This is exactly the kind of book I like to read. Fast-paced, intense, mysterious, action-packed. I loved it from the very first chapter. The three POV’s kept me intrigued. I liked them all equally and didn’t find any of them unnecessary. At the end I found myself getting a little confused because there are a lot of characters to follow, but things clicked and I was good. I have to go back and check out some of this authors backlog now!

I'm going to start by saying that C.J. Tudor is, and will continue to be, an auto-by author for me. Having said that, The Drift just wasn't for me. I've come to expect a strong psychological thriller from C.J. Tudor, and this one just veered too far into the dystopian/sci-fi realm for my taste. There was also more violence than I'm comfortable with, even though I don't consider myself just a popcorn-thriller reader. The violence felt more just for shock factor than for furthering the story line. I'm still looking forward to whatever C.J. Tudor has coming up next! Thanks so much for the opportunity to review!

Book Summary:

Would you take it if you were given a chance to redeem yourself? What about the potential cost – the risk of such a decision? Would you think it through, or just dive right in and hope for the best?

Three tales. Three stories. Three sets of people, all doing everything in their power to survive. One set is trapped in a mangled boarding school. The other is a cable car suspended over nothingness. The final races against time, fighting to find a vaccine before it is too late.

My Review:

So this should go without saying, but don't read The Drift if you're looking for a pick-me-up style story. This is a post-apocalyptic tale, with some strong survival elements thrown in for good measure.

I really enjoyed that the story is comprised of three different series of events. It added to the tension, obviously. But it also allowed the pacing to bend and flow as things went on. I won't say that it gave readers a break because the whole thing is intense, but it helped.

If you enjoyed C.J. Tudor's The Chaulkman, you will love The Drift. Trust me.

Highlights:
Multiple plots
Dystopia
Mystery/Thriller
Horror Elements

Trigger Warnings:
Trapped
Intense survival situations

I am a bit torn about this book. I have loved all the previous books I have read from Ms. Tudor but this one felt different. For one, it was a lot more violent. I am usually not upset about violence but it was such a strong thread throughout the entire book that it was hard to not feel it. Also, while the summary doesn't mention it, I think it is important for potential readers to know that the story is set in a pandemic world. A virus, with no cure, is highly contagious and all the characters are dealing with different scenarios related to it. Similarly to what we have gone through, socioeconomics, politics, and anti-vaxxers come in to play. However, it makes what we've been going through seem a bit tame. Or maybe it is a look at what we might have coming up? I did really enjoy how each of the central characters were developed. The story is told from three points of view and each one offered a very different perspective as well as background and secrets. I did have a bit of a lightbulb moment at one point that helped and expect that most readers will probably get to that point a bit earlier than me. But whether you do or don't won't ruin the overall enjoyment of the story. Which I did enjoy. I just wasn't prepared for some parts but I'm still thinking about it.

I did not really expect this type of book from Tudor. It seemed to be a little out of what they normally do. However, the story and the way it came together was quite interesting. You have some unreliable narrators for sure. Although the ending was both twisty and slightly predictable, I have to say it was an entertaining journey.

Dystopic apocalyptic fiction with a touch of horror driven by a global pandemic.

Narrated by 3 different characters, the novel focuses on survival in a world that has been changed by a virus that keeps mutating and infecting. Students bound for safety are stranded in the snow after their bus crashes. A cable car with workers going up the mountain to volunteer at the Retreat stops halfway up to the control station. In the former chalet, the staff at the Retreat are tested by dwindling supplies and power failures. Hannah, Meg, and Carter are willing to do whatever it takes to stay alive. Everyone has a secret and all are lying.

This was OK but I didn't find it suspenseful or compelling. Many characters, but they were dropping so fast that I didn't invest much into them and couldn't work up the empathy needed to care. The Whistlers were much more interesting to me and I would have preferred to read about them rather than the 3 sets of people in the bus, cable car, and chalet. The sketchy details about the virus and the pandemic left me wanting more. Much of the action and all that happened required a great deal of suspension of disbelief. Lots of blood and gore if that's your thing. A few twists and turns along the way to a reveal and the sort of unsatisfying conclusion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the e-book ARC to read and review.

I went into this book expecting one thing and getting something entirely different. As an end of the world story, I should have been prepared for anything, but I never imagined creatures called “Whistlers”. The fact that this is told from three wildly different points of view added to the drama and expectation. I was scrambling to connect the dots before the author revealed all but I never came close. With dark twists and turns that blew me away, I found myself totally enthralled with this story.

This book had a lot of twists and turns that kept me guessing until the end. I enjoyed the plot and slowly putting everything together throughout the book. It also had some good creepy vibes.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy to honestly review.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and CJ Tudor for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Drift coming out January 31, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A group of students from a secluded boarding school find themselves trapped in a damaged cable car high above the mountains during a snowstorm with no recollection how they got there.

Hannah awakens to metal and shattered glass. Her coach slid off the road, trapping her with a handful of survivors. They’ll need to work together in order to survive. 

Meg awakens in the cable car with five strangers and no memory of what happened. They are heading to a place known only as “the Retreat.” Meg realizes they may not all make it as the temperatures plummet and tensions rise.

Carter is looking out the window of an isolated ski chalet that he and his companions live in. As their generator begins to waver in the storm, something hiding in the chalet’s darkness threatens to escape. Their weakened bonds will be tested when the power finally fails indefinitely. 

Each of the dangers Hannah, Meg, and Carter face are part of a bigger puzzle. There is an even greater danger hiding in the cold and darkness. Will they be able to survive the freezing temperatures long enough for help to arrive? Or will the danger overpower them?

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. Overall, I loved this story! I definitely enjoy stories about survival in the elements. I thought the writing was suspenseful and dark. There was a lot of action and fast-paced tension between the characters. I think post apocalyptic books are a lot of fun and one of my favorite genres. However, there was some parts of the book that seemed a little too closely related to reality and what happened in 2020. I didn’t really care for the vaccine debate. It just seemed like it didn’t really go with the survival in the snow story. But overall, it was a good read.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys survival thrillers!

3.5⭐️ - this was an intriguing premise and each storyline was interesting. My favorite thing is how everything came together - that was done SO well. I just wish I'd been a little more emotionally connected to the characters. I enjoyed the drama, but didn't necessarily care when anyone died. Which might be a good thing I guess, since the book was not afraid to go there...

Oh, my! My mouth is still open and my jaw is hanging open after reading this apocalyptic novel about survival. Three different groups have survived a catastrophe and are now facing heavy odds about continuing to survive when faced with severe weather and a killer virus. I must say that I was puzzled a great deal during this novel, but in a good way. I just could not figure out how they would survive or if they would. Without giving anything away, the three groups cannot survive without each other but they don’t know that at first. Their discovery of how they are connected made reading this book chillingly entertaining and reminiscent of Stephen King or other great horror writers. I really wanted to read the book in one sitting but it is too long for me to do that, so I read as quickly as my dedicated reading time allowed. This is a book that one needs to set aside time for because once you start it, you will not want to put it down until you find out the ultimate fates of Meg, Carter and Hannah. I did not really relate to any of the characters, but they were all realistic. The plot was well-written and held my attention with its creative twists. This is not my regular kind of romantic suspense that I read but it is one that held me captive. I would say it is part thriller, part horror and all suspense.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

THE DRIFT by C.J.Tudor is my first book by this author, and I was totally blown away by this adrenaline-driven, fast-paced, and chilling thriller!

THE DRIFT was made of three equally suspenseful and gripping stories that are connected to the same destination with a controlled destiny at the end.

The talented C.J. Tudor has brilliantly crafted this high-octane thriller that is full of suspense and twisted plots, that will keep one on the edge of his/her seat!



#NetGalley

#TheDrift

Well this was certainly a twisted book. There’s three storylines and at times it was a bit hard to keep everything straight. It’s still a page turner full of secrets and surprises. It’s a book that I probably wouldn’t have normally picked up to read but I did end up enjoying the story.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

Hannah wakes up and finds out that her coach has fallen on its side over a hillside road and stuck in the snow during a snowstorm. There is no way to call for help. . The driver of the coach is missing and she is with others who are trying to survive.

Meg is a former detective and she wakes up to a gentle rocking. She is in a cable car hanging high in the air during a snow storm. She is with a bunch of strangers. They do not remember how they got there.

Meg and Hannah are heading to the Retreat.

Carter is an employee at the retreat. He is at a ski resort with his crew.

This book is in the horror apocalypse thriller genre. It did not scare me at all. Everything that happens in this book happens during a pandemic. The pandemic is so different.
If you enjoy the horror apocalypse thriller genre and enjoy pandemic books then this one might be your kind of book.
I was disappointed with this book.

There is a lot of blood and gore which does not bother me and it's a little dark also. I love dark books but I really didn't enjoy this world. I did not know that this was about a pandemic and I don't like pandemic books.
I enjoyed the Hannah parts of the book. It was my favorite part.
I did enjoy the clever ending and how it all wrapped up.
I love this author and can't wait to read her next one.

I want to thank Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine Books for the copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, C.J., and Ballantine for an advance copy of The Drift.

Humanity is in trouble. A virus has ravaged the world and those remaining are doing everything they can, for better or for worse, to fulfill why they believe they are still alive. Hannah has been involved in a bus accident leaving her boarding school, heavy snow has trapped her inside with a few survivors…and a few deceased, some passengers having contracted the virus prior to departure. Meg comes to in a cable car on her way to a government building known as The Retreat, however the cable car is stopped in mid-transit and there is a dead man on board, leading her to believe there may be something beyond the snow storm preventing their car from continuing to its destination. Carter lives at an old ski lodge with a random group of survivors where they manufacture the vaccine and distribute it to the only store still open in exchange for supplies. But when the power goes out, Carter realizes that there may not only be threats lurking outside, but inside as well.


This is my third or fourth ARC of CJ’s and I hope I continue to be on the lucky list, I’ve never been disappointed in her releases.

The Drift was a survival story with very tense, horror-inspired moments that kept me in suspense through its entirety.

It’s hard to review this one without giving major plot details away and also because it’s polarizing in how it made me feel. It’s hopeless, and yet hopeful at the same time. Far and away one of the bleakest dystopian novels I’ve read, maybe in part because it hits close to home given the pandemic aspect. These three stories are intertwined in a way that I did not see coming. The one criticism, which could not be avoided in order to tell this story, was the sheer number of “main” characters to keep straight. We have three storylines, but each has a handful of characters that are pivotal to each of those stories, and it did get difficult to keep them straight at times. Luckily, I was enjoying this book so much, I barely put it down so I wasn’t far removed from what was going on at any point.


It’s also hard to describe how I feel about the characters. Were they likable? I don’t know. Were they awful? Not really, but some had their moments. I think that’s the fun part of a survival story, people go back to their most basic instincts - kill or be killed; do what needs done to keep yourself and loved ones safe and alive, everyone else be damned. I do think that while this story was plot-driven, CJ did a great job at giving us some depth to the characters and investing us into these people for better or worse.

Overall I really liked this book. It was thought-provoking, it made me sad and feel hopeless, it made me smile and gave me hope, it made me angry with the government (just kidding, that is nothing new)…but I think it is an accurate description of how I lived through our pandemic. There were moments that I wanted to throw the towel in and was convinced we’d never live a normal life again, and moments where I knew we’d get through it because for all of the flaws of humanity, we are resilient.

THE DRIFT by C. J. Tudor is a story about a world destroyed by a terrible sickness that continues to concentrate power in a few enormous entities. Through the entwined stories of three individuals threatened by a massive snow storm and all seeking the questionable safety of the Retreat were a smooth surface of comfort and ease is the overlay of deceit and manipulation. While the shifting points of view helped to create a larger picture and understanding of the new world disorder complete with death, horrors, and untrustworthy allies, I did not feel connected with any character, instead reading at a breakneck pace to see who survived and how and what drove the whole chaos of the new world. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

Tudor weaves together three scenarios effortlessly and manages to leave the reader on the edge of their seat as each chapter ends with a cliffhanger. This book was not what I was expecting and not something I would usually choose to read. While I wasn’t overly fond of the story and the gory scenes, it’s speaks volumes to Tudor’s writing skills that I was engrossed enough to finish! Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This book is trippy. We follow 3 groups of people - one group of students that get stuck on a bus on the way to The Retreat; one group of adults stuck in a cable car also on the way to The Retreat; and finally a group of people that are already at the said Retreat. So you know that the stories will eventually intersect, but the how is what really makes this book. And while each group has some big, life and death issues occurring, the undercurrent is that a virus has out the world into a tailspin. As the story progresses, you learn more about what is happening in the world all while the characters fight for survival. I definitely recommend this, especially if you like apocalypse stories mixed together with a mystery.