Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This was a pretty good futuristic thriller with three storylines involving a retreat where no one really knows at first why they are headed there or why they are working there.
I liked the setting of the three storylines in the middle of a frigid storm. Great winter read. It takes a bit to remember all of the characters in the book that we meet but I was able to follow.

#thedrift is a survival adventure at the end of the world. It’s written by the acclaimed author #cjtudor. This story is about three people trying to survive at the end of the world. They all have different challenges in a huge snow storm. There are some fantastic twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Thank you to #netgalley and #randomhousepublishinggroup for the opportunity to read and share this great adventure.

Unfortunately this one was not for me. This is an apocalyptic horror/thriller/sci-fi (….yes) about a disease that wipes out a majority of the population. This book is very bleak and depressing with a whole lot of deaths- which is usually my thing but this writing style was not. You are following 3 timelines and introduced to about 10 different characters in each timeline which leaves things soooooo confusing with very very very little character development. My ADHD cannot handle books like this and even trying to keep a character list I was so confused that I gave up. Even with a million POV switches and twists parts of this book were dragging on soooooo much with so many descriptions and virtually the same plot for all 3 POVs. The twists in the end were just flat out ridiculous to me that I was rolling my eyes.
Overall, this isn’t a “bad” book and I know a lot of people will love this but I am not a fan of CJ’s writing style.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Drift follows 3 storylines that take place during the end of the world caused by a virus. Sound familiar?? It's very far removed from our covid reality so personally I wasn't triggered in anyway. This was a really fun ride. It's a book that reads like a thriller film. The big twist was a huge surprise for me. It's a very snowy, claustrophobic story riddled with hopelessness and despair. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I definitely had some questions about certain aspects of the plot but it didn't distract me from enjoying the book. It sort of gives a more realistic and low key resident evil end of the world kind of vibes.

I would give this a 3.5 - 4 stars

The Drift is the story of a disease that has wiped out society and a large chunk of the population.

Told from three different points of view, the reader is brought into the story trying to understand each persons role in this new society and how they are surviving.

The premise of the book seemed interesting and CJ Tudor usually has an excellent way of balancing horror, thriller and sci fi in books. Unfortunately, this one did not meet the expectations I have for one of their books. Many sections felt overdone in description, others relied on age old tropes.

I did enjoy the twists and turns offered, but ultimately this was not my favourite of their books.

Get out the pin board, post it notes, string, this one requires it. So. Many. Characters. Different. Timelines. My ADHD felt overloaded. I didn't know who was talking 95% of the time in The Drift. CJ Tudor is such a good world builder and writer, my brain was completely short wired for this one though. The Chalk Man is amazing and I appreciate the ARC so much. This was just a hardsell for a Neuro divergent easy distracted person.

This was a winner from C.J. Tudor, like nothing she has written in the past this book brought dystopian horror along for the ride. A mystery from the beginning, we aren't quite sure what has happened in the world but quickly the stories unravel. This story had lots of characters, but they were fairly easy to keep track of. We follow 3 different groups of people in different settings all caught up in a storm. The crazy twist in this book keeps me from going to far into the story , but it was unique and that's all I have to say about that.
For fans of Thrillers, this one will be a winner this year and one to put Tudor at the top of the must read lists!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like The Drift. I love C.J Tudor's books so I was really looking forward to this book. Unfortunately as much as I really tried to like it, I'm just not a fan of apocalyptic sci-fi Horror. Despite not being a fan of this genre, I still powered through it and thought it was well written. I think for anyone that likes these kind of stories, it would be a fantastic book to read.

Hannah, Meg and Carter are all ordinary people trying to survive in a post apocalyptic world that has been ravaged by a virus that either kills you or turns you into vile creatures.

Hannah wakes up trapped on a bus with a group of students that has crashed due to a big winter storm and has to escape. Meg has similarly woken up with a group of people who have been drugged on a cable car way up high with no power or way of getting down. Carter works at a place called The Retreat where you are safe from the virus as long as all the rules are followed. As the 3 fight for survival not only from the virus but from others who want to harm them, they find out not everyone is who they say they are and they are more connected than they think.

I’m not a big fan of books or movies that involve deadly viruses, I mean we literally just lived through/living through one. This book however was fantastic. This book is told from 3 POVs and each story has their unique setting and survival story. As you read further you start seeing names and memories that cross over storylines. Then BAM it all comes together in a satisfying, didn’t see that coming way.

If there's one thing C.J Tudor absolutely knocks out of the park every time, it is her fantastic way to craft the atmosphere in her books as if I were right there with the characters. The Drift was the perfect read to pick up in January and the freezing, locked-room settings had me clenching my shoulders up to my ears without even realizing it. I read The Burning Girls in 2022 and gave it a STRONG five stars so I definitely had high hopes for this one, and I'm happy to say it delivered.

We follow 3 seemingly unrelated POV's all in rather trapped, locked-room type settings during a winter snowstorm. I definitely found myself more intrigued by Hannah and Meg's chapters, but by the end after realizing how they all connected together I really enjoyed Carter's as well. Tudor tied all of these seemingly unrelated story-lines together in a way that I really enjoyed, but I will admit that I still found the ending rather lack-luster which is what kept me rating it any higher than 4 stars. Regardless, this was a very strong 4 star read for me and for most of the book was closer to a 4.5.

I will say that this book somewhat features a rather extreme pandemic that has destroyed humanity and civilization within a short period of 10 years, so if you're still not ready to read about something like this I recommend tabling it until you're ready. But if/when that time comes for you, definitely pick this one up.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Ballantine books for my review copy!

Horror

All hail the queen of horror! CJ Tudor can tell a heck of a story with a definite creep factor.

The novel begins with the crash of a bus full of students. They are leaving their school and headed to The Retreat, which is a place that is supposed to be safe from a virus that has killed many. If you contract the disease it either kills you or turns you into a creature/monster.

The second POV finds us in a cable car with 6 people in the midst of the same storm that caused the bus to crash. This group of people are also on their way to the retreat. They were apparently drugged prior to being put on the cable car. When they wake, one of their traveling companions has been murdered and the cable car has stopped mid trek.

The third POV is Carter's. He works at The Retreat. The Retreat is really a science lab, where they search for a cure and also run tests on the creatures. The power seems to be failing, so Carter is tasked with going to the nearest "store" for supplies. When he returns things have gone awry and several of his co-workers have been killed.

The interconnection between the three stories is masterful! Tudor keeps the reader on the edge of the seat and somehow manages to have mini-cliffhangers with every chapter and POV switch.

If I have a complaint, it's probably the ending. After a major plot twist, the finale falls flat. We also don't get enough of the creatures' story. Otherwise, this was a wonderful trek through the snow.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this novel.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for providing this ARC. I powered through this but my interest had started to wane by halfway through. I found the plot and eventually the timeline too confusing, and so much of the action implausible even for an apocalyptic novel. I thought maybe I’d still rate it as a four star since it did compel to keep reading. But by the end, I was really disappointed and felt my time could have been better spent.

i enjoyed this so much. all the different perspectives. well written characters. i could feel the cold, the terror. there’s no chance i’d survive in such a situation. i sort of put things together after awhile but it was still extremely good and surprising. i want to buy it when it releases just so my dad can experience it

The Drift is told from the POV of three characters: Hannah, Meg, and Carter. Each of them is trapped with other characters (Hannah in a crashed bus, Meg in a stalled cable car, Carter at The Retreat) and they are all trying to survive in the midst of a pandemic for which there seems to be no cure. What is the cost of survival and at whose expense? How are these three characters connected? And who are Daniel and Peggy whose names keep appearing in all three of the narratives? I’m glad I read this on my Kindle because I was able to highlight things that stood out (hints) and then refer back to them as I became aware of their significance.

The Drift is well thought out as it slowly reveals the connection among these three separate, seemingly unrelated predicaments. It is a bleak, gripping, anxiety-provoking, and dark narrative that is very ruthless and brutal in places. This horror tale is not for the faint of heart.

Did not like this one… it was literally just a book to see who would be the last one to die.

There were so many characters in similar situations that it was hard to keep each storyline straight. It also didn’t help that for 85% of the book, you didn’t know how any of the storylines were connected. Yes, everything came together in the end, but it wasn’t enough for me to think this was a good book.

Thank you to the publisher for a free Netgalley copy.

Having read all of Tudor's books, I can say this ranks in the top 2 for me. Telling the story of multiple groups of people, Tudor weaves of a story of people trying to survive life or death situations during a pandemic. Though for some this may hit close to CCOVID, I felt this was more Walking Dead than COVID.

It took time, but as we get closer to the end we begin to see little details/"easter eggs" linking the stories together. I felt the ending to be satisfying and the whole book was just well written. Definitely recommend for those who like survivalist/pandemic stories.

Well this book definitely had some "Huh?" moments. The plot was so unique and far from the typical thrillers that I didn't even see the twist coming. The author did a clever job with the writing and it was just brilliant. Each storyline kept me engaged and the characters were well-developed. It keeps a quick pace with lots of jaw dropping moments.
If you want a unique plot this is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and C.J. Tudor for a copy of "The Drift" in exchange of an honest review.

The Drift Review!!

Thank you so much Netgalley and Random House Publishing for this gifted arc, in exchange for an honest review! The Drift comes out January 31, 2023. 🌨

After reading The Chalk Man, C.J. Tudor has been on my radar big time!! I was so excited for this horror book and I was really looking forward to the snowy atmosphere! Unfortunately this one fell short for me. The Drift was a 2.25/5 ⭐️ for me. Roughly 30 pages in, you were introduced to about 30 characters and the confusion just went down hill from there. I couldn’t keep people straight and I never connected with them. There were many twists to this one, but they just lead to more confusion for me and eye rolls, they were pretty far out. And the ending was disappointing. There was a lot of gore in this one though and I was pleasantly surprised about the whole post apocalyptic vibe. This one was also very snowy and perfect for a winter setting! Although I wasn’t a fan of this one, I’ll still recommend The Chalk Man from the rooftops. 😄

This is not for the faint of heart. It is a thriller lover's thriller with nuances of horror. And I loved it.

C.J.Tudor is becoming one of my favorite authors. She can write about topics that usually aren't my favorite (i.e post-apocalyptic setting) with such skill that I am drawn in anyway and taken for a wild ride.

We meet a group of survivors who come to after a bus crash that occurred during a snowstorm. They're luggage is in storage outside of the bus. They are trapped and vulnerable to dropping temperatures, wildlife and each other. They must come up with a plan or everyone will die.

If you think they have it bad, the second group awakens, feeling like they've been drugged, with no memory of how they ended up suspended high above ground in a cable car. When one person doesn't wake up, it's discovered that he was stabbed. Now the group has a killer to worry about on top of freezing temperatures, lack of supplies and no rescue on the horizon.

Finally, we have a small group that lives in a compound. They have food, supplies, vaccines, etc. Everything is dandy (well as dandy as it can be during a viral apocalypse) until the power starts failing more and more which gives the Whistlers an opportunity to break in and contaminate them. This prompts the group to take bigger risks than they are used to, not all of which end favorably.

Told in alternating points of view, this is a fast paced book that I happily devoured and highly recommend.

Thank you Netgalley, Ballantine Books and C.J.⅞ Tudor for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy! Review posted to Goodreads, and will be posted to Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Bookstagram.

Fast paced and intriguing. Very captivating and should be a movie asap. I felt it was more into a hottie genre than mystery but all the same a good read.