**I received an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Oh god where do I even start this review?? I have so many thoughts.

One of my first issues with this book was how poorly the virus was explained and how many questions we were left with at the end of the book. Are the whistlers zombies? Or are they still humans? Or are they some type of advanced, super smart undead beings that just want to murder people. Another thing that we never got resolution for: who is Anya and what the hell even happened to her? what was her relationship with carter? What happened to the scientist?

I also thought it was just lazy writing to use the same twist twice AND use what was virtually the same ending for all three story lines. By the time you reach the very end of the first story-line, you can already guess the rest of the story. While the story wasn't bad, it was intentionally misleading and just overall amateur. Plot twists should make you sit back and be like "how did I not get that!" and all the breadcrumbs should suddenly make sense. the twist kinda came out of nowhere and certain things would be mentioned and made to make you think and then?? Nothing comes of it.

**The rest of this review is spoilers/spoilery things**

The author also killed off literally every single character in the book. And most for no reason except to exist within the story.

Also this really serves no purpose to my review but just stop killing the damn dogs. There is no point. Stop it. Speaking of things that serve no purpose? There's a rape scene towards the end. For no reason. We see it on one page and it's never acknowledged after that. It literally could have been cut from the story and changed absolutely nothing. Honestly, i'm surprised that no one cut that from the story at this point.

One final thing that bothered me about the story was the way that fat characters and characters who were disfigured were described and shown, and how they were all depicted as villains in the story.

Well, I never saw that coming on one level and on the other hand I knew it. This book got me out of a reading slump. I am grateful. I feel it's a very fitting tale given the times and many people will relate well to the content and the extension of our own "story".

On one hand its predictable but there are twists I never figured out until the characters told the story, revealed the hidden gems. If you are reading along and feel confused and like something is missing, just keep reading. I promise its worth it.

I don't know of any author other than C.J. Tudor who could take a pervasive trope like a pandemic that isn't our pandemic and turn it into something utterly original and compelling. Three sets of people stranded in a snowstorm, three stories that slowly reveal how they're interconnected, culminating in a powerful, unexpected (but oh so perfect) ending. In a world of fill-in-the-blank futuristic thrillers, it's such a treat to read this original and compelling novel. Loved it every bit as much as The Chalk Man.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was a good read. Is it the best book I've ever read? Probably not, but it was entertaining and engaging, I just wanted to keep reading it.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

The Drift follows 3 different POV's from characters all in different scenarios during a pandemic.

Hannah is stranded on a bus that crashed, with some fellow classmates, the only thing she knows from them is that they all attended the same institute.
Meg is stranded in a ski gondola with strangers.
Carter, who is helping run the Retreat, a safe haven for the survivors of the virus.

This book definitely in the horror/gory category, there is a lot of murders throughout the whole book.
Although I love a good thriller, I personally did not enjoy how gory this book was, but if you do like gory books I think this might be a great book for you!
I did enjoy the multiple POV's and there was many twists and turns that I did not see coming. I liked how the story ended, and overall it was a good book.

There are so many reasons C.J. Tudor quickly became one of my favorite authors. Her incredible imagination, successful blending of genres, wonderful writing style that makes me lose myself in her works. Which means expectations were already high when I picked up The Drift. I expected to be dazzled, and dazzled I was...I rarely reread thrillers (unless they are a part of a series) but I already know I will be reading The Drift again in the future. I feel there were so many layers to the story that I'm sure I missed someone of the details.

World in the grips of a viral pandemic and three unfolding closed room mysteries. Hannah finds herself stranded with a group of fellow students on a bus buried in the snow. Meg finds herself stuck on a cable car with a group of strangers and no recollection how she got there. On a mountaintop, Carter is living in an abandon chalet with a small group of unlikely housemates when unexpected events threaten their fragile equilibrium. Snow, secrets, things that lurk in the dark. This story has it all...

This was "just one more chapter" kind of read for me. It easily would've been an one day read if I was strategic enough. I loved the existential and philosophical subtext present in all 3 scenarios, especially in light of COVID-19. The Drift manages to entertain, create tension and suspense but also makes you think deeper about how we make decisions as a society. I also loved how this book danced on the edges of horror but still remaining accessible even to those readers who are not necessarily fans of the genre. Whether you are already a fan of C.J. Tudor or are just looking for a multilayered well-written thriller, I highly recommend diving into the world of The Drift.

Immensely grateful to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

THE DRIFT by CJ Tudor
For the record, I love CJ Tudor. This one just missed the mark for me. There were way too many characters to start with and they all blended in with each other. There was nothing unique about anyone that made them stand out -- nothing to make me care whether they lived or died. I did not predict the twist, but once the first twist was revealed, the second was easy to guess. The oddly constructed pandemic vibe was also a miss for me. The ending was a bigger miss! What was that?

𝙈𝙮 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝘣𝘺 𝘊𝘑 𝘛𝘶𝘥𝘰𝘳
🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷 = 𝟱 𝗛𝗨𝗚𝗘 ⭐️

𝗔𝗗-𝗣𝗥 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗧

𝗜𝗻 𝗮 𝗻𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹:
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳
~ 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘵.

𝘊𝘑 𝘛𝘶𝘥𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 (𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨!! 🤯)

𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘳𝘢𝘱 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 ~ 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘶 3 𝘗𝘖𝘝 ~ 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦-𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵! 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦 “𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘹𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦” 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶… 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸?!

𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 💯

𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 @𝘤𝘫𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬
(𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨🔥📕)
𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴”

𝙏𝙖𝙜𝙨 + 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙨:
𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 @𝙏𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙢𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙂𝙡𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙡 + @𝙋𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙍𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙢𝘾𝘼 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙗𝙪𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙨 #𝙏𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 #𝙏𝙝𝙚𝘿𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙗𝙮 #𝘾𝙅𝙏𝙪𝙙𝙤𝙧

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚!
🇨🇦📚🍷💃🏻

My lord, can CJ Tudor do NO WRONG as an author in my eyes. This one blew my socks off, blew my mind and blew my Top 10 of the year list wide open.

There is not a crazy amount I want to review on this particular story as it needs to be read utterly blind, with no expectations and no hints of what is to come to really appreciate it. What I will say is that this story is action jam-packed, is insanely intense and atmospheric and does such a PHENOMENAL JOB of slowly tying together threads of the story that you actually cannot put this down because you will need to know what happens next and how this will all play out in the final showdown.

This is a Top 10 of the year contender for me, no question. I devoured this book and I cannot rave about it enough. So please, do yourself a favor and get this on your spring reading list, STAT.

This story wasn’t for me unfortunately. I got to 50% and just wasn’t interested in continuing. The story is quick paced with short chapters with revels around every corner. This is definitely a me issue and I think I could have really enjoyed it if I read it at another point in time. Thank you for the opportunity to read this release.

This book's premise sounded really good - exactly what I've been reading lately, so I requested it right away! However, it didn't quite live up to the hype. I liked it, but it seemed a little busy and confusing in parts. It was well-written, with some likeable characters, and definitely lots of twists and turns!
3.5 stars!

How do I feel about this book?
It is dark. This apocalyptic/horror/thriller kept me on the edge..l the edge of what? My seat at times, but at other times, on the verge of being sick. It’s a good thing I am not good at visualizing things. I rely on the feelings that a book evokes. This one had me angry and annoyed with the characters at times. I wanted so much for them and hoped they would make it - get out, be the one to survive. Spoiler - it’s apocalyptic for a reason.
Trigger warnings: gore, suicide, pretty sure that scene counts as rape, death and lots of death.
There were elements that I liked. I did feel for the main characters that we followed, but don’t get too attached to anyone.
I can say that this book wasn’t for me, but it it does have something to offer to bigger fans of the genre. I prefer the creepiness to be a little more subtle.
I received a copy of this book for free and all opinions are my own and given freely.

I really enjoyed this book. Something a little different. It takes place during a snow storm. We have three different scenerios taking place.
A bus has crashed in the blizzard and is on its side with no way out. A cable car has stopped in the middle of the cable. Again no way out.
A ski chalet, thought to be abandoned, isn't. There is a virus infecting people out there and all the people stuck in the bus, cable car and the chalet need to find away to survive, their current situation and the virus. This was a rollercoaster of a ride reading this story. So many characters and dynamics weaving in and out. And when you think you have it figured out! BAM! A curve ball. Enjoy! I did. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book. Easy 4 out of 5 for me.

This didn't work for me, I wanted to love it but had a hard time following it all. It was a very "BUSY" book and honestly made me feel dizzy. I wouldn't read this author again.

I loved this book a lot. At first I was hesitant since it is pretty much about life during a pandemic and I definitely did not want to relive the past few years. I was very wrong. The different and intertwining storylines made the book interesting and for me there were a few things that I did not see coming at all. This is my first C.J. Tudor novel but it will definitely not be my last. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review this great book!!

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

If you enjoy, as I do, a bit of horror and despair with your fiction, you will love this book. It's told from the POV of three people, Meg a former detective who wakes to find herself in a cable car suspended 1,000 feet in the air with five others, Carter, a kinda loser, who lives in an abandoned ski chalet high in the mountains with a group who make a vaccine for a local tough guy, what they make the vaccine out of is unsettling. Hannah awakens after the bus she's on has crashed, several have died during the crash sequence, several others have survived, they quickly determine that they cannot easily get out. As the story unfolds you find out that there is a virus that has affected most of the world population, there is a vaccine but it's in limited supply. If you get the virus, you have a very good chance of dying or becoming something else, even with the vaccine there is no guarantee you will survive. I loved the manner in which this story was told, the different points of view, the cold, the very real struggle to survive not only the elements but the people around you. I don't want to say too much because there is a point in the story that things come together and it was a shocker to me. Thanks to #Netgalley and Ballantine Books - Random House for the ARC.

The Drift was my first ever ebook, which I read through the NetGalley app over the last month. While I read this book slowly, I could not wait to sit down with it and read more, as each chapter left me hungry for answers.

The story follows 3 equally-fascinating alternating POVs, and we get right into the action with each of them. Hannah is stranded on a recently-crashed bus; Meg is stuck in a ski gondola with five or six other curious passengers; and Carter is helping run The Retreat, a seemingly safe haven for survivors of a mysterious virus. All 3 characters seem to be experiencing the same snowstorm, as they appear to be in close proximity to one another. There’s a ton of suspense thinking about how the characters’ stories will intertwine, and while they don’t meet for a long time, it was thrilling to read the connecting sequences toward the end.

This is a really great survival story. I’d compare its atmosphere to Dashner’s The Scorch Trials and Paulsen’s Hatchet. You’ll be instantly intrigued by setting and premise. There’s world-building sprinkled in here and there, and every chapter propelled the story in a crazy new direction. There were some shockingly gruesome and descriptive scenes, too. Like, Stephen King level gruesome.

My one downfall with The Drift was that I found it hard to follow the organizations’ motivations, infections and how the virus decimated. I recognize this could be a result of reading the book in little bursts over a lengthy period of time, so it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the adventure too much. Every incident had enough of an explanation to not feel confusing; as a reader, you’re always fully immersed in each characters’ goals.

While Hannah, Meg and Carter get very little backstory, I found it wasn’t necessary to know their pasts to care about their present struggles. And while I was most worried we wouldn’t get answers to questions produced early on, everything connects in the end in a simple and satisfying way.

A favourite quote:
“Why the hell do you care?”
“Because caring is all we have left. If we stop caring—about life, about other people—who are we? What have we become?”

A favourite funny quote:
“Sometimes life gives us lemons. Sometimes diarrhea.”

I’ll be using that one for sure.

Wow, it has been a long time since a book has surprised me the way that The Drift did. This was my first book by CJ Tudor, but it will definitely not be my last.
Right from page one, The Drift had my attention. It was so hard to put this book down. I just wanted to read it cover to cover.
The 3 locked room mysteries were so intense and each chapter ended with a little cliff hanger, begging you to read more. They pulled you in giving you just enough to keep you interested and to continue reading, but not enough that you could figure it all out on your own. I didn't see the connection between the stories at all, and that doesn't happen very often for me. More times then not I am guessing the twist well before it happens. I was in the dark with this one. I also didn't see the end coming the way it did. It was a fitting ending though, and left wide open for a sequel.
There are a few things to be aware of if you decide to pick this one up.
It is a horror. There is blood and guts and gore. People are absolutely horrid to one another, stabbing and shooting and suffocating. There is a lot of language through out. There is also mention of concentration camps and comparison to them. At one point someone is raped. There is child neglect and a death of a child is mentioned. These is the birth of a child in horrible conditions. It is also about a pandemic and all that, that entails. Lots to unpack on this one.
If you can handle these topics, then I definitely recommend picking this one up.

Huge thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for the gifted e-copy

The Drift by C.J Tudor was a thrilling and atmospheric read which is usually my genre of choice! I was so lucky to be included in the @tandemcollective read along with several other amazing bookstagrammers.

The book follows three different people who are all in do or die scenarios in a wintery and cold setting. Hannah is trapped on a bus with several other people including one who has the virus. The bus is tipped over and they are trapped in a snowbank and all emergency exits have been tampered with to prevent access to the outdoors. Meg wakes up and finds herself and a few others in a gondola high in the mountains. The gondola has lost power and they are swaying over 100 feet above the ski hill. Who are the people she's with and how will she know that they are who they say they are? Lastly we have Carter who is living in an abandoned ski chalet that he and several others are operating as a vaccine manufacturing center. The chalet loses power for good and Carter and his colleagues find themselves in some serious trouble.

If you are enjoying the show The Last of Us like I am, this book is the perfect companion for it. Not only is this a survival book but it also has pandemic and post apocalyptic vibes which makes it a great read during these winter snow storms we have been experiencing lately. Not only will this one increase your anxiety slightly but you will be so invested in all three stories you wont want to put this down. Watching this show and reading it at the same time is such an interesting feeling as the stories sometimes combine in my head!

Thank you so much to @tandemcollective @NetGalley @CJTudor and @PenguinCanda for this book. I feel so fortunate to have received both a digital and physical copy of this book. This one came out last month and you can find it wherever books are sold!