More of a 2.5 stars

The beginning of this book had me completed hooked, and I love the premise. I'm just not so sure I completely love the execution. I ended up getting lost during the last 70 pages or so and at that point I finished it soley because I was in so deep.

I didn't really care for any of the characters so nothing felt high stakes, and the twists didn't land as well as they could have as a result.

I was pleasantly surprised with this book! By the time I picked it up I forgot what the synopsis said the book was about, so I got a tad surprised when we entered a post apocalyptic/pandemic world. I enjoyed hearing from all three POV’s and finding out how they all connected together. I did not guess most of the twists which was fantastic since I tend to do that and ruin thrillers for myself!

The first 30 ish pages felt a bit slow to me but once the story picked up I was hooked. Each chapter ends off with a bit of a cliffhanger that makes you keep reading.

Some parts did feel like they dragged on a bit long and were repetitive. And although the ending was quite realistic, it still wasn’t my favourite. Overall, I think this was a really fun and jarring read. Thank you NetGalley for the arc - much appreciated!

*3.5 stars rounded up to a 4

4ish stars

This book was wild and all over the place. It was fast-paced from the beginning and definitely fit in with the post-apocalyptic/pandemic fiction genre that continues to be quite popular. It was a bit more graphic than I’d prefer at times, I didn’t love that one of the protagonists was a (former) cop, and I initially had a hard time separating a couple of the other characters. Nevertheless, I was intrigued throughout the story, and much if it felt realistic; there were no artificially happy endings fabricated here. I enjoyed the story, and much of the ending was satisfying, in odd ways. It was a good, well-written pandemic thriller, and it’s made me think I should explore other books by the writer.

I went in thinking it was a thriller, but it turned out to be an apocalypse book. Not at all what I was expecting, but it was still an okay read. I had a hard time getting into the setting, and didn't particularly care for the characters, but it is still a solid choice for those who like horror.

**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.