TJ Newman is a flight attendant and her writing definitely shows so much research and knowledge. This was the first of two books that I have read, but I was hooked. I will say that action thrillers are not typically my jam, and neither is locked room a particular genre that I like. So I questioned why I wanted to read this book…I go back to the level of detail that the research was able to provide. As you are reading, you see yourself in the plane, fighting for your life and wondering what would I do. You identify with the characters and their stories and I got so invested I could t put the book down! Looking forward to reading Falling soon! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc. Now somebody please buy this script and make a series!!!! All opinions are my own.

This was a really gripping thriller that kept me holding my breath and on the edge of my seat.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the author’s debut, Falling, but this was a big improvement in my opinion. The tension throughout was so good, and I genuinely was fearful for the characters. Having a fear of water, this wreaked havoc with my phobia and gave me chills in so many places!!

I think the pacing was well done and nothing seemed out of place. It was very well written to get such tension and drama whilst being almost entirely set within a small setting and timeframe.

Wasn’t the biggest fan of the ending but I just wanted something a bit more dark I think!

Really enjoyed it and definitely recommend for thriller fans!

This was an epic story, and I finished it in a day! I haven't done that with a non-audio-book in a while, so it was a refreshing change!

I just couldn't put it down!

When the plane crash happened within the first few pages, I was hesitant. Drowning isn't a super long book (just under 300 pages in the copy I have) and I was still worried that most of it would end up being filler content for the sake of it. But it really wasn't!

From the very first page, I just didn't want to put the book down, and even a few days later, I keep thinking of this book! I loved TJ Newman's inclusion of family dynamics into a stressful situation, and it was such a realistic portrayal of parent-child relationships.

I also loved the rescue mission. Everything felt believable. The end was kind of predictable, but even with that, it was a brilliant story to follow!

It was great to see the variety of people left on board the plane - some older people, some children, some parents, some flight staff. It was great, and TJ Newman was able to make each person's reactions feel super believable.

I loved this book, and it's safe to say it's likely to end up on my list of favourites for the year!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy of the ebook! I've already ordered myself a physical copy for my collection!

Six minutes after takeoff, Flight 1421 crashes into the Pacific Ocean. After an unimaginable series of events, 12 passengers sink into the waters, trapped in the body of the plane, with only a pocket of air to survive until rescue. 🌊

4.5 ⭐️ Phew! Another adrenaline (and panic 😂) inducing plane crash book from this author, and it didn’t disappoint! Similar to her debut novel, Falling, this book has over-the-top action and requires readers to suspend their disbelief, but as long as you can go in expecting a big action movie in book form, you’ll likely enjoy the ride. This book was everything I enjoyed from Falling with some surprise deaths thrown in and heartfelt moments that had me choked up. Definitely recommend!

My thanks to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for a complimentary copy of this newly released eBook, out now.

T.J. Newman has become an auto-buy author for me! After loving Falling, I knew I had to get my hands on Drowning. Much like Falling, this was a fast-paced thriller that had me hooked from the first sentence! The action and suspense only got more intense as the book went on. I truly couldn't put it down. This book is very focused on the rescue efforts of the flight that crash landed in the ocean. However, the author gives you an inside look to the lives of a father and daughter stuck inside the plane, and the wife/mother trying to save them. This made me really invested in the story because this family was so easy to relate to. I could feel the stress, worry, and fear from each of them. It really enhanced the story. I highly recommend this and can't wait to read more books from this author!

Wow, this was an action-packed, plot driven, compulsively readable thriller!

This fast moving book followed Flight 1421 as it ditched in the ocean off the coast of Hawaii. As the book moves along we follow a smaller number of the plane's crew and passengers as they struggle to survive not only a plane crash, but a broken plane that has sunk to the bottom of an ocean trench with 12 people still aboard.

As the oxygen continues to dwindle, we as readers are flipping the pages as quick as we can to see whether or not the plans to rescue everyone will work.

Overall, this was a very engrossing thriller! The writing was clear and concise and didn't tend to lean on a lot of the tropes that some thrillers depend on to succeed. I did have to suspend some disbelief when one of the people that could potentially save everyone had a daughter and a husband on the plane. Not to mention the fact that the plane managed to just perfectly land on the edge of a sea trench. Setting those minor points aside, the book did what it promised - I didn't want to put it down and was eager to see how it all worked out.

This was a solid 3.5

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC.

You know that feeling when you read a book and you just know? You know it has solidly claimed its place in one of the top spots for the year and there’s nothing you can do about it. If you listen to this book on 2X, the audio is only 3 hours and 51 minutes. I listened to all 3 hours and 51 minutes today but this book will live in my mind for SO much longer. It rivals 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬 for the book that gave me the ugliest of ugly cries.

In a short time, T. J. Newman makes you care so deeply for these characters who are experiencing an unimaginable tragedy together. There is a large cast but each person is important and brings depth to the story (even asshole Andy 🙄). As you get to know each one, you connect with them as people, each with their own happiness and tragedies in their pasts.

Steven Weber and Laura Benanti are exceptional narrators. I’m not sure how they completed this project without crying the entire time but they held it together and DELIVERED. Gah! 😍 Their back-and-forth narrative truly had me gasping for air!

Everyone needs to read this book. Yes, it’s suspenseful…obviously. But on a deeper level, it’s full of love, compassion, and respect for humankind as a whole. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

After the success of her first novel, Falling, TJ had a lot of pressure to “bring it” with her next book. I’m here to tell you all that she not only brought it but she topped it with everything she had!

This story was published before the horrific Titan incident. I’ve been a huge Titanic lover since I was a child. The ship and all her glory and her tragic sinking drew me in and enraptured me. So when I heard about the submersible called The Titan I was intrigued. Sadly, those people perished before they could even see what they risked their lives to see. This story has so many elements of the submersible included, it was so hard not to read and think of this recent and very real tragedy.

This is the story of a plane that was doomed from right after takeoff. The story of a pilot who stayed with her passengers until the end. The emotions, the action, the characters felt so real and the imagery was really great. I’ve never flown and yet, I could still “feel” and “see” how these characters were feeling and what they were seeing and doing. This is the story of how a group of people come together when faced with death and how the world can seem hateful and horrific but, when in the goriness of tragedy, people come together to work together and share love.

I absolutely LOVED this read y’all. Like I said, TJ knocked it out of the ballpark with this. Home run, touchdown, goal, whatever you wanna call it – SHE did it and she WOWed me! Five stars and I’d give more if I could! Composed of suspense and mystery, this book will not let you down.

I'm probably in the minority here but... I didn't love this. Which is a shame because after the author's debut 'Falling' being one of my top reads of 2021 my hopes were high for the follow up.

I guess my first question is why another story about a plane? Sure, write what you know but if the third book from this author is about an aircraft then I'll probably count myself out.

The story itself is pretty good albeit it's absolutely drenched in cliches and characters so stereotypical of a disaster movie, I found myself predicting what would happen and being correct 99.9% of the time.

The book reads pretty much like a summer blockbuster disaster movie screenplay or movie novelisation with your standard cast of characters. Old married couple? Check. Young married couple? Check. Divorced/separated couple with one partner on the doomed plane with their only daughter and the other half conveniently employed in an industry that would be very helpful to a submerged plane. Check.

This would be a pretty standard fare, summer blockbuster extravaganza as there's little character development (aside from a few flashbacks) and there are some seriously underused characters who to my mind are just a waste of words.

Yes, it's a rollercoaster with ups and downs and thrills and spills. Think 70s movie Airport crossed with The Poseidon Adventure and that's the pitch for Drowning. But for me there just wasn't enough depth to it overall.

As I said, It seems I'm in the minority here as I don't think I've seen a review so far that isn't 5 stars. Except for mine.

I read "Falling," which is a great idea (pilot told he has to crash a commercial jet to save his abducted wife and kids) but somewhat choppily written, and "Drowning" is in a similar vein, plot-wise, but the writing has leveled up! 12 passengers are trapped in a plane under water following a crash. God, with all the submersible drama in the news, this could not be more timely as crews work to save them against ever-increasing odds. Glad to see Newman out there with a new book and ratcheting up her skills. Great read!

Drowning written by T.J. Newman was <b>INSANE</b>. This book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire freaking time, it felt like I was holding my breath throughout the entire book, just hoping something good would happen. As someone who has a fear of flying, I was so scared to read this book, after finishing it, I still won't get on an airplane for this reason alone, flying over an ocean and something goes wrong with the plane, you're falling to your death and drowning, NO THANK YOU!!!!!! I never once wanted to put this book down, it was so intriguing, you can honestly read it in one sitting. The only minor issue I had with this book was keeping track of all the characters and what their occupation was. I was instantly hooked on the very first page, I just could not put this book down whatsoever. Drowning was just phenomenal and mind blowing. I can easily see this book becoming a movie in no time. Despite my fear of flying, it felt like I was right there on the plane with all of these characters gasping for air trying to figure out my new move. T.J. Newman definitely kept me engaged. Please do yourself a huge favor and read this book immediately.

<b>Wanna hear an airplane joke?
Nevermind, it'd go right over your head</b>😉.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND AVID READER PRESS FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!!!

Six minutes after takeoff, departed from Honolulu to San Francisco, Flight 1421 crashes into the Pacific Ocean. The plane has caught on fire, passengers are freaking out, people are standing up and falling over, the plane is losing oxygen FAST. Air controls aren't working, nothing is working, THE PLANE IS PLUMMETING INTO THE OCEAN. During the evacuation, an engine explodes and the plane is flooded. The passengers that are still alive, are forced to close all the doors, but it's too late, Flight 1421 has sunk to the bottom of the ocean with twelve passengers trapped inside. The passengers must all work together to make it out alive, they might not like each other and disagree with others at times, but that's what made this book so realistic. More than two hundred feet below the surface, Will Kent and his daughter Shannon are waist deep in the water fighting for their lives. Shannon knew what was happening, but she wanted to be brave for her dad, ugh this part just broke my heart.

Their only chance at survival is an elite rescue team on the surface led by professional diver, Chris Kent. Chris is Shannon's mother and Will's soon to be ex-wife. Will is an engineer, so Chris and Will must work together to find a way to save their daughter and the other passengers who are trapped in the sealed airplane. There's not much time left and there's even less air now, what could possibly go wrong? Some attempts during the rescue have failed, which also made this book feel more realistic because it just kept you guessing wondering if they will all be saved. This book was devastating and emotional, but I absolutely adored watching bonds form between all of the characters so they could make it out alive. Drowning was so much more than just a book about a plane crash, it was about relationships forming during the toughest times and people working together so no one else would lose their lives. T.J. Newman sure does know how to write a scary book, but a book that you will also fall in love with. My heart absolutely went out to everyone that was involved in this plane crash, but I couldn't help but cheer everyone on despite them not liking each other during this process.

DROWNING by T.J. Newman

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This intense action-packed, yet emotional at times thriller had me on the edge of my seat until the very last page!

I love to travel, but HATE flying and this book paints a vivid, very realistic picture of pretty much my worst nightmare 😅

Only minutes after takeoff, the crew of flight 1421 realize there is a major problem and are forced to land in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Hawaii. Evacuation of the plane is underway, but comes to an abrupt halt when one of the engines explodes and the last twelve passengers are forced to seal themselves into the aircraft as a last-ditch survival tactic as the plane slowly descends…to the edge of a cliff more than 200 feet below the surface.

Told through multiple POVs, you see these characters go from strangers, each with a unique background and different reason for being onboard the flight, to a sort of kin. I found myself quickly invested in the characters as I watched them navigate such a harrowing nightmare together.

I highly recommend this book, it was such a great read!!

Thank you to @netgalley @tj_author and @simonandschuster for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

🏷️: #drowningbook #tjnewman #tjnewmandrowning #thrillerbooks #igreads #goodreads #netgalley #bookreview #bookrecs #bookstagram #booktok #bookworm #booknerd #bibliophile #booksbooksbooks #arcreaders #fivestarreads

Gosh!Dare I say better than her first. Emotionally beautiful, adventure packed, you feel in the middle of the action from the start and it never lets up. Nothing but a binge read and extremely well executed. The emotional undertones really made the book special and the underlying love stories very touching. So many characters each their own!

Thank you for allowing me to read this book as an ARC.
Wow what can I say. I was glued to this book and devoured it. What a great story and suspense. While I thought the author's first book was excellent, this one for sure even tops that!!! Even though we all know the story is very unrealistic and could probably never happen in real life, the way the author has done in depth research on a number of topics is very obvious. She has done an amazing job intertwining the story in different directions...scientific, romance, suspense, and just being true human beings when we get thrown together with a bunch of strangers.
I loved this book so much also because I used to be a flight attendant as well and can understand some of the thoughts of the crew. Amazing job of the author to write yet another thrilling and suspenseful novel. I cannot wait to read more of her books! Solid 5 🌟 for sure!

This action packed aviation thriller will grab you by the throat from the very first page.

Picture this; your on a plane when just minutes after departure you witness one of it's engines blow up. Looking out, there's a raging fire, looking around the cabin there's screams, chaos and downright terror among the passengers as it becomes clear that all there's left for them to do is pray an brace for impact. When the plane ditches in the ocean it's a miracle people have survived at all but when most passengers struggle to exit the plane. The unthinkable happens to those thinking they fight a better chance of survival inside the plane with locked doors and an airpocket. That is until the plane suddenly jolts and starts to sink to the bottom of the ocean with some of the passengers still inside....
Passengers who are alive, breathing through an airpocket that will only allow them to survive for a couple of hours...
Do you hold your breath yet?

Thank you @netgalley and @avidreaderpress for the arc in exchange for my honest review I loved it!

Omg that was tense! Intense!! Suspense!! (Oooo they all rhyme!)

Very simple synopsis...plane crashes into the sea and sinks with surviving passengers onboard...queue most intense rescue attempt ever! And this author manages to keep the suspense so palpable it was immense!

I read the 2021 "Falling" by this author (formally cabin crew) ... and this her second book is every inch as enthralling...

The pace of this story is incredible, it never lets up...my bum cheeks were clenched and my breath was helped for every sitting..and devoured it in no time ...(well I had to so I could breath and relax again)

Hats off to #tjnewman for a very successful suspenseful novel

If you’re looking for a pulse pounding, adrenaline fueled read this summer, this is the book for you!

Six minutes after take-off from Honolulu, a plane is forced to make an emergency water landing. Survivors begin to evacuate but catastrophic dangers await them outside. The 12 remaining passengers are forced to close the doors and await rescue, but the plane begins to sink and comes to rest 200 ft below the surface, teetering precariously on the edge of a cliff.

And this is simply the set-up.

As the trapped survivors struggle to stay alive, crews above water are in a race against time to accomplish the near-impossible task of bringing up the passengers before they run out of oxygen.

The characters and their histories added a personal element, and made this so much more than a simple action story. Some of it might be bordering on schmaltzy but I admit to tearing up a time or two.

The last 25% was a white-knuckle roller-coaster ride to the end. It’s been a long, long while since I’ve read a book this tension-filled and I loved it. My only criticism was that the middle of the book suffered from technical jargon and details that sailed right over my head.

I wasn’t a fan of the author’s book, Falling, but this is one I recommend for a "popcorn" disaster nail-biter. It has already been optioned for film, and I'm not surprised.

A buddy read with Marialyce, be sure to check out her review!

*It was particularly poignant that we started this book when the massive multinational search and rescue mission for the Titan submersible was capturing the world’s attention. Sadly, that situation did not have a happy ending.

DROWNING by T. J. Newman (Falling) is an absolutely fantastic adventure that readers will not want to put down. All about the rescue of flight 1421, this is so realistic in part because Newman is a former flight attendant, but also because she has done significant research as described in the author's note. With multiple passengers and crew involved in an airline disaster, readers have an opportunity to learn about the lives of twelve individuals, making DROWNING a bit reminiscent of much earlier "disaster" books from Arthur Hailey. It is a diverse group: engineer Will Kent and his eleven-year-old daughter Shannon, newlyweds, and an older couple (Ira and Ruth) with decades of married life, a nurse, a bartender who cannot swim. The emergencies they face allow for reflection on life and its meaning: "That was all life was. Shifting the balance, every day, to make room for joy and grace in whatever circumstances you've got before your time runs out." DROWNING received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, and Library Journal; plus, it was an Amazon Best Book of June 2023. I would highly recommend for those looking for a suspenseful, quick, but surprisingly educational, and exciting read.

This is an unpopular opinion and I'm probably the only person who didn't like this book. Or maybe I should have read Falling first to enjoy this one.

I had heard rave reviews about Falling and while I hadn't had the chance to read it myself, on learning that I don't need to read it to understand Drowning, I jumped on the chance to get the ARC.

The book is heavy on technical terms, and just very slow. I wish I could say I was invested in what would happen to the characters. I was just going through the motions reading it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

A hair-raising thriller of a disaster novel. Who of us that have flown in an airplane doesn't at at least some point in the process,, have thought that is is a dangerous (or certainly an unnatural) process?

This novel is a well-written and exciting novel, written by someone well-versed in flying, and I can almost guarantee that this story will cause you to finish it in one sitting.

Gave Me the goosebumps,, and I will definitely be looking forward to reading more from this promising author!

Until next time, dear readers, I am curious how many of you will recall this story (at least at some point) the NEXT time you choose to "Fly the friendly skies".?