Such an action packed read! I couldn’t put it down! So many twists and turns. I loved all of the survival components.

The action starts almost right away with a plane crash into the ocean and I must admit I thought after that, how is this book going to top that and keep my attention for nearly 300 pages. Well, I needn’t have worried because the author kept my interest throughout. Tension, likeable main characters, and a common fear for travellers - a plane crash - kept me riveted. Accessible writing, short chapters, and a fast pace made this an enjoyable ride and kept me turning the pages.

Drowning is even better than this author’s debut, Falling. I know Falling is being made into a movie - well, I can see the same happening for Drowning. This author has now twice taken a common fear about air travel and turned it into page-turning dramas. Can’t wait for her next one! This will be THE summer read of 2023!

Thanks to Avid Reader Press and Netgalley for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Drowning was one of my most anticipated books of the year. I read T.J. Newman’s debut novel, Falling, before it published and loved it. Her sophomore novel did not disappoint.

Drowning is an edge-of-your-seat thriller about a plane full of passengers that crashes shortly after take-off from Honolulu. Initially, the pilots manage a water landing, but during the evacuation, the plane sinks to the bottom of the ocean with passengers still trapped inside.

If someone asked me for a book that epitomizes a thriller, I would hand them one of T.J. Newman’s novels. Drowning is an intense read packed full of excitement and action. While the synopsis informs readers of major plot points, Newman still manages to fill the pages with suspense and even a few twists. Short, punchy chapters help readers to feel the constant urgency and lurking danger.

Drowning surprised me for what it offered beyond suspense and adrenaline. Reading this book was a rollercoaster of emotion. I felt every emotion while reading Drowning, from anger to gratefulness. I even teared up at one point – a feat not easily achieved.

Furthermore, I appreciated Newman’s attention to detail and commitment to verisimilitude. From reading Drowning, it is clear a lot of research went into writing this book and ensuring its accuracy. I never wasted energy or was pulled from the words questioning details. Newman included technical specifics about scuba diving and physics without every slowing down the narrative. While some may find Drowning to unbelievable, I think they will be wrong in doing so. It is apparent that Newman put in the work for the book to be believable and ensure plausibility.

My only real criticism of Drowning is that the character development is uneven. I acknowledge that it is difficult to balance developing characters and keeping a thriller fast-paced and suspenseful. I think Newman did a better than average job. However, there are secondary characters that play a significant part that I mixed up because they were not developed. While I found the primary characters to be pretty solid, I would have still liked to know more about their background and motivations.

Overall, I loved Drowning and highly recommend it. At this point, I will pick up any book Newman writes. Mark your calendars for May 30th to nab your copy of Drowning.

This is an absolutely incredible thriller that will delight fans of Newman's first book, Falling. Same heart-pounding pacing that will have you on the edge of your seat. She sure knows how to write a fun and smart summer read.

Now that’s what I call a can’t put it down thriller! This book starts with a plane crash/water landing, and then segues into the struggle to survive and escape. It alternates viewpoints between passengers and crew on the plane, and those trying to rescue them. And it seriously has me on the edge of my seat the entire time, and I cried a few times too. I would have stayed up all night to finish it if I didn’t have to get up in the morning, but even though I went to sleep I finished it well under 24 hours from when I started it. Wow!

I loved TJ Newman’s debut novel, Falling, also set on a plane, so I couldn’t wait to read this one - I just love her brand of action novels but where she somehow makes you get involved in the characters as well. I can’t wait to see movie adaptations of both books! Just seriously do yourself a favor and do NOT read these on a plane or when you’re going to be flying soon, unless you’re much braver than I am.

What a wild ride! Definitely one of my most favorite 2023 reads. I read this book in one sitting. I loved everything about it! Full of suspense and tension on every page. Not a dull moment. This needs to be a movie! And the ending couldn't have been better! What a masterpiece. Releases on May 30th, you need to drop everything you are doing that day and read this book!

Thanks to Netgalley and Avid Reader Press, Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a fast-paced suspense following a plane crash in the ocean and the subsequent rescue mission. It's a popcorn thriller that would make for a great movie. The author perfectly blends the action and intensity of the situation with complex characters with differing personalities. You will experience every emotion — anxiety, fear, sadness, shock — as the events escalate and unfold.

You may need to suspend belief a bit, and definitely don't read if you have an upcoming flight, but I really enjoyed this one and recommend it!

I was not expecting it to start at what I thought would be the climax! Hang on for a wild ride. The book does even out but you really do start caring about the characters here. I'm a big Newman fan after 2 books and will read whatever she puts out. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

I've read two airplane books in one week, both by Newman. She's an author to watch out for! Her other book, Falling, I rated five stars. I had high hopes for this one. I wasn't disappointed, but I will admit I did like Falling better. I think if I had read Drowning first it would have been the other way around. However, Drowning was incredibly unique story-line-wise and I read it in a day. They're both awesome books!

ᴍʏ ʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ:
⭐⭐⭐⭐

WHEW. This novel was intense. I was grabbed from the first page, and the heart pounding did not stop. Unlike many thrillers, this book also had heart. I deeply cared about the characters. TJ Newman is getting better and I'm looking forward to what she does next.

DROWNING is basically a masterpiece of thrilling perfection -grounded with incredible heart. and emotion. TJ Newman wrote a fantastic book with her debut, FALLING. But DROWNING shows a greater depth to her talent. It is the epitome of 'edge of your seat' plot, with a fantastic timeline that simultaneously keeps us in the grips of life-and-death tension, while laying out a backstory that breaks your heart and elevates the stakes of those on board the flight and those working to save them. FANATASTIC BOOK.

Drowning by T.J. Newman. Pub Date: May 30, 2023. Rating: 4 stars. If you are in the mood for a pulse wrecking, page turning thriller that happens over the course of a day then you need to pick this book up. Set on a plane crash site in the ocean, it is a race to evacuate the remaining survivors within the cabin. How to stabilize the crash site without interfering with pressure mechanics of the airplane cabin becomes the major theme of operation throughout the novel. Interspersed with family dynamics, this novel leaves the reader on the edge of their seat and turning the pages quickly to find out what happens. I read the first half of this novel in half of a day because I just could not put it down. I highly recommend this novel for readers of fast paced thrillers. Thanks to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. #netgalley #drowning

WOW! What a ride! This book is intense, and boy is it worth it!

The plane crashes very early into the book and you're left thinking, what next? But that's just the beginning. This is a story of survival. I thought I had the ending figured out, but I was pleasantly surprised! This was my first T.J. Newman book and it WON'T be my last! I highly recommend picking this one up!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Drowning - a Lifetime Original

I enjoyed this book, but please don't go in expecting a thriller in any typical book sense. It is action packed in some places, but definitely slow and ripped from a Lifetime movie in other places.

A plane crashes into the ocean moments after taking off (this book will make you never want to fly again). As people hurry to evacuate into the water, a fire erupts. A small group of passengers decide to seal themselves inside the plane and wait for rescue. As the plane sinks and settles onto the bottom of the ocean, it is a race against time to save the passengers before the oxygen runs out.

I liked the concept of the book. I don't care who you are, the concept of a plane crashing and sinking into the ocean with you still on board will terrify you.

The things I found Lifetimey - It was unrealistic that the U.S. Military would allow a civilian diver to run the mission to rescue the trapped survivors, especially when her husband and daughter were two of the people trapped. The dialogue and backstories of the passengers, as well as the interplay between everyone was very dramatic.

I want to thank Simon & Schuster and imprint Avid Reader Press for sending me an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

T.J. Newman did it again! One of those books that so packed with action and suspense that I felt my heart beating on my throat while sitting on the edge of my seat.

Six minutes after takeoff, Flight 1421 crashes into the Pacific Ocean. During the evacuation, an engine explodes and the plane is flooded. The twelve remaining passengers inside the plane are forced to close the doors but quickly realise that the plane is sinking. Now stuck in the bottom of the sea. teetering on the edge of cliff, The clock is ticking, the level of oxygen inside the plane is slowly running out. Their only chance at survival is in the hands of professional diver Chris Kent, who's soon-to-be-ex-husband and daughter are on that plane. How far will she go to save them?

I couldn't put it down, and my heart was pounding from the first page until the end. The plot is really well developed. Newman's knowledge on the procedures both inside the plane and from the sea rescuers just makes it that much better.

However, this is more than a story about a plane crash. It's about redemption, love, hope, loss, second chances, and realising that one never knows how much time we have left and should enjoy life to the fullest. It's also about how far a parent will go to save their child.

I really felt for these characters, who are complex and so well explored. Newman gives every single one of these characters a background story which made it very easy to empathise with them. My heart hurt for some of them by the end of the book.

I cannot get enough of Newman's books, and I'm definitely a fan. Can't wait to see what she does next.

Highly recommend it to those who are seeking a heart-stopping suspense/thriller to read in one sitting!

Omg!!! What a ride! I read this ebook on my flight back home. I thought book one was great, but Drowning is on another level! I felt like I was watching a movie the entire time. The characters were well developed and totally relatable. The plot was fast paced and she didn’t give a second to catch your breath as you read!

This was a fairly quick, enjoyable read. I laughed out loud at the references to “The Titanic” because I had been thinking how it reminded me of it. I also got “The Martian” vibes. At times I found it hard to visualize which parts of the plane were being referenced. I would’ve loved for some diagrams to be worked in, like maps sometimes are. The main family’s story colliding the way it did was a bit far fetched, but that’s fiction for you!

T.J. Newman definitely knows how to keep readers on the edge of their seats. There is just enough backstory and character development to let readers get invested in the outcome, but it's definitely a plot focused story with tension growing as the odds of survival drop. It's a detailed story and I definitely glossed a little bit when the engineering specifics got a bit much, but there wasn't any way I wasn't going to see this one through to the end.

T.J. Newman has quickly cemented herself as the reigning monarch of the worst-that-could-happen-on-an-airplane genre. Outrageous scenarios such as a pilot's family being held hostage and a plane sinking to the bottom of the ocean with a handful of survivors and an air pocket spring to life on the pages of Falling and Drowning, respectively.
This sophomore novel leans heavily on science to create a nuanced and authentic landscape to drop a group of everyday people into. While the tension and pacing are impeccable, the characters sometimes feel a little flat. It doesn't detract from the plot, but emotional moments don't always resonate with the intended impact because although the reader's heart pounds placing themselves in the situation, the lives inside the book often fail to intertwine with our own.
Drowning is a quick, fun, and intense read that fans of Falling will be sure to enjoy.

Holy crap, this was so freakin’ good. It kicks off with a bang on the first page and never lets up. I did enjoy Newman’s first book Falling, but this one is even better. Just go read it please.