Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - Drowning

Out now! [Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a gifted copy!]

Rating: 4/5 stars

Will and his eleven-year-old daughter Shannon’s are in the air for six minutes when their plane crashes into the ocean and begins to sink—leaving Shannon’s mother and a team of rescuers to try and save the passengers before time runs out.

The synopsis of Drowning promises a pulse-pounding edge-of-your-seat action thriller, and honestly, it delivers. The tension and drama is palpable from the first page, and I found myself continually reading because I just had to know what would happen.

There is also an almost surprising amount of emotion in this book—you might expect it to deliver only tension and chaos, but I found myself tearing up more than once, and the entire ending hits like a gut punch (and then resolves in near-perfection).

In short, if you want a super fast, super exciting read this summer, this is the book you should be reaching for.

Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: action thrillers; rescue stories; ensemble casts

CW: Death/injury (including fire); child death; grief

Content Warnings

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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4.5

Finished reading: May 27th 2023

"Strong women know loving someone is easy. Respecting them is a choice."

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

I loved my time with the author's debut last year, and I've been looking forward to read Drowning ever since I first heard about it. I tend to like my thrillers on the fast, intense and action-packed side... And this is exactly what this newest story seemed to be offering. Now that I have had the chance to read Drowning, I can say that this story offers everything that it promises in the blurb and more. It's a high-stakes, lightning fast and simply exhilarating ride, and the tension never falters. Exactly my kind of story!

This is one of those books where it's best to just sit back and enjoy the ride...Well, mostly sitting on the edge of your seat while biting your nails, but you know what I mean. If you start thinking about just how credible the situation actually is, and how farfetched some of the twists might be, you are reading Drowning wrong. But if you are able to suspend your belief and just go with the flow, you are in for one heck of a rollercoaster ride. Trust me, it is extremely hard to stop reading once you start, and I literally stayed up until the early hours to find out how everything would end. Unputdownable indeed!

Drowning is a story that starts intense and never slows down afterwards. I mean, what would you expect from a story that involves a plane crash and people trapped inside that same plane close to 200 feet under water and with only a limited air supply?! This book isn't just about the plane crash and the fight to save the survivors in time though; to give the story more dept and make it about more than just the action and rescue, there is also focus on Will Kent and his family. After a past tragedy, Will and his wife Chris have grown apart, but this new situation changes everything. It was interesting to learn more about them and see how they react to extreme pressure.

The story uses a multiple POV structure, which is very helpful because we get to see what happens both underwater inside the crashed plane and above with the rescue plans. The situation is accute, which means the tension is sky high and the stakes are even higher. Chris makes for such a great character, fighting for her daughter like a mama bear and standing by the plan she knows will save her. I really enjoyed this back and forward between Chris and Will, and I liked how it gave the plot more dept. The rest of the characters were less developed, but this is what you expect from a story that focuses mostly on the plot and action. There was enough to get a proper idea of what they are like though, and while some of them were quite cliche, as a whole they made for an interesting bunch being thrown together in an impossible situation.

Drowning is a story that won't let you have a breather until you reach that final page, heart racing and nails bitten to the quick. You will find yourself fully invested in the rescue mission, and it turns out to be a true rollercoaster ride. I can see Drowning making for an excellent Hollywood action movie! It sure has all the elements of turning it into a potential success. If you also like your thrillers on the fast and exhilarating side and don't mind suspending your belief, Drowning is a must-read.

Content Warnings

ems_rxlibrary's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I am in awe of this book! I loved everything about it.

It was fast paced, it {mostly} had a full cast of characters you could root for (screw you Andy), it was tense, it had beautiful character development, and I adored the writing. I have never cried while reading a thriller before, but this book had me bawling! There were numerous times that I was reading along and stopped to say, “This is so good!”

Highly, highly recommend!

I received an ARC from Avid Reader Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Content Warnings

tamsterdam_reads's review against another edition

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challenging tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Drowning is an action movie wrapped up into a novel. Right off the bat, you’re taken on a rollercoaster ride of being on Flight 1421 crashing into the Pacific Ocean. Because it’s written in first-person perspective with multiple POV’s, there is no lagging within the book. What is delivered is a fast-paced and intensive journey.

There are heroes who wonderfully provide the beacon of light in the story. As they raced to get the people out of the plane from more than two hundred feet below the surface, I couldn’t help but consume this gripping story within no time. There are also villains who just make more issues for others and know how to make the reader angry with their antics; which attests to Newman’s writing style that keeps a reader entertained and listening on to find out what happens next.

The dual narrations of Steven Webber and Laura Benanti were fantastic and I highly recommend listening to this book.

Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada for the arc and Simon Audio for the alc. Thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

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