Summary from Goodreads:
Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?
Imagine if she hadn’t forgotten the book. Or if there hadn’t been traffic on the expressway. Or if she hadn’t fumbled the coins for the toll. What if she’d run just that little bit faster and caught the flight she was supposed to be on. Would it have been something else – the weather over the Atlantic or a fault with the plane?
Hadley isn’t sure if she believes in destiny or fate but, on what is potentially the worst day of each of their lives, it’s the quirks of timing and chance events that mean Hadley meets Oliver…
Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver’s story will make you believe that true love finds you when you’re least expecting it.
This is a book that I have wanted to read for a while. It sounded like a good contemporary and so I decided to pick it up.
The novel starts in an airport where we meet Hadley, who is on her way to London. She meets Oliver, a boy who is also travelling to London and they immediately have a connection. Set over a 24 hour period, this novel is all about teenage love, woes and adventures.
I wasn’t too keen on the style of writing in which this book was written. It mean that I couldn’t get close to the main character, Hadley, and I felt very detached. It wasn’t a style that it commonly used and so it took a lot of getting used to.
I liked Hadley, but I just didn’t get to know her well enough. Her character was poorly written and I would have liked to have seen more scenes that really revealed her personality. I found that she could act quite selfish, as well.
Oliver was a much more likable character but his behaviour was a little erratic. He wasn’t very solid and I really don’t understand why he would just choose to approach Hadley in a busy airport.
My main problem with this novel was that it was so short. There weren’t enough pages to get to know the characters well enough and I think that if it were to be made a little longer then I would enjoy it more.
Before people start thinking I’m a horrible person, I must add that I loved the romantic side of this novel. It was played out just right and was very sweet.
I really wanted to enjoy this novel but it really didn’t do much for me. I would like to read another book by the author to see how it compares, though.
RATING: 3.5/5
7 Comments
Amber @ The Mile Long Bookshelf
20 February, 2013 at 4:19 pmJudging by the summary, it sounds like a book I would enjoy but I’m not sure! Might have to buy it anyway and see what it’s like. I hate feeling detached from main characters though.
Brilliant review! 🙂
Amber
The Mile Long Bookshelf
Rebekah Campbell
20 February, 2013 at 6:36 pmOh no! It’s no fun when you don’t get to see the character’s personality very well 🙁 It makes it obvious that it isn’t real…not that books are real life but you know what I mean 😛
At least the romance was sweet!
Rebecca-Books
20 February, 2013 at 6:44 pmI think it is the sweetness of this novel that makes it so enjoyable. I know what you mean, I felt the same about Eleven Eleven, that I read recently, it was just so short, I couldn’t connect with the characters as much as I wanted to.
Gwynneth White
21 February, 2013 at 5:55 amI agree. My thoughts exactly about this book.
http://gwynnethwhite.blogspot.com/
Zoe Crook
21 February, 2013 at 7:29 pmI have this on my TBR pile and it sounds quite good. It is a shame that you didn’t get along with the style of writing, I find that with some books and it makes the story less gripping. Hadley’s character sounds okay but it is a pity that you couldn’t connect with her. It sounds such a sweet book though 🙂 Thanks for the great review!
Larissa
22 February, 2013 at 1:24 amI really want to read this book. I have seen several mediocre reviews of it, but it sounds really sweet!
Anna Scott
23 February, 2013 at 9:02 pmThis is pretty much exactly how I felt about this book! I just didn’t get Hadley at all, or the chemistry between her and Oliver. Not for me, I guess!