Find my reviews on Blogger ~ Reviews by Bookish Sarah 
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 17-year-old Hadley Sullivan has just missed her flight to London by just four minutes. As if going to be a bridesmaid for her father's soon-to-be new wife wasn't bad enough - now she has to hang around the airport for hours as she waits for the next flight out. 
 If Hadley had it her way, she wouldn't even be going to the wedding. She resents her father for abandoning her and her mother for another woman & a whole new life across the globe. Taking part in the wedding is the last thing she wants to do, but what her parents say goes. Hadley plans to make a bold stand against her father when she seems him; plans to tell him how she really feels about what he has done and is about to do. 
 Claustrophobia makes the crowded airport 10x worse for our protagonist, so she decides to take a walk around to get away from the crowded departure gate. When a cute British boy named Oliver offers to carry her suitcase... she just can't pass up the offer. While talking over lunch, they learn they are seated virtually next to each other on the flight to London. What a coincidence, eh? 
 "Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?" 
 Hadley and Oliver get to know each other during the long flight and end up having what can only be described as a "connection". Once they hit the madness of the airport in London, the two teens lose sight of one another. Hadley assumes she's seen the last of Oliver, but fate is persistent. As Hadley tries to reconcile her feelings toward her father and maybe even forgive him, she and Oliver's paths will cross again. 
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 I have to say that the title of this book is what captured my attention the most. I was a little disappointed with the book, but not completely. It's fluffy. It's cute. It's predictable. It's a little unrealistic, yet fun. I liked it. I didn't love it. 
 The characters were so-so. I didn't find them very memorable, really. I had trouble connecting with Hadley. I blame this in part on the narration. Third-person limited is, quite frankly, not my cup of tea. Combine that with the flashbacks from Hadley's childhood (which popped up unexpectedly and without warning) and it was just annoying. I feel that it would have been easier for me to connect with my protag if this book were narrated in first-person. Instead I just found her overly sentimental and whiny. I also think that if the book were longer and more fleshed-out, maybe I could have learned to love her and Oliver more. It was just so quick, like I simply blinked and it was all over. 
 Minor spoilers ahead! 
 Some of this book was too outrageously unrealistic for me. I suppose this book is all about fate and such - but it didn't have to feel so forced. The chance meeting and seating arrangement was okay; I could see that happening in real life. Hadley forgiving her father after less than 24-hours of interaction? Not so much. She hasn't even seen the guy in over a year. He left her and her mother for another woman! He moved across the world! I don't see a 17-year-old as whiny as Hadley being able to rise above the situation so quickly. Hadley searching out Oliver. First of all - they just met. What human being in their right mind would go search out a stranger in a place they've never even been before? Not to mention the fact that Hadley figured out where Oliver was with such a minute detail to go on. Then she just wandered around looking for this church with a statue in front of it? And oh, she just happens across it first thing! No. No no no no. It all just irked me. 
 I appreciated the fact that both Oliver and Hadley learned from one another. They each took something from the other person's situation and it helped them to light up the part of their own situation that they weren't seeing with clear eyes. They were both humbled by each other, in a way, and I think it helped to make their connection more feasible. 
 It was clean! Hooray! It was a nice breath of fresh air to see a chaste protag for once. There wasn't any violence, sex or cursing. It was light, fun, and easy to read. Don't expect anything overtly intense or mind-blowing here, because this is just a simple story of family, forgiveness, and young love. It's a quick read - a beach read, I'd say. A feel-good story; a palate cleanser, if you will. :) I'd definitely recommend it if you aren't too nit-picky like me, and if you're looking for a fluffy, fun book to make you smile. 
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 Book source: Personal collection 
 Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers/Hachette Book Group