The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight Author: | Language: English | ISBN:
B006YUYG3M | Format: EPUB
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight Description
Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything? Today should be one of the worst days of 17-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A.
Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley's and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.
- Audible Audio Edition
- Listening Length: 5 hours and 17 minutes
- Program Type: Audiobook
- Version: Unabridged
- Publisher: Hachette Audio
- Audible.com Release Date: January 16, 2012
- Whispersync for Voice: Ready
- Language: English
- ASIN: B006YUYG3M
4.5/5 stars
Could hitting a red light change your life? Losing your phone charger? Getting a paper cut? Can a string of seemingly insignificant moments amount to something life changing? When Hadley misses her flight to London by four minutes, she never expects to meet Oliver - someone she instantly connects with, someone who's dealing with his own personal demons, someone who makes her view the world in a slightly different way.
Hadley. I love Hadley. Though I can't empathize with her particular set of circumstances, she's a character with whose situation, whose frankness and honesty I connected with. Hadley is a girl who has been greatly affected by her parents' divorce and it has left her very hurt and embittered toward her father, who left her and her mother. When her father decides to remarry, to the woman he left Hadley's mother for, she unwillingly finds herself in the one place she never hoped to be - on a plane to London, wedding-bound. I love Hadley's confusion in her feelings toward her father - her anger and resentment combined with her undeniable longing for the way things used to be. I love her gutsiness. I love how she wears her heart on her sleeve. I love her journey towards closure as her chance meeting with Oliver causes her to finally start dealing with some of her repressed issues.
Oliver's character is a wonderful compliment to Hadley's. Where Hadley doesn't hide her emotions well, Oliver is a bit more of a mystery. Though not quite as transparent as Hadley, I never felt as though he is anything less than genuine. I love Oliver's intelligent (and sometimes wicked) sense of humor, his keen insights, his rare moments of vulnerability, his kindness and general optimistic outlook.
This is my second book of the year and the second I read during a sleepless night. The similarity ends there, unfortunately. While Split kept me up because it was so good I just HAD to finish it, this one... well, it was only insomnia. And to think I was so eager to read it. See, I'm all for vanilla romance, it's light, relaxing and cute.
But this book did not even remotely relax me.
The premise is interesting. Hadley, on her way to London to attend her much dreaded father's wedding, misses her flight. Rescheduled for the next one three hours later, which will make her arrive barely on time, she meets Oliver, a British student at Yale, on his way to London for some other wedding. Sparks ensue. Will Hadley make it to the wedding? Will she see Oliver again?
At first, I thought that the problem I had with this book had to do with the narrative technique. The third-person limited didn't work well for me, I didn't get invested in the story that much. I couldn't connect to Hadley and even though there were some cute moments, the role I felt I was playing was just that of a polite observer. I guess I am a first-person type as far as these romantic stories are concerned, which makes total sense to me since it's not like the focal point is the world-building here but rather the characters and my involvement in the story.
But then, as the story developed, I realized that wasn't it - or rather, only marginally so.
What really disturbed me was my inability to like any of the main characters and the message they conveyed through their actions.
Let's start with Hadley's dad, a college professor.
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