Noelle Batterby is on her way home from a school reunion that didn’t go as planned because of a heavy snowfall. She is now stuck on the motorway for who knows how long (eight hours, perfect ones as it turns out), her phone is about to run out of power and she is worried about her mother at home. She wishes she hadn’t even bothered with the reunion – until Sam, the handsome American stranger in the car next to hers comes to her rescue, lends her his phone charger and they end up spending the rest of the night chatting in his car.

After that, he is gone out of her life, apparently forever. But life has different plans for them and Noelle and Sam keep finding themselves thrown together. There are problems though – Sam’s girlfriend Jenna, back home in America, and Noelle’s ex-boyfriend Ed, who has reappeared on the scene, not to mention her agoraphobic mother and a brother who’s still dreaming of being a huge rock star.

Will Noelle and Sam find their way to each other despite all the turmoil? Listen and find out! (Although if that synopsis doesn’t give you a clue, you’ve obviously never read chick-lit before.)

I really enjoyed listening to this book, even though I felt I knew how it would turn out pretty much as soon as it started. The narrator Emma Powell did a lovely job as Noelle, although I did feel that some of her other character’s voices were a bit off (primarily Sam, who was male and American). But I have no real complaints about her narration and would certainly listen to other books she reads in future.

Noelle was a great character who I rooted for throughout. I also liked her best friends Charlie and Theo, as well as her mother. I did not like or trust Ed, and I don’t think the reader/listener was meant to. I’m not sure how Noelle’s brother Dilly was meant to be received, but personally I was irritated by him. He was a a lazy waster who basically left everything up to his sister, and I wanted him to get his comeuppance.

Even though the ending was somewhat predictable, I liked how the book made Noelle into a fully rounded character; it would have been easy not to. It was very sweet and an easy listen, and I will look out for more audiobooks by Lia Louis. ( )

Chance and choice: how much control do we really have over our future? This is a story about fate, the stars, and several serendipitous meetings, but, ultimately, it’s about the connections we make with other people—whether it’s a red thread connection or a stardust connection.

“An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, and circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle. But it will never break.” —ancient Chinese proverb ( )

Pretty cute, not too many eye roll moments ( )

It wasn’t the book I was expecting, but it wasn’t the worst book either. I’d say it was just okay. If you’re not into a lot of coincidences, then you wouldn’t like this book. I liked how the author made it all fit together in the end. And I really did like the narrator for the audiobook as well. ( )

I am a total cynic, so I loved that this took the "meant to be" trope and really slammed it home in a way that went from too much to over the top and thus excellent. ( )