Perfect Strangers by Dani Atkins

 
Name: Perfect Strangers
Author: Dani Atkins
Format: ebook
Pages: 164
Release date: December 15th 2016
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK

Teaser

Hannah Truman is twenty-seven years old. She is an ordinary girl with an extraordinary memory. One thing she certainly can’t forget is her boyfriend William’s betrayal, which was why she fled to Canada to stay with her sister.

Now, on her way home to England, Hannah finds herself in a queue behind Logan Carter at the airport terminal. He’s checking into Business Class on her flight and although their paths keep crossing, fate prevents them meeting. An almost shared cup of coffee never takes place when Logan is suddenly called away.

But once in the air the unthinkable happens: the plane needs to make an emergency landing. Hannah is alone and terrified, until suddenly Logan slips into the seat beside her.

In the days that follow, Hannah and Logan must call upon all their resources to survive in the frozen landscape, growing ever closer as hopes of a rescue begin to fade …


My thoughts

In the end of 2016 I was looking for a few novellas and short reads to finish my Goadreads goal. Perfect Strangers was on this list among a few others. I did not manage to read this in 2016 but it was my first book in 2017. I can tell you it was a brilliant start to begin 2017. I love Dani Atkins writing so much, I did not even read the blurb properly because I knew it is going to be a great story anyway. Perfect Strangers was nothing like what I expected it to be. It was so much more.

Hannah Trueman is devastated when she finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her. She decides to flee to Canada to stay with her sister for 5 weeks. On her way home to England, Hannah finds herself in a queue behind Logan Carter at the airport terminal. He’s checking into on her flight and although their paths keep crossing, fate prevents them meeting. An almost shared cup of coffee never takes place when Logan is suddenly called away. But once in the air the unthinkable happens: the plane needs to make an emergency landing. Hannah is alone and terrified, until suddenly Logan slips into the seat beside her. In the days that follow, Hannah and Logan must call upon all their resources to survive in the frozen landscape, growing ever closer as hopes of a rescue begin to fade …

Hannah and Logan's story was one I lived and breathed. Every high, every low, every ounce of happiness and devastation, I was there right alongside the characters, my heart soaring and breaking as curveball after curveball threw me off kilter. It was a journey that consumed me for two days, holding my emotions hostage without reprieve until the last page had been turned. And even then, I just couldn't move on, my mind still buzzing and my feelings still rife with thoughts of the characters and all they had been through. I couldn't pick up a new book for days. This was no ordinary love story, it was breath takingly beautiful.

Hannah and Logan stole my heart. Here was a couple thrown together by... fate? Destiny? Either way, from the moment the pair met, their lives would be changed forever. They would be tried and tested, their limits pushed and then pushed some more. I loved that Hannah and Logan shared this instant connection the moment that they glanced at each other across the airport. In real life, how many people would share that glance but then just move forward with life in separate directions? How many people would follow through to try to get to know that person? 

Then came the crash. In those scenes when the plane chrashed, I got chills and goosebumps as I read. That terrifying uncertainty between life and death. And then the horrifying realization that even though they were alive, they were completely cut off from the world. No ambulance to rescue them. No doctor to heal them. No internet to research help. No reception to call anyone. No food to eat. No fresh water. No clothing to protect against the elements. No shelter. Nothing. Except each other. Every step of their journey as they fought to survive on this isolated place me. How terrifying must it be to be wounded, alone, starving, and cutoff from the world. How would they find food on an in the middle of nowhere, there were plenty of fish, but how could they catch them? How would they get water with no rivers? How would they build shelter with no tools?

Perfect Strangers gives you one of the most shocking plot twists. They absolutely stunned me. First I was shocked, totally sad but in the end I was happy and tears pricked my eyes. There is no doubt the talent this author has, not only in the stories she gives us but equally with her enchanting use of words that mesmerise and entrance the reader. I enjoyed this book and especially appreciated how different it was than the usual type of book I read.

Many people don't read novellas for the following reasons: too short, not deep enough and so on. It was the prefect legth for this story. Do not let the fact that this is a novella put you off reading - it is every bit as good as a full length novel. I am so looking forward to Dani's next novel This Love (out in March 2017) and I need to chatch up on Fractured and The Story of Us as soon as possible!