One flight to St. Lucia, with life alternating encounters

Synopsis

As a flight to St Lucia leaves the runway, four passengers meet for the first time.

After escaping her controlling husband, Bernadette Manson is taking the first extravagant holiday of her new life. But when her best friend cancels, will she be strong enough to fly solo?

Tadgh Donovan is about to jet off to his destination wedding when he sees a shocking text. Has his bride-to-be written her wedding vows… or already broken them?

Hayley Ford is the wife of a top fertility specialist yet her battle to get pregnant has almost broken her marriage. Can a trip to the sun heal their relationship or should she brace for a crash landing?

Dev Robbins is crossing oceans to track down the woman he fell in love with at first sight. Will it be a one way trip to happy ever after or a return journey to singledom?

My review

People take planes for several different occasions. Let’s take a look at Bernadette for example. Now that she is freed from her controlling husband, she is going to enjoy for the first time an extravagant holiday. While the initial plan was that her best friend came along too, due circumstances, Bernadette is on her own.
Or what about Dev? He never believed in love at first sight, until one specific night. And now that the woman of his dreams is staying in St. Lucia for a wedding, he flies after her, to profess his love for her.
Talking about weddings… Tadgh may be a famous musician, but he is on his way to St. Lucia to marry his girlfriend. A girlfriend that seems to be have sent a text that makes Tadgh doubt the strength of their love.
Doubts… exactly what Hayley is having. Being a wife of a fertility specialist, but not able of getting pregnant herself… At the point of having a strained marriage. But will this holiday to St. Lucia be the stress-free vacation change her relationship for the better?  

I have read several books of this author and each time I am absolutely amazed how she is able to write such a captivating, wonderful story, even if it only takes place over a short amount of time. 

So even if I knew the talent Shari Low has, I was a bit doubting how a flight of just nine hours could result in an amazing story. But I should never have doubted her! 

To be honest, I never had a flight myself that lasted longer than 3 hours, and for me it would be horror being confined for the whole nine hours in a small space. Add the fact that the main characters are sitting next to strangers, made my horror only grow. 

It was very recognizable, that none of the characters wanted to be one of those passengers that talk for hours to complete strangers, while everyone just want to be left alone.
However, it was beautiful to see how these strangers, at different stages in their lives, somehow were just meant to sit next to each other. Of course, this was the plan of the author! 

I admired Bernadette and her determination, courage and no – nonsense approach. She came from a marriage with a controlling husband, yet she got out of it, and finally can live her life like she wants. She even has the courage to go on a holiday on her own, even if she has no idea what she will do there.
But due her own past, she sees more then meets the eye, and understands the situation Hayley is in. However, how easy it would be to interfere and tell Hayley what to do, Bernadette just tells her own story and lets Hayley know that it’s never too late to make a change. 

I truly felt sorry for Hayley… it’s rather easy and quick to realize that her husband is one of the worst kinds… The way he belittles her, even leaves her on her own in the plane, getting a better place for himself, and tells her how much or how little she may drink… Well, you know enough, right?
But as an outsider, it’s always easy to tell someone else what to do. But how does someone know what Hayley is thinking? Because isn’t the inability of getting pregnant putting a strain on their marriage? And everything will get better during the holiday?
I also felt proud of Hayley, because during the flight, she realizes that yes, she can make up her mind for her own, and no, her husband doesn’t have to be a jerk all the time to everyone.

Dev was a harder nut to crack. I loved his optimism, and faith that everything would end in a happy end. But let’s be honest, meeting a person one night and knowing she/he is The One? The odds aren’t really in favour are day?
But nevertheless, Dev is a good guy and only for that I wished him that his dream would come true.
And even if it wouldn’t he would always have his best friend Lizzy by his side. And his book would somehow always be a success! 

Tadgh may be the cliché of musicians, but he obviously has a tender heart. While not everyone understands why he wants to get married, for him, it’s the logical step. My heart broke for him with that one text, but for a long time I kept hoping for a misunderstanding. Because the level of betrayal would be too big.
And while he of course loves his girlfriend, he also has a secondary reason, and that made my heart just melt!
But the further along in the story, the more I slowly kept hoping for a different outcome.  

Sometimes this story may seems farfetched. But often life takes an unexpected turn at the most absurd places. Who would ever think that four different people could have such an important effect and impact on each other?
Sometimes talking to absolute strangers is exactly what we should do, to see something through different eyes. 

I loved reading every bit of this story, I loved all the main characters equally (and A LOT!). there is a very long build up ( the whole nine hour long flight!) and then everything comes together perfectly. While I felt the ending was a bit too hasted, as I just wanted to read more about what happens after the flight, the finish of a story is not the most important thing, but it’s the journey people take to reach that point. And in this case you can take it very literally! 

An amazing, wonderful story about beautiful people going at the same destination but with their own fights already fought or yet to fight. The beauty of how Fate brings people together that need each other to realize the most important thing in their lives.
A talented author bringing us a story that made me again realize and understand why I appreciate and love her and her books so much!