The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E Smith

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Imagine if she hadn’t forgotten the book. Or if there hadn’t been traffic on the expressway. Or if she hadn’t fumbled the coins for the toll. What if she’d run just that little bit faster and caught the flight she was supposed to be on. Would it have been something else - the weather over the Atlantic or a fault with the plane?

Hadley isn’t sure if she believes in destiny or fate but, on what is potentially the worst day of each of their lives, it’s the quirks of timing and chance events that mean Hadley meets Oliver...

Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you’re least expecting it.

Even though she may not believe in it, fate is the game changer and Hadley knows this as she contemplates how little things might have meant she never met Oliver. All the little changes in her morning that meant she would have caught her plane and wouldn't have bumped into Oliver in the waiting room. As it happens, Hadley misses her flight by only a few minutes and has to wait for the next plane in a few hours. During that waiting time and then on the plane, she gets to know Oliver, a young man on his way home to London. They share stories, hopes and fears, and little secrets about themselves that you can only share with a stranger. But during the long flight, they grow close and when they land, they are reluctantly pulled apart. 

We learned a lot about Hadley and Oliver and their families in just 24 hours. Hadley was friendly but a little bit cynical, naive and very easy to relate to and Oliver was the perfect gentleman and a sweet-talking romantic; both were easy to like and I rooted for them almost right away. But it was more than just a love story, its about acceptance and overcoming trust issues, especially in Hadley's case. She got to know her father again and the new woman in his life, and Oliver finally accepted the truth about his parents, how matter how much it hurt. 

Despite being quite short, it was an adorable little love story that held promise for a happily ever after for both of them as well as accepting themselves and the reality around them. It was sweet and funny and sometimes quite sad, but I loved it all. 

Published 24th May 2012 by Headline.