Short and Sweet Review
All Mira wants to do is get home for Christmas, but that plan is stopped when all flights are cancelled. But Mira’s seat mate from her flight from California, Harper, offers Mira a ride home. Mira says yes but now she’s stuck in a car with four strangers on a snowy road, that’s not even the worst of it everyones belongings start to go missing and everyone seems to be hiding something.
Mira is our main character and she’s with Harper, Josh, Brecken, and Kayla. These four are all college students and they think Mira is one too so she doesn’t correct them. Harper seems nice enough, she basically looks out for Mira the whole time, because Mira reminds her of someone. Josh is a med student and he’s also on crutches so he’s harmless. Brecken is a rich kid and he’s the worst he’s a little unhinged and the comments he makes are unnecessary. Kayla, is just weird she’s asleep most of the time and when she’s awake she’s off, she laughs at things that aren’t funny and she seems a little psychotic.
While on their dangerous trip everyone starts to notice that their belongings are going missing and it’s at this point when they all start to point fingers at each other. It’s hard to know who to trust, these people aren’t Mira’s friends, they’re strangers. At almost every turn it looks like something else happens to this group even when it looks like things can’t get worse than they already are. There were a lot of suspenseful moments that just kept me wanting more. I had no idea who could be behind what was going on mainly because everyone had something to hide. There are some letters that we see addressed to Mira that seem to be coming from a stalker which was also interesting. I was worried for everyone when they came across a gas station owner and his son, this part of the book had me on the edge of my seat.
I enjoyed reading this book! It kept me guessing until the end. I was not expecting the culprit to be who it was! There were a lot of plot twists and they were good it added more to the story. If you want to read a suspenseful book that takes place around the holidays check this book out!

This is the first YA thriller that I have thoroughly enjoyed! This follows our main character Mira who is traveling home for the holidays to be with her mother. It is also the anniversary of her aunt’s passing last year. Unfortunately, her next flight is canceled due to weather and she has no way of getting home for Christmas. But then, her seat mate on her previous flight, Harper, asks if she wants to take a rental car with her and 3 other people she met in the airport and says that she can drop her and another of the passengers off along the way. She hesitates but ultimately decides to take her up on the offer because she knows her mom needs her right now. She eventually realizes that saying yes to this ride might have been a tragic mistake.

I was afraid this book was going to be predictable but it absolutely was not. I had no idea what was going on and who was doing what the entire time. The pacing and the buildup to the ending was perfection in my eyes and it is exactly what I’m looking for when it comes to thrillers. This author also really made me root for the main character. She gave us just enough backstory to help us understand Mira’s motives so nothing that she did (or the other characters for that matter) seemed too far fetched or out of place. I cannot wait to pick up some of her other thriller novels very soon! 

This e-ARC was sent to me on NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me an e-arc to read and review. 

I'm not gonna lie the cover was a big reason why I wanted to read this. The cover is simple but red font color against the white is really eye catching. I know if I seen this I would most definitely pick it up in the store. 

Mira kinda got on my nerves not gonna lie about it. I get that we worry about out families and stuff but sometimes I felt she was kinda borderline obsessive. After a while I was over her mentioning that she needed to get to her mom and shes stupid for accepting a car ride from complete strangers but you know desperate measures so I get it. The rest of the characters were nicely written. They really helped add to the overall creepiness that the story had. Five Total Strangers was a quick read and it flowed really nicely. It constantly had twists and turns. I really liked that all of this stuff happened in a short period of time. Its entertaining but for a thriller it's nothing ground breaking. I could almost compare it to Natasha Preston's novels. I still enjoyed it nonetheless.

Five Total Strangers starts off with a great hook. Five strangers in an airport decide to share a ride together in a storm because all the flights are being canceled. It is exciting at first and then starts to drag a bit and becomes a little predictable. It was fun to keep speculating though.

Short Review: All the stars on suspense and intrigue. This book fully delivered on those and it definitely kept me guessing on the whodunit. 

Long Review. This one definitely started off with a huge bang. As I got to know Mira and followed the outcome(s) of her fateful choice to catch a ride with four strangers - all with secrets of their own - I couldn't put the book down! I just had to know what happened to her next! 

Once on the road though, it fizzled a bit. Some events were a little unbelievable, like the constant use of the policemen being "too busy to respond" and extreme car accidents. Additionally, Mira got a bit whiny and repetitive for me. Yes, yes, I know she needed to get home to help her Mom. Yes, yes, I know she wanted to go home. Those things were said way too often. I also felt the ending left a few plot threads unanswered concerning the man in the yellow cap and the villains motive. 

I did totally love the flashback letters that were sprinkled in between chapters and gave insight into who the "bad guy/gal" could be. I love it when a book keeps me guessing. Definitely check this one out for yourself!

Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richard is a YA mystery/ thriller that definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat, biting your nails while yelling at the main character to get her head in the game! This novel was intense and intriguing, I constantly found myself second guessing who was same and who wasn’t. I definitely recommend, this was a 4.5/5 star read for me

Natalie Richards has given us such a good thriller! I was hooked from the beginning & sunk deeper on page 24. I was guessing until the very end. I do wish the ending had wrapped up a little better, but the suspense & build up made this one of my fave books of 2002.

5 complete strangers meet at an airport and their flights are cancelled so they rent a car and drive through a major snowstorm with lots of things happening along the way. One is not who they appear to be but which one is it? I felt like it was a little slow in the middle which is why I’m giving it 3 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

Once I got over the question of why a seventeen-year-old girl would willingly get in a car with five strangers, I was completely sucked into Five Total Strangers and raced through it in one sitting. It turns out that while Mira’s decision is a bad one, she actually makes it for a somewhat understandable reason. Although I was fairly confident as to the identity of the villain early on, Richards casts just enough doubt that I wasn’t entirely sure until right before the climactic reveal. The only thing that took away from the story were the numerous unbelievable coincidences that set everything in motion, and a gaping plot hole involving a superfluous character. Otherwise I quite enjoyed this nail biting tale.

I absolutely love the way this author writes!  It is so easy to read and it flows so nicely.  The plot of this book sounded so good (snowstorm, getting into a stranger's car, etc.).  And with it taking place in Pennsylvania, that was an added bonus!  I live along I-80 and the way Mira described it is absolutely accurate!  :)  I thought the mystery was really good and I kept going back and forth between who could be responsible and didn't figure it out before the reveal.  However, I thought the end seemed really, really rushed and not everything was explained (like the man in the yellow hat??).  I thought it could have been finished differently, but it was still a pretty good winter/snowstorm read.

This wasn't it, friends. It had a creepy factor given that it's set in PA and I live in PA. I loved the freaky letters and the tension but I saw the twist coming and I was left unimpressed with the overall plot and character development. There was such build up to the finale of the book and then BAM, it was over. I'm not the target age demographic but I'm looking for a little more meat from my thrillers. Still, it did have a "vibe" that I could get down with.

I loved the idea of this. Very similar to some movies, but I was looking forward to reading it. Unfortunately this fell flat for me. The dialogue between the characters felt forced and unnecessary. There were a lot more filler parts than needed. I was just rather bored during this.

3-4 stars!  While I did finish this book and got the most part enjoy it, especially the premise and the way the author chose to write it, something was lacking for me.  I’m not quite sure what it is exactly, maybe it wasn’t as realistic as I prefer or not enough thrills and chills, which made it harder for me to give a 5 star rating or even solid 4 star rating. I do think with it being a YA thriller, it was chilling, thrilling, and twisty enough,  overall, I would recommend to those who do enjoy ya thrillers, even ones you must suspend believes at times.  

Will make sure to buzz it up and use lower amazon reviewer number on release date!

Mira is going home from school to visit her family for Christmas. On the plane ride home she makes friends with Harper, the girl sitting next to her. Upon landing at their stop over they realize the weather is horrible and all flights out have been cancelled. Harper decides to rent a car and invites Mira to join along with 3 other strangers. Mira agrees to go but the ride turns out to be anything but normal. 
.
I was very excited to read this one as the premise sounded really interesting however I found the book to be a bit of a let down. The characters were not all that interesting and we didn’t get enough back story on them to really connect the reader to them. I think there wasn’t enough scary/creep factor and the ending was just alright.

I was definitely intrigued by the premise of this book.  I like thrillers and I like books set in wintery, somewhat isolated locations. I also like the premise of an unlikely group of people travelling together, and since this book ticked all of those boxes it definitely seemed like a promising read.  I'll say that while it didn't quite meet my high expectations for the book, it was an interesting enough story.  I just don't think that it fully reached its potential.

Mira, as a main character, was really interesting.  She had some good depth to her, and was fleshed out in a way that none of the other characters really seemed to be.  Obviously, since it was predominantly a cast of strangers and we see them through Mira's perspective, the rest don't necessarily need to be as fleshed out.  However, you empathise with Mira and you worry for her as the story unfolds and more details are revealed.

The atmosphere and setting of the story were a real highlight for me.  The snowy landscape makes everything a little bit more high stakes and scarier.  The snow is also the driving force for everything that happened.  Mira never would have gotten into the car if it weren't for the snow storm.  They never would have gotten into any of the various situations they encountered if it weren't for the snow.  There's so much more danger when it comes to the snow because the roads become more unsafe, and it's unsafe in general.

There was a lot of build up towards the climax and a lot of good red-herrings.  Mira is clearly frightened, and along the way she jumps to a lot of conclusions.  It kept me guessing, which is great.  However, I just think that ultimately it's not going to leave a super long lasting impression on me.  It was what it was, and I had fun reading it, but I don't think it's something I'd revisit.

This book was fabulous! With so many twists and turns I literally had no idea what was going to happen next. This book was exactly what I hoped it would be! It had plenty of dodgy characters, everything in the world going wrong, and absolutely no way out.

I'll start with the characters since I believe they were so well developed. I loved that each character had different sides to them. This made it especially hard to figure out who to trust. The characters each changed so much from the beginning of the book to the end and as they were put in so many dire situations. I loved that each character was unpredictable in their own way. It really made things so confusing (in a good way) and that much more interesting!

Also, I really appreciate the circumstances of this book. It would have been one thing if they were all just road-tripping home, but since it was in the middle of a blizzard, things got crazy. They hit a lot of obstacles because of the snow and got themselves in some wild situations. I just kept waiting for the next bad thing to happen because it always did.

I have some mixed feelings about the ending, but I think I'm mostly happy about it. It's a little open-ended, but I also think that might have been necessary for the book. I was totally shocked by the outcome of things which I'm pleasantly surprised about. I love it when I'm wrong about the ending of a thriller.

Overall, this book was one crazy ride from hell that everyone should read. It was a great thriller that had me anxious and nervous and open-mouthed in shock for most of the book. A must-read for any thriller/suspense fan out there!

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was a little nervous going into this book just due to the mixed reviews.  In fact, I almost decided not to read it. But I'm so so so glad I did!  It reminded me of a Christopher Pike novel in a way but also an original. 

Mira is stuck in a blizzard and she's trying to get home due to a families death (plus Christmas) and she winds up getting into a car with four other people who don't even know each other either and one of them is determined NOT to get them home. 

The book mainly focuses on Mira to be honest, and I would have liked to have known a little bit more about the other characters back stories.  While they were described, I just couldn't get into the other characters as much as I wanted to. 

I did like the fact that the story also focuses on the snow storm which is intersting and really worked. 

Had just the perfect blend of suspense and thrill to it too!

Thank you so much to #NetGalley and  Sourcebooks for the ARC

“Don’t worry. Destiny’s on our side.”

Ok so essentially this is a read about five not so perfect strangers, who were stranded at an airport on Christmas Eve, and decided to brave the icy winter storm and drive 6 hours together to get home. They all desperately needed to get home for some reason or another.

That being said. Things start going wrong, and they stay going wrong. Is their luck really this bad? Hmm. I don’t want to say too much, because I think the reason this book is so entertaining is because it is anxiety inducing and you just don’t know what is happening. This book had me stressed out the entire time just waiting for what would happen to these people next. I did not want to stop reading, it was that engrossing even though I was so anxious.

I will say that there are a trunkful of loose ends at the end, and while I wish I had more answers, I understand that those answers weren’t the point of the story. All in all this was a great read, with great build. You can figure out what’s going on if you pay super close attention to details.

Thank you to #Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for allowing me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards. This book is set to release on October 6, 2020. All opinions are my own.

Mira is determined to get home to her mom for Christmas as it's the anniversary of her aunt's death (her mom's twin) and she knows her mom is probably a mess. When the airport cancels her connecting flight (and all other flights), she goes against her better judgement and joins her seatmate, Harper, and three other college age kids in a rental car. Everything seems okay at first, but the weather turns quickly and they find themselves traveling in the middle of a blizzard. Their situation worsens though as personal items go missing, bad decisions are made, and hints of sabotage are found. Mira starts to get the feeling that she's no longer safe, that she's being watched, and that someone in the SUV is determined to ensure that they don't make it home.

Five Total Strangers is a fast-paced YA thriller. Richards expertly uses suspense and red herrings to keep the reader on the edge of their seat. I enjoyed how the narrative was broken up by letters from Mira's mysterious stalker (that she isn't even aware of!). The letters definitely increase the creepy factor and help instill a sense of dread and anxiety in the reader as they become aware of something that Mira isn't aware of. I enjoyed the development of Mira's character and gradual build of the conflict. The major theme of the book is that things aren't always what they appear and that one shouldn't judge another based on their appearance. This was a captivating story and would be perfect for those who loved books like Diana Urban's All Your Twisted Secrets and/or Karen McManus's One of Us is Lying.

I love books where strangers are forced together, and that is what we have here! We know right away that one of them is "stalking" others, but we don't know who. It was a fun ride to solve the mystery and definitely had me turning pages. Will be a great read once the weather shifts a bit.