It's supposed to be their first vacation together, but just before Sophia and her new boyfriend board a flight to the Galapagos Islands together, he gets a call—and suddenly she's on a solo vacation to a place she didn't really want to go in the first place, with people she wouldn't befriend in her normal New York life. And suddenly she is not sure what is going on in her relationship, or how she's going to get through this holiday...

I haven't actually read any of Hilderbrand's books, though of course I've seen them in many a bookstore and many a library. This is a quick read of a story, only about fifty pages—I read it on the way to and from the gym. There aren't a lot of surprises here, but it's satisfying; I sort of love how much of a snob Sophia is about the boat when the package tour first starts. Without spoiling anything, I'll say that the phone call near the end is interesting—nice that it's very level-headed, but also clear that...oh, there's an extent to which some collateral damage is expected and treated as though it doesn't matter, I guess. Raises some interesting questions about whether one person's experience trumps another's—or, maybe more to the point, what you do when one person's experience trumps another's but the second person, you know, still has an experience.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.

A touching short story by an amazing author. Sophia experiences heartbreak while learning how to appreciate life, nature and others. This would be a great novel and I was sad it ended.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, and it is not the most intelligent. It is the one most adaptable to change."

Sophia is thrown for a loop when her boyfriend, JP, of six months abruptly leaves just before they board their flight to the Galapagos Islands. Sophia goes on the trip alone and realizes JP may not be the person she thought he was.

This was a sweet short story. While pretty predictable, I guessed from the earliest description what the boyfriend was up to, I love a story where a woman realizes her best trait is to love herself.