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.

Five Total Strangers is a solid young adult thriller with a fantastic backdrop to a chilling story. While much of the plot was predictable for me (I've read so many books like this that its hard to completely surprise me) I did enjoy the story for what it was. I think many readers are going to really enjoy this one.

An edge-of-your-seat thriller that will give you chills - and not just because the very story is told through a raging snowstorm!

This story will keep you hooked as you flip through the pages and follow these five strangers as they drive through a blizzard with the intent of making it home to their families safe and sound. Not only do they have to keep their eyes on the road and keep the car on the road during the storm, but they also have to be careful of one another. Can you truly trust someone you do not know? Are you safe around someone you have just met and decide to jump into a car with?

Not everyone is as they seem, and first appearances may not be everything. It begs the question - can you trust your gut instincts when you first meet someone for the first time? Can a total stranger actually be trusted, or should you watch your back?

A definite must read that you will devour!

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 4 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

This story of a girl trying to get home to see her mother for Christmas, even if it means riding in a car through a snowstorm with total strangers, didn't quite meet my expectations. I thought it was going to be more thrilling, but I had the culprit pegged early in the book, and it was frustrating for me to see our protagonist miss signs. However, my students love books by Natalie D. Richards, so we will purchase this one. It isn't her strongest novel, but it also isn't terrible. I'm sure it will hit well with my students when the snow starts to fall and they are looking for books in that kind of landscape.

I really enjoyed this twisty YA novel. It has all the elements of a good YA thriller: five strangers stuck together in unfavorable weather, creepy happenings, and a surprise villain.

Hold on to your hats, Natalie Richards fans! You're in for another crazy ride!

FIve Total Strangers is a YA thriller that follows Mira, a high school student making her way to her mother's home in Pittsburgh, from California, where her father lives and she attends school. It's important for Mira to be with her mom at Christmas, because her aunt died during a recent Christmas season, and Mira knows her mom is still emotionally fragile in regard to losing her sister.
During a planned layover, Mira learns that all flights are being cancelled due to an impending snowstorm. When offered the chance to share a rental car with a girl she met on the plane, Mira agrees, and finds herself traveling with four college students-two female and two male-none of whom knew each other before the road trip began.

As they travel, it becomes clear that someone in the car is not who they claim to be, and has plans to do harm.

I simply could not put this book down. Each character has a very different background from the others, so it's interesting to see how each one handles the various situations that they find themselves in during this road trip. The characters are not only up against an unidentified threat in the car, but they're also up against the weather, and their own personal baggage. I really enjoyed seeing how each person's background played a role in the way that they reacted to the situations that arise during the trip. This is a terrific addition to a classroom collection or middle school/high school library.

Thanks go to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I'm a sucker for anything Natalie D. Richards, so, of course, I had to request it. And, after reading, YES, I will be purchasing the novel for my bookshelf!

Never let down by this author. She write good thriller/suspense novels. I feel like I've had a hard time finding good suspense YA, so she's always perfect. It was a good book. Although I had an inkling of what was going on the whole time, she still had be second guessing myself, and at the end, I was a bit surprised. Definitely creepy. I enjoyed the book.

Five Total Strangers is compulsively readable writing that, while not necessarily complex, doesn’t fall into cliché, either; the story sweeps you along, and it’s a fairly quick read!

Stuck in the middle of a terrible blizzard, Mira Reynolds is desperate to make it home for Christmas—even if it means getting into a car full of complete strangers. Strangers who are just as desperate as she is to be reunited with their families… except one. Turns out while everyone’s keeping secrets, there is one person hiding much, much more.

Not only do the five of them have to contend with car accidents on icy roads and escaping from gun-toting gas station owners, someone in the car is acting with sinister motives. Things begin to go missing. Their snow chains and charging ports have been tampered with.

Someone doesn't want them to get home.

◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️

I really think the author did a good job of weaving in other elements beyond just the mystery/thriller/survival-in-a-snowstorm plot. Mira grapples with grief for her aunt Phoebe’s death, a grief she’s suppressed for an entire year as her mother fell apart and Mira found herself having to be strong in her stead. At the same time, Mira’s just beginning to patch up a shattering friendship-breakup with her best friend, Zari, and the book also talks about Mira’s passion for art.

I wish we’d learned more about each character, and that the culprit’s backstory was fleshed out more! I found it a little hard to picture each person in my head (apart from Harper, who’s East Asian, poised, and wealthy) because their initial descriptions were paltry, and eventually everyone’s histories are sketched in somewhat… except for the stalker’s. I also have mixed feelings about the letters from the stalker to Mira that are interspersed between chapters; on the one hand, I liked that they injected novelty into the narrative and revealed just how long he’s tracked her. On the other hand, they were so generic??? Very “we are meant to be together I just know it”? I guess I just felt it wasn’t a story I hadn’t heard (many times) before.

Finally, what cemented this as a three-star read for me was the fact that I found the ending somewhat rushed. I had to triple-check I hadn't missed a chapter or two at the conclusion because I felt like there were still plotlines to be revealed and character stories to be tied up; definitely didn't get a sense of closure with this one! 😭

Nonetheless, there were some truly chilling moments (no pun intended)! A burst of unexpectedly unsettling violence in a rest stop parking lot to keep you on your toes. A strange man who keeps showing up along their journey. And of course, the sabotage that seems to be happening under Mira’s nose.

Five Total Strangers started off so strongly! There was so much promise in the beginning. I could feel the chaotic energy in the airport as everyone was worried over all flights being cancelled and then about half way into the road trip the energy died and so did I. It began to drag on and I get there's only so much that can happen in a car but I expected a little more. I kind of had an idea who was behind this but this book does have you speculating literally everyone and anyone you can think of. I thought the author did a great job I just expected more and wish the characters were more dimensional. I didn't feel like we knew much about them. With that being said, it is a quick read even if there are a few slower moments. I think I would check out books by this author in the future.

Thanks so much to the publisher and to netgalley for the advanced copy!

Okay. This book ended up being exhausting. Draining. On and on and on. Very anti-climactic and underwhelming. What started out as such a promising story-line ended up being just-- ridiculous. I was hoping for something similar to No Exit by Taylor Adams but that is what I get for hoping.

So much kept happening but the same time nothing happened. If that makes sense. That is the best way that I can put it. I know one of you out there will get what I am saying. I wish the book would have been more than just... people in a car. Because when that is your plot-line there is only so much these characters can go through and talk about.

Five Total Strangers has a stellar cover, a promising premise, and a ton of really great characters but all in all it fell really flat for me after about 30%. For a YA it had some strong writing and strong "mystery" but it wasn't anything special in my opinion. Nothing really reached out and grabbed me.

This is a book with so many red herrings and false information my head was spinning throughout.
The characters were ok, I didn’t relate to them as much as I’d hoped though, except perhaps for Mira.
The author definitely kept me guessing right till the end.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this title. This is another great new YA thriller. I enjoyed it and I think that my students will really like it as well! I look forward to adding it to my classroom library.

Mystery novels are a recent guilty pleasure of mine - I'm rarely wowed by them, but I do enjoy devouring them all the same. This YA thriller was one of the same - while I wasn't thrilled by the characters and plot, I couldn't put it down. The premise of the book, girl gets in a car with a bunch of strangers during a snowstorm, was intriguing and captivating, and the letters from Mira's stalker that littered the book were an interesting clue to the identity of her stalker.

The problem was - it was so obvious that the author relied heavily on the red herrings to throw the reader off the scent. In particular, the hitchhiker in the yellow hat was obviously a false clue, as was the identity of one of the protagonist's fellow passengers. Yet at the same time, I was moderately surprised with the big reveal: the stalker's identity, as well as the logistics of their plan, which made next to no sense. How were they so sure that they would be able to travel with Mira? What exactly was their plan, and why did it so often involve putting themself in danger? I understand that this person was motivated by a twisted obsession and therefore not thinking logically, but so many choices and decisions seemed to have been done for no reason except to throw the reader off the trail (the worst decisions, in my opinion.)

On the whole, I would still recommend this book. It's a nice cozy thriller to curl up with by a roaring fire, and it kept my attention well enough. My only wish would be that the ending and the resolution weren't so sudden or ill-thought-out and that the characters' decision-making felt coherent and logical within the limits of their own personalities and situations.

Whoa! This book was literally so full of twists and curves!
I loved it!
It once again showed that what we "think"we know about humanity, reactions, mental stress etc means absolutely nothing in some situations we find ourselves in.
Great job with keeping the this coming.
I'll definitely look for this Author again.