Natural Selection was an easy and quick read that was a perfect go-to short story for me when I was in a little bit of a reading slump. This is my first time reading Elin Hilderbrand, despite her popularity, and I really enjoyed this story and her writing. I appreciated the fact that the characters and plot were pretty well-developed, especially for a short story, and it definitely made me want to add traveling to the Galapagos Islands to my bucket list.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I have enjoyed many of the books she has written but the last two novels and this story have lost their spark in my opinion. It wasn't great.

Hilderbrand's novels whisk the reader away... Natural Selection is no different. Exactly what you want from a Hilderbrand book. Though her works tend to blur together for me the resulting, cohesive blend is something I'm not mad about! 4 Stars.

Natural Selection is a short story that needs to be expanded into a full novel! A trip of a lifetime turns out to be ore than Sophia bargains for when she is literally dumped at the airport by her boyfriend. Traveling alone she finds out a lot about herself while meeting new people and trying to figure out what she really wants in her life.

What a fun (albeit fairly predictable) short story! Natural Selection is a delightful island cruise of a book & the perfect palate cleanser for all of the horror that I've been binging this spooky season.

All my thanks to NetGalley & Amazon Original Stories for the ARC!

This was a cute little short story! I think this honestly could’ve been a whole novel, there’s such potential with the plot and the characters here. I’d say it’s a good palette cleanse, set in the Galapagos, super quick read

Thank you NetGalley + publisher for the ARC!

Elin Hilderbrand has such a talent for bringing readers into her world. This novella felt a bit predictable, but was a unique story of triumph over heartbreak.

Very quick read, it was a nice read on an hour long car ride. Kept my mind interested in what was going on. I really enjoy short reads because I do not have to stop in the middle and think about it all day, I can read in one sitting.

Thank you, NetGalley, for allowing me the opportunity to read this short story. I really enjoyed this short yet sweet story by Elin. I love her writing style, and her ability to create such character development in less than 60 pages is quite impressive. This is a great book to read to get out of a reading slump. No expectations and no serious commitment. It is a great quick read, and I recommend this and all other books written by Elin. I can't wait for more from this author. It's hard to rate this book since it is so short and left me wanting to read more, but 4/5 stars.

I enjoyed this novella that takes place on a tourist ship visiting the Galápagos Islands. Sophia’s boyfriend, a photographer, sets up a trip to the Galapagos so he take pictures. It’s not what Sophia had in mind, she’d prefer the Caribbean, but he’s divorced with a family in another state so they don’t see each other as much as she’d like.
Sophia is disappointed when he bails from the trip at the last second, as they’re getting on the boat, after he receives a phone call. He gives her his expensive camera equipment as he leaves. She gets angry when he doesn’t respond to her texts and calls and decides she has to make the best of the situation on her own, meeting the other passengers and taking photos. She finds a surprising peace in the beautiful natural surroundings, helpful when she discovers that her relationship was not what she thought it was. I would love to read this as a full length novel that follows Sophia after her trip.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

As with all of Elin’s books I eagerly awaited this one, immensely enjoyed the read, and was sorry when the experience was over. New characters, new setting, same great writing. I did feel the end of the book was a little trite, but that may have more to do with the length of the book and trying to wrap everything up.

Okay, so I was warned when reading the synopsis and some reviews online. They said its going to be a slight cliff hanger and I felt that it kinda was. Just as I was just getting really interested in this story, it ended. The ending was so abrupt and ended in a blink of an eye. Like everyone says, this can be a full novel and it would have been great just like all of Elin Hiderbrand's work.
I feel cheated and did not get enough of the outcome for the other characters but nevertheless, I enjoyed the story!

3.75 stars. Perfect short book that highlights the importance of self love and strong women. I love Elin Hilderbrand and loved to see this kind of book from her.

This was a quick and easy short story for me while I was in a reading slump! It was a tad predictable but enjoyed the life lesson along the way! Classic EH writing with a descriptive setting and characters that feel so real. Impressive what she could accomplish in just a 50ish pages!

This was my first read from Elin Hilderbrand and I will definitely read more after this. For a short story, I was pleasantly surprised with how invested I was with Sophia and the supporting characters she comes to know while on a solo trip to Galapagos.

Sophia is flying solo on this trip as her boyfriend cancels at the last minute, claiming an urgent family matter. While hesitant to go alone, she pushes forward, making new connections and gaining fresh perspectives about herself and her relationship along the way.

Though brief, Sophia’s journey of self-discovery is enjoyable and relatable, and her evolving self-assurance is heartwarming to follow. However, I did find the story’s ending abrupt, and I would've loved for this to have been a full-length novel.

Overall, it's a delightful read, especially for those who appreciate a quick but meaningful exploration of change and personal growth. I am looking forward to reading more from Hilderbrand in the future.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for a copy of this novel. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

This book was ridiculously predictable. There seemed to be more characters than were necessary in a short story. If it had been longer, they may have helped move the plot along.

“The species that survives, she thinks, is not the strongest nor the most intelligent. It’s the one that adapts.”

I love the Amazon short stories. Whenever I see one on Netgalley or anywhere I make sure not to miss them. I have read few till now and aim to finish previously published one soon. When I saw natural selection, I didn't think twice before requesting it.


Natural selection was a good short read and I liked it. It is well written yet it didn't leave a lasting impression that most short stories leave me with. And even though I liked the characters, even though we know them for only 50 short pages, you come to feel them , feel for them. I had figured out at the very start that Sophia was being fooled, JP was a typical MCP character, a man who gets on my nerves in real life so he did get on my nerves in the book too.

Other characters although not memorable but were close to life as much as possible. I just feel maybe I would have liked it more if there was a bit more emotional involvement.

Nevertheless it was a good read.

I would like to thank you Netgalley and Amazon original stories for the ARC.

Star rating : 3.5 stars

I don’t think there is a single Elin Hilderbrand book I don’t like, but this was not one of my favorites. It may be because it is a short novelette and hard to get into the characters. The story is about a girl named Sophia who is planning to go on a trip to the Galapagos with her boyfriend JP. As they arrive to start their trip, JP gets a phone call and tells Sophie to go by herself. She does, but then lies to everyone as to why she is alone rather than just enjoying the trip. But really, that is the point of the story. Sophie slowly learns that it is okay to go on a trip by yourself. I know that this can be a “thing” for some people, but I didn’t have a lot of patience for it. I’m glad Sophie figured it out, but I think I am just too old for these coming of age stories. Even with these criticisms, it is still a Elin Hilderbrand story and totally worth the read, even if the topic doesn’t thrill you. Her writing will always entertain me and leave me thinking about some aspect of what she is writing about.
Thank you NetGalley for a ARC.

The summary of the book intrigued me, but for some reason I wasn’t crazy about the book. Maybe because it was so obvious that he was still married, She described beautiful scenery that I’ve always wanted to visit. But I lost track of the characters on the boat since it was a short book.

Live Elin. This novella was the perfect ending to summer. If you’re looking for a quick read this is it.