I felt this was one of the novel's main strengths, that the author cleverly didn't make the plot too complex, but concentrated instead on the richness of her characters as they interacted and reacted with each other. Yet that is the whole point of the novel, in that life itself is sometimes frightening simple and it is only people, difficult, confusing people and their messy emotions that make it complicated. After misunderstandings caused by not communicating with each other, they part. The plot of the book is almost childishly simple. When she reaches Alaska and discovers Jason is a two-timing, lying scum bucket she is forced to seek the help of local, eccentric vet, Aaron, becoming his temporary assistant for the short time she has in Alaska. A decision that had me, and I am sure every other slightly more mature woman in the world, shaking their heads in disbelief.

The main protagonist, Lena Szabo, is a young Hungarian woman who has been conducting an online romance with the seemingly perfect Jason from Alaska, and decides to blow all her savings on a trip to 'surprise' him on his birthday. #alaska is a brittle, brash, punchy, modern roller coaster of a read, that take us on a journey that is as much emotional and spiritual as it is physical, from Hungary to Alaska and back again.

Knowing nothing about what kind of writer she was or even what the book was about, I purchased a copy and read it, not really expecting much.

I read this book purely to help out a fellow struggling author I'd encountered on Instagram.

#alaska by Natali Grayling