Saturday, February 25, 2012

Book Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith




Title: The Statistical Probability
      of Love at First Sight
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
# Of Pages: 256
Publisher: Poppy
Publication Date: January 2, 2012
Level: Young Adult
Rating: 4 Hearts





Synopsis

(From Amazon.com)

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. Set over a 24-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

My Verdict

Reading this book was like watching a romantic comedy.  It was cute, sweet, and funny, and thoroughly enjoyable.

Don’t let the idea of love at first sight deter you from reading this book. I am no fan of insta-love myself but that is not the case here. Yes, Hadley and Oliver fall in love in just a short amount of time but it does not feel forced or rushed at all.

The story starts out with Hadley missing her flight to London and having to wait at the  airport for hours before the next flight. This is where she meets sweet, funny, British Oliver. It only takes a matter of minutes before these two strike up a friendship. Although, they lose each other in the airport, fate brings them together again on the plane. They spend almost the whole flight talking; their conversations were fun and humorous leaving a smile on my face every time. 

I found Hadley and Oliver to be very likable characters. There wasn’t a thing about them that bothered me, They were both totally down to earth. Although I would consider this a light and fun read, both the main characters are dealing with some tough family issues, so the story isn’t all just a walk in the park.


The main downfall of this book for me was the writing style. It was written in a narrative style, Hadley walked to the counter. Hadley never felt like this before. I found this to be a very detached method and I felt as though I didn’t get to know the characters as deeply as I would have liked. 

Just like you re-watch your favorite chick flick over and over, I can see myself returning to this book again in the future. 

10 comments:

  1. I find the idea of love at the first sight is very romantic, but it's rare to find it in real life LOL! Awesome review, Amanda, glad you enjoyed reading this book! <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Romantic indeed! I wonder how often it actually happens in real life...

      Delete
  2. I just won this book, so I hope I like it as much as you did! Great Review :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great review! I just finished it and it was pretty awesome. It wasnt actually the description that got me on love with this book at first sight, it was the cover(I never seemed to learn from the 'Never jugde a book by its cover' phrase). But all in all, this is one of the best contemp that I have ever read:)

    Fara @ Tumbling In Books

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The cover is really awesome! Does anyone actually listen to that saying?!? I always judge a book by its cover. Always.

      Delete
  4. Yes, I agree about this book being like a rom com! I think the author did the insta-love very well, it felt very organic and more like instant attraction. I liked Hadley and Oliver as characters too. Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  5. When I read this, I just couldn't really get all that into it. It was a 3 star rating for me, all the way. Now that you mention it though, it is kind of weird how it's basically third person, if the third person doesn't exist. Books like that never resignate well with me. Great review, Amanda! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nice review! Here's mine if you don't mind: http://lorxiebookreviews.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-statistical-probability-of-love-at.html

    They're turning this one into a movie. I'm so excited!

    Thanks and have a nice day! :)

    ReplyDelete

What are you thinking? Let me know! I love hearing from you and read each and every comment. I always try to respond or visit your blog in return so leave a comment. I know you want to ;)