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

ISBN: 9780316122382
Source: Christmas Gift! :)
Series: No, Stand-alone
Release Date: January 2, 2012
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     SYNOPSIS:

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. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother 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 sitting in her row.
A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?
Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it.

     REVIEW:

Let me start by saying that I'm obsessed with the cover of this book! Its so unique and not overly flashy. Not to mention the adorable picture of what I believe to be Hadley and Oliver at the airport! I picked up this book in between binge-reading another series because I didn't have the next series book yet. I wanted something light and fluffy, a cute romance to occupy my time and it did not disappoint. I've seen some negative reviews of this book talking about it's lack of depth, but I thought that it did have more depth than what I was expecting, really. And anyway, look at the title - did you really expect something life-changing and earth-shattering? Come on, people.

Anyway, Smith's writing is really great and the third-person, present tense POV was really unique! It was engaging and gave it a more exciting feel, like the reader is right there with Hadley, experiencing all of her emotions along with her. I liked Hadley - she seemed smart and cute and just a bit (well... maybe a lot) damaged. I had some issues with Oliver. I thought he was funny and witty but I didn't quite catch the chemistry between him and Hadley as much as I'd have liked to. It was there... it just didn't quite make me swoon.

As I mentioned before, this book actually had much more emotional depth than I was expecting. Hadley is still reeling from the breaking apart of her family and now having to watch her father remarry before she is ready for him to. Smith touches on tough issues like cheating, divorce, remarriage, etc. and I found myself really connecting and feeling more emotional (and even getting a bit misty) toward those parts of the book rather than the development of a relationship between Hadley and Oliver. Somehow I connected more with the adult in the book than with the teenager... (does that mean I'm too old for YA!? Nooo)

While a bit predictable and with a romance that lacked that something, I really did enjoy this quick and easy read. I was very pleased with the way it all turned out. Maybe a bit too far into the "tidy-bow" department (as I like to refer to endings with too clean of a happy ending), but I expected no more and no less from this book, so I was happy with it.

     RATING: ★★★★

Cute - Fun - Quirky. These are the words I would use to describe most of this book. The chemistry lacked a little but it was made up for in funny one-liners and more emotional depth than you'd expect from a young adult romance novel, so bravo to Smith!

I enjoyed this one a lot. Have any of you read it? What did you think about the romance? The family issues for both Hadley and Oliver? I can't wait to hear what you think!

A.