Review: This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
Published: April 2nd, 2013
Publisher: Poppy
Pages: 416

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds. 

Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs? 

Charlotte's Review:

My expectations for this book weren't too high (mostly because I wasn't too keen on the Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight) but it completely blew me out the water. The premise draws you in, and the adorableness keeps you there.

Graham was adorable, and Ellie was too. Even though the whole story is absurd on its own--I mean when has a movie star you've been emailing come to film a movie in middle-of-nowhere-Maine just to meet you?--but it was still believable and realistic.

All the subplots, like the relationship with Quinn, and Ellie's father, added to the novel and set it apart from the norm. This book made me want to move to Maine, and that's saying something.

This Is What Happy Looks Like has renewed by faith in Jennifer E. Smith and I can't wait to read more!

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

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
Pages: 236 (hardcover)
Published: January 2nd, 2012
Publisher: Poppy
My Source: Library

My review:
This is bordering on 4 stars. . . it's a really cute love story between Oliver and Hadley. It also has its deep moments between the two and their history.

This book is really just a simple romance. The pair begin traveling to London and at the start, do not know each other. This book has a span of 24 hours that takes the couple from oblivion to love. They both dread what they're receiving in London, and bond in their mutual feeling.

I guess the main thing I disliked was the ending of this book. It was dry and left me unsatisfied at where the characters stood. I actually cried during the more emotional parts in this book (I'm a sympathetic crier and it applies to when the characters cry too. . .) but the ending did nothing for me. Hadley and Oliver were likable, but I rooted for their relationship more than the characters themselves.

Besides these points, the book was charming and a quick read. I recommend it to fans of a love story.

3/5 lightbulbs