J.A. Belfield

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith is so filled with sweetness and cuteness, I felt like I’d been munching on Easter Eggs whilst wrapped in the warm and snugly embrace of a giant Easter bunny. Seriously. To be honest, I’m not sure what to say other than that without giving everything away. I mean, we have Hadley, who ends up on the later flight due to missing her original flight to UK for her father’s wedding (her parents are divorced), and so just happens to end up paired with a cute British guy, who’s been studying in the States, on his way home for a date with family. And she has phobia issues, but because said cute British guy is CUTE, he helps her through them just because he’s nice, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Pretty much everything that happens in this book is as expected as you expect it to be. The romance unfolds exactly as you expect it to. All the twists and turns are exactly what you expect them to be. Yet, it still felt VERY fresh. And I think it was all of the surrounding details that made it as such. The fact that her parents aren’t bitter toward one another after their divorce, and her mother isn’t resentful of her dad getting remarried or of Hadley being a bridesmaid at the wedding—instead encouraging her, guiding her. And the fact that the woman Hadley’s father is marrying isn’t the evil stepmother Hadley wants her to be, but is actually really nice. So often, stepmothers are made out to be complete ogres. Makes a change for someone to portray us as nice (I’m a stepmother, can you tell?).

And on top of these is Oliver. Yes, he’s kind of predictable throughout most of the book. However, whilst he’s not in-your-face-swoonworthy, he’s definitely, definitely just … something special. And it ain’t even the hot British guy angle, because, hey, I’m British, so I don’t get butterflies in my tummy at hearing a British guy speak. Nope, Oliver doesn’t need all hearts and flowers or tattoos and piercing or a motorcycle or guitar to draw you in. Oliver just is. He’s enough, all on his own.

Added to these attributes was the ‘voice’ of the book. Sure, there were a good few moments in the narration where I felt Hadley waffled a bit too much, but this didn’t take away from the pacing, and it certainly didn’t take away from the authenticity of the teenage tone that dominates this story from start to finish.

In short: I really enjoyed it, and I can’t wait to read The Geography of You and Me.