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

Book Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. SmithThe Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith
on 2012-01-02
Pages: 256
Format: Paperback
Goodreads
four-stars
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.

Title: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit
Publisher: Headline Fiction
Publication Date: January 2012
Pages: 240
Rating: 4 Stars

Synopsis (from goodreads):
Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Imagine if she hadn’t forgotten the book. Or if there hadn’t been traffic on the expressway. Or if she hadn’t fumbled the coins for the toll. What if she’d run just that little bit faster and caught the flight she was supposed to be on. Would it have been something else – the weather over the Atlantic or a fault with the plane?

Hadley isn’t sure if she believes in destiny or fate but, on what is potentially the worst day of each of their lives, it’s the quirks of timing and chance events that mean Hadley meets Oliver…

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 Review:

This novel is a sweet and realistic little window in Hadley’s life. After missing her flight to London to attend a wedding she doesn’t want to go to, Hadley is faced with a four-hour wait in the airport. She strikes up a conversation with 18-year-old Oliver, a student formerly from England who is now studying at Yale. They bond instantly and together they help each other during a difficult period in their lives.

I loved the realism of Hadley’s situation – a young woman who feels betrayed by her father when he moves overseas, divorces her mother and is now marrying “the other woman” who Hadley has never even met. Hadley doesn’t sugar-coat her feelings towards her dad. She’s hurt and she doesn’t care who knows it.

Oliver is a great travelling companion. He’s interesting, caring and the sort of boy any seventeen year old would fall for at first sight. He’s quirky enough to entertain the reader and I loved how the author made him have some flaws. He’s perfect for Hadley in his imperfection.

This is a lovely novel that I recommend for anyone who likes their teen romances short and sweet but with a lot of feeling.


Purchase the novel from:

Amazon / Book Depository 


5 Comments

  1. I was surprised by the depth of this one – I thought it was going to be a funny little romance, but really it was a lot more about Haley and her dad than anything else – it was very poignant.

    • You’re right about that. I went in thinking it’d just be able Hadley and some boy but the highlight of the novel were the family dynamics – especially those between her and her dad. I really liked how that was handled.

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