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Jan 7, 2013

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

Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight cover
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. 

From Goodreads


Hadley is far from exciting about getting to spend the weekend in London. Maybe that's because it puts the proverbial nail in the coffin of her former family. Not long ago, her dad was still married to her mom and they were living a quiet life. Now she's supposed to be a bridesmaid in her dad's marriage to a younger woman, that Hadley's never even met!

Queue drama galore and a missed flight to land Hadley on a later flight with the mystery, quirky, and headed-home-to-London-on-holiday Oliver. These two dance around the truth and hardly speak plainly, but the truth cannot be denied. There is something between them. 

But with the plane ride over and reality coming crashing down around them, will they be able to figure out where they stand? Or will they fail to take off at all?

While the idea of falling in love during transit is quite cliche, this is story is different. It's not the obvious differences, but the subtle ones that make this book such a fun and wonderful read. It's not all lovey-dovey and goo-goo eyes like I feared it would be. In fact, this book had more meat to it than I expected. The depth shown by these characters in this unique situation coupled with their individual issues made for a very compelling story. 

A lot of people say that Nicholas Sparks books/movies remind them of what it's like to fall in/be in love. I challenge that statement because of the predictable nature of and pattern of his books. This book actually made me reconnect with love stories. I haven't seen such vibrancy and openness in young adult romance characters in a bit. This was refreshing and breathtaking, but in a fun way.

It didn't leave me in tears or make me laugh until my sides hurt, but it was very real. I hope you'll give it a chance and enjoy the magic I found in this book.

3 comments:

Kami said...

A very real love at first sight book? I'll have to pick this one up.

loreleimarsh said...

You simply must! I love the beginning where she analyzes everything that had to lead up to them meeting. So awesome!

The Insouciant Sophisticate said...

This was definitely a different kind of love story-it put me through the emotional wringer!