Book Review: THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT by Jennifer E. Smith

Book:  The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

Author:  Jennifer E. Smith

Publisher:  Poppy/ Little Brown

Genre:  Young Adult Romance, Fiction

“Love is the strangest, most illogical thing in the world.”- Mom

“I’m not talking about love, I’m talking about marriage.”- Hadley

“That is even worse.”- Mom

Blurb via Goodreads:

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.

My Synopsis:

Hadley and Oliver need to go to London for two very different reasons. Hadley's father is getting remarried and she is angry.  He left her and her mom for a job opportunity in London, which was supposed to last a few months. 

Next thing she knew, her parents had broken up and he had fallen for someone else, hence the wedding.  Though she was always closer to her dad than her mom, this changes every single thing.

Hadley and Oliver meet accidentally at the airport.  She is late for her flight and has been moved to the next one and is seated next to Oliver. Ten hours of talking, sharing and dozing with and next to each other ends in one certainty, and that is Hadley has fallen for him.

They part at the airport not knowing each other's surnames, much less other crucial information, except for one thing: Paddington.  So off Hadley goes to search for what could be something real...... Or something that could break her heart.

My Review:

Though this book was mostly about growing up, realizations and acceptance within a short 24 hours, I felt thoroughly engaged in the story.  

I hurt with Hadley.  Her flashbacks, specifically to when she was a child with a doting father, were painful.  He was very much her hero, the almost perfect dad who had all the answers until he fell in love with another woman and broke all his promises to his family, to Hadley.  

Author Jennifer E. Smith

The circumstances he put his wife and daughter in were unacceptable to me, but then again, Hadley is a forgiving person, or at least she becomes one after meeting Oliver and understanding his side of the story which is a total opposite of hers.

Is it really better to have had something wonderful and lost it than to have had nothing at all?  Is it best to forgive when all is settled with everyone happy but yourself? I can't say.  Hadley is a good character.  Much too young to have been put in the situation she was in but well handled in the end.  

What I get from this story is that when true love and happiness presents itself to you, no matter what is in the way, you have to grab it, then fix everything else after.  Because those who truly love you will eventually understand and give way to what is important.  

This story does have its sweet romance, but more than that, it's about family that breaks and slowly heals in the end. 

Meet authors Jennifer E. Smith and Lissa Price this weekend and get your copies signed!  September 19, 6pm at the SM Cebu; September 20, 2pm at the SM Aura Premier and September 21, 2 to 4pm at the SMX Convention Center for the Manila International Book fair.  Be early as there are only 200 slots available on the last signing day.  This is upon the invitation of the National Book Store.

Book Review: IN YOUR DREAMS (BLUE HERON #4) by Kristan Higgins

Book:  In Your Dreams (Blue Heron #4)

Author:  Kristan Higgins

Publisher:  Harlequin HQN

Genre:  Contemporary Adult Romance; Fiction

“…stop whispering into my hair.  You might chip a tooth, I’ve got so much crap sprayed in there.”- Emmaline

“I know.  You smell like ethanol.  I can feel my brain cells dying.  You wearing those chicken cutlets today? Because the girls are looking fantastic.”- Jack

“Shut up Jack.”- Emmaline

“Is that any way to talk to the man you supposedly love?”- Jack

“You’d make a wonderful prostitute.”- Emmaline

Blurb via Goodreads:

Emmaline Neal needs a date. Just a date—someone to help her get through her ex-fiancé's wedding without losing her mind. But pickings are slim in Manningsport, New York, population 715. In fact, there's really only one option: local heartthrob Jack Holland. 

Everyone loves Jack, and he won't get the wrong idea…. After all, Jack Holland would never actually be interested in a woman like Em. Especially not with his beautiful ex-wife creeping around, angling to reunite ever since he rescued a group of teens and became a local hero. 

But when the wedding festivities take an unexpectedly passionate turn, Em figures it was just one crazy night. Jack is too gorgeous, too popular, to ever end up with her. So why is she the one he can talk to about his deep, dark feelings? If Em is going to get her dream man, she'll have to start by believing in him.

My Synopsis:

Jack is the quintessential white knight.  The man people turn to and depend on.  The one everyone in town trusts.  He is also the hero who saves the lives of 4 reckless teenagers, or almost all 4, as one of them is in a coma.  And that one could-have-been haunts Jack’s every waking moment.

Emmaline is a small town cop who’s in need of a date for the wedding of her ex, the man she spent half her life with, who dumped her for his gym instructor.  Although she never got over the hurt he caused, she also can’t forget how, for many years, he was the only one who saw through her stutter and loved her despite the hate and bullies in their childhood.

So off to the wedding they went where one night of passion changes their friendship status.  But the road to love is bumpy as Jack has a beautiful wife still sniffing about and doing everything she can to win him back.  He is also in denial about suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from the accident.  Em knows what and who she wants, but is she willing to give herself to a man who isn’t ready to face the truth about himself and his past?

My Review:

I like Jack.  I have always liked Jack.  The past three Blue Heron books wouldn’t have been complete without him.  He is a fun, supportive brother with just the perfect sense of humor to balance the craziness of his three vastly different sisters.  So I’m sad to report I’m a bit disappointed in this book.  Not to say that Jack isn’t funny here.  He is.  He has nice comebacks for Emmaline and his sisters and he is still the hero everyone loves. BUT I expected so much more.

Maybe Emmaline isn’t my type, maybe this had too much going on (the ex-wife, the PTSD, the former fiancée, the dying boy) or maybe I just wanted Jack’s story to be much more romantic.

Is it romantic enough compared to the previous ones? No.  It feels hurried especially at the end. The proposal part just comes out of nowhere as if this being a Blue Heron novel has to end with a wedding no matter what.  I love happy endings more than the next person but the transition from breakup to makeup here is just too abrupt.  I didn’t feel IT.  And that just sucks because I fell in love with all three previous books, especially the last one, Waiting On You.

That said, Kristan Higgins is still one hell of a funny writer.  Her cast of characters are just awesome, especially Jack’s sisters Prudence, Faith and Honor plus their honorary sister Colleen.  I also appreciate the bigger than most part of Levi, and the tiny cameos of Lucas and Tom... better little than none right? I’d take what I can get of my favorites.

So, not the book I like most in the series but it’s still worth a read.  Now I’m looking forward to the next Blue Heron story, hopefully that of Connor (Colleen’s twin) and Jessica’s (Levi’s ex).

Before reading this, check out my reviews of the series:

#1 The Best Man

http://readingtsinoy.blogspot.com/2013/02/0-false-18-pt-18-pt-0-0-false-false.html

#2  The Perfect Match

http://readingtsinoy.blogspot.com/2013/09/book-review-perfect-match-by-kristan.html

#3  Waiting On You

http://www.readingtsinoy.blogspot.com/2014/02/book-review-waiting-on-you-by-kristan.html

You may visit the author’s site at:

http://www.kristanhiggins.com

Book Review: THE KISS OF DECEPTION by Mary E. Pearson

Book:  The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles #1)

Author:  Mary E. Pearson

Publisher:  Henry Holt & Co.

Genre:  Young Adult Romance; Fantasy; Fiction

“Deliberate deception is not a mistake.  It's calculating and cold.  Especially when aimed at the one you profess to love.  and if one can’t be trusted in love, one can’t be trusted in anything.”- Lia

Blurb via Goodreads:

In this timeless new trilogy about love and sacrifice, a princess must find her place in a reborn world.

In a society steeped in tradition, Princess Lia’s life follows a preordained course. As First Daughter, she is expected to have the revered gift of sight—but she doesn’t—and she knows her parents are perpetrating a sham when they arrange her marriage to secure an alliance with a neighboring kingdom—to a prince she has never met.

On the morning of her wedding, Lia flees to a distant village. She settles into a new life, hopeful when two mysterious and handsome strangers arrive—and unaware that one is the jilted prince and the other an assassin sent to kill her. Deception abounds, and Lia finds herself on the brink of unlocking perilous secrets—even as she finds herself falling in love.

My Synopsis:

Princess Arabella Celestine Idris Jezelia of Morrighan is not resigned to her fate.  She does not bow to tradition.  Her name alone, the name she chooses to call herself, Lia, makes her different from the Queens of past.  As the only daughter, the first daughter of Morrighan, she is expected to fulfill her duty and marry the prince of Dalbreck.  A man she has never met. This to forge a strong alliance both kingdoms desperately need to survive outside forces, Barbarians who want to destroy them all.

Wanting a life of her own choosing, Lia runs away on her wedding day with her most trusted friend and servant, Pauline.  They end up in Terravin, Pauline’s childhood home, where they begin a new life as barmaids at an Inn.  Soon after, two handsome strangers enter the Inn with eyes only for Lia.  One of them is the jilted Prince, the other is an assassin meant to find and kill Lia to permanently end the alliance between Morrighan and Dalbreck. 

Lia innocently trusts both and falls in love with one.  The question is, does she fall for her prince or the one sent to end her life once and for all?

My Review:

Tears of heartbreak and hope fell from my eyes as I devoured this lovely book.  Beautifully written by Mary Pearson, I could not put it down, even for a second. 

The rich plot and romance caught me.  I was riveted throughout the hours I spent consuming the new world that is Lia’s and the Prince.  The Kiss Of Deception is written in 5 different POVs: those of Lia, the Prince, the Assassin, Kaden and Rafe. 

The beauty here is that you would never know which man is which until it’s too late.  Until you find yourself attached to one and realize it’s probably the wrong one.  But then again, he could be right too given a different circumstance.  I know I’m being cryptic, but I refuse to ruin this book for any reader.  It is good. So very very good. 

But be warned, your heart will bleed, especially for my other favorite character, Walther.  A soldier so brave and strong yet so loving to his only sister.  His life and loss will break your heart.  I should know because I’m still healing as I write.

Read this book and prepare to fall in love with Lia and her brave Prince. 

Expect Book two of The Remnant Chronicles:  The Heart of Betrayal, in 2015.

Book Review: FAST FORWARD by Juliet Madison

Book:  Fast Forward

Author:  Juliet Madison

Publisher:  Escape Publishing

Genre:  Romance; Sci Fi & Fantasy

“Would you like a paper bag?”- The receptionist

“What for?  Do you mean to put over my head? Geez! I know I'm not looking my best but have a little compassion!”- Kelli

“To breathe into.  So you don’t hyperventilate.” (haha)

Blurb via Goodreads:

Aspiring supermodel, Kelli Crawford seems destined to marry her hotshot boyfriend, but on her twenty-fifth birthday she wakes in the future as a fifty-year-old suburban housewife married to the now middle-aged high school nerd. 

Trapped in the opposite life of the one she wanted, Kelli is forced to re-evaluate her life and discover what is really important to her. Will she overcome the hilarious and heartbreaking challenges presented to her and get back to the body of her younger self? Or will she be stuck in the nightmare of hot flushes, demanding children, raunchy advances from her husband and hideous support underwear forever?

My Synopsis:

Shallow soon-to-be supermodel Kelli is having the time of her life.  With a career on the upswing and a possible engagement to the love of her life, she has it all.  Then on her 25^th birthday, she wakes to find herself thrown into the future, 25 years forward, in a jiggly, saggy 50 year old body.  She doesn’t recognize herself, nor the family she seems to have gained overnight: two grown children and a husband, William McSnelly, the high school nerd.

Kelli is desperate to go back to the past she knows.  But as the day progresses, she is faced with a new truth, a future/present she never wanted nor expected yet needs.  A life full of love from people she realizes truly sees who she is inside.  Is it then still worth going back to an uncertain past?

My Review:

Juliet Madison did a great job in making what could have been another version of a much abused time traveling plot original, or at the very least close to it.  With her sharp wit and great sense of humor, she takes this story to a higher level….a thoroughly funny and laugh out loud level.

Kelli is a great character because she’s so charmingly shallow, a trait her mother molded her to be, and to watch her grow with realizations and hard won decisions is so satisfying.  I loved William the most.  His life is his love, and he loves his wife with every word and heartbeat. He made Kelli more lovable just by being Will. 

And though this is a light fare, I found myself crying at the end when Kelli finally realizes that THIS is what love is supposed to be…. But I’m getting ahead of myself.   The point is, if you’re looking for something to enjoy, something that can make you laugh by yourself and look like a crazy person in a crowded room full of strangers, something that will probably elevate your expectations of men to fall for, something you can highly recommend for the lessons within, then this is the book for you.  

THE BOOK GIVEAWAY IS HERE!!!

Win a signed copy of Stephanie Perkins’ LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR.

It’s simple and easy.  All you have to do are these:

1.  Join my blog site at www.readingtsinoy.blogspot.com (If you don't join and become a member, you don't qualify for the Giveaway...sorry)

2.  Follow me @lynching7 on Instagram and Twitter

3.  Tweet about this Giveaway

4.  Ask your friends and family to join so we can reach 200 members on this site as soon as possible.  Until then, the contest remains open.  If we go beyond that number, that’s even better!

5.  Once you have done all these, post the following on the comments section below:  your Name, Twitter and IG account name and email address.  NO cellphone numbers please.

But WAIT! There’s MORE!  Because I love books so much and want to share the feeling of happiness in owning an AUTOGRAPHED copy, I am giving away not ONE, but TWO signed copies of LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR!!!! 

Two winners are better than one I always say (yahoo!)

So what are you waiting for?  Sign up and Follow me! 

Here’s the Synopsis of LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR via Goodreads:

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion...she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit--more sparkly, more fun, more wild--the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket--a gifted inventor--steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door

 

Giveaway Rules:

Contest is open to Philippine residents only

The lucky winners will be picked via www.random.org

Once the winners are announced, wait for an email from me.

The books will be shipped within 2 to 3 weeks after the announcement of winners.  Tracking numbers will be emailed right after.

I will not be responsible for the loss of the book during transit once it has been posted.

If you don’t win, worry not because there will be more chances in the future. 

Thanks for joining and HAPPY READING! 

Other books from Best Selling author Stephanie Perkins are:  ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS and ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER which comes out in August 2014.

A special thanks to the NATIONAL BOOK STORE