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

Title: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Published: 2nd Jan 2012
Publisher: Little Brown
Source: Borrowed from AB

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. She's stuck at JFK, late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon to be step-mother that 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 in seat 18C. Hadley's in 18A.

Twists of fate and quirks of timing play out in this thoughtful novel about family connections, second chances and first loves. 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. - From Goodreads

There was a lot of hype surrounding this book prior to release and shortly after release. This sometimes makes me a little weary as I hate to be let down and disappointed if the book does not live up to my expectations. A few pages in I was so happy to find that this book was as cute as I was hoping it would be and I related to the main character. If you can get past the title of this book without gagging, and I was reading this book around a few people who audibly complained when they saw the title (lay off boys - I need to hang out with girls more), then this is a lovely book you will not want to put down.

Hadley is flying from London to New York for the weekend to attend her Fathers wedding to a woman she has never met. Hadley is not in a great mood when she misses her flight and ends up having to wait in the airport for the next flight when she meets Oliver. Oliver is flying home to London for the weekend also. During the time they spend together in the airport and then on the plane they click. This connection they have formed brings them together in different ways during the following day in London and it shows you what a difference a day can really make.

This was such a sweet story and it had some great characters. I enjoyed seeing Hadley's progression form a girl who was so angry and hurt by her father to seeing that he is human and just trying his best. I thought Hadley was easy to relate to and like. I enjoyed seeing how she tries to deal with her claustrophobia and the panic that sets in. I understand that this story is being told over the course of a day, and certain creative liberties have to be taken, but I found a few things a little hard to believe. Her transition from hating her father and what he did to having no negative feelings towards him at all and understanding and forgiving all his actions in the space of a few hours seemed a little too easy for me, but maybe I just hold a grudge really well!!

Every good romantic story needs a crushworthy guy and this one did not fail. Oliver is a charming Londoner who is tall with messy brown hair. The more we get to know Oliver through the course of this book the more  I grew to love him as a character. He had some of the more touching moments and the book and it totally melted my heart.

I really liked this book and found it to be a very easy read with an extremely cute story line with two adorable people and I finished it super fast, it even brought a tear to my eye a few times. There was something tiny missing for me though. I can't put my finger on it, it just did not have the same magic as some of the other contemporary romance books I have read recently. Don't get me wrong, that is not to say I didn't enjoy it, it was just that I was not ready to run away and have babies with it. This was a good book with great characters and a charming story. I would recommend it to anyone who liked a bit of contemporary fiction.