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

Amazon Book Depository

Title: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Publish Date: January 2nd 2012

"Four minutes changes everything. Hadley Sullivan 17 misses her flight at JFK airport, is late to her father's second wedding in London with never-met stepmother. Hadley meets the perfect boy. Oliver is British, sits in her row. A long night on the plane passes in a blink, but the two lose track in arrival chaos. Can fate bring them together again?"



Cover: I really love the fonts and coloring of this cover. Its simple but it also really pops.

StoryLine: So, this book is a little unbelievable, but so is the idea of love at first sight. And in spite of that, The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight manages to be a cute read. The story takes place over the course of 24 hours during 4th of July weekend, but I can see this being a Hallmark channel Christmas movie with lots of cheese and feels and fluff. I usually don't like insta-love, but this was really sweet and more like insta-maybe, insta-possibilities. Hadley and Oliver spend 3 hours waiting for a plane and 7 hours together on the flight, and then they loose sight of each other at the airport. Now in real life, that would be that, but where's the satisfying ending in that? 

Characters: I think what Hadley's father did is pretty unforgivable, I think cheating is never ok, but he does get brownie points for at least breaking it off and not sticking with her mom while continuing the affair. I think the way everyone was so nonchalant and at peace with the whole situation is pretty unbelievable. I mean 6 weeks of mourning for at least 16 year relationship? I find that hard to believe. Her mom tried saying they brought out the worst in each other, but we never saw that in any flashbacks or was there any other support for that.

Hadley's character development went from immature to too accepting over the course of 24 hours. It was still refreshing to see the effort to make it more than just a love story, but also a story of family and forgiveness. And Oliver was just down right cute, I really enjoyed him.

Parting Thoughts: If you take this at surface level, this a charming little love story of crazy coincidence that make all the difference. It's when you start looking too deep into it that all the cracks and gaps appear. This is one of those books where you just have to roll with the unbelievability of it all.

3/5 Stars