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

Title: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Release Date: January 2, 2012
Publisher: Poppy/Little Brown
Format: Kindle book
Source: Bought it.
Where I Read It: On an airplane!
Buy It: Amazon
Add It: 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. 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.

I'm kind of crazy about themed reads, so I read this on a 5-hour flight to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I figured I'd try and bring to my flight the kind of magic I'd heard that this book contained! Sadly, I did not meet a sexy English boy who stole my heart at 32,000 feet, but my flight time flew much faster than usual! The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is a cute, simple story about two people in the right place at the right time. As always, my main points are bolded. :) 

1. Jennifer totally captures the annoyance of and hectic happenings at an airport. I just kept nodding and nodding as I read about people rushing from one metal tube to the other, hoping to catch it in time to be successfully flung across the ocean/country to their final destinations. The "fasten seat belt" light illuminated in the book at the same time it did on my plane. It was highly amusing, and I know that reading the book under the same conditions the characters were under really enriched my experience with it!

2. The 24-hour love story totally worked for me. Hadley and Oliver are two very real people that the whole "love at first sight" thing actually worked for. And it was convincing! They had a lot of time to kill in the airport and on the long flight, and they talked about deep things, not just their favorite colors or hobbies. Even though it took place in such a short amount of time, I did not see it as insta-love. The progression was slow and believable, as they fell into "like" instead of "love" first. A lot of books skip the "like" phase, which is actually my favorite. I love the tension and vulnerability that comes with "like".

3. Hadley and Oliver are easy to relate to. They each had family issues that built the framework of their characters. As the story progresses, we learn more about these issues, and how they help one another cope because they both understand. They were able to connect on a deep level rather quickly, which added to the believability of their relationship. Oh, and Oliver is pretty swoon-worthy. I kinda have a crush on him. 

4. The story was a little slow, but sometimes that's just what you need! It was a breath of fresh air—a snapshot of a simple, run-of-the-mill, everyday event that should have been boring and annoying, but turned out to be something amazing. Who on earth likes flying? Please tell me, and then tell me what medicine you're on to make you feel that way. This book gave me hope that maybe flying is a worthwhile thing to do! :P 

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight made me smile. Was there a lot of depth? No, not really. But that's kind of exactly what I needed. It was a quick, sweet book that made me think about the small things in life. I would recommend this to lovers of contemporary romances, flawed characters, and people who, like me, need a reason to go on ahead and board that flying metal tube.