The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

Title: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Publisher: Poppy
Publication Date: January 2, 2012
Rating: 4 Stars

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.-GoodReads

There is something really simple and beautiful about this book. For the first time I liked a book just because of the romance. The relationship between Hadley and Oliver just felt right. There was no dramatic professions of love or stupid fights or feeling they were going to die without the other. It felt real.

The characters were likeable and they all reacted believably to situations. I liked that Hadley wasn't a complete brat, her actions were all completely understandable. Oliver was a complete sweetheart and had a great sense of humor, plus he's a brit, I don't know what teen girl wouldn't fall in love with him. Also, although it was only a small part of the book, I loved the story of her mom and Harrison. It was so cute!

As much as I loved this book there was one rather large aspect of it that I did not like. Hadley's dad was encouraged by his wife to accept the teaching job at Oxford because she knew it was his dream. The four months he's gone he had hooked up with some other chick. Both the dad and Charlotte(the woman he was marrying) were likeable characters for the most part but I hate them when I think of what they did. It was because of love, they said, like love makes leaving your wife and kid for another woman excusable. Love makes screwing around with a married man alright. I think that's a load of crap, people have a choice about who they love, if they're married they shouldn't go looking at other people, and if you know the man is married you can choose to stay away.

So, other than that part, the book was good. I was a little disappointed there wasn't more of London shown but I forgive it. I loved the cover and it was the perfect length, short and sweet. The ending was so adorable, the perfect conclusion to a truly sweet book.

Dear John

Title: Dear John
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Publisher: Warner Books
Publication Date: October 30, 2006
Rating: 3 Stars

An angry rebel, John dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army, not knowing what else to do with his life--until he meets the girl of his dreams, Savannah. Their mutual attraction quickly grows into the kind of love that leaves Savannah waiting for John to finish his tour of duty, and John wanting to settle down with the woman who has captured his heart. But 9/11 changes everything. John feels it is his duty to re-enlist. And sadly, the long separation finds Savannah falling in love with someone else. "Dear John," the letter read...and with those two words, a heart was broken and two lives were changed forever. Returning home, John must come to grips with the fact that Savannah, now married, is still his true love—and face the hardest decision of his life.-GoodReads

I don't know why I decided to read another Nicholas Sparks book. I've read 3 before this one and I didn't care for them much. I'll even go so far to say that I hated the Notebook and only loyalty to the movie keeps me from saying the same about A Walk to Remember. So why do I keep coming back for more? I do not know.

I honestly don't have much to say about this book. It was good... I really don't have anything bad to say about it, just that it's not my type. The writing is fine, although, I would love to see Sparks try another pattern than the one he always follows but he is a talented author. I liked the story well enough, I actually can't say much about the pace of the book because I can't judge such a thing when I read a book in nearly one sitting.

The characters were likable but I didn't connect with them. I read in a couple of reviews that people were in love with John Tyree, I can't say I was. I liked Savannah but I didn't connect with her either. I didn't get close to the characters, I didn't get invested in their story so when the heart wrenching parts came (it's a Sparks book you know it can only end in tears) I didn't feel anything. I just felt like a casual observer. Unlike The Last Song I didn't even cry. I felt nothing.

Fallen

Title: Fallen
Author: Lauren Kate
Pages: 464

Seventeen-Year-Old Luce is a new student at Sword & Cross, an unwelcoming boarding/reform school in Savannah, Georgia. Luce’s boyfriend died under suspicious circumstances, and now she carries the guilt over his death with her as she navigates the unfriendly halls at Sword & Cross, where every student seems to have an unpleasant—even evil—history.

It’s only when she sees Daniel, a gorgeous fellow student, that Luce feels there’s a reason to be here—though she doesn’t know what it is. And Daniel’s frosty cold demeanor toward her? It’s really a protective device that he’s used again . . . and again. For Daniel is a fallen angel, doomed to fall in love with the same girl every 17 years . . . and watch her die. And Luce is a fellow immortal, cursed to be reincarnated again and again as a mortal girl who has no idea of who she really is.

Ok, I'll be honest. The reason I read Fallen was because of the cover, it's just too cool to ignore. Well, you know what they say. "Never judge a book by it's cover."

It started out ok. I love Arianna and Penn, they are the reason I got through this evil book, Luce wasn't even that bad of a character. So what did I hate about this book? The storyline, and Daniel. I hated them both.

Don't read this book.

The Host

Title: The Host
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Pages: 619

'Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.

Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves-Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.'

It has been described as "the first love triangle involving only two bodies"

I wasn't sure what to expect from The Host. I saw a book trailer for it on Youtube a year ago, and I thought it looked interesting, I just didn't read it until a few days ago.

What did I think of this book? Well, the first hundred pages are boring, that's for sure, but once you get past it the host is a really good book. The storyline was good. The caves were amazing, if aliens were invading the earth I would definitely want to have those caves nearby. The characters were interesting, my favorites were Uncle Jeb, Ian, and Jamie. And.... Drum roll please.....Stephenie Meyer actually wrote a romance novel that didn't make me cringe. YAY!!!

Side note: there are two blank pages in between page 594 and 599. The book does not end on 594, I promise. That would have made a terrible ending

All in all, it was a good book. And, great news, there is going to be a movie coming out sometime in the coming years. There are a lot of really great fan-made trailers on youtube, I thought I'd post my favorite here