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.

The Last Little Blue Envelope

Title: The Last Little Blue Envelope (Little Blue Envelope #2)
Author: Maureen Johnson
Publisher: HarperTeen
Date: April 26th 2011
Rating: 3 Stars

Ginny Blackstone thought that the biggest adventure of her life was behind her. She spent last summer traveling around Europe, following the tasks her aunt Peg laid out in a series of letters before she died. When someone stole Ginny's backpack—and the last little blue envelope inside—she resigned herself to never knowing how it was supposed to end.

Months later, a mysterious boy contacts Ginny from London, saying he's found her bag. Finally, Ginny can finish what she started. But instead of ending her journey, the last letter starts a new adventure—one filled with old friends, new loves, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Ginny finds she must hold on to her wits . . . and her heart. This time, there are no instructions.-GoodReads

The Last Little Blue Envelope is the sequel to 13 Little Blue Envelopes. It wasn't much better than the first one, in my opinion, but I feel the writing was a tad better, not that the writing was bad in the first one it just got better. Ginny's, once again, character was flat but I think she got a lot more out of this trip than the first. I was disappointed that Johnson didn't get into Oliver's character anymore than she did. His character had a lot of potential for major drama but not much was done. There was a lot of hinting about his character, come to think about it there was more hinting than actual character development, but I kind of liked him in the end. Keith was funny but most of the time he just seemed to be an ass, at first he just seemed to be doing it for Ginny's sake but after a while he just seemed cruel for the sake of being cruel. Ginny really didn't stick up for Oliver much, she didn't like how Keith was acting towards him but for a long time she didn't voice any complaints for a long time and when she did it wasn't strong. This book had a much more satisfactory ending than the first and you begin to think that Ginny really is starting to get it. The traveling was once again a joy to read, I love reading about Europe. I still say this is a 3 star rating but it's closer to a 3 1/2

13 Little Blue Envelopes

Title: 13 Little Blue Envelopes (#1)
Author: Maureen Johnson
Publisher: HarperTeen
Year: 2006

When Ginny receives thirteen little blue envelopes and instructions to buy a plane ticket to London, she knows something exciting is going to happen. What Ginny doesn't know is that she will have the adventure of her life and it will change her in more ways than one. Life and love are waiting for her across the Atlantic, and the thirteen little blue envelopes are the key to finding them in this funny, romantic, heartbreaking novel.-Summery from GoodReads

13 Little Blue Envelopes is a fairly easy read, I finished it in one day. This should have been a book I loved. A teen girl traveling around Europe, it's the type of story I should love reading. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy it as much as I had hoped. With every letter Ginny traveled to a different place and with each challenge the trip seemed more pointless. Ginny didn't seem to get anything that her Aunt was trying to tell her, she didn't really enjoy anything, instead she went through Europe like a zombie. I know she just lost her aunt, but really, she should have some reaction to whats going on around her. The side character, Keith, was fun and quirky but Ginny was just flat, she really didn't seem like she had any life in her at all and that did not change by the end of the book. Her travels were interesting, the places she went, the problems she ran into but it would have been more interesting if she had some personality. The ending of the book is somewhat unsatisfactory but I guess that's life, and that's what the author was going for. So, after everything I'm giving this 3 stars mostly just because it's about traveling through Europe.