Monday, June 17, 2013

Book Review: This Is What Happy Looks Like

Monday, June 17, 2013
Title: This Is What Happy Looks Like
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Genre/s: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

If fate sent you an email, would you answer?

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds.


Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs?

My Thoughts:

This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith is the perfect summer read for those who love a light contemporary romance to accompany them while at the beach. It is a fluffy, funny and oh so romantic novel that I’m sure everyone will love.

Who would have thought that a single wrong sent email could connect two different worlds together?  Ellie O’Neil was not expecting to find a friend from a stranger who she met through an email and was on the other coast across the country. But she feels excited and happy whenever she sees his email address in her inbox. So even if she doesn’t quite know who he really was, his identity wasn’t important for her anymore.

But when a film crew decided to shoot a movie to the small town where she lives, she was surprised to find out that her online pen pal wasn’t just an ordinary 17 year old boy who lived in California but the popular movie star who was the lead character in the movie that was being filmed there.

Will their online friendship end or will it continue to develop in real life? If you want to find out then buy this book immediately.

This book is really awesome. I’ve read The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight on December of last year and I’m fascinated with it. Jennifer E. Smith has some kind of ability where she will make two different people fall in love with each other so easily yet so realistically that falling in love feels as simple as breathing. It was so natural and organic and it was effortless.  It’s the kind of love everyone dreamed of having. And I’m going to be honest, I’m jealous with the characters Jennifer E. Smith created because of that.

Anyway, what will you get if you combined deep blue eyes, a thousand-watt smile, humility, cleverness, sweetness and great sense of humor? Well, my friend, the answer to that is Graham Larkin. He’s this ridiculously dreamy guy that I’m currently obsessed with. His not self-righteous or conceited like the other actors who became famous and he’s very thoughtful and valiant. But sadly, his “pink blob of a heart” is already taken by Ellie.

Ellie O’ Neil is this simple yet effortlessly beautiful girl who sees right through Graham and loves him for who he truly is. She understands that he’s just an ordinary guy who loves to act and needs a break from the limelight sometimes. And that’s what Ellie gave him. An ordinary day strolling at the beach, eating ice cream and watching fireworks without cameras, film crew and squealing fans. And unlike the treatment of other people, Ellie tried to treat him like his a normal guy who happens to be really handsome and super adorable.

Their relationship encountered problems like every normal couple, (i.e. controversy and scandals) and they both face it head on. At the end of the day, their bond just became stronger than ever. The ending just left me hanging a bit. I just wish that there was an exchange of emails between them again, explaining what happened after he went home and how her poetry course went. It would have been nice if it has that but nonetheless this book is still hands down amazing and I won’t argue with that.


Overall and as I said in the beginning, this is the perfect summer read. I will never get tired of recommending this book to everyone.

My Rating 


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