Summary
G emails E by accident and the two strike up a never-ending interaction that both feel is one-of-a-kind. There are only several problems that the two of them can’t work out. First, G is Graham Larkin, the hottest new Hollywood star with a bevy of teenaged female fans all around the world and an almost equally large crowd of paparazzi following him everywhere. And E is Ellie O’Neill, a dreamer-poet living in Middle-of-Nowhere, Maine, who has her own reasons for wanting to avoid the spotlight.
Review
I was head over heels for the first 25% of the book, and then meh for the rest of it. Oh, there’s nothing wrong with THIS IS WHAT HAPPY LOOKS LIKE at all, but immediately after the two main characters finally met up, the romantic anticipation fizzled and there was a sense of “what next?” floating among readers and the narrative.
Don’t get me wrong: Graham and Ellie are adorable, separately and together. They are the kind of people you want dating your best friends: they’re nice and well-read and like sunsets and cute animals and hand-holding. Yes, things in this book’s world are a bit tame, especially Graham’s oh-so-cutesy humor, but hey, I’m not going to hold that against the book: it’s rare that we find a YA romance where at least one party is not either TSTL or a jerk.
For the most part, THIS IS WHAT HAPPY LOOKS LIKE is a dream come true for readers who, like me, wished their whole lives for a squee-worthy romance between a nice movie star and a nice ordinary girl. But then, as in most Jennifer Smith novels, there’s the extra dimension of family problems. Again, there’s nothing inherently wrong with including family issues into a contemporary romance, but it just wasn’t what I wanted to read about when I picked this book up. I wanted the never-gets-old sparkly tension of falling in love with someone new, of gradually getting to know them through cheeky emails, of the first time seeing them and thinking to yourself, “Oh. I have been waiting for this my whole life.” Only all of that happened in the first quarter of the book, and then the rest of it didn’t seem to add much more to Graham and Ellie’s relationship. It just didn’t do it for me.
Nevertheless, I would still recommend THIS IS WHAT HAPPY LOOKS LIKE to readers looking for a light romance. The characters and the picture-perfect setting of small-town Maine make this the YA romance that a lot of readers are looking for.
Similar Authors
Kristan Higgins
Maureen Johnson
Cover discussion: I really like how Jennifer Smith's last two contemporary romances have gotten these related but still distinctive covers. They stand out from the stock-photo covers of other YA contemporary romances for their originality.
Poppy / April 2, 2013 / Hardcover / 416pp. / $17.99
e-galley received from publisher and NetGalley.
This could be funny! Usually the first part of the book can be meh for me and then the rest leave me speechless! Still this book looks interesting :) Great review :)
ReplyDeleteI want to read this book just to see if I feel the same because I have read so many reviews that echo you, Steph! It's a shame when a book goes south so quickly :/
ReplyDeleteDo it! I so want to know what others think about this book.
DeleteThat's why I'm not compelled to pick this one up - I felt exactly the same way about her first book and I sensed that this one would be much the same.
ReplyDeleteAmy @ Turn the Page
That's a pretty good reason to not read this one. I didn't feel this way about her other books, especially STATISTICAL, so I feel sad that I felt this way about this one.
DeleteI'm sorry to hear this one didn't live up to expectations throughout as this is exactly what I was expecting from this book. I haven't picked it up yet, but I think I'll still give it a chance, since I'm so excited for it.
ReplyDeleteGreat honest review! :)
There's just something about a sweet romance that makes me smile. Sometimes the anticipation is the best part -- the will they or won't they of it all. Even though the attraction fizzled in "real" life, it still sounds cute. But, as long as the story's a good one overall, I'm in!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your balanced reviews. I'm still curious to read this one since I loved STATISTICAL.
ReplyDeleteI would be very much interested to know what you think of this, Sarah! Especially as compared to STATISTICAL, which I really liked as well.
DeleteAwww sorry the latter 3/4 of this book didn't quite work for you Steph! I understand what you mean about just wanting the sweet romance without added secondary dramas like family issues, I just finished a book with what felt like 3095820948 side stories that took the focus off the main couple and it drove me crazy. It didn't bother me so much here though and I ended up really liking this one:) Fabulous review though!!!
ReplyDeleteSPoLaFS was a book that I could not recommend enough to people, but the reviews for this one have generally agreed that it's not quite as good - and I think books of similar concepts like this tend to be like that in reception, but it's still common enough that I don't think I'll paying hardcover price to read it. Agreed completely on the nature of the covers and how beautiful/different they are. They represent her books well.
ReplyDeleteYep. Just blah after the start. I was sad, because I really did enjoy her first book.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review! I have this one on my shelf at home and have been meaning to get to it, but now at least I have a heads up and know it's better for when I'm looking for a light easy romantic story.
ReplyDeleteHm, I didn't really like The Statisical Probability because it also dealt with some family issues that I thought were handled all wrong. So I'm honestly not very hopeful about this one, but I do enjoy an occasional light romance so I'll keep it in mind for one such occasion.
ReplyDeleteI've heard good and bad things about this one. What did you think of Statistical Probability? I can't wait to read this, but I'm curious what camp I'll fall into.
ReplyDeleteAwww it's a bummer that this one was just meh for you. I still haven't read The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight (but I REALLY want to!) so I'm not sure how I feel about Jennifer E. Smith's writing yet. Once I read that one I'll have to decide whether or not to read this one too. It sounds cute, but if it's just gonna be meh I think I'll want to read something else. :)
ReplyDeleteI really loved The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight and I can't wait to read this one too. It's unfortunate that you didn't love it as much as you had hoped for. I love the Kristan Higgins comparison though; that is exactly how I felt when reading the Statistical Probability!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love Jennifer E. Smith's writing, and that's probably what's going to make this book wonderful for me. I can't wait to dive into it, as I just got my copy in the mail today!
ReplyDeleteI still haven't read anything by this author, but really curious about the elements you mentioned. Might just enjoy the characters as they are, I guess. And you're right. Nice guys are so rare in YA these days!
ReplyDelete