Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Publisher: Headline
Date published: 5th January 2012
Pages: 215
Source: Swapped
Rating: 4 teacupsWho would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?Imagine if she hadn’t forgotten the book. Or if there hadn’t been traffic on the expressway. Or if she hadn’t fumbled the coins for the toll. What if she’d run just that little bit faster and caught the flight she was supposed to be on. Would it have been something else - the weather over the Atlantic or a fault with the plane?
Hadley isn’t sure if she believes in destiny or fate but, on what is potentially the worst day of each of their lives, it’s the quirks of timing and chance events that mean Hadley meets Oliver...
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.
[summary taken from Goodreads]
This was one of those books where I thought I would give it 5 stars even before I started reading it. I just had this feeling that I would love it and while I did, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight wasn't perfect or breathtakingly amazing.
The premise is unique and definitely one-of-kind, have you ever read a book set over 24 hours? I loved the whole idea of chance and timing and how a mere four minutes changed everything so significantly. The book started off fantastically: I don't think I've ever read a prologue quite as well-written as this one! It really set the tone and pace and managed to engage me and make me eager to read on.
The reader is thrown right into the story where we meet Hadley who has just missed her plane by four minutes - little does she know that this will change things in a way she would never have thought. She has a wedding to attend the next day in London - her father's wedding. She didn't even want to go but she gave in to her parents' pleas and agreed. I understood her reluctance: who would want to witness their father marry a woman for whom he left his family? I pitied her and even though I didn't warm to her that quickly, I thought she was a decent character. She seemed like a typical teenage girl and the fact that she was just like any other girl made her easy to relate to and likeable.
Enter Oliver, a British Yale student who will be at her side for the next seven hours. He's gentlemanly, charming and deliciously witty. I adored him from the moment he and Hadley met. It was interesting to see how Americans love British guys and think of them as polite gentlemen (if only!) I'm also amazed by how much they love British accents... usually when people say 'British', they're thinking 'English' and (some) English accents are sooooo much more appealing and swoon-worthy than Scottish accents! Apologies for digressing! Anyway, I easily pictured Oliver in my mind and my heart melted at his gentlemanly gestures and at the thought of his oh-so-gorgeous accent <3 If you read the book, I bet you will fall for him just as instantly as Hadley!
It was obvious their chance meeting would bloom into something bigger and watching them confide in each other and taking steps towards romance was just one of the most sweetest things I've read in a long time! However, I felt the relationship between them was cut short and Oliver doesn't even make an appearance in the second half of the book until the very end. Despite being warned by a review before reading the book, I was still thoroughly disappointed that I didn't get to see more of the charming British cutie :( Instead, it's spent on the relationship between Hadley and her father. It was bittersweet to see them mend their broken hearts and try to make up for lost time but what I really wanted was to hear about Hadley and Oliver fall in love. I feel the synopsis and even the title (which I adore) are a little misleading. There is nothing to suggest that a huge chunk will be about her father and while I do like reading about family relationships, it was frustrating that a book with the words 'Love at First Sight' in the name didn't entirely focus on the romance and the electric spark between the characters. Plus, Hadley's father wasn't exactly a great parental figure so he kept adding fuel to my burning fire of hatred for him. But to be fair, he does get better...
The ending was cute and incredibly heart-warming and a beautiful way to finish the book. It does leave the reader to think for themselves and I've just crafted a wonderful future for Oliver and Hadley in my mind :) I hoped that the ending would be as impressively written as the beginning but I'm actually content with it.
Overall, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is a sweet book with a unique premise and it achieves bonus points for being primarily set in the sky and London! The idea behind the story could have been explored further: I managed to savour every moment with Oliver but if he featured more in the book, I would have probably given this 5 stars as I felt it seemed to shy away from the 'love at first sight' aspect.
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| 4 teacups for The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight |
Posts
I've read this and am planning to review it sometime really soon (I'm thinking it gets a 4.5 stars rating from me!)
ReplyDeleteI missed Oliver at the part where it was mostly her dad, too! :(
PS: I like to think Scottish people have awesome accents (and I'm not at all biased since I'm scottish...) ;D
Great review! :D
DeleteI wanted more Oliver, too! I really loved finding out about him, particularly because we had to wait-- makes it so much more worthwhile. He was definitely swoon-worthy.<3
ReplyDeleteI liked the ending, but I thought it was a bit unrealistic at points.
Beautiful review, Beverley!
It's funny how most people imagine the typical English accent when thinking about a British one, but even then, there are so many different English accents. I have to agree with Rachel though, the Scottish accent is awesome! ;) This is a great review, Beverley! I'm glad you enjoyed this book, especially as it was set over 24 hours. I imagine the characters would have had to been top notch for that plane ride to be enjoyable to read about and Oliver does sound charming! I will have to read this soon. =)
ReplyDeleteJust finished The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight and it's one of the sweetest and cutest love story I've read :) Setting in the sky and in London... And a boy with a British accent! Who's not to like? ;D I'd love for more Oliver in the book too /sighs dreamily/
ReplyDelete-Alicia
bookaworld.wordpress.com
Lovely review, hun! This really was a very sweet book :)
ReplyDeleteLOL Bev, I think that English accents are my favourites too -- I have this whole list of fave book boys with English accents that's probably miles long, Oliver included x) And I definitely think that this is one of the sweetest romances ever! It was less insta-love and more instant-attraction, which was so incredibly adorable (like you!). It makes me wish I could be four minutes late for my next flight just so I could bump into a boy like Oliver at the airport :')
ReplyDeleteAh-mazing review, Bev! (Imagine me saying that with an English accent LOL) Have a wonderful day! :) <3
Well, I'm Scottish, and although they may be very different to English accents, I think I prefer them to some types, like I think I like scottish better than Essex!
ReplyDeletethis novel is on my to-read pile and i think i'll be pushing it up thanks to your review. it's my kind of sweet romantic YA contemp
ReplyDeleteBev, I rated this one 4 stars as well. I loved the bits with Oliver and Hadley and hated the bits with her father. I wanted to choke that man!! How could he think she would actually be happy for him to marry the woman he left not only her mother for, but her too?!! He barely had contact with her after leaving the family. IMO, he got off way too easily and she should've really let him have it!! Anywho...sorry for the rant there! Heehee! Amazing review. I adore boys with English accents and Oliver is no exception. ;)
ReplyDeleteBtw, have I ever told you I LOVE you blog design? I do!! The pinks are so pretty. :)
I had a good feeling about this one as well and I even preordered it, but at the end, it wasn't nearly as good as I'd hoped. I just didn't believe the too happy ending between Hadley and her dad, and I didn't think he deserved to be forgiven at all.
ReplyDeleteLovely and well-articulated review. :)
Lovely review Beverley! It's too bad I haven't read this one yet, but your review is definitely enticing me to read it soon!and thanks for dropping by my blog :) Go go go read The Hunger Games! It'll be a heck of a ride, I promise!
ReplyDeleteVivian @ Vivaciously, Vivian
Fabulous review Beverley, I really enjoyed this one as well! Like you, I would have loved a little more Oliver in the second half since he was so adorable and charming, but I did enjoy the family aspect. Although, Hadley was was way quicker to get over things with her dad than I would have been. Not sure what that says about me:)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you had so much fun with this book Beverley, some aspects really let me down like Hadley's parents. I would have loved to have more scenes with Oliver for sure, he was so yummy! Fab review! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat review- I liked how you were honest about the parts you were less happy with. I want to read this book and people say it is really enjoyable! I can't wait to read about Oliver as quickly as I can- I will pick them up soon.
ReplyDeletePS:Also, as a side note, I love your format.
Teenage Fiction
Great review! I have to agree with what you said, as I would've loved for Oliver and Hadley to have spent the entire book in the airport/on the plane together--I felt that would've been far more true to the title and it would have made the story a little more interesting (for me anyway, I think!). Overall, however, I did love the book despite its minor flaws.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review! I'm glad you liked it (: This book is definitely on my wishlist, I've never really heard anything like it before, especially since the book takes place over 24 hours only - very interested to see how that works out! Love the teacup ratings, sooooo cute.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this, Beverley! I figured I'd LOVE this book based on the summary alone but it kinda fell short. It was adorable but wasn't as perfect as I thought it would be. I guess I shouldn't have expected perfection, though! And yeah, I expected the entire story to be set in the plane but that turned out a bit differently.
ReplyDeleteAHHHH I want to read this book like no other! :DD I adore sweet, cute contemporaries and this sounds SO much like what I've been craving~~ <3 <3 I hear nothing but raving for this book so I will definitely buy this soon. :) Thanks for sharing your wonderful thoughts, Beverley~ <33
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