This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

Graham Larkin is Hollywood's latest "It Guy." Ellie O'Neill is an average girl living in "middle of nowhere" Maine. Their worlds converge when Graham accidentally sends Ellie an email concerning his pet pig, Wilbur. For months, the two 17-year-olds correspond back and forth, sharing the details of their lives and forming a connection. When the location of Graham's latest picture falls through, he seizes the opportunity to put a face to the girl behind the emails and convinces the director to shoot the movie in Henley, Maine, where Ellie lives.

Upon arriving, Graham searches out the girl he has been calling "E." When the two finally meet it becomes clear that both of them have not shared all the details of their lives as Ellie is stunned to learn that "G" is in fact the famous Graham Larkin. Ellie, despite the connection she feels with Graham, is hesitant to start a public relationship with him because of a family secret that could be exposed by linking herself with a public figure. Nevertheless, the two are drawn to each other by the connection they formed through email. But their relationship has so many obstacles to overcome - Graham's stardom, his inevitable departure, Ellie's secret - and so many questions still unanswered...

I really enjoyed this book and it is another good one from Jennifer E. Smith. If you enjoy sweet romances this is definitely a book for you. The characters were witty and real and the interspersing of the emails was a nice literary touch. My only issue of the book was that it ended far too soon! There are still so many questions left unanswered - What will happen to Graham and Ellie when he returns to L.A.? What about Ellie's father? What about Graham and his parents? What does the future hold? I sincerely hope that there will be a follow up to this book because I desperately want to know what happens next. The story just feels so horribly unfinished to me and it certainly felt that it was left open for more, but without the knowledge that more is coming I am left without the warm and fuzzy feeling (or at least a diminished warm and fuzzy feeling) I usually get after reading one of these books. The happy ending is just too overshadowed by the unanswered questions still looming and the uncertainty of what comes next. Happiness for me would mean a sequel where Graham and Ellie find lasting happiness with each other.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Hadley is having the worst day of her life. She is on her way to London to be a bridesmaid in her father's wedding and she has missed her flight. She is stuck at JFK airport contemplating how she is going to make it through the weekend, when she will be forced to watch her father marry someone she has never met. Enter Oliver - a handsome British boy also on his way to London. The two quickly strike up a conversation and Hadley finds herself wondering if this chance encounter has the potential to turn into something more. When Hadley and Oliver lose each other in the commotion of customs upon arrival, Hadley is left to wonder if she will ever see Oliver again and what might have been. Set over the course of 24 hours, Hadley and Oliver's story will have you believing in the power of fate.

The realist in me is highly skeptical about the idea of "love at first sight." The idea that in one moment it is possible to know someone well enough to fall in love with them is utterly crazy. The hopeless romantic in me loves the idea that fate intervenes and brings two people who are meant to be together. That they just click, just like that, and know that they have found what they are looking for. I would love to have a story like Hadley and Oliver's to tell my children and grandchildren when they ask how I meet their father/grandfather. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a sweet story and is a great distraction read at just under 300 pages. It's a 4 star read for me and one that I will probably pick up again in the future.