Have you ever read a book that is so swoony and adorable that it makes your stomach ache? Well, Alex, Approximately is one of those books that gave me butterflies from all its cute and adorable moments. I loved its “You’ve Got Mail” mysterious identity vibe and all the swoony banter. There is also a slight hate/love relationship that brews and it is the best developing relationship I have read in a long time.
One of my favorite things about Jenn Bennett’s books is how realistic she writes her characters. The two main characters in Alex, Approximately, Bailey “Mink” and Porter “Alex,” are both awkward, smart, hilarious, and they both own up to their own unique style. I love that Bailey not only adores classic movies, just like Porter, but she also leaves her house with the best hair and outfits that mirror the style of Lana Turner. Porter is one of the most straightforward and headstrong characters I have read; I loved how honest and confident he is throughout the story. And the playful repartee and chemistry between these two characters will have you happily sighing while your cheeks ache from all your smiling.
What I liked most about Alex, Approximately is that the story is so heartwarming and knee-weakening. I am a huge fan that the characters did not come off too angsty. Instead these characters, and their destined chance to meet, is flirtatious and bold. Once again Bennett has written a romantic story that I cannot wait to pick up again, so I can re-experience all the laughs, swoons, and sexy sarcasm that overpowers this book.
My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
Title: Alex, Approximately
Author: Jenn Bennett
Publication date: April 4, 2017
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
SYNOPSIS:
The one guy Bailey Rydell can’t stand is actually the boy of her dreams—she just doesn’t know it yet.
Classic movie fan Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online as Alex. Two coasts separate the teens until Bailey moves in with her dad, who lives in the same California surfing town as her online crush.
Faced with doubts (what if he’s a creep in real life—or worse?), Bailey doesn’t tell Alex she’s moved to his hometown. Or that she’s landed a job at the local tourist-trap museum. Or that she’s being heckled daily by the irritatingly hot museum security guard, Porter Roth—a.k.a. her new archnemesis. But life is whole lot messier than the movies, especially when Bailey discovers that tricky fine line between hate, love, and whatever it is she’s starting to feel for Porter.
And as the summer months go by, Bailey must choose whether to cling to a dreamy online fantasy in Alex or take a risk on an imperfect reality with Porter. The choice is both simpler and more complicated than she realizes, because Porter Roth is hiding a secret of his own: Porter is Alex…Approximately.
Jenn Bennett is an artist and RITA-nominated author of the Arcadia Bell urban fantasy series (Kindling the Moon) and the Roaring Twenties romance series, including Bitter Spirits, which was chosen as one of Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2014 and winner of RT Book Reviews Paranormal Romance Book of the Year, and Grave Phantoms—which was awarded RT’s May Seal of Excellence for 2015. The Anatomical Shape of a Heart, (aka Night Owls in the U.K.) is her first YA contemporary romance. She lives near Atlanta with one husband and two evil pugs.
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NOTE: I was not provided a copy of this book by the author or the publisher in an exchange for a review. I bought this book with my own funds and reviewed it at my own discretion. All statements and opinions in this review are mine.
rants and raves of a bibliophile 