Review: The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight By Jennifer E. Smith

Title: The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight

Author: Jennifer E. Smith

Published Date: January 2nd 2012

Four minutes changes everything. Hadley Sullivan 17 misses her flight at JFK airport, is late to her father's second wedding in London with never-met stepmother. Hadley meets the perfect boy. Oliver is British, sits in her row. A long night on the plane passes in a blink, but the two lose track in arrival chaos. Can fate bring them together again?

(Synopsis Provided By Goodreads)

Hadley Sullivan was reluctant to catch a flight to London to watch her, once beloved father, marry another woman who is not her mom. After he wanted out on the only family Hadley knew, she couldn't see him the same way again. Fiercely loyal to her mom, Hadley agrees to fly to London for her mom. She scrambles to make it to the airport for her flight but just as everything in her life works out, she misses it by four minutes. Now forced to wait for the next flight out, Hadley wanders the crowded airport with nothing but her claustrophobia and unresolved feelings about her dad. As if everything seems to be crashing and burning in front of her, Hadley meets Oliver. That smile and messy hair-do he's got going on, gives Hadley the calm she's been searching for. Fate has them sitting next to each other on the flight over to London. The hours they spend together is enough to let both of them know that what they have, is more than they bargained for. However when they reach London, reality hits and both are forced separate ways to face their own problems. What Hadley takes from Oliver is enough strength to face her father but is it enough to let Oliver go forever?

This book had high points and low points. The pace fluctuated and sometimes I was really intrigued - other times I was crawling through pages! Overall I just didn't feel connected to the characters and their interaction with each other. I was confused at why and how Hadley and her father's relationship grows in this novel. I guess this was one of those books I wanted to love but just couldn't.

The banter between the two characters was tolerable at most for me. I just couldn't feel chemistry between the two. This could be because of the setting that they were in that didn't spark much for their characters. They were stranded at an airport and their was not any enthusiasm to bring me to like the characters. Or the unnecessary points of conversation had that dragged on. When Hadley and Oliver are at the airport waiting to catch the next flight out to London, I didn't see a purpose to the scenarios unfolding. The flashbacks to Hadley's happy time as a child were glimpses to some potentially interesting stuff but again, it felt disconnected.

The main character Hadley Sullivan was an okay POV to read from. She lacked enthusiasm for me. Her inner monologues and banter seemed a little too 'sad' (for lack of better words). And before everyone attacks, I sympathize with Hadley completely given her situation with her parents and her life! The tone however effected the overall feel of how the story came across to me and for that reason alone, I loss a little interest at parts.  

One of the best parts of this book to me was reading about Hadley going through her fathers second marriage. This was so heartbreaking to read about. Especially from the POV of Hadley. To have an idea about what a family is suppose to be like your entire life and then suddenly bare witness to your parents splitting up and marrying other people has got to be tough. It was during these chapters I was really intrigued with the book and engaged completely to all that was going on. Too bad it starts near the end quarter pages of the book. I couldn't believe how the father treats Hadley from the call in the cab ride to the church and then after the wedding ceremony. Although this was the best part of the book, I did not feel it was resolved properly. It's hard to match Hadley's vision of her beloved father who was there for her as her 'hero' when she was younger to the man Hadley goes to see in London. Which got me thinking about how we might idealize people and situations because of our insecurities to move forward or accept new truths. A theme of the book was forgiveness and acceptance and it was suppose to be between Hadley and her father but the way Hadley ends up letting her father back in after all that he did was not sufficient enough for me. Her father doesn't convince me enough through his words and actions.

I rate this book 2 out of 5 stars.

I just couldn't connect with the story in The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight. I could see how amazing it could be but it just didn't fit with my reading style. With that being said - I look forward to seeing how they cast and film the movie adaptation! So far Hailee Steinfeld has been casted for Hadley and Robert Sheehan has been casted for Oliver. Not what I pictured but we shall see how it goes! 

Are you looking forward to the movie adaptation of The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight? Let me know your feelings down below in the comments!

AS ALWAYS,

HAPPY READING!

-SHERRY