Book Review: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E Smith

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.

A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?

Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it. 

I adored this book, I thought it was amazing and I connected with it on so many levels.  This book is not just about romance despite the name, blurb and cover this book is more about families, and how you cope with the fall out if one of your parents moves on.

I was a few years younger than Hadley when my dad left mum and me for another woman. He moved across the country and left my mum and me alone.  I was devastated, I cried for days and it hurt so much.  I wondered why I wasn’t good enough, wondered if he loved this woman more than me.  My mum was a mess she was angry and bitter and I didn’t know how to react.  It was a shitty thing for him to do and for a few years I thought I hated him.  I was horrible to him, refused to communicate on any level with his girlfriend and was generally a bit of a bitch.  Now in my twenties everything is fine.  I love my dad and I forgive him, I think him leaving was probably for the best and we have a great relationship now but for a while, in my teens things were tense. 

I feel like this book reached into me and put all my thoughts and feelings on a page.  At times it was like reading an auto biography of my 15 year old self.  Hadley takes a journey through this book, a journey I think a lot of us have to take at that age and I related to it a lot.  This book was handled with such care, it was no overdone, and the drama was not too much.  It was just right.

The writing in this is exquisite, the descriptions and dialogue is top notch and I read the whole thing in a night.  It was engaging and entertaining throughout.

I loved the characters.  Hadley was a lovely and mostly sweet girl who I connected with instantly.  Oliver was charming, funny and adorable.  The chemistry and dialogue between them was effortless and I fell in love with them as a couple and as individuals.  In parts it was hopelessly romantic and it made me smile with its cuteness all through the book.

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is the most adorable and sweet book I have read in a long time.  I loved every second of it and it is beyond doubt the best contemporary book I have read in 2012. 

5 stars

Published January 2nd 2012 by Poppy/Little Brown.  A free copy was provided for review. Image courtesy of Goodreads

Review by Kate Phillips