15790873Title: This Is What Happy Looks Like

Author: Jennifer E. Smith

Publisher: Headline

Publication Date: April 2013

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Contemporary

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

 

 

Synopsis can bet found here.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

Review:

One mistyped email and Graham Larkin, Hollywood heartthrob, finds himself falling love with small town girl Ellie O’Neill. When his new film brings him to the place she lives, of course he wants to see her and meet her for real. But she doesn’t know she’s been emailing with Graham Larkin.

This book was so perfect for me. I loved Graham, his charm and slight sadness. I felt like he was a real person, gentle and kind and funny but still trying to find himself admits all the crazy. I really liked Ellie too. She’s more complicated with a past and feelings she doesn’t know how to handle. Not only were the two of them together believable but it was easy to see why each liked the other.

I also really appreciated the obstacles that this particular couple faced. It wasn’t so much of an angsty love triangle. These were significant problems that didn’t seem overly dramatic or manufactured. I liked how the characters interacted with each other, especially Ellie’s best friend Quinn. Their dynamic really added to Ellie’s character.

I read it every chance I got, well into the night to finish. It was so worth it. And even before I reached the end, i bought the sequel novella that Smith wrote. I couldn’t stop myself. I had to know what happened to them. There is just something magical about these two characters and their circumstances. It’s falling in love with Leonardo DiCaprio or Justin Beiber.

New fans of Jennifer E. Smith will really enjoy this one. I’ve read another one of her books and while I liked it, I wasn’t in love. This one totally got me though and now I’m going to go back and read all of Smith’s work.