Review-This Is What Happy Looks Like

I've had Smith's second novel, The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, since it came out but I hadn't gotten around to reading it, but when I heard about this book I knew I had to get it.  I went to one of my local bookstores last weekend and saw it on the shelf, so while I was waiting I decided to start it.  I ended up about 80 pages in by the time I had to go, so I decided that I needed to buy it so I could finish it.  By the time I went to bed I had read about 100 more pages, give or take, and despite the large pile of ARCs I have that need to be read I chose to finish up this book.  You may not know this, but along with horror movies I love a good romance novel (is that weird? I think that's kinda weird), so this sounded like it was right up my ally.  And besides, what's better than a love story that starts on accident over the Internet in this day and age?  To answer that question, pretty much nothing.  I could RELATE to this novel.  No, I don't live in the middle-of-nowhere-Maine, and I'm not a teen movie star that lives in LA but that connection you can have with someone that's too far away to reach you but is your same age, I know about that.  That's basically the Internet.  There's just something so amazing about how you can get to know someone across the country, or the world, better than you can know the person sitting next to you in one of your classes (if it's a good thing or not is debatable).  This book really takes that idea, adds that whirlwind romance, and a secret or two, then mixes it all up.  Bake at 210 degrees for 45 minutes and you have a fluffy romance novel that makes you feel all smiley.  The one thing that I was slightly disappointed with was the fact that it wasn't entirely wrapped up, but then again, LIFE isn't really ever wrapped up until you die, so that makes a lot of sense (that doesn't make it any less grrr-inducing though).  I have no doubt that fans of Stephanie Perkins will enjoy this novel, and I now know that I need to look into reading Smith's other novels sooner rather than later.

4.5/5 dust spirits