Review: Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
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 a 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.
REVIEW:
*Book Received in Exchange for Honest Opinion/Review*
Okay, this book has been sitting on my shelf for a while now. After reading the synopsis, I knew how the book was going to play out, before even diving in. This was also followed by so much hype from my reader friends that I was actually nervous to start the book and kept putting it off. I was worried it wouldn’t live up to the hype and I would be disappointed. I was pleasantly surprised because this book is stupidly adorable and I couldn’t put it down. I devoured this story and blissfully skipped over to Amazon to pick up more of Jenn’s books.
Seriously, look up cute in the dictionary and the cover of this book is there with the definition. I couldn’t deal with the overload of charm in this book, it was positively enchanting and I was hooked. Bailey is delightful, from her shy demeanor to her retro style, I couldn’t help but fall head over heels for her. She really evolved over the course of the story, and while it is easy to drown characters in teenage drama, Bailey was a perfect balance of drama and struggle who really blossomed into a confident, poised young lady. Her relationship with her dad had me smiling and I think most will agree, their nerdy banter is endearing.
Porter was the perfect balance for Bailey and they clashed into witty, giggle-worthy banter. I was giggling so much, my boyfriend in the other room jokingly yelled at me to stop having so much fun. I just couldn’t contain the smile on my face. Porter was gorgeous, cocky, silly, and hilarious. Sigh, he was just all the heart-eyes, where was Porter when I was in high-school?! Porter and Bailey have the perfect type of relationship, where they build each other up and make each other better. Honestly, I was swooning hard after their first date, and at that point I knew I was a goner. Because Jenn has crafted characters who make each other shine and bring each other up, even while facing their own demons.
The book is filled with heavy topics, and tense moments but these are deftly balanced with light-hearted moments and wonderful secondary characters. There is enough background on the secondary characters for me to fall in love, but not enough that they take away from Bailey and Porter. I was cheering and giggling the whole way for their happily ever after. It has been a while since I have been so enamored by characters but these two seemed to have captured my heart.
LINKS:
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble
