REVIEW: This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

Title/Series: This Is What Happy Looks Like
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Publisher: Poppy
Published: April 2nd 2013
Format: Hardcover | Pages: 416
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Source: Purchased B&N
★★★★★ (5/5) Stars!!

Jennifer E. Smith | Twitter | Goodreads

If fate sent you an email, would you answer?

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds. 

Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs?

This was definitely a much needed read for me. It was sweet and a quick read. I felt myself having a hard time putting it down to do, you know those every day life things that we need to do like eat and sleep and...well you get the idea.

I fell in love with the blurb a while ago and couldn't wait to get my hands on it. Once it arrived this week, I dropped everything I had lined up to read and dove right in. I was a bit nervous that it wouldn't live up to my high expectations I already had for it. And I'll say that except for maybe just a slight disappointment in the ending, it was happy it just wasn't my dream HEA (Happily Ever After for those not familiar :D), but nonetheless I fell in love with this book.

The characters of Ellie and Graham were both such a pleasure to read. Ellie is the sweet small town girl with dreams and goals..and a small secret. And she's the perfect love interest for Graham. She's not caught up in the glitz and glam of his celebrity like most girls her age would be, she hadn't even seen any of his movies, which added to the cuteness of them. And then Graham himself he wasn't written like you would expect most teenage "heart throb" types to be. He was pretty grounded and had a good head on his shoulders, but sort of stuck between two worlds. One in which he loved his job and what he did...but the recognition and paparazzi were getting to him. And even though he's surrounded by all these people he felt totally alone. They are both such likeable characters!

I loved how the author all throughout the book would put pieces of their back and forth emails. Starting from the first mistaken one and then as it progressed we get to see a line, maybe two here and there. It was completely adorable and added some fun to the story.

Like I said it wasn't my ideal HEA. But it's one that I can accept and be okay with. I am so glad I found this book and now was finally able to read it. It was my first book by Jennifer E. Smith and now that I've connected her with The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight I am going to go order it after I finish this review. I've passed that one by many times in the past and am now kicking myself! This book has granted Jennifer E. Smith a nice cushy seat on my auto buy list. I can't wait to read more of her work!!