Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
Plot Summary of Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
Classic movie buff Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online by “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 arch-nemesis.
But life is 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 of Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
I liked it a lot, with one exception. But first let's focus on what I loved. Jenn Bennett has a gift for creating appealing, quirky characters and settings.
What I didn't love as much was the whole "You've Got Mail" set-up.
In any case, that small negative was far outweighed by all the amazing positives about this book. Definitely put it on your TBR if you're a fan of contemporary YA romances!
I'm not a huge fan of mistaken/hidden identity tropes in general, and I think it's even harder to pull off with modern technology. I went into this knowing I was going to ignore all that lol
ReplyDeleteAnd I felt like that was the least important part of the story once it got rolling.
*POSSIBLE SPOILERS*
I had issues with Porter's friend and how that all played out. It felt forced just to confront Bailey's issues. What did you think about all of that?
I loved it though!
For What It's Worth
Yes - I agree with you. Didn't say that in my review because I didn't want to dwell too much on the negatives when I DID really like this. I thought there was too much dramatic backstory for both Porter and Bailey (including Porter's friend). It felt like everyone had some past trauma and I thought it was at odds with the cute, rom-com tone of the book.
DeleteOhh I'm going to keep your points in mind when I read this one. See if it'll bother me too. Thanks for sharing Jen!
ReplyDeleteI seem to be the only one who felt this way. I'm sure you'll love it!
DeleteI am super excited for this since I loved her last book. All the things you loved I know I would love. The you got mail set up was what really excited me about this so I will have to see if it bothers me. Great review!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see what you think!
DeleteGreat review! I agree with you re: the secret keeping. Although that didn't bother me as much as Porter rolling with the secret even after he found out. That felt like such a bad and double standard to me! Super cute setting though!
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's the inevitable weirdness that results from this set-up. Agree with you on the setting - it was fantastic!
DeleteI loved it! This book was so fun. Loved the hero. Loved the heroine. Loved the movie quotes. There were all these positive adults and it was sex positive to boot. The romance was adorbs, and it was exactly what I wanted when I read it.
ReplyDeleteSam @ WLABB
Glad you saw only the positive :)
DeleteYassss! I think I'm fine with the whole prolonged secret-keeping in this book. As you said, there was far more awesomeness to be had. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, normally a lot of secret keeping drives me nuts. But overall the book was worth it.
DeleteOH I did like Jenn Bennett's first book too!! I actually didn't even realise she had another one coming out. Fail to me haha. 😜 I definitely want to try it out at some point! I'm glad it was a pretty solid success for you.🎉
ReplyDeleteOkay, will be checking to see your thoughts!
DeleteI'm hoping to read this really soon! I'm happy to hear that was a lot to love even with the secret keeping.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's never my favorite. But I guess necessary in this kind of plot.
DeleteSo glad to see you enjoyed this one, Jen (with the one exception). I have been pretty excited for this one. I was at my local Barnes & Noble on Sunday and they had it shelved early and... I didn't get it. I don't know what was wrong with me. LOL
ReplyDeleteTanya @ Girl Plus Books
??????
DeleteI'm still planning on reading it, but I'm sure the plausibility will bug me a little too since I like things to make sense. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteGlad I'm not the only nitpicker out there!
DeleteIt was weird how she just kind of forgot about the You've Got Mail premise as soon as Porter came into the picture-- by the time the author went back to the Alex online storyline, I was like ??? I basically forgot that was even part of the book anymore. I feel like Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks were a lot better connected in their emails than Alex and Mink were in their blah messages.
ReplyDeleteBut I liked the book-- I just didn't love it. Glad you were feeling it. And I totally agree about the town and the museum!! Best parts of the whole book!
YES -- I felt the same. I didn't want her to think she was in love with two guys, but also I was SO disappointed that she ditched her online OTP so quickly. I definitely liked ASoaH better than this.
DeleteI really loved Bennett's other novel, so I am just like you were - super excited to read this one and see if her next book still manages to line up! I don't know if the secret aspect of things will bother me or not... I haven't read too many novels like that before, so I don't really have anything to compare it to :/
ReplyDeleteLook forward to seeing what you think!
DeleteI've really been looking forward to reading this. I love YA contemporaries, and this sounds perfect for me.
ReplyDelete