My Thoughts: This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer A. Smtih

4 chewy, fudgy brownies.

Cover Love:
I love yellow.  And when I was carrying this book around one of my friend's grabbed it and said, "I love this font!"  So this cover is a winner!

Why I Wanted to Read This:
I adored The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by this same author.  I felt she did such a good job of writing a friendship between the main characters. I was very excited to see another book by this author. And the synopsis made me even more excited! Here it is from 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? 

Romance?: Yes! It is a great little romance.

My Thoughts:
I am glad when I read a contemporary romance and don't dislike the main characters too much.  I think Ellie was a little hasty in shutting down the relationship before it got off the ground too much, but I think that for most normal girls, life in the spotlight would be a little hard to take.  She also did come with some baggage of her own.

I liked that twist (about her baggage) because I immediately thought witness protection.  That would have been interesting, but this was even more so.  However, I didn't like the way Ellie's mom acted about the whole situation.  She redeemed herself at the end, but should have been way more honest with Ellie all along.

Many of the reviews online expressed concerns about young girls answering emails from strangers, but I think most readers can separate fact from fiction.  Also, how many emails do you get that are from strangers (besides the ones in your junk folder).  I would've been a little panicked if the guy I was chatting with online came to meet me in person without setting it up ahead of time.  However, I could see that Graham would've wanted to scope out the situation first.

He was such a lonely guy!  Becoming a star so quickly alienated him from everything normal in his life.  I could understand his desire to find this person he was able to connect with so easily online.

I liked the ending a lot.  It just seemed right for this story.

To Sum Up:  Another darling romance with likeable characters who become good friends as well as starting a relationship.

Book requested and received from Little Brown.  Thanks Zoe!