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Review
Ya Like Films? (And Beaches? And The Enemies Turned Lovers Trope?) // Thoughts on Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
4/16/2017Alex, Approximately
Author: Jenn Bennett
Release Date: April 4th 2017
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Format: eARC
Rating:
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 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.
Goodreads
If it's anything I love reading, it's a great cute contemporary. I don't know, there is just something so great about contemporary novels and it's even better when they're hella cute. I most definitely turned to Alex, Approximately for a cute summer read and the story definitely delivered. The plot is super addicting to read about and the characters are so enjoyable. I loved reading about the whole "Porter is Alex" part of this book and the whole book sends such great summer vibes. (Especially considering it's not summer vacation. *tear*) If you're looking for a super cute summer read, Alex, Approximately is most definitely one of them.
The first thing that I really want to get out of the way before talking about this book is the fact that the synopsis for this book kinda sucks. I think they summarize the premise of the book really well but all that is ruined because they reveal the big plot twist-like thing at the end of the synopsis. Okay, I admit, the whole Porter is Alex thing is one of the reasons I wanted to read this book but I think there is a way to get readers to read this book without revealing the whole ending. I don't know, it may be different for everyone but personally, I think I would have enjoyed the big reveal of this book if I hadn't previously known who Alex was.
I really loved the premise of this book though, regardless of being spoiled about it. Bailey is looking for her internet friend in his hometown but he doesn't know she's there. On top of that she meets another boy at work whom she totally despises. This story could have taken places anywhere and I'm pretty sure I would have still read it. The beachy summer vibes only added onto the super interesting premise!
Other than the synopsis and one little other thing (that I will talk about later) I generally really enjoyed this book, one of them being the romance between Porter and Bailey. The whole "enemies turned lovers" thing is a trope I really enjoy reading about and Bennett did a great job with it. I loved reading about Porter and Bailey's little adventures and the whole journey of going from enemies to friends and then to being in a relationship.
The other tiny issue I had with this book was that sometimes, the lines in this book got kind of cheesy. Of course, this is totally just a me issue and probably isn't an issue to others. I don't know, just some lines that were written were totally cheesy and corny to me. Regardless though, I really enjoyed this book. So, if you're looking for a super cute read, I would definitely point you towards Alex, Approximately!
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