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A review by steph01924
Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
5.0
4.5 stars. The banter at the start of Porter and Bailey's relationship that got them both so mad at each other wasn't quite as cutting as it seemed it should've been to warrant the "arch nemesis" status Bailey initially ascribes to Porter. But the way their relationship progressed once the story got past that point was wonderfully well-written and felt sweet and realistic, so I'll give that a pass.
This was different than many recent You've Got Mail retellings, in that the focus really wasn't on the online personas...for a while I actually forgot that was even part of the story, until it came back in the last third of the book. Not the most seamless integration of the trope, but what was happening in the rest of Coronado Cove was so cute that I didn't even care.
Bailey and Porter were both great characters. I could relate a lot to Bailey at times, and Porter is the kind of boy you wanted to date in high school. He reminded me of my husband at that age at times, and some of their relationship of ours when we were teenagers, so that may have also made this extra endearing to me. (But even if your experiences do not have anything to do with theirs, you will still love this book if you have a heart.)
Also loved the shout-out to Settlers of Catan! I know the game is objective popular but I rarely know anyone outside of my friend group that knows it. Bailey's dad texting her that he loves her more than sheep was super adorable.
This is definitely a great summer read because it's going to make you want to head out to the beach and wish you had summers off again.
This was different than many recent You've Got Mail retellings, in that the focus really wasn't on the online personas...for a while I actually forgot that was even part of the story, until it came back in the last third of the book. Not the most seamless integration of the trope, but what was happening in the rest of Coronado Cove was so cute that I didn't even care.
Bailey and Porter were both great characters. I could relate a lot to Bailey at times, and Porter is the kind of boy you wanted to date in high school. He reminded me of my husband at that age at times, and some of their relationship of ours when we were teenagers, so that may have also made this extra endearing to me. (But even if your experiences do not have anything to do with theirs, you will still love this book if you have a heart.)
Also loved the shout-out to Settlers of Catan! I know the game is objective popular but I rarely know anyone outside of my friend group that knows it. Bailey's dad texting her that he loves her more than sheep was super adorable.
This is definitely a great summer read because it's going to make you want to head out to the beach and wish you had summers off again.