Craves The Angst: NEW REVIEW! ALEX, APPROXIMATELY gets 5 stars!

"This was a wonderful read, from beginning to end and I absolutely loved it."

- Craves the Angst

TITLE: Alex, Approximately
SERIES: Standalone
AUTHOR: Jenn Bennett
AGE GROUP: Young Adult
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
RELEASE DATE: April 7, 2017
PUBLISHER: Simon Pulse
PAGES: Approx. 388

COPY PROVIDED BY: Purchased
MY GOODREADS REVIEW LINK
RATING: 5 Stars!
CLIFFHANGER: No

BOOK BLURB:

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 a 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.

5 Stars!

This was a wonderful read, from beginning to end and I absolutely loved it.

Both mains have tragedy in their pasts.

Porter Roth is a grade-A arsehole ... with a sweet side you can’t help but fall in love with. He takes care of his family. He’s a true-blue hero. And though he acts tough, he’s vulnerable in ways that make him relatable. He was written so well and I was instantly drawn to him. His tragedy makes him hard around the edges and wary of lies and secrets.

Bailey Rydell is a shy introvert who doesn’t think she can handle much more in her complicated life, but she’s about to find out how strong her backbone really is. She was so easy to connect with and I loved everything about her. Her tragedy makes it hard for her to fully trust or meet new people, which causes her to keep secrets and test situations before jumping in all the way.

Alex and Mink met online and through the love of old films, found a bond that kept them both going when things got tough. But they agreed in the beginning never to exchange any real information about one another, which causes some light angsts and mistrust down the line.

You know this story. It’s been played out a thousand times in literature and in the movies. But in this book, you also get light-hearted banter with fun, sassy dialogue. Some well written angsty moments and smart, witty writing. Like I said, you know this story. It was completely predictable. But knowing what was to come did not, in any way, take away from the great story that had tons of heart, easy to love characters who had a bit of edge to make them stand out and outstanding BnW movie references and imaginative, atmospheric scenes that sucked me right in. It all adds up to a uniqueness that made the entire read unputdownable.

I need a bookshelf full of books just like this one. It left me smiling and completely satisfied yet craving more of the same! This was my first book by this author but it’s certainly won’t be my last.