[Review] Jenn Bennett - Alex, Approximately

Before I start the review, I just want to say two things. Firstly, I decided to translate my reviews from Polish to English, because it's something I hope I'm going to do in the future. But there probably are some mistakes, because I'm not a native speaker and I'm still learning. I hope you understand :)
Secondly, I wanted to wish you all Merry Christmas. Spend it with your loved ones, with your family and friends and have a great time. I hope none of you will feel lonely during this time.

__________________

Title: Alex, Approximately

Author: Jenn Bennett

Release date (in Poland): 2017-11-14

Pages: 336

Polish title: Mój Alex

I know Jenn Bennett from „The Anatomical Shape of a Heart”, which I’ve fallen in love with long time ago. I was completely infatuated with Bex and Josh’s story (amazing romance and characters who are artists? Count me in!) and I knew I was going to read another great book coming from her. And she didn’t disappoint me.

Bailey is a huge classic movie fan and loves dressing up as Lana Turner. She meets Alex, a boy who is as obsessed with classic movies as much as she is, on the Internet. Bailey, who has a crush on him, talks with him everyday. They live on two different sides of the continent, until Bailey moves in with her dad – who lives in the same city as Alex. Bailey, in doubt if she can trust him, doesn’t tell anything about living in his home town and decides to look for him first. She starts working in a local museum and her co-worker happens to be an arrogant, mischievous, but really hot, Porter Roth. Everything complicates, when she discovers how quickly her hate transforms into something different, and she has to make a decision whether she still wants to look for her Internet crush or she wants to fight for a guy who drives her crazy and at the same time, makes her week at the knees.

At the beginning, when I started to read the book, I was afraid I would have to deal with a love triangle – and that’s something that I really hate in romance novels and makes me really irritated. But I quickly found out nothing like this was going to happen and I could breath a sigh of relief. Let’s begin with the fact that I haven’t laughed so much in a really long time as I did while reading this book. Porter and Bailey’s banters and arguments made me laugh so badly I cried (but there were also some unpleasant ones and that’s when I wanted to stick something in Porter’s eye). Even though they both thought that they had many differences, turns out, they actually had more in common than they would’ve imagined. And there was also the fact they felt really attracted to each other.

Bailey, I've been yours. I've just been waiting for you to make up your mind.

At first, Porter seemed to be an arrogant, mischievous, cheeky asshole, who embarassed Bailey when they first met. But it turns out, there’s a great guy under the mask – he’s loyal and real. I loved both of his sides – the arrogant Porter made me laugh with his commentary and the cute Porter made me emotional and I really wanted to stole him from Bailey. Where can I find a guy like him? Bailey on the other hand is somewhat like me. She has some trust isses because of something that happened in her past. She avoids people, tries not to stand out and she prefers to be alone rather than with others. I love that you could feel the tension between these two, when they were in one room together. They both drive each other crazy yet they can’t stop thinking about one another. I also love how shameless Porter is, it made the book even funnier. Jenn Bennett did a good job creating these characters. Bailey has flaws, she makes mistakes but always learns from them and apologizes, she’s real through the whole book. And Porter and his confident, flirtatious self and at the same time his devotion to family and how much he cares about Bailey… you just can’t not love him.

“You belong here with me.”
And for that moment, I believe that I do.

I think that the mystery of who is Alex was actually said in description of the book, but I don’t wanna spoil it for you. I skipped the book to the end (bad habit) and I found out before I even started reading, and I actually regret it a little. I think that you should make your own investigation, while Bailey is doing her own and you won’t be disappointed.

“He looks toward the ocean, dark purple with the last rays of light. "My mom says we're all connected--people and plants and animals. We all know one another on the inside. It's what's on the outside that distracts. Our clothes, our words, our actions. Shark attacks. Gunshots. We spend our lives trying to find other people. Sometimes we get confused and turned around by the distractions." He smiles at me. "But we didn't.” 

You may think that if it’s a contemporary romance book, it won’t touch any heavy subjects. And yet, the author writes about the hard stuff, like drugs, violence, sex and traumatic experiences. She does a great job introducing it to the plot, she doesn’t overwhelm the reader, she just gives a glance into characters’ story, even the supporting ones. She created a lovely story with darker elements, which only made it better.

“And not after, when we’re clinging to each other like the world just fell apart and is slowly clicking back together, piece by piece, breath by breath . . . heartbeat by beautiful heartbeat.” 

The book is so addicting I was reading it until late at night and I finished it at school, because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. You read it in no time and the reader feels the excitement and interest all the time – that’s the type of books I’m living for. There wasn’t a moment I felt bored and that’s a huge accomplishment. I’m for sure going to read it again someday. If you’re thinking whether you should read it, just do it. You won’t regret it. 

WYŚWIETL POLSKĄ WERSJĘ