Name: Alex, Approximately
ISBN: 9781481478786

Jenn Bennett

Alex, Approximately

𝒫

“ Sometimes you have to endure painful things to realize that you’re a whole lot stronger than you think.”

Seventeen-year-old Bailey moves to California to live with her father and, perhaps, finally meet an online friend and fellow film buff, but soon finds herself attracted to an annoying co-worker.

Alex, approximately

Ari 💙💛

Sebenarnya, dari blurb yang tertera kita sudah bisa menebak alur ceritanya.
Yang menarik dari buku ini adalah penulis detil menggambarkan setting/latar yang ada.
Kita diajak seakan akan berada di California.
Diajak mengenal film film klasik kesukaan tokoh.

Penggambaran karakternya juga cukup kuat.
Adegan-adegan disini cukup, tidak berlebihan.
Alurnya juga cukup cepat, ini yang membuat buku ini tidak membosankan meski kita dapat menebak jalan ceritanya dengan tepat.

** spoiler alert **
           Sebenarnya, dari blurb yang tertera kita sudah bisa menebak alur ceritanya.
Yang menarik dari buku ini adalah penulis detil menggambarkan setting/latar yang ada.
Kita diajak seakan akan berada di California.
Diajak mengenal film film klasik kesukaan tokoh.

Penggambaran karakternya juga cukup kuat.
Adegan-adegan disini cukup, tidak berlebihan.
Alurnya juga cukup cepat, ini yang membuat buku ini tidak membosankan meski kita dapat menebak jalan ceritanya dengan tepat.

Gosh, what an adorable book.

The story reminds me of me and the boy I liked before. We used to talk about films and shows a lot. It's our common denominator and I was so happy when I'm talking to him just like Bailey here.

The characters are actually a breath fresh of air. They're so cute and embodies typical teenagers which I liked. Porter was a stud and Bailey was such a charming girl and I love them together.

I really really like this one.

lexie

it’s boring. i thought i’ll love it. this might put me in a biggest slump

Denaiir

A nice little YA contemporary, nothing special unfortunately, it didn't hit the mark for me. Very typical of the genre and the characters were quite generic

Even though I would call this a YA novel, I enjoyed how mature and touching the story was. Really liked the story and was surprised by the plot twists. 

Alyssa deRaad

In this delightfully charming teen spin on You’ve Got Mail, the one guy Bailey Rydell can’t stand is actually the boy of her dreams—she just doesn’t know it yet. Classic movie buff Bailey “Mink” Rydell has spent months crushing on a witty film geek she only knows online by “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 arch-nemesis. 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.

alexandra

i binged this in a day and i'm hopelessly, horribly obsessed. i've already reread some of my favorite parts three times and I CAN'T DEAL WITH MY EMOTIONS. this is way too cute. :''')

full review to come!!

Isadora Cal

This book is absolutely predictable. That being said, it’s just one of those cute, light, and funny YA novels that will get your heart a little warmer. I also think it explores “normal adolescence” so well and so realistic. It made me happy.

Andrea

— 3.5/5⭐️
— I love Porter, I need one of those IRL.
— The whole “not realizing who the other one is” till the very end was really frustrating and it’s what made me take away 0.5 from the 4 I was going to give it. Like, I felt like the characters (specially Mink) where so blind for no reason.
— The romance was really cute, though I’m not the biggest fan of YA contemporary since I like my steamy romances. But I think Porter and Rydell where really cute.
— I loved the cinematic references, for personal reasons, it was an aspect I really enjoyed.
— It was a fun ride above all.

celene

almost 4-5 stars but i think there was an ooc moment for the H that kinda threw me off,,, so yeaah anyway aside from that it was a great read

It was a bit slow for me to get into the book. There’s a few times that I was already in the zone but then it perishes. I think I might have to reread this again. Overall, it was such a good book, it kinda reminds me a bit of better than the movies, like just a bit (in the aspects of the classic movie and all)

tiffany 

Bailey "Mink" Rydell has met the boy of her dreams. They share a love of films and talk all day - Alex is perfect. Well, apart from the fact that they've never actually met . . . and neither of them knows the other's real name. When Bailey moves to sunny California to live with her dad, who happens to live in the same town as Alex, she decides to track him down. But finding someone based on online conversations alone proves harder than Bailey thought, and with her irritating but charismatic (and potentially attractive?) colleague Porter Roth distracting her at every turn, will she ever get to meet the mysterious Alex? From the author of Night Owls comes a story of summer, first love and hidden identities . . .

Trish

This was super cute and quick. The non-romance-related drama got a little much at times. I think it could have still been a fun spring/summer beach read without all the extra-tragic back stories and druggie friends with guns stirring things up. I was looking for another rom/com novel like The Hating Game, but this was a little overdramatic and thus fell several marks short.

Can I just say, I didn't have high expectations for this book? 

Yeah that's right. And it ended up being a five star book for me because sometimes I do enjoy healthy banter and not two enemies almost killing each other. 

I love Porter and Bailey. They're so charming and I absolutely enjoyed how they communicated. 

Their flirting was off the charts and honestly speaking, if I met someone like Porter, I'd swoon too. 

The second plot was scary but it was good.

So yeah, I really loved this book and you'll probably catch me re-reading this soon enough lol. 

Keira 💫

Can I just say, I didn't have high expectations for this book? 

Yeah that's right. And it ended up being a five star book for me because sometimes I do enjoy healthy banter and not two enemies almost killing each other. 

I love Porter and Bailey. They're so charming and I absolutely enjoyed how they communicated. 

Their flirting was off the charts and honestly speaking, if I met someone like Porter, I'd swoon too. 

The second plot was scary but it was good.

So yeah, I really loved this book and you'll probably catch me re-reading this soon enough lol. 

— I love Porter, I need one of those IRL.

— The whole “not realizing who the other one is” till the very end was really frustrating and it’s what made me take away 0.5 from the 4 I was going to give it. Like, I felt like the characters (specially Mink) where so blind for no reason.

— The romance was really cute, though I’m not the biggest fan of YA contemporary since I like my steamy romances. But I think Porter and Rydell where really cute.

— I loved the cinematic references, for personal reasons, it was an aspect I really enjoyed.

— It was a fun ride above all. Kinda predictable but liked it nonetheless.

— I love Porter, I need one of those IRL.

— The whole “not realizing who the other one is” till the very end was really frustrating and it’s what made me take away 0.5 from the 4 I was going to give it. Like, I felt like the characters (specially Mink) where so blind for no reason.

— The romance was really cute, though I’m not the biggest fan of YA contemporary since I like my steamy romances. But I think Porter and Rydell where really cute.

— I loved the cinematic references, for personal reasons, it was an aspect I really enjoyed.

— It was a fun ride above all. Kinda predictable but liked it nonetheless.

Ariana Morris

Carolina Mendes

Rebecca Self 

I have mixed feelings about this. It was a great easy to read and cheesy YA romance, but it wasn't really one of my favorites. 

Things I Liked:
1. the online chat with unknown person concept & Bailey trying to figure out who he is
2. Porter's flirty personality
3. Bailey's dad's character and Grace's character
4. I thought Bailey's character was relatable in the way that she generally avoided deeper relationships or conversations
5. the beginning and the end (I thought the end was sweet when she learned the true identity of Alex)

Things I Disliked:
1. Bailey and Porter's relationship was a little cringe to me - it was more cringe than sweet sometimes in the middle of the book
2. how Bailey described the way Porter made her feel (also cringe)
3. it felt like the plot was sort of random things throughout the middle just to have something other than the romance

I think I would have liked it more if we as the reader didn't know who the mysterious Alex was the whole time. It was still a fun read, and I would recommend it to anyone who really likes YA contemporary romance!

Mia Tuccio

jess

I was actually really surprised by how much I enjoyed Alex, Approximately, since I am not typically a romance person, nor am I particularly interested in pretentious film buff things, but ... I really, really enjoyed it. Even though I spent most of the book screaming at Bailey to see what was in front of her. I know it might be unfair of me to be so frustrated by what I knew was dramatic irony, especially when it makes up so much of the book, but I felt like I was speed-reading to just GET TO THE BIG REVEAL, ALREADY. Because I called the reveal from the very moment Porter stepped on page, and it was so glaringly obvious to me as a reader that I fully expected it to come up halfway through the story and we could have a nice happy rest of the summer. But noooooo. 

Otherwise, it was an exceedingly well-written, if somewhat cliche and dramatic, romance. Seriously. This book had guilty pleasure written all over it, because if you're looking for something deep, you won't find it, but it's a cute, fluffy read. And it has the enemies-to-lovers/constant bickering trope, which I am horrendously drawn to whenever it's done well, and this was done well. Their personalities actually fit together and it didn't seem forced. I wish we had gotten more conversations with Alex. I liked both Bailey and Porter as characters and cared about them. Bailey was ADORABLE and she seemed so realistic. I loved Grace so much, she was so cute and caring and her friendship with Bailey was honestly goals and I was kind of hoping she was Alex, even though I knew that would never have happened. 

I do think the plot was a bit melodramatic, especially the whole thing with Davy, but it fit quite well with the book. I loved the setting a lot - a small California seaside town, with surfers and a boardwalk? It was so picturesque and summery and cheesy but I really enjoyed the book as a whole.

This review and more can be found on my blog!

Kelly Cotton

Oh dear, I think I ruined this one for myself. Last May when I picked up this novel, I was super excited to dive in. I usually like to read my books in order of purchase, but last night around midnight I was craving a contemporary and decided to pick up my most anticipated one. 
Everything about this book is just... off. I hated the way the author ruined critical moments with too much dialogue, or how laughable some plot points became. 
Bailey was cool. I think it is completely absurd that she did not tell Alex that she arrived to town, but I guess her fear is justifiable. That is something crazy. How unlikely is it that her dad would just HAPPEN to live in the same town as Alex? 
(view spoiler)[Another thing that bothered me endlessly was the casual references to Bailey's therapist.
 “My old therapist warned me that avoidance is a dysfunctional way to interact with people you care about, but now I’m starting to understand what he meant when he said it could hurt them, too. Maybe it’s time I figure out a better way to deal with my problems. Maybe Artful Dodger isn’t working so well for me anymore."
As the story develops, she does nothing to work on her problem, she just brings it up. Often. (hide spoiler)]

Also, Porter's moodiness... No thanks. 
I will say that the scene (view spoiler)[outside of Bailey's house after Porter brings her home from the bonfire (hide spoiler)] was HOT AS HELL. I highly enjoyed.
But overall, my BIGGEST issue is the synopsis of the novel. Now, why in the world would you tell the reader than Porter is Alex?? Is the mystery of Alex's identity not the entire driving force of the novel? Maybe Bennett realized that her story gave him away too soon, but usually an author would fix that. (view spoiler)[We should not have known that Patrick was not Alex until Bailey found out. (hide spoiler)]
Ugh, I am very frustrated.

Megan 

So so so cheesy but I ate it up like an extra cheesy cheese pizza

Alex, Approximately

Reviews

Highlights