Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Apr 2017
400 pages
Genre: Romance
Publication Information
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.
"Starred Review. An irresistible tribute to classic screwball-comedy romances that captures the "delicious whirling, twirling, buzzing" of falling in love." - Kirkus
"Starred Review. There are a lot of different, sometimes dramatic threads here, but the plot never feels overcrowded. Movie quotes kick off each chapter, and the California backdrop is an ideal setting for this uncommonly nuanced summer romance." - Booklist
"Although the climax is forced and predictable, the protagonists' backstories shed light on their respective anxieties, adding depth to their conflicts." - Publishers Weekly
"This contemporary romance is recommended for film buffs who appreciate witty repartee and a touch of the nostalgic. A strong addition to romance collections." - School Library Journal
This information about Alex, Approximately was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Jenn Bennett is an artist and RITA-nominated author of the Arcadia Bell urban fantasy series and the Roaring Twenties romance series, including Bitter Spirits, which was chosen as one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2014 and winner of RT Reviewers' Choice Paranormal Romance Book of the Year, and Grave Phantoms - which was awarded RT's May Seal of Excellence for 2015. The Anatomical Shape of a Heart, (a.k.a. Night Owls in the UK) is her first YA contemporary romance. She lives near Atlanta with one husband and two evil pugs.
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