Review: Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

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 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.

-- Goodreads.com description --

This book is so adorable! All I needed to know was that this is a You've Got Mail retelling and I immediately added it to my TBR. Then I found out that the main character is into watching old classic Hollywood movies and I just had the buy the e-book and read it straightaway. 

I love watching those classic Hollywood movies and to be honest, one of my favourite films is The Shop Around the Corner, which was the original You've Got Mail. James Stewart is also one of my favourite actors, as I love him in The Shop Around the Corner, Harvey, The Philadelphia Story and many more. And anyone looking at my Goodreads.com profile picture knows I'm obsessed with Audrey Hepburn. I even have her poster up on my wall! So I was definitely intrigued by the many movie references made in this book.

To say this book was the perfect match for me is not an exaggeration. The characters are interesting, relatable, cute and funny. I believe the blurb says it all, so that's why I'm not going to go more into detail. Just believe me, if you are looking for an adorable young adult contemporary based with a lot of references to movies, just give this one a try. You won't be disappointed.

Alex, Approximately is the perfect Spring/Summer read! I gave it 5 out of 5 stars! That said, I now really want to go watch North by Northwest, so I'm not going to stretch this much longer.

Have you read this book or are you planning to? Leave your thoughts down below! Which are your favourite classic Hollywood movies? If you other cute romance stories with references to movies, please leave some recommendations down below!