RATING: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
Published: April 04, 2017
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Format: e-Book
Pages: 391
“We all know one another on the inside. It’s what’s on the outside that distracts.”
SYNOPSIS:
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.
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.
THOUGHTS:
Books with the same storyline as You’ve Got Mail has been my favorite thing lately; so the moment that I heard about this book’s synopsis, I immediately downloaded it on my Kindle and read it.
Other than the similarity of the plot of this book to You’ve Got Mail, it is a coming of age story following Bailey – an artful dodger – who came to California to live with her dad and look for her online friend Alex. The story is not all about romance but there are also friends and family relationships. If you like an enemy-to-lovers type of romance, this book is for you. And if you also like classic movies, you would probably relate to the references here because Bailey is a classic movie geek.
Bailey and Porter’s relationship is a slow burn but you can see their chemistry. I love their banters and I found myself looking forward to those scenes. I also like Bailey’s relationship with Gracie and her co-worker Mr. Pangborn. Plus, the family dynamic in this story, not just about Bailey’s but the other characters as well, is so heartwarming. Also, Bailey’s character development with the help of the people around her is enjoyable to read.
However, I feel like there are too many filler scenes that drag the story and made it longer than it should have. Also, Alex and Minks’ relationship is only seen in the first half of the book. And to be honest, if I were to base my assumption with regards to the level of their relationship to those conversations, I wouldn’t think that they have a deep connection. It just felt like two people with something in common conversing.
But all in all, this was a very fun and enjoyable read. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would that’s probably why I gave this a 4-moon rating even though I was a little disappointed with the lack of online conversation. Yet it has everything that you wanted and more. It is funny, sad, exciting and of course, the romance is swoon-worthy. A perfect summer read. Highly recommend.
That is all for this review. Do recommend a book if you know something with the same plot as You’ve Got Mail.
Until next time!
Maria❤
A Daughter of Parchment and Paper 
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