This is What Happy Looks Like Mini Book Review
This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith mini book review and recommendation with NO SPOILERS
Date: 9-30-25 Post Written By: MK Overall Rating: 7.3/10
Book Cover Rating: 5.3/10
(My personal opinion)
Title: This is What Happy Looks Like
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
Pages: 404
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance
Romance Level: 2/3 (no spice, but prominent part of plot)
Series: This is What Happy Looks Like #1
Publisher: Headline
First Published: 2013
Goodreads Rating: 3.67/5
Amazon Rating: 4.1/5
Movie/TV Show?? : MAYBE soon…..
Book Type: Standard
Hook: Ellie has always loved her small-town life. She was born into a messy scandal in D.C., but after only a few years she and her mom moved to rural, northern Maine. The purpose of this move: avoid the press, scandals, and more publicity.
Meanwhile, Graham Larkin is doing just the opposite. After playing the key role in a play, he starts getting offers and becoming famous. He has been in a number of movies and now every teenage girl in the country is thinking about him.
While they might seem like opposites, a stray email with a mistyped address connects them. Only a few months later, the location for Graham’s newest movie to be shot gets canceled. He doesn’t have too high of expectations when he suggests Ellie’s rural town as the perfect make-up location, but after the scouts are sent to check it out, everyone agrees! Graham’s movie is going to Ellie’s town. Little does she know the famous actor who shows up is the very same person she has been emailing for months. Unfortunately for her, he seems like just the type of publicity she and her mom have been avoiding for years.
My Review
Such a sweet, YA, romance book! This book felt SUPER similar to all of the other Jennifer E. Smith books I’ve read. The main characters were super sweet, heartfelt, and compassionate. I loved both Ellie and Graham. They each had really unique upbringings and background stories. Unfortunately, they didn’t go through a ton of growth or development. The way they acted at times also felt just a bit….. flat. They were still emotional, just not QUITE as much as they could have been. However, I did LOVE the setting of this. I loved that it took place in rural, northern Maine. I loved that it is an area I haven’t read too many books about. It was described well, and had great small-town energy. From there, the plot. It was the classic romance plot with not too much extra plot. I liked that there were a few secrets which added to the real plot, but other than those…. the romance was about it. Jennifer E. Smith’s writing was super sweet and made this book easy-going and fun. Finally, I really thought the ending was super sweet and good, but could have been wrapped up just a bit more. If you plan on stopping after this book, then I would have wished for an epilogue. BUT, YAY, there is a NOVELLA!! It takes place a year after This is What Happy Looks Like and also follows Ellie and Graham. Super excited to read it!
Side note: I listened to this as an audiobook and the voice actors were SO GOOD!! Especially Ellie’s voice actress!!
Overall Book Rating: 7.3/10
I would recommend this book
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Or buy on Amazon: This is What Happy Looks Like
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Jennifer currently lives in Los Angeles
She has written two books that have had film adaptations on Netflix
She has written over 12 books in total
For more information, view Jennifer E. Smith’s website: jenniferesmith.com
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