The Geography Of You and Me by Jennifer E Smith

The Geography Of You and Me by Jennifer E Smith

Release Date - April 15, 2014
Publisher Website - Hachette/Little Brown
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 352 pages
My Rating - 4/5
**received in exchange for an honest review from the publisher**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the tenth and eleventh floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they're rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father.

Lucy and Owen's relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and -- finally -- a reunion in the city where they first met.

A carefully charted map of a long-distance relationship, Jennifer E. Smith's new novel shows that the center of the world isn't necessarily a place. It can be a person, too.

A life changing night. That is what happens when Lucy and Owen get trapped in an elevator together during a blackout. Something shifts in them and leaves them permanently linked. Jennifer E Smith takes what could be an outlandish, contrived plot and makes it seem not only plausible, but incredibly romantic.

There is something comforting about getting exactly what you expect out of a book. The Geography Of You and Me delivered exactly what it promises to and more. It's got the humour, heart, and beach weather appeal of Jennifer's previous novels so fans of those will devour this one. Her characterization and her ability to make you root for them is what makes her novels appeal to me, and this one was no exception.

Jennifer manages to give both Lucy and Owen their own story lines that exist outside of one another. They are each dealing with issues that send them spiraling in opposite directions. As life throws obstacles at them, Lucy and Owen struggle to remain in touch. Twists of fate, determination, and luck all weave together to create a story of how two people can come together. It's more than that, however.  It also tells the story of how they keep coming together, despite everything.

Lucy and Owen's interactions are what make the story come to life. We see them grow closer each time chance brings them together. Their situation is treated realistically, I felt, even while being adorably sweet and of the romantic comedy variety. It was refreshing to see both of them question WHY they couldn't let that one night go. They questioned what kept drawing them back. They don't claim to be in love, they just know their connection is undeniable. It's a force. Isn't that what attraction is? A force greater than yourself pulling/pushing you towards someone. It felt authentic without resorting to the insta-love that usually plagues these types of novels.

I always get wanderlust when reading books set in Europe. They make me want to go back. Sometimes it's bad, but in this case it was more of a nostalgic feeling. It was the road trip Owen is on that captured my attention. Something within his story resonated with me. I do believer that readers will, in general, have a strong urge to travel after finishing this one though. The setting, locations (even New York) shine as a backdrop to this international love story.

A cute story that left me wishing I had someone of my own to send postcards to. A sweet, charming novel that left me smiling as I turned the last page. Fans old and new will find much to enjoy about this heartwarming read.