The synopsis and cover of Amy & Zack didn't blow me away and I was not very sure how I was going to like this read. In the spirit of "don't judge a book by its cover", I decided to give it a shot and it took me somewhere quite unexpected.Amy & Zach is told in dual point of view and is written almost like a diary or journal. Smith does a smooth job of switching from Amy's POV to Zach's, they don't overlap, just move seamlessly moving the story along at a good pace.It starts off with Amy traveling back to London for her sisters wedding. Amy has been gone for a year, living in Boston, finding herself, finding love. Zach shows up in London in a big and unexpected way and we flash back a year.The story takes us through Zach and Amy meeting, falling in love and making a life together. It's fast, it's deep and it is the kind of exciting love that you dream of as a kid. Well, if you're a girl...maybe boys don't dream of that sort of thing. It's sweet and real but there is something in Zach's life that he hasn't shared with Amy and it can destroy everything they've found in each other.Amy is a pretty insecure and screwed up chick. Not in the sense that she acts out, gets wasted and sleeps around. More that she has some fairly deep seeded family issues, she's jealous of her sister and constantly analyzes her relationship with her mother. Plus, she never knew her real father. Part of her reason for moving to Boston was to find him but she can't bring herself to actually contact him. It's hard to like Amy at times. There are moments of total immaturity and selfishness but then there are sweet tender moments when you are able to see her for who she really wants to be. It makes her a very real character. Not perfect, just normal.Zach is the same. He's sweet, caring, impetuous and adorable. Yet he has a bombshell of a secret that is nearly unforgivable. And when it all blows up, Amy will make some of her own monumental mistakes.Amy & Zach is a story of real world people who screw up and hurt each other, even when they have the best intentions. Smith masterfully weaves a tale of complex situations for this couple and their families, it's an addictive tale and I could not help but to root for them all to come out the other side of this real life love story better and happier people.
