Name: The Meeting Point
ISBN: 9781838933197

Olivia Lara

What if the Lift driver who finds your cheating boyfriend's phone holds the directions to true love? A romantic comedy.

The romcom you won't want to miss this summer!

The Meeting Point

Jennifer mitchell

Thank you to Netgalley and Aria for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This book was a really cute, quick read but was so extremely predictable that it made me want to scream at times. It also somehow managed to be both insta-lovey and super slow burn at the same time. 

What I didn't like:
-THE PREDICTABILITY. Can you even consider something a plot twist if it's completely obvious from the very beginning of the book? Granted, I still liked the "twist" and thought it was really cute, but there was a huge gap between what the reader knew and what the characters knew which made this a frustrating read at times. I rolled my eyes so hard at certain points in this book I was scared they would get stuck in the back of my head. Maya was just so dense and oblivious throughout the entire book and I wanted to scream at her to open her eyes.
-Pacing at the beginning of the book was odd and threw me off a little. I ended up enjoying the story a lot more towards the end, but at first I was really confused.
-Small, unnecessary details thrown in throughout the book that made it more confusing to the reader and took away from the overall story. This pairs with my previous point, but at the very beginning a co-worker character is introduced, and I thought that was going to be the main male character (went into the book blind). Turns out, he was completely irrelevant to the story. There were quite a few characters/moments like that one where I feel like the story would have flowed better if they were removed.

What I liked:
-The chemistry between Maya and Ethan was really well written. I was rooting for them the whole time and read the book pretty quickly because I wanted to see them get their HEA.
-The initial text exchanges. While I normally hate insta-love stories (and I still didn't love that aspect), I thought the texts were really cute and well placed and it was a fun plot to follow.
-The setting of the book was beautifully described and really great to read about.

Overall:
I went back and forth between rating this 3 or 4 stars while reading this book. I'm sticking with a 3 rating simply because the predictability and denseness of the characters were super frustrating to me. But I really did enjoy the story and it was a super quick read, which I always enjoy. I would recommend to anyone looking for a simple, lighthearted romance.

What if the Lift driver who finds your cheating boyfriend's phone holds the directions to true love? 'Who are you and why do you have my boyfriend's phone?' 'He left it in my car. You must be the blonde in the red dress? I'm the Lift driver who dropped you two off earlier.' And with these words, the life of the brunette and t-shirt wearing Maya Maas is turned upside down. Having planned to surprise her boyfriend, she finds herself single and stranded in an unknown city on her birthday. So when the mystery driver rescues Maya with the suggestion that she cheers herself up at a nearby beach town, she jumps at the chance to get things back on track. She wasn't expecting a personalised itinerary or the easy companionship that comes from opening up to a stranger via text, let alone the possibility it might grow into something more... Come on this 5* journey to love, laughter and back again, perfect for fans of Mhairi Mcfarlane, Josie Silver and Sally Thorne.

arwa 

This book was filled with heartfelt and funny moments, it was such a cute and fun read. I loved Maya's character and how she dealt with everything!

Sarah Crouse

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review! 

A cute, basic read. 

I really liked this book! It's not my favorite I've ever read, but the first half was cute. 

I think that if the book stayed cute, I would have felt differently about it. However, after Maya starts to try to track down the Lift driver she had been texting. It was uncomfortable at times, which is only unfortunate because I loved the beginning so much. 

That being said, I still loved it and recommend it. It has all the small-town feels.

Preye

The meet-cute was everything, but the execution—pacing, dialogue, characters, plot sequence—was a bit off. Lots of exclamation points, run-on sentences, and pages upon pages of internal monologue. That's not to even talk about the scenes when absolutely nothing was happening. 

The drama in this book is DRAMA. First the insane meet-cute, then the female protagonist's over-reaction to every single thing. So much was happening and nothing was happening at the same time. The female protagonist, Maya, was juvenile and so distrusting of everything, it was quite annoying to read. 

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Here's where I obsess over fictional characters and talk about books, movies, and music nonstop: https://litdarlings.com/

Beth Livingston

I would like to thank NetGalley for an eARC of this book. I enjoyed reading this novel. The main character Maya is down on her luck. She just lost her job and for her birthday she wants to surprise her boyfriend in California. When she lands she is in for a surprise herself. This is where the adventure of her life begins. This love story is so memorable. Maya did get on my nerves somewhat with her tendencies to overthink and also just jump into situations but overall it was a good book. I'm giving this a 3 out of 5 stars. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Jelke Lenaerts

I received a galley of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 


This book took me a bit by surprise in a very good way. When I first started this book I had an expectation of how this book was going to go and then it did something different and better. I really liked this book and once I properly got into it I just couldn't let this book go at all. I absolutely flew through it. I really liked the main character and all of the side characters. I felt really invested in this romance and I quite liked the small town setting. Even though I really loved this book while reading it I do have some problems with it upon finishing. I felt like there were some threads introduced in this book that I felt like weren't wrapped up properly and I just wish we could have gotten more from. I also think the actual ending was a bit quick and abrupt and I would have liked it a bit more if there were just a couple more pages to be able to sit with it a bit more I guess. I also think this book could have benefited from the inclusion of the love interest's POV. I don't know why. I honestly almost never say this but I just felt like that was missing from this book. I still highly recommend this book though because it has a really good romance at the centre of it with some really fun characters.

Kerri McDonald

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Let me start this off by saying, my goodness, did this give me that warm, fuzzy feeling! This book was like a warm hug and I adored it.

We start the story following a young woman named Maya. Maya is having a bad day. She’s just been fired from her job and, when she flies to California to surprise her boyfriend on her birthday, she discovers that he’s been sighted necking with some strange blonde woman. But, what started out as the worst birthday of her life morphs into the perfect, fairy tale day when the Lift driver who broke the news about her boyfriend leads her on a guided tour (via text message) through a beautiful sea-side town. Could this chance encounter be Maya’s ticket to what she has been missing?

Uuuugh, this was so cute! I loved the feel of this book, if that makes sense? It just settled in my happy place and had me smiling throughout most of it. I loved Olivia Lara’s writing. It has a way of drawing you into the story and it’s incredibly readable! I flew through this book in just a couple of days and was a little sad when I reached the end of the story.

I will say, though I love Maya, there were so many moments when I wanted to shake her! Her tendancy to focus on the romantic stories she imagines for complete strangers but ignoring her own not-so-great love life just made me want to groan so much. Especially moments where she would take behavior that you know she would never let a friend or loved one accept. But that’s the way of it, isn’t it? People can be great at being supportive and fighting for others, but completely awful at standing up for themselves. It was great watching Maya grow as the story progressed. As for our mysterious Lift driver, I have to say, at the beginning, I was a little creeped out by him 😂 Probably because I’m old and cynical and was like “This man is legit going to murder you, Maya…” But my cynical, little heart was won over in the end and I love how everything turned out!

Not gonna lie, though, I think my absolute favorite thing about this book is that magical birthday Maya spends in Carmel at the very beginning of the book. Mostly because that sounds like the perfect day to me! I love the ocean, I love quirky small towns, and the food all sounded so good, omg 🤤 The author really brings this town and the day to life, so much so that I felt like I was actually along for the adventure. Also, the idea of someone giving you a spontaneous guided tour over text just sounds like fun. This part just showcases the best of the writing that made me enjoy this book so much.

Final thoughts: This was such a sweet read and definitely put a smile on my face. This deals with some rough topics, but the payout is well worth it. Though Maya felt a little weak as a main character at first, I loved getting to watch her grow and learn and experience joy. The writing is incredible and will make you feel like you’re a part of this mysterious adventure! If you’re looking for a fun, fast romance that will gives you heartbreak, summer romance, and warm fuzzies all in one story, I think you would enjoy The Meeting Point!

The Meeting Point The romcom you won't want to miss this summer!

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