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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
It was a good book but obviously some of the stories I didn’t like. They were cute but forgettable.
3.5… I read because JLA has a short story in this collection but I stuck around for the rest. All stories of finding love in meet cute situations. Most were pretty good but without the backstory or development, I tend to drift off. I really shouldn’t read short stories. There’s just not enough depth. But if you like short stories these were good and sweet.
"All love ends. "
"But it has to start somewhere"
Meet Cute is a collection of short stories based around concepts like fate, destiny and unconventional but adorable ways that two people can meet and slowly (or instantly, in some cases), begin to fall for one another. If you know me, like, at all, you know that I love love and I love the idea of meet cutes and coincidences that seem fated, etc. This anthology delivered on all of that and more. While I won't be describing each story, I'm going to take a second and rate my favorites of the bunch.
1. Somewhere That's Green: 4/5 - Just wonderful. Features a Trans protagonist and two gorgeous perspectives, and a story about acceptance and leaving fear behind.
2. The Way We Love Here: 4/5 Dhonielle never fails to come up with unique settings. You really get sucked up in this one.
3. Oomph: 5/5 Nothing like airport love to make you believe in Serendipity. Extra points for adorable banter.
4. The Dictionary of You and Me: 4/5 I love every book by the author, and I love that the title carries the same sort of style as her other novels. Very cute!
5. Something Real: 4/5 - Fat protagonist!!! BLESS UP. Plus, she gets to kiss an equally stunning girl and kick a lame guy to the curb. What else can you ask for??
6. The Department of Dead Love: 5/5 - The concept behind this story was sooooo cool. I'd love to see it as a full length contemporary ya novel to be honest. I'm rooting for these two.
These were my absolute favorites. That's not to say the others weren't cute; they definitely were! Siege Etiquette has a wonderful premise, and Print Shop was close to being one of my favorites. Say Everything was also written in second person and that made it so unique and immersive, and very much different from everything else.
I definitely have to recommend this anthology because you can split the stories up for whenever you need a mood lift or just something cute to make you smile. By the end of each story, I can assure you, you'll believe in love, destiny and all things in between.
A pesar de que ya sabía que era un libro de relatitos, me ha decepcionado porque me esperaba más de todo. Mi principal problema con este libro ha sido que me pensaba que los relatos serían más largos, pero tras terminar el tercero, me temí que la tónica iba a ser la misma: los relatos eran solo de personas conociéndose. Ya está. No hay desarrollo de nada, de posibles historias de amor, de amistad, nada.
Estas antologías las leo, sobre todo, para conocer nuevas autoras o autores, y así tenerlas en el radar si me gustan para leer más de ellas en el futuro. Pero me ha dado la sensación de que no he terminado de conocer la forma en la que escriben como para adentrarme en nuevas historias.
Estas antologías las leo, sobre todo, para conocer nuevas autoras o autores, y así tenerlas en el radar si me gustan para leer más de ellas en el futuro. Pero me ha dado la sensación de que no he terminado de conocer la forma en la que escriben como para adentrarme en nuevas historias.
I read the audiobook version, with each story being preformed by a different narrator.
I enjoyed this a lot; there were some stories I was really eager to see continued, and was sad to move on to the next. I think that's the mark of a good plot - I was invested. I liked that there was both diversity and lgbtq representation.
I think this is a good choice when you're looking for something really sweet, like romcom sweet.
I enjoyed this a lot; there were some stories I was really eager to see continued, and was sad to move on to the next. I think that's the mark of a good plot - I was invested. I liked that there was both diversity and lgbtq representation.
I think this is a good choice when you're looking for something really sweet, like romcom sweet.
I really enjoyed the variety of stories and relationships-loved having some queer stories amongst the heterosexual stories. I also appreciated that there wasn’t just one way to fall in love or just one description of love. Kinda perfect dreamy summer reading.
( 2.5 stars )
this was a letdown for me. a lot of great authors, and some standout stories, but i found myself indifferent more often than not.
siege ettiquette // katie cotugno ★★★☆☆
i liked wolf, didn’t love hailey, and she kind of ruined it at the end when she said she wouldn’t leave her boyfriend for wolf but it was cute and wolf made up for it!
print shop // nina lacour ★★.5
i really wanted to love this cause nina lacour usually delivers with f/f romances but this just fell flat for me. the idea of working in a print shop was cute and the premise wasn’t bad, but it just didn’t intrigue me.
hourglass // ibi zoboi ★★☆☆☆
my biggest problem with this was that the meet cute itself was barely three pages. i wanted to see more of cherish and mamadou interacting, and less of cherish being like “what would stacy do if she were here…” bc stacy sucks and you know it bestie! this just didn’t do it for me in terms of delievering a whole short story of a meet cute.
click // katharine mcgee ★★★★☆
this is really cute. both characters are likable, and it’s an interesting premise with an even more fun twist, and they go on a spontaneous adventure right after meeting. plus, raden seeing alexa in the snow and being like “stop stop i must take a picture right now”…like, what more could i possibly want?
the intern // sara shepard ★★☆☆☆
i was bored.
somewhere that’s green // meredith russo ★★★★☆
meredith russo did such a good job with this. i thought i would take more convincing to be sympathetic to lexie, like half a book even, but russo handled her situation with the complexity and grace it deserved, allowing nia and lexie to be a real possibility. this was great.
the way we love here // dhonielle clayton ★★★★☆
oh i loved this! i’m a sucker for soulmate tropes but with some kind of twist, which is why i liked click too..but this was beautiful. i love dhonielle clayton’s work, i just wish there was more of it here. she should consider fleshing out viola and sebastien’s story into a longer novella or even a full novel.
oomph // emery lord ★★★★★
so freaking cute. just an adorable sapphic romance with a classic airport meet cute. i would also like a novel of jo and cass’s NYC college adventures.
the dictionary of you and me // jennifer l. armentrout ★★.5
cute concept, but it was a little too cliche for me. i didn’t find myself invested.
the unlikelihood of falling in love // jocelyn davies
★★★.5
i love a good subway meet cute. sam’s classmates being just as invested as her in meeting dev again was hilarious, but my favorite part of this was the fact that dev was trying just as hard to see sam again as she was to see him.
259 million miles // kass morgan ★★★☆☆
it was nice to have a male pov, and i liked that the ending wasn’t predictable, but i’m pretty indifferent about this one overall.
something real // julie murphy ★★★☆☆
love the premise. overall, just okay.
say everything // huntley fitzpatrick ★☆☆☆☆
this just didn’t land for me at all.
the department of dead love // nicola yoon ★★.5
very creative, but i just didn’t really care.
overall, a common theme i noticed was grief/death. multiple stories centered on a female character who had lost family members, which i thought was an odd coincidence. it was kind of jarring in certain stories, just constant mentions of familial death. i wish it hadn’t been so present if i’m honest but i understand that the storylines may be personal to the authors.
this was a letdown for me. a lot of great authors, and some standout stories, but i found myself indifferent more often than not.
siege ettiquette // katie cotugno ★★★☆☆
i liked wolf, didn’t love hailey, and she kind of ruined it at the end when she said she wouldn’t leave her boyfriend for wolf but it was cute and wolf made up for it!
print shop // nina lacour ★★.5
i really wanted to love this cause nina lacour usually delivers with f/f romances but this just fell flat for me. the idea of working in a print shop was cute and the premise wasn’t bad, but it just didn’t intrigue me.
hourglass // ibi zoboi ★★☆☆☆
my biggest problem with this was that the meet cute itself was barely three pages. i wanted to see more of cherish and mamadou interacting, and less of cherish being like “what would stacy do if she were here…” bc stacy sucks and you know it bestie! this just didn’t do it for me in terms of delievering a whole short story of a meet cute.
click // katharine mcgee ★★★★☆
this is really cute. both characters are likable, and it’s an interesting premise with an even more fun twist, and they go on a spontaneous adventure right after meeting. plus, raden seeing alexa in the snow and being like “stop stop i must take a picture right now”…like, what more could i possibly want?
the intern // sara shepard ★★☆☆☆
i was bored.
somewhere that’s green // meredith russo ★★★★☆
meredith russo did such a good job with this. i thought i would take more convincing to be sympathetic to lexie, like half a book even, but russo handled her situation with the complexity and grace it deserved, allowing nia and lexie to be a real possibility. this was great.
the way we love here // dhonielle clayton ★★★★☆
oh i loved this! i’m a sucker for soulmate tropes but with some kind of twist, which is why i liked click too..but this was beautiful. i love dhonielle clayton’s work, i just wish there was more of it here. she should consider fleshing out viola and sebastien’s story into a longer novella or even a full novel.
oomph // emery lord ★★★★★
so freaking cute. just an adorable sapphic romance with a classic airport meet cute. i would also like a novel of jo and cass’s NYC college adventures.
the dictionary of you and me // jennifer l. armentrout ★★.5
cute concept, but it was a little too cliche for me. i didn’t find myself invested.
the unlikelihood of falling in love // jocelyn davies
★★★.5
i love a good subway meet cute. sam’s classmates being just as invested as her in meeting dev again was hilarious, but my favorite part of this was the fact that dev was trying just as hard to see sam again as she was to see him.
259 million miles // kass morgan ★★★☆☆
it was nice to have a male pov, and i liked that the ending wasn’t predictable, but i’m pretty indifferent about this one overall.
something real // julie murphy ★★★☆☆
love the premise. overall, just okay.
say everything // huntley fitzpatrick ★☆☆☆☆
this just didn’t land for me at all.
the department of dead love // nicola yoon ★★.5
very creative, but i just didn’t really care.
overall, a common theme i noticed was grief/death. multiple stories centered on a female character who had lost family members, which i thought was an odd coincidence. it was kind of jarring in certain stories, just constant mentions of familial death. i wish it hadn’t been so present if i’m honest but i understand that the storylines may be personal to the authors.
I was really excited for this book and I really loved most of the stories, however I found it very hard to get through at times. I would say this is good for someone with a busy schedule looking to incorporate reading into a commute or something. No need to keep names or plots super straight since the stories are all so different. Definitely a cute book though.
Meet Cute was never a story I was planning to love and that's okay. I believe I got this book as a gift, and since I've been in a rom-com mood, I knew that my best chances of liking the stories were going to be now.
My average rating was around 3.5/5 stars when I calculated them together which isn't as bad as I thought it would be? I definitely think if you like short stories/rom-coms it is still worth the read:
Siege Etiquette by Katie Cotugno (2/5 stars):
I wasn't a huge fan of the second-perspective, and despite a clever twist at the end somewhat redeeming our fairly unlikeable protagonist, I still failed to enjoy the story. I didn't really like the couple, and the story included cheating which is always an automatic turn off for me. Including that, they had no potential for the future, which I feel is kind of the whole point?
Print Shop by Nina Lacour (3/5 stars):
It was cute, however I definitely seemed to prefer the story's where the "couples" seemed to bond in real life rather than meeting at the very tail end of the story because I just felt a lot less potential between them that way? Physical interactions have a lot to do with compatibility and I felt detached from the characters who didn't meet that way. The traditional no-tech print shop vibe and aesthetic really pulled through in this story though!
Hour Glass by Ibi Zoboi (2/5 stars):
Definitely one of my least favourites unfortunately. I really failed to empathize with the main character because she had one of those "I'm not like other girls" energy where she seemed very judgmental and only views the surface level of the people she meets and I didn't really like that? The best friend was cliché to a tilt, and once again the characters only met at the tail-end of the story(see above). I acknowledged the discussions of body-image and racism, but going into this collection I was looking more for fluff then for depth. Maybe with different intentions in mind I would've liked this more but alas, you'll see the fluffy ones are generally the ones I preferred.
Click by Katharine McGee (4.5/5 stars):
Probably my favourite one in the collection. Their interactions, the clever ending, their chemistry, their banter, it was what every meet-cute story should be like. It was the first story where I truly felt their relationship could blossom into something more. The concept felt very similar to the book The One by John Marrs so if you enjoyed this story, I would recommend checking it out! I enjoyed the discussions that just because you're not scientifically compatible, doesn't mean you're actually compatible. (This definitely pushed me to read American Royals so I think it did its job)
The Intern by Sara Shepard (4.25/5stars):
This was one of the ones where I really enjoyed it but I can acknowledge the "invisible intern catches the attention of famed super-star" trope is accounted for and present. It was still cute as heck, but made me notice THREE of the past five stories have dead family members? (hi i wrote this as i was going through but after having read this to completion, the dead family member trauma trope still continues as you go through hehe) Overall it do be cute though and I think they had chemistry + potential and were really fun together.
Somewhere That’s Green by Meredith Russo (2.75/5 stars):
I had mixed feelings with this one. On the one hand, it dealt with the topic of being transgender really well and was really informative but what I’ve been searching for from these novellas is just cute and wholesome content, and that’s not what I really got? I didn’t really like them as a couple and it wasn’t as cute or fluffy as what I wanted. Maybe if I was reading this book with different intentions in mind, I could’ve liked this one more.
The Way We Love You by Dhonielle Clayton (1.5/5stars):
I didn't really like the plot, world structure and writing itself but what I hated the most is the fact that our mc is like I don't wanna fall in love with my soulmate, if I could remove this band I would, even if that means dying which to me seems fairly extensive so I would assume she's aro? But then this guy comes along and how he "forces" her to change seemed kind of icky to me? I usually like fate stories but this one was kind of a flop to me.
Oomph by Emery Lord (4/5 stars):
Airport meet-cutes live rent-free in my heart so wasn't this one a TREAT. I loved their banter, their cuteness, THE ADORABLE ENDING, the spy names, my heart flutters. I had never enjoyed Emery Lord in the past but I may now be reconsidering...
The Encyclopedia of You and Me by Jennifer L. Armentrout (4.25/5 stars):
THIS WAS PRECIOUS. I think I have a special place in my heart for cute soft-boi readers as love interests, and anything related to books. This was so adorable, amazing and zazzy. Their first physical interaction made my heart melt like butter. Breaking news: my
faith in love has been restored.
The Unlikely Likelyhood of Falling in Love by Jocelyn Davies (3.25/5 stars):
Not my favourite story in the collection, but still an enjoyable one. Subway meet-cutes are always a gift from a higher power, and my mouth hurt from smiling through this whole story. I liked the mathematical part of the story, because it brought something new to the stories. I really saw the potential and chemistry between them and the ending was soooo cute.
295 Miles by Kass Morgan (3.5/5 stars):
BOY WAS THAT ENDING BRUTAL. Other than the first one, I think this is the only other one that doesn't end on an amazing note. MEET-CUTES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE HAPPY. The ending was bitter-sweet and tugged on my heart strings, and I didn't suspect the twist but I still wish there could've been a different ending? The relationship had a lot of potential and their 24 hours of banter and interaction felt genuine and entertaining.
Something Real by Julie Murphy (4/5 stars):
Adorable, dismantling the patriarchy and fighting back against misogyny one love story at a time. I LOVE books where two girls are paired to compete to fall in love w a guy but they fall in love with each other, My heart SWOONS. (minus points for returning the dead family member trope but bonus points for actually making my cold heart feel something)
Say Something by Huntley Fitzpatrick (3.5/5 stars):
Cute. Don’t have much to say about this one to be honest. I didn’t love the “my family wronged you idea” (mostly because it wasn't ever fully explained and wasn't all that fleshed out. However, The Book of Lost Opportunities was SO CUTE and how it tied into the story was undeniably very adorable.
The Department of Dead Love by Nicola Yoon (3/5 stars):
Cool concept and nice banter. I didn't feel that much chemistry between them which was kind of disappointing. Definitely "friend energy not couple energy". Part of the reason I may not have liked this on was my personal vendetta against Nicola Yoon oops. Honestly not much to say about this one.
So that concludes my mini-reviews! I do think you should still check them out sometime because they are cute, and I definitely found some new authors I'm hoping to check out!
My average rating was around 3.5/5 stars when I calculated them together which isn't as bad as I thought it would be? I definitely think if you like short stories/rom-coms it is still worth the read:
Siege Etiquette by Katie Cotugno (2/5 stars):
I wasn't a huge fan of the second-perspective, and despite a clever twist at the end somewhat redeeming our fairly unlikeable protagonist, I still failed to enjoy the story. I didn't really like the couple, and the story included cheating which is always an automatic turn off for me. Including that, they had no potential for the future, which I feel is kind of the whole point?
Print Shop by Nina Lacour (3/5 stars):
It was cute, however I definitely seemed to prefer the story's where the "couples" seemed to bond in real life rather than meeting at the very tail end of the story because I just felt a lot less potential between them that way? Physical interactions have a lot to do with compatibility and I felt detached from the characters who didn't meet that way. The traditional no-tech print shop vibe and aesthetic really pulled through in this story though!
Hour Glass by Ibi Zoboi (2/5 stars):
Definitely one of my least favourites unfortunately. I really failed to empathize with the main character because she had one of those "I'm not like other girls" energy where she seemed very judgmental and only views the surface level of the people she meets and I didn't really like that? The best friend was cliché to a tilt, and once again the characters only met at the tail-end of the story(see above). I acknowledged the discussions of body-image and racism, but going into this collection I was looking more for fluff then for depth. Maybe with different intentions in mind I would've liked this more but alas, you'll see the fluffy ones are generally the ones I preferred.
Click by Katharine McGee (4.5/5 stars):
Probably my favourite one in the collection. Their interactions, the clever ending, their chemistry, their banter, it was what every meet-cute story should be like. It was the first story where I truly felt their relationship could blossom into something more. The concept felt very similar to the book The One by John Marrs so if you enjoyed this story, I would recommend checking it out! I enjoyed the discussions that just because you're not scientifically compatible, doesn't mean you're actually compatible. (This definitely pushed me to read American Royals so I think it did its job)
The Intern by Sara Shepard (4.25/5stars):
This was one of the ones where I really enjoyed it but I can acknowledge the "invisible intern catches the attention of famed super-star" trope is accounted for and present. It was still cute as heck, but made me notice THREE of the past five stories have dead family members? (hi i wrote this as i was going through but after having read this to completion, the dead family member trauma trope still continues as you go through hehe) Overall it do be cute though and I think they had chemistry + potential and were really fun together.
Somewhere That’s Green by Meredith Russo (2.75/5 stars):
I had mixed feelings with this one. On the one hand, it dealt with the topic of being transgender really well and was really informative but what I’ve been searching for from these novellas is just cute and wholesome content, and that’s not what I really got? I didn’t really like them as a couple and it wasn’t as cute or fluffy as what I wanted. Maybe if I was reading this book with different intentions in mind, I could’ve liked this one more.
The Way We Love You by Dhonielle Clayton (1.5/5stars):
I didn't really like the plot, world structure and writing itself but what I hated the most is the fact that our mc is like I don't wanna fall in love with my soulmate, if I could remove this band I would, even if that means dying which to me seems fairly extensive so I would assume she's aro? But then this guy comes along and how he "forces" her to change seemed kind of icky to me? I usually like fate stories but this one was kind of a flop to me.
Oomph by Emery Lord (4/5 stars):
Airport meet-cutes live rent-free in my heart so wasn't this one a TREAT. I loved their banter, their cuteness, THE ADORABLE ENDING, the spy names, my heart flutters. I had never enjoyed Emery Lord in the past but I may now be reconsidering...
The Encyclopedia of You and Me by Jennifer L. Armentrout (4.25/5 stars):
THIS WAS PRECIOUS. I think I have a special place in my heart for cute soft-boi readers as love interests, and anything related to books. This was so adorable, amazing and zazzy. Their first physical interaction made my heart melt like butter. Breaking news: my
faith in love has been restored.
The Unlikely Likelyhood of Falling in Love by Jocelyn Davies (3.25/5 stars):
Not my favourite story in the collection, but still an enjoyable one. Subway meet-cutes are always a gift from a higher power, and my mouth hurt from smiling through this whole story. I liked the mathematical part of the story, because it brought something new to the stories. I really saw the potential and chemistry between them and the ending was soooo cute.
295 Miles by Kass Morgan (3.5/5 stars):
BOY WAS THAT ENDING BRUTAL. Other than the first one, I think this is the only other one that doesn't end on an amazing note. MEET-CUTES ARE SUPPOSED TO BE HAPPY. The ending was bitter-sweet and tugged on my heart strings, and I didn't suspect the twist but I still wish there could've been a different ending? The relationship had a lot of potential and their 24 hours of banter and interaction felt genuine and entertaining.
Something Real by Julie Murphy (4/5 stars):
Adorable, dismantling the patriarchy and fighting back against misogyny one love story at a time. I LOVE books where two girls are paired to compete to fall in love w a guy but they fall in love with each other, My heart SWOONS. (minus points for returning the dead family member trope but bonus points for actually making my cold heart feel something)
Say Something by Huntley Fitzpatrick (3.5/5 stars):
Cute. Don’t have much to say about this one to be honest. I didn’t love the “my family wronged you idea” (mostly because it wasn't ever fully explained and wasn't all that fleshed out. However, The Book of Lost Opportunities was SO CUTE and how it tied into the story was undeniably very adorable.
The Department of Dead Love by Nicola Yoon (3/5 stars):
Cool concept and nice banter. I didn't feel that much chemistry between them which was kind of disappointing. Definitely "friend energy not couple energy". Part of the reason I may not have liked this on was my personal vendetta against Nicola Yoon oops. Honestly not much to say about this one.
So that concludes my mini-reviews! I do think you should still check them out sometime because they are cute, and I definitely found some new authors I'm hoping to check out!