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papalbina's review against another edition
3.0
I think my biggest problem with this book is that the ending feels quite rushed, like in a romantic comedy movie when after the big fight the two MC have a quick heart-to-heart and kiss and the movie ends leaving you unsatisfied. Beside that, my other problem with the book is that there are a lot of fortuitous situations I couldn't quite believe . Too forced, too much and too many to suspend my disbelief while reading. Nop.
I understood Julia's personality, because I'm similar to her in some ways. What I couldn't stand was the way she lost control (and her pants) every time she thought about Mark or when she was with him. It was so bizarre and discouraging to see a reasonable person losing it that way, even for a teenager *roll*
And then the thing that annoyed me as hell from this book: why, oh why do you need to break the rules to have fun? Why do you need to drink for that? Why Jason cannot understand that Julia have fun visiting castles and theaters and reading in her guidebooks and knowing random facts about those places? It makes me really, really angry every time he tells her he thought she could use some fun. Why on Earth "fun" has to mean the same for everybody? Really! It annoys the hell out of me. I've been fighting against those ideas my whole life and I grit my teeth every time I have to read this kind of ideas in a book. Seriously, no! For some people staying at home with a book and/or a movie is more fun than anything in the world, accept it! ¬¬
After the rant, I will only say that the second read didn't help the book, but I still think it's a good summer/vacation read :)
Spoiler
(especially the whole running away and ending up in Jason's old home)I understood Julia's personality, because I'm similar to her in some ways. What I couldn't stand was the way she lost control (and her pants) every time she thought about Mark or when she was with him. It was so bizarre and discouraging to see a reasonable person losing it that way, even for a teenager *roll*
And then the thing that annoyed me as hell from this book: why, oh why do you need to break the rules to have fun? Why do you need to drink for that? Why Jason cannot understand that Julia have fun visiting castles and theaters and reading in her guidebooks and knowing random facts about those places? It makes me really, really angry every time he tells her he thought she could use some fun. Why on Earth "fun" has to mean the same for everybody? Really! It annoys the hell out of me. I've been fighting against those ideas my whole life and I grit my teeth every time I have to read this kind of ideas in a book. Seriously, no! For some people staying at home with a book and/or a movie is more fun than anything in the world, accept it! ¬¬
After the rant, I will only say that the second read didn't help the book, but I still think it's a good summer/vacation read :)
carolinevaught's review against another edition
3.0
4:45 AM and I'm already regretting this, but the words must be out down.
I liked this book, really I did, but the characters were...simple and ordinary. Not to mention that I found Jason completely insufferable and a nuisance until quite literally the last chapter if not the last 2-3 pages. Also, would Julia honestly not have heard a thing about Mark being such a dick? It's high school. One would think she would have heard a thing or two. The whole texting Chris thing was a completely ridiculous part added to the book and frankly, I don't see how it contributed to the plot in any way, shape, or form, so really it was pointless. Also, the pity party doesn't need to float around Jason. Poor boy, your mother left you and your father. GET OVER IT. Freaking Julia over here had her father DIE. So grow up.
I liked this book, really I did, but the characters were...simple and ordinary. Not to mention that I found Jason completely insufferable and a nuisance until quite literally the last chapter if not the last 2-3 pages. Also, would Julia honestly not have heard a thing about Mark being such a dick? It's high school. One would think she would have heard a thing or two. The whole texting Chris thing was a completely ridiculous part added to the book and frankly, I don't see how it contributed to the plot in any way, shape, or form, so really it was pointless. Also, the pity party doesn't need to float around Jason. Poor boy, your mother left you and your father. GET OVER IT. Freaking Julia over here had her father DIE. So grow up.
sincerelyadi's review against another edition
4.0
This is such a cute book! It will have you smiling the whole way through! And the fact it's set in England is always an added bonus! I love when books are set in European countries only because I've never been and dream to go, this way I live through the characters! Highly recommend!
jai_nike's review against another edition
3.0
This book definately gave me some heavy early 2000's chick-flick movie vibe and I am all for it !
The characters sometimes fell a little off track and didnt make sense, maybe beacuse of the change of heart that happened too fast (personal opinion).
The characters sometimes fell a little off track and didnt make sense, maybe beacuse of the change of heart that happened too fast (personal opinion).
aneeqah's review against another edition
4.0
Funny, bubbly, and adorable- Meant to Be is exactly the breath of fresh air I needed in between some heavier reads. It was a little different from what I expected it to be, but nonetheless, it was still too cute to read. I gobbled this book up all in one night, and was left with this stupid grin when I finished it. Even though this book does have its flaws, it was still fun and cute to read!
The best thing about Meant to Be has got to be it’s uber cute romance. It’s just… adorable! I loved how it wasn’t insta-love at all, it was quite the opposite actually. Julia makes some mistakes while searching for her MTB (meant to be), and learns that sometimes there is no such thing as a MTB. It was quite insightful watching her go through this journey and figuring out her true feelings. But the romance itself was oh-so-cute, and I loved how it took time to develop, throughout the story.
Also, I loved the setting in this book. I mean, it’s London! While I’ve always wanted to go to London, I didn’t know a lot about the key landmarks there. But after reading this book, I do know! Since Julia was on a field trip during this book, I got the opportunity to learn about London and all the fascinating landmarks there, without even realizing that I was actually learning. When I finished the book and was slowly thinking it over, I realized that I had gained quite a bit of knowledge about the city without even trying to remember any of the sites that Julia and her classmates visited. Not only was it great to unconsciously learn about these places, the description was written fantastically as well.
My one major issue with this book had to be Julia. While there were plenty of qualities of her that I should have been easily able to connect with- I didn’t. She, in general, wasn’t a very likable character and was actually quite naïve and jerkish. I could see myself really connecting and bonding with Julia if she wasn’t so rude, but alas, she was rude, so I didn’t really feel for her. I did have some moments where I felt a budding connection with her, but those became quickly tainted when Julia did something that was less than admirable, over and over again.
Overall, Meant to Be was a fun and fast novel to read! Although I had some issues with Julia, the main character, I enjoyed the slow romance and the setting of London. I’d recommend this one if you’re looking for something a little fluffy and light-hearted. But I definitely did enjoy reading this book, and keep an eye out for this author’s future work!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review!
The best thing about Meant to Be has got to be it’s uber cute romance. It’s just… adorable! I loved how it wasn’t insta-love at all, it was quite the opposite actually. Julia makes some mistakes while searching for her MTB (meant to be), and learns that sometimes there is no such thing as a MTB. It was quite insightful watching her go through this journey and figuring out her true feelings. But the romance itself was oh-so-cute, and I loved how it took time to develop, throughout the story.
Also, I loved the setting in this book. I mean, it’s London! While I’ve always wanted to go to London, I didn’t know a lot about the key landmarks there. But after reading this book, I do know! Since Julia was on a field trip during this book, I got the opportunity to learn about London and all the fascinating landmarks there, without even realizing that I was actually learning. When I finished the book and was slowly thinking it over, I realized that I had gained quite a bit of knowledge about the city without even trying to remember any of the sites that Julia and her classmates visited. Not only was it great to unconsciously learn about these places, the description was written fantastically as well.
My one major issue with this book had to be Julia. While there were plenty of qualities of her that I should have been easily able to connect with- I didn’t. She, in general, wasn’t a very likable character and was actually quite naïve and jerkish. I could see myself really connecting and bonding with Julia if she wasn’t so rude, but alas, she was rude, so I didn’t really feel for her. I did have some moments where I felt a budding connection with her, but those became quickly tainted when Julia did something that was less than admirable, over and over again.
Overall, Meant to Be was a fun and fast novel to read! Although I had some issues with Julia, the main character, I enjoyed the slow romance and the setting of London. I’d recommend this one if you’re looking for something a little fluffy and light-hearted. But I definitely did enjoy reading this book, and keep an eye out for this author’s future work!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review!
ceciliayu's review against another edition
3.0
Very cute book, it was enjoyable enough to read in one sitting but I don’t think I would reread. The mc is kind of relatable and funny a quarter of the time, but mostly she is a cliche high school nerd. she isn’t unlikable or likable, she’s just kind of boring. jason is also the same, they do have cute moments but other times he’s just really fucking annoying and weird. i like the premise of the book, with the class trip to london, the one bed trope, enemies to lovers whatever but idk it was just very average. there were also a lot of cringey texts, especially from chris oh my god ew, but i did not expect the plot twist from the end, when she finds out chris is a girl that jason met at the party and she accidentally switched phones with him. the mark sideplot about him being her MTB but turning out to be an asshole was kjnd of annoying, and i’m still confused about sarah f. overall it was cute summer ya and it was fun to read if you overlook the cringey parts
ems_readingfiles's review against another edition
4.0
⭑ 4.25
Julia is an adorable girl. She's in her own world, expressing herself to the fullest, and not giving a single crap about what people think about her. She's a perfectionist and a "goodie-goodie," but she's also very conceited. I found that she thought very highly of herself throughout the story and it was annoying at some parts.
However, I really loved the love story in this. The way that Julia and Jason, a guy in her class who is the complete opposite of what Julia is, are on this school trip/vacation and it always seems like they're stuck together to the point where Julia's irritation with this guy turns into love! It's a good "I hate you" to "I love you" type of story! Just the way that they fell in love with one another in the most unexpected way!
Julia is an adorable girl. She's in her own world, expressing herself to the fullest, and not giving a single crap about what people think about her. She's a perfectionist and a "goodie-goodie," but she's also very conceited. I found that she thought very highly of herself throughout the story and it was annoying at some parts.
However, I really loved the love story in this. The way that Julia and Jason, a guy in her class who is the complete opposite of what Julia is, are on this school trip/vacation and it always seems like they're stuck together to the point where Julia's irritation with this guy turns into love! It's a good "I hate you" to "I love you" type of story! Just the way that they fell in love with one another in the most unexpected way!
andreathereader's review against another edition
5.0
Julia is a by-the-book kind of gal. She always does exactly what’s expected of her, and nothing less (or more). She’s excited about this once in a lifetime trip to London; she can finally see the places she’s only read about. She’s bummed her bestie can’t make the trip with her, but hey, at least she’ll be in London. Once there, Julia is assigned as a ‘buddy’ to class clown Jason. At first, she’s upset she will have to babysit Jason, but it turns out he can be kind of fun. He convinces her to go with him to a party, where she drinks too much and ends up giving her number to any number of guys. When one of them starts to text-flirt her, she and Jason go on a mission to find the mystery guy.
I’m going to be honest, Julia was a hard character to like. She was always correcting someone when they used the wrong word, or pronounced something the wrong way. She was kind of uppity and judgmental. But she could also be nice and was willing to try new things (when Jason could convince her). Jason was also not a clear winner, as far as personalities go. He was a bit of a douchecanoe to Julia (he called her Book Licker for most of the book), and he was kind of pushy and mean. But, he was also protective and funny and even had a sweet side. I did like the fact that they both kind of mellowed out as the book went on. They learned things about themselves and each other and really grew.
There was no doubt where this book was heading (you can figure it out just be reading the book’s blurb, for pete’s sake), but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Once they got thrown together and started annoying each other and pushing each other’s buttons, it was quite amusing. There were several chuckle-out-loud moments; the two of them had lots of fun with verbal sparring. There were even a few swoon-worthy moments. The writing was fun and real, with a fast pace and no lagging. In fact, I’m surprised that this was Lauren’s first novel. There was also a bit of a twist near the end, so the journey for Julia and Jason wasn’t quite what you might expect.
Beautiful cover. What more can I say?
The sum up: Sweet, funny and romantic. Classic YA for the romance fan.
I’m going to be honest, Julia was a hard character to like. She was always correcting someone when they used the wrong word, or pronounced something the wrong way. She was kind of uppity and judgmental. But she could also be nice and was willing to try new things (when Jason could convince her). Jason was also not a clear winner, as far as personalities go. He was a bit of a douchecanoe to Julia (he called her Book Licker for most of the book), and he was kind of pushy and mean. But, he was also protective and funny and even had a sweet side. I did like the fact that they both kind of mellowed out as the book went on. They learned things about themselves and each other and really grew.
There was no doubt where this book was heading (you can figure it out just be reading the book’s blurb, for pete’s sake), but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Once they got thrown together and started annoying each other and pushing each other’s buttons, it was quite amusing. There were several chuckle-out-loud moments; the two of them had lots of fun with verbal sparring. There were even a few swoon-worthy moments. The writing was fun and real, with a fast pace and no lagging. In fact, I’m surprised that this was Lauren’s first novel. There was also a bit of a twist near the end, so the journey for Julia and Jason wasn’t quite what you might expect.
Beautiful cover. What more can I say?
The sum up: Sweet, funny and romantic. Classic YA for the romance fan.
darenah's review against another edition
3.0
-i mean like yea okay GOD WHAT ARE WORDS
-a bit lackluster
-im definitely gonna forget about this in a day
-weird to think that if the characters aged with the book they'd be like 26
-a bit lackluster
-im definitely gonna forget about this in a day
-weird to think that if the characters aged with the book they'd be like 26