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goodvaibsonly 's review for:
Meet Cute
by Meredith Russo, Dhonielle Clayton, Julie Murphy, Nicola Yoon, Ibi Zoboi, Katie Cotugno, Jocelyn Davies, Kass Morgan, Katharine McGee, Jennifer L. Armentrout, Nina LaCour, Emery Lord, Sara Shepard
I adore meet cutes, so this was right up my alley. This book was flipping adorable. It was basically a bunch of little starbursts of happy that I could use if I needed a quick pick-me-up.
Honestly, if I averaged out my ratings of all of each of these stories, it would probably be somewhere between 3 and 4, but I’m going to round up just because I love cutesy-ness.
There was a LOT of F/F rep, which I loved, loved, loved, but I also wish there had been some M/M rep.
Here are my ratings for each short story:
Siege Etiquette: 2/5
Really enjoyed this when I first read it. Wolf and Hailey were pretty cute. Dunno how well the second person p.o.v. works, but the writing was very, very good. The twist in the middle definitely shocked me. But then I realized that Hailey totally cheats on her boyfriend with Wolf, and I feel really bad for him, even if Wolf would’ve listened to Hailey better or whatever. At one point Hailey even tells Wolf that she’s not breaking up with her boyfriend and it doesn’t phase him at all. I’m confused.
Print Shop: 4/5
Beautiful writing. Of course, I always expect beautiful writing from Nina Lacour, and she always delivers. I loved the print shop setting. And Lauren and Evelyn were pretty cute. Not 5 Star cute, but still very cute. I think Lauren was the one that knocked this down from a 5 to a 4, but I don’t know what it was about her.
Hourglass: 4/5
Great story, great writing (want to check out more of Ibi Zoboi’s work now), but not sure how the romance is going to work out bc Cherish is going to college in Florida.
Click: 5/5 (LOVED this one)
The concept of the Click app was so well thought out and thought-provoking. The writing was great. The characters were great. Everything was so great omg. And it wasn’t even cheesy-cute. Loved the message that you can click with someone while having different interests. I could have a whole novel about Click. And Alexa developing her app.
The Intern: 2.5/5
I mean, I actually did enjoy reading this. There was a lot of potential in this story. But the execution made it come across pretty damn cheesy. I liked both characters, but still.
But, I would like to point out that I love this quote: “Someday, you’ll be yourself again. But you know what? That doesn’t have to be today.”
Somewhere That’s Green: 3/5
Again, there was potential here and yay for trans rep and F/F rep, but the writing sounded pretty bad to me.
The Way We Love Here: 4/5
Beautifully, and I mean beautifully, written. Makes me want to pick up The Belles really soon actually. I just can’t really tell whether this was fantasy or not, and that bothers me a little.
Oomph: 5/5
LOVED it. Not only did I love the F/F rep, but the characters were realistic and likable and the ending was to die for (yes, I just used that phrase). Loved reading about when Cass realized that she was good at acting, and watching Cass and Jo go airport camping. This was really, really well written. And I love how it all happens in an airport. Oh, and there’s actually some really helpful advice in here if you’re starting college soon and are nervous about having to decide what you’re doing with your life. If you read one story in this book, make it this one. And Click. Read Click.
The Dictionary of You and Me: 2/5
It was cute when our two characters met, and I enjoyed the holiday library setting, but how creepy is it that Moss practically fell in love over the phone with this guy she’d never met.
The Unlikely Likelihood of Falling in Love: 1/5
So much potential here. The idea of this story is great. But the writing sucked. I couldn’t even finish this one.
259 Million Miles: 3.5/5 stars
Didn’t have the heart to give this only 3 stars. Blythe and Jordan we’re both very likable. Their time spent in the isolation chamber was very very well written and cute. These two characters have a lot of chemistry. However, the Mars premise, while intriguing, wasn’t explained as well as I would’ve expected, and the ending of this story felt thrown together. 1. I feel like the ending was too bittersweet to be in this book. And 2. It wasn’t very well written. Right after I read what had happened, I half expected it to be another test conducted by the team. It just seems so out there.
This one lived up to its potential for the most part, until the end.
Something Real: 4/5
This was a surprising one for me. I would’ve expected the premise to not be my cup of tea. I don’t watch reality TV or read stories about it, and for the most part, I think celebrity super fans are silly to say the least. But this was such a pleasant surprise. Julie Murphy’s writing is charming, and I totally couldn’t have predicted June falling for who she did (WHICH I LOVED). I love the theme of what’s really real in this, and everything was a great mix of cheese and substance.
Say Everything: 3/5
Good writing and interesting enough plot, but whatever went down between the two families wasn’t explained enough, and I was left still confused. The characters were very cute though. Sean was precious. Just, it didn’t seem fleshed out enough.
The Department of Dead Love: 4.5/5
As always, Nicola Yoon’s writing was beautiful. She crafted a very unique and interesting world. I loved this take on breakups. This had a lot of similarities to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind actually, but I didn’t mind. I feel like the overall message is something that will help a lot of people that are scared of moving on.
“Do you know why I was crying before? It wasn’t because of the pain of your heartbreak. It was because you felt so much in the first place. And anyway, isn’t that what you’re doing here? Hoping that I’ll reset your memories and you can have a Do Over so you’ll feel that much again?”
^
This quote!!! It was actually really thought-provoking for me, and I think I needed it when I read it.
Overall, this book was hella enjoyable for me. If you don’t usually pick up romance novels, I still think there would be a story or two in here for you. Try Click or Oomph. There’s so much variety in here that there’s really something for every one (unless you really really hate cutesy stories). If you love cutesy-ness like me, you’ll enjoy the whole thing, even though the quality of the writing varies quite a bit. This is the first anthology I ever read, and it was such a nice experience. I enjoyed the writing style and voice switched up every twenty pages or so, and seeing all these different takes on the meet-cute trope!
Honestly, if I averaged out my ratings of all of each of these stories, it would probably be somewhere between 3 and 4, but I’m going to round up just because I love cutesy-ness.
There was a LOT of F/F rep, which I loved, loved, loved, but I also wish there had been some M/M rep.
Here are my ratings for each short story:
Siege Etiquette: 2/5
Really enjoyed this when I first read it. Wolf and Hailey were pretty cute. Dunno how well the second person p.o.v. works, but the writing was very, very good. The twist in the middle definitely shocked me. But then I realized that Hailey totally cheats on her boyfriend with Wolf, and I feel really bad for him, even if Wolf would’ve listened to Hailey better or whatever. At one point Hailey even tells Wolf that she’s not breaking up with her boyfriend and it doesn’t phase him at all. I’m confused.
Print Shop: 4/5
Beautiful writing. Of course, I always expect beautiful writing from Nina Lacour, and she always delivers. I loved the print shop setting. And Lauren and Evelyn were pretty cute. Not 5 Star cute, but still very cute. I think Lauren was the one that knocked this down from a 5 to a 4, but I don’t know what it was about her.
Hourglass: 4/5
Great story, great writing (want to check out more of Ibi Zoboi’s work now), but not sure how the romance is going to work out bc Cherish is going to college in Florida.
Click: 5/5 (LOVED this one)
The concept of the Click app was so well thought out and thought-provoking. The writing was great. The characters were great. Everything was so great omg. And it wasn’t even cheesy-cute. Loved the message that you can click with someone while having different interests. I could have a whole novel about Click. And Alexa developing her app.
The Intern: 2.5/5
I mean, I actually did enjoy reading this. There was a lot of potential in this story. But the execution made it come across pretty damn cheesy. I liked both characters, but still.
But, I would like to point out that I love this quote: “Someday, you’ll be yourself again. But you know what? That doesn’t have to be today.”
Somewhere That’s Green: 3/5
Again, there was potential here and yay for trans rep and F/F rep, but the writing sounded pretty bad to me.
The Way We Love Here: 4/5
Beautifully, and I mean beautifully, written. Makes me want to pick up The Belles really soon actually. I just can’t really tell whether this was fantasy or not, and that bothers me a little.
Oomph: 5/5
LOVED it. Not only did I love the F/F rep, but the characters were realistic and likable and the ending was to die for (yes, I just used that phrase). Loved reading about when Cass realized that she was good at acting, and watching Cass and Jo go airport camping. This was really, really well written. And I love how it all happens in an airport. Oh, and there’s actually some really helpful advice in here if you’re starting college soon and are nervous about having to decide what you’re doing with your life. If you read one story in this book, make it this one. And Click. Read Click.
The Dictionary of You and Me: 2/5
It was cute when our two characters met, and I enjoyed the holiday library setting, but how creepy is it that Moss practically fell in love over the phone with this guy she’d never met.
The Unlikely Likelihood of Falling in Love: 1/5
So much potential here. The idea of this story is great. But the writing sucked. I couldn’t even finish this one.
259 Million Miles: 3.5/5 stars
Didn’t have the heart to give this only 3 stars. Blythe and Jordan we’re both very likable. Their time spent in the isolation chamber was very very well written and cute. These two characters have a lot of chemistry. However, the Mars premise, while intriguing, wasn’t explained as well as I would’ve expected, and the ending of this story felt thrown together. 1. I feel like the ending was too bittersweet to be in this book. And 2. It wasn’t very well written. Right after I read what had happened, I half expected it to be another test conducted by the team. It just seems so out there.
This one lived up to its potential for the most part, until the end.
Something Real: 4/5
This was a surprising one for me. I would’ve expected the premise to not be my cup of tea. I don’t watch reality TV or read stories about it, and for the most part, I think celebrity super fans are silly to say the least. But this was such a pleasant surprise. Julie Murphy’s writing is charming, and I totally couldn’t have predicted June falling for who she did (WHICH I LOVED). I love the theme of what’s really real in this, and everything was a great mix of cheese and substance.
Say Everything: 3/5
Good writing and interesting enough plot, but whatever went down between the two families wasn’t explained enough, and I was left still confused. The characters were very cute though. Sean was precious. Just, it didn’t seem fleshed out enough.
The Department of Dead Love: 4.5/5
As always, Nicola Yoon’s writing was beautiful. She crafted a very unique and interesting world. I loved this take on breakups. This had a lot of similarities to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind actually, but I didn’t mind. I feel like the overall message is something that will help a lot of people that are scared of moving on.
“Do you know why I was crying before? It wasn’t because of the pain of your heartbreak. It was because you felt so much in the first place. And anyway, isn’t that what you’re doing here? Hoping that I’ll reset your memories and you can have a Do Over so you’ll feel that much again?”
^
This quote!!! It was actually really thought-provoking for me, and I think I needed it when I read it.
Overall, this book was hella enjoyable for me. If you don’t usually pick up romance novels, I still think there would be a story or two in here for you. Try Click or Oomph. There’s so much variety in here that there’s really something for every one (unless you really really hate cutesy stories). If you love cutesy-ness like me, you’ll enjoy the whole thing, even though the quality of the writing varies quite a bit. This is the first anthology I ever read, and it was such a nice experience. I enjoyed the writing style and voice switched up every twenty pages or so, and seeing all these different takes on the meet-cute trope!