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A review by scoodle42
Have We Met? by Camille Baker
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Corinne moves back to Chicago after losing her best friend and is flailing a little career wise. When her car breaks down and she drops in on a get together at her cousin's house to wait for a tow, her phone falls in a puddle and then powers back on with an unexplainable addition: an app that promises to send her a soul mate based on the idea that she's already met them and she just needs a reintroduction. But then she meets the other Cory, fresh out of breakup and friends with her cousin and now she's confused.
So let me start with what I liked about this book. I loved that there were so many identities represented here. It felt like a reflection of the world, tbh. Other reviews said it felt like the author was doing too much or trying to hard, but I appreciated it. I loved that the book showed an environment where people weren't hiding. I also liked Cory (the LI) a lot. He was quiet, but determined. Focused and gentle. Corinne's cousin and her best friend were pretty great too. Showing Corinne working through grief was powerful as well. It seemed real. You could feel it, and Corinne's hesitation to live her life because of it. Her mom and brother were okay, but I thought her mom was a bit of a busybody and I didn't like the way she threw the fact that she was helping Corinne in her face so much.
Now to the actual plot: for me, it got a bit muddled. It seems okay in concept and I love books where a little magic happens, but the execution stumbled for me. There just didn't seem to be any driving reason why Corinne was putting so much faith in the app. Especially after the first two matches. Then her getting with Cory was great and seemed like fate, but she still went back to what the app promised for no reason at all; she had someone standing right in front of her! Then the plot twist was okay, but it being the cause of a third act breakup made no sense to me. There was nothing to break up over, and the end seemed to carry on a bit for no reason.
It was also closed door, which didn't weigh too heavily into the review but I do wish I had known that ahead of time. There's a sequel involving the cousin; maybe I'll give it a try one day.
So let me start with what I liked about this book. I loved that there were so many identities represented here. It felt like a reflection of the world, tbh. Other reviews said it felt like the author was doing too much or trying to hard, but I appreciated it. I loved that the book showed an environment where people weren't hiding. I also liked Cory (the LI) a lot. He was quiet, but determined. Focused and gentle. Corinne's cousin and her best friend were pretty great too. Showing Corinne working through grief was powerful as well. It seemed real. You could feel it, and Corinne's hesitation to live her life because of it. Her mom and brother were okay, but I thought her mom was a bit of a busybody and I didn't like the way she threw the fact that she was helping Corinne in her face so much.
Now to the actual plot: for me, it got a bit muddled. It seems okay in concept and I love books where a little magic happens, but the execution stumbled for me. There just didn't seem to be any driving reason why Corinne was putting so much faith in the app. Especially after the first two matches. Then her getting with Cory was great and seemed like fate, but she still went back to what the app promised for no reason at all; she had someone standing right in front of her! Then the plot twist was okay, but it being the cause of a third act breakup made no sense to me. There was nothing to break up over, and the end seemed to carry on a bit for no reason.
It was also closed door, which didn't weigh too heavily into the review but I do wish I had known that ahead of time. There's a sequel involving the cousin; maybe I'll give it a try one day.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death