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A review by molb8
Meet Cute: Some People Are Destined to Meet 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
4.0
I loved the idea of this book, a collection of short YA romance stories that are mostly very sweet. I loved that when I had a bit of spare time I could pick up the book and read a story from start to finish. With 14 different stories, there were some I liked more than others. The main negatives I had were that a lot of the stories felt rushed and/or unrealistic, but that is probably mostly due to the shortness of the stories. Definitely put some new authors on my radar!
Siege Etiquette by Katie Cotugno.
I’m not too sure how I feel about this one. The story pretty much takes place in one room and while the idea that the popular Hailey and the unknown Wolf hit it off (even for a brief time). It has the potential to be cute, but I really dislike the fact that Hailey kisses him, when she’s dating someone else. I like the characters opening up to each other and there is a lot of depth to the story despite its length. 1/5
Print Shop by Nina Lacour.
Evie starts a part time job at a print shop after school, hoping to learn more about traditional art techniques, but ends dealing with a customer complaint. Now my brief explanation won’t do this story justice, it was one of my favourites. It was cute and realistic! 5/5
Hourglass by Ibi Zoboi.
Another of my favourites, Cherish is at the end of her final year of school before university, but drama with her best friend, potential university and prom ensue. I wanted more but Ibi Zoboi wrote an interesting, well rounded story to say how short it is. The storytelling flowed nicely and I really enjoyed Cherish as a character. 4/5
Click by Katharine McGee.
Alexa signs up to dating site ‘Click’ but not to find a date… Click uses all personal data available online to match people based on their compatibility, so Alexa goes on a Click date to learn more to help her own work, but she meets Raden and they go on a bit of an adventure. This was a really well written story, the emotions between the characters felt like they developed naturally. I liked the plot and how it unfolded. 4/5
The Intern by Sara Shepard.
Clara works as an intern at her father’s record label, where she feels like everyone is wary of her. One day she is finally given what finally feels like a meaningful task, which turns into a date-like day with singer songwriter Phineas. This felt so hollow to me. This story just felt too rushed that it ruined the realisticness of the plot points. I think it could be fleshed out into a full length book, but even then I don’t think it’s one I’d pick up. 1/5
Somewhere That’s Green by Meredith Russo.
This was so promising… I loved that it covered such an important topic by detailing what could be a realistic experience. BUT, that’s where the realism ended for me. Nia’s hate to love to hate to love of Lexie just made the development of the story feel rushed to me. 2/5
The Way We Love Here by Dhonielle Clayton.
Set on an island where everyone has a marking on their finger which leads them to their soulmate, Vio (short for Viola) is sat on the beach when Sebastien appears. I loved the more fantasy (I think?) angle this story took. I also really liked the personalities of Vio and Sebastien. The plot nicely and the story concluded well. 4/5
Oomph by Emery Lord.
Performing arts student Cassidy is on her way home from visiting her friend in New York (where she’ll also be studying next year). Her plane is delayed but before the boredom sets in she meets interesting traveller. This was amazing. There wasn’t much of a plot, but it didn’t matter. The characters seemed realistic and lovely and I loved the way the story played out. 5/5
The Dictionary Of You And Me by Jennifer L. Armentrout.
Moss works part time at her local library where she is tasked with chasing up the overdue returns, who is this mystery guy who won’t return the dictionary? I loved how natural this felt, the plot progressed nicely, although I did find it a little predictable. 4/5
The Unlikely Likelihood Of Falling In Love by Jocelyn Davies.
Budding statistician Sam embarks on her final project where she focusses on a mystery boy she sees on a passing train. But not everything goes to plan. I love women in STEM story lines and this one is no different. The only complaint is that a minor detail at the end seems a bit unrealistic. 5/5
259 Million Miles by Kass Morgan.
Phillip has been shortlisted to go on a mission to Mars, all he needs to do is pass a few more tests, including spending 24 hours in isolation! He meets the brilliant Blythe, but things don’t go to plan. This broke my heart. I loved it throughout and I loved the development of the characters’ relationship, but the ending really hurt. 4/5
Something Real by Julie Murphy.
June is a huge fan of pop star Dylan and she gets scouted for a TV competition to win a date with him. She competes against Martha and ends up with a date, but a date with who?! I really enjoyed this! I loved both June and Martha and their relationship as it developed. I hoped the story would end the way it did and I lost a bit of faith as I kept reading but was so glad I guessed correctly once I finished this story! 5/5
Say Everything by Huntley Fitzpatrick.
Emma works at a diner where she regularly serves a group of boys from the private school in the next town over. Little did she know, one of them is interested in her and has a link to her past. This story was pretty good overall. As it’s so short, it’s difficult to get into the details of things, but I’d have like to know more about Emma’s past. I was unsure of Sean at first, but he turned out to be a lovely character. 3/5
The Department Of Dead Love by Nicola Yoon.
Thomas goes to the Department of Dead Love in the hopes that he can discover why his seemingly perfect relationship with Sam ended. Gabby is tasked with carrying out a Relationship Autopsy on Thomas to help him find out why his relationship ended, but her and Thomas seem to get on very well. I love the premise of this story, it’s not like something I’ve ever read before. This was the only story that brought tears to my eyes, “All love ends. Sometimes it’s a breakup. Sometimes the other person dies.” I HATED the ending, but it was all well written. 4/5
Siege Etiquette by Katie Cotugno.
I’m not too sure how I feel about this one. The story pretty much takes place in one room and while the idea that the popular Hailey and the unknown Wolf hit it off (even for a brief time). It has the potential to be cute, but I really dislike the fact that Hailey kisses him, when she’s dating someone else. I like the characters opening up to each other and there is a lot of depth to the story despite its length. 1/5
Print Shop by Nina Lacour.
Evie starts a part time job at a print shop after school, hoping to learn more about traditional art techniques, but ends dealing with a customer complaint. Now my brief explanation won’t do this story justice, it was one of my favourites. It was cute and realistic! 5/5
Hourglass by Ibi Zoboi.
Another of my favourites, Cherish is at the end of her final year of school before university, but drama with her best friend, potential university and prom ensue. I wanted more but Ibi Zoboi wrote an interesting, well rounded story to say how short it is. The storytelling flowed nicely and I really enjoyed Cherish as a character. 4/5
Click by Katharine McGee.
Alexa signs up to dating site ‘Click’ but not to find a date… Click uses all personal data available online to match people based on their compatibility, so Alexa goes on a Click date to learn more to help her own work, but she meets Raden and they go on a bit of an adventure. This was a really well written story, the emotions between the characters felt like they developed naturally. I liked the plot and how it unfolded. 4/5
The Intern by Sara Shepard.
Clara works as an intern at her father’s record label, where she feels like everyone is wary of her. One day she is finally given what finally feels like a meaningful task, which turns into a date-like day with singer songwriter Phineas. This felt so hollow to me. This story just felt too rushed that it ruined the realisticness of the plot points. I think it could be fleshed out into a full length book, but even then I don’t think it’s one I’d pick up. 1/5
Somewhere That’s Green by Meredith Russo.
This was so promising… I loved that it covered such an important topic by detailing what could be a realistic experience. BUT, that’s where the realism ended for me. Nia’s hate to love to hate to love of Lexie just made the development of the story feel rushed to me. 2/5
The Way We Love Here by Dhonielle Clayton.
Set on an island where everyone has a marking on their finger which leads them to their soulmate, Vio (short for Viola) is sat on the beach when Sebastien appears. I loved the more fantasy (I think?) angle this story took. I also really liked the personalities of Vio and Sebastien. The plot nicely and the story concluded well. 4/5
Oomph by Emery Lord.
Performing arts student Cassidy is on her way home from visiting her friend in New York (where she’ll also be studying next year). Her plane is delayed but before the boredom sets in she meets interesting traveller. This was amazing. There wasn’t much of a plot, but it didn’t matter. The characters seemed realistic and lovely and I loved the way the story played out. 5/5
The Dictionary Of You And Me by Jennifer L. Armentrout.
Moss works part time at her local library where she is tasked with chasing up the overdue returns, who is this mystery guy who won’t return the dictionary? I loved how natural this felt, the plot progressed nicely, although I did find it a little predictable. 4/5
The Unlikely Likelihood Of Falling In Love by Jocelyn Davies.
Budding statistician Sam embarks on her final project where she focusses on a mystery boy she sees on a passing train. But not everything goes to plan. I love women in STEM story lines and this one is no different. The only complaint is that a minor detail at the end seems a bit unrealistic. 5/5
259 Million Miles by Kass Morgan.
Phillip has been shortlisted to go on a mission to Mars, all he needs to do is pass a few more tests, including spending 24 hours in isolation! He meets the brilliant Blythe, but things don’t go to plan. This broke my heart. I loved it throughout and I loved the development of the characters’ relationship, but the ending really hurt. 4/5
Something Real by Julie Murphy.
June is a huge fan of pop star Dylan and she gets scouted for a TV competition to win a date with him. She competes against Martha and ends up with a date, but a date with who?! I really enjoyed this! I loved both June and Martha and their relationship as it developed. I hoped the story would end the way it did and I lost a bit of faith as I kept reading but was so glad I guessed correctly once I finished this story! 5/5
Say Everything by Huntley Fitzpatrick.
Emma works at a diner where she regularly serves a group of boys from the private school in the next town over. Little did she know, one of them is interested in her and has a link to her past. This story was pretty good overall. As it’s so short, it’s difficult to get into the details of things, but I’d have like to know more about Emma’s past. I was unsure of Sean at first, but he turned out to be a lovely character. 3/5
The Department Of Dead Love by Nicola Yoon.
Thomas goes to the Department of Dead Love in the hopes that he can discover why his seemingly perfect relationship with Sam ended. Gabby is tasked with carrying out a Relationship Autopsy on Thomas to help him find out why his relationship ended, but her and Thomas seem to get on very well. I love the premise of this story, it’s not like something I’ve ever read before. This was the only story that brought tears to my eyes, “All love ends. Sometimes it’s a breakup. Sometimes the other person dies.” I HATED the ending, but it was all well written. 4/5