Scan barcode
A review by gggina13
We Can't Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon
4.0
Thanks to the publisher and edelweiss for this super exciting early access!!
I’m obsessed with Rachel Lynn Solomon. The way I fully passed away when I saw that I’d gotten approved for this ARC!!!
This one didn’t quite make my favorites list, I don’t think - I may revisit it once the final copy is out in June, though. It had all my favorite things about an RLS book - super organic diversity, a vivid Seattle backdrop, characters that have their own lives and problems outside of their romance, etc.; I think the pacing was what held me back. Quinn and Tarek’s families have worked together on weddings for years now, and they were always casually friends but spent last summer getting closer until they had a big argument right before Tarek left for college. They haven’t spoken since.... other than the love confession email Quinn swallowed her pride to send, the email that never got a response.
We’re told and not shown about their last-summer fling, and I think that’s where it gets a little fuzzy for me. I like second chance romances, as I’ve recently learned, but there wasn’t much here in the way of explaining what their first go around was like. There was a lot of focus on the conflict from it, but not so much the good times.
I did like that they got over the crush stage pretty quickly during the summer the book takes place in - pining is nice and all, but I can appreciate that they didn’t have a need for it, really, and were able to start their, well, situationship. It made for a slightly strange rising and falling action timeline but I like that it was different than the norm.
Tarek is a super romantic person, while Quinn has sworn off romance and prefers hookups that are somewhat meaningless. The main conflict in the story is the two of them trying to meet in the middle and finding that there’s not much middle ground when one person wants a relationship and the other one doesn’t. They both make completely valid points over the course of the book and it’s nice to be able to root for (and against) both love interests instead of one clearly being in the wrong.
But as far as other problems go, Quinn has been going through the motions in the family business for years now, and struggles knowing she can either say nothing and be unhappy forever, or speak up and, in her mind, ruin her family. She doesn’t even know what she’d want to do instead, and the lack of a plan makes her feel even worse about it all. Essentially “I don’t know what I want, but it’s not this.” And I definitely get that and think it’ll be really relatable to readers. Especially at that age. It’s always easier to know what you don’t want than what you want.
Tarek doesn’t really have many problems outside of romance. He has clinical depression, but that’s more of just something about him than a problem. He does have doubts about it and its effect on his future, but it’s not part of the main plot. And another thing that’s not a problem, but a feature, is that he has eczema. I think constantly about psoriasis representation in books, because I have it, and how it could be done and why it’s small enough of an issue that no one would ever really think to put it in. Eczema and psoriasis aren’t quite the same thing but they’re similar and I was so thankful to have a skin condition represented in this story. It was one of those surprise reps because it’s not big enough to make the synopsis or anything, so I was happily shocked to know that Tarek had it. He has flare-ups, insecurities about it, but overall had grown to accept it more over the years. It wasn’t used for the plot in any way. It’s just part of who he was and what he looked like. And I’m really glad I was able to feel a little seen here and am excited about what it’ll do for readers like me :’)
That’s the same thing with Quinn’s OCD - she has it, is medicated for it, but it’s got nothing to do with the plot. It’s mentioned quite a bit, because it’s part of her identity, but it’s really not even viewed as a problem. Just the way Rachel Lynn Solomon is able to normalize all kinds of things in her books is really special and I’m so happy for all the people she provides representation for.
Overall I really enjoyed this, may have teared up at a point or two, and definitely laughed, too. Especially at the point when I realized we had a certain redhead and his girlfriend at one of the weddings - cameos are so cheesy but I just eat them up every time. But yeah, I liked the characterization and character development in this story a little more than I liked the actual plot. RLS’s books are so well-rounded, though, that I’m sure everyone who reads this one will relate to at least some aspect of it. I’ll definitely still recommend it. And I’ll already be patiently waiting for whatever’s next from Rachel Lynn Solomon!
I’m obsessed with Rachel Lynn Solomon. The way I fully passed away when I saw that I’d gotten approved for this ARC!!!
This one didn’t quite make my favorites list, I don’t think - I may revisit it once the final copy is out in June, though. It had all my favorite things about an RLS book - super organic diversity, a vivid Seattle backdrop, characters that have their own lives and problems outside of their romance, etc.; I think the pacing was what held me back. Quinn and Tarek’s families have worked together on weddings for years now, and they were always casually friends but spent last summer getting closer until they had a big argument right before Tarek left for college. They haven’t spoken since.... other than the love confession email Quinn swallowed her pride to send, the email that never got a response.
We’re told and not shown about their last-summer fling, and I think that’s where it gets a little fuzzy for me. I like second chance romances, as I’ve recently learned, but there wasn’t much here in the way of explaining what their first go around was like. There was a lot of focus on the conflict from it, but not so much the good times.
I did like that they got over the crush stage pretty quickly during the summer the book takes place in - pining is nice and all, but I can appreciate that they didn’t have a need for it, really, and were able to start their, well, situationship. It made for a slightly strange rising and falling action timeline but I like that it was different than the norm.
Tarek is a super romantic person, while Quinn has sworn off romance and prefers hookups that are somewhat meaningless. The main conflict in the story is the two of them trying to meet in the middle and finding that there’s not much middle ground when one person wants a relationship and the other one doesn’t. They both make completely valid points over the course of the book and it’s nice to be able to root for (and against) both love interests instead of one clearly being in the wrong.
But as far as other problems go, Quinn has been going through the motions in the family business for years now, and struggles knowing she can either say nothing and be unhappy forever, or speak up and, in her mind, ruin her family. She doesn’t even know what she’d want to do instead, and the lack of a plan makes her feel even worse about it all. Essentially “I don’t know what I want, but it’s not this.” And I definitely get that and think it’ll be really relatable to readers. Especially at that age. It’s always easier to know what you don’t want than what you want.
Tarek doesn’t really have many problems outside of romance. He has clinical depression, but that’s more of just something about him than a problem. He does have doubts about it and its effect on his future, but it’s not part of the main plot. And another thing that’s not a problem, but a feature, is that he has eczema. I think constantly about psoriasis representation in books, because I have it, and how it could be done and why it’s small enough of an issue that no one would ever really think to put it in. Eczema and psoriasis aren’t quite the same thing but they’re similar and I was so thankful to have a skin condition represented in this story. It was one of those surprise reps because it’s not big enough to make the synopsis or anything, so I was happily shocked to know that Tarek had it. He has flare-ups, insecurities about it, but overall had grown to accept it more over the years. It wasn’t used for the plot in any way. It’s just part of who he was and what he looked like. And I’m really glad I was able to feel a little seen here and am excited about what it’ll do for readers like me :’)
That’s the same thing with Quinn’s OCD - she has it, is medicated for it, but it’s got nothing to do with the plot. It’s mentioned quite a bit, because it’s part of her identity, but it’s really not even viewed as a problem. Just the way Rachel Lynn Solomon is able to normalize all kinds of things in her books is really special and I’m so happy for all the people she provides representation for.
Overall I really enjoyed this, may have teared up at a point or two, and definitely laughed, too. Especially at the point when I realized we had a certain redhead and his girlfriend at one of the weddings - cameos are so cheesy but I just eat them up every time. But yeah, I liked the characterization and character development in this story a little more than I liked the actual plot. RLS’s books are so well-rounded, though, that I’m sure everyone who reads this one will relate to at least some aspect of it. I’ll definitely still recommend it. And I’ll already be patiently waiting for whatever’s next from Rachel Lynn Solomon!