This book was so cute. It was the perfect romcom. I will be featuring this book in an upcoming romcom book recommendation episode.

Review sent to the American Library Association (ALA) Booklist editor. Any questions or inquiries can be forwarded to ALA Booklist staff.

This book was a little disappointing. I loved the plot but the execution was a little off and couldn’t confusing at times.

I went into this one with such high expectations after the book was announced, but it ended up falling flat for me. I do think that this is a cute rom-com, but I wanted a bit more depth. I will say that I appreciated the discussion of complicated familial relationships as well as highlighting the importance of friendships especially in high school. I do think that this book will resonate with young people.

Thanks NetGalley for the preview!

I liked this story about Mia and her quest to find a date. Her family was a little quirky and her sister Sam is controlling but it seems like Sam really just wants the best for Mia. I liked the friend characters and all of the prospective suitors had their own personalities. I think the idea that Sam would let Mia just pick a new groomsman is a little off base if she really is a bridezilla and I think just having Mia find a date to the wedding is a better avenue. I really disliked the bridal shower/ date fiasco and felt like that just added unnecessary drama.

I found this to be cute. Nothing that I loved, but cute nonetheless. I love reading about meet-cutes so having multiple ones in a book was right up my alley. While some things were a bit over the top, I did like the way friendship was projected. Along with Mia finding love, she also learned a few things about herself on the way.

If you are a fan of rom-coms or just need something cute and a bit fluffy, then give this a try.

I love meeting debut authors! However, it is often difficult to discern whether a book by an unknown author will be a clean read without a recommendation - which is always a priority of mine. I was intrigued by the synopsis of The Meet-Cute Project and therefore decided to give it a try.

Told entirely from Mia's perspective, this is a fun and insightful coming-of-age story. As she and her friends attempt to help her find a date for her sister's wedding, their attempts to manufacture the classic "meet-cute" were fun! And, ironically, she had one and just didn't realize it.

I enjoyed Mia and her friends and grinned at the failures they encountered as they schemed to contrive the perfect meet-cute. I won't give too many details but let's just say that buying gloves, dogs, and being stood up by Darth Vader were some of the fun events. And I was surprised by a few of the twists along the way.

The writing is compelling and felt like a high-school junior wrote it (in a good way!). I was impressed (and glad) that the party Mia and her friends attended didn't have underage drinking or drugs.

One disappointment, if you can even call it that, was that a character was grounded and though the reason behind the punishment it was explained, the incident that called for it was not. The behavior seemed out of character and I'm sure there is more to it, and now I may never know what it was. But that's a minor complaint and shouldn't detract from anyone's enjoyment of the story.

Unlike many of the stories I read and review, this one is not written from a Judaeo-Christian perspective, nor is it advertised to be. It is clean of language concerns and has a kiss or two but nothing more explicit. There are mentions, though, of a budding relationship between two girls and that Mia's sister Sam lives with her fiancé. Please be aware if this is a concern for you.

It was easy to see some of the twists in this book coming. It was still a delightful romantic comedy that would enchant any teen romance reader! Will absolutely include on my shelf.

This book was SUPER cute! I really enjoyed the family dynamics and the sibling relationship was different than what we typically get in a YA contemporary. This story is perfect for young readers who need some boost in their confidence, it was a great coming-of-age book. <3

Thank you to Simon Teen for the review copy.

Rom-Com movies
Realistic friendships
Slow burn romance
For fans of Kasie West

Oh my goodness, my 8th grade students would adore this book. It was sweet and full of family, friends and crushes. Mia and her group of friends brought back memories of when I was in high school. What a wonderful book debut!

The Meet-Cute Project by Rhiannon Richardson is the story of Mia, a relatable high school student who is tasked with finding a date to her sister's upcoming wedding. Mia's friends devise a plan to arrange meet-cutes for Mia to help her find a relationship. The meet-cutes in the book were funny and the overall story was cute. I enjoyed Mia's character and loved that the book was focused primarily on Mia discovering and learning more about herself rather than just on the relationships in the story. Mia's family and friendships were realistic and relatable in their portrayal. Overall, the book was highly enjoyable, cute, and heart-warming. It is appropriate for the target audience.

I received a copy of this title from the publisher, which did not affect the contents of my review. I reviewed this book voluntarily and all opinions are my own.

Let me start this review by saying that I absolutely loved this book!

Mia, our teenage narrator and main protagonist, must suddenly confront the status of her love life (and, in turn, her life in general), when her older sister Sam insists Mia find a date to her wedding to keep the number of bridesmaids and groomsmen even. When Mia turns to her friends for help, they decide on organizing a series of "meet cutes" like in the movies, convinced this will be the key to helping Mia find her match.

Mia is so relatable and likable as she tries to figure out exactly what she wants out of life and where she fits. Her struggles and triumphs feel real, as do those of the characters around her. Every character shows growth, not just Mia, and all the side plots are interesting and relevant to the story.

And don't even get me started on the romance, it is perfection. I was hoping so much for Mia's happy ending, and for it to be with a certain guy who seemed perfect for her. No spoilers, but the ending felt like a movie in the absolute best way.

This book is everything I hope for when I turn on or open up a romantic comedy. It gave me the smile and spirit lift I needed during these difficult times.

I was excited to see a fluffy romance novel with a main character who is a POC. However, this novel did not live up to what I had hoped to find from the summary. The plot points were unrealistic, which made it difficult for me to stay focused in the story. The meet-cutes needed more development. I wanted more from the characters. This is a solid first book, though there is room for improvement.

Mia, a lover of math not rom-coms, is roped into a meet-cute experiment by her friends to help her find a date for her sisters upcoming wedding. The meet-cutes vary in success, but all have their own successful element and were hilarious to read about. I really did enjoy seeing Mia find more of herself on this journey and not just a boyfriend. Of course that's part of the story, but I feel like she understands herself and (most) of her relationships better at the end of the story and I appreciated that.

While this was cute, but I do feel like some scenes were missing. There was quite a few times where a twist happened, or some drama came to a head, and the next scene was post resolution and we got to see nothing. I was a little upset after the first time, but after like the fourth it was honestly a bit frustrating. Unfortunately, I didn't love Sam, Mia's older sister much either, which seriously pains me as sister relationships is something that always makes me want to pick up a book, but I found her incredibly selfish (beyond typical bridal syndrome) and unlikeable. Though they did have a few nice moments where I was cheering for them. I wasn't too hot on Mia's friends either, especially Grace. But I really don't feel like I know any of them well enough to pass judgement.

But it's hard not to enjoy a meet-cute centric romantic comedy, so I still had a great time reading this. This story try was just so much fun and easy to read. There are plenty of funny and awkward moments to keep you engaged, but some genuine heart there as well.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Mia Hubbard has enough on her plate between swim team, math club, volunteer work, and making it through her junior year of high school - not to mention her bridezilla sister's impending wedding. So when she's told she has just a few months to find a date to that wedding, her friends rally round to help her out - by orchestrating a series of romcom meet-cutes... what could possibly go wrong?

The Meet-Cute Project sounds like such a cute premise, but the nitty-gritty of that premise is more than a little forced. Big sis Sam is supposedly such a details-obsessed Bridezilla that she's having meltdowns over the exact shade of purple of her wedding flowers...but when the best man drops out of the wedding, she tells Mia to just find herself a new date/groomsman?? I tried to get past the initial weird set-up, but the rest of the book continues in much the same vein, with the most contrived, artificial, mountain-out-of-molehills drama imaginable just to keep the plot twisting along. None of the obstacles are real - like when Mia realizes she scheduled a date for the same night as her sister's bridal shower...and decides it would be far too mature and reasonable to reschedule, so instead she has to manufacture drama by sneaking out of the house to go on this date and ditch the shower. Mia herself is immature even beyond what's reasonable for a YA book's teenaged heroine, and while her initial awkwardness and total inability to flirt with the series of potential dates her friends parade in front of her is #relatable, neither she nor any of the supporting characters is especially interesting or engaging. Including the ultimate love interest, whose favorite pastime seems to be telling Mia she's being silly even when he himself is pulling completely unnecessary, made-up-for-the-dramz shenanigans like hiding his identity and lying about having a girlfriend. None of it makes sense. None of this story makes sense! Sentences contradict themselves on the same page ("All he wants to talk about is the club we're both in, and he doesn't answer my questions about his college plans!" "All he talks about is his college plans, how self-obsessed he is!" back to back), characters behave bizarrely with no justification except to cause drama and prolong the plot, and it's ultimately just so flat, forced, and faked at every step.

A cute premise - less than cute execution. It's just disappointing from start to finish.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advance review copy.

The Meet Cute Project follows the very relatable Mia who is tasked with finding a date for her sister's wedding. Her best friends come up with the idea of creating meet cutes in an attempt to find the perfect guy for her.

One of the things that was refreshing was that this felt like it was written for tweens and teens. And it wasn't trying to promote activism or current events. While those books are important we also need books about Black teens just being Black teens navigating high school. Mia is apart of her school's swim team, she has a close knit group of friends, and she's starting to think about what colleges she wants to apply to.

Mia has a much older sister named Sam who is being a bit of a bridezilla while planning her wedding. It was interesting seeing their relationship because of their age difference and being at two different points in their lives. Sam often takes it upon herself to be a parental figure to Mia because she believes their parents are slacking with her compared to when she was her age.

It starts off a little slow but picks up as we get further into the story. Mia has a close knit group of friends and they attempt to stage meet cutes at stores, parties, and even the dog park. I had a hard time picturing what her potential love interests looked like though because there was little description of what they looked like. But I appreciated that they weren't the cookie cutter YA love interests. No dark haired goofy bad boys in sight.

I liked that the ups and downs of friendships also played a big part in this book as Mia navigates close friendships as well as team friendships and branching outside of her bubble.

Overall this was a cute book with realistic friendships, family relationships, and first romance. Teens who like slow burn romance will enjoy this.

I want to thank Simon & Schuster for granting me an early copy of this book in exchange for review. I really wasn't sure what to expect from this one. It was compared to To All the Boys I've Loved Before but nothing about it from the tone to the storyline was reminiscent of that book. Which isn't a bad thing. We need more stories that don't feel like the buzzed about book of the moment.


Originally posted at
https://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-meet-cute-project-by-rhiannon.html

Ahhh this was adorable!! I really loved how supportive mias friends were, but also critical of her when she needed a little check in with reality (if that makes sense) this book had me guessing which boy she ends up with in the end and I am glad I picked the one I did because wow they are ADORABLE. I loved how all of the different storylines fell into place and how you got to see Mia figure out what she wanted. I also really liked the sibling relationship between mia and Sam. You saw them argue, and butt heads, but at the end of the day they truly love each other and that was what I loved. I found myself relating a lot to the two of them and I loved it. This book is an overall adorable YA romance with great main characters, side characters, and a great story.

When one of the groomsmen backs out of her sister's wedding, Mia is charged with finding her own date. Easier said than done! Worried that she could not accomplish the task on her own, she enlisted the help of her besties, who were determined to arrange rom-com meet-cutes for Mia and find her the perfect date.

Seeing one of my favorite adjectives, "cute", in the title plus the term "rom-com" had me chomping at the bit to read this book. I am happy to report it was both cute and full of great rom-com moments. I came for the romantic bits, but I must admit, I stayed for the familial love and friendship that filled these pages.

With the wedding approaching, I spent a lot of time with Mia's family. They had an interesting dynamic, which was being disturbed by her sister's return home. It seemed Mia saw her family's meddling as intrusive, but you could tell it was all born out of love. I didn't always see it that way, but by the end, I understood their intentions better, and so did Mia.

She also had a great group of friends, who were super determined to find her a love-match. They were very supportive of each other, as well as honest. Some of that honesty lead to a bit of a rift, but it was a nudge Mia needed to take stock and reflect on some of her choices.

Family, friendship, a wedding, meet-cutes, and a bit of romance made this a wonderful experience for me. Extra points for the classic rom-com ending. I thought the craziness surrounding the wedding was a great way to set Mia on her path of reflection and self discovery, and I enjoyed all the nods to those classic rom-coms out there.

Overall: This book was fun, sweet, and cute, while also having some substance. It left me smiling and filled with lots of glee.

When Mia needs to find her own date to her sister's wedding, she is beyond annoyed of the extra work on top of Math Club, swimming, and volunteering at the community garden. Her best friends try to help by orchestrating meet-cutes from their favorite rom-coms, which unfortunately, all fail miserably. When Mia takes matters into her own hands, she's caught between a mysterious Darth Vader from a Halloween party, her long-time crush Ben, a transfer student Ritchie, and the already-taken Gavin from the garden. How will this all end for Mia?

The beginning was a little slow, I must admit. BUT, once I got to know Mia more as I read, I actually enjoyed her story. There were friendships, the whole YA romantic adventure, family dynamics, especially the relationship Mia had with her sister, and Mia's overall growth out of her comfort zone. There were plenty of aww-worthy and sweet moments that made me tear a little. And, I was secretly cheering for one guy the entire time! Haha, couldn't help it.

"Everything always seems bigger in our heads than it is in our heads."

I recommend to fans of Tweet Cute, 10 Blind Dates, and To All the Boys!

This book had a cute premise but the execution didn't really work. The characters weren't well developed so I never really cared about the characters. Also, the meet-cutes and the relationships between Mia and her possible suitors felt forced. The entire plot felt slow and made parts of the book difficult to read. This book had the potential to be great but it was just kind of okay.