4.5

There’s a lot to unpack with this novel and a lot of it I will keep close to my heart because I don’t want to give anything away!

I will start by saying that the beginning of this book is sweet and unexpected! What I loved about it was that it was our first introduction into who Maya is! This story is told through just her point of view and throughout the book we see many sides of her! At the heart of her character though she is someone who wants to see every one find their HEA! She is a romantic who just wants the world to experience the beauty of love!

When the day trip of a life time becomes the premise of an upcoming book Maya knows she must find the man responsible for her amazing day! He’s the key to what her future! What she embarks on is a journey of discovery in more ways than just love!

I really enjoyed Maya’s character, and that she had such a great foundation with her best friend and her mom! She also meets new people on her journey and each character really added to the story!

The book did feel a little slow at certain parts and I know it’s building up to the climax so my warning is to stick it out! Continue to read because when the book picks up at about the 60% mark you will be mind blown and completely invested just like I was!

When Maya gets fired from her job and travels to California to surprise her long-time boyfriend on her birthday, she didn’t expect to find out from a Lift driver that her boyfriend was cheating. The Lift driver, who Maya names Max, encourages Maya to make the best of her day by traveling to a charming beach town. With a fabulous itinerary and an even better series of text messages, Max gives Maya the most wonderful experience of her life. However, when they finally agree to meet, Maya’s mystery man doesn’t show. Instead, her boyfriend does.

A year later, Maya is fed up and longing for the connection she felt with a man she never met. When Ethan, an author friend of Max, writes about Maya’s magical day, Maya decides to head back to the small beach town and find out who Max is. She gets a job working for Ethan’s sister in the hopes of uncovering Max’s identity. However, what she finds is more than she ever expected.

The Meeting Point is a sweet story about two strangers who fall in love before they even meet. It’s also about finding yourself, taking risks, and never giving up on your dreams. I love the characters and the gorgeous setting, as well as the messages about love and friendship.

The setting is beautiful, and it definitely sounds like a place I’d love to visit. It has that charming, quirky small-town feel that really speaks to Maya, and I can see why. The author gives such vivid descriptions of the homes, the ocean, and other charming and unique places, and it really made this idyllic coastal setting come alive.

The characters are charming as well. I love Maya! She’s on such a journey of self-discovery and is really finding out who she is and what she wants in life. She grows a lot throughout the story, and I enjoyed her journey. Ethan, the writer who wrote the story of her day with Max, is so thoughtful and fun. I liked his sense of humor and his strong relationship with his sister. I also like that some of the minor characters also find their happy endings. There are so many charming characters in the story, and to see them find happiness too is lovely.

The love story, though fairly predictable, is charming and fun. It begins in such an unusual way and initially develops through texts. They have such chemistry, and their banter is so fun and witty. I love how he slowly woos Maya and shows her how he feels. It’s romantic and sweet, and so very charming.

This is a cute and heartwarming story with a wonderful setting and characters. I think readers who enjoy quick and light contemporary romance or rom-coms will enjoy this read, and I’m so thankful to The Write Reads, the author, and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

i received an arc from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

this book was just... aggressively average. the main character was okay. the love interest was okay. the plot was okay. the twist was predictable, but okay.

the only thing that was *good* was the setting (carmel, for those bay area natives!).

also, the book is pretty much nothing like the synopsis. the synopsis is true, but it only represents like 10% of the novel (when maya actually has this experience). most of the novel is about being a writer and having another author steal this life experience (of getting cheated on and learning via a driver) for his upcoming novel. even though this was still interesting for me, i could see how some readers who are expecting something different could be disappointed.

overall, i'm glad i read this book because it helped me realize that i don't enjoy a particular romance trope (can't divulge because of spoilers). but, if you want a summer read with the beach-town feels, maybe pick this one up?

I read this as part of a book tour and I am so glad I signed up!! This book was my biggest feel good read of the year so far. I am not a hugely romantic person but this read left me wanting to give everything up and find my own adventure.

The characters were seriously loveable and I want each and everyone of them in my lives. If I could have jumped into the pages and been a part of their make shift family, I would have done so without hesitation. A heart warming story from start to finish. I can't wait to hear more from this author.

I will be publishing my review on my Instagram for my day on the blog tour.

One of the things that caught my attention in the book was the cover, and like the cover, the story is adorable. I totally recommend it when you're looking for a cute and simple book to read.

I really love that both characters were writers and, yes, is love at first sight but at the same time is slow burn.

Another thing I enjoyed about the book is the friendship between Maya and Alisa, and of course, Maya and Celine.

*Spoiler Alert*
Serendipity in a book go either go two ways: travel throughout the book with two characters always slightly missing each other, or an adventure which formed love and the rest of the story is the mystery of finding out who that love really was- basically Cinderella. This book was the latter.
What happens when you end up going on a guided tour when your guide is via text, you've never met your guide but you may be falling in love with them? That is exactly what our main character, Maya, ponders at the start but throughout the book Maya is determined that this day of amazing wonderlust is how she is supposed to live the rest of her life.
The author sculpts characters with the right amount of flaws to compliment their annoying virtues. Though, I felt like there was not enough passion from David who called her a thousand time when she left for Carmel, but didn't have the anger to fly down to get her. I'm not saying I wanted Maya to end up with David but I felt like he should have fought for her and not just phone her post-breakup.

I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. The Meeting Point centers around Maya, a writer. On a trip to surprise her boyfriend in California, she finds out from his Lift driver that he hasn’t been faithful to her. However, with it being her birthday, the Lift driver encourages her to take a day trip to Carmel, complete with an itinerary that he texts her throughout the day. Over the course of the day, Maya finds herself intrigued by this stranger that she’s only interacted with by text. I won’t say anymore about the plot so as to avoid any spoilers.

This was a cute book and if you’re looking for something simple and sweet this might be for you. Unfortunately, it was a bit too cutesy for me and was missing some substance, particularly in character development - we don’t see much growth from Maya over the course of the book.

I was really looking forward to this concept, but unfortunately it fell a little flat for me. The key to a strong romance is chemistry-building between the main characters - creating those moments where you can feel how strongly the characters are drawn to each other, how strong their desire is - but I think the chemistry-building was missing here. I think the “instalove” trope can be done really well (and I love it when it’s done well) but after the initial day in Carmel the chemistry was lost for me so I had a hard time buying the “love at first text”. There was also no steam apart from a couple of kisses, which didn’t help in this respect.

I also didn’t particularly love the author’s writing style as I found it a bit choppy - “this happened, and then I said this, and then he said that, and then this happened.” I did, however, love the short chapters. I also loved the way the author described the town of Carmel so vividly - I felt like I was transported there.

I would recommend this book if you are looking for a light, cute romcom or a beach read. If you’re looking for something emotional and/or steamy, I would look elsewhere.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Maya decides to surprise her boyfriend. When she arrives she gets a surprise. When she was at her lowest, she meets a stranger that could change her life. I enjoyed the chemistry between Maya and the stranger

I really enjoyed The Meeting Point! It was a quick, easy read. It was funny and it was sweet. It was t out of this world in concept, but that was forgiven with the adorable characters.

When I first read the synopsis of the book I thought yup for once someone is writing something original something I actually want to read and not the same tropes everyone keeps rereading. Loved the characters and their connection so much, the plot was kinda slow but I got into it once I started feeling the chemistry between the characters !!!

The Meeting Point is such a sweet book, it was hard to get into as it’s not a page turner but once I did I had to finish it. I figured out who Max was in the middle of the book, this made it a little frustrating to read when all the signs where pointing at “Max”. My favourite character was Celine because of how joyful she was, and I was glad that she got her happily ever after. Overall, I recommend The Meeting Point. It’s a sweet, romantic quick read that sparks the hope of falling in love. *that was very cheesy 😂*

Thank you NetGalley and Aria for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was my first Olivia Lara book, and it was sweet. I liked the progression of the main character throughout the book. It started off bleak, but I was smiling by the end. It was frustrating because it was a predictable story to everyone except the main character. I wanted to scream at her so many times. Overall, it’s a cute read.

I found Olivia's work last year and it really made a huge impression on me, to the point it is one of my favorite books now and I have to say The Meeting point is not the exception, it is brilliant, funny and also heartwarming perfect beach read for this summer light funny and all that jazz.

The Meeting point is the story Of Maya after finding out her BF is a cheater she is ready to finally move on and find meaning in her life and her next direction even if that means leaving her current life and job to move to another place and start all over again to recover your heart and maybe meet the love of your life.

Ethan is a writer, he is in town for a while before he starts his book tour but something is about to happen that maybe his plans will have to wait for a while, he has finally has found his muse and the story that will change his life forever.

The batter between Maya and Ethan was great I laughed a lot with these two, especially with Maya she was kind of nerdy sometimes and that made her even cuter and more enjoyable.

I love the scenarios of this book, California is my home so I love feeling that I have been there in many of these places where the characters have found so much joy.

The secondary character like Aaron and Celine was amazing I really love how much Celine brought to the story adding more sparks and magic to Mayas and Ethan's world.. she was amazing, sensible, kind and always very helpful with Maya.

I was so excited to read the new book by the author and I'm so glad I did, she really has a way with words that will make you feel like you're walking every scenario along with the characters.

if you're looking for a summer read, something that will keep you smiling The Meeting Point is the real deal.

Thank you Olivia for writing these worlds that transport us to different places and bring so much magic to our lives.

📱The Meeting Point📱

If I could just borrow a quote from within The Meeting Point itself, I think that it sums up this novel perfectly.

‘Although some things in the novel were far-fetched, they didn’t take away from the beauty of the story or from hoping the characters would find a way to get past their heartbreaks and fears and just take a chance on each other.’

I’m a bit picky when it comes to love stories there’s a fine line between sweet and cringey for me but I really enjoyed this one. A light, easy read. Predictable especially in the second half but you’re still rooting for that HEA.

3.5🌟 from me. Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a copy of this in advance.

This book was so wonderfully frustrating. Poor Maya is so oblivious, I felt like screaming the whole time. At the beginning I thought I knew where this story would go but I was constantly and pleasantly surprised.

While aspects of the story border on weird, and the writing is rather loose and flimsy, I really enjoyed reading about this love story, I also like the way the other character’s POV was incorporated.

Overall, a decent and enjoyable romance novel.

The Meeting Point has a great synopsis, it's intriguing and promising, but the book didn't captivate me. I read it in less than a day, so I would recommend it to someone looking for a very quick, easy and uncommitted book to read, without high expectations. Unfortunately, when I started reading this book I had high expectations that weren’t achieved. I really wanted to like it, but the breaking of my expectations disappointed me a lot.

Some things bothered me a lot while reading. The first of thing, perhaps the most noticeable, was the number of chapters and their length. I got scared when I opened the file and saw that the book had 88 chapters. In my opinion, that's a lot for a romance novel. The book is less than 400 pages long and so the chapters are very short, consequently their development was shallow and rushed. The book is too fast-paced, and luckily it helps the reading to flow but the development gets confused and the reading doesn't captivate the reader, and I even considered abandoning it in the first 20%, but I kept going.

I don't usually like the instalove trope (but that's a particular thing about my reader profile), because for me it’s illogical and unrealistic and this book confirmed it once more. I liked the meet cute, but not the rest of their romance. The main characters didn't enthrall me and I didn't like the whole plot only being focused around discovering who Max was, as it was obvious to me who he really was since the first time he appeared, and so the plot twist wasn't surprising to me at all. The author's writing isn't bad, but it's not good either. Unfortunately, I don't think I would read another book from Olivia Lara.

This book is adorable. Have you ever had an undeniable connection with someone for a short span of time? Someone you met once by chance and you just clicked? What if you never actually saw that person? What if that one magical day changed your entire life but you had no way of finding that connection again? Welcome to Maya's world.

Her life is turned upside down when in the course of 24 hours she gets fired from her job and finds that her boyfriend of 5 years is cheating on her when she flies from NY to CA to surprise him on her birthday. Talk about a lousy way to celebrate. But what could easily have been the worst day of her life turns out to be just the magic she needed when the world's kindest Lift driver takes her on a tour of Carmel by the Sea...via text messages. She spends the day touring the quaint little town by the Pacific Ocean and getting to know the mystery man on the other side of the phone. But when her Cinderella moment comes and she thinks she might just meet her real life Prince Charming, he doesn't show. Instead her boyfriend (ex?) appears and all the joy and hope she had gathered in the past 24 hours vanishes in an instant.

She goes back to NY, back to beg for her job, back to the boyfriend who swears he never cheated. Everything is the same, and yet nothing will ever be the same. Because she changed on the beach that day. She isn't the same person she was before that fateful encounter. Now the question is, what's Maya going to do about it and will she ever find her mystery man again?

This was a really fun read. I won't lie I got frustrated at one point, I missed hearing from the other half of this romantic duo and wondered how much of a romance can take place with only one half of the romantic duo present! But boy did this book make it work.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC

This was such a pleasure to read. I found myself losing track of time because I read it so fast!

Maya plans out the perfect birthday evening for herself, flying to California to spend it with her long term boyfriend. When she arrives her evening is promptly crushed when the lift driver that has her boyfriends phone exposes him as a cheater. The mysterious driver sends her on the trip of a life time that Maya thinks about the entire year she’s back in New York. Once she finally decides to leave David and quit her job, Maya flies back to California, determined to unmask the mysterious Max from her perfect night out.

The relationship in this book was too cute to pass up and I loved the slow development and reveal of who Max really was! I thought the pacing of this book was great and the characters were all well developed! I do wish that Mac had been revealed slightly earlier so that we could see more of their development as a potential couple.

I loved the concept and idea of this fun summer read! It felt a little long-winded, and was very predictable to me, but I still liked the story and characters. The beach town setting was adorable and it was so fun to feel as though I was placed down in the middle of the small town feel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria for providing me with an electronic advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review!

It was fun! I really think anyone who enjoys sophie kinsella’s stuff would enjoy this. i also think the plot was quite unique and entertaining.