Just a fabulously adorable book!

Maya gets fired from her job as a journalist and flies to California to surprise her boyfriend as a special weekend away for her birthday. He leaves his phone in a Lift and the driver lets her know he’s cheating on her. The driver tells her to go to Carmel for the 24 hours she’s in town. So she does! He creates a wonderful itinerary for her creating her best day ever. The two never meet, only talking via text. She ends up going back to her boyfriend and one year later dumps him returning to Carmel to find the Lift driver she never met when she realizes she still loves him!

Loved getting to read about Maya as she is soo relatable and kind. She makes friends and fits in well in Carmel and seeing her grow in confidence of who she wants to be was great! She and Ethan have wonderful chemistry and share in some romantic experiences. While you see the twist coming early on in the book, it’s so well written you don’t mind it plus it gives Maya her HEA which you’re rooting for.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this arc.

— Staci McIntyre

The Meeting Point starts off with one of the best meet-cute premises. After finding out her boyfriend is cheating on her from his Lyft driver, she agrees to let the Lyft driver play tour guide instead of spending her Birthday alone and stranded at the airport. The best part for us is that they don't meet or exchange any personal information. All of their communication is through text. This 'day' was the perfect setup for the story. With missed opportunities, makeups, breakups, misunderstandings, and bad decisions, the story follows what happens to Maya in the year that follows.

The characters were generally likable, except for Maya's boss who made me mad. I mean, do people act like that? The story is mostly fast-paced. I found the middle third to be slow with a lot of day-to-day details that were not as interesting for me. But the end brings it all together with a heartwarming touch. While Maya needs a good shake to see what is right in front of her, the story is incredibly cute and enjoyable. Carmel-by-the-Sea is an idyllic town and makes me want to book a trip to experience it first hand.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc. This is my honest review.

I absolutely adored this book! It hooked me from the start. Maya tries to surprise her boyfriend, but ends up finding out he’s cheating on her. But then, the driver who has his phone tells her what to do, so she can still manage to have a good birthday. But the day end up going better than she imagined.
This book was so good. I loved these characters. Maya is a strong character, and ends up packing up and trying to find her happily ever after.. She’s been hurt, but still believes in love and finding her love story. Ethan, you start out not liking him. As he seems like he’s not a nice character. But, as the story goes on, you end up falling for him. This book was so beautifully written, and I’ll definitely be reading the others previous book. Definitely recommend.. A fast read. And very entertaining.

THE MEETING POINT follows Maya Maas. What better way to spend your birthday than to surprise your long-term, long distance boyfriend with a visit? What Maya doesn’t expect is a stranger to text her off of her boyfriends lost phone. Maya is left crying in the airport after her boyfriends Lyft drivers reveals to her that her boyfriend has been cheating on her. To cheer her up, the stranger helps Maya plan a day full of fun adventures and the two have a connection over text that Maya never could have dreamed of.
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This book was exactly what I needed right now. Fast paced, fun and romantic! I loved both Maya and her mystery man “Max.” I love books about anonymous texting-relationships, and this one was especially good. Their chemistry had me grinning throughout the entire book. I actually finished this book in one day because I used every spare moment I had to read. I was completely hooked— this story and these characters are going to stay with me. I’d love to read anything else Lara has written and will write!
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4.5/5 stars, THE MEETING POINT by Olivia Lara is available September 2, 2021!
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Thank you to Netgalley and Aria & Aries for sending me an eARC to review!

Argh. I really wanted to like this. This is another case of the blurb sounding like it was going to be a sure thing for me but then the reality...not being a thing at all. I think this author's writing isn't for me. It was a lot of telling and a lot of information that I felt like I didn't really need on the front end. I did enjoy the meet-cute and the conversation that ensued. But I didn't love Maya. And I didn't have the patience for her character arc. So, in the end - this wasn't a hit for me and I didn't finish it. But I sincerely appreciated the opportunity to read and review.

OMG!! That was so sweet! I couldn't put this down! Love me a non-steamy romcom. I want more. Well, I didn't expect to enjoy it so much considering I wasn't too fond of the beginning and the plot is kind of unrealistic but again what are romcoms if not cheesy.I hope Olivia Lara writes more!

I really enjoyed this story! The idea of a few texts sending you on a great adventure was so fun and unexpected. There were times I didn’t like Maya because her personality seemed weak (she barely stood up for herself unless you made her mad). I felt like she and the main male character both struggled with immaturity as well.

I was provided with an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It was a good book which was an easy read. It was pretty predictable but overall left positive vibes at the end of the book.

I loved this book….. I was hooked the very beginning, I was transported with the characters and loved seeing the story unfold, a really intense feel good book.

5 stars from me

Cute, fun, adorable read ripe with clever storytelling. The Meeting Point begs the question what do you or would you do if you found out your partner was cheating?

The Meeting Point is my first book by author Olivia Lara.

In this book, Maya yearns to be a writer and is always penning stories but she has never been published.

She works as a journalist in New York, lives with her litigation lawyer boyfriend but knows that all is not well.

When she flies one weekend to surprise him (it’s her birthday) the Lift driver has picked up his phone and let’s slip that he was with another woman in the car.

What follows first is a magical day at the coast in Carmel where the mystery Lift driver “Max” guides Maya around town to have the best day of her life.

They never meet, but a year later, Maya still hasn’t forgotten him. She leaves the boyfriend and the not great job and travels back to Carmel looking for Max.

Do you want a book that will make you scream
IM IN LOVE !! IM IN LOVE 🥰🥰
Well!! you got it.

Summary.
Maya plans to surprise her boyfriend David by visiting him in san Fransisco but what she ends up finding out hurts and she ends up spending a day texting with a stranger .
That day can either be the end or the start of her life.

Is it really possible to fall in love with someone you’ve never seen or heard ?
Anything’s possible in the land of fiction right?

This is a stranger to lovers love story,
A journey to evolve yourself in,
A getaway to being brave enough to admit and choose what you want.

Writing this review isn’t really expressing my real love for this book , I loved each and every part of this book.
It’s a book that I will forever recommend to everyone and will never shut up about it

It’s my first Olivia Lara’s book and yah she got herself a hardcore fan already

Thank you NetGalley for giving me this gem 💜🤍

What if the Lift driver who finds your cheating boyfriend's phone holds the directions to true love? The Meeting Point is a cute and romantic story in a fabulous setting! It's sweet, swoon worthy, heartfelt & extremely romantic!

I greatly enjoyed this book! The love story felt hopeful and played out like the plot to a fun TV series of film.

I found the setting to be idyllic and the plot a fun, modern love story - a missed connection of sorts. I enjoyed how situations the main character encountered forced her to act boldly and I loved her heart for connecting the people around her.

I’d definitely recommend this one to my girlfriends as a fun, “clean” rom-com.

A lovely romcom and wonderful story. It was fast paced and an easy read. I'd recommend this one to anyone looking for a good laugh. A cute beach or vacation read!

The story is very predictable and the main characters were not memorable. Since I already predicted the "twist" early in the story it's kind of exhausting reading the lead character's POV, she just keeps going back and forth. I also didn't felt the chemistry between the two characters. Despite all of that I really loved the setting of the story. The description of the Carmel-by-the-sea was detailed that it feels like I'm also there.

Thank you to Aria and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review :)

The Meeting Point by Olivia Lara is a sweet romcom that is a lighthearted, pleasant read. I was immediately pulled into the setting of Carmel-by-the-Sea which, I can attest, is every bit as beautiful as described, and I find myself longing for another visit.

Maya is having a memorable birthday, albeit for all the wrong reasons. Finding herself jobless, single, and in an unfamiliar town, help arrives from the unlikliest of places, a mysterious Lift driver who has found her cheating boyfriend's phone. Through a series of texts, Maya begins to navigate her new surroundings and to, perhaps, see the possibilities of fresh beginnings.

Although more than a tad predictable, this is a light and enjoyable read that will be the perfect addition to your beach bag.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for an ARC.

Maya Maas is planning to fly to surprise her boyfriend on a business trip. But when his phone is answered by an unfamiliar voice, her life is quickly turned upside down. The person on the other end of the line tries to help by sending Maya on a series of adventures that soon becomes part of the best day ever. A year later, Maya sets out to find this mystery person.

A cute, fun book that was very entertaining, even if it was a bit predictable. Maya is so set on one version of her story that she can't see past it, which leads to so much confusion and thus, fun. I liked that Maya herself was a writer and she would make up stories of people around her and give them "happily ever afters".

Overall, this was a enjoyable and left me feeling hopeful and positive.

Available September 2, 2021.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story didn't click with me unfortunately. I thought the plot was very original, but, in the end, the writing didn't deliver. A lot of tell, not enough show. I also think I needed more background on the main character in the beginning to be able to care about and root for her, but I didn't get that.

The Meeting Point follows Maya when a quick trip to surprise her boyfriend in San Fransisco for HER birthday turns into a disaster when she finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her while he's in California. In one day, she lost her job, her boyfriend, and her home.... and on her birthday of all days.

She manages to start a text conversation with the guy who told her about the cheating boyfriend, and he leads her on a trip through Carmel, the perfect beach town she's been dying to experience, but they never meet.

Fast forward a year and Maya once again finds herself jobless, homeless, and newly single. She decides to head back to California and find this mystery man, dubbed "Max". In the search for Max, Maya meets Ethan, the surely writer who stole her Carmel story for his latest novel and holds the key to finding Max. Will Ethan ever tell her who Max is?

Overall, I liked this story but didn't love the overall book. The beginning was wonderful and the end was pretty good, but the middle and middle/end just lost me a bit. Maya is extremely dense if she can't understand what's going on. She always just runs away and doesn't fully listen to what people are trying to tell her. I loved what the author was doing with the plot, but I wish it didn't make Maya come across so unaware and self-centered. I also wish we'd gotten to know Ethan a little more outside of the cafe and his writing as I really liked him, but don't feel like I know much about him. With a little more detail, he might have been a new favorite book boyfriend. I'm also not a huge fan of insta-love, which is ironic because it's what Maya tells Ethan as well, but yet she finds herself in an insta love story on her hunt for Max.

In the end, I did enjoy it. Ethan and twin Celine made up for some of Maya's annoying characteristics. It was so close to being a bit hit with me, but just didn't quite hit the mark.