Maya is having a pretty rough day. She quits her terrible job because they wouldn't give her time off to spend time with her boyfriend even though she never gets time off and always takes crappy assignments. She surprises her boyfriend by flying out to see him only to find that he is cheating on her. The worst part? It's her birthday!

Maya finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her when she attempts to message him only to find that he has left his phone in the Lyft he was in and the Lyft driver answers her messages thinking she was the blonde that was with him. After finding out that she was NOT the blonde, the mysterious left driver gives Maya a text-based tour of the city completely with scenic views and adventure. They never exchange names and they continue their entire conversation on Maya's boyfriend's phone.....until he comes back for his phone and they immediately lose touch. She believes she has completely last this man out of her life until she reads a book review for an upcoming book about a girl named Maya that share her exact same story with the Lyft driver.

This book was really cute! I had a love/hate for Maya though. Sometimes it is endearing when a character drops her life to follow her heart, but I felt like Maya did this one too may times. There is something so sweet/irritating about these types of characters!

This is a light yet heartwarming read and I can easily see this being a "Hallmark" type of movie.

Thank you to Netgalley and Aria Aries for gifting me a free eARC in exchange for my honest review.

THE MEETING POINT is a unique story that is easy to read and interesting. What drew me to read it was the notion that a Lift driver found Maya’s boyfriend’s phone in the hired car and intercepted a text from Maya on the lost phone.

What happens after that is a romantic day in Caramel-By-The-Sea and that day I s the basis for most of the story. I thought the travelogue type descriptions were enticing and the well written. The banter in text messages enhanced the mystery surrounding their identities.

As the story progresses chronologically beyond that day, we learn more about the main and supporting characters. The author did a very good job introducing new characters in a memorable way. If you are looking for a unique love story with well developed characters, you will enjoy THE MEETING POINT.

3.5/5 ⭐️s

This was a love letter to the romance genre, and it has my heart. I never read books in one sitting, but this is one I couldn’t put down!

What I loved:
- The “day” that kicks of this story was perfect. I had a single moment in the beginning where I thought, “This is ‘How to get Serial Killed: 101,’” but Olivia Lara did such a good job of developing Maya and Max’s bond (and only through texts!)
- This felt like a modernized take on the romcoms I loved to watch while growing up: You’ve Got Mail, Sleepless In Seattle, Serendipity…Maya’s search for love felt classic in that way.
- The setting. Carmel-by-the-Sea is now saved on my Google Maps. I want to go and experience this idyllic town for myself. It was so easy to picture it in my mind based on Lara’s descriptions throughout the book. You could tell this place was special to her, and it makes it special to the reader too.

What I Didn’t Love:
- Some of Maya’s problems left in New York weren’t well-handled, and I would’ve much rather delved into her solving those than watched her act as a matchmaker for half the town.
- The prose can be a bit one-dimensional at times. It often felt like a beginner’s unedited novel - the syntax was inconsistent, and there were several instances of the plot’s timeline not lining up. Both would take me out of the story, and I had to debate how important that was to my rating. Ultimately, I was a sucker for this plot, so it didn’t have much of an effect on the overall reading experience.

Overall:
Definitely worth the read, especially if you’re a fan of tropey romances!

Read this if you love:
- 90s RomComs
- Safe and Predictable
- Clean Romances (there’s no spice, but I didn’t miss it)

There was just something about the blurb of The Meeting Point that caught my attention immediately... While I'm not a fan of the whole cheating element, the promise of a chance meeting and a bad situation turning into something positive made me want to read this romance story anyway. And it turned out to be quite a cute read with both a bookish element and a fantastic setting. Sure, there were things that didn't work for me that well, but as a whole I'm having a feeling fans of the genre will enjoy this one.

First things first, and let's talk about the positive. I still LOVE the premise of The Meeting Point with Maya and the mystery driver connecting via texts. Such an original idea, and I also loved reading more about the itinerary the driver created for Maya just so she wouldn't be alone on her birthday after finding out about her boyfriend. The Carmel setting was just perfect for this story and it sounds like an absolutely charming beach town I wouldn't mind visiting myself... The descriptions definitely helped creating the right backdrop for Maya's adventure both in past and present. Furthermore, I also liked the friendships created during this story and the cute factor of the plot in general. As a bonus, this story also has a bookish angle! Not only are both main characters writers, but there is a book that plays a big role and snippets of it are even shared within some chapters.

BUT. I do have to say that there were also things that didn't work all that well for me. First of all, this story is so SO predictable! I basically guessed the identity of the mystery driver almost right away, as it is so blindingly obvious, and the fact that Maya doesn't see it at all can get very very frustrating. And while I did like the chemistry between Maya and Ethan, as a whole their interaction felt a little tainted and too cliche. Oh yes, we have not only a love triangle, but also insta-love to deal with... The first not my cup of tea, the second not exactly credible, and especially when it's also combined with a slowburn romance angle. How could you describe a romance story as insta-love and slowburn at the same time?! I'm still not sure myself, but that is definitely what's happening in The Meeting Point. As for the characters... I wasn't too convinced by Maya herself, as she could get quite self-centered and while she likes handing out advice, she doesn't seem to want to listen when other people want to help her. Seeing the story (mainly) through her eyes made the story feel a tad one-dimentional, and I would have loved to see more of Ethan's POV. The secondary characters were lovely in general, although not as developed.

It took me a while to get a proper feel for the writing, but once I did The Meeting Point turned out to be quite a fast read and entertaining enough despite the elements that didn't work for me. As a whole, this turned out to be a solid romance read if you don't mind a predictable plot and an insta-love trope.

This story was amazing! I just finished and I’m laying here with a full heart.

Even though the twist can be seen from a million miles away I really enjoyed this book. The love, chemistry, friendships and a women taking control of her life.

This is a slow burn, no 🔥 but definitely worth picking up when it’s released.

Thank you so much for an arc Aria and #netgalley. This is 💯 my honest review.

A Lyft driver, an aspiring writer, and the meeting point--Carmel by the Sea.

The Meeting Point is a light, fluffy contemporary romance that may be a little bit predictable...but it's still lovely, heartwarming, and will have you Googling all of the locations mentioned in California.

Thank you, NetGalley and Aria&Aries, for sharing this eARC with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Loved this book so much!! The characters are beyond well done. They could be people you see everyday. The settings are fully done which makes it super easy to visualize the story as it happens. Amazing book!

Thank you to Aria and Netgalley for providing me a complimentary copy of this book to read and review.

The Meeting Point starts off with great intentions as Maya is on her way to meet her fiance of some years in San Francisco for her birthday. When she messages him, she is responded to by a Lift driver who gives away that her fiance was with another woman getting hot and heavy in the back of his Lift. What follows is a bit of a magical mystery tour as the Lift Driver "Max" "treats" Maya to a day of sightseeing and culinary delights with all the nervous texting energy imaginable. Towards the end of Maya's time in San Francisco the pair plan to meet but things don't quite work out.

Fast forward 12 months and Maya is single (again) and thinking about Max. What if she could find him? Maya is a budding writer who finds out another writer is marketing a story very similar to her experience with Max, so off she goes to San Francisco. At times this is a little predictable, and a little frustrating as it seemed obvious to me who Max was ... but not Maya, nope, no way. It was as if she was wanting Max to be someone other than the person in front of her. There's some disagreements, a couple of small red herrings. At times it appeared Maya was more in love with the idea of Max rather than recognising him as a real person - yet she was supposed to have such a connection with him? The book is largely from Maya's perspective, and it might have been more robust had it included more of Max's perspective so the reader could know where he was coming from, rather than a tidbit here and there.

The Meeting Point is a closed door rom com. Very cute without a doubt. This is a nice, gentle feel-good read.

3.5 stars

This was a fun, predictable but still VERY enjoyable closed-door cute book. I read it in one sitting by the pool. It's one of those where you know both sides of the story, but the MC only knows one side. So you are waiting.....waiting for them to understand the full scope of the story.

My critique of this one is that I wish it was more dual story line. It wasn't really that, but you get a peek into the other side. I wish we would of have MORE of that!

Wow! This book is wonderful. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC copy. The story of Maya and Ethan is a cute romance. I loved being back in California visiting one of my favorite places ever - Carmel by the Sea. I was a little concerned that the book had over 80 chapters - but each one was needed for their back story. It’s a feel good romance. I found myself smiling throughout the whole book. Preorder it - it comes out September 2nd. I would give it 5+ stars if I could.

So I totally requested for this because I loved the premise of the story plus I'm not sure I've read a book that involves a Lift driver so there was that.

The beginning was nice and I loved the whole texting thing and it totally gave me One Day in December vibes and I liked that book. Anyways I felt like shaking the main character Maya all through out the book because it was just so obvious. Matter of fact it was so obvious I started wondering if I started wondering if I was actually wrong. I felt like it could have shorter than it was and still be a good read. I really started enjoying it somewhere from the middle towards the end of it. Once we finally got to the romance bits, that was also a cute. So if you're looking for a cute and easy read, this is it.

All that aside, I really loved the town it was set in and Celine was an awesome supporting character.

4.5 ⭐

Wow, I really enjoyed this story! I wrote a much more in-depth review on my blog, so you can check my thoughts there. All I’m gonna say here is that I am really, really, really glad I got a chance to read an early copy of this book. Out of all the books I've got from NetGalley so far, I think this is my favorite.

If you usually like this type of books or if you are in a mood for a light, fluffy contemporary romance, I’d definitely recommend this one, especially if you are OK with the usual tropes. This was one of the best romances I read this year…

Thank you to the #NetGalley and to the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC of The Meeting Point by Olivia Lara in exchange for an honest review.

You can find my full review on my book blog NovelOnMyMind.

While I did enjoy this, I think, this could have been better! There were certain things that absolutely did not work for me. The relationship between the two MCs, Maya and the Cabbie driver starts off right after Maya finds out that her longtime boyfriend had been cheating on her. The ease with which she moves away from it felt weirdly off to me. Of course, I am all in for cutting ties with toxic people which include cheaters, but what I cannot comprehend is how quickly everything escalated between her and the driver guy. It read like an INSTA-FRIENDSHIP/LOVE trope and I am not at all a fan of it. Other than this, the story has its moments, but because the starting/foundation of the relationship is so shaky in my mind, I couldn't shake off the general feeling of being disconnected from the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Aria Fiction for the ARC!

This was just the cutest story. The imagery was beautiful to the point where I was Googling all of the locations mentioned in California.

I adored aspiring writer, Maya and the mystery Lift driver (no spoilers!). It’s always a plus when I love all of the side characters as well.

I think part of the book description says it perfectly well, “What if the Lift driver who finds your cheating boyfriend’s phone holds the directions to true love?” This would also be amazing as a movie. It was such a lovely read, I’m off to buy Olivia’s Lara’s other book!

This will be an especially good read to those who are writers, but also those of us that believe in love.

Five stars.

I could NOT put this down. This is such a sweet, unexpected love story! I loved every second- such an original story! Maya plans a surprise for her bf, only to find out his “business” trip is anything but. After her bf forgets his phone in a Lift, Maya finds out the truth and the driver tries to turn her day around by sending her on an adventure for her birthday by texting her directions from the boyfriends phone. What will happen? Will it be love at first text? Thank you @netgalley for providing this early read!

Really sweet love story of missed chances and finding each other again. You could even say it's a You've Got Mail retelling, this time with texts and manuscripts. The author's description of Carmel-by-the-Sea is lovely and dreamy, it transports any reader to that magical place where it's easy to believe in anything, especially love.

What if the Lift driver who finds your cheating boyfriend's phone holds the directions to true love?
After Maya flies to California on her birthday to surprise her boyfriend and finds him cheating, she is left single and stranded in a strange town on her birthday. Instead of flying home, she proceeds to have a one-night texting adventure with Max, the lift driver, who leads her all over Carmel-by-the-sea to cheer her up.

Things I love:
-the texting adventure- i love the never meeting face-to-face but falling in love trope. I think the author did it so well!
-the adventure- also done really well. I felt like i was going along with Maya.
-the relationships- i really enjoyed the interactions with Maya, Ethan, and Celine.
-Book within a book- usually this doesn't work for me but i was here for it.

Things I didn't like:
-The predictability- I guess the twist after the first couple of chapters but I don't think that took away from my enjoyment of the story at all.
-the cluelessness- I felt like the main character was clueless about who Max was and it was slightly annoying. I guess that was the intention but I just wanted to scream at her sometimes.

Thank you NetGalley and Are& Aries for the eARC!

Thank you NetGalley and Aria for providing me with the ARC of The Meeting Point by Olivia Lara.

I absolutely loved this book. I thought it was an adorable, fun and romantic filled story. It was a quick and fun read and I found that I didn't want to put it down. Definitely add this book to your list, you won't be disappointed.

Maya lives for other peoples happily ever afters. She wants to see the good for people and correct their lives with the perfect love story, which I initially thought was endearing, but I’m the end she came off as unrealistic.

I found the pace of the story to be off. Maya just found out her boyfriend of five years has been cheating on her with a stranger and then proceeded to fall for said stranger that same day over text. She seemed to over romanticize her situation at the beginning which made it hard to connect with her initially. She had these idealistic thoughts about love, but settled for the wrong guy and the terrible job for far longer than she should have.

The overall premise of the story seemed so far-fetched of a plot it made it hard to enjoy the story. It was predictable from the beginning which was a shame because it had the potential to be something magical. This book had all the elements or a cute romcom and writing style that was genuinely good but in the end the story and characters fell flat. Thank you NetGalley and Aria for this ARC

The Meeting Point is a cute rom com following a hopeless romantic turned cynic in an entanglement.

This was a really cute concept, and I wanted to love it! It was just okay for me. I found the dialogue to be a bit too far fetched for me. The character was likeable, but it was still a good read.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.