A great light read! Good for anyone who likes realistic fiction and forming connections with characters in the book!

⭑⭑⭑.5 3.5 stars

themes:
- romance over text
"Maybe at twenty-two, I was too young to know. At twenty-three I thought I was in love, at twenty-four I was blinded by the possibilities, and at twenty-five, he made promises I wanted to believe. Maybe at twenty-six I still hoped. But at twenty-seven, I knew what I should've done and I didn't do it. This is my regret. Not wasting five years but one. And undoubtedly, never having the opportunity to get that one year back, the year that could've forever changed my life.”

Goodreads Synopsis:
What if the Lift driver who finds your cheating boyfriend's phone holds the directions to true love?
'Who are you and why do you have my boyfriend's phone?'
'He left it in my car. You must be the blonde in the red dress? I'm the Lift driver who dropped you two off earlier.'
And with these words, the life of the brunette and t-shirt wearing Maya Maas is turned upside down. Having planned to surprise her boyfriend, she finds herself single and stranded in an unknown city on her birthday.
So when the mystery driver rescues Maya with the suggestion that she cheers herself up at a nearby beach town, she jumps at the chance to get things back on track. She wasn't expecting a personalised itinerary or the easy companionship that comes from opening up to a stranger via text, let alone the possibility it might grow into something more

Plot
I really enjoyed how Maya didn't know what her love interest looked like and yet was deeply connected to him. I thought that the plot was good, although it was soooo painfully obvious to me who her admirer was. And I'm not particularly certain why he didn't come clean earlier. His actions bordered on the line of romance and creepiness, or a plain old romantic creep.

Characters & Dynamics
I liked the dynamic between all the characters, they seemed comfortable and soothing against the needless conflict between Maya and her love interest. I really enjoyed Maya as a character and her development of doing things outside of her comfort zone and letting life sweep her away.

Writing
The writing was compelling, I particularly loved the texts at the beginning and even though it was over text, I could see why the connection was as deep as it was.

World Building
The setting of Carmel by the Sea was absolutely beautiful, it seemed such a gorgeous place of opportunities and relaxation.

Likes
- The setting
- The textomance
- Main character

Dislikes
- The conflict seemed unnecessary
- How painfully obvious who Maya's texter was

Final Thoughts
This is cheesiness at its best. The romance side is aglow and worthwhile. A perfect read for the beach or a holiday.

It's been a tough year for me. Lately I've been having a little trouble focusing on my readings, I'm taking much longer than usual to finish them. But this one was truly perfect and totally made my days better.

Maya is also facing tough times in her life. She's not happy in her relationship. She's not happy with her job. She's just surviving in the comfort zone, because it doesn't seem like there's any other option for her. But everything changes when she exchanges a few texts with a man she doesn't actually know, who's found her boyfriend's phone on his car after giving him a lift and seeing him with another woman. Because of this stranger, Maya goes to new places, tries new experiences and has the best birthday ever. She falls in love with him, instantly, and wonders if she's going crazy. But who is he? How can she find him? And was her boyfriend really cheating on her, or was this man lying?

Time goes by, lots of things happen, and a year later she realizes it's finally time to find these answers.

It was obvious for me since the beginning who the man was, but still I loved every moment they shared together. They're not perfect, they both make mistakes, but I can totally understand their reasons. It was great seeing her going after what made her happy instead of just waiting for the destiny to fill the blanks in her life. I also really enjoyed seeing her friendships and how she always found a way to make everyone else around inspired to find their happiness too.

It may be a little hard to believe that a story like this could actually happen in real life, but... I hope it does. I really do. For now, the best I can do is to recommend this book to everyone! :)

* I received an advance copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute and fun romance. I loved the premise and really liked the characters, they were very relatable. Carmel is a beautiful setting, and it’s described perfectly.

Maya, an aspiring writer, goes to San Francisco to surprise her boyfriend David. She finds out he’s been cheating after he leaves his phone in a Lyft, the driver answers and then tells Maya that David was with another woman. Instead of going back to NYC, Maya goes Carmel at the direction of the Lyft driver, who tells Maya to call him Max. He sends her on a series of wonderful adventures to different places, and she falls in love with Carmel and Max. David shows up in Carmel, denies that he’s cheating and takes Maya back to NYC. She leaves Max and Carmel behind and writes a story about that day..

The next year, Maya’s best friend Alisa gets a publisher copy of a book that tells Maya’s Carmel story from Max’s point of view. It’s written by a guy named Ethan who says the story came from a friend. Maya wants find Max again, and she’s angry that Ethan wrote her story. She goes back to Carmel to meet Ethan and find Max.

I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it, 4 stars. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

As a guidebook of Carmel, a charming beach town in California, The Meeting Point, by Olivia Lara, serves very well. As a romance novel, it is less successful. With clunky writing, flat characters, and a twist you can see coming a mile away, The Meeting Point is a disappointment through and through.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book. The story was a bit over the top in a sweet, very modern and super cute way. I think most readers will easily be able to feel for Maya, I know I sure did! I thought Max was a great guy and really just the kind of person would could all use in our life at one point or another. It is definitely a fun read that will warm your heart and bring some light into your day. For me though, it came up a bit short in the romance and feels department, even if it does give you some swoon.

The meeting point is an adorable, missed connections kind of story. Taking place over a year, this story is everything you in a cute love story. It has the right amount of drama, laughs, and overall a good amount of banter. It has a little bit of enemies to lovers mixed in as well because Maya feels like her story has been stolen and strongly dislikes the writer she came to get the name from. The more they are around each other, the more you get the enemies feel for part of the book. This story also sets up the chance for some spin off standalones which would be just as cute.

The only downside to this story is I found it a little predictable at times. I find it takes away from a story when you can figure out what’s going to happen. I feel like the rest of the story made up for that though which is rare for me to find.

I highly recommend this story for anyone wanting a cute romance story that might cause them to stay up late to read.

I received a copy through netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review

Thank you to #netgalley for the early copy of this book. The story was so engaging from beginning to end. I figured out who the driver was very early on (not completely sure if it was supposed to be a big secret) but I didn’t feel like that took anything away from the story. This book kept me up until 2am even though I worked the next day because I simply couldn’t put it down. I think you’ll enjoy this book if you enjoy Rainbow Rowell’s style.

My god, how I love this book! Maya has everything in life. A good job as a reporter in the city of all cities – New York – a handsome, wealthy boyfriend, a nice place to live… What’s not to love? Well, if you look behind the shiny facade, you see the debris falling off, and Maya herself knows, if she really listens to the voice inside her head, that deep inside, she’s not happy. But she’s trying. For one, she’s trying to surprise her boyfriend David on his work trip by flying after him. Never in the world did she expect to meet a stranger – well, not really meet him, it’s only virtually through text messages after all – who will make her stomach feel like it’s full of butterflies?

David left his phone in a taxi, and the driver accidentally tells Maya her boyfriend of almost a decade is cheating on her. Alone in a strange, big city, Maya feels like someone punched in the gut. Should she take a bus back home to New York? Wait a whole day at the airport for her flight back? Or go on the adventure of her lifetime, on an adventure that might also lead her to the real love of her life..?

I absolutely loved Maya. She is a wonderful heroine, she is smart and funny, she sometimes feels insecure, she is a bit of a clutz… she reminded me a lot of myself in some regards (lol). I loved her friendship with Alisa – seriously, everyone needs a friend like her!!! I loved that Maya started to be brave, that she started to see the bad things in her life and acted to change them. She knows she wasted some time, but she doesn’t want to settle now. I found that really impressive, and I loved her all the more for it.

The setting of the story was amazing. We get to read about New York, and for one of the first times ever it isn’t this fairytale place that everyone expects. I loved to read of the place by the beach in California much more. It sounded beautiful, picturesque, calm, quiet, and yet exciting all at once. The author has a way with words, I could smell the sea breeze and feel the sand between my toes when Maya walked across the shoreline. I could picture the miniature houses she passed, the little French-looking cafè she sat and had coffee; I could see the inn before my inner eye and smell the owner’s self-made cookies fresh from the oven.

This book is a must read for all the dreamers, the artists, the writers, the seekers of happily ever-afters, the singles, the happily marrieds – for everyone who wants to escape reality for a day and just dream. I surely did, and I am thanking the author of this wonderful novel for letting me dream for a day.

Obviously, a big, fat, shiny 5 stars from me!

One of my very best and very bookish friends has really made me try romance books again, and honestly getting into them has been a whole new genre to delve into, and so I requested to have a look at this book from Netgalley and I am not disappointed.

Set in the wonderful San Francisco which is painted so well in this book, The Meeting Point gives us a really cute story with a unique and modern way of meet cute that makes for a really lovely love story that was such a comfort read before bed and probably kept me swiping pages for a way longer than it should have some nights and is a nice book to begin looking into the genre.

Is the twist foreseeable, yes and maybe the pace sometimes could be improved but is it a really nice summer read that is likeable, with great characters and an interesting and innovative tale? Heck yes, and I will definitely be reading more from this author.

It's good, you should read it.

(I received an ARC from Netgalley for honest review).

The book has such an intriguing beginning. It instantly pulls you into the imagination of Maya Mass and instantly you've jumped into the imagination of Maya Mass, who is creating a story. The Meeting Point begins as a story within a story. It instantly draws you in because it is written, especially at the beginning, like you're watching something unfold on a screen or like a trailer for a movie on the first page. Then you get to know who Maya Mass actually is. There is the impression she relies on her imagination to get through life and because there is an element of lonliness and some hard times, so she creates characters and their lives inside her head and scribbles them down as readers are again pulled into her imaginative worlds, as well as her own life. Soon Maya's life turns into something as strange and interesting as her imagination. It all starts with the opening of a text from someone not know and all becomes like amazing serendipity as it really opens up her life and brings some real colour as she begins to also live again outside her imagination too, not that she loses that of course. Just all seems to fit more together in a healthier way. Not, of course that it is as simple as that. 

The book whisks readers to a whole year later and Maya isn't at all happy and makes you wonder how come and it shows that even in a romance, such as this, the whimsical warmth of the possibility of romance, a job, isn't all perfect. There are also the stresses of relationships and how the emotions can feel so complicated with romance and what to feel about the former boyfriend and a new guy on the scene - Ethan Delphy, who Maya isn't entirely happy with and writes to this American author and you can feel the frustrating when the reply is not directly from him. She is then compelled to track him down, encouraged by publishing friend - Ailsa.

It's easy to lose yourself in the book and wonder if things will come good for Maya or not and it's hard not to hope that they do, but there are some love/hate relationships going on, that it's easy to just hope get sorted out one way or another and that she gets what she wants, but she has to make some decisions on that first. It's interesting to see where The Meeting Point is and what then unfolds from that.

This is a delightful book for the romantics and for people who also like to hear about snippets of conversations about other books and going to lovely cafes. It's a lovely relaxing and entertaining read for the most part.

This debut romance is heartwarming and humorous! I appreciated the unique storyline and charming characters. I was rooting for them from the start. I definitely recommend this book to all rom-com fans!

I loved the idea for The Meeting Point but as I started to read it, I didn't think I was going to enjoy it but I persevered and loved the book! Maya is a lovely main character who starts off having the worst birthday. She gets fired, then finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her by a complete stranger which also means she no longer has anywhere to live. The kindness of one stranger changes everything for Maya. I loved watching her character develop throughout throughout the book and her growth. All the characters are very likeable.

I loved how closer to the end we got a second perspective which I was not expecting. The plot was cleverly dealt with and the book flowed well and I enjoyed it so much I finished it in one day. The ending was obvious quite early in the book but its such a lovely story you do not care. I really enjoyed how loose ends are tied and how the story is concluded.

The book really is a warm hug. I will be looking for other books written by Olivia Lara. I definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a book take you smile.

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers at Aria &Aries for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

#TheMeetingPoint #NetGalley

🥰 What a lovely book!! I really enjoyed finding out about Ethan, Max and Maya's relationship.

I did guess certain things pretty early on but hey ho! Didn't stop me absolutely loving the end!!

It was super easy to read with short chapters and even sometimes short sections in them 😂 So much description was used for the day you could imagine yourself on that journey with Maya.

There was a lot of backwards and forwards but it was done in a really enjoyable way ❤️

What would you do if a Lift driver exposes your cheating boyfriend and gives you a birthday of a lifetime? One year after Maya “meets” the man of her dreams through text, she returns to Carmel to find him. But when local writer, Ethan, is monetising the encounter with his upcoming novel, Maya wants to set the record straight and find the guy to express her true feelings


I loved this book! It was so fast paced and easy to read. The romance between Ethan and Maya was undeniable and tbh I knew from the midpoint of the novel who Ethan really was. I would have loved a dual POV novel instead but I was very entertained reading how everything played out

I will definitely read more from this author!

Cute book, bit predictable but heart-warming, funny and easy to read. Would recommend!

Rated on goodreads, thank you to netgalley for an arc of this book look forward to reading more from this author!

This was my first book by Olivia Lara, I will definitely be looking out for her other titles. I really enjoyed reading this book! I was hooked right from the beginning when we meet Maya who is hoping to surprise her boyfriend David on a weekend away. She travels to meet him but when she rings him someone else picks up and breaks her heart.
We then go on a 24 hour journey with her full of surprises, mystery and...Max..
The book keeps you guessing through out! I will definitely be recommending to friends!

The Meeting Point by Olivia Lara is a contemporary romance currently scheduled for release on September 2 2021. What if the Lift driver who finds your cheating boyfriend's phone holds the directions to true love? 'Who are you and why do you have my boyfriend's phone?' 'He left it in my car. You must be the blonde in the red dress? I'm the Lift driver who dropped you two off earlier.' And with these words, the life of the brunette and t-shirt wearing Maya Maas is turned upside down. Having planned to surprise her boyfriend, she finds herself single and stranded in an unknown city on her birthday. So when the mystery driver rescues Maya with the suggestion that she cheers herself up at a nearby beach town, she jumps at the chance to get things back on track. She wasn't expecting a personalized itinerary or the easy companionship that comes from opening up to a stranger via text, let alone the possibility it might grow into something more.

The Meeting Point is a book that had me in sympathetic cringes at several turns. I liked the set up, and I thought Maya's character development was well done. I liked her journey of self discovery and toward romance. I thought the secondary characters and Maya's writing were great aspects of the story, and I was fully invested in the stories presented. I really liked that the places visited are real, and that the author offers an opportunity to retrace Maya's steps and share pictures via social media. However, I cannot count the number of times I wanted to yell at her for her choices and her blindness towards facts I thought fairly obvious early on in the book. There were so, so many moments when Maya (or others) completely missed or destroyed moments that would have cleared up everything and made everything less stressful for all involved. However, I also know that people often miss the obvious in real life, and that honest conversations can be hard to have so are often avoided so it was realistic in that respect. That visceral frustration and second hand embarrassment sometimes made me hesitant to turn the page, but my investment in the characters and their story kept me engaged and turning those pages to see how it all resolved.

The Meeting Point is a well written book with engaging characters.

What happens when your life implodes? Can you find yourself again because you fall in love through text messages? Is it any different than poring over old-fashioned love letters?

Maya finds out - and so begins the crappiest birthday ever. She was just fired for something completely beyond her control, and she just found out her boyfriend is cheating on her. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

David, her cheating boyfriend, left his phone in the car of his Lift driver. After he exited it with a woman who is most definitely not Maya. But the Lift driver is more than she expected. He convinces her to ditch her planned trip to San Francisco and go to Carmel instead. And he designs her itinerary.

They start a game of 50 questions - and their conversations are deeper and more meaningful than any Maya had with her ex-boyfriend. In a single 24 hour span, over a flurry of incisive, insightful questions that force Maya to re-examine where her life is going and what she wants out if it, the man she only knows as Max worms his way into her heart.

They agree to meet in person the morning of her departure. But Max doesn't show up.

One year later, Maya still hasn't forgotten Max. Their brief weekend full of conversations completely changed her perspective. Nothing in her life fits any more. But she doesn't have the courage to step away.

And then she comes across a story that infuriates her. It's a story about her day in Carmel. And she didn't write it.

I absolutely loved this story about unexpected chances, the hand of fate, and finding your soulmate. It shows the reader that even in this world that feels so disconnected, we can find connections that are true and deep and lasting.

A heartfelt thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the chance to review and ARC of this wonderful, luminous, hopeful love story.

This book was adorable! I love a book with characters who meet through a phone/anonymously before meeting in person. The concept of then going to a nearby beach town to deal with the loss of that relationship was something that hooked me instantly. Max and Maya were incredibly lovable and felt like people I would know in my life. While this is a slow burn, I personally adore slow burns as the payoff was incredibly worth it. Thank you Netgalley and Aria & Aries for this title, I'll definitely be checking out Olivia Lara in the future!