Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for gifting me a digital copy of the latest book by Hannah Orenstein - 4.5 stars for a wonderful romance story!

Edie and Rea are twins, having grown up in a loving Jewish family in Brooklyn. Their beloved grandmother, Gloria, has a gift - she has been able to accurately predict the day that family members will meet their soulmate. Edie's date is now at hand and she broke up with her boyfriend because, even though she was in love, she knew he wasn't her destiny. When Edie meets Theo on a plane trip to Maine for Rea's surprise engagement proposal, she knows that he is her meant to be. But is he?

Just a fun romantic book that asks the question - Is love destiny or do we make destiny happen? I loved the close family bond that Edie had as well as all the love shown to Brooklyn and NYC and those Jewish traditions. It even includes a recipe for her grandma's Matzo Ball soup - can't wait to try that!

4.5 stars! I absolutely loved the storyline in this book! A grandma who can tell you the date you’ll meet the love of your life? Yes, please! I adored the characters and couldn’t wait to see how everything worked out for them. I loved the ending and how things turned out for both sisters. Such a fun read!

Thank you to the publisher and @netgalley for providing a free advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I kind of liked the concept of this book but i found myself starting to skim it around 50%. I did finish the book and i thought the ending was cute, but it just wasn’t executed well.

I devoured this book in just a few hours, but I can't truly say I liked it. The premise was great, but I found the characters a bit... shallow? For a love story/romance, there was no real chemistry between any of the characters, no tension in the dialog. The ending felt forced and abrupt - just choose whoever happens to be around, Edie, he'll probably be fine forever. Ultimately, this one was a miss for me.

Thank you @netgalley @atriabooks and @hannahorens for the eARC of this book in exchange of my honest review.

Edie Meyer’s grandmother, Gloria, is able to accurately predict the exact dates she and her family members would meet their soulmates. So of course Edie is on the lookout for her one true love when her day finally arrives. There’s only one problem - She cannot seem to fall in love with the man she meets. And after her sister provides a shocking revelation of her own, Edie struggles to reconcile her beliefs all of these years with what she truly wants.

This was such a cute and funny story. The entire family is made up of such strong and resilient female characters, which is something I love seeing in a book. Edie has been so set in her beliefs for so many years, watching her grow and realize that it’s okay to change course was so much fun. This books publishes tomorrow and is definitely one to pick up!

This one gets 4⭐️‘s from me!

This book was typical Hannah, I loved her other books and I knew this book wouldn’t disappoint and it did not. Edie’s grandmother Gloria has this special gift and she can predict the day that you will find that soulmate, it had worked for her and half of the family, and Edie’s time is coming and she’s doing the funniest things ever in the beginning of the book to see if she meets HER person, and she’s at the airport heading to visit family for a surprise weekend for her sister who is about to get engaged. And she found him, he literally was utter perfection. Now this is the thing, I was annoyed with Edie’s infatuation with finding true love in the prophecy that Gloria told her. As much as I liked the book, I think Edie was doing the MOST when it comes to Gloria’s prophecy and instead of receiving her blessings she was blocking them, but I loved how she snapped out of it and made the right decision for herself in the end of course. But the romance with Theo was something that I really liked, it felt genuine but also challenging because they are both very different people, and I felt a HUGE connection when it comes to them. But like I said before I loved the turn of events towards the end, I wish we got more, I felt like Edie’s love story should’ve continued, it felt a little rushed at the end. But other than that I enjoyed the book very much.

Thanks Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

What if you knew the exact date you'd meet the love of your life? Would you wait until that day comes? Would you keep every other man at an arm's distance to save yourself with this destined man? Edie does, and she did. Her Grandmother Gloria has predicted everyone in the family's fateful day — whether they believe her or not. Edie's day finally comes, and the stylish New Yorker falls head over heels for rising rockstar Theo. But their relationship, as destined as it might be, is a lot more work than Edie thought it would be.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. Hannah Orenstein created a very real story with characters I feel like are people I know and it's kind of creepy? This is also a bit of a love letter to NYC — Orenstein writes in her author's note of the ARC how she penned the novel during the pandemic when the city was locked inside and unable to do all the bopping around Edie does. Anyways, this is such a fun book, super well written, and very easy to read in one sitting, like I did!

Read if... you love Rebecca Serle and Fool Me Once.

This story of Edie Meyer's journey to finding her true love is a special one. It's chock full of swoony moments, talk of soul mates, friendship, family, tradition, love for NYC, and much more. This book did feel like a love note to New York as much as a love story for Edie and I didn't mind it. Edie loves everything about New York City and knows she never wants to leave it.

Edie's grandmother has a gift. She can tell you the date you'll meet your soul mate. It's historically worked for all the couples she knows so Edie is determined that it must be based in truth. When she meets her significant other on the designated date, he's wonderful but as time goes on, little things happen to make Edie question whether he's truly right for her or is she trying to "make" him right because of her grandmother's prediction? She could be so busy trying to make things work with this man that she could have missed the one she was meant to be with. Yet, he's perfect in many ways. Edie's just not sure.

It's a sweet and moving story of family and Jewish tradition. Edie is close with her family, particularly her beloved grandmother. Edie's a kind and giving character. It's easy to want the best for her. There are several side characters that you become attached to as well. It's overall a fun read that leaves you with a huge smile on your face at the end.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

This was definitely not your run of the mill romance novel. It turned many of the conventions we’ve grown to expect from the genre on their heads. While I was able to predict a couple things, I didn’t know how or when they were likely to happen, which made this a really enjoyable read. The premise of the book does require the reader to suspend reality for a bit, but I didn’t feel that it took away from how lovely this book is! I’m excited to read whatever Hannah Orenstein writes next.

Read if you like:
🪄light magical realism (think Rebecca Serle)
💃🏼Strong female main characters
♥️Slow burn!!

This cute book is out tomorrow! I enjoyed how quick of a read this was, mostly because I was eager to find out how it was going to end. I really liked Edie as a character because she was level-headed and knew what she wanted. She wasn’t willing to compromise on her most important goals. The sister and best friend relationships were also great!

I do wish there was more information/background on how Gloria’s visions/predictions worked. We didn’t get much explanation about why things ended up the way they did for Edie.

Overall, I recommend this for a cute, quick summer read! Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks for the #gifted e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to her Grandma Gloria, Edie Meyer knows the exact date she will meet her one true love. Grandma Gloria has a special gift, and has predicted the date that all of her family members met their match. To no surprise, Edie meets a special someone on her chosen date. But is he really the one for her?

I found this book to be a sweet, cute rom-com. I loved how the author played with the idea of fate, questioning how much control we have over our own destiny. In some ways the book was a bit predictable, but admittedly there were a couple of plot points that took me by surprise. Not gasp out loud surprise, but just enough that I wasn’t bored by the story. It was a quick and entertaining read that was just right for what I was looking for at the time.

Thank you @netgalley for this ARC.

First of all, thanks to Netgalley and Atria books for a digital ARC of Meant to Be Mine, sent in exchange of an honest review.

There are so many things to enjoy in Hannah Orenstein's newest book: a creative premise, a delightful Jewish grandmother who probably deserves her own prequel, lots of specificity regarding the cultural Jewish aspects in Edie's - our protagonist- life, healthy family bonds, a love letter to New York City. Oh and a matzo ball soup recipe at the end!

Edie Meyer has always known when she'd meet the love of her life, according to her grandmother Gloria's accurate predictions. So she's operated her entire love life under this premise, broken up with a boyfriend she loved, kept people at a distance. It all seems worth it when she meets Theo, a handsome, witty, albeit insecure, musician. Of course, since this happens in the first few pages, we know (and this isn't a spoiler to anyone who's ever read a book) this isn't her happy ending, only the beginning of her story.

The reason why this was only a three star read for me, or reasons more like, stems from this issue. The book invests most of its time on Edie and Theo, Edie invests most of her time on Theo. I get it, she's trying to make it work because she believes in her "fate", but it's frustrating to watch her ignore the red flags. It's also, how do I put this, not romantic. And this, I think, is the biggest problem with the book.

If Meant to Be Mine had been marketed as Women's Fiction (and had had a change of name, probably), this would have been at least a four star read for me. Edie has a good ARC, she goes from blindly believing in Gloria's prediction and disregarding her gut to do so to trusting more in herself and her feelings. The family relations are fleshed out and interesting. But the romance? Eh. Edie and Theo are never really believable, much less so because Theo is basically a caricature of the hot, tortured musician. Their spicy scenes are tepid. And then the book takes a hard swerve that would probably leave you wearing a neck brace if it were a car trip, and decides that actually, let's throw it all out to still get that HEA or HFN ending to call this a romance. SPOILER ALERT <spoiler> It's pretty hard to believe that the guy who had been kind of in the background, not even the guy Edie mentioned constantly and used as reference for all her feelings, is actually going to be her HEA or HFN. No offense to Bennet, he was a good character, but we spend most of the book with him as a secondary character, at best, crushing on someone else, but then in the last, oh, 20 pages of the book, it's like. Wait. HE'S IT. </spoiler>.

If we're going to call a book a romance, then I expect the journey of that couple (or throuple or whatever formation it may be) to be the main focus. It's as if in You've Got Mail, Meg Ryan didn't end up with Tom Hanks and instead ended up with her employee from the bookshop.

While it might sound harsh or like I didn't like it, I promise did. It just wasn't what I had signed up for. That's part of the point with the genre of romance. We know, largely, what we're in for. For me, this book suffered from a mislabeling problem. Had it been Women's Fiction, it'd have been a four star read for me.

I was expecting a cute little romantic comedy but this book was actually much more. It had a lot more depth than the traditional rom com. Loved this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
I enjoyed this quick and cute read. The book is a romance, but also really dives into themes such as finding yourself, the importance of family, fate, and taking chances. The story felt balanced and full.
I did think that the story could have been fleshed out just a bit more. The ending felt that it came on a little too fast without enough build. While that contributed to it feeling like a twist and not being as predictable as a typical romance, I think there still could have been more once the twist was revealed to flesh out the ending and leave the reader feeling like they understand what happened and why.
That being said, I did appreciate that this book didn’t follow the typical progression and kept you guessing, subverting certain tropes we are all used to seeing. The writing style was light but descriptive enough to feel like you did get to know the most important characters, though perhaps a slight trimming of the number of side characters would have been good as they felt more one dimensional.
Overall enjoyed this read!

Edie Myer knows exactly when she'll meet the love of her life...according to her Grandma Gloria, who has predicted matches for everyone in her family, her date is June 24th, 2022. This story is about falling in love and also trusting your gut when it comes to finding your true love. Really enjoyed this quick read. TW: This book does mention Covid-19 and school shooting very briefly. Thank you NetGalley for the advance e-copy!

I really wanted to like this one more than I actually did. I really liked Edie and her relationship with her family especially her twin sister. What I didn’t like was Edie’s constant comparison between her ex and current partner. Yes, some comparison is totally normal and to be expect but Edie was constantly doing it and it sometimes felt like she regretted breaking up with her ex. Plus, I felt there wasn’t enough time given to the relationship Edie ultimately ends up in and it didn’t give it any weight to justify us believing in that happily ever after.

The relationship Edie has with her twin sister and her grandmother are truly her most valued relationships and the dynamics of those relationships changes throughout the course of the book. Those changes really did cause Edie to question everything she believed in and lead to some deep reflection on her part. Ultimately, Edie decided to trust her gut and guided her to the path she wanted to be on instead of leaving it up to fate.

Rating 3.5 stars


Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

I really enjoyed the premise of this story. The idea that your grandmother can tell you the day you will meet your true love is exciting and daunting at the same time. Talk about pressure when that day arrives. For Edie, she is so excited to finally reach that day and is anxiously checking everyone she sees to make sure she doesn’t miss the moment. A flight to attend a family event has her sitting next to Theo and they end up having a wonderful conversation but he leaves without asking for her number. Oh no, did she miss her chance? But life and fate always seem to have plans for Edie which ensures a second chance with Theo. I love Edie’s optimism and believe in the magic that her grandmother weaves. But the true beauty of this journey for Edie is realizing that you truly have to trust your instincts and your heart. I did get frustrated with how fiercely she wanted what her grandmother predicted to be true. Yet, as the story unfolded, I was able to appreciate all the ups and downs she had to face to allow her to find her true path. What a fabulous supporting cast of characters that are wonderful family and friends for Edie that are there with a glass of wine or a bowl of matzo ball soup. I voluntarily read an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.

This was a cute take on love and destiny. I loved the grandma character and that the author dedicated it to her own grandma. The idea of knowing when you are going to meet your soul mate was an interesting plot, but I felt like she was just so obsessed with being married that she didn’t really seem to enjoy anything outside of that. This was a quick read but I would’ve liked it if there was more to the ending because everything wrapped up so quickly after spending so much time focus on someone else

Edie’s Grandma Gloria has an incredible gift: she gets visions that reveal to her the exact date her family members will meet their soulmate. Edie has known for years what her date is, and has left herself open to all the possibilities that day will bring. On June 24, 2022, she boards a plane to travel to her sister’s surprise engagement, and immediately forms a connection with the man sitting next to her on the flight. She knows right away this is the man from Gloria’s vision and that this relationship is meant to be. But over the next few months, she can’t shake the feeling that maybe this man isn’t as perfect for her as she thought and starts to wonder about fate or if there is any room to make a choice.

I loved this book. It really got me thinking about what I would have done if I were in Edie’s shoes, and how I would have reacted to knowing that exact date I was supposed to meet my soulmate. This was a unique plot that while making me think, was still lighthearted and fun to read. I loved trying to guess where (and with who) Edie would end up. I loved her bond with her twin sister Rae, as well as with the rest of her family. And since I love a meddling grandparent, I especially loved Gloria - a Jewish Upper East Sider who not only had this unique power but also loved a good martini.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.

3.5 stars

What if you knew the exact date you would meet your one true love?
I love the idea behind this story! This one started out strong and I loved these characters and the love story but the ending felt very rushed. All and all a good story about love and family and I think it’s worth the read.