Meant to Be Mine was such a fun book! What would you do if you knew the date that you'd meet the love of your life?

I've loved all of Hannah Orenstein's books and I felt like she had such a personal connection in this one. She's one of my favorite author follows on Instagram and I feel like I got a mini tour of Brooklyn in this book!

I adored Gloria the grandmother who has accurately predicted the day every family family member met the love of their lives! Edie has eagerly anticipated her day and even a handsome musician sits next to her on the plane that day she's excited fur her future. But she's concerned that her fate my be different then the man sent her way...

I enjoyed this book so much. It was fun reading about a stylist and Edie's friends and family. And it really made you think about fate and meeting your significant other!

Special thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital copy of Meant to Be.

I love rom-coms and have heard great things about Hannah Orenstein's books! This book was super cute and a great read for summer. This book tells the story of Gloria, a grandma who's able to see and predict the soulmates of each of her family meets - talk about taking fate into your hands! He abilities are so specific she can tell you the exact date in which the universe opens and you meet the love of your life! Edie, Gloria's granddaughter, is given her date and Edie is fully engrosses in the family's prophecy. But of course her twin throws a wrench in the plan as does her "soulmate" Theo. This books is light, fun, and really enjoyable!

This was my first book by this author but it certainly won’t be my last. It was funny and touching and a perfectly sweet tribute to the authors grandparents, which I absolutely adore!
Edie is a 29 year old Jewish woman living in New York City and is very close with her family. She lives her life in a regimental way because she is living under a prophecy from her grandmother on when she will meet her future spouse. The book starts out with Edie on her way to her sister’s surprise engagement, but it happens to be the “date” that her grandmother has predicted for her to meet her husband, and she has yet to be wrong with her visions, to the point that Edie broke up with who she was dating at the time to make sure she was available when her date came up. On the plane to see her sister, her seat mate seems to be “the one” and she spends the next several weeks getting to know him/falling for him. But is he really the one, despite the premonition?
I loved their family dynamics and the idea of fate is on that always gets my attention, so this book ticked the boxes for me. Perfect beach read this summer.
Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Edie is off to Maine, where Max, her twin Rae's boyfriend, has arranged for the family to watch his proposal when she meets Theo. Is Theo the man her grandmother Gloria foretold for her? After all, Gloria told both Edie and Rae the date they would meet their true loves when they were little girls and it is that day. Theo, a musician, lives large and while he's a good guy, is he prepared to settle down? Max's childhood friend Bennett is managing the congressional campaign of Kylie (think AOC) and gets her a job styling her wardrobe. Edie's lucky - she's got a good friend in Shireen, a good job in fashion, a terrific twin in Rae, and Gloria. I liked Orenstein has incorporated not only New York but also Jewish traditions and rituals into an essentially classic rom com. No spoilers from me but this one, even though I was pretty sure I knew what was going to happen, still surprised me a bit. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Good storytelling makes this a fun fast read. AND the receipt for matzoh ball soup made me LOL.

This book had such an interesting premise. What if you knew the date you'll meet your person? The exact date... How would it affect your love life until the predicted date comes? Would you have to let go off any person you meet before the fated date?

Edie's grandmother told her the date she's meet her person. And apparently she is never wrong. Gloria forecasted a number of her family members meeting their matches. Edie believes in Gloria's prophecy so strongly that she breaks up with the person she is in love with because that person is not the person she is supposed to be with. Edie misses her ex Jonah badly but she has full faith in the prophecy when the big day comes she is ready. She meets her fated match Theo. and starts falling for him. Or does she? Are they right for each other? Is her feelings toward Theo genuine or is she trying to convince herself that he is the one because they've met on that special day? Does she truly want to be with Theo for who he is and the way he makes her feel. Should she ignore the fact that Theo and she had different visions for their future.

I am a realist and wouldn't believe in such a prophecy but that's the premise of the book after all. This was such a quick and fun read. I was flipping the (hypothetical) pages to find out whether Theo really was the one. I wanted to find out if she'd listen to her feelings to find her own path without letting Gloria's prediction to rule her love life. I liked Edie's tight knit family especially her twin sister. My heart broke for Edie because she was clearly not over breaking up with her ex boyfriend but it took her a long time to see what is right in front of her.

I don't want to giveaway too much of the plot because the if and with whom parts are important but I wasn't swept away by the main romance storyline. And found the resolution and ending a bit abrupt.

Edie Myer’s grandmother has a unique gift. Ever since she had a vision of the exact day she would meet her soulmate, she has been able to accurately predict when everyone in the family would meet theirs.

June 24, 2022 – Edie’s D-day. When she happens to be sat next to an absolute dream boat, indie rock star on her flight, she knows it is a match made in the stars. Now all she has to do is convince him to date her. After fate brings them back together on their return flight, Edie is determined to make sure he does not slip through her fingers.

As their love story heats up, Edie can’t help but wonder if their lives are really fated to be crossed or if she is holding on to something just because of a magical, family tradition.

Rating: 4 stars

Review: Meant to Be Mine was one of the most fun books I have read all year. I loved how creative Edie’s career was, and how driven she was by her passion for her work. Hannah Orenstein was able to weave in a political angle with some of the characters Edie worked with, which I absolutely loved being a politics junkie, and 2022 being a mid-term year, the timing was perfect.

The love story of Edie and her “perfect guy” was really strong, but I love that the author broke from the romance mold and changed up Edie’s path. Without giving too much, I wish we could have spent a little more time reading about post-character development Edie and her relationship, because I absolutely adored it!

Overall, this was a really enjoyable romance, there was plenty of quirk, a little bit of sadness and heartbreak, and an absolutely adorable ending. I read one of this author’s other books, Head Over Heels, and I loved that one, but I think this one might just squeak past as my favorite Hannah Orenstein book yet. I definitely recommend to all my rom-com lovers out there.

Oh my goodness...I am at a loss for words! Thank you so much to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC, "Meant to Be Mine" by Hannah Orenstein, slated to release on June 7th, 2022. This novel was so much cuter than I even expected! It tells the story of Gloria, a grandmother who has visions/premonitions about other family members' soulmates. She can tell them the exact day that they will meet the person they're supposed to spend the rest of their life with.

Edie is told a specific date by her grandmother, and truly believes in the familial prophecy. Her twin sister Rae, however...throws a wrench into her plans, as does the "soulmate" Theo that she plans to spend the rest of her life with. To make matters even worse, she was previously dating a young man named Jonah who she purposely dumped 6 months before her scheduled "day" so that she would be available for her scheduled soulmate.

Overall, I rate this novel like a 4.5 out of 5 stars! It was incredibly cute!

This was such a sweet, light, feel good read!⁣
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Edie was such a relatable heroine on her journey to figure out what her future held and if she should trust fate or trust her heart. ⁣
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Her sweet grandmother had a special gift and intuition about when her family and friends would meet their true love and Edie was in love with the idea of finding her soul mate since she was a little girl, thanks to this special bond with her grandmother.⁣
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When it’s her day to meet her match, according to her grandmothers intuition, she’s on her way to find true love and make it work; but will fate guide her in the right direction or will she have to trust her own instincts?⁣
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I loved the dynamic of Edie and her twin and her bestie. I loved that she was a stylist and just a real woman. She always asked important questions and wanted to have discussions so she knew she was making the right choices in life. I also really loved the New York City life descriptions and how it was portrayed. ⁣
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I enjoyed this one!⁣
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
Thank you for an ARC for my honest review!

Thank you for the copy of this in exchange for an honest review. This one was cute but didn’t overly love. Felt like too much of the book was about the prophecy and the ending was too short. It was a cute & quick read though

I'm going to be thinking about this book for a while.

I was stressed the whole time, but also intrigued. I wanted to know if the prophecy would be fulfilled, and what Edie would do about it. This is a premise that might turn people off. However, I think if readers just try to roll with it, they'll see that Orenstein is doing some interesting stuff here.

Orenstein writes great banter. The dating scenes feel both realistic and aspirational. (I wish I could be as cool as these characters.) Orenstein is a real life dating expert and it shows.

I loved the way Covid was woven in. It's pretty subtle, but it makes sense because this book explicitly takes place in 2022.

My biggest dislike was not getting enough time with the love interest. I think this book is more about Edie's journey than a straightforward love story, but I still would have liked more time with them together.

It's also worth noting that a character was a school shooting survivor, which was a bit tough to read, since I read this while a few big mass shootings were in the news. I think this is handled in the narrative pretty well, but readers should proceed with care.

Oh this was fun. Edie’s grandmother has visions of when all the people in their family will meet their soulmate. And she’s never been wrong. So Edie has spent her whole adult life impatiently waiting for her day. She makes impossible and heartbreaking decisions knowing her date is coming.

If you’re looking for a light-hearted romcom, this isn’t that. It’s more women’s fiction and how we view and handle the different relationships in our life.

I loved Edie and could relate to her. She’s a hopeless romantic and just wants to find her person to set roots with. It makes you think about freedom of choice versus destiny. It’s such a perfect book to grab by the pool and read this summer.

I loved Head Over Heels and had such high hopes for this one too. It wasn’t a bad read per se, but it didn’t blow me away either. Some parts worked while others didn’t and I was left feeling underwhelmed at the end.

Edie and her twin Rae have grown up anticipating when their day would come when they would meet their “The One”. Gloria, their grandmother, had visions for each of her loved ones about the extract date they would meet the love of their lives. It worked for everyone thus far and it’s finally Edie’s turn.

Except, her “the one” may not be a perfect match after all. A tragedy and a shocking revelation shake Edie to her core about everything she thought she knew about love. Now, she has to navigate her relationship with this profound loss and doubts about what she wants from love.

I don’t want to give too much away, but the magical realism of Gloria’s prophecy’s just did not work for me in this one. It’s a central part of the story, but not expounded on throughout the story. I would have enjoyed seeing the conversation of when Edie found out about her day from her grandmother.

The ending felt rushed and left me longing for additional details about the whole thing (keeping this vague so I don’t spoil anything!) and I couldn’t connect to the plot at this point. I didn’t dislike the outcome, but was t rooting for them either.

I follow the author on Instagram and see how much of herself she poured into this novel, from the nod to her nail color and lipstick choice to the influence her grandparents had on the characters. I loved these parts of the story! Orenstein’s love of NYC is apparent in the descriptions of the setting and I felt like I was right there with Edie. Edie’s job is fascinating and I enjoyed seeing her passion for her career shine through.

Overall an ok read and I will definitely continue reading this author in the future!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria for an ARC.

Meant to Be Mine was a romance with a little bit of magic thrown in. Edie Meyers knows the exact day she's going to meet the man of her dreams thanks to her Grandmother, Gloria, who prophesies the date that family members will meet their matches. And it's proven to be true for the whole family so far.

Without giving any spoilers (so no use of names), I was very enticed to keep reading to see what guy Edie would end up with. I kept thinking it was going to be one guy the whole time and so many things made me second guess myself and I needed to keep reading! I loved the growth in the book's main relationship - there was something to learn for both of them. The ending did feel a little rushed to me and I wasn't sure I was here for it, but did end up actually liking that part a lot. This story also has a wonderful family element to it, and I loved the relationship the Edie had with her twin, her "triplet" friend, and her Grandmother. This was a fun read!

Thanks to Atria for the copy of this ARC!

While reading this book, it reminded me of another book I just read (The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany) because it was all about family predictions for love. Edie's grandmother, aka Gloria, is able to predict the exact date that a woman will find her soulmate. On Edie's predicted date, she is on the lookout for her man... and when she strikes up a conversation with a handsome rocker on the same flight as her, she knows this is who she was meant to be with. Because her grandmother predicted it of course!

This was a cute story; definitely a heartwarming tale because Edie is so likeable. She loves her Gloria dearly and wants to believe that her prediction is meant to be. But is it really? You can tell that Edie is not that smitten with Theo. He doesn't fit into her life and life goals, nor does he really fit into her family (she's very particular of her family's Jewish traditions).

It was hard for me to relate to the story specifically because I don't have a family that is so close, nor a family that tries to predict love for others. It definitely puts a lot of pressure on those with specific dates. Unfortunately, the cover of this book kind of gives away that rocker Theo is not her "meant to be" and if you pay attention, you know who it is based on the illustration.

Likes:
- Learning about Jewish culture
- MC confident in her appearance & fashion
- Political representation
- Descriptive setting of bustling NYC!
- Focus on family and grandparents, sibling love
- Theme of forging your own path
- Writing style
- MC being open about her desires to have a family

Not my favorite:
- Predictable, had a sense she would end up with Bennett from the beginning but I wish we had seen their relationship bloom more in the end - the pacing was a bit off and felt rushed near the end
- MC hyper-focused on finding a partner, and seemed to quickly move from one person to the next without taking time for herself to reflect/heal/etc. I was frustrated with her a good portion of the book.

3.75/5

I loved the concept of Meant to Be Mine but the execution was a bit lackluster.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

This was my first Orenstein book so I'm not sure if this is just her writing, but I felt there were so many extra details and clunky descriptions that were either unnecessary or interrupted the flow of the novel. My other grievance is that we spend so much time with Theo while knowing it won't work out. So much of the book is dedicated to Edie trying to figure out if Theo is the one, while constantly comparing him to her ex, Jonah. For a character that has one scene in the book, a lot of time is spent pondering over Jonah. After realizing Theo isn't "the one", and finding out Jonah is in a relationship, Edie realizes that she has a crush on a side character. From that realization to the ending is maybe 30 pages? It felt rushed and like Orenstein just wanted to wrap everything up nicely.

I did like Edie's friends and family. The book itself was a quick and easy read, and I wouldn't hesitate to pick up another book by this author, but I think this one could have been a lot better than it was.

Thanks to Atria for the free book.
This was a fun one. I really enjoyed the magical/fate element going on here. It made the story interesting - I was kept wanting more the entire time because I had to know how Edie's story was going to play out. The relationship between her, Rae, and Gloria was also so special, and I felt the author's dedication for her grandparents come through in the pages. I feel like the ending of this one is a make it or break it, but with the way the build up was slowly done throughout the book, I was satisfied with it. It did't feel too fast, but I can see how some readers might think that. I recommend going into this one with an open mind to a main character transformation over depending on the story for a strict rom-com.
TW: There is a side plot with a character that has experienced a school shooting

Was Gloria right?

Stylist Edie Meyer has always known the date she would meet the love of her life because her grandmother Gloria has predicted the dates for her whole family and her day was June 24, 2022. Edie met Theo Larson on the plane to Maine for her twin sister’s engagement and her grandmother was never wrong about the date. But was Theo the right person for Edie?

I liked how Edie was very open with Theo about her grandmother Gloria predicting the date, but she needed the time to figure out what was important to her and that was being around her family and friends with the love of her life.

P.S. I want to be Gloria when I grow up!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Pros: The premise of this book is great—a grandmother predicts the dates her family members will meet the loves of their lives and her granddaughter accepts this prediction and tries to make a relationship happen with the man she meets on her predicted day. I really liked how this book (like The Immortalists) explores how a person might live if they know the date of some big life event—do they trust fate or make their own path, do they feel free or trapped, etc. Other fun elements of this book are the NYC setting, the main character’s job as a stylist, and a fantastic grandmother character.

Cons: This is not a con but a content warning—this book has a character whose life is affected by a school shooting.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this book.

Not your typical love story! With a heroine that is easy to root for and a super cute premise, I adored this one! Wrapped up with Jewish traditions, imperfect and relatable characters and all the NYC references! Lovers of the soulmate/fate trope will not want to miss this book!

Since the day she met her husband, Edie’s grandma Gloria has been blessed with the ability to predict the day all the members of her family will meet their soulmate. Edie’s day is scheduled for June 24, 2022. So it only seems like fate when she is seated next to an absolutely gorgeous musician on the plane to her sister’s surprise engagement. She knows he’s her soulmate. Or is he…?

I am highly superstitious, so I was instantly drawn to this book! I have really enjoyed Hannah Orenstein’s previous books so I was so excited to get the arc of this one. And it didn’t disappoint. This one has a little bit more magic than her previous books, but I thought it was a fun escape and made the story really unique! And The end left me grinning so big. I also really appreciate the incorporation of current political issues.

Thanks to atria books and @netgalley for the e-arc!