I was hooked from the first page and didn't want it to end! You will love this book! Definitely recommend!

I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

I enjoyed this book, until I noticed that nothing really unique happened.
The writing style is one where you can just fall into a book and have a couple of hours of joy.
But the plot isn´t really all that realistic.
Espescially the break of one year that happens after their first "meet". It totally threw me. And to have the protagonist still be in the relationship she detests and thinking of a man who was more or less just a good tour guide without any emotional thether, was just not my cup of tea.
But because I enjoyed the writing style, I might pick up something else by this author.

This cover is very eye-catching and the romance is really good throughout the entire book! I will be reading more by Lara.

A cute, solid romcom to get me out of a reading slump! Again, books were involved which is always a plus for me., and I now desperately want to visit Carmel-by-the-sea!

Wow, this novel DEFINITELY NEEDS to be turned into a movie!
This book includes plenty of nice, sappy romances with a hint of mystery if that's your thing.

An enjoyable romance, The Meeting Point is a sweet tale centered on one woman's quest to find love. After discovering her current boyfriend has been unfaithful and that she's not happy, Maya decides to go back to the town where she might have found real love. A year ago, she first discovered her boyfriend's cheating ways through his Lift driver. The Lift driver found her boyfriend's forgotten phone in the backseat of his car. Maya and the Lift driver texted through the phone as he sent her on a fun mission to discover new things. Now she wants to find out who the man is that she nicknamed Max. A bond was formed and chemistry, through texts.

Okay, so the premise of this one sounded super fun and original. A guy leaves his phone in his Lift driver's car. The girlfriend texts the phone, and the driver unintentionally reveals that her boyfriend is cheating on her. Hijinks ensue. I really wanted to love this story--the lead character Maya is likable, the adventure she goes on is fun, and the mysterious texter is funny and cute. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into this book and it fell pretty flat for me. I think if I had read this one in high school I would have ate it up and left no crumbs, but it just felt a bit juvenile. I didn't love the instalove and I think the story could have had a bit more substance. However, it's clear the author is talented and I'm interested to see what she puts out next.

ich hätte so gern eine Serie oder einen Film dazu! Es war wirklich schön und ich hab es sehr genossen zu lesen. Wird definitiv weiterempfohlen!

The Meeting Point by Olivia Lara (Women’s Fiction/Romance). Set mainly in the quaint beach town of Carmel-by-the-Sea, this book definitely reminded me of my many walks in this charming place (it is just a little more than an hour’s drive there for us)… Cute but drawn-out with characters that contradict themselves too often for me
(Thanks to NetGalley for the digital arcs of the above book)

I loved this book so much! Her writing is always spot on and this was no different! Such a great story and strong characters

Can one text, one day change the trajectory of your whole life? This is a sweet and charming romcom which turns the life of our leading lady Maya Maas upside down. Maya has had a terribly day at work, resulting in her getting fired. She had planned to surprise her boyfriend by visiting him for the weekend while he is away on a business trip to celebrate her birthday. Only upon landing in California she finds out from the Lift driver that her boyfriend of 5 years has been cheating on her.

Maya take the driver up on his offer to spend her birthday having a spontaneous adventure in Carmel-by-the-sea. She boards a bus and through texts he guides her around the charming seaside town. After a while she starts to forget why she had come to California in the first place and lets herself just be in the moment and take it all in.

This book was such a comfort read, everything you could want in a romcom. Max being sweet, thoughtful and dare I say romantic keeping Maya company on her birthday and help her replace the memory of here boyfriends betrayal with a positive one. Their connection was obvious and of course I found myself rooting for Maya to eventually find Max.

When Maya goes back to Carmel I wasn’t too sure what to think of Ethan, it took me a while to warm up to him. I will say there are definitely some problematic parts of the book. I really liked Max, however, the one thing that just didn’t sit right with me was when read Ethans version of events. I wanted to hold on to Mayas version where it was sweet and innocent but his side reminded me of the TV show “You”, it just seemed creepy. I wanted so badly to rewrite those pages and just have him turn up at the fire. Had I been in Mayas shoes finding out the truth about Ethans behaviour would have really bothered me but I see how we tend to view being secretive and misleading as acceptable in romcoms and movies alike. Knowing that he and those around him knew the truth all along and choose to collectively keep Maya in the dark to play this game with her very real emotions just seems a bit cruel knowing how much that day meant to her. That said it was mostly an enjoyable read and I would absolutely read another book by this author.

This book was so good! It was a fast paced storyline and I had a hard time putting it down! The tension between Max and Maya was great and I couldn't wait to see what happened between them! The friendships in the story were great. The setting was perfect for this romance and the insta-love trope worked so well. So glad I had an opportunity to read this one!!

I liked this book - fast moving plot, good characters, and fun to read. The author did a great job with the story, plot, and setting. Overall, I would definitely recommend!

I have to say that this Rom Com has one of the most unique meet cute I've read. Involving a phone left in a ride side. There was a brief hint at a possible love triangle but it didn't last long. And I loved how the heroine and hero first meet through text messages and continued talking through texts for a bit. I loved the slow burn.

After Maya gets fired, she flies to San Francisco to surprise her boyfriend, but finds out he's cheating on her from the lift driver who dropped him off.. Alone in an unfamiliar city, Maya jumps at the driver's suggestion to visit Carmel-by-the-sea. He plays tour guide, and they get to know each by text on a magical day. What adventure will Maya discover, and will she meet the driver, Max face to face?

4 stars! The Meeting Point is a fun rom-com that I read in one sitting. Highly recommend.
Thanks to Olivia Lara, Aria, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A good premise and a cute, fluffy read. Not the most outstanding book I've read recently, but there's nothing wrong with it either!

The Meeting Point by Olivia Lara
Publication date: September 2, 2021

Date read: October 28, 2022



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..

I first want to state that there are parts of this book that are extremely problematic. There is a thing with romcoms where it is, for some reason, okay to lie and be manipulative in the name of love. (Think Joe Fox in You’ve Got Mail). This behavior is not okay in real life, but we accept it in our romcoms. And I’m not judging the people who enjoy these movies and books - I love You’ve Got Mail. And I really liked this book. But I do feel the need to be upfront about the problematic behavior.

There are a lot of romcom tropes throughout this book. The story would have been just fifty pages long if Maya had just once paused to think instead of jumping to conclusions based on baseless assumptions that she had made about one character or another. Is it annoying? Incredibly - but in a weirdly acceptable way, as the act of jumping to stupid conclusions is the basis for at least fifty percent of romcom films.

This story moves very fast, with each scene passing fairly quickly to the next. Nothing dragged. There are at least two points in the book that could have led to a dramatic kiss with the music swelling and credits rolling, but one wrong move kept the story going.
I thought the characters were pretty perfect for this type of story. Annoying decisions aside, Maya was kinda fun, and the male lead was intriguing and sweet, in his way. Despite the problems and questionable choices, I really wanted to see them get together in the end.

Overall, I did really enjoy this read. It was fast, easy, and made me feel all the feels. It was a romcom through and through, predictable plot points and all. If you’re a fan of romantic comedies and can get past the problematic behaviors in this scenario, then this book is for you. If you’re on the fence about romcoms, skip this one, because I can’t think of a time I’ve read a book more stereotypically romcom than this one.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Content warning: gaslighting, stalker behavior

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

This novel was slow going and really hard to get into. I couldn’t seem to care about the characters. Might need to revisit at a later date.