This was a pretty sweet book that just gets better as it progresses!

To start off, the premise was amazing - I don't think I've read a book with a premise this interesting in a long long time. I absolutely loved the way California was depicted here and I would love to visit all the places mentioned here.

The woman main character was super annoying though, but that's just my personal opinion. The man main character was slightly creepy, and maybe the set up could have been slightly different, because I genuinely enjoyed him as a person. However, I believe that you don't have to love the characters to enjoy a book at all. I also thought the set up was a tad bit long, and we don't even see the man MC till about 50% of the book (which I think is intentional?)

But once they meet, the rest of the book was super adorable and the chemistry was truly palpable! I loved that the woman MC grows so much throughout the book and she stands up for herself and follows her dreams! Good for her! The friendships were precious (although the best friend character should have been fleshed out more - I hope there's a follow up book about her!). Eventually, the cliches (including the one I hate - communication problems) were super worth it for the setting and the premise! (3.5 stars)

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?

Unfortunately this book was not for me. I don't really like insta-love and I found to be there no chemistry between the characters. The setup though I found interesting and overall it was an okay book, not my type of romance though.

I would rate this book 2.5 stars, but I will round up. The main character in this book was easy to like, however the writing felt a bit predictable and choatic. However, it's a romance novel so what can you expect? I would say that this is definitely a quick, easy read. I do not regret reading this book.

Maya’s birthday was one she would not soon forget. After flying to San Francisco to surprise her long-term boyfriend, she’s the one surprised when a Lyft driver answers the phone and gives some bad news! Maya’s birthday is salvaged by this incredible driver and a magical day he creates for her, but who is he? A great summer read!

2.5 stars.
Ir felt like it was trying too hard to be funny... and it was not. The characters were alright, but not very memorable and interesting.

Whoa! What a ride. It was very fast-paced. The writing style kept me hooked and I didn't find myself losing any interest. I enjoyed getting to know each of the characters and how real the story felt. The author did a great job painting the setting, so it was easy for me to visualize the scene played out before me. I recommend giving this one a chance!

This book was a fun treat! I loved it! It was a good reset after I read a heavier book. It kept me flipping pages well past my bedtime!!

This book was so adorable! I literally could not put it down once i started reading! I liked the main character Maya for the most part, however she was very naive at times, and that annoyed me. I found myself yelling at her to see things the way i did to many times lol. overall i loved the concept of the book, it was so refreshing and light hearted. definitely would recommend if you want a cute, quick romance read! 3.5 stars!

This book was filled with heartfelt and funny moments, it was such a cute and fun read. I loved Maya's character and how she dealt with everything!

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this book. The synopsis sounded like it would be a great, quick and fun read but I really did not like it.
I was 20 pages in when I started to get bored, and gripping the attention of your reader at the start is SUPER important.

As an editor, I read a lot of books, and this one I feel was still in the draft stage. It feels like it needs an edit focused primarily on structure and plot. I know that I am probably way too picky because of the job I have, but there just wasn't anything grabbing my attention at all.
I felt the first chapter was the best, when the main character was 'telling the story' of her own characters. After this I completely lost interest.
I absolutely hate reading books with a passion that start with 'Hi my name is.... and I write books!'. It does nothing to the plot and also is a bad way of introducing characters.

It definitely isn't a book I'd recommend.

Okay. This book is hard to review but here goes. The concept was quite interesting and I was into the story for most of the first half. However, later it starting feeling to lengthy, and slow paced (kinda like it was purposely stretched out into a longer read) I liked certain aspects of the characters, and bonus points for the setting! I'm really hoping that an edited version of this comes out with more to the point writing.

3.5 stars

Hi! The Meeting Point by Olivia Lara is a romance novel of around 350 pages to be published in December. It has a unique premise and I couldn’t help but enjoy the first half of the book. The story went a bit downhill in the latter half but it was a nice read nonetheless.

The Plot/Summary

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…

Book Review-

Okay, to be frank, I have a muddled opinion about this book. I loved the concept and how it played out in the first half of the book but at the same time, I found myself skimming through a lot of the chapters, especially ones in the second half. The story seemed stretched out and while it redeemed itself a bit towards the last few chapters, it definitely went very downhill after the first half.

I really don’t know where to categorize this book since I enjoyed certain aspects of this book but others fell flat. The things I DID enjoy and love about the book are-

*The place! The scenic imagery of Carmel by the sea and the descriptions of the people and such was done beautifully and definitely made me want to visit there!

*Now the characters- I did loved Maya’s character growth and that she found the courage to quit her job. Celine had such a genuinely beautiful personality and I loved her for it.

*And lastly, the premise. The concept for the book was great and lovable!

The main thing that irked me I think was that despite it being an unrealistic book, it somehow manages to bring lies and not well-executed angry moments into it. I have no qualms with unrealistic books, I often enjoy and love them. But the beauty of unrealistic books is IN the non-reality of the circumstances and this book didn’t completely deliver on that.

So all-in-all, I would give this book 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my free digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed the first part of this book, I thought it was super cute and a really original idea, but that’s where my love for it ended. The second part felt extremely lacklustre and relied way too heavily on the miscommunication trope, which is definitely not something I enjoy, this is why my rating is lower than normal. The story was adorable at points and I got through it very quickly, but I just found it a bit forgettable, and found myself rooting for the friendships a lot more than the romance.

You might like this if you want an innocent romance without spice, and if you don’t mind the miscommunication trope, because the writing is great and very easy to read. Also, the chapters are extremely short, which I always appreciate!

I will probably pick up the next book from this author as I did enjoy the pacing and writing, it was just the story I had problems with.

I was a little confused at the start of the book, but it worked out in the end. Fun and quirky, This book was fun to read.

Cute story with very likable characters. Easy breezy summer read. Thank you netgalley and publisher for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

Enjoyable and a decent read to pass the time. Lots of the narrative is very convenient, but it’s a good novel for summer reading.

I was drawn by this cover and excited to dive in. In practice, though, I struggled with the writing style, as the story or chemistry felt forced and unrealistic. Despite a few attempts I did not finish the book. Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Okay! This book! Ah! I was so damn irritated with the protagonist, Maya! I won’t spoil it for anyone - because it really is a good book and worth reading - but she really doesn’t grasp something that was immediately obvious to me and should have been obvious to her way before she was told it. I spent a long time despairing at her. But! The romance is good and tender and well-written. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Oh my goodness, this was so adorable!

The plot relies heavily on misunderstandings and convenience, which usually annoys me, but everything about this was so well-done. So charming and cute that I couldn't put it down.

Perfect feel-good romcom!

I do wish the ending had been a tad longer because it felt like there was all this build-up for something we just barely got to see, but I think that speaks to how invested I was in the story.

3/5 *

i feel like the beginning of the book was just a series of events that catapulted to push the story along and was extremely rushed. it also felt like a big chunk of it wasn't needed.

i will say i relate to maya in the "assigning stories to people we meet" in everyday life, one of the most common things i've felt in a protagonist!

also in the beginning it read almost like a horror book when you got glimpses of the possibility of him watching / following her lol

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 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...