DNF at 12%.. This seems to be more women's fiction than romance, just some stuff happening without a strong plot through-line. The idea that a woman is out having a fun adventure the day after learning that her boyfriend of five years is cheating on her just doesn't ring true for me. Sorry!

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

The Meeting Point is a clean romantic comedy by Olivia Lara. We are introduced to Maya Maas, an aspiring romance novelist who is employed as a reporter at a Brooklyn magazine. She has been living with her boyfriend, David, for 5 years. Her best friend, Alisa, is now working as an editor for a London publishing house. Maya’s boss, Janice, is a tyrant, like The Devil Wears Prada.

Janice sends Maya and a photographer to try to meet a reclusive author on Maya’s 27th birthday, even though Maya has plans to fly to San Francisco. After the disastrous interview attempt, Maya flies to California, where she intends to surprise David on his business trip. She is unable to reach him by phone, but eventually she receives a text message from his phone saying he’s a Lyft driver and the phone was left in his vehicle by a passenger. The driver asks if she’s the blonde who was canoodling with David, and Maya informs him that she’s a brunette. Maya and the Lyft driver strike up a friendship via text messages. Maya falls in love with the anonymous driver as he guides her to adventures in Carmel.

When Maya returns to New York, David denies that he was with another woman. They resume their relationship but Maya doesn’t feel the connection to David that she felt with the Lyft driver. A year later David proposes marriage and Maya has to decide if she wants to marry David or try to discover the identity of her mysterious Lyft driver.

While this story has comedic elements, it’s more of a character-development tale. The descriptions of San Francisco and Carmel are beautiful and cause the reader to want to vacation there. The story moves at a good pace and doesn’t drag like so many character-driven stories do. There is mystery/suspense surrounding the identity of the Lyft driver. I recommend this book for all readers of women’s fiction and romantic fiction.

I purchased and read this book prior to receiving a complimentary review copy. All opinions are my own.

Loved this book! Loved the journey. Love the writing. It kept me turning the pages so fast! I had to know what would happen next but I still loved the journey getting there.

The beginning of this book had me swooning, I was looking up every location in the book as Maya went around Carmel by the Sea and everything was so beautiful. I have never wanted to go to California more than reading through the first quarter of this book. This part of the book was a hopeless romantic's dream. The author did a phenomenal job at painting a picture of Maya's visit to California and everything she was seeing and experiencing.

I loved Maya's journey. The good, the bad, the internal struggle, the not being brave but trying, trying so so so hard to be brave.

I did kind of figure out the "twist" early on, but waiting for Maya to put the pieces together was what had me turning the pages so quickly. I had to see how it all turned out. Sometimes books like this can annoy me, but this one didn't. Reading it gave me so much joy throughout the whole book. I absolutely adored it. This was such a heartwarming uplifting story!

This a completely sweet clean story with strong You've Got Mail vibes.

Really cute romance with a unique premise. Very enjoyable. Couldn't put it down. Even though I saw the ending coming, it was fun to watch it unfold for her.

I received an advanced readers copy from Netgalley and the publisher - thank you!

The Meeting Point was such a joy! It read super fast and made my heart swell with love and comfort. It had an amazing setting (a small town by the sea in California I mean what else do you need???) and the premise was so damn cute. I loved the writing and book topics and how it was an essential part of the story. The side characters were amazing and I really enjoyed meeting them all in that cute Café, Maya had such a good heart and always tried to help - an incredible main character, there was literally nothing to dislike about her.
Personally, I think it was very clear from the start who Max is, so this little dance they did around that topic was silly especially as it stretched on for over 90% of the book - yet I loved the story. I wish the reveal would’ve been a little earlier but it’s a solid plot nonetheless. The scenery was so rich and took the reader of a fun exploration of Napa Valley and San Francisco, honestly a must read for all my Cali lovers out there. This is pure feel good romance from the top tier of the genre, you can’t call yourself a romance reader without this book on your list!

I’m. Blown. Away.

Slightly embarrassed by the number of times I had to put this book down and just grin like an idiot. This book was so adorable and I could not put it down. It didn’t even take a day to read, I felt like Ethan (not able to do anything but read). Maya and Ethan have such an adorable story, I only wish it were longer. I also wish there was an epilogue, possibly a year into the future to keep up with the timelines of the book.

Would definitely be interested in reading a story about Alisa! And I will look for others by Olivia Lara.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC copy!!

The beginning was so sad, poor Maya! She decides to surprise her boyfriend and when she calls him, the Lyft driver answers and tells her he left the phone and was making out with a blonde, yikes!

I think the plot twist was kinda obvious but was happy that Maya had her HEA.

I just didn’t feel the insta-love was believable, she had so many inner monologues that dragged the story and was unnecessary and also there were a lot of instances of lying and miscommunication that I didn’t enjoy.

I enjoyed it, it was a good read but not my favorite due to the lying and miscommunication.

Maya Mass flew to California to surprise her boyfriend on her birthday, but the trip turned out much differently than she intended. When she called her boyfriend David, a stranger answered the phone, saying the boyfriend left it in the Lift car he hired, and the Lift driver assumed it was either the boyfriend calling or “the blonde in the red dress” he was making out with in the car.

Maya was devastated, and planned on sitting on an airport bench all day and night until she could get a flight back. But the Lift driver, eventually identifying himself as “Max,” suggested she go to a nearby town, Carmel by the Sea, and at least enjoy the day. He would text her guidelines for where to go and what to see.

Maya falls in love with the town (and the book offers up an excellent travelogue) and finds herself falling for the Lift driver as well. But when he doesn’t meet her after they plan to rendezvous at the end of a perfect day thanks to his texts, she gives up and goes home to her cheating boyfriend.

The story picks up a year later. A new incident with David convinced Maya she had no feelings left for him, and she only thought about Max. She picked up once again, and flew to Carmel by the Sea, where she serendipitously picked up a job and a place to live, and set out to find the man who stole her heart.

We all know what will happen, but the path to get there is full of histrionics, personal growth, and best of all, the most romantic gestures ever.

Evaluation: Entertaining romance with plenty of swoony moments.

I loved this book!! I thought the storyline was unique and kept me wanting to read more. There were just enough plot twists to keep you interested without going over the top. I would love to read spin off stories of the characters she was matching making!

The most perfect modern romance story I've read! I felt everything with the characters: their happiness and their love, and the twist was so satisfying! I almost cried in here! The burn I felt in my heart when I figured the twist! What a story! It reminds me of my own love story. I really need a physical copy of this one! Amazing book! Cliche? Yes, but so sweet, heartwarming and addictive!

After having a horrible day at work in NY that got her fired, Maya does't let it also destroy her trip to San Francisco to surprise her boyfriend during his business trip. Their relationship has been struggling so a weekend with him in California could be a great idea, and it was also her birthday! Until Maya arrives in SF and after texting her boyfriend with no response, she receives a text from his number and she asks: "Who are you and why do you have my boyfriend's phone?". And someone responds: "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".

Maya is a brunette to start with and she's a t-shirt wearing kinda girl and she just landed in SF. After she ended up telling the lift driver that it was her birthday, he suggested her to take a bus to Carmel-by-the-sea, because nobody deserved be alone on their birthday. She accepts the suggestion since she can't flight back home until the next day.

The lift driver that she now calls Max, gives her a personalized itinerary, texting her as she wanders around town. He also suggested restaurants, cafes and nice spots at the beach. As the day goes by, she forgets about her cheating boyfriend and starts liking Max more and more. They schedule a meeting point: a bench at the beach to watch the sunrise at 6am. But as she walks towards it, her boyfriend shows up, with his phone back, and denies everything. She comes back with him to NY, with no way to contact Max again.

One year later, she finally decides to change her life. And the day that she leaves her boyfriend, her friend calls her to let her know that a new book by a famous author named Ethan is coming out and the story matches perfectly what Maya lived that day in SF. Desperate to find out who Max is, Maya flights to Carmel in search of the famous author that stole her story and that knows Max as a friend. When she arrives, she gets a job at a cafe and a place to stay that, just like fate, belongs to Celine, the author's twin sister. When she meets Ethan, she wants to hate him for writing her story. She had also written her story with her point of view but now she can't publish it, since he already did! As they get to know each other, Maya sees herself closer and closer to find out who Max is, but as the time passes and she spends more and more time with Ethan, she starts to wonder if she really wants to know Max's name. A twisty, feel good and modern romance that gave me all the chills!

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

Cute and wholesome. It starts with a fun premise. Maya flies to California to surprise her boyfriend of five years. She calls but gets a Lyft driver who has her boyfriend's phone. He inadvertently lets her know that the guy is cheating on her. Instead of returning home the driver gives her directions to having a magical day in Carmel. Fast forward another year and Maya still can’t stop thinking about her texting day with the driver. She learns that an author has written a story based on that day so she returns to Carmel to see if the author will tell her the identity of her Lyft driver. Arriving in Carmel she takes a job in a local diner, starts making friends with locals and takes on matching making too.

This reminds me of You’ve Got Mail or The Shop Around The Corner. The reader figures out who the driver is long before the heroine. But because everything is told from Mayas POV you have to jump through the frustrating hoops he puts her through. (At the start he doesn’t trust her motives for returning.) I love the check ins with her best friend in London who is helping her solve the puzzle. This is a sweet read and because it never goes beyond a few kisses can be read by any age. Thank you NetGalley and Head of Zeus for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Olivia Lara for the ARC!

I love me a second chance, small town RomCom! It was a fun, heartwarming read. Maya was a tad bit oblivious in certain parts of the story and I found myself thinking "how did this girl not see that?" but overall, a cute read!

Okay, first things first - I had high expectations and found the blurb intriguing. It piqued my interest right off the bat and I couldn't wait to get starrted. I did however find it to be a bit of a struggle to finish the book despite the interesting plot and characters.

We meet Maya who goes to San Francisco to surprise her boyfriend. She struggles to come in contact with him but when she finally does, it isn't him. The person she comes in contact with has found his phone in a Lyft, where Maya's boyfriend spent time with another woman. Maya keeps in touch with the person from here on, and together they decide to enbark on a birthday adventure together. The two meet up this is where I sadly started losing interest.

I quite dislike insta-love and insta-...anything. Things progressed a bit too fast for me and to be perfectly honest, I wish Maya was more of a "badass" (when it comes to the cheating boyfriend). Granted, there were parts I loved as well, don't get me wrong. Overall, however, it wasn't a favorite nor very memorable. It could very well because of the writing style that I'm not used to!

All in all, 3🌟!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC copy of 'The Meeting Point' in exchange for an honest review.

This one is hard to figure out - the romantic part of me loved it, but then the jaded side of me thought this was a little too cutesy with too many clichés. Also, semi stalkerish.

Our fmc, Maya, flies to California to surprise her long term boyfriend, only to discover through the Lyft driver that he's been cheating on her (the boyfriend lol). Instead of heading straight home, Maya lets the Lyft driver take her on a tour of Carmel by the Sea, via text messages. Maya and Max never actually meet at this point in the story (though they had planned to meet up) and Maya heads home. From that point on, the story takes a bit of a detour into the aforementioned stalker territory.

I don't want to spoil the plot, but while I did see the 'twist' and resolution coming, I did ultimately enjoy this read. Will you be missing out if you choose not to pick this one up? No, but it is a pretty light and fluffy read.

Ewwwww David.
The premise of this novel was so much fun and unique. An aspiring novelist, Maya surprises her boyfriend, David in SF for her birthday ends up finding out he has cheated on her, has a chance text encounter with a stranger who helps her have a perfect birthday day in a quaint oceanside town. Just as Maya and the stranger are about to meet, David comes back, sweet talks her and Maya leaves with him without ever meeting the stranger. Jump forward 1 year Maya is miserable and goes out to change her circumstances, and is still thinking about the stranger from One year ago. She finds out someone close to the stranger has written a book about that day and she vows to figure out who was the stranger who she can't get out of her head.

The only reason this is not a 4 or 5 star book for me is because the writing style took me very long to get into. It feels a little disjointed, with a lot of telling and not showing. I got confused a lot in the beginning and always had to reread passages because I felt like i was missing things

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
'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... The Meeting Point was good for me it was a bit slow to the start where Maya is supposed to be surprising her boyfriend but thanks to a lost phone and an honest lift driver who informs her she is being cheated on, Maya and mystery man deemed as Max spend the day exchanging text as Maya ends up being sent on an adventure she won’t forget and a year later finds out she’s a featured character in a book with her story causing her to go back and find her mystery man who she may have missed her chance with. It was a quick read with great characters and kind of funny how Maya missed all the signs that pointed to her mystery man but things worked out for her in the end even though the ending seemed rushed. Overall even though it was kind of predictable it was still sweet and funny and I would still recommend if you want a quick and fun read. Thank you NetGalley and Aria for arc!

Maya is on a surprise trip to visit her boyfriend when she ends up in a texting conversation with a stranger. In that conversation, she finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her. She then ends up on an adventure through Carmel via text with "Max" as he tries to make her birthday a happy one. Just when they are about to meet, her boyfriend shows up and she flies back home with him. A year later, she flies back to Carmel to look for "Max." What she finds instead might be even better.

I loved the characters of Maya, Ethan, and Celine! These characters were so genuine in their interactions with one another. Celine was the epitome of a perfect friend and she and Ethan had such a wonderful sibling bond. There was a noticeable spark between Ethan and Maya right away and the way that the story played out was just pure magic. I always hate when I good book ends, but I couldn't wait to get to then end to see how it ended!

Thanks to NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for this honest review!

What a difference 48 hours made in the life of Maya Maas. Before the weekend began, she had a job she cared about and a boyfriend she trusted, but once the weekend ended, she had no job, a boyfriend who (maybe?) cheated on her, and one question running through her mind--just who was on the other end of her boyfriend's phone during her epic 24 hour trek through Monterey, CA.

When a book manuscript hits the circuit one year later that sounds eerily similar to her own life, Maya finds herself back in Caramel and on the hunt for the author who stole her life's story and the mystery texter whom she might just be a little bit in love with.

Thank you NetGallery for this digital advance reader copy!

Read this if you like: Second chances, small towns, a little mystery with your romance

Thoughts 💭
Maya Maas is a writer. She has an awful boss that ends up firing her. She has been with her boyfriend David for 5 years. On her birthday weekend she decides to surprise him while he is on a business trip in San Francisco. Everything gets messed up when she gets there, tries calling him, and the Lift driver answers. The Lift driver asks her if she was the blonde. Uh oh.. She's not blonde.. She's heartbroken so Max (or so she calls him), the Lift driver, and her end up talking a lot. He leads her all over Carmel by the Sea via text. She sees such beautiful places because of him.

We fast forward a year later. She has believed her narcissistic boyfriend.. kind of. She can't stop thinking about the guy in Carmel. Her friend let's her know she has seen an upcoming book that's EXACTLY Maya and Max's story. She has to know how the author knows so she heads to CA.

I don't want to give away too much. This book has a magical, whimsical feel to it. It felt like a movie. I loved the characters. The delevopment of them is perfect. Maya was a bit too naive for me but I liked how far her character came along. I love Celine. I would love to read a book with her in it. This is a cute, funny read. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author Olivia Lara and Head of Zeus/Aria Publishers for the ARC! ❤

The premise of this book had so much promise. I really wanted to know how it would play out. Unfortunately, this book is written like a high schooler's essay (you know, when they're trying to hit a certain word count so they keep adding unnecessary words to make it a bit longer?) I skimmed till I got to the resolution. That was like 3 days ago and already I can't remember much about this book, so it didn't leave much of an impression on me.