From Goodreads:Meant to be or not meant to be . . . that is the question.
It's one thing to fall head over heels into a puddle of hazelnut coffee, and quite another to fall for the—gasp—wrong guy. Straight-A junior Julia may be accident prone, but she's queen of following rules and being prepared. That's why she keeps a pencil sharpener in her purse and a pocket Shakespeare in her, well, pocket. And that's also why she's chosen Mark Bixford, her childhood crush, as her MTB ("meant to be").
But this spring break, Julia's rules are about to get defenestrated (SAT word: to be thrown from a window) when she's partnered with her personal nemesis, class-clown Jason, on a school trip to London. After one wild party, Julia starts receiving romantic texts . . . from an unknown number! Jason promises to help discover the identity of her mysterious new suitor if she agrees to break a few rules along the way. And thus begins a wild goose chase through London, leading Julia closer and closer to the biggest surprise of all: true love.Because sometimes the things you least expect are the most meant to be."If you're into swoony romances with a little bit of history thrown in, you'll love Meant to Be."--HelloGiggles.com "Fun, fresh and irresistibly romantic. STB (SURE to be) loved!"--Sarah Mlynowski"Readers of Jennifer E. Smith and Stephanie Perkins will revel in this debate about love ruled by the stars or as a matter of the heart."--Shelf Awareness
I actually read this book awhile ago, but as usual I am way behind on reviews, so I apologize for the lateness of this review. I love a good contemporary romance and this book was no exception. From the beginning I knew I was probably going to love this with it's adorable premise and London setting, there isn't much more I could ask for. Meant to Be definitely did not disappoint!
Julia was a main character I couldn't help but fall in love with. She was unbelievably clumsy and I just felt so bad for her with each embarrassing moment. Watching her grow and come out of her shell during the book was really interesting. Also, the way Julia slowly warmed up to Jason was really well written. Since she starts out pretty much hating him at the beginning of the book it was really realistic for her to not just jump into a relationship with him. It took time for it to develop.
Jason was also an entertaining character. At the beginning he was just a typical class clown, constantly trying to crack a joke and entertain everyone around him. He is the exact opposite of Julia, putting having fun above the rules that she considers so precious, and yet in a lot of ways he is also the best thing for her. Throughout the book Jason also shows that there is more to him than just a few good jokes.
With the London class trip setting and characters that made me smile, this cute contemporary read had me wanting nothing more than to jump into it and follow Jason and Julia along on their crazy adventure. I spent the entire book just waiting for the two of them to just get together. While the plot may have been slightly predictable at times I still couldn't help but fly through this book. With a wonderfully vibrant European setting, a great main character, a cute boy, and lots of class trip shenanigans, there wasn't any way to not love this book!
Julia was a main character I couldn't help but fall in love with. She was unbelievably clumsy and I just felt so bad for her with each embarrassing moment. Watching her grow and come out of her shell during the book was really interesting. Also, the way Julia slowly warmed up to Jason was really well written. Since she starts out pretty much hating him at the beginning of the book it was really realistic for her to not just jump into a relationship with him. It took time for it to develop.
Jason was also an entertaining character. At the beginning he was just a typical class clown, constantly trying to crack a joke and entertain everyone around him. He is the exact opposite of Julia, putting having fun above the rules that she considers so precious, and yet in a lot of ways he is also the best thing for her. Throughout the book Jason also shows that there is more to him than just a few good jokes.
With the London class trip setting and characters that made me smile, this cute contemporary read had me wanting nothing more than to jump into it and follow Jason and Julia along on their crazy adventure. I spent the entire book just waiting for the two of them to just get together. While the plot may have been slightly predictable at times I still couldn't help but fly through this book. With a wonderfully vibrant European setting, a great main character, a cute boy, and lots of class trip shenanigans, there wasn't any way to not love this book!
This book is really hard to get hold of in the UK which is a shame because it sounds really good. I'll probably try and get it from the Book Depository now that I've read your review because I'm always looking for contemporary recommendations. Glad you enjoyed it, Megan!
ReplyDeleteMeant to Be was one of my favourite contemporary reads of this year! So glad that you liked it as well. I loved how Jason was introduced into this book. He definitely is a class clown!
ReplyDeleteHolly @ Absorbing the Content