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nursestern's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
This cute romance tells a story of self discovery, choosing between your happiness or your family’s beliefs, and a friends to lovers tale. The close family bonds helped build the characters winning personalities. Great summer romance!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Sexual content
kdailyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I really like this book! I wish I could be friends with Edie, Rae, and Shireen. I wish I could know Gloria! I loved the descriptions of New York City and Edie’s career as a stylist. I appreciated the big ideas and questions this book brought up about love, fate, friendship, family, and believing in yourself and your dreams. Hannah Orenstein writes in such an engaging, magnetic, emotive manner and I just enjoyed reading this so much. It made me laugh, it made me tear up, and it made my heart feel warm and happy. Just what I was hoping for!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Alcohol
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Gun violence, Violence, and Mass/school shootings
this_momma_is_booked's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! I think the plot was really original, which kept me reading because I genuinely didn't know how it was going to end. I loved all the mentions of Jewish culture and customs because those are not things I am familiar with, so it was nice to learn about them and see them incorporated into a modern romance.
There is one aspect of this book that does bug me a bit - okay, the more I think about it, the more it bothers me. The entire book, we hear about Gloria's abilities, how she can predict the day you'll find your true love. Not once do we not see any of these matches work out - on the contrary, we see what happens when you purposely go against Gloria's prediction (Edie's mom marries a man who she knows is not her match and they end up divorced). However, we are told that Edie's twin bucked tradition and is marrying someone who she wasn't "matched" with and so far they've been together for 11 years and it's a wonderful relationship. Cool. Why aren't there any consequences for that? I'm not saying that I believe in this fate or matching ability, but for the purpose of the book, we're told Gloria is infallible. So what gives? Furthermore, why didn't it work out with Evie and her match? What is it about these sisters that the matching magic doesn't apply to them?
I really enjoyed that the book didn't end up going in the direction I thought with the matching magic and it left me a little surprised at the end. Overall, I'd recommend this book!
I really enjoyed that the book didn't end up going in the direction I thought with the matching magic and it left me a little surprised at the end. Overall, I'd recommend this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Minor: Child death and Mass/school shootings
sdupont's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I just loved this book!! What a great concept and delivery. Obsessed with Gloria, I adored her and loved the dynamic between her and Edie and Rae. All of the friendships and family relationships in this book were great. My only issue (if I could call it that) was that I wish there was more time dedicated to delving into the relationship with Bennett. So much time was spent with Theo and I think it added to the story but I wanted the opportunity to dive into the dynamics between Edie and Bennett.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Child death, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent
Minor: Gun violence
hollielovesromance's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
What would you do if you knew the date that you were supposed to meet the love of your life? Edie has spent her entire adult life skirting off serious dating and finding love because of this fated date. When she meets Theo, she starts to wonder as time progresses is it better to believe in fate or follow your heart.
This story is such a love letter to family and tradition. Hannah literally made me cry so hard. Gloria is the grandmother that we all deserve to have in our lives. and I fucking love that Edie ends up with Bennett and not a sad rock boy that wants his manic pixie muse dream girl. Sorry Theo you seemed kind of cool.
This story is such a love letter to family and tradition. Hannah literally made me cry so hard. Gloria is the grandmother that we all deserve to have in our lives.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Child death and Mass/school shootings
kasemcgrath's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.75
Main character doesn’t have anything else going on other than her love life
Content Warnings
Minor: Mass/school shootings
girlunderthelitchitree's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death
Minor: Gun violence and Mass/school shootings
savvyrosereads's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Out June 7, 2022 [Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!]
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Edie has spent her entire life waiting for June 24, 2022—the date her beloved grandmother prophesied Edie would meet her soulmate. When Edie boards an airplane that day and finds herself seated next to a handsome stranger, she assumes her fate is sealed, but it turns out things might be more complicated than she could ever anticipate.
I love magical realism and books that play with the concept of destiny vs. free will, so I had high hopes for the concept of this novel. And, in a lot of ways, Meant To Be Mine was what I expected—it was generally fun, generally uplifting, generally romantic, and played with all the themes of fate and determinism that I was anticipating.
What I didn’t love, unfortunately, were the characters—Edie made questionable decisions all the way through and Theo was a less-than-engaging love interest in my opinion. I also predicted where the ending was headed pretty early on, but wasn’t at all satisfied with exactly where it ended up. That said, I still “aww’ed” at a few moments, and I appreciated the close family dynamics and the Jewish representation.
In short—while this wasn’t my favorite, I definitely didn’t hate it, and if the concept sounds fun to you I’d encourage checking it out!
Recommended if you like: fate vs. free-will; magical realist romances; close-knit families.
CW: Death of a loved one; discussion of mass/school shooting and related trauma; grief.
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Edie has spent her entire life waiting for June 24, 2022—the date her beloved grandmother prophesied Edie would meet her soulmate. When Edie boards an airplane that day and finds herself seated next to a handsome stranger, she assumes her fate is sealed, but it turns out things might be more complicated than she could ever anticipate.
I love magical realism and books that play with the concept of destiny vs. free will, so I had high hopes for the concept of this novel. And, in a lot of ways, Meant To Be Mine was what I expected—it was generally fun, generally uplifting, generally romantic, and played with all the themes of fate and determinism that I was anticipating.
What I didn’t love, unfortunately, were the characters—Edie made questionable decisions all the way through and Theo was a less-than-engaging love interest in my opinion. I also predicted where the ending was headed pretty early on, but wasn’t at all satisfied with exactly where it ended up. That said, I still “aww’ed” at a few moments, and I appreciated the close family dynamics and the Jewish representation.
In short—while this wasn’t my favorite, I definitely didn’t hate it, and if the concept sounds fun to you I’d encourage checking it out!
Recommended if you like: fate vs. free-will; magical realist romances; close-knit families.
CW: Death of a loved one; discussion of mass/school shooting and related trauma; grief.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Sexual content
bpop's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was an enjoyable read, it balances out tough emotional moments with lightheaded ones. The main character Edie grapples with what fate means and how it effects her life. Throughout the book the author adds details to give life to the characters and reflect some of the vibrancy of New York City.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Death and Grief
Minor: Child death, Sexual content, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Pregnancy
jamiebethreads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death and Mass/school shootings