ARC Review: Meet Cute

Posted January 3, 2018 / Book Reviews / 2 Comments

Further down you’ll find reviews for each story with their own star ratings, but my overall feelings about the book are right below. I really loved all of these stories overall, and this anthology left me with a really positive feeling… compared to other anthologies I’ve read!

Meet Cute anthology

Some People are Destined to Meet
Edited by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Average rating: 3.75 stars
four-stars

Whether or not you believe in fate, or luck, or love at first sight, every romance has to start somewhere. MEET CUTE is an anthology of original short stories featuring tales of “how they first met” from some of today’s most popular YA authors.

Readers will experience Nina LaCour’s beautifully written piece about two Bay Area girls meeting via a cranky customer service Tweet, Sara Shepard’s glossy tale about a magazine intern and a young rock star, Nicola Yoon’s imaginative take on break-ups and make-ups, Katie Cotugno’s story of two teens hiding out from the police at a house party, and Huntley Fitzpatrick’s charming love story that begins over iced teas at a diner. There’s futuristic flirting from Kass Morgan and Katharine McGee, a riveting transgender heroine from Meredith Russo, a subway missed connection moment from Jocelyn Davies, and a girl determined to get out of her small town from Ibi Zoboi. Jennifer Armentrout writes a sweet story about finding love from a missing library book, Emery Lord has a heartwarming and funny tale of two girls stuck in an airport, Dhonielle Clayton takes a thoughtful, speculate approach to pre-destined love, and Julie Murphy dreams up a fun twist on reality dating show contestants.

This incredibly talented group of authors brings us a collection of stories that are at turns romantic and witty, epic and everyday, heartbreaking and real.

Siege Etiquette – Katie Cotugno
three-stars

There’s something I sort of liked about this one for some reason. The second person narration was weird though; it’s like you’re in the story but not really. Definitely serious for a quick story but I could really feel her motivations for what she was feeling and doing. Wolf seemed cute and interesting with a complex backstory too. I think Cotugno did a good job of characterizing both of them in a short time period.

Print Shop – Nina LaCour
three-half-stars

Cute! I love the idea of a little, old-fashioned print shop in a small town. Not sure what to make of the actual romance because the girl/customer was so mad half of the time lol. Evie was sweet and interesting; I would definitely read this in a full-sized book! I always think that’s a double-edged sword because it’s a compliment (more please!) but also not a good thing (not fully fleshed out for a short story).

Hourglass – Ibi Zoboi
three-stars

The story itself was pretty good and very interesting, but the meet-cute part was practically nonexistent. I don’t want to spoil it but there was definitely not enough. The ending was abrupt and I’m confused about what might happen next. There are many possibilities but I like a little bit of closure in this situation. I loved the main character; she felt fully fleshed out in this short time period. I knew so much about her struggles and triumphs. The story was very much about her, but I’m not sure it was really about the meet-cute. That’s why I can’t rate this one too high, just because it didn’t fall in line AS much with the book.

Click – Katherine McGee
four-half-stars

I’m a fan of McGee’s debut series and wasn’t surprised to see this short story take place with a similar futuristic vibe. The Click app was a really cool concept and I love the direction the story took from there. I don’t think the characterization was done as well as the other stories so far but from an enjoyment perspective, I loved it.

The Intern – Sara Shepard
two-half-stars

Mmm. That was lame. I love Sara Shepard but I was bored with this story. I didn’t feel the chemistry and I usually kind of enjoy the normal person/celebrity trope. The connection was fairly quick but I didn’t FEEL that. Maybe a full-length story would have been a better idea to expand on the characters and their backstories.

Somewhere That’s Green – Meredith Russo
four-stars

This was a refreshing story! It was centered around the bathroom rights of a transgender student. The main character and the love interest had some interesting and eye-opening conversations and a lot of it took me by surprise. I loved Nia’s dad for being so supportive of her, but the same could (probably) not be said for the other parents involved.

The Way We Love Here – Dhonielle Clayton
three-stars

Okay now THAT needs to be a full book. Very interesting and confusing concept. I’m not 100% sure what happened? But I did kind of like it? The magical realism was a fun change from the rest of these stories too. It reminds me of the red string theory or legend I read about a long time ago.

Oomph – Emery Lord
five-stars

Loved it. Potentially biased because Emery Lord? Very possible. However, I sincerely felt the chemistry and enjoyed the banter like nobody’s business. Airport love stories are so fun to me and this was no exception. These girls are my favorite. How does Emery Lord always do this?

The Dictionary of You and Me – Jennifer L. Armentrout
four-half-stars

Okay that is the definition of a meet cute. I love the dictionary/library/secret caller situation so much. The characters were cute and awkward (maybe a little too awkward toward the end for me). This is a perfect short story that doesn’t need any more or less to get the message across.

The Unlikely Likelihood of Falling in Love – Jocelyn Davies
five-stars

I’m surprised to say I loved the statistical and scientific aspects to this one. I’m majorly into anything involving fate so I was super excited about the direction this took too. I also love the fact that it made fun of the concepts of soul mates and meet cutes – very meta. Looooved it and tbh a little obsessed with it. Give me more books like this.

259 Million Miles – Kass Morgan
three-stars

I was intrigued by the different genre for this one. The whole mars mission concept was very cool. I’m PISSEEEED about the ending for a lot of reasons and my rating might go down the more I stew on it. The meet cute aspect was totally there but there’s something I specifically want from the endings of these stories that didn’t happen here. Humph.

Something Real – Julie Murphy
four-half-stars

I love how unexpected this was. You think you’re getting one thing (at the beginning at least) and it turns into something even better. I loved the characters and the whole “win a date with a celebrity” premise. I’m also now craving dinosaur nuggets. Julie Murphy is the best.

Say Everything – Huntley Fitzpatrick
three-stars

I’ve read two books by this author: loved one and hated the other. Needless to say, I had no idea what I could expect from this story. The premise didn’t do much for me, especially because the rest of them were much more unique. The writing style was a little odd but kind of worked, because it implied more about the future. That helps a short story feel longer.

The Department of Dead Love – Nicola Yoon
four-stars

Speaking of unique stories, this one definitely fit the bill. It reminded me of a lot of movies kind of mashed together… I would love this as a movie actually. I liked the premise a lot but the meet cute circumstances did feel a little weird. It worked, sure, but I didn’t love it. Or them.

2 responses to “ARC Review: Meet Cute

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