Review: Meant to Be

Meant to Be by Laruen Morrill
Release: November, 13, 2012
Source: eARC from publisher

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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

"Cute" does not even begin to describe this book!

On a spring break class trip to London, Julia is determined to take in some culture. What she didn't expect was to find love. After all, she already knows who she will end up with: her childhood crush  Mark Bixford. She believes he's the perfect match for her in every way...

Then the straight-laced, straight-A, student is paired with Jason and things get interesting.

Julia's voice just oozes off of these pages. She's honest, direct, and even a little funny! Throughout the whole book, I couldn't stop comparing it to Anna and the French Kiss. Sometimes, comparing two books means the death of one, but this isn't so. Both have so much charm and humor, it's hard not to to love them both.  The whole time I was reading, I  had this ridiculous smile on my face...and I am still smiling just thinking about Julia and her London adventure.

I also really liked Jason. He's not your stereotypical "bad boy" or "class clown". There are many more layers to him than he'd ever like to admit. But they are there and it makes him that much more realistic.

 Was the book predictable? Yes. Did I care? No. Sometimes you just need something lighthearted and fun. This is one of those books and I cannot recommend it enough.

RATING: 5 SLICES

Recommendation: Anna and the French Kiss

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins 

Release: December 2, 2010

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Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home. As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

- - - -

Anna and the French kiss got a lot of buzz upon its release. And for the longest time, I ignored it.

Why, oh why, did I do this? *sigh* Because, to be perfectly honest, Anna and the French managed to rekindle my love for YA contemporaries. It's that awesome of a book. Is it cliched? Perhaps. But cliches are not always bad if handled by an author like Stephanie Perkins.

In Anna and the French Kiss, Anna is forced to spend her senior year away from her home, her family, and friends. She's sent thousands of miles away to a boarding school in France. Wait a minute. France? I WOULD HAVE DIED TO GO TO FRANCE. e'hem. Anna is far from pleased, however, and wants more than anything to be "home".

Anna's encounter with Meredith, Josh, Rashmi, AND Etienne (*SWOON*) is where the story really begins. Slowly, but surely, Anna falls for the already taken Etienne. And honestly, guys, I WANT to say more but it would take all the fun out of this book. 


Suffice to say, I loved the characters, I loved the romance (Anna and Etienne have such great chemistry), and I loved that Stephanie Perkins chose Paris as the stetting. If you are looking for something light and fun that will warm your heart, do yourself a favor and read Anna and the French Kiss. Or read it again, if you want to. My only gripe is that both Etienne and Anna were sometimes indecisive about their feelings for each other (more Etienne). This could have made the book incredibly predictable, boring, and long-winded, but somehow Perkins managed to weave together a magical story. These faults I find make Anna and Etienne incredibly flawed and real. Which I like. 


*sigh* If only the cover could convey how awesome this book is! I think the cover is pretty...meh. 

RATING: 5 SLICES