Book Review - The Meeting Point by Olivia Lara

It is my pleasure to be part of The Writes Reads blog tour for The Meeting Point by Olivia Lara. This was an unexpectedly fun book.

Thank you to The Write Reads, Olivia Lara and NetGalley for the copy of this book and the opportunity to review it.

I went into the story blind – not really knowing what it was about – but soon found myself completely immersed in the story and the setting!

Book Review – Lost in Paris by Elizabeth Thompson

Book Review – New Girl in Little Cove

Book Review – Amari and the Night Brothers

Summary

What if the Lift driver who finds your cheating boyfriend’s phone holds the directions to true love?

‘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 personalized 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…

Come on this 5* journey to love, laughter and back again, perfect for fans of Mhairi McFarlane, Josie Silver and Sally Thorne.

My Thoughts

I absolutely adored this book!

The tour through Carmel was wonderful. I felt like I had a get-away to the California coast just by reading this book.

The premise of the story was unique and fun. I was frequently frustrated with Maya and her choices, but I had hope in her.

I really enjoyed the characters getting to know each other via text. Even though it was a whirlwind of an introduction, the romance was definitely a slow burn in The Meeting Point.

Setting

Carmel, California Coast

Favorite Quotes

“Love, because it is the only true adventure.”

“I think it was more than a thought, it was hope. A hopeless romantic’s hope.”

Want to hear more from Olivia Lara? Check out my podcast interview with her on Literary Escapes with Becki.

About the Author

As a child, Olivia not-so-quietly ‘observed’ (AKA bothered with countless questions) her grandfather — who worked for the biggest publishing house in Romania — edit hundreds of books. And when he wasn’t editing, he read. Everything, all the time. Just like her father, who wrote short sci-fi stories, and was set on building the largest library she’d ever seen and her mother who’s never found without a book…wherever she goes. Her love for words came naturally, and after studying marketing, communications & photography, Olivia worked as a journalist for a newspaper and news television network in Romania.

An unapologetic citizen of the world, she spent a few years in Greece, Sweden, France, before settling in sunny California with her photographer husband and young daughter, where she works in marketing and writes. Oh, and let’s not forget the ever-growing menagerie that completes the family: Pumpkin, the Maine Coon mix, three black cats and a Siamese kitten.

When she’s not writing or thinking about writing, she reads (across genres), watches old movies and collects vintage books, vinyl records, and eerie paintings. She loves traveling (and can’t wait until she can do it again, safely), swimming, biking, hiking and of course, photography.

SOMEDAY IN PARIS, her debut, published by Aria Fiction/Head of Zeus in May 2020 became a B&N, Apple, Kobo and Amazon Top 100 Bestseller and was shortlisted for the Romantic Novel Awards 2021.

Her second novel, THE MEETING POINT, a contemporary rom-com set in Northern California, is set to be published as an e-book on September 2, 2021, and in paperback in December 2021 in the UK and March 2022 in the US.

Keep up with Olivia: twitter || instagram || facebook