Cover Image: Meet Cute

Meet Cute

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Member Reviews

This is a lovely and pleasantly diverse short story collection - I particularly liked that there were four f/f couples featured, as these are quite often overlooked within YA, and that it included stories in different genres. I genuinely enjoyed all of them, but the ones that most stuck with me were Meredith Russo's 'Somewhere That's Green', about a trans girl and a seemingly transphobic classmate brought together by a school play; Emery Lord's 'Oomph', a very cute meeting between two girls in an airport; and Nicola Yoon's 'The Department of Dead Love', a high concept tale of a boy who goes to great lengths to get over his ex-girlfriend. A couple of the stories felt a little cramped or rushed given the restrictive word count, but the standard of the writing is excellent and it introduced me to a few new (for me) writers who I'll definitely look out for again.

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'Meet Cute' was a great addition to the YA anthology shelf, with so many adorable romances with enough variety that there's something for everyone. I really appreciated the fact that at least a quarter of the stories had LGBT protagonists (with Emory Lord's f/f meet cute being one of our favourites!), making this the most diverse anthology I've read.

I also loved the mix of genres, too. Although the amount of world building writers that Nicola Yoon and Dhonielle Clayton had to do to make their story work would have been more at home in a full length novel, it was interesting that there was some really high concept things going on as well as the classic 'two strangers in an airport' storyline.

My absolute favourite of the collection was written by Jocelyn Davies. It was definitely on the longer side, which I loved, and felt like the most satisfying meet cute about a girl finding a cute boy on the subway and working out the statistics to meet him again.

Most importantly, 'Meet Cute' has given me more material from my favourite authors and helped me to discover new ones! Definitely worth a read if romance is your thing!

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Meet Cute is a sweet and occasionally frothy YA anthology. Each story focuses on the couple meeting. The various authors do a great job of capturing that fizzy feeling that comes with meeting someone with potential. I loved that the stories feature characters who are diverse in race, sex, and sexuality. While all the stories were good, the stand out for me was Jennifer L. Armentrout's "The Dictionary of You and Me."

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This book was cute as promised, but I feel like some of the stories weren’t as cute as I wanted them to be. When I think fo a meetcute I think of something that makes me melt. A lot of the stories felt incomplete. I think for me, it was because I didn’t get invested in their relationship because I didn’t meet the other person until the time they meet. It wasn’t someone they knew in passing or knew of, usually it was someone we don’t really know about until that second. I know the whole point of the stories was the “meetcute” but I think it just fell a little flat for me. I’m not sad I read it, I was just expecting it to be a lot more heartwarming.

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I have loved discovering these different love stories created by so many authors I admire. I've loved the diversity (which was so important to me). The cover is absolutely beautiful.

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This was a fun book to read! It is full of stories of couples meeting in unique ways and falling in love. Some of the stories I just wanted to keep reading to learn more about the characters. Some of my favorites include The Way We Love Here, a fantasy story of a people who are born with a type of birthmark that leads them to their true love, The Dictionary of True Love, a story of an overdue library bringing two people together and The Unlikely Likelihood of Falling in Love, how an example of statistical probability leads to a meet cute.

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this was such a cute, fun book! i loved the way the stories were written and wouldn't mind seeing another anthology like this. :)

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Every single story is amazing (and totally different) which is a fantastic achievement for an anthology. But, I suppose, totally unsurprising for the level of talent involved. Kass Morgan's story is absolutely heartbreaking. Jennifer L Armentrout's story had me grinning like a fool in public. Julie Murphy's made me want to cheer. Emery Lord's was so good I added her entire catalog to my TBR.

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Thank you to NetGalley for the e-ARC!

THIS BOOK WAS SO ADORABLE. Every story was like a tiny decadent dessert, and I ate them all right up. Honestly, this would have been five stars for me except that it was a short story compilation. I try to avoid short story compilations because either I don't feel like I got to know the characters well enough to care about them because the story was so short, or else I was SO invested in the story that then I felt cheated out of a full-length book about those characters or that universe. Plus, this book has a truly all-star cast of authors and almost every story was absolutely perfect. Can't wait to have a physical copy of this one in my classroom library!

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This anthology was absolutely adorable. The range of stories and diversity of characters was also fantastic. I think my favorite stories were Click, Siege Etiquette (the second person POV was SO interesting!), and The Department of Dead Love. I think this story would be a great addition to any high school library collection!

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What a wonderful collection of stories, first I want to thank HMH Books for Young Readers for the opportunity to read this novel through NetGalley, and review it before its release!
I truly enjoyed each and every story, of course some, more the others, but the diversity of the stories will enable each reader to identify with at least one of the stories and at least one character (but I guarantee more) in this novel.
This novel contains short stories from well known, (and not so well known) amazing writers, and it’s truly a “Can’t Put it Down” kind of book.
The topics of this novel also vary from social issues, to loss and grief, along with contemporary romance, even a story set in a futuristic setting..
There’s something in here for everyone! It will also expose you to authors you may not be familiar with, and like me, now I want to know everything they’ve written! I encourage you to research this book if you haven’t yet heard of it. It will be released in January of 2018!
Preorder it today!!
♥️Ellie RG

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Heartwearming stories of young love and all of the many ways that chance and happenstance create our lives.

https://www.bustle.com/p/11-anthologies-all-ya-lovers-need-to-add-to-their-tbr-stack-74953

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What an amazing anthology, featuring so many of my favourite authors, from Nina LaCour to Emery Lord. I got to meet new to me authors like Katharine McGee, as well as find that I enjoyed writing from authors I hadn't previously enjoyed.

Stand out favourites included:

"Print Shop", by Nina LaCour. I loved everything about this, but most especially the atmosphere around the Meet Cute of the two individuals. In my head, it's a much larger novel, and I certainly think that Nina could have gone that way if she wanted to.

"Click", by Katharine McGee with our first futuristic story about a phone app that set people up with someone who was in the highest percentage compatibility.

I also loved the other futuristic story, "The Department of Dead Love", by Nicola Yoon: a story about a person who wanted to have a Do Over of his failed relationship, only to find that there were more possibilities than the one he'd closed his mind for and set himself on.

Meredith Russo's "Somewhere That's Green" blew my mind with her compassionate writing style and story about a transgender girl and a closeted lesbian who is pressured into cruelty by her super religious family.

I loved the simplicity of Emery Lord's "Oomph", set completely in an airport between two young women who are about to live in the same city together after graduating high school.

Jennifer L. Armentrout's "The Dictionary of You and Me" involved a library and an overdue book and could have been written specifically for me, I found it that perfect.

I can already tell it's going to be a book I want to read over and over again, with only three stories in the entire set that didn't gel with me specifically.

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As with all compilations, some stories seem more enjoyable than others. Therein lies the beauty… Some stories I really enjoyed (Nina LaCour’s; Katie Cotugno’s and Nicola Yoon’s) and others I wasn’t as keen on. But for another reader the opposite will apply. Therw is definitely something for everyone in this compilation.

I received a free copy from netgalley in return for an honest review.

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First, thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC!

I've been so excited about this book because it has by some of my favorite YA contemp authors. If Emery Lord or Huntley Fitzpatrick published their grocery lists I would probably read them. I enjoyed all of the stories in this anthology, of course some more than others. I was introduced to authors I have never heard of and now have some new books to check out.

If you're a fan of swoon, you'll not be disappointed by this adorable collection.

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Huge thanks to my friends from HMH Teen for approving an e-ARC of this 2018 title for me via NetGalley. This did not, in any way, affect my overall opinion of the book and/or the story. 

Ever since it surfaced book Twitter, I've grown obsessed with this Meet Cute anthology. Why, you ask? It is fairly simple, and I have quite a few reasons:

Nicola Yoon, a.k.a. my most favorite diverse author contributed to it.
I adore short story collections and / or anthologies.
The "meet cute" premise is highly intriguing, especially for contemporary and romance lovers such as myself. And;
I've heard nothing but great stuff about it, whether it be on Twitter, Instagram, and / or Goodreads.
You guys, I basically squealed like a girl when I saw an approval notification in my email from NG. I knew I had to get started on reading it, even if I was still 4 months early to the Meet Cute party. Today, I am ecstatic to be able to share with everyone my thoughts on this most anticipated anthology.

Just as I've done so in the past, I'll be reviewing all the short stories individually so as to be able to break down my thoughts, and make sure that this review will be as helpful as possible for those who might want to give check this book out.

Siege Etiquette by Katie Cotugno // Features a Queen Bee MC and Farm Boy LI. What I loved most about this one was how the back story of the male lead was presented: that he's a student who comes and goes to support his family and their family business. It showed me that the guy had love interest potential, and he deserved better than just a short story. I didn't like the signs of unfaithfulness, though.

Print Shop by Nina LaCour // Features a Bisexual MC and LI. I loved how resilient the MC was in taking on her first day at a local print shop, who's first order of business was to answer queries from the company's Twitter account. What I loved most about this one is that it conveyed the importance of living up to your promises. Also, this wasn't as romantic as I hoped it would be, but the ending is A++!

Hourglass by Ibi Zoboi // This one features a a story that is a little close to my heart, and it tackles how hard it sometimes is to feel betrayed and left alone by your best friend. On the upside, it also highlighted the advantages of being and wandering alone, so it balanced out the negativity enough for me to feel good about this story. As for the romance aspect, it basically sent out the message that love finds you in the most unexpected times. 

Click by Katharine McGee // This one happens to be one of my most favorite ones out of all the short stories because of how cute the premise was, and it impressed me to see how the author played with the Contemporary, and Science Fiction genres. I also love the undeniable chemistry between the MC and the LI, and I found both of their character build-ups to be interesting, especially with the help of the back stories and the dual POVs that the story was told from. I also adore how the LI kept on mentioning that "spontaneity leads to good things". Lots of readers would love this one, for sure!

The Intern by Sara Shepard // I love how in this story, we get to see an MC who's struggling from a common type of loss, and that in just a few pages, we get to see how life altering it is to try and change one's lifestyle, and explore new environments, and take risks, whether they be uncalculated or not. I also appreciated how the story was able to convey the message that moving on's only healthy if one does it at his or her own pace.

Somewhere That's Green by Meredith Russo // Features a Trans MC and a Bisexual LI. The story features a timely and relevant topic that centered on Homophobia, but it was immediately balanced out by (or replaced with) the notion that "sometimes, we find love in the unlikeliest of people". But other than the romance itself, I also want to talk about the friendship between Nia (our Trans MC), and Lucian (a straight guy, I believe?). I love how from start to finish, they both had each other's backs to protect, and I want that kind of friendship for myself.

The Way We Love Here by Dhonielle Clayton // This took me quite a few page flips to be hooked, but I love the author's play on time travelling (?) here. The entire story teaches it's readers that "We don't have any control as to what becomes of us or who we end up with in the future. Our only option is to leave it up to chance, and faith, and hope for the best." I also found that this story serves just the right amount of swoon, hurt, and hope.

Oomph by Emery Lord // Features 2 bisexual female leads for an MC and an LI. This story wasn't as romantic as I hope it would be, but I love how it tackled the life of a character who experiences last minute anxieties after making big decisions, which, for me, is quite relatable. The romance aspect was only evident during the latter part of the story, but I still loved it just the same. 

The Dictionary of You and Me by Jennifer L. Armentrout // The library setting was so on point in this short story, I was basically swooning the entire time while I was reading this one. The MC represents most of us: she grows silent in times of great astonishment, while I loved how mysterious, and charming the LI was at first, and I was absolutely impressed with their meet cute moment. I also appreciated the fact that the author didn't leave us hanging with an open-ended ending. This one's also a favorite!

The Unlikely Likelihood of Falling In Love by Jocelyn Davies // This one's probably the short story that I most related to since the meet cute moment happened in a train station (which most of my friends know I is my main mode of transportation here in the Philippines), and I adore this one so much because it also focused on the "everything happens for a reason" notion. I also liked the unique way of storytelling, since it was written like a research. The romance? So on point!

259 Million Miles by Kass Morgan // This is hands down the most heartbreaking short story in this anthology, but I love it just the same! I love how the LI tried to help the MC cope up with bullying after spending an entire day in a closed space together. The ending has to be my favorite part, because the twist is unbelievably heart-shattering, and yet it seemed to have suited the story perfectly.

Something Real by Julie Murphy // I love the author's take on humanizing game show players here, and I love how they seemed normal, just as one of the side characters mentions in the story. I like the unpredictability of the plot, and how the relationship between the MC and the LI was strongly built up before the story ended.

Say Everything by Huntley Fitzpatrick // The plot seems fresh and unique, but I don't know if it's just me, but their's a part in this story where I just got a little confused as to what was happening, and I second guessed myself and re-read the first few pages again to try and understand the flow of the story. I did like the ending, though, and I feel like the MC and the LI have good chemistry.

The Department of Dead Love by Nicola Yoon // This short story reinforced my reasons as to why I love Nicola Yoon as an author. She has this unique way of gripping her readers to a story that one will find extremely romantic, or utterly heartbreaking. With this one, Nicola serves us a moving on story about a heartbroken MC who goes somewhere to try and understand what went wrong with his relationship with the LI, through HeartWorkers from the DODL. The story is equal parts heartbreaking, sweet, and enlightening, and I can only hope to read more of it. (Which I know is completely out of the question. *sighs heavily*)

"To conclude, I don't think there's much left to say, really. I knew from the moment I laid my eyes on this anthology that it would easily be one of my most favorite reads of all-time. For lovers of the contemporary and meet cute trope, this will surely be an A+ read for you. It's short, sweet, and extremely fast paced. The stories are all unique, and exciting to read. What's not to love, right? Personally, through this short story collection, I feel brave and hopeful enough to wish for my own meet cute experience."

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This book was absolutely amazing! I adore both YA romance and short stories, so this was just right. The stories were so well written that I was left wishing I knew more about the couples in them - my only 'complaint.'
It was refreshing to see an anthology full of diverse characters and couples, not just your stereotypical ya couple. I also really liked that not all of the stories were contemporary - this makes this a great book to recommend to teens who like love stories, but want to try out different genres.
I was excited to see some of my favourite YA authors, and I finished this book with a list of new authors to check out.

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I loved Nina La Cour, Emery Lord and Julie Murphy's stories in this the most. So cute (it's in the name!) and uplighting and diverse. I'm obsessed with that cover too. What goals.

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This book was one of my most anticipated books that I had heard about this year, I loved the vast majority of the authors that I knew were a part of it. I love that this book represented so many different points of view also.

Siege Etiquette by Katie Cotugno
I wasn’t the biggest fan of this story. It was in second person which I couldn’t really get in to and it all just happens a little fast (which I shouldn’t be surprised by since they are short stories). I have only read one book by this author and I wasn’t the biggest fan of that book so I’m not entirely surprised. I give this story a 2 stars and am now worried as I don’t think the book has started out strong.

Print Shop by Nina LaCour
Again I’ve only read one book by this author but I loved that book and I love this story. I love how Evelyn is so set on helping provide the best customer service and it had female-female rep which I loved. *sigh* It was just a really cute story. 5 stars

Hourglass by Ibi Zoboi
This was my first introduction to this author and I definetly liked her story. She nailed the feeling when your go prom dress shopping and don’t fit the normal standards. Also Stacy sucks! This story has fat rep and black rep in it. 4 stars.

Click by Katharine McGee
I love this story, it was so cute! I love that it’s based in a futuristic setting. I wish that I had a full story of this book so bad. And that twist. WHAT?! Also really liked the dual perspective. 5 stars.

The Intern by Sara Shepard
I love rockstar romance books so I thought this story would be right up my ally. I was a little wrong about that. It wasn’t bad but I feel maybe if this had been a book and they had had a little longer to build a connection it would’ve been ok but as it was it felt really forced. 2 stars.
Somewhere That’s Green by Meredith Russo
This story also super cute while dealing with a very prevalent topic, that being gendered bathrooms. This story had trans rep and female-female rep and it was just adorable. I loved the theater setting. I loved the growth of the characters. Also I love Nia’s dad. Again dual perspectives and it worked. 5 stars.

The Way We Love Here by Dhonielle Clayton
This story was a really cool concept where people on this island know their soulmates based of this red tattoo on their ring fingers that they are born with. This story was cute and sad at the same time and now I just want to know what happens next. 4 stars.

Oomph by Emery Lord
Huge fan of Emery Lord’s so I was really excited for this story. This story was soo cute. It happened in a very short span of time but it seemed like these girls got to know each other very well and just clicked. I loved the banter between them. If I didn’t clue you off this story has female-female rep and I’m here for it. 5 stars.

The Dictionary of You and Me by Jennifer L. Armentrout
I devour Jennifer L. Armentrout’s books whether they’re under her name or J. Lynn, I love them. So to say I was excited for this story would be an understatement. I was not disappointed with this story. It took place mainly in a library and it was adorable. 5 stars.

The Unlikely Likelihood of Falling in Love by Jocelyn Davis
I thought this story was really cute. It reminded me of the missed connections part on craigslist. The main character had a missed connection and then used stats to make it happen again. The ending was a little predictable but cut. 4 stars.

259 Million Miles by Kass Morgan
I was so close to giving this story a 5 stars but then that ending…ugh…that ending killed it. 4 stars.

Something Real by Julie Murphy
This story was funny. Two girls competeing for a date with this big rockstar who turns out to be a jerk and they end up hitting it off instead. Bi rep and fat rep in this story. 4 stars.

Say Everything by Huntley Fitzpatrick
This story was kind of weird. It started off cute but then it got weird. I think it mostly has to do with once you find out who he is/where he takes her. 3 stars, mostly for the beginning of the story.

The Department of Dead Love by Nicola Yoon
This idea was really cool. A department where you can go to get help with your love problems. Yes! I really liked this story overall…Thomas was eh but I really enjoyed Gabby’s character. 4 stars.

I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

Will update with links to where I posted my review online closer to the release date. (Final review might change slightly but will have the same basic message).

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This is the most diverse anthology I have ever read. A mix of races, sexual orientations, genders, and ages. No story felt the same. I am so in love with this, I can’t wait to buy a copy of this book and read it in various places, wishing for a meet cute for myself.

Siege Etiquette by Katie Cotugno 3/5
The point of view that this story was written in confounds me. I didn’t like it, and it made it hard to follow the character. The story was cute, if more than slightly superficial.
Print Shop by Nina LaCour 5/5
I wish that this was longer than it was. I fell in love with the concept. I haven’t read many F/F romances, but this one is the first one of the ones I have I felt something for. I just want a full story.
Hourglass by Ibi Zoboi 2/5
This is the first story in this anthology that bored me. I didn’t feel any emotion to Cherish, I didn’t care that her conceited best friend was fooling around with her bully, and I really didn’t feel anything when the Meet Cute happened. There felt like there wasn’t any chemistry between the two.
Click by Katherine McGee 4/5
I enjoyed the concept of this story. In a world of dating apps that lead nowhere, believing in one that sets you up with your perfect match is nice.
The Intern by Sara Shepard 2/5
While this story was cute, it was a little boring to me. It wasn’t super memorable, though.
Somewhere That’s Green by Meredith Russo 3/5
This story deals with an issue that we still have in society, where a transgender is forced to use the bathroom of their born gender, not their true gender, and a girl who realizes her voice makes the situation even worse. While the story highlights issues we shouldn’t even have as a society, but do, the characters don’t have much chemistry.
The Way We Love Here by Dhonielle Clayton 3/5
I looooooooooved the concept of this story. I’ve always been interested in ways people portray soulmates, like all the Tumblr theories, so this one intrigued me to the max. I was slightly disappointed in the direction it went, but I enjoyed getting back into the idea.
Oomph by Emery Lord 4.5/5
I can’t say much more than I loved this one. The idea of finding love in an airport is a sweet kind.
The Dictionary of You & Me by Jennifer L. Armentrout 5/5
THIS ONE WAS MY FAVORITE. Not just because I work at a library and I’ve been waiting for my library meet cute for years (it’s gonna happen. Eventually.). This story just made me want this scenario.
The Unlikely Likelihood of Falling in Love by Jocelyn Davies 3.5/5
The math in this story! I didn’t mind it, it was cute how they kept looking for each other. When they finally met. I loved it.
259 Million Miles by Kass Morgan 3/5
This is one of two stories with a male lead, and I was much more invested in this one. I felt so heartbroken in the end when he didn’t get his wish, but I loved the pacing.
Something Real by Julie Murphy 4/5
I lived for this. A story where the protagonist learns that her idol shouldn’t be idolized, and falls for her contestant. Give me more, please.
Say Everything by Huntley Fitzpatrick 2/5
This is the one story in this that I didn’t remember at all until I reread the beginning.
The Department of Dead Love by Nicola Yoon 4/5
This story felt very Inside Out to me. Colors and building representing the different kinds of love. The twist at the end was sweet.

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