Cover Image: Meet Cute

Meet Cute

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Overall, this was a lovely fun read of mainly contemporary stories. I would love some of these as full-length novels!

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Oy. Everyone likes a good "meet cute," but it's hard to like when followed up with mediocre writing.

I was excited to get check this out via NetGalley, but it became such a chore to get through some of these stories. I mean, I literally would flip my e-pages ahead to see how much longer I have to go to get to the end -- and often it would appear to be too many pages before I can change channels to what I hope is a better story, which it often wasn't.

Best of the bunch was Click by Katharine McGee. Hard to pick what was the blah-est, but the 1st story and Something Real stuck in my head as the most infuriating to get through. The 1st story, Siege Etiquette, because I remember thinking "This is what they want to lead with?!" and Something Real because it did not feel real at all. With the exception of Click (and there were a few that were ok -- The Dictionary of You and Me and The Unlikely Likelihood of Falling in Love; Print Shop was very lyrical, but I was meh on the story), I suspect this was not any writer's best effort.

Can't recommend purchasing this collection, which is 1.5/2 stars at the most.

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Short story collections can be hit or miss. This one is mostly a hit, with a few that are less interesting. The only downside is wanting to read more and it's just a short story!

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This was a nice collection of short stories. There were some REALLY great entries, but the ones that fell flat brought down the collection.

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In the mood for a feel-good story (so, always) I picked up my iPad to read Meet Cute early this year, immersed in the New Year of books ahead. It's clear from the beginning that these stories are full of whip-smart, lovable characters who are discovering something new and magical in the world with someone else: love. I won't do a mini-review of every book in the anthology (gosh, can you imagine how long that review would be?!) but I will be saying my favourite things about the book as a whole, of which there were many.
The stories, depicted as the beginnings of how they met, are the stories of YA dreams. Not only are they achingly beautiful - in particular Nina LaCour, Huntley Fitzpatrick, Emery Lord and Jennifer Armentrout's stories - but they're meaningful, frank and oh-so-realistic. I'm also super proud that Meredith Russo wrote a trans heroine for her story in Meet Cute, and that the authors showed the ups-and-downs of breaking up, that love had no bounds in futuristic tales and humorous romances that will make your heart swell. Now, because these stories are short and involve an "instant connection" meaning a Meet Cute, there is the dreaded insta-love. But you know what? It's the good kind of insta-love. The kind that is really believable. I could honestly imagine this is how some people - soulmates and true love - actually meet and fall in love in an instant, fleeting moment.
Overall, Meet Cute is as magical as it sounds. Each story holds something momentous and epic, a love story for the ages. I couldn't fault any of the unique spins on Meet Cute's, or any of the ways that they panned out. This is truly such a breath of fresh air, the perfect weekend read and equally welcome book for fans of sweet YA romances with sparkling beginnings. A huge five stars!

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I picked this as my first read of 2018 because I wanted something fun flirty and something with the “feels” and boy did I get it with this anthology! While with all anthologies I wasn’t wowed by all the stories I was with way more than half of them. Of course, I have my favorite authors that I go to but I also was exposed to some that I never read anything from and highly enjoyed their stories.

One of my favorites was from Jocelyn Davies who was new to me and omg that story was just too cute. It was about a girl who was all about stats and math and how her world revolved around that. One day she meets a boy who was going on the opposite train and she decides to use math to determine if they met again every day using different variables. Everyone tells her it was fate that they were meant to meet but she doesn’t believe in fate she thinks its just the fact that people are creatures of habit and by doing the same thing everyday peoples routines just sync up that way. Well, she slowly starts to fall for this guy after a few brief encounters with him and when she doesn’t see him for awhile decides her experiment wasn’t worth it. Just when she thinks she will never see him again fate steps in reunites them. Oh, how I loved this story it was just... everything!

I found this anthology fun and light-hearted and an awesome way to start off my book year. I highly encourage everyone to give this one a try, you are bound to find a story or two or more that will tug at your heartstrings.

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This was a wonderful anthology.  I requested this from NetGalley because I was familiar with several of the authors and liked their writing style.  It is unusual to like every story in a short story collection, but in this case I truly did.  This would be a great book to read around Valentine's Day since the stories focus on characters meeting and falling in love.

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Meet Cute is a strong anthology, full of lovely stories about people meeting for the first time.

Katie Cotugno's story opens the collection well with two characters who have the scope for a whole novel (isn't that the problem with some short stories?) and then you're quickly flung into one of the most memorable stories - Print Shop by Nina Lacour. I LOVED the basic settings, the almost mundane lives of these teenagers and the excitement that quick love brings to them.

The rest of the collection has plenty of standouts, including The Unlikely Likelihood Of Falling In Love by Jocelyn Davies, about two teenagers who see each other through train windows on a morning commute.

Overall, this is a strong collection firmly in the YA Romance category and one I would recommend.

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Off the back, the title reminded me of the Kate Winslet's scene in The Holiday where she learns about meet cutes in movies. This a great premise for a book. This anthology features very talented YA authors. The diverse characters were refreshing and appreciated. In Hourglass, I appreciated how the African-American character stepped beyond being the sidekick. Click by Katherine McGee could be the start of a great rom com movie. I got a case of the "feels" while reading The Dictionary of You & Me by Jennifer L Armentrout. Overall, this a great read.

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I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I’ll admit, after seeing subpar reviews of this anthology from reviewers I trust, I was quite hesitant when I cracked open this book. However, overall, I ended up enjoying these short stories much more than expected! I’ve been pretty disappointed by YA anthologies recently, but Meet Cute definitely surprised me in a good way. My average rating for the stories was 3.5, so I’ve rated the overall anthology 3.5 stars to reflect that (although I rounded up to a 4 stars on Goodreads, because I really did love the stories I enjoyed from this collection).

I appreciated that quite a few stories in this collection featured LGBTQIAP+ rep (although I do reeeeeaaalllly wish there had been some ace rep, considering the premise of the collection), and I also really liked the mix of genres! I was expecting purely contemporary cuteness, but there were quite a few sci-fi/futuristic stories, as well as a bit of fabulism in Dhonielle Clayton’s story. I will say, like all short story collections, this one has its duds… but it also has some definite gems. Many of these, I wouldn’t personally classify as “meet cutes,” and those stories were the ones I tended to like the least. I would have read full-length novels of a couple of these, though! Since it’s hard to talk generally about a short story anthology, let’s get into my thoughts and ratings of the individual stories.

Siege Ettiquette by Katie Cotugno: 1☆ // This collection did not start off on a good note for me. I knew going in that I’m not a fan of Katie Cotugno’s writing, so I didn’t expect to love her story or anything, but seriously? It was kind of a pile of hot garbage. It could not be described as “cute,” or really even as a “meeting,” much less a “meet cute.” The characters had about as much chemistry as two pieces of cardboard, and the second person POV was a weird choice. Ugh. This was by far my least favorite story.

Print Shop by Nina Lacour: 5☆ // In true Nina Lacour fashion, this story turned my quickly-souring feelings on this anthology around. It was an adorable f/f romance aided by social media. The print shop setting was so unique and fun! Love love love.

Hourglass by Ibi Zoboi: 2☆ // This story didn’t do it for me. I enjoyed the commentary on race, and the black and fat representation was much-needed, but what even was that “romance”? The “meet cute” was super anticlimactic and, once again, no chemistry.

Click by Katharine McGee: 4☆ // I really enjoyed this one! It’s total romance trope-y goodness, and it’s set in a near future where an app called Click matches people up with the people most compatible for them (kinda like Tinder of the future). It also made me think, which I didn’t expect!

The Intern by Sara Shepard: 2.5☆ // I didn’t have any issues with this story, but I also can hardly remember anything about it, so take from that what you will. I’ve definitely read/watched stories that use this same premise that are executed better.

Somewhere That’s Green by Meredith Russo: 4☆ // Yaaaaay for trans and lesbian rep! I liked the school musical element to this one, and there were some great discussions on things like anti-trans bathroom legislation. Super cute f/f romance.

The Way We Love Here by Dhonielle Clayton: 3☆ // I think the premise of this story is much better suited to a full-length novel. I love Dhonielle Clayton’s writing, and the fabulist elements were incorporated in an interesting way, but I wanted more. I didn’t get enough closure from just a short story.

Oomph by Emery Lord: 5☆ // MY FAVORITE STORY. But, like, who’s surprised? Emery Lord is my queen. This is the cutest f/f meet cute that takes place in an airport. Plus, it ends with an Avett Brothers reference. GOODBYE WORLD THIS WAS SO GOOD. *cries because I wanna have a meet cute with a cute girl in an airport*

The Dictionary of You and Me by Jennifer L. Armentrout: 4.5☆ // This story was total wish fulfillment for all the bookworms who will pick up this anthology, and I don’t even care. It was cheesy and formulaic as hell, but I ate it up and would read a hundred more stories with this premise.

The Unlikely Likelihood of Falling in Love by Jocelyn Davies: 5☆ // An NYC subway romance! With a girl mathematician as the protagonist! It was adorable and I loved it!

259 Million Miles by Kass Morgan: 4☆ // I reeaaaalllly liked this one. Again, I would love a full-length book based on this story. We got some much-needed representation of a guy protagonist who has social anxiety, and this romance felt totally believable to me. Also, this was definitely the most bittersweet story in the anthology, which I am always a sucker for.

Something Real by Julie Murphy: 4☆ // So cute!! An f/f romance where two girls compete on a reality show to win a date with a famous guy singer, but end up falling for each other instead? Yes, please. More queer stories like this.

Say Everything by Huntley Fitzpatrick: 2☆ // This story was just okay. Again, the second person POV felt like a strange, unnecessary choice, and the premise was waaaaaay too melodramatic for my taste.

The Department of Dead Love by Nicola Yoon: 3☆ // A solid story, but my least favorite of the three futuristic stories in this anthology. Again, this would work better as a full-length book, maybe. The world building was great; I just didn’t feel a ton of chemistry between the main characters.

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3.5 stars. I’m always a sucker for young adult short story anthologies. You never know what little gems you might discover that will lead you to an author you haven’t read before. Like most collections of short stories, this anthology contains some hits and some misses, but I enjoyed reading all the different interpretations of “meet cutes”. The stand-out stories for me were “Oomph” by Emery Lord, “The Dictionary of You and Me” by Jennifer L. Armentrout, “Say Everything” by Huntley Fitzpatrick, and—my favorite—“The Unlikely Likelihood of Falling in Love” by Jocelyn Davies.

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SIEGE ETIQUETTE Katie Cotugno - 2.5/5 stars

This short story is about a popular girl named Hailey who finds herself locked inside of a bathroom at a party with her boyfriends friend. I liked this story however I didn't really understand the ending. Like there was no outcome really. And how did she end up in the bathroom at the first place,tbh I didn't really understand much of the plot.

PRINT SHOP Nina LaCour - 3/5

This is about a girl called evie who gets a job at this old print shop as one of the workers is going on maternaty leave. This was was definitely better a better story and it did surprise me with the ending. anicely written lgbt story.

HOURGLASS Ibi Zoboi -2.5 /5

This is about a black highschool senior girl called cherish who is 6'5 tall and cannot find aprom dress to fit her size. I liked this one but there wasn't really any romance, which I didn't like.

CLICK Katharine McGee - 4.5/5

This is about two characters Alexa and Raden who are on a date from a new dating app called click when she realises shes left her phone in the taxi. This is my favourite so far! I really enjoyed it and thought I was cute. I wish my online dating would be successful like hers. I also felt the pain about losing her phone as I've lost my phone before and it causes you to panick.

THE INTERN Sara Shepard -4.5/5

This is a story about a teenage girl called clara who is intern at her dads record company. She gets asked to show a client 'Phineas' around town. This one was super cute too. I like the characters and how there was music involved. I really wish we could read more and find out what happens after some of theses meetings. I loved Phineas he was an absoult gentleman.

SOMEWHERE THAT’S GREEN Meredith Russo - 3/5

This is a story about a transgender female called Nia and a girl called Lexie who because of her parents is against nia and her approvale of using the girls washroom which cause the two girls to dislike each other, but then it is announced that they have to be in a play together. I liked this one, not as much as the last two but I felt this one allowed me to understand transgender a bit more which helps in my personal life as one of my best friends is transgender.

THE WAY WE LOVE HERE Dhonielle Clayton- 2/5

This has more of a fantasy element to it. it is about these two Characters viola and sebastian who are from the same island where you have coils permantley around your ring finger and if someone has the same amount of coils as you then there is a chance they could be your soulmate. Meh, I didn't like this one as much as the last ones. I felt that it jumped around a lot.

OOMPH Emery Lord - 3.5/5

This is another lgbt story which features a firl called cass who is flying to newyour for the first time of her own. when she meets another girl called johanna in the airport who is from new york. This one was ok. Kinda cute but nothing special really. The beginning was a little confusing.

THE DICTIONARY OF YOU AND ME Jennifer L. Armentrout -4.5/5

This story is about a girl called Moss who works part time at her local library where she has set itas her goal to retrieve an overdue dictionary back from a library user. this causes her to had daily phonecalls with the user and begins to bond with him. when she finds out who he is.she is shocked. Ok this one was kinda cute. Set in a library perfect! I love how it was based around a book. And the ending was adorable.

THE UNLIKELY LIKELIHOOD OF FALLING IN LOVE Jocelyn Davies - 4/5

This is about agirl called Sam who is the only girl in her Ap stats class in school and when she sees a guy on the opposite subway train to her in the mornigs of school she decideds to base her project on him. This one was cute as well. The ending was super cute. I liked how they both wanted to keep seeing each other

259 MILLION MILES Kass Morgan 4/5

This was about a girl called Phillip and a girl called blythe who has both appled to go on a trip to Mars.to pass the test they must spend 24hours in a small room together. I enjoyed this story but it wasn't one of my favourites as I felt really sorry for Phillip at the end. it was so sad. It was unfair of them not to be honest with Phillip at the end.

SOMETHING REAL Julie Murphy- 3/5

This one is about two girls who are in a reality tv show where they get to compete against each other to win a date with the famous singer Dylan. June is the main character who is the leader of dylans fan group and Martha is still grieving her sisters death. Meh this one was ok. Im not a fan of getting a date on a tv show. i like the ending though.

SAY EVERYTHING Huntley Fitzpatrick 3.5/5

This is about a girl called emma who works at a cafe/diner where she meets a boy called Sean when she serves him an iced tea. This one was good.abit creepy when they pulled up to an abandoned house and he seemes stalkerish at first but i thought it was cute at the end.

THE DEPARTMENT OF DEAD LOVE Nicola Yoon - 3.5/5

This is abouta boy names Thomas who goes to see aHeartworker to see what the cause of his break up was with his ex samantha. This one was cute but weird. Like ive never heard of a full on like hospital for broken up relationships. I liked the ending.

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Thank you HMH Teen for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Meet Cute is a collection of contemporary stories about cute first encouters turned into romance. Not all people enjoy insta-love but once in a while, you'll want it if you're looking for something fluffy. The stories were hit or miss to me but my favorites were written by Katharine McGee and Sara Shepard (both were new to me authors). Overall, this is a nice and likable collection.

SIEGE ETIQUETTE Katie Cotugno - 1.5 / 5 stars
- We're off on a horrible start. I honestly didn't enjoy the story. It's forgettable and not cute. The heroine was annoying and pretentious and the hero was boring. Just meh.

PRINT SHOP Nina LaCour - 3/5 stars
- Definitely better than the first story. A greatly written lesbian story but it fell too short, I didn't feel the spark between the protagonists.

HOURGLASS Ibi Zoboi - 3/5 stars
- Lovely story with strong characters. I like the angsty vibe and the little drama. The first encounter is good but it's not cute. Potentially, it can be a beginning of a slow burn romance. Like the second story, it's cut short.

CLICK Katharine McGee - 4.5 / 5 stars
- GAAAH! This one is über cute and it's exactly the story I like. I adore the concept (matchmaking) and the plot was greatly build-up. I really like it's written in dual point of view so I get to know more about the characters. Alexa and Raden definitely clicked. ;)

THE INTERN Sara Shepard - 4.5 / 5 stars
- Another wonderfully cute story. This one is sweet and touching. Phineas is a thoughtful musician. Love him!

SOMEWHERE THAT’S GREEN Meredith Russo - 1 / 5 stars
- Someone enlighten me on this because the story was messy and confusing.

THE WAY WE LOVE HERE Dhonielle Clayton - 4 / 5 stars
- Bizarre and enchanting. The story will give you all sorts of feels. I didn't expect to enjoy it. The characters seeing their future with so many possibilities. What's important is to enjoy the present time.

OOMPH Emery Lord - 3.5 / 5 stars
- A cutesy lesbian romance. I like the marvel reference here and the girls are just lovely. I had fun reading their conversations in a short period.

THE DICTIONARY OF YOU AND ME Jennifer L. Armentrout - 4/5 stars
- Nothing is more adorable when a story is set in a library. Getting to know a guy who hasn't return a dictionary and wondering how he looks like... ;) So fluffy!

THE UNLIKELY LIKELIHOOD OF FALLING IN LOVE Jocelyn Davies - 2/5 stars
- Hmm.. It was okay. I thought it's a rip-off of The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight .

259 MILLION MILES Kass Morgan - 3.5 / 5 stars
- The male protagonist was adorable! He was sort of a nerd ;) Haha!

SOMETHING REAL Julie Murphy - 2/5 stars
- Sorry but this falls meh. It wasn't cute or whatsoever.

SAY EVERYTHING Huntley Fitzpatrick 3/5 stars
- It's been a while since I've read Huntley Fitzpatrick's book. I like the story but the ending just felt flat.

THE DEPARTMENT OF DEAD LOVE Nicola Yoon - 3/5 stars
- I really like the concept of the story. It's refreshing and original but I wasn't as invested as the other stories.

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The main reason I wanted to read this anthology was the story by Huntley Fitzpatrick, an author I really like, but it turned out to be a pretty good collection in general.

There isn’t really a stinker in the bunch, although I thought Ibi Zoboi’s was the weakest. Not because the story is poorly written, but because the meet cute—the reason this anthology exists—happened at the very end of the story. It really didn’t seem like that meeting was the focus of the story she wanted to tell, which was more about the pitfalls of female friendship and growing up as a black teen in a mostly white town.

While most of the stories were good, there were a few standouts for me.

In Click (Katherine McGee), the author builds her story around an online matchmaking service to explore whether relationships are better built by algorithm or serendipity.

The Way We Love Here (Dhonielle Clayton) is a fantastical story of an island on which people marry based on matching markings that magically appear on their ring fingers. The details left me scratching my head a bit. (Is this some mystical corner of our Earth? An alternate one?) If you just go with the internal logic of the story, though, it’s an interesting exploration of the possibilities of love, even in the face of the potential for loss.

The Unlikely Likelihood of Falling in Love (Jocelyn Davie) really could have been called The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight if there wasn’t already a book with that title. It involves a chance interaction on a subway train and, yes, statistics. I thought this story was a great example of the whole idea of a “meet cute.”

In 259 Million Miles (Kass Morgan), I liked the way the ending subverted my expectations for a story involving a meet cute between two people. Not every relationship has the same kind of happy ending.

Something Real (Julie Murphy) subverts the trope of the meet cute to some extent as well. It also comments on the unreality of fan crushes and reality TV versus the real emotions of two people connecting on a personal level.

Say Everything (Huntley Fitzpatrick) was the only story that really made me wish it was longer. I wanted to know more about the backstory of the two characters and how their relationship developed after the story ended. There was a lot more to explore in the scenario the author built here.

Overall, I’d say that if the idea of the “meet cute” intrigues you and you enjoy YA fiction and short stories, you should give this anthology a try. You’ll probably enjoy it!

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

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Adorable anthology with my favorite part of a romance: how they meet. Diversity abounds and the different genres represented mean there's something for everyone. I'm already recommending it at my library.

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Not a surprise at all since she's my absolute favorite author, but Jennifer L. Armentrout's short story was my absolute favorite out the entire anthology! It was SO freaking cute and I just wanted MORE. Such an adorable meet cute. I love when JLA writes about teens.

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Whether or not you believe in fate, luck or love at first sight, every romance hast to start somewhere.


Authors and stories in order:
Katie Cotugno - Siege Etiquette
Nina Labour - Print Shop
Ibi Zoboi - Hourglass
Katharine McGee - Click
Sara Shepard - The Intern
Meredith Russo - Somewhere That's green
Dhonielle Clayton - The way we love here
Emery Lord - Oomph
Jennifer L. Armentrout - The Dictionary of you and me
Jocelyn Davies - The unlikely likelihood of falling in love
Kass Morgan - 259 Million Miles
Julie Murphy - Something Real
Huntley Fitzpatrick - Say everything
Nicola Yoon - The Department of Dead Love


One thing is sure this book is cute
Yes i went there!
But it fits!

Its a very nice compilation of short stories from a great mixture of authors! Its actually one of the best anthologies i have read so far -not that i have read a huge amount as of yet but i am getting there!

Still this is one of the best ones!

The stories themselves all fit nicely, while none of them are so similar to each other (or at all really!) that it seems repetitive or too similar to one another that i can't keep them straight.

Actually all the individual stories are exactly that : individual!

My personal favourites are:
Katharine McGee - a futuristic story about online dating, just one of those "awww how cute" kind of stories!
Emery Lord - airport love, do i need to say more?
and Jennifer L. Armentrout's stories - no particular reason just enjoyed that one!
All of them are the perfect mixture of fluffily overdone and realistic romance. My personal favourite.

What i also loved is the mixture, there are same sex, traditional and transgender love interests. There are stories that are featuring white main characters (so sad that that is still something you have to mention as something special!)

Honestly the title of this book is just perfect because everything is so utterly cute, i felt like i was drowning in a sea of cupcakes!!

But i honestly think that in this anthology there is such a great mixture of different stories that EVERYONE can find at least one story that they will love.

Of course if you are completely against the slight undertone of "insta-love" you won't.
But honestly what are you doing here and reading such a book if that is not for you?
You can tell form the TITLE that its going to include an insta-love-y vibe!

I highly, HIGHLY recommend this anthology, for people seasoned in them, for complete newbies to the genre, for everyone that loves something nice and easy to read and just want a good time and for everyone in between.

Its defiantly worth a try, so do it! Give it a try!

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The most appropriately named book of the year for 2018 might just be this short story anthology featuring some of the hottest YA authors. Whether you're looking for that first love or you're feeling a bit nostalgic, these twelve stories may just leave you feeling a little more "cutesy" inside.

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14 adorable stories about the first encounters of two people, who presumably become a couple. This anthology is bursting with relatable characters, sweet interactions, and diversity (at least a quarter of the stories features LGBT protagonists). Many of these stories deserve to be fleshed out into full novels. A well-written, heartwarming anthology that left me wanting even more.

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