Cover Image: We Can't Keep Meeting Like This

We Can't Keep Meeting Like This

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Member Reviews

I have yet to read a Rachel Lynn Solomon book that I haven't absolutely loved. This one included! Her writing just captivates you and keeps you invested. I always feel so connected to her characters and want the best for them. I feel every little bit of her writing. After reading We Can't Keep Meeting Like This, I cant wait to read the next book of hers!

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I love RLS and I love her writing. Her characters are cute and they're not these stellar people you just can't relate to. I think the plot of this was great but something about the Muslim love interest rubbed me the wrong way. all in all, 4 stars!

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We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This follows Quinn during her last summer before she starts college. She’s working at her family’s wedding planning business when she runs into Tarek. Tarek, her old friend. Tarek, the guy she poured her heart out to in an email a year ago. An email that he never responded to.

We see Quinn go through a lot in this book. She’s struggling with being honest with her family, Tarek, and herself. She doesn’t want to work at her family’s company after college, but she doesn’t know how to tell them. Tarek is a hopeless romantic while she is a cynic. How could they ever work out? Does she want them to work out? Is love worth the risk of getting hurt?

Solomon tackled all of the issues in this book really well. Everything felt real. Quinn’s fear of falling in love and being loved was so relatable. I loved watching Quinn grow throughout the whole book. She finally found her voice and embraced the fact that life is full of uncertainty. There are no guarantees.

Another thing I love about this book is the representation! This book has ownvoices Jewish rep. Tarek, the love interest, is Muslim. Quinn’s best friend is bisexual. There’s also mental health rep (anxiety, OCD, and depression). I really appreciate how Solomon incorporated all of these different things seamlessly into the book. I’m so happy that mental health is becoming a more common topic in the publishing industry.

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I am a big fan of RLS' adult fiction so I was curious to give this young adult title a try. While I think it was well done, it just didn't really stand out for me in comparison to it's peers. I will definitely recommend it to teens who like this genre, but for me I felt that the characters and plot was nothing that really drew me in.

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What a cute fun story! I've been trying to read more diverse books and I loved the range we got in this book, seeing other perspectives help us learn about the world around us. I loved the discussions of mental health and OCD. It's great when a romance book can balance a fun story and likeable characters with some serious discussions about live and struggles.

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After reading and loving The Ex Talk a while ago, I was super excited to read this story by Rachel Lynn Solomon. It definitely did not disappoint!

This story was so sweet and charming. The characters were very well-developed, they felt so real and complex. I loved the mental health representation. It was an adorable and heartfelt story with Jewish representation. If you love YA contemporary romance not just about love but also about family, mental health, friendship, and so much more, look no further!

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I loved Quinn and Tarek and their wedding planner-caterer world, but something about this just never clicked for me.

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Rachel Lynn Solomon is one of my auto-buy authors. I pre-ordered this but it arrived when I was in a bit of a reading funk, so I saved it for later, knowing it would be worth the wait.

I really loved this YA romance. I love that there was a little bisexual rep. I love how sex positive it is. And I really love how this book handled mental health, especially the realistic portrayal of anxiety. I don't have OCD and can't speak to that rep, though I'm glad it's in these pages.

I love how this normalizes therapy and taking anxiety meds and sharing about depression and mental health struggles with your friends. I needed this type of rep in a book when I was younger. It would have helped me recognize my own struggles sooner, maybe even helped me realize that they're normal but also not the only way I have to live my life - that therapy and medicine could help. I've since figured that out as an adult (and still continue to figure out much more) but this book would've resonated with me so much in my teens.

I also love the romance and the friendships portrayed here. The realistic teen misconceptions about love and relationship struggles. And the Jewish rep - while I'm not Jewish, I appreciate having more books with Jewish characters that aren't just about human suffering.

It took me a bit to settle in and feel invested, but once it picked up at 20% ish, I had a very hard time putting it down and finished this as quickly as I could. I'd absolutely return to this again, and recommend it to fans of YA romance.

TW: Anxiety, OCD, depression

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This book was FANTASTIC. Rachel Lynn Solomon was already one of my favourite writers, so I had high expectations, and they were more than met. I loved reading about the experiences of the Jewish main characters, and also appreciated the descriptions of OCD, which the author also lives with. The discussions about mental illness (specifically depression) were a great addition, as I feel it's still something that's not talked about enough. And lastly- the special appearance of a few characters from Today, Tonight, Tomorrow made my day! 5/5 💛

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Rachel Lynn Solomon became an auto-request author whenever a new book of hers popped up on Netgalley. I loved TODAY TONIGHT TOMORROW and was eager to read her adult book THE EX TALK as well. Both were superb. This book was quite good and swoony, but the miscommunication and drama in it kind of got to me.

I loved how real the characters felt. They discussed some heavy topics and mental health issues they both dealt with. Quinn and Tarek had undeniable chemistry and a good crush history to follow up on when he was home for the summer after his first year at college. She's a little bitter because he never replied to her declaration-of-a-crush email she sent before he left and tries to avoid him. It's a challenge because their parents often work together - Quinn's own a wedding planning business and Tarek's own a catering company, and both kids work for their parents at various weddings.

As someone in the middle of planning a wedding, this book was not as fun to read. I've been avoiding books about wedding planning because I don't care to think about it any more than I have to. That aside though, I usually enjoy books with this theme! It was fun to read all the details and learn the family dynamics. Quinn does not love the wedding planning industry and doesn't want to follow in her parents' footsteps like her sister has, but has yet to vocalize this to them. Quinn isn't sure what she wants to do with her life but she know it's not that - it was nice to read about someone heading off to college without her own plan, trying to figure out her path. I think more people should be open to taking classes and seeing where things go if they are able to, instead of deciding their future immediately.

Quinn's lack of interest in love and marriage coupled with Tarek's affinity for grand gestures definitely caused some conflict throughout the book, and ended up leading to the black moment. Overall I'm happy with the way the romance went and appreciated their somewhat candidness about where they were at, but Quinn spent a lot of time denying herself what she wanted. It was occasionally frustrating to read but the book was otherwise a breeze, like Solomon's other books. Can't wait to read more from her as always!

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I genuinely can’t believe this book was my first Rachel Lynn Solomon read, but it won’t be the last. Honestly I found myself relating more to Tarek than Quinn, which is unusual considering she was the narrator. However, all the Jewish references and mental health discussions are what really compelled me to give this book five stars. I really enjoyed the story and the narrative.

I appreciated Quinn not knowing what she wants to do going off to college, because so many young adults feel this way. After all, 18 is awfully young to know what you’re going to do for the rest of your life. I can’t wait to read more of this author’s work. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the e-ARC copy in exchange for my honest review!

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this book was beautiful. Quinns and tareks character contrasts and similarities are beautiful! the book was so wholesome and the depression rep is absolutely on point.

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We Can't Keep Meeting Like This, by Rachel Lynn Solomon, is a funny and sweet look at love, family, and growing up.

Weddings are Quinn’s life. Her family runs a wedding planning business and her parents have already planned her future, down to what she will study in college. Quinn has other plans, but working for her parents isn’t all bad. She gets to work with Tarek.

Quinn and Tarek have been friends for years. Just before Tarek left for college, Quinn sent him an email about how she felt about him. Problem being he never responded. Quinn is angry and hurt by him, but she can’t stop her feelings when he returns for the summer.

I really enjoyed this book. But I haven’t met a book by Rachel Lynn Solomon I didn’t like. I also love the Jewish representation Solomon includes and the conversations around mental health.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for my own opinions in a review.

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Sweet fluffy fun. This is one of those turn your brain off and just enjoy it reads. Try not to think too hard about the logical inconsistencies. Yes Quinn can be hard to relate to for some people. I loved how cinnamon roll Tarek was and this reminded me of a Sarah Dessen novel (probably due to the wedding theme) in the best way. I love Rachel’s sense of humor and I laughed out loud multiple times.

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Originally I thought the book started out fantastic, I loved the bringing of OCD to life and had a really easy time relating to the struggle of the main character and how the OCD affected her, but as the book progressed I found myself struggling to get through it.

The pacing was really slow at times and im usually a person who loves contemporary books and typically blow through them in a day or two, this book took me a whole week because sometimes I just found myself having to push through parts of it.

While going through the book though I was talking a lot with my Muslim friend and we both felt that it was not necessary for the author, who is not Muslim, to make the other character a 'non-practing Muslim. Even though it was great to see a sex-positive YA book, because yes lets all agree sex should be talked about especially at the age of some of the characters and it would lead to healthier choices, it felt really off putting that the love interest is having sex with multiple people at the same time, I know of course not every Muslim has to be practicing, but it felt a bit off that not only was the character non-practicing, but it also felt like that character was really putting it in your face.

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Rachel Lynn Solomon does not disappoint in this cute story. I loved reading this book! Solomon does a great job of creating characters that I care about and has a writing style that I can't get enough of. If Rachel Lynn Solomon writes it, I'm going to read it.

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I am a huge Rachel Lynn Solomon stan so I was so excited to read her latest YA novel. Thankfully, Solomon’s writing is as amazing as ever and I can add this lovely book to my recommend pile!

This novel stars Quinn, harp player and pessimist when it comes to romance (though she would prefer being called a realist). Her parents are wedding planners and Quinn has long become disillusioned to the idea of romance and commitment. Especially after a disastrous encounter with her family friend, Tarek, a year ago before he left for college. As the summer begins and Tarek returns, Quinn looks to her own future college plans as she has to figure out how her family’s business and a potential romance can exist in her life.

College age YA is starting to gain more popularity and I’m really enjoying that trend! Though Quinn was not the most perfect human, I really liked her characterization and the journey that she had in figuring out her future. The pressure of family expectations is definitely a theme I think most people can relate to, whether it comes to school or other factors.

I also felt it was refreshing that for a romance novel, the main character was pretty against romance! In trope terms, I guess this novel could be described as “grumpy heroine” and “sunshine hero” and I really enjoyed that dichotomy. I thought Tarek was written really well and I enjoyed that the characters had a definite chemistry that took place prior to the events in the book.

Overall, I think those looking for a YA novel that handles themes such as family expectations and starting college combined with a swoony romance will enjoy this one! And if you haven’t read Rachel Lynn Solomon’s books yet, I highly recommend that you read her entire backlist in addition to this book!

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While I wanted to love this, I found it actually very difficult to get into. Part of that was the story itself -- the pacing felt off to me, There was a LOT of exposition filling in the backstory. Maybe this will undergo a lot of revision before publishing, but it felt rough to me.
Ultimately the thing that made it so I couldn't continue was that there was super weird formatting. It made it literally difficult to read.
Might check out the finished version but this was disappointing considering how much I've enjoyed the author's previous books.

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I’ve heard such good things about this one and I enjoyed The Ex Talk, so I was excited to start it.

I liked Quinn well enough. She’s in her head a lot and because of that, her inner monologue did feel a bit monotonous at times. The family dynamic was interesting, especially when they start talking things out. Tarek was so earnest and charming and I really enjoyed how he tried for her.

Plot wise, it was slightly meandering and that did help highlight how Quinn was feeling. I would have liked a chapter or two from Tarek, as I felt like we missed something from him when just seeing him through Quinn.

Overall, I did like this story, but something kept me from loving it. Parts were charming, parts were clichéd, parts were repetitive. I’m not sure how long this one will stay in my head.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**

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A solid summer romance that also tackles some tough topics like mental illness, divorce, religion, and family. I loved Quinn as a protagonist even though I wanted to shake her sometimes - but she felt like an authentic teenager: flawed and trying to find her place in the world, dealing with familial expectations while also trying to honor her own desires. A deep and lovely rom-com.

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