I read We Can't Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon in one sitting! This book has all of the magical elements of a young adult coming of age story that pulls at my heartstrings. We follow Quinn the summer before she starts college. Her parents placed her in business classes to prepare her for a career of working in the family wedding planning business. However, Quinn doesn't feel passionate about wedding planning but hasn't told her family in fear of causing any conflict. She's also crushing on Tarek, who she's known for years as his family owns a catering business. However, Quinn is a pessimist when it comes to love and has a hard time opening herself up in fear of heartbreak.

There's so much I loved about this book. I really appreciated the candid conversations around mental health including anxiety, OCD, and depression. It was refreshing to see therapy mentioned multiple times in a positive manner, which should be in more books! Quinn's challenges felt authentic as she tries to discover what she really wants post-high school. I loved that this was an own-voices Jewish story and really appreciated reading about customs and Quinn's thoughts about her identity. It was interesting to follow Quinn on her messy self-growth journey throughout the book as she works through conflicts with those closest to her. I adored Tarek and his passion for baking!

This story is perfect for fans of Once and For All by Sarah Dessen and Save the Date by Morgan Matson.

Rachel Lynn Solomon is one of my favorite authors and this book did not disappoint. It follows Quinn, who is the daughter of wedding planners that are expecting her to study business so she can join the family wedding business after college. Last summer, she confessed her feelings for her friend, Tarek, over email after he left for college, but received no response. Tarek is a hopeless romantic, while Quinn doesn’t really believe in love. When Tarek comes home from college for the summer and works for his family’s catering company, Quinn has to work alongside him.

My favorite part of this book were the discussions about mental illness. Quinn has OCD, which really isn’t mentioned often in young adult books. She also had great character development throughout the book as she tried to figure out what she wanted to do with her future. Fans of Today, Tonight, Tomorrow will love We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This- there is even an appearance from Rowan and Neil.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher foe this ARC!

In the spirit of Solomon's other books, this new title is fun! fun! fun! As usual, Great premise with a satisfying ending. I appreciate the character arcs and following Tarek and Quinn. Give me more Rachel Lynn Solomon!

While this didn't live up to how much I loved Today Tonight Tomorrow, I still enjoyed this a lot. I really loved so many of the characters, especially Maxine.

Rachel Lynn Solomon has set an enormously high bar for herself. Her characters are nuanced, her romance is believable, and her plots are well-executed. Perhaps it's because I was so impressed with Today Tonight Tomorrow and The Ex Talk that I was a little underwhelmed by this book. In her other titles, the author's characters were flawed and imperfect but still made you root for them and their happy ending. In this title, I found myself wanting to shake Quinn. Her thought patterns felt cyclical and self-destructive throughout most of the book and resolved rather abruptly at the end. I understand that much of Quinn's internal struggle related to her childhood trauma and her OCD, but I still felt like she kept using her past as a justification for causing pain to both Tarek and herself, which I didn't love. I felt that it ended well, but it was a rollercoaster to get there.

Overall, I found this book to be a worthwhile read. It offers a more nuanced picture of mental illness and trauma than is often seen in YA romance, and the emotions it portrayed felt real and intense. Fellow school librarians, I would definitely recommend this for high school collections. The protagonist is a recent high school graduate and has many worries and thoughts that will feel familiar to juniors and seniors ruminating on uncertain futures.

We Can't Keep Meeting Like This was my second Rachel Lynn Solomon book, and I now need to read all of her books because I just adore them! This is my first YA book by Solomon, a genre I don't read a lot of books in, but I never felt like I was reading a YA book with how great the storytelling was.

I loved Quinn the main character, she was so spunky and true to herself and not only was I rooting for her throughout the book, I want to be friends with her as well! This book tackles mental health and I thought it was handled very well and I like the open and honest conversations Quinn and Tarek were able to have about the struggles in their lives.

The diversity in this book was amazing. As a Jewish reviewer, it is always nice to see my religion reflected in a book, but like in Solomon's other works we also meet Egyptian Muslim characters and Queer characters. I love that Solomon really builds this into the characters identities and it is more than just a passing mention.

Thank you to Rachel Lynn Solomon, NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was so cute and because of a good dose of cynical and human ‘flaws’ (not real flaws just parts of being human!) it felt realistic and grounded while still being adorable and romantic.

I especially enjoyed the mental health elements, navigating difficult conversations or flops in communication.. I always love when a character is a baker/chef. The harp feature and the push towards sexy eczema — bonuses.

It was a bit long but it’s definitely in the YA camp anyways. This was super well done, hooray I’m looking forward to sharing it with my older crowd.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The author really surprised me how she nailed the YA tone while covering topics like OCD & depression. I LOVED that both the heroine and the love interest were neurodivergent. Never has The Hottie ™️ been a Muslim guy with eczema! I think that's so important to get that real person representation out there. As a sarcastic and cynical Jewish girl, I related to Quinn so well I was a smidge concerned, especially since Tarek was a sweet baby angel who deserved better. However, I just watched Sleepless in Seattle and Quinn was speaking for me! [SHE'S A STALKER!!]
This book was a joy to read, but now I'm off to play Pin the Sweater on Chris Evans

🌟 4.5/5 stars- I think this would be perfect for high schoolers, maybe even late middle school to early college. Great for fans of Emma Lord & Rachael Lippincott

I don't normally read YA, but since I loved The Ex-Talk so much by this author, I wanted to try this one. This book was so sweet and reminded me of what first love feels like. All the stars.

Quinn and Tarek are excellent characters and their romance has depth and nuance. I love the world the author created and the fun setting. Quinn in particular was a realistic, sharp girl. I love how this book deals with the pressures of impending adulthood. All in all it was an excellent read

Honestly this book took me by surprise. I wasn’t expecting the subject matter to be as in-depth and emotional based on the cover and synopsis, but wow was this book incredible. With YA books there tends to be a trend where teenagers have bribing but superficial issues and when a book dives deep into issues like mental health, they tend to go overboard making elaborate scenes that are over exaggerated to the point where a reader cannot connect with the story. This author does an amazing job bridging the gap by capturing the internal struggles of Quinn and Tarek with a perfectly crafted dialogue that both a person with mental disorders and those without can understand and empathize with in situation.

I feel as society wants us to sweep issues like anxiety, depression, and OCD under the rug or chalk them up to issues that can be easily solved, but what this author does is open the conversation to start addressing these topics. This book is an inspirational and incredibly moving educational book on mental illness that is both captivating to read as a YA and adult.

At times Quinn’s actions took its toll throughout this book. She was so stuck on her ideals and ways which inhibited her from opening herself up to new experiences and challenges. There were moments throughout the book where Quinn softened her rigid ideals and opened to the possibility of a future she envisioned and this so where I could connect with her. I knew she was capable of finding a happy medium between the life she was expected to live versus the ones she desired because she had the proper tools in place, it was just the road to the realization was at times hard to read.

The beauty of this story is its imperfect nature. There’s no perfect ending to a happy ever after, it’s messy with complications that create challenges with a huge learning curve and I think the author captured that message beautifully within this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC

Trigger warning for OCD, anxiety, depression, mentions of parental separation
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WE CAN’T KEEP MEETING LIKE THIS is a YA contemporary that follows Quinn, whose parents are wedding planners, and Tarek, whose family runs a catering company. A year ago, Quinn confessed her feelings for Tarek via email just after he left for college, and Tarek has been radio silent since. Now he’s back home for the summer, and they keep bumping into each other at weddings. When Quinn learns the truth about why Tarek ghosted her, she realizes that she can’t keep denying herself the freedom of love and growth.
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Rachel just doesn’t miss. Really. Her stories are filled with love, banter, growth and hope. They’re sex positive and packs with representation of all kinds. Judaism is especially important to her stories, as Rachel herself is Jewish. There’s a great discussion in this book about how Quinn struggles with her guilt of not feeling Jewish enough at times and how identifying as something can mean something different to everyone.
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There’s also a wonderful discussion about the struggles of OCD, anxiety and depression with a positive message about the benefits of therapy, medication and hard work, while also keeping it realistic in the fact that these are mental illnesses and they don’t simply vanish for you to live happily ever after, the end. I can only speak to the anxiety and depression rep here, and I felt that both were handled with care.
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I appreciated Tarek’s maturity, and I respected Quinn’s journey of finding herself and her passion. The pressure of being young and feeling like you need a plan directly from senior year is so difficult and stressful. I think they balanced each other well.
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There’s something for everyone in Rachel’s books, and WCKMLT is no exception. I closed WCKMLT feeling happy and hopeful.
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4.5 stars, WE CAN’T KEEP MEETING LIKE THIS by Rachel Lynn Solomon is available June 8, 2021!
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Thank you to Rachel, Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for sending me an eARC to review.

I read We Can’t Keep Meeting like this as an #ownvoices Jewish reviewer. Quinn, a recent high school graduate works for her family’s wedding planning business playing harp, among other duties. As much as her family is in the business of lover, her parent’s 6 month separation when she was 8 years old makes her mistrust relationships and all the lovey dicey stuff. Her family has used Manoush catering for years and she has grown up with Tarek, their son who is all about big romantic gestures. Last summer she declared that she “likes” him in and email, and never got a response. Which added to her antiromance sentiments. But, this summer he’s back and one thing leads to another. I loved how mental health was discussed in this story and how Quinn addressed how she felt about her Jewish identity, and not really feeling Jewish enough, especially as her sister begins to be more observant. What a complex and fun YA romance.

Is Rachel Lynn Solomon actually Erato, Greek muse of love poetry? Who knows? (Rachel, if you are, *wink wink* don't worry, I won't tell). WE CAN'T KEEP MEETING LIKE THIS is a beautiful story of reluctant love and allowing yourself to open up to the possibilities of getting hurt, but also getting so much more in return. Also, when we see certain people...I gasped. Grab your copy if you love Rachel Lynn Solomon's books!

The first half started off a little rough for me. It felt like there was a lot of history and backstory that needed to be covered before I got a good grasp on the characters. After the halfway mark though? Everything started clicking. I even teared up at a scene towards the end, and that rarely happens.

It took a while for me to warm up to Quinn, but I think that just showcases her character arc throughout the story. As long as readers are willing to be patient while reading, they will come to understand Quinn and root for her.

This is a solid YA book about a girl finding her place in the world, learning to trust herself, and letting in others to find love. It’s well written and a fun read, but also delves into what it’s like living with OCD and depression. I’d definitely recommend it to others.

It’s a beautiful day for a YA recommendation with some fabulous Jewish Rep! ✡️⠀
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Rachel Lynn Solomon—the queen of providing me with the messiest romances, the most endearing characters, and Jewish rep that makes me say “oh yeah, my mom has said that before”⠀
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If you’ve read the Ex Talk or Today ,Tonight, Tomorrow, I’m happy to say you will also get along with these characters very well and love them just as much. (And if you haven’t read an RLS book yet, please grab one. like now.) One of my favorite parts of RLS books is the banter. Never have I laughed so many times while reading and been so envious of how witty and quick on their feet these characters are. ⠀
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I also need to mention the exploration of mental health is this one. As a therapist, I’ve learned a fair share about OCD as well as spoken with patients who were diagnosed with this disorder. Solomon does such an amazing job at representing what it truly means to have this diagnosis—and no, it’s just not someone who is organized and “washes their hands a lot”. There’s also discussions about depression that are so well done and will really give readers a better idea of what depression feels and looks like.⠀
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Overall, this was such a fab book. I’ve yet to meet a Solomon book I didn’t like and I dont think I ever will. ⠀
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Thank you SO much to @rlynn_solomon , @simonteen, @netgalley for the advances copy. We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This is out on June 8th!⠀

Being able to master weaving romance with religion and mental disorders seems like a giant feat, but Rachel Lynn Solomon did it perfectly. I cared for these characters from the get-go and felt for Tarek when he just wanted to be loved and wanted to comfort Quinn when no one was understanding her needs. Such a marvelous story.

I was so excited to get an ARC of WE CAN'T KEEP MEETING LIKE THIS because I loved Solomon's last two books, THE EX TALK and TODAY, TONIGHT, TOMORROW. She writes sweet, sexy romances about Jewish characters with imperfect lives. There is very little Jewish rep in both YA and adult romance so it's wonderful to see a writer consistently doing that.

This one is a YA romance about a girl named Quinn who works for her family's wedding planning business. She plays the harp but doesn't find much joy in it and isn't looking forward to a life working in weddings. The love interest is Tarek, whose family's catering company works Quinn's family's weddings. Tarek is into big grand gestures and documenting his "perfect" relationships on social media, which is in direct conflict with Quinn's anti-romance stance.

Quinn has a relationship with boys and sex unlike one I've ever read about in YA before. She keeps her relationships entirely physical and anytime the guy shows any romantic interest in her, she bolts. Quinn is a fun character and Tarek is sweet, but I didn't totally buy into the root of her trauma, and Tarek's characterization similarly fell flat for me.

That said, this is a sweet, quick read. It was a bit cluttered, I think, but Quinn is interesting and fun, and Solomon is a skilled writer whose prose shines in this book.

This book has so much going on and yet it is SOLID and delightful. There are heavy themes like mental health, medication, parent separation, pressure to continue in the 'family business,' insecurity, and LOVE (which is reallllly stressful, when you think about it.) Solomon uses her adorably unique, well-crafted characters as a vehicle to tell the story of a girl afraid of love and heartbreak, of letting someone in enough that they might hurt you, of telling the people you love how you feel because you are afraid of breaking them all. She taps into that strange balance of "this is who I am" and "I have no idea who I am supposed to become" that many high schoolers straddle. Tarek has a character arc of his own, and I applaud Solomon for crafting an honest, imperfect, adorable baker boy that is still growing and learning (as he should be at 19 years) instead of a perfect, dreamboat, has it all together (what guy under 26 really does, anyway?).
I really enjoyed the arc that Quinn goes through in this book and I enjoyed the HFN ending. I also enjoyed seeing appearances from Neil and Rowan from Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow.
Thanks so much for this ARC. Can't wait to get this in our library for the fall.