I LOVED this book - it had major You’ve Got Mail vibes which is one of my favorite movies of all time. I loved the setting of the book: I really felt like I was in the quaint little town of Carmel and it really had me wishing I was at a California beach!
The Meeting Point was a sweet and charming romance that I couldn’t put down! Maya was the main character and you only got her POV which was nice since it helped keep the other persons identity a secret.
This was a very clean book and had little to no language in it! This will for sure be one of my favorite books of the year.

Absolutely, insanely sweet. I didn't LOVE all the deception on both sides, but jeez this was just so swoony. This was such a unique story and I couldn't put it down!

This was a cute book! Maya decides to surprise her longtime boyfriend in San Francisco for her birthday. When she arrives and tries to call him someone else answers her phone. Turns out his Lift driver has his phone and explains that he dropped her boyfriend and another woman off earlier.. Maya is surprised and sad. She continues to text with the Lift driver “Max”. Over the next several hours he leads her to Carmel directing her to different sights as well as getting to know each other by playing 50 questions. Things happen and Maya.s boyfriend gets his phone back and Maya returns to NY with him. Over the next year she continues to think about the connection she had with “Max” in CA.. After several things happen she decides to return to Carmel to find this guy and see if what she felt was real.

This book is a book about a chance encounter, a once in a life time kind of love, falling in love at first sight-ish, happy endings. But it's also much more than that. It's about a woman finding her self, realising her worth, making things happen, and doing stuff for herself. Its about picking yourself up in the weakest of the moments and building yourself back up. It showcases how life is made up of weak moments and strong one's, the ups and the downs, the laughs and the cries. It was just beautifully composed.

The love story was definitely the cutest thing about this. Ugh, it was just beautiful. The romance was so sweet and the chemistry was insane. The banter was to die for.

The characters were also really fleshed out. They felt very human, imperfectly perfect in their own way. The relationship each character had were also very complex. There was a very wholesome cast of characters and even the side characters were to die for.

Overall, a really good book. A 3.5 star for me. This could make a great rom com one day, hopefully we get that.

Y’all this book was so good! I am so glad that I was able to get a arc of Olivia Lara newest book The meeting point. Not only did the story have a good slow burn romance it talked about people getting out of toxic relationships. This book hooked me from the very beginning and it was impossible to put down. I will definitely be purchasing a copy when it comes out!

4/5 stars!!!

Please take in mind it’s my opinion, and everyone is allowed to have one.

The Meeting Point was such a cute, swooning, easy read! I liked the story from beginning till the end, it was nice to see both perspectives.

Half way through I already figured it out but that didn’t take away my pleasure of reading this. Still I did like how it all turned out.

The Meeting Point by Olivia Lara had absolutely everything that I'm looking for in a book. It made me smile, it made me anxious and most of all it made my heart beat faster.

There were so many things to like in this book:

- First and foremost the characters. Even though the female main character couldn't have a more different life than myself, I was able to identify with her and understand where she was coming from. Even though she is guilty of poor judgement from time to time, it was one of her unique traits that made her so lovable. Needless to say, the banter between the main characters was exquisite and witty. It was intelligent and childish at the same time, without being cringey.

- The setting. The description of the small town (Carmel) was on point and painted a beautiful picture. You could almost feel the serenity and beauty through the pages.

- As a personal preference I love my main characters being writers. I guess it's because of the creativity and the colorful words and thoughts the characters use.

- The slow burn. I really appreciated the pace of the story. It was believable at all times and not a forced 'they lived happily ever after even though they know each other for mere seconds'.

The only downer would be, that I'm not able to read this fantastic book for the first time again ;)

I would totally recommend The Meeting Point and thank NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to discover such a gem.

I was provided an ARC by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and words are my own.

What initially drew me into this book was the concept of falling in love using a Uber/Lyft service since I use one literally at least once a week! The characters were easy to like and I felt myself rooting for them but didn’t feel especially connected to them.

What really blew me away that I wasn’t expecting was the seaside town. Olivia does an AMAZING job of capturing Carmel (BONUS THAT ITS A REAL PLACE!!) and getting the reader to really fall in love with it. Like I’m already looking for air bnbs ASAP.

The big twist is pretty foreseeable but that doesn’t make it any less good IMO. Sometimes you’re in the mood for a story that’s sweet, predictable, and leaves you with a HEA-The Meeting Point delivers on all three. A good read but nothing super deep!

A unique and fun story. I found this to be a sweet escape book. Light and fun with characters I rooted for.

This book is so good it was like reading something made to become the next Netflix small town drama! I loved the setting of Carmel by the sea and kept finding myself googling the locations. All three of the main characters are likeable and her ex boyfriend is the perfect blend of over confident idiot to make you honestly dislike a fictional character. I loved it.

I would definitely recommend this as a summer read or for anyone feeling like they want to up sticks and make some major changes in their life. This book gives you a massive confidence boost. The first NetGalley book I’ve reviewed in a while and I wasn’t disappointed.

Maya is flying from NYC to California to surprise her long term boyfriend David, once her plane arrives she gets a strange text back from a Lyft driver saying that her boyfriend was in his car with another woman and they couldn't keep their hands off each other. It's Mayas birthday and she realizes she's all alone, but she isn't! This secret Lyft driver is going to keep her company via text for the weekend. "Max" the Lyft driver takes an interest in Maya, making sure she has a great birthday in Monterey, he has all the perfect plans to keep her interested.
Who is this secret man who she calls Max? because she is starting to fall in love with him.

Absolutely loved this book, really had a feeling for most of the time of who "max" was but the love story was perfectly written and I really enjoyed this read!

The Meeting Point was super cute and better than expected!

This story follows Maya, a writer who steps out of her shell after a twist of fate leaves her alone on her birthday in an unfamiliar city. She starts texting with the Lift driver who has her cheating boyfriend's phone, and he leads her on a day of adventure that changes her life.

I found this story fun and interesting. It was a little slow to start, but really picks up about a third of the way through and then I couldn't put it down. While Maya starts out hesitant and sheltered, her magical day encourages her to eventually break out of her shell and think differently about herself and her life.

I enjoyed Maya's journey and all the supporting characters. My only gripe is I figured out the little mystery of who the Lift driver was fairly soon so I found that more predictable than I would have liked. Otherwise, I thought this was a super cute rom-com and I would definitely recommend it!

First, a big thank you to the publishers at Aria and Netgalley for this e-ARC of The Meeting Point.

The Meeting Point! Oh, what to say about this absolutely adorable story! I wanted to be Maya Maas!

Maya is an aspiring writer who’s been turned down by more publishers than she can count. Apparently her love stories are too unrealistic. After losing her job (not her fault), she flies out to San Francisco to surprise her long time boyfriend. When she texts him to inform him of her surprise, a Lyft driver responds instead, and inadvertently informs Maya of her boyfriend’s cheating.

Devastated and alone in a foreign city, on her birthday no less, Maya is taken on an adventure from afar by the mysterious Lyft driver to Carmel by the Sea. Falling in love slowly through text messages, they arrange to meet at the end of a magical day. What happens next? You’ll have to read to find out!

This was such an incredible love story about two strangers falling in love in the most unlikeliest of ways. I loved every second of it. The entire story is told from Maya’s point of view, which was great in my opinion, because it kept the other’s identity a secret that much better. You won’t find lewd scenes or much cursing in this book, which is always nice if that’s something you look to avoid! I highly recommend The Meeting Point if you’re looking for a sweet, unputdownable romance this fall!

The Meeting Point releases September 2!

4.5 cute stars. I loved this book. The characters were perfect and I fell in love with Max, Ethan and Maya. I loved the story line and different aspects of it. I’m so excited to read more of this authors books. Super cute. Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy of this book.

In the course of a day, Maya traveled across the country, found out her boyfriend was cheating on her, and had her day take a complete turnaround...all on what happened to be her birthday.

I don’t want to say too much about the plot of this book because I’m afraid to give anything away, and I want readers to be as captivated by and sucked into this story as I was. I could not put it down. It was charming, warm, and a bit mysterious (but not in a spooky way). There were questions to be answered that I was trying to piece together until the very end. When I say this book drew me in, that could be the understatement of the year. I couldn’t get enough.

If you enjoy a romantic tale with lots of heart, you won’t want to miss this.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

“Nothing makes me happier than imagining people are happy. And in love. And living happily ever after.”

The Meeting Point by Olivia Lara is exactly what I needed when I stepped back in to contemporary romance and I spent my day reading it. It is adorable and well written. The plot of finding out your partner of 5 years is cheating by him having forgot his phone in a rideshare is a modern version of hearing another woman’s voice on his answering machine. Leading lady Maya is charming with her extreme focus, albeit stalker vibes, on looking for her missed love connection. The storybook setting of Carmel by the Sea is so well described I feel I’ve been there. The only issue I had is at the ending, and I don’t want to spoil it, but who doesn’t check their pockets? 4.5/5 from me. Fans of Jasmine Guillory and Kerry Winfrey will enjoy this!

Favorite quote:

“Being in love doesn’t make you weak or dependent.”

I could not put this book down! I was so engrossed to know who Max was, and when it hit me, I couldn't wait for Maya to find out! This books is such a heartwarming and fun read. The characters fit together perfectly and the story is gripping! I would recommend this book to any romance novel lover.

The Meeting Point was a great book with a refreshing and unique story. Maya finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her on the day she came to California to surprise him. Alone on her birthday, she says yes to the adventure her mysterious texter invited her. She spends a day traveling and discovering a little small town near the beach. After a day comes by and she had to go back to her real life she realizes that she wants to meet this stranger…

A year later she comes back to find him but the only clue to find her Max is a reclusive author who doesn’t want to give her Max’s true identity…

Of course, the mystery here is not really a mystery because as a reader you know from the beginning who Max is even though the author tries to give you clues in another direction.

As much as this was a lovely story with charming descriptions of a town on the coast of California, I wasn’t happy with the ending. It just seemed too easy. I don’t like any kind of deceive so for the heroine to forgive our hero so easily after he basically lied to her since the day they met is just wrong. I didn’t like how our hero – Ethan – kept avoiding her questions about Max saying he doesn’t want to get him hurt. The whole plot of this book basically lies on deceiving and miscommunication and if I hate anything is the characters not talking to each other.

If the author wanted me to like Ethan more, perhaps this book should be presented with a double POV and not just Maya’s. We do get his view by reading his new book but it’s not enough. And I still don’t like his lies.

That said, being generous at the time of reading I’m giving it 4 stars. I prefer steamier stories (this one includes only kissing if I’m not mistaken, it’s been a few days) but this one has a couple cute couple moments and the descriptions of the town were very picturesque and it definitely gave a nice story setting.

Perfect summer read. I finished this in one day! The perfect modern twist on girl meets boy, loses boy and sets out on a quest to find him again.

The Meeting Point is a charming, heartwarming romantic comedy with such a unique premise! When Maya Maas’ plans a trip from New York to California to surprise her longtime boyfriend on his business trip, she’s the one who’s surprised when she learns that he’s been cheating on her - from the car share driver that finds her boyfriend’s lost phone. On her birthday no less. So when the mystery driver offers to give her some travel tips while she’s in an unfamiliar beach town, she takes his advice to distract herself from her heartbreak, not expecting to receive a personalized itinerary or this new virtual companion. But she realizes that maybe she isn’t so broken-hearted after all, because otherwise she wouldn’t so quickly feel so comfortable with the mystery driver she nicknamed Max. After what feels like a magical day together, they make plans to finally meet in person, only to have life intervene. What follows is the story of a woman with a new perspective take control of her life and try to follow her heart.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for the advance reader copy - this was such a delightful read!