“ I still didn’t believe in fairy tales - or that this story was going to have a happy ending.

Joe grew up a Kingsley, American royalty, famous even before he was born. The right schools, pedigree, career. His character is this books version of a Kennedy

Cate is his exact opposite. Hugh school drop out, abusive step father, she feels like she will ultimately be the worse thing for Joe.

I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough, nor slow enough as
I loved everything about this book, the characters, the story, the laughter, the tears, the ultimate love story!

DNF as the author seems to want to get her frustration out on police officers in two separate instances just 1/4 way into the book. Not for me. No longer reading things that strike political cords.

I suppose this could be described as a typical romance novel, but I felt it went a bit above and beyond that. The characters were of interesting and diverse backgrounds, and the author did a good job letting us inside their heads. (Although, I must admit, heartthrob Joe seemed a bit too good to be true.) The twist at the end was heartwarming in that roles were reversed, and Cate saved the day in a most unexpected way.

I really enjoyed this book. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

I am a huge fan of all of Emily Giffin's novels, but I think. Meant To Be has now become my favorite of hers! I loved both Cate and Joe; their individual stories were both compelling, and their relationship together was complicated, intense, and I couldn't get enough of them. Emily Giffin really knows how to write a deep, meaningful, and layered love story. I predict this will be a huge hit when it is published!
Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

Emily Giffin always authors great reads!
I could not put this one down, again.
Her characters are always relatable. This has been a great travel book for me.

If you only think of “Something Borrowed” or “Something Blue” when you think of Emily Giffin, then you’ll find that “Meant to Be” is a very different book. The story is inspired by the romance and marriage of JFK, Jr, and Carolyn Bessette. While I was not as enamored with that real-life love story, I was very familiar with it, along with the history of the Kennedy family.
“Meant to Be” is told in alternating voices by the two main characters, Joe and Cate, with lots of flashbacks so that we learn their histories and how they got to this point. Their backstories are bittersweet, filled with drama and expectations. This adds a complex layer, making them more real and likable.
While there was nothing earth-shattering in this story, it was a good read that will appeal to many people.

Emily Giffin has done it again. This book had everything. Romance, intrigue, friendship, angst, and an overwhelming feeling of contentment. I was drawn into the relationship between Cate and Joe from the first chapter. I especially loved the parallels to the Kennedy family. This book is a MUST read.

Meant to Be was inspired by Emily Giffin's fascination with the Kennedy family. In this book, the Kingsley family is American royalty. Joseph Kingsley III is the favorite son, living with his mother Dottie who is still in love with Joe's father, who died very young when a NASA launch ended tragically. Dottie despairs of Joe ever settling down and living up to his potential as a Kingsley. Joe himself admits he is a playboy, never falling in love, bouncing from one relationship to the next. He he meets Cate and everything changes. Cate Cooper also lost her father at a very young age. When her mother remarries an abusive man, Cate does everything she can to protect herself and her mother. Cate is spotted, then recruited for a top modelling agency, becoming very successful and making enough to provide for her mother and herself, but her mother won't leave. Cate drops out of high school to pursue her career. It is on a photo shoot on the beach at the Hamptons that she meets Joe. Understandably Cate avoids relationships but she is unable to resist Joe's charm and gentle persistence, soon finding herself deeply in love. The paparazzi make life difficult for the couple, but Joe has learned a lot about successful management and does not want to lose Cate. Cate is unsure, not so much of the lifestyle, but if her own life and choices will be detrimental to Joe's future. I loved this book. Like most people my age I grew up with stories of the Kennedy's in press and then on TV. Giffin's reimagining of the family and their relationships was fun to read, a little tearful, and very, very good. Many thanks to Net Galley for the chance to read an ARC.

Emily Giffin’s 11th and dare I say best novel , a reimagined story of JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette albeit with a significantly happier ending . This book was graciously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I just finished this wonderful book and I find myself in a happy daze.
I'm reminded of the line
"Take a sad song and make it better" because that is what the author has given us most successfully. I loved the reimagining of history and the fictional glimpse inside the lives of very private people who were seldom allowed their privacy.
Thank you for making the story better.

I have read many Emily Giffin books and enjoyed them all, surprisingly I was disappointed with Meant to Be. This book is a really hard NO for me, and might very well be the result of my being a life long, born and bred New Yorker. I honestly felt uncomfortable with how the story unfolded in ways that in a novel that was not so "inspired" might have been enjoyable. The relationships and encounters were well written and the pace was well set, but there was a lot that felt disrespectful to me. The ending felt like it capitalized on a family tragedy and minimized the depth of it with a fantastical ending that denied the way so many New Yorkers grieved for this family, for these individuals and for the people who loved them. Inspired is one thing, this feels more like a grasp. Had there been more differentiation between the names and places, I might have been able to separate my personal feelings from the truth vs. fictional aspect, but unfortunately there was wasn't and I can't share a better review. I appreciate the opportunity to review books and I'm grateful for the Authors and the Publishers that offer them up for review. This one was a miss for me, and I've hesitated on sharing my thoughts as they are so critical, but I'm sure that I'm the only New Yorker who will find this an uncomfortable read.

Joe and Cate's love story is against all odds. He's in the public eye, coming from a prominent family. A lot is expected from him from all corners. She's a self-made woman. From a society standpoint, it's biased. She's not for him. I love a good story that is against all odds. Love does conquer all.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you love Kennedy-esque fictional American history then you will LOVE this book!! I love the characters and how real life this book seemed. It’s the perfect summer read and I can’t wait to share it with my friends when it’s released!

Oh this book, it was just so damn romantic. This certainly isn't my usual type of read but, I dug Emily Giffin waaaaay back in my thirties and I loved The Lies That Bind. Also, I heard really great things about this one, so I thought I'd give it a go...am I ever glad I did. I loved how much background we are given on both Cate and Joe and I connected with Cate's childhood so much. We get chapters from both Cate's and Joe's point of view, of the same situation, and I thought this was a really great way of telling their story/stories...and that twist towards the end? In no way did I see that coming! I also think I loved this so much because the characters are from my generation and it is loosely based on John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy.

I wish to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This fictional book is a love story presented entirely from two different points of view. Wealthy, established, Joe Kingsley comes from a home of privilege. His heritage included his famous father and grandfather and as a result much is expected of him. He meets a beautiful, young model during a beach photography shoot. He gets her name and phone number and says he will call but he does not. Cate Cooper is a high school dropout, no college but a lot of talent. She comes from a fatherless home with a stepfather who is a cop, an abuser and an emotional batterer. She has nowhere to turn from help. She leaves home as soon as possible.

From the first chapter I was hooked. I found this to be a "cannot put down” read. I felt the story line was beautifully presented. Somewhere early in the book I became aware of the parallels between JFK, Jr. and Caroline Bessette but thought it was just me. Later in the book it focused more as the inspiration to this story.

I highly recommend this book. I know it will be one of the beach reads this year as words of this special book make the rounds. This one will not disappoint Emily Griffins fans. The author notes at the end of the book really ties it all up with a bow. I wish it had been the final chapter.

An interesting take on a well known story in politics. The twists and turns keep you wanting to turn the pages to see what happens.

This book was just okay for me. It’s the story of two misfits who fall in love. To be honest some of the dialog was not what I expected. The story could have been told with nicer language that would have be less offensive to some older library patrons looking for a nice romance and Cate would appear less shallow. Berry’s friendship with Joe didn’t seem real to me. She was in love with him forever and just remained on the sidelines to pick up the pieces from all his relationships while being extremely tight with his mother. Definitely not my favorite but definitely won’t be my last. I have enjoyed her books since Something Borrowed and Something Blue. I am sure it will be a summer hit for all romance readers. #MeantToBe #EmilyGiffin #NetGalley

Cate grew up without a father, and a mother who endured an abusive relationship. While in high school she found by a modeling agency and found a way to escape her home. While on a shoot she crossed paths with Joe Kinsgley, who's family is similar to the Kennedy's. He askes for her number and never calls her, a year later they cross paths again but the pull they both felt a year before is still there only this time nothing is going to get in the way.

Meant to Be by Emily Giffin is a romance novel centered around a fictional Kennedy-esque family.

While enjoyable, I often found the story to be bland, the characters shallow, and overall less than what I expect from Emily Giffin.

Touching on a plethora of issues—domestic abuse, dead parents, the pressures of being from a famous family and dealing with the paparazzi—Meant to Be fails to connect on an emotional level. Throughout the novel, our narrators Cate and Joe are telling instead of showing us the story. This distance makes it fairly emotionless.

Standard rom-com plot format. Some backstory, a meet-cute, the dating period, “the event” that separates our couple, the subsequent reconnecting, and finishing off with a happy ending.

⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Thanks to Netgalley.com and Ballantine Books for an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Joe and Cate grow up with very different backgrounds, but manage to find their lives intertwined anyway. And when they meet, that’s it—everything that came before and everything that comes after no longer matters, because they are Meant To Be. A fictional account loosely based on JFK Jr. and his wife, I still found it hard to put down, with Giffin’s writing style and attention to detail as fabulous as always.

Special Note: Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an hones review.