I have a confession to make, I requested Lisa Marie Perry’s Meant to be Mine because of its tag line “”A Guilty Pleasures Novel.” I mean come on, how could I not? Ms. Perry is a new to me author and I have to say that I really enjoyed this book even though it had a bit more angst than I usually like; the plot was carefully crafted and complex, the characters well developed and engaging, but most of all I appreciated that the love story between these two wasn’t easy.

When Sofia Mercer returns to the small town Cape Cod town she grew up in for the funeral of her dear aunt who was more of a mother to her she has no idea her life will be changed forever. Not only does she inherit her aunt’s estate, she inherits her aunt’s dog, her aunt’s grieving fiancé/lawyer and to top it off she runs into Burke Wolf, the boy (now man) that stole her young broken heart and the boy she left behind when she moved to the city to get that heart fixed. This book was heaped with emotion and at times I wanted to knock some sense into both Sofia and Burke, but considering their background, what they knew and didn’t know about one another, and everything they were dealing with now as adults I could also understand their reservations, their miscommunications, and both of them running scared. Despite that, if ever two people belonged together it was these two; they just had to work really hard to get there.

While there was no doubt this was a love story between Sofia and Wolf this book was filled with crazy, wonderful, intense and interesting characters who all added so much to this story and who all helped them find their way to one another.

A great start to a new series, Meant to be Mine set the bar high for any future books to come in this series.

I love when I can find new authors to add to my read list and I can say I’m really glad Lisa Marie Perry has been added. Meant to Be Mine is the first book in her new Guilty Pleasures series and oh boy was it just sexy and fun.



Sofia is back in Eaves, Massachusetts for her Aunts funeral and as soon as she pays her respects she is out of there. But there is just one problem in her plan – she wasn’t planning on her Aunt to leave her everything or running into the guy who broke her heart, Burke. Now Sofia is at a crossroads; does she go back to her life and sell everything her Aunt left her or does she return to Eaves and make a new life for herself? I thought Perry did an excellent job of showing how conflicted Sofia really was about what to do, but the time she spent there after the funeral really made her miss being there which I loved.



The tension between Burke and Sofia when they first see each other again is wow! I kept wondering why they weren’t getting along and what happened to make them this way. Thank god Perry went into very detailed information for all the questions that just kept popping up. Each character was written with such passion I couldn’t help but like them. They both had a difficult childhood for two different reasons but even with that difference between them I loved how they just connected and worried about one another. Now that they are “friends” again it’s kind of like they picked up where they left off. Sofia was a very strong character because of everything she went through which made me like her even more. She was a fighter and while she might have minor setbacks she didn’t let them get her down.



The plot was different and it just wowed me. Meant to Be Mine had an emotional feel and some emotional parts but it also carried a lot of humor and fun times. The characters I felt developed the right amount during the story and kept me interested in them and how they were going to work out their love for one another.



Not only did Burke and Sofia stand out but some of the secondary characters did as well and I am hoping some of them will eventually receive their own happily ever after stories. I liked the community that was created and it really stood out from other small town romances. They once didn’t know what to think of Sofia and talked about her condition behind her back and now they are all coming together to help her. It was just great.



Perry brought a fresh new voice to contemporary romance with Meant to Be Mine and honestly I am really looking forward to more of the Guilty Pleasures series and excited to see where it will go.

This book brings with it all the "feels" that romance readers love. The author delivers a cast of characters that are as flawed as the rest of us making the story even more enjoyable for me. I cannot wait to see what is next for Perry.