Meant to Be

by Lauren Morrill

[Rowena]

It’s one thing to fall head over heels into a puddle of hazelnut coffee, and quite another to fall for the—gasp—wrong guy. Straight-A junior Julia may be accident prone, but she’s queen of following rules and being prepared. That’s why she keeps a pencil sharpener in her purse and a pocket Shakespeare in her, well, pocket. And that’s also why she’s chosen Mark Bixford, her childhood crush, as her MTB (“meant to be”).

But this spring break, Julia’s rules are about to get defenestrated (SAT word: to be thrown from a window) when she’s partnered with her personal nemesis, class-clown Jason, on a school trip to London. After one wild party, Julia starts receiving romantic texts . . . from an unknown number! Jason promises to help discover the identity of her mysterious new suitor if she agrees to break a few rules along the way. And thus begins a wild goose chase through London, leading Julia closer and closer to the biggest surprise of all: true love.

Because sometimes the things you least expect are the most meant to be.

I’m all about the contemporary story. Whether it’s a romance novel about a couple’s journey to finding their ways to each other or a contemporary YA about a young protagonist learning her way through life, I’m all about it. I love reading contemporaries that center around the characters between the pages and that was a huge reason I wanted to read this book in the first place.

Julia is in London for spring break with her classmates from school. She’s a type A personality who follows the rules and gets good grades. She’s got plans for her future and she’s working her way toward that and because she’s so driven to succeed, she’s got the usual nerdy girl reputation. The kind of reputation that doesn’t involve anything fun. When she’s partnered with the guy that she doesn’t like, adventure is around every corner…if only she’d let loose a little and allow Jason into her life. Jason isn’t her meant to be, Mark is but the longer she’s in London and in Jason’s company, the more she’s beginning to think she’s got it all wrong.

I though this book was such a cute story. Spring break away from home, away from the parents and loads of adventure waits in the wings. Julia is many things. She’s a swimmer, a rule keeper and according to Jason, a book licker too. Haha, he totally calls her this in the book and instead of coming off as an asshole, I found it completely endearing and I adored Jason. I really thought that this was a cute story. I loved seeing Julia come into her own throughout the book because when we first meet her, she’s this closed off and reserved teenager who never let herself let loose. As such a young person, I loved when she stopped letting the future control her present and I really enjoyed the journey she went through in the book.

Jason was perfect for her and I loved the way that he just moved his way into her life and kind of planted himself there and wouldn’t let her get rid of him (not that she could ditch him since he was her partner for the trip). I thought everything about him was adorable and my heart sighed when I closed this book so I think Morrill did a really good job of entertaining me with this story. It was cute, I wanted to cuddle with it and it was perfect for a lazy weekend in the house. If you’re in the mood for something light and cute then I think this book will definitely fit the bill for you.