Would Like to Meet

Of the many delightful things about Rachel Winters’s witty, engrossing, deeply felt romance (?), “Would Like to Meet,” my favorite is the delicate balance it maintains between a skewed yet wholly accurate rendering of life and love while at the same time utilizing tropes and clichés from the very romantic comedies the heroine in the story, Evie, deconstructs across the story.The plot appears simple enough – to help a vain, careerist screenwriter write a romantic comedy, his agent’s assistant puts herself through a series of meet-cutes to prove that rom-com tropes exist in real life and are nothing for the newly Oscar-winning writer to look down on. He’s skeptical, fearing it could hurt his suddenly elevated brand, but Evie presses on, manufacturing meet-cute after meet-cute and sending him the results which he, we’re led to believe, is spinning into gold.To say more would be…criminal? Suffice it to say, Evie runs into all brands of truly negative men, inadvertently screws up the lives of her own circle of friends, and has her entire life turned upside-down by the proceedings.For me personally, as someone who worked in Hwood for a bit, I can attest that the author nails the dishy, true-life side of the entertainment business. Not only have I watched Oscars cause people to second-guess their next career moves, in one case freezing them for three years, but also had a pal for whom the “makeover” sequence felt like something she’d lived in her own days as an assistant for an older, deeply misogynistic studio exec.All that to say this is a great, extremely funny book that skewers rom-com tropes even as it embraces them with an open heart.

3.5 out of 5. I enjoyed Would Like to Meet though it wasn’t what I expected, but that’s my fault. I was expecting romance and it was more chick lit. If you enjoy Sophie Kinsella/Madeleine Wickham, this should work for you too. I loved the dry British humor as well as the character development we see in Evie. Rachel Winters did an excellent job of setting up a villain and I was anxious about how one major issue was going to be resolved (I saw it coming early), but she also handled that in a very satisfactory (and surprising way). There's also a bit of misdirect when it comes to the actual love interest in the book and I thoroughly enjoyed that as well. I like that a strong friend group is incorporated in the book as well. All of the characters were well fleshed out IMO and the more I think about the book the more I realize I really liked it, so now that I know what to expect as far as heat level, I will definitely be checking out her future endeavors!

While this story kept me up way past my bedtime two nights in a row because it was so fun to read, I think the author could’ve trimmed out a few meet-cute scenarios and beefed up the scenes with the male protagonist. The story is predictable in a good way, but it seems the author tries to pretend otherwise, delaying the HEA unnecessarily.The whacky, putting-herself-way-out-there moments are fun but often skipped over or summarized in past tense instead of shown as they happen. The dialog is great, and the inclusion of text messages and emails adds to the story. The plot complications and twists are plausible. However, there are a few expressions and moments that caused me to scratch my head. I figured out what a “hen do” is, but there are other British references I didn’t. I also couldn’t figure out why the female protagonist doesn’t suspect the worst, still has friends after being so self-absorbed, and what the male protagonist liked about her. More glimpses into the males’ POV would’ve been nice.Overall, the story is very well woven together. The humor is refreshing, and the character arc is good. The writing is mostly error free. There is a horny roommate with sexual TMI innuendos, lots of alcohol consumption, and no sex scenes between the protagonists.What I really liked: A partially Deaf character is featured, and there are good insights into rom-com screenplay elements.

I love this book infinitely! It's scrupulously well structured, with adorable characters and fascinating setups. It walks the line precisely between showing the unreality of meet cute setups and rom coms, while also showing the elements of them that are appealing, and that show up in real life whether we expect them to or not. It's a rom com wrapped in a parody of rom coms, without ever feeling patronizing of the genre, but instead warm and welcoming to fans. Ben is a dream and I loved watching the main character come into her own. The daughter is standout adorable as a character. This is top shelf rom com material!

I'm on a Contemporary Romance kick and have been enjoying some very funny and lovely books. This one was okay but a bit more of a miss for me. The idea is good: heroine must reenact Meet-Cute scenarios for an author with writer's block, but the execution fell flat for me. I thought the author just tried too hard, making farce into slapstick, not my favorite type of humor. Evie was pretty clueless - how could she not realize Ezra was stealing her ideas. The best part was Ben and Annette, the father and daughter she meets while enacting one of her meet-cutes, but they weren't enough to redeem the story.

As an avid romance reader across all sub-genres - this is a really refreshing and enjoyable novel. I absolutely loved the heroine and there was a point where I kind of had the whole thing “figured out” but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment one bit. Wonderfully written and it was very creative how she wove in all the classic rom-coms we all know and love. Her friends are enjoyable and although it’s a lighthearted book there is still the depth of the main characters that keep you hooked.

I realised that I’ve been recommending this book a lot but hadn’t actually reviewed it. But I guess that is a review in itself.I loved this book. It was my favourite read of the month and I have no doubt that I’ll still be naming it as a favourite at the end of the year.I loved Evie, I loved Ben, I loved Annette, I loved the JEMS. I loved every single one of the meet cutes. I loved the big grand gesture. I just loved this book so bloody much. I laughed, I cried and a laughed through my tears. And I swooned so much. This is a book about friendship and finding the one. This book is the one for me. Love, love, love.

Honestly, just cleaning up my Kindle and came across this book that I read 16% of less than a month ago and I only vaguely remember what it's about.It's contrived, but is trying to be upfront about that. The premise being that the main character needs to recreate typical meet cutes and somehow falls in love with the cranky writer guy in the process.Two weeks after reading I can't remember why she is asked to do that (I rember the plots of books I read a decade ago... The problem isn't my memory) I'm pretty sure she'll be fired if she doesn't, which implies an employer as bad as the plot of this book.I didn't finish it, but I don't think there are going to be any surprises here.Unless, by some shock she tells the guy to do one and takes her employer to an industrial tribunal for putting her in such an awkward situation?Nope? Yeah, I didn't think so either.2 stars, because 16% is further than I've gotten with some books :)**I just came back to Edit because I remembered what finally stopped me reading it... She had a nickname for the guy NOB... I can't remember what it stood for but the fact it existed had a bang if bad Ya off it.

I started this book at 9pm on a Saturday night, and I have just finished it, in one sitting, it is now 5h50am on Sunday morning. It has been a long time since a book has captivated me that much that I literally could not put it down, and read through to the end.

When people write reviews with things such as "I laughed out loud" I do generally think, I just scoffed a little.. but no, this book is one of the first books that has actually made me chuckle OUT LOUD. I had to put it down multiple times to have a giggle.Excellent book and devoured it in one sitting it was THAT GOOD!Please please write more as soon as possible; absolute delight to read

I am always a little wary of books that are described as ‘laugh out loud’...but this one genuinely is! I think I’d laughed out loud 3 or 4 times in the first 5% of the book...and the chuckles continues as Evie found herself in various ‘meet cute’ scenarios.I’ve read other reviews that say this book was predictable and that Evie was a chump for staying in a job she didn’t enjoy for ages...I’d urge you to ignore these! This book is a funny, heart-warming, Rom Com with a happy ending and a great story! I loved it!