This is a thoroughly enjoyable read! I had my hang ups, as I often do with semi-unrealistic romance novels, but overall, it was super sweet.

Maya made me want to bang my head against the wall a few times. Her ability to go from the end of a 5 year relationship and falling in love via text in the same day? I mean, come on now.

But as a lover of love, I continued on. Again, if Maya and Ethan had just communicated with one another this mess would’ve been sorted out about 68% of the way in, but also would’ve been much shorter. So again, despite banging my head on the wall a few more times, I kept on.

I’m certainly glad I did! In the end it was a sweet, heartwarming read and despite my annoyance at times, I devoured in a couple days. Would definitely recommend to romance lovers and I’d definitely read on to see some of the other characters quest to find love and hear more from our main characters in The Meeting Point.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: September 2, 2021

A blindingly quick start. It felt like a fast forward through some required moments to get to the actual start of the book but once we arrived at the real story, it leveled out.

There are some familiar tropes and mistakes made by our main character and the reader is told everything the characters are thinking and feeling right on the page without the need for any inference. Our main character Maya is a bit oblivious and repeatedly has conversations and reactions that seem unwarranted and end up getting her into situations that are frustrating to read through.

Almost DNF at 30% but hung on for a few more chapters and we finally hit a rhythm and started really moving forward in the book once Celine was introduced. Unfortunately at 60% the book takes a turn I wasn’t sure I could get past—I eventually read on at breakneck speed to reach a hopeful HEA and was not disappointed!

This is a unique (although kinda creepy) idea, so if you’re looking for a mindless, questionably plausible romance…this could be for you!

Let me start by saying what an adorable story this is. Maya, a writer in search of her own HEA has been dealt a crappy hand, simultaneously loosing her job and discovering from a lift driver that her boyfriend is cheating on her.
Communicating only via text, driver Max send her on a trip to lift her spirits. The rest I’ll leave purposely vague, but let’s just say fun and romance ensues.

What I loved:
The romance was sweet and like all good comfort reads, the HEA never felt in danger. I loved the small town of Carmel that as it turns out is a real place.

If felt a little slow at times and I could have done with less of Maya’s internal monologue. That aside I would definitely recommend this perfect holiday romance novel.

The Meeting Point is an adorably cute book. Was it a bit cliche and predictable? Yes. But I loved it. And sometimes that’s the kind of book we need. Just something light and guaranteed to have a happy ending.
Although it doesn’t start that way for Maya.
Trying to surprise her boyfriend (on her birthday- yup hers!), she flys up to see him and excitedly texts him that she’s at the airport, surprise! But it isn’t her boyfriend who texts back. Just his Lift driver who found his phone and took pity on her and reveals the worst news, her boyfriend of four years is cheating on her. To top the day off- she just lost her job.
This begins a very odd but much needed adventure for Maya. Her and the lift driver begin texting and he directs her to various sights in a cute little beach town. She has the most incredible day, getting to know this mystery man and just sightseeing. It was cute and fun. And definitely could have been the makings of a creepy stalker/ thriller book. But no fear, this one has a HEA.

If you like light, fun reads, albeit with a fair lack of communication, but sappy romance and an adorable chemistry. Give it a read! I loved it and even though I knew the direction the story was going in, I liked the surprises along the way. And you’ll have fun learning who is on the other side of those text messages.


Thankyou NetGalley, Aria & Aries, and the author for the complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Content: clean
Romance: kissing.
Language: none.
Violence: none.

I really enjoyed this book. The beginning felt a little slow and I was worried that I was not going to like the main character, but she proved me wrong by taking charge of her life and going on a wild adventure. Although I felt the ending was predictable, I really enjoyed the journey along the way. The main character sure did get wooed.

You guys - this book was so freaking cute! Maya decides to surprise her boyfriend while he’s on a business trip in California.. When she gets there she finds out he left his phone in a lift and the lift driver tells her that her boyfriend is cheating on her. In hopes to cheer her up the lift driver plans a day for her in a town a little outside of San Francisco via text. When they’re finally set to meet, Maya’s boyfriend picks her up and ruins the whole thing. She ultimately goes back a year later to try and find him again!

I seriously loved this book so much! I thought the way the story unfolded was so unique and well done. I was smiling pretty much the whole time i read the book. i loved watching Maya drop everything and go and find her mans. I think the only thing keeping this from being a 5 star read was that it felt just a little bit too dragged out. I felt we could have gotten to the end just a little bit sooner! BUT when we did get to it - it was SO worth the wait! I highly recommend!

A special thank you to NetGalley, Aria Fiction, and Olivia Lara for a copy of this arc in exchange for an honest review!

When Maya finishes up her work project early, she decides to fly from New York to San Francisco to surprise her boyfriend. When she calls his phone, a stranger answers, revealing that her boyfriend was in a Lift with another woman where he left his phone. Maya is resigned to spend her birthday in the airport but after texting with the Lift driver for a bit, he insists that she leave the airport to explore. He gives her an itinerary of a tour of Carmel by the Sea via text and she follows his instructions, soaking in the beauty of the town. The mysterious stranger keeps her company via text all day and Maya feels silly for wanting to meet him. Is it possible to fall in love with someone that you've never met?

First of all - did I give a four star rating to a level one steam romance??? WHO DIS??? I like my romance novels to be steamy but this one had such an engrossing story that I didn't even think twice about the lack of steam. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book despite the fact that there wasn't one sex scene in it!

Being a romance fan, I was hooked into this book from the start, where Maya talks about her dreams of becoming a published romance novelist. She thinks of everything in terms of romance stories and she is constantly cooking up storylines based on little tidbits from her real life experiences. I loved this about her!

I am going to try to keep my thoughts on the male main character vague so that I don't spoil the plot, but just know that he stole my heart from that first day they "met" via text. Then as the story progressed and as I learned more about him, he made me swoon over and over again!

I read this book in four hours in one sitting! I needed to know how the book would pan out, even though I predicted pretty early on who the mystery man was going to be. I just NEEDED to see how they would fall for each other in person.

This is a very sweet and quick romance read set in a small town that I really enjoyed!

Steam level: 🔥
⚠️: infidelity

Read this if you:
*have ever taken an Uber or Lyft
*have ever planned a surprise for you significant other
*love the beach
*believe in fate

What if the “Lift” driver who finds your cheating boyfriend's phone holds the directions to true love? That’s all I’m going to stay about this because you should go in as blind as you can

What a fun buddy read with @booksandbedtime & @emilyisoverbooked

Thank you @netgalley and Aria for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub day: Sept 2

The novel starts by Maya finding out her boyfriend has cheated on her and alone in a strange city, she joins forces with her boyfriends lyft driver and goes on an adventure via text . The book is a completely different genre to my normal read but this is a perfect summer book. Ideal for holidays.
It had romance and friendship and the author a brought the characters and the places to life.
Although slightly predictable I thoroughly enjoyed this book by Olivia Novel.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Looking for a lighthearted rom-com, similar to “You Got Mail,” with a dreamy hero and an almost epistolary beginning? Add The Meeting Point by Olivia Lara, releasing on September 2nd, to your TBR.

It’s Maya’s birthday and she is flying to surprise her boyfriend, David, who is away on a business trip; he doesn’t answer her calls or texts as he left his phone in his ride share, but the driver responds by asking if she is the blonde woman he was hooking up with. Of course, Maya is upset to hear about her cheating boyfriend, and feels lost on her birthday, when the driver who she calls “Max” befriends her and offers to send her an itinerary for an adventure. Although Maya and Max never meet, they form a connection throughout the day as they exchange text messages and banter. The magical day ends in a less-than-magical way, and a year later, Maya is determined to find Max in Carmel-by-the-Sea.

What I loved:
💕love at first text concept. The characters get to know each other through the written word - and I love that idea.
💕 Maya’s growth throughout the book. She finally gets the strength to leave the toxic job and the cheating boyfriend and take what she wants in life.
💕”Max” - it’s pretty easy to figure out who Max is early in the book, but it doesn’t make him any less attractive. The dates he plans for Maya are completely swoon worthy.
💕the setting is beautiful, almost a character in its own right.

The story was predictable but cute, and the town was beautiful. At times, the end felt a little too neatly wrapped up, and I did wish the two characters had communicated better earlier in the story (the last “big misunderstanding” felt too easily avoided). Finally, this is a more clean romance - I do wish we had more steam in this one.

Overall, it was a great read - perfect for a pool day. Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC.

This was my first book by this author and I was pleasantly surprised!

Although the plot appears to be predictable, there was a twist towards the end which kept me guessing and wanting to find out more.

The slow build up of chemistry between the characters was a joy to read and although their initial connection only happens via text, their bond was so strong that it leaves a lasting impression on both of them.

I really enjoyed the way to two MC's spent time in Carmel getting to know each other. It was sweet to see how they developed feelings even though they were both guarded and hesitant.

The different POV's about their meeting really reinforced how strong their chemistry had been and added to the swoon factor.

The ending really tied everything together nicely and answered a lot of questions ! I enjoyed this a lot :)

Thanks to NetGalley and Aria Aries for providing me with a free ARC digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

A completely chemistry-less romance. Something felt off the whole read and I have to chalk it up to the incredibly creepy ‘romantic’ day that underpins the entire book. The heroine is TSTL. And the H/h fail to have distinct voices. The dialogue is leaden, the characterisation underwhelming and the author relies on place.

The hype for this book on Instagram was pretty real in my feed, so I snatched this one up when given the chance.

Maya shows up in San Francisco too surprise her long term boyfriend on her birthday weekend, only to be told via text on his forgotten phone that his Lift driver saw him with another woman. Maya declared it the worst birthday ever, and upon hearing that it was a special day, the Lift driver takes her on an adventure via text. They arrange to meet, but Maya gets stood up. Fast forward a year, and Maya finds out that author Ethan Delphy is releasing a book that mirrors her story exactly, with one exception: it’s told from the driver’s perspective. Ethan is known for borrowing stories from his friends, so Maya sets out to meet Ethan and try to get information on the Lift driver so she can figure out what went wrong.

This book is exactly what you think it is, which is both a pro and a con. It’s a cute love story, with characters that you care about without getting too overly invested. The ending is fairly predictable and I found myself almost frustrated at how Maya couldn’t see what was right in front of her.

This is a good, cute romance. If you’re looking for a lighthearted, feel-good read, this is a good choice.

Have you ever started a book but you did not care that it had a predictable ending because it was so cute? Well, that was this book. Book meets girl in an unexpected way, they have internal obstacles to overcome, they end up happy. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone that wants a good easy romance. It’s not gonna make you want to change who you are as a human but it will make you be happy to be part of a world where books like this exist.

This was a struggle to finish. I only kept going to find out who Max really was.. Cute premise, but the main character, Maya, was immature and unlikeable. I know this was an ARC, but there were so many gaps and continuity errors that it threw me out of the story.

I appreciate the opportunity to have read this digital ARC in return for an honest review.

This was book so lovely. A truly great Rom-com read- like a movie night in with your best girlfriends and all your favourite snacks, it was really enjoyable!

This is the story of Maya whose life falls apart just before her birthday only for the day to be saved by a mysterious and kind stranger over text who gives her a perfect day in the delightful town of Carmel by Sea. Fast forward a year later and Maya returns to Carmel to track down her mystery love but of course everything does not quite go to plan on this quest!

I guessed the twist in this plot quite early on so although the ending wasn't a big surprise it was exactly what I was after - this is escapism, who wants a realistic end to a love story?!

This was an easy and genuinely fun read that I was quite happy to lose a few hours to and could easily see being adapted into a movie that I would love to watch!

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book on return fir an honest review.

This is your archetypal #romance, an easy book to read.
This is boy meets girl, set in the 21st Century, with all its relevant tech. Boy does not exactly meet girl: they get to know one another over 24 hours via text.
Maya has been hurt, let down and left shattered. In an attempt to soothe her wounded heart, she leaves New York for a get away in California, where she has an encounter via text message that haunts her for 12 months. A year later, she learns that a book based on her special day out is about to be published. Intrigued and more than a little piqued, she returns to track down the man who claims to know the one who sent the texts.
Whilst in town she meets Celjne and her author brother Ethan.
The basic premise of this warm read is good, although I found the ending a little predictable.
A light, easy read, I recommend “The Meeting Point”.

Cute, Cute, Cute! THis was a fresh and new contemporary romance. A Lift driver finds a phone in his backseat after dropping a couple off. He answers the call from Maya, the girlfriend, assuming she was the woman he dropped off with the man who left his phone. After a brief description of what the couple looked like, Maya discovers her boyfriend has been cheating on her. In a plan that was meant to surprise her boyfriend, ends with Maya single on her birthday. The mystery Lift driver comes to the rescue in efforts to cheer her up. Where will things go from there?
This was a very interesting uhh meet cute? Obviously it's sad the boyfriend was cheating, but the way Maya finds out and what it leads to is satisfying. An example of how things can go wrong, but maybe something good comes out of it! If you're a romantic and want a sweet love story, check this one out!

The Meeting Point was such a fun read and almost immediately I was sucked into the plot and invested in Maya's story. The relationship felt relatable as did her decision making; it was practical and what most people would do given the circumstances. I love how Maya's character grew and took chances knowing the "what if" might be worse than getting out of her comfort zone. If you're looking for an easy and captivating story of what happens when you take chances and believe in yourself, you should pick up The Meeting Point on September 2nd.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The chemistry between Maya and "Max" was off the charts- there were multiple times that I found myself smiling and giggling while reading their banter and honestly their chemistry leapt off of every single page. I so adored this book, it was a perfect summer read for me!