This is one of those books that makes me wish we could rate a book with half stars. As I would have liked to give it a 3.5 instead of a 3.

When I read the blurb for this book, I thought it would be right up my street and sounded like the perfect rom-com scenario. Lydia McKenzie is not a runner. Not even close. But in her quest to be taken seriously at work – and catch the eye of her office crush – she signs up for the New York City Marathon as part of her architectural firm’s outreach program.

Both Luke and Lydia are very likeable characters, and I read the book in one sitting. The chemistry wasn't exactly off the scale, but the banter between the pair defintely made up for this. The book made me laugh out loud a few times while reading it, so I will be looking out for more books by the author, it is the first I have read by Elizabeth Hrib but it won't be the last. The writing style flowed really well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Afterglow Books by Harlequin for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lydia and Luke's chemistry from their first meeting was electric and the instant banter made for a very funny read. The story was very well paced, so there was no chance of getting bored.

I loved Lydia's determination with marathon training and felt that Elizabeth Hrib did such a good job to keep the training timeline and difficulties realistic.

I had a funny feeling about Jake from the outset and knew that he wasn't the person Lydia thought he was.

The book is a slow burn, however it was great to see how Lydia and Luke develop both in their personal lives and together. Lydia's shift from trying to fit in to knowing her self worth was very inspirational.

Thank you to NetGalley, Elizabeth Hrib and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Fab read, a running romance. Lydia and Luke meet properly when she needs a trainer after signing up to run a marathon. As they spend more time together will it turn in to more, or will her office crush ruin everything. I liked how it was told from both points of view, and a good amount of backstory for them both.

Set in New York, Lydia is an architect who wants to run the New York marathon for charity and impress her work colleagues. As we realise from the first chapter, Lydia is not a natural athlete, but under the guidance of her Personal Trainer, Luke, who she met serendipitously, she has a chance to finish the race. Their professional relationship complicates a strong attraction between Lydia and Luke, but forced proximity and similar social and work ethics draw them together. I like the main characters and invested in them as a couple. I like the humorous dialogue between them and the contemporary urban setting.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

This one caught me off guard in the best way! I love it when a romance is told from both perspectives, and the meet-cute between Lydia and Luke couldn’t have been more charming. Their lives intersect at exactly the right moment, and the connection they share feels authentic from the start.

Lydia signs up to run the New York Marathon with her architecture firm, mostly to impress her boss and office crush. But after bumping into Luke, a personal trainer, she quickly recruits him to coach her through it. What stands out is how driven and passionate they both are in their respective fields, which creates an immediate bond between them.

What I enjoyed most was how supportive they were of each other. This isn’t a heavy or overly dramatic romance—Lydia’s journey is just as much about her personal growth as it is about love. She’s strong and ambitious, pushing herself not only to conquer the marathon but also to figure out what she wants from her career.

As for Luke, he’s impossible not to adore. His interactions with the kids at the youth centre are especially heart-melting, and his dream of opening a gym that offers affordable classes for underprivileged kids adds depth to his character. The relationship between him and Lydia unfolds naturally, making it a genuinely sweet and feel-good story.

http://thesecretbookreview.co.uk

Firstly, thank-you to @netgalley (not thank-you for yet another faulty formatting) and @millsandboonuk for giving me access to this ARC! 🥰

In all honesty, I really am struggling with books sent via NetGalley at the moment as there are so many formatting issues that this is only affecting the authors trying to promote their books! I have contacted them and was basically told I was stupid because I cannot comprehend reading sentences split onto different lines and words split on lines too! I am however, extremely glad I decided to battle through and read this book! ❤ Now let's talk a review!

This book follows Lydia and Luke as the bump into each other in New York! Lydia then agrees to run a marathon and ends up with Luke as her personal trainer! 🥰 This is such a lovely, light hearted read and I really enjoyed the story, the development and the characters in this book! ❤ it had the right amount of slow-burn and the perfect level of spice for the books I read! I would recommend this book! The formatting genuinely dropped the star for me (and that is not the author's fault!) ❤

Meet Me In A mile follows Lydia, an architect, and Luke, a personal trainer. After Lydia finds herself signing up to run the New York Marathon to impress her office crush, she needs a professional to help her get race ready — which is where Luke comes in. They spend most mornings together running and as the miles are increasing, so is the tension between them. But given their trainer/ client dynamic, they are both unsure of how to deal with their undeniable chemistry. Will they be able to figure things out before mile 26?

This was such a fun read! If you're looking for a quick, fast-paced palate cleanser or the perfect remedy for a reading slump, then this is the perfect book for you. Both Lydia and Luke are highly likeable, interesting characters to read about and because of this, you root for their success and love as you are reading. I loved how the plot focused on not only the romance, but also the career pressures that both of the protagonists were facing — it made what could have otherwise seemed too good to be true remain routed in some sense of normalcy. The third person POV made for a well-rounded view of the plot as a whole and the element of the youth centre was both particularly heartwarming and a clever way to link the two characters lives in a way that went further than just running. The setting of New York was also lovely. Honourable mentions would be the voicemail scene (!!!!!!) and the meet-cute.

A cute, banter-filled rom-com. would highly recommend! Thank you NetGalley and Mills & Boon for the arc. This releases on the 26th of September 2024!

Meet Me In A Mile
4.5⭐️

Publication date - 26th September

* Dual POV
* Workplace Romance
* He Falls First

Lydia McKenzie is not a runner, but she’s signed up to run the NYC Marathon. All to impress her architectural firm and her workplace crush.
Personal trainer Luke Townsend is definitely a runner and is exactly what Lydia needs to get her ready to run the marathon. But when things heat up and they end up running to the bedroom, can they keep their relationship strictly professional??

I adored this book right from the start! It’s a perfect easy going rom-com that you can’t help but love 🥰

It’s obvious that both Luke and Lydia have chemistry from the very start. The plot was well thought out and the characters were great, definitely could see this story happening in real life.

Thank you @millsandbookuk & @netgalley for sending me an early release.

*"Meet Me In A Mile" by Elizabeth Hrib is a beautifully written novel that captures the emotional depth of love, loss, and second chances. Hrib’s storytelling is engaging, with characters that feel genuine and relatable. The protagonist's journey through personal and romantic struggles is filled with heartwarming moments and difficult choices, making this a compelling and deeply human story. Hrib’s delicate exploration of relationships, timing, and destiny resonates with readers long after the final page. With its emotional honesty and poignant reflections, *Meet Me In A Mile* is a must-read for anyone who enjoys heartfelt, character-driven fiction.*

Lydia and Luke are the kind of couple you get to watch grow together organically throughout the book- the sort you know will stay together long after the book ends. I loved Luke's determination and drive to work at the youth centre and I loved that even though there was a love triangle, we were never in doubt that Luke was really Lydia's number one!

This book showed the realities of training for a marathon and I really enjoyed the combination of that with topics including architecture, sustainability and youth centres. I would have liked more side character development (particularly Eric and Kirsten!) And I do think the lack of development on Jack made the plotline predictable, but the relationship between Luke and Lydia was just delightfully wholesome.

How to get noticed and get ahead in your career? Volunteer to run the New York Marathon when running anywhere has never been on your radar. That's what Lydia does, and when it puts her in the path of the trainer she literally bumped into at her sister's gym, she finds her plans and priorities shifting unexpectedly.
The story was at its best when both Luke and Lydia were on the page - their banter and blatant chemistry really worked well. Their relationship, dictated by the marathon training and enhanced by the coincidence of the youth centre project, developed in a realistic manner and I liked the parallels of both of them encountering obstacles while trying to follow their career dreams. I was less convinced by the Jack subplot which dragged a little and concluded rather abruptly, but at least it encouraged Lydia to work on some slightly annoying characteristics. This was witty, pacy (appropriately for a romance based around running) and a light, enjoyable read.

This was such a cute read!! The main characters were great and I loved seeing them fall in love. Their chemistry was great and their banter was fun - what else could you want?

It was so good to see not only one but both characters pursuing their dreams and progress in their careers. And the way they both encouraged and supported each other during the process only made it better! I loved it🥰

Quite often short books like this leave so much stuff underdeveloped but that wasn’t the case here. It didn’t even feel rushed!

Thank you to Afterglow and Netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, mixing two of the things in life that bring me the most joy… romance and running! I picked this up based on the title / cover and was so pleased I did. A heartwarming book filled with banter, flirting, friendship, a running challenge, career progression, running metaphors, romance and him falling first. Loved the pace of this and level of banter and spice! A great holiday read, pallet cleanser and feel good book.

4.25 🌟
Tbh I really enjoyed this. Dual perspective rom com, following a FMC training for a marathon with a personal trainer. The slow burn energy was high, and I was here for that to be honest. Add in the kind of love triangle with her unrequited office crush, and her love for architecture (her job) there were lots of little quirks and opportunities for romance. Not to mention, I feel like I picked up a few running tips from this too for if I ever decide to run 🤣

Generally a cute, easy read and the ending had me swinging my legs and smiling 😃

A cute read, definitely ticking all the favourite for older genz or younger millennials, including the sustainability angle and the social impact aspect.
I never really get to feel excited by the story or the budding romance that was overall a bit flat...I did find myself skim reading some of the parts.
A nice easy read.

meet me in a mile was such a cute romcom that delivered on ALL fronts..

overall this book was really easy to read and i loved learning about lydia and luke .. it was clear they had CHEMISTRY from the off. it was exactly what i needed and i felt so much joy reading it.

plot ―୨୧⋆ ˚ the plot was fun and dynamic and i really felt that it made the whole book much easier to read.. the problems and solutions surrounding both lydia’s and luke’s jobs added a lot of depth to the story

characters ―୨୧⋆ ˚ i loved reading from both lydia and luke’s point of view and i found their relationship so cute (despite the slight miscommunication and slowwwwburn) although , for me this didn’t take away from the story at all and i felt that the slow burn was natural and made sense .. in other words i could perfectly imagine this happening in real life.

overall, i loved this book as a perfect romcom ! i was invested in the general plot that the ending nearly had me cheering on multiple fronts !

Thank you Mills and Boon and NetGalley for giving me this ARC to review.

Sprint into this new sports romance that will have you kicking your feet and falling head over heels.

If you asked Lydia McKenzie if her favourite hobby was running or any exercised related activity of the sort, she'd laugh in your face. Yet when her work-place crush, Jack, proposes running the New York Marathon as part of an outreach programme for her architectural firm, Lydia finds herself volunteering. The idea of running twenty six miles makes Lydia want to shove her head in the sand, but if it means showing herself as a team player to her firm and getting to be called Jack's running buddy, surely it isn't a bad idea... right?

Luke Townsend is the easy on the eyes personal trainer that is going to help Lydia cross the finish line. But when the attractive pull towards Lydia's ambition and passion has the pair blurring the professional lines between trainer and client or something more, it seems as though the New York Marathon is not the only up-hill battle the pair need to prepare for...

This is my first time reading Elizabeth Hrib and I am pleasantly surprised with how much I devoured this story! The perfect recipe of a gripping plot, witty banter, and spice makes Meet Me In A Mile a book that is too tempting, you simply cannot resist. I cannot wait to read more of Elizabeth's books!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
4 stars book from me. Loved the plot and the stories in this book. Loved every single second reading it.

This was such a fun read! The developing feelings between Luke and Lydia was beautifully written and I was rooting for them the whole way through. I will definitely be reading more by this author <3

This was a really fun read, and better than I expected (I guess I have certain stereotypes about Mills & Boon as a publisher). Alongside the romance, I was interested to see how the running aspect of the plot would be handled, as I'm a runner myself, and I'm glad to say that the author obviously knows what she's talking about when it comes to marathon training.

I liked main character Lydia, and I appreciated her confidence and ambition (even if she does only sign up to run the New York Marathon because she has a crush on a colleague at the architectural firm where she works). Luke, the personal trainer who she enlists to help her train, was adorable, and the development of their relationship was very believable. Side plots about Lydia's issues at work and Luke's desire to start his own business added more depth to the plot.

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review - I really enjoyed it.