Meant To Be by Lauren Morrill Book Review

It’s really hard for me to begin to write a review of a book that I thoroughly enjoyed.  Like, how do I perfectly convey the flaily arms, shouty voice feeling I got after reading Meant To Be by Lauren Morrill. Y’all, I totally ate this book up. Like, whenever I had a spare moment I would crack open my kindle and read. That’s rare for me lately, because I’ve been more in the mood for TV than reading or blogging.

Meant To Be Lauren Morrill Book Cover

Main character Julia is basically a Type-A personality, meaning she’s super organized, kind of judgmental and bossy. When her BFF has to bail on a class trip to London, Julia is stuck being partnered with class clown Jason, and honestly? It’s her version of Hell, as he deviates from the schedule and is quite the trouble maker. You see, Julia is very much a by the book kind of girl. Anyways, Jason convinces Julia to let loose at a party. The next day she wakes up to a pounding hangover and mysterious, romantic texts from someone named Chris. With Jason’s help, Julia runs all over London trying to track down love and her Meant To Be.

As a person, I am nothing like Julia or Jason. Like, are you guys kidding me? I consistently procrastinate instead of getting things all done ahead of time like Julia does. However, I also don’t act like a total idiot in public like Jason. That’s not to say that I didn’t like or was unable to relate to the two characters. I know some people thought Julia was kind of a pain in the rear, but I liked her. I love reading books about uptight girls who realize it’s okay to loosen up. Plus, you guys I had a lot of empathy for Julia. You see, her dad died when she was really young and she was left with this impression of a Meant  To Be where basically in life each person has someone with whom it is meant  to be and she won’t settle for less. Anyways, plenty of life lessons are learned.

Morrill is a competent writer.  If you are a fan of Stephanie Perkins’ writing style, chances are you will be a fan of Meant To Be as well. The pacing is wonderful in that I was so sucked in to this world of London and mysterious text messages and annoying trip buddies, that the time spent reading Meant To Be passed very quickly. I was never bogged down by boring superflous purple prose or anything. And frankly, when I am in a tiny bit of a slump, getting sucked in is exactly what I am looking for. I know we don’t all deal with slumps the same way, but if your reading preferences and habits are similar to mine, chances are Meant To Be will be a great slump buster for you.

Y’all, if your primary objective when reading YA is to recapture that old school swooning feeling, THIS IS THE BOOK. Like, the entire time while reading Meant To Be I was rooting for the goofball, what can I say, I have a soft spot for class clowns. There’s a certain scene in Meant To Be that takes place in a field with some rain where I am pretty sure you’ll be with me on team Goofball and will totally be like YES THAT IS WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT. YES SIR. As far as contemporary young adult romances go, I was very pleased with this book and it’s outcome.

If you’ve got a soft spot for the whole opposites attract trope, like reading about teenagers in a strange land (London HOLLA), and do not mind stick in the mud characters, you need to get your hands on Meant To Be by Lauren Morrill as soon as possible. For reals, I am feeling the need to purchase whatever Morrill comes out with in the future because I was so satisfied by Meant To Be and it definitely helped that slump.

Disclosure: Received for review via Netgalley

Other reviews of Meant To Be by Lauren Morrill:

Bewitched Bookworms – “I am excited to tell that this book delivered everything it promised!!

YA Librarian Tales – “For me, it was just an okay reading experience but that should not stop you from discovering it for yourself

Rather Be Reading – “Book Licker. I fell in love with this book at the first mention of Book Licker

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April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.
About April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

Comments

  1. Uhm YES to all of this. Fabulous review, April! I am with you – I liked Julia so much because she was a stick in the mud but her growth was really well done, you know? Anyway, Lauren is for sure on my auto buy list after Meant to Be.

  2. I’m reading this one now, and it’s one of those where it feels like it was written for me, because pretty much every line is hilarious and clever and makes me want to give Lauren Morrill ALL OF THE HIGH FIVES. 😀

    So glad you loved it utterly too!

  3. UM YES. I was Julia in high school and I went through some similar feelings as far as Jason goes in this book. LOVE LOVE LOVED it. Spot on review! YES team goofball all the way ESPECIALLY with the field scene. Holy wow.

  4. Great review – I love Stephanie Perkins, so this has been on my TBR forever. CAN’T WAIT.

  5. Oh my gosh, I can’t wait to read this book. I feel like I’ve been waiting all year to get my hands on it. November is almost here! So glad to hear you enjoyed it. And I love Stephanie Perkins, so now I am even more excited to read Meant to Be.

  6. Since I’m a huge fan of the “opposites attract” thing and I love Stephenie Perkins, I’m going to find that book ASAP!

  7. Ahhh, this sounds adorable! I’m definitely a fan of Perkins’ writing, so I’ll have to check this out. I’ll be honest, it’s cover is one of my recent favorites.

  8. So glad you liked this one, April! I did, too. I found Julia’s character to be so refreshing. I liked that she wasn’t perfect and that she had quirks. Oh, and that scene you mentioned? The one in the rain? HELL YES.

    • HELL YES RAIN SCENE.

      I liked her quirks and imperfections too. I tend to be forgiving of imperfect characters as well, so like when I notice people disliking them, I usually tend to like them, if that makes sense.

  9. A comparison to Stephanie Perkins? Sold! Enjoyed your review, I’m glad you enjoyed the book, too. It sounds cute!

    • YES. Meant To Be reminded me of Stephanie Perkins’ writing in a lot of ways, especially in that it is unapologetically romantic, yet the characters are still interesting and it’s not like a huge sap fest, but in the end your heart will swell a few sizes.

  10. I so wanted to love this, but ah well, it wasn’t for me. I’m glad you enjoyed it, April. It’s funny that you compare her to Steph Perkins because I wasn’t completely sold on Anna and the French Kiss either but I adored Lola and the Boy Next Door. I’ll definitely give Lauren Morrill’s second book a shot.

    • That always sucks, when a book turns out to just not work for you when you really wanted it too.

      See, I LOVED Anna And The French Kiss, but merely liked very much Lola, like it was close to love but not quite. I hope you end up loving Morrill’s second book when it comes out!

  11. I loved this one so much! And YAY for the goofball. Jason was so great and really different than most YA love interests.

    • I thought Jason was a pretty good love interest, in that he remained entirely himself, a total goofball and didn’t change or anything for Julia, but rather they brought out the best in each other. Plus, no annoying brooding. Thank goodness.

  12. I’ve been extremely excited ever since I first heard about this book, because it sounds like it’ll be a perfect fit for me! I can’t wait to read it, especially since you had such a glowing review. I absolutely ADORE a goofball, and can’t wait to meet Jason!

  13. A slump buster, you say? I’m not currently in one, but I need something to cheer me up after the funk I was left with once I finished UNSPOKEN by Sarah Rees Brennan, which should really be titled UNSPEAKABLE. Because it did unspeakably horrible things to my mind and soul and I want to curl into a balloon of nothing and just pop and explode and watch the whole world go wrong. Do you see where I’m going with this? So you just helped me out here, April. Thank you. I will read my ARC now like a responsible book blogger.

    • I have to pick up a copy of UNSPOKEN at some point.

      See, I think you’ll LOVE this one because it will cheer you up plus I imagine it’s very different from Unspoken, being a contemporary book and all and I think that reading books that are different from each other really helps with funks.

      <3

  14. I think I’m really going to like this book especially because Julia kind of reminds me of me although I do procrastinate a lot.

  15. OK, I want to read this book now because of your review. It sounds like a nice fun read, and I’m so in the mood for one of those.

  16. I always root for the goofball and class clown too! Maybe because I can be that way sometimes, but I also channel some of the type-A aspect, too. This totally sounds like a fun read, and I haven’t read any YA set specifically in London, yet. Great review. =)

  17. Haha, I totally called Jason a goofball too.
    I am very much like Julia but I only realized it, I think, after I read this. Not exactly like her, but very much like her. And I think that is one of the reasons why I liked this book so much. But even more than that, Lauren Morrill wrote a genuinely FUNNY book, and honest-to-God romantic comedy that really made me laugh out loud instead of just thinking to myself “Oh, that’s funny, haha.” That deserves acknowledgement to me because I think for a debut, that is awesome. Plus HELLO SETTING – girl had it going on. I have never really wanted to go to London all that much, but it just may be on my bucket list now thanks to this book. I can tell she really has a passion for the city because her characters have that passion and that is awesome. Just fun. Pencil-using, complex-note-taking with bullet-points, over-prepared fun. (Just like me.)