Meet Cute by Various

Meet Cute by Various
Release Date - January 2, 2018

Publisher Website - Raincoast Books
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages -  224 pages
My Rating - 4/5
**received for an honest review from publisher**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Whether or not you believe in fate, or luck, or love at first sight, every romance has to start somewhere. MEET CUTE is an anthology of original short stories featuring tales of "how they first met" from some of today’s most popular YA authors.

Readers will experience Nina LaCour's beautifully written piece about two Bay Area girls meeting via a cranky customer service Tweet, Sara Shepard's glossy tale about a magazine intern and a young rock star, Nicola Yoon's imaginative take on break-ups and make-ups, Katie Cotugno's story of two teens hiding out from the police at a house party, and Huntley Fitzpatrick's charming love story that begins over iced teas at a diner. There’s futuristic flirting from Kass Morgan and Katharine McGee, a riveting transgender heroine from Meredith Russo, a subway missed connection moment from Jocelyn Davies, and a girl determined to get out of her small town from Ibi Zoboi. Jennifer Armentrout writes a sweet story about finding love from a missing library book, Emery Lord has a heartwarming and funny tale of two girls stuck in an airport, Dhonielle Clayton takes a thoughtful, speculate approach to pre-destined love, and Julie Murphy dreams up a fun twist on reality dating show contestants.

This incredibly talented group of authors brings us a collection of stories that are at turns romantic and witty, epic and everyday, heartbreaking and real.

The meet cute is an important moment in any rom-com. They are one of my personal favourite tropes simply because they tend to leave you with a smile on your face. They are usually adorable, or hilarious, or overtly romantic. Sometimes they are a combination of the three. The thing about a meet cute is it not only lets the reader (or viewer) know that the love interests  have met, but it allows them to believe in the magic spark that could happen when two people meet for the first time.

Anthologies are becoming increasingly popular. The best ones offer a collection of stories that are equally complimentary to each other, and I feel Meet Cute accomplishes that. They stories are all varied, and look at the premise differently, which allows the reader to look at all the different kinds of meet cutes. Not all of them end in happily ever after, but sometimes the promise of something is just as heart warming.

I am going to highlight just a few of my favourite stories within this particular anthology and why the stood out for me:

Emery Lord's story of two girls flirting and forming a connection while stuck in an airport was easily one of my favourites. I wanted more of these characters. The adorable banter, and use of Marvel character nicknames won my heart, and made it so that I would have happily read another 300 pages of these girls falling in love.

Dhonielle Clayton's story made me even more eager to read The Belles. Her writing is strong, and the story was thought provoking. It was the story I wanted to most discuss and dissect with people after I finished reading it.

Katharine McGee's futuristic look at flirting and 'online' dating was another favourite. It was romantic and highlights chemistry and a connection with someone can take you by surprise.

Katie Cotugno fans will be happy to hear that her short story is reminiscent of her other books. It's another one that I wished was fleshed out to a full book because I enjoyed getting to see these two characters spark.

I feel there really is something for everyone within this anthology. There is bound to be at least one story that you enjoy, and all of them have bright spots within them.

A fun, enjoyable read for those who love anthologies. It's a great book to pick up if you're wanting something light and funny, especially after a darker read. The only downside to this style of story telling is that you're often left wanting more, kind of like a really good meet cute between characters.