Meant To Be - Lauren Morrill
Book Synopsis: Meant to be or not meant to be... that is the question.
It's one thing to fall head over heels into a puddle of hazelnut coffee, and quite another to fall for the - gasp - wrong guy. Straight-A junior Julia may be accident prone, but she's the queen of following rules and being prepared. That's why she keeps a pencil sharpener in her purse and a pocket Shakespeare in her.. well, pocket. Julia also believes in fate, and that Mark, her childhood crush, is her MTB - her meant-to-be.
But this spring break, Julia's rules are about to get defenestrated (SAT word: thrown from a window) when she's partnered with her personal nemesis, class clown Jason, on a school trip to London. After one wild party, Julia starts receiving romantic texts... from an unknown number! Jason promises to help discover the identity of her mysterious new suitor if she agrees to live a little along the way. And thus begins a wild-goose chase through London, leading Julia closer and closer to the biggest surprise of all: true love.
Because sometimes the things you least expect are the most meant to be.
Is fate a real thing? Are there really things in life that are just meant to be? There is no one that is more prepared than Julia, however there is someone like Julia in all of us. I'm not saying that you should go around carrying a pocket Shakespeare or pencil sharpener in your bag, but a piece of Julia is in us, a part of you that has never done anything spontaneous... something that makes you feel alive!
"I made a face. I have my own e-reader, but I hardly ever use it. I need to fold down pages and flag passages with sticky notes. I need to experience books, not just read them." - Julia
It's funny that I feel the exact same way, minus the dog-earring of books. I am a purist and I like my books in mint condition.
I wanted to like this book, I honestly did. The beginning started out okay and the book did pick up at some parts, though the story dragged. Jason's humor was not my cup of tea, and I was a bit miffed by how predictable the story turned out to be.
I didn't see the appeal in Julia's childhood crush Mark at all. It was more of a mystery for me why she even liked him if he didn't even pay ANY attention to her. Maybe she liked the idea of Mark, she didn't really know him that well, and based her crush over events that happened when they were both children.
I guess I am a realist and I don't believe in Julia's idea of meant to be, and this book and I were definitely not MTB.
Rating: ★☆☆☆☆