The Meeting Point by Olivia Lara – Review

• Title: The Meeting Point
• Author: Olivia Lara
• Publisher: Aria on September 2, 2021
• Genre: Romantic Comedy
• Pages: 368
• Formats Available: Paperback, & Digital
• Rating: 5/5

Trigger Warnings: Bullying

Many thanks to Olivia Lara and Aria for providing me with a digital copy of The Meeting Point with a request for an honest review. Also, thanks to The Write Reads Tours for inviting me on this tour and providing the materials for this post.

Some of the links on this blog are affiliate links, which means that I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Order Now: Amazon US | Amazon UK

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About The Meeting Point

What if the Lift driver who finds your cheating boyfriend’s phone holds the directions to true love?

‘Who are you and why do you have my boyfriend’s phone?’

‘He left it in my car. You must be the blonde in the red dress? I’m the Lift driver who dropped you two off earlier.’

And with these words, the life of the brunette and t-shirt wearing Maya Maas is turned upside down. Having planned to surprise her boyfriend, she finds herself single and stranded in an unknown city on her birthday.

So when the mystery driver rescues Maya with the suggestion that she cheers herself up at a nearby beach town, she jumps at the chance to get things back on track. She wasn’t expecting a personalised itinerary or the easy companionship that comes from opening up to a stranger via text, let alone the possibility it might grow into something more…

Come on this 5* journey to love, laughter and back again, perfect for fans of Mhairi McFarlane, Josie Silver and Sally Thorne.

Provided by The Write Reads Tours for Tour use.

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My Review

The Meeting Point by Olivia Lara is not your average rom-com. The story is completely original. Yet has those silly misunderstandings that all romance novels have. But, this book didn’t only meet expectations but blasted all the way through to phenomenal.

Maya lives a stunted life. She works at a job with no potential for growth, not to mention the boss is a bully. But, on a birthday whim, Maya heads to California from New York to meet up with her boyfriend. And, he turns out to be the biggest loser on the planet. Though, Maya finds salvation in a Lift driver. This driver accidentally informs Maya that her boyfriend is a cheat. But, he takes her on the most beautiful journey. Unfortunately, real-life beats down Maya’s door, and her dreams shatter. Back in New York, Maya feels lonely and depressed. She realizes that her life is going nowhere. After a year of this, Maya packs up and leaves to find the man who made her fall in love through text. Will Maya’s fairytale come true?

I wasn’t quite sure what I thought of Maya in the beginning. She seemed a bit down in the mouth and weak. She came to grow on me as the book went on, especially her jaunt to Carmel on the Sea for her birthday. She acted strong and brave. It was then that I fell in love with her myself. As her story moved on, I put her back in that coward spot. She makes too many assumptions and does her best to wreck her life. But, this is the same problem I have with most contemporary romances. Why are women of today acting like cowards and why so needy? Can’t we have strong females in the 21st century?

The entire town of Carmel on the Sea knows who Maya is when she returns to find her dream man. Though, not one of them lets the cat out of the bag. The townsfolk let her find out for herself, which made the story a lot more fun. I loved how Maya blindly trusted a stranger who led her on my fantasy vacation. I found it easy to picture myself as the main character of this novel. Maya’s one-day birthday surprise is everything I’ve ever dreamed about having. The perfect man, on the perfect beach, with the perfect cup of hot cocoa as I sat around a bonfire. Yes, this is my ultimate fantasy at play.

I also adored that Maya writes little love stories about people she sees. Her random thoughts made me smile. And, strangely enough, I tend to do the same. There is nothing more fun than people watching and making up stories about them in my head. I’ve never written any down, but it is still fun to think them up. My daughter and I even make up stories about the dogs we see out for a walk in the neighborhood. 

I want to take a moment to thank Olivia Lara for bringing this amazing story into my life. Seeing myself in Maya made this book so special for me. I admit to full-on sobbing through the last quarter of the book. Not because the story is sad, but because it is so beautiful and so me. So thank you again, Olivia. 

I award The Meeting Point a full 5 out of 5 stars. Contemporary romances are not my thing. I much prefer historical romances, but this lovely tome makes the exception. If you need a little pick me up, I recommend you read this book. I read this book in one day because I couldn’t put it down. If you love romance, this one has the most down-to-earth characters I’ve come across in a long time.

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About the Author – Olivia Lara

As a child, Olivia not-so-quietly ‘observed’ (AKA bothered with countless questions) her grandfather — who worked for the biggest publishing house in Romania — edit hundreds of books. And when he wasn’t editing, he read. Everything, all the time. Just like her father, who wrote short sci-fi stories, and was set on building the largest library she’d ever seen and her mother who’s never found without a book…wherever she goes. Her love for words came naturally, and after studying marketing, communications & photography, Olivia worked as a journalist for a newspaper and news television network in Romania.

An unapologetic citizen of the world, she spent a few years in Greece, Sweden, France, before settling in sunny California with her photographer husband and young daughter, where she works in marketing and writes. Oh, and let’s not forget the ever-growing menagerie that completes the family: Pumpkin, the Maine Coon mix, three black cats and a siamese kitten.

When she’s not writing or thinking about writing, she reads (across genres), watches old movies and collects vintage books, vinyl records, and eerie paintings. She loves traveling (and can’t wait until she can do it again, safely), swimming, biking, hiking and of course, photography.

SOMEDAY IN PARIS, her debut, published by Aria Fiction/Head of Zeus in May 2020 became a B&N, Apple, Kobo and Amazon Top 100 Bestseller and was shortlisted for the Romantic Novel Awards 2021. Her second novel, THE MEETING POINT, a contemporary romcom set in Northern California, is set to be published as an e-book on September 2, 2021 and in paperback in December 2021 in the UK and March, 2022 in the US.

Author Contact Links: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Website