Can you fall in love like they do in the movies?It’s Evie Summers’s job to find out. Because if she can’t convince her film agency’s biggest client, Ezra Chester, to write the romantic-comedy screenplay he owes producers, her career will be over. The catch? He thinks rom-coms are unrealistic–and he’ll only put pen to paper if Evie shows him that it’s possible to meet a man in real life the way … real life the way it happens on the big screen.
Cynical Evie might not believe in happily ever after, but she’ll do what it takes to save the job that’s been her lifeline . . . even if it means reenacting iconic rom-com scenes in public. Spilling orange juice on a cute stranger? No problem. Leaving her number in books all over London to see who calls? Done. With a little help from her well-meaning friends–and Ben and Anette, the adorable father-daughter duo who keep witnessing her humiliations–Evie is determined to prove she can meet a man the way Sally met Harry. But can a workaholic who’s given up on love find a meet-cute of her very own?
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Fans of Jill Mansell and, oh, every romantic comedy ever written will love this trope-tastic, laugh-out-loud beauty of a book. Can’t wait to see what Winters writes next.
Remember all those great meet-cutes from the movies? Well, we get to see them all again in Would Like to Meet, only those scenarios don’t work out quite the same way for our main character, Evie, as they did on the big screen. Some are hilarious and some are downright cringe-worthy, but the one thing Evie’s meet-cutes have in common is they all come together for an over-the-top bit of escapism. This story is not at all realistic, and it’s packed with almost every cliché you can name in chick lit and romantic comedy. It’s also quite predictable, and all of those things combined would usually be something I would scoff at, but in this story and with these characters, it all just worked. The story is fast-paced and just plain fun. The only drawback in this one is the lack of romance. It’s not hard to figure out who Evie will end up with, and there are some hints at romance here and there, but I really wanted more on that front. The characters are what really made this book for me. Clichéd or not, the characters each have their own distinctive personalities. They aren’t just window dressing. And my favorite would have to be young Annette, who stole the show every single time she appeared on the page. So, over-the-top? Absolutely. Clichéd? Yep. Predictable? You betcha. Nevertheless, Rachel Winters’ debut novel kept me turning pages and laughing out loud from start to finish. This wonderfully witty tale is perfect for curling up and forgetting the real world for a while, and I’ll be interested to see what this author does next.
3.5 Stars!
Would Like to Meet is the super cute debut novel from author Rachel Winters. Would Like to Meet follows the story of Evie Summers. Evie is dying to get the promotion that she deserves, however, in order for that to happen, Evie is going to have to save the day. You see the company she works for is in trouble and unless she can get Ezra to finish his latest script, she’s going to be out of a job. The problem with Ezra though is that he’s got major writer’s block. He strikes a deal with Evie. He’ll finish the script if Evie can prove that you can fall in love just like people do in the movies. With her future in jeopardy, Evie will do whatever it takes; even if that means subjecting herself to meet-cute situations over and over again. Will Evie save the day and her job? Will Evie finally have her own meet-cute and fall in love? There’s just one way to find out….
Overall, I thought this was a super cute and enjoyable read. As far as debut novels go, I thought this was a pretty good one. It had a lot of really great romcom elements. I found the story line to be fun, entertaining and totally unique. I loved the play on some very familiar romcom movies and all of the disastrous meet-cutes. The meet-cute situations were downright funny and super entertaining. They definitely kept me on my toes and had me wondering what Evie would get herself into next.
However, I did have a couple of issues with this story. I did find the plot to be a bit predicable at times and there were some instances where the pacing would lag. Those issues I can easily overlook as long as I’m having fun with the story. My biggest issue though was the romance or lack there of. We have two potential love interests for Evie and while there definitely is a pull towards one character more than the other, I would have liked to have seen more chemistry. I definitely felt like the potential was there with one of the characters, it just needed to be built up a bit more. I needed to feel their chemistry and be given a reason to want them to end up together instead of it just happening with no build up. So, the romance factor definitely left me wanting more.
Despite the issues that I had with this story, I’m still glad to have checked it out. Like as I said, as far as debut novels go, this one was very entertaining. I think this writer has a ton of really good potential and I’d definitely be in to checking out more from her in the future.
Evie was incredibly loveable that I really enjoyed rooting for! Her slips in professionalism never failed to make me laugh-out-loud as she attempted to wrestle/blackmail pages out of Ezra. Ben and Anette were adorable and always brought an extra level of charm to their scenes. The story was a bit predictable, but I don’t feel like it impacted my enjoyment in the least. There was plenty happening around the main storyline to keep me invested in the characters.
I never would have guessed this was a debut novel and I am excited to see what Rachel Winters comes up with next! If you love Sophie Ranald, Camille Pagan, and even Katherine Center then take a look at this sweet romance and tale of empowerment.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Ultimate favorite scene, when the female lead gets a makeover courtesy of one hot dude and she justs basically gives him a dressing down for being such a misogynist
If you adore romantic comedies, both print and movies, then Would Like to Meet is just the thing for you. For one, it’s basically like a story within a story, where meet cutes are the the plot device and our overworked and underappreciated heroine finally gets a shot at being promoted. It also is one of those tales that appears cutesy and is a hodgepodge of all those rom coms that you gobble up as quickly as chocolates but more importantly it’s also about finding yourself and believing in your own power and getting the guy as well.
Meet Evie, she’s an assistant for a talent agency specializing in screenwriters. Her boss has been stringing her along for seven years and her one shot at promotion has finally come, at a price. She must make sure that their star writer, Ezra Chase, gets his latest script done before the movie studio pulls the plug. Easier said than the done, because said scriptwriter might be gorgeous but he’s definitely a manchild, a superstar manchild but a manchild nonetheless. The other stumbling block, he’s supposed to write a romantic comedy. Excellent, for Evie breathes romantic comedies! She strikes a deal, in three months she would re-enact all romcom meet cutes to find the perfect guy and fall in love (Ezra’s addendum). And the adventure begins!
This is one of those books that takes you by surprise, the writing just flowed, the pacing while it appears slow was just perfect. There are moments that could have been taken out but this are minor things because the characters were excellently crafted. I adored it this book and kept reading into the night. Evie and her friends, Ezra the manchild, Monty the asshole boss, and of course Ben and Annete, they steal your heart. If this is an homage to Rom Com movies, it is perfection. I love the writing, the dialogue, Evie and her misguided attempts of achieving success, her friends who are not perfect, but are perfect enough and of course the inevitable love of Evie’s life, who is not to be mentioned here to avoid spoilers. They were all truly remarkable. And now I want a Tinkerbell outfit that’s a cross with the Spice Girls Union Jack!
After 65% I had to skip the end. This book was dragging for me and I didn’t like the main couple. Too many correspondences via email and text messaging. I know this has to deal with screenwriting, but also I wasn’t a fan of the “screen written headers” at the beginning of each chapter. Its sad because the premise sounds so promising.
I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I wanted to like this, I did I tried but I couldn’t I didn’t like Ezra and I didn’t care much for Evie, I did however like her friends that was what kept me going for the majority of the book, and yes there were times that I cracked up but not enough for me to give it a three star or for me to read another book by this author..
rcvd an ARc at no cost to author..(netgalley) Voluntarily reviewed with my own thoughts and opinions