Meet Cute by various authors
Grade: C
Release date: January 2, 2018
An e-galley was provided by HMH Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Summary: 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.
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 Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: I really do love this boom of YA anthologies. It introduces me to new writers, and I get to read more from my favorites. Most, however, have stories that seem too short. I didn't feel this was the case with Meet Cute. However, there were stories I didn't enjoy for other reasons. I'm going to highlight some of my favorites and my least favorites with a shout-out to a couple I neither hated or loved, just to give y'all an idea of whether or not you'll like this anthology.
My favorite stories were "Click" by Katherine McGee (it was really cute, and the writing was good), "Oomph" by Emery Lord (it was Emery Lord, so I mean?? but also, the main character referenced Peggy Carter, so I had to love her), "The Unlikely Likelihood of Falling in Love" by Jocelyn Davies (I liked the blending of math and fluff, but Camilla needed a little more substance), "The Dictionary of You and Me" by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Cute with a cute boy, and I liked the premise), and "Print Shop" by Nina LaCour (I liked how they "met," and it had a cute premise).
I also wanted to highlight "Hourglass" by Ibi Zoboi. I liked the plotline with Cherish's goals, and then how she met the boy. The parents felt underdeveloped, though, which kept this story from getting 4 or 5 stars. I also didn't hate "Something Real" by Julie Murphy. The premise was super fun, but the execution was a little rough. It fit the genre length really well, though.
Stories I didn't like:
- "Siege Etiquette" by Katie Cotugno - I've never really liked Katie's books, and this one got 2 stars for being written in second-person POV and a cheating main character.
- "Somewhere That's Green" by Meredith Russo - I felt like the relationship/meet cute thing moved way too fast. Spoiler alert, but the couple in question kiss at the end of the story, and I felt like that needed more time to develop.
- "259 Million Miles" by Kass Morgan - Skimmed most of it. The narrator didn't sound like a guy, and I didn't find the premise interesting.
- "Say Everything" by Huntley Fitzpatrick - Pretty boring.
The Verdict: This anthology was kind of hit-or-miss, so it's ultimately not one of my favorites. I'll probably check it out of the library if I ever want to read the stories I did like again.
Will I be adding this book to my library?: It's unlikely.
When I read short story collections, the stories in them are usually a hit or miss for me. I enjoy them reading them, for the reason you mentioned about getting to try new-to-me authors, but I actually haven't found one where I enjoyed every single story in it, but this one looks like a lot of fun! I'm happy to hear you liked some of the stories in it! :)
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