Reviews

Meant to Be by Emily Giffin

jordanolaughlin's review

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

reiyab's review

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated

2.25

I was entertained in parts but this book was almost a straight rip-off of JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette. It felt disingenuous to even say it was inspired, the parallels were so close. 

lainews05's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

lindsmarie's review

5.0

Another love story where the characters steal my heart!

rachzdeb's review

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

lauracooleyjohnson's review

4.0

This was a well written romance that draws overt inspiration from the Kennedy family tragedies. The author’s notes at the end basically tell the reader that she sought to write a “what-if” novel. The novel is light and lovey, yet topics such as the fashion industry, privacy and paparazzi, and domestic abuse were all explored in enough detail to make this a notch above the run of the mill romance novel.

stepharina's review

4.0

Emily Giffin is an auto-buy author for me and I didn’t even realize until I reviewed this on Goodreads that I’ve read all her books. This one is one of my favorites from her and felt a little different. This story is loosely based on JFK Jr and Carolyn so it goes back to the 80’s/90’s and that was cool. I know the basic run down of their story but this immersed me more into learning more about them. It was a good love story and kinda kept me on the edge of my seat at the end. I was super involved in their story and while I could put the book down I was excited to come back to it when I was able to. It’s told from both Joe and Cates points of view which I enjoyed. I also got super into Cates backstory which was sad and heartbreaking at times. All in all I really enjoyed this book

mmajer's review

4.0

3.5/5 stars

I really liked Joe and Cate and the story overall. But it was almost ruined by

Spoiler

their big fight that was stupid and seemed to go on forever

Still a pretty enjoyable read.

boomsma1tl's review

2.0

Would have been a 3 if they didn’t do Berry so dirty.
TW- domestic violence

ceenamonroll's review

2.0

Joe is quite a troublesome character in the beginning. I didn't like his behavior and I still did not like it in the end. I tried my best to keep reading, but I ultimately had to stop midway.
His personality even though it evolved, was not my cup of tea.