A review by betweentheshelves
Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee

hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 Thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this to review! It was just the meet cute romance that I needed as the weather gets warmer. While it has a few flaws, I absolutely flew through this book!

Yes, enemies to lovers is my favorite trope, but fake dating might become a close second! Especially fake dating that leads to real relationships. While the trajectory of the relationship was a bit predictable, I enjoyed seeing Noah get to fall in love and experience traditional romance tropes. It's great to have such a happy, upbeat book for a trans main character!

Noah's friendship with Devin is probably one of the best things about this book. Devin is questioning eir gender and pronouns, and e and Noah have some great conversations about it. For a teen who is also questioning their gender, seeing this play out on a page with a character who changes eir pronouns with a friend who just rolls with the punches? Priceless. Much needed representation.

That being said, Noah isn't the most likeable main character. He has a lot of maturing to do, which makes sense because he's 16! But he has a lot of great support around him, people who are incredibly patient. And his brother! I loved getting to see his support in the book and to have him stand up for Noah at points, too. I would have a loved a little more growth from Noah in the book, but by the end, you can definitely tell that he's headed in the right direction.

All in all, if you're looking for a swoon worthy rom-com, this one is for you! Emery Lee is definitely one to keep an eye on. 
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This has a lot of great things going for it, with a few flaws along the way. Mostly here for the side characters, as they definitely helped carry the story. Stay tuned for a full review later this week!
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