Title: Meant to Be Mine
Author: Hannah Orenstein
Genre: Romance
Published On: June 7, 2022
Publisher: Atria Books
Source: digital (Netgalley)
Pages: 285
Synopsis:
From the author of Playing with Matches, a sweeping love story in the vein of Rebecca Serle and Chloe Benjamin about a woman who knows the date she’ll meet her true love—only he isn’t quite as perfect as she always imagined.
What if you knew exactly when you’d meet the love of your life? Edie Meyer knows. When her Grandma Gloria was a young woman, she had a vision of the exact day she would meet her soul mate—and then Grandpa Ray showed up.
Since then, Gloria has accurately predicted the day every single member of the family has met their match. Edie’s day arrives on June 24, 2022, when she’s twenty-nine years old. She has been waiting for it half her life. That morning, she boards an airplane to her twin sister’s surprise engagement, and when a handsome musician sits beside her, she knows it’s meant to be.
But fate comes with more complications than Edie expected and she can’t fight the nagging suspicion that her perfect guy doesn’t have perfect timing. After a tragedy and a shocking revelation rock Edie’s carefully constructed world, she’s forced to consider whether love chooses us, as simple as destiny, or if we choose it ourselves.
My thoughts
(Spoiler free, but I do include the option to read a few minor spoilers, which do NOT spoil the ending.)
Meant to Be Mine by Hannah Orenstein is a romance about fated love and what happens when your destiny might not be what’s best for you. I was thoroughly intrigued by the concept of this novel: What if all your life you knew the day you’d meet your soulmate? And while I thought this would be a fairly straightforward romance, I was surprised to find I wasn’t sure which direction it would ultimately take.
“I’ve imagined this day in countless ways over the years: At sixteen, I fantasized about bumping into a beautiful French man on the Pont des Arts, the love lock bridge in Paris; at twenty-two, I dreamed about styling a cover shoot for a magazine and falling for whichever heartthrob celebrity’s pants I was cuffing; at twenty-five, I got honest with myself and figured I’d probably swipe across my future husband on a dating app. But now, at twenty-nine, it seems none of those scenarios was right.”
Hannah Orenstein, Meant to Be Mine
I’m having a harder time reviewing Meant to Be Mine because while there were things I really enjoyed, there were also aspects that bugged me. Things I won’t be able to share if I’m avoiding spoilers. I was so torn, I even had to sleep on my rating, which never happens for me. So I’ll be breaking this one down into what I liked and what I didn’t—as best as I can without spoilers.
What worked:
Orenstein is a compelling writer. She drew me into the story and I actually read the bulk of this book in one sitting. I was invested and intrigued with the possibilities of the storyline. Would Edie meet her soulmate? Would it be an instant connection? What happens if her “day” arrives and no one piques her interest? Is Edie so insecure she can’t be happy alone? I honestly didn’t know which path I wanted Orenstein to take.
I adored the setting of New York. It’s very reminiscent of Carrie Bradshaw in Sex in the City—with less sex. Edie is a stylist, so her passion is fashion, much like Carrie, but Orenstein does a good job of not overwhelming the reader with it. As a reader who has no clue about fashion, I enjoyed the scenes of Edie working.
I enjoyed all the side characters, as well. Edie’s date-predicting grandmother Gloria is a hoot! Everyone should have a grandmother like her. And Edie’s relationship with her is sweet. Edie’s twin sister Rae, whose soulmate date was over ten years ago and is now preparing to marry her match, provides the ultimate goal for Edie. And Edie’s various friends and acquaintances all make distinct impressions.
Edie is from a Jewish family and experiencing their family traditions was one of my favorite parts of the book, as well. There’s even a recipe for Gloria’s Matzo Ball Soup included at the end!
Now, what didn’t work for me:
Edie frustrated me several times throughout the book. I wanted her to be more confident, even just consider the possibility that she didn’t need a soulmate to be happy. Yes, I know this is primarily a romance, but she was so dependent on not being alone, it was often off-putting.
There were so many directions this date-predicting magic could have taken, but didn’t. I so wanted there to be a big twist or surprise.
Minor spoiler of what DIDN’T happen:
For example, maybe a mix up between the twins… or maybe Gloria fudged a date… some kind of explanation.
It’s what kept me reading furiously, and while this romance does have a few twists, they’re not what I was hoping for.
One of the threads of the story is Edie’s ex Jonah, who she broke up with recently so she could be free to meet someone on her soulmate date. She talks about how happy she was with him, how in love they were, but I never felt like I knew him. And knowing she was happy and just walked away from it made me a little angry at her, to be honest. I kind of felt like she didn’t deserve to be happy if she was and just threw it away.
Minor spoiler:
I was hoping some negative aspect of their relationship or Jonah’s personality would be revealed, but instead it felt like a thread that was left unexplored.
I was satisfied with the outcome of the story, but I wanted more build-up, more time spent with the conclusion.
Overall, Meant to Be Mine was a fun read, I was invested in the story, but it left me wanting more as I imagined the different (and more preferable) routes I wished it’d taken. I would be happy to read another book by the author, however, who had me dreaming of New York again.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy.
(All quotes are taken from the advance copy and are subject to change in final print.)
Rating:
Barnes and Noble | Target | Indiebound | Bookshop | Amazon
About the Author
A Song For A Book
When choosing a song to highlight for Meant to Be Mine, I searched for songs about destiny, but found myself pulled instead toward songs about the opposite, which is kind of where Edie finds herself. I ended up choosing to highlight “Wonderful Unknown” by Ingrid Michaelson. The reference to New York didn’t hurt either. 😉
Oh, let me wear your overcoat,
My bones are super chill and all the ponies have gone home
Oh, walking through Manhattan
With the ache from last night’s smile still smarting up from my toes
Here we go, dancing on our own,
Inside this house that we have never known,
Here we go, going in alone
Into the dark and wonderful unknown,
Let us go, let us go…
Have you read Meant to Be Mine? Will you be adding it to your TBR? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
I am glad this one worked out for you. I DNFed because I didn’t realize there would be politics in it. I really can’t stand any politics in my books.
Yeah, I’ve seen several people say that. It didn’t bother me, but maybe because I agreed with her stance?? 🤷♀️😃 I can definitely understand DNFing a book because of it.
I love romance too, but, like you, I like a more confident heroine and one that finds love unexpectedly, not one that yearns for a soulmate. But, I think I would enjoy this as you said the writing is so good.
Yes! The writing is great, especially if you like to be immersed in a location.
I think this is a really interesting concept, but I would have gotten really mad at her for breaking up with someone she was happy with just so that she could be free to date her soulmate, too. That seems really unfair to the relationship she was already in. Honestly, if I were that grandmother, I don’t think I would tell my family members about the day I thought they would meet their match. That doesn’t seem particularly fair, either. (But then we wouldn’t have a book, so…)
Haha! I had all these same thoughts. And there is a character who told the grandmother not to tell them, so at least that is represented. But, yeah, I don’t think I’d want to know. It’s way too much pressure.
Oh good, I’m glad there’s someone who is against this whole concept. That makes it more believable (for a fantasy idea). If no one voiced a problem with it, that would seem less realistic. 😉
Yes!