Book Review: The Meet Cute Method (ARC)

Author: Portia MacIntosh

Do movie romances ever happen in real life…?

Frankie doesn’t believe in true love. As relationships expert at popular magazine Stylife, she has learnt that dating disasters are far more common than happy ever afters.

So when she is tasked to find out if meet cutes can work in real life she is up for the challenge – but whether it’s being a damsel in distress with a flat tyre, or spilling coffee over a stranger, she isn’t convinced this can really lead to love.

But little does Frankie know that the ultimate meet cute opportunity is just around the corner. As she is whisked off her feet (all in the name of her work project of course…) perhaps true love isn’t just for the movies after all…?

The Meet Cute Method is my fourth novel by Portia MacIntosh. The story follows 34-years-old Frankie who is a lifestyle/relationship writer for a publication for the past decade. Her life isn’t exactly how she thought it would turn out as she does not even live on her own and instead lives with four flatmates, but she has hopes that promotion and more money are in her near future. After her former boss is replaced by a new go-getter, Addison, Frankie’s promotion seems to be no longer a possibility and she has to come up with new ideas to keep her job. After witnessing many meet-cutes all around her, she decides to make that the focus of her new article. Frankie begins trying to force some meet-cutes, which do not always go as planned. The first portion of the book follows Frankie’s journey trying out different meet cute methods with random men she finds.

As she is in her office one day, she meets Max in the lift of the building who works for a tech company on another floor. The two strike up a conversation and begin a semi-friendship. One day Max states that he has a free ticket to Hawaii and would love Frankie to come along as he knows she is in desperate need of a vacation and he does not want the ticket to go to waste. Once the pair reach Hawaii, Frankie discovers this trip is really a family vacation, so she needs to act as Max’s fiancé the whole time. This becomes complicated when she meets Max’s uncle, who is of a similar age, Albie, and finds him attractive. She also discovers that Max does not have the best relationship with his family, so it is not the easiest vacation for her. The latter half of the novel explores Max and Frankie fake-dating in front of his family while discovering possible real feelings for each other.

This story, for me, had great potential, but I just wanted a little more. There are very few interactions between Max and Frankie before they end up in Hawaii, so it was difficult to connect with them at first as a potential couple. Max has a lot of issues with his family, so there were moments where a lot of the story was focusing on him dealing with these problems; however, the story is through the eyes of Frankie, so it did not quite work for me. I enjoyed the Hawaii setting as it made me want to travel to Maui again, so this was a lovely location to create a nice escape read. I enjoyed the awkward meet-cutes at the beginning of the story, especially the one at the very beginning with Sean. That one stood out as mistaken identity is a very sweet meet-cute and I liked how these scenes opened the story. Overall, I liked the ease of the writing as the story flowed well and was an enjoyable read. I greatly look forward to reading more from the author in the future!

**I want to give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Boldwood Books, for a review copy of this entertaining and enjoyable novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**