Meet Me In A Mile

by Elizabeth Hrib

Ready. Set. Go!

Lydia McKenzie is not a runner. Not even close. But in her quest to be taken seriously at work – and catch the eye of her office crush – she signs up for the New York City Marathon as part of her architectural firm’s outreach program. Now she just needs to avoid making a fool of herself.

Personal trainer Luke Townsend is definitely a runner, and he’s exactly what Lydia needs to get in shape. But nothing can prepare them for when their training time intensifies from hitting the pavement to hitting the sheets.

Suddenly, everything Lydia thought she wanted feels less clear. And when her project proposal suddenly hangs in the balance, and her office crush offers some awfully tempting one-on-one help, she’ll have to decide which direction her heart wants to run…

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Sports, Sports Romance, Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

Published September 26, 2024

About the author

Elizabeth Hrib was born and raised in London, Ontario where she studied nursing at Western University. When she’s not working or writing, she can be found at the piano, planning her next Netflix binge, or attempting to keep her small, windowsill garden alive.

Reviews

[Elisabeth McCoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

read this to try and romanticize running (didn’t work)

[Ugnė | pilna_lentyna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Norėdama sužavėti savo bendradarbį Džeką, Lidija užsiregistruoja į maratoną. Ar mintis protinga? Vargu. Gerai, kad bent laiku supranta, jog rimtam bėgimui pasiruošti reikia atsakingai - taip merginos gyvenime atsiranda treneris Lukas. Protingas, kantrus ir tikras optimistas, sugebantis palaikyti Lidiją net tada, kai nubėgus kilometrą, plaučiai bando išlipti per gerklę.

Chemija tarp jų atsiranda greičiau, nei Lidija užsiriša sportbačius, nors ji pati vis dar tiki, kad smagios jų treniruotės, vyksta tik dėl Džeko..

Skaityti buvo labai smagu - gražiai parašyta, dialogai šmaikštūs, veikėjai artimi širdžiai. Jokių dirbtinų dramų, jei neskaičiuosim veikėjų nesusikalbėjimo, be kurio meilės romanai, dažnai neapsieina.

Rekomenduoju, jei ieškosit istorijos, kuri privers šypsotis ir kartu primins, kad kartais svarbiausi dalykai nutinka tada, kai mažiausiai planuoji.

[Rebecca Soderlund · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 - a fun book to start the year

[Knygų Romantikė · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kokia faina ir kokia romantiška 🥰 Toks lengvas romanas, šmaikštūs pokalbiai, romantika ore, kibirkštys tarp veikėjo, abu pasmailinę liežuvius, ir aišku motyvuojantis, nes tikrai kilo noras pradėti bėgioti 🤭 Pasidarius didelį puodelį arbatos, perskaitysite kol nespės atvėsti 👌

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

totally adorbs

[Giselle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

I picked up this book while on a running journey myself. I was training to run my first half marathon and I thought reading about someone training for their first marathon would motivate me and push me to keep going. Unfortunately this is a romance novel and the story focused too much on the love triangle for my liking. I was getting frustrated about the lack of training material and finally put the book down altogether. Sure, Lydia was training with Luke, but they talked about it more than actually showed it. Sometimes the chapters would start at the end of their run and it would piss me off. I was leaning towards giving this 2 stars.

Now I’ve ran my half marathon! So I decided to pick it back up to see if she actually runs the marathon. The ending redeemed the entire book for me. We were with her for every mile! I felt her exhaustion. I drank water when she stopped at a water station. And when she almost gave up at the end and she got Luke’s voice note, I almost cried. And when I understood the meaning of “Meet Me In a Mile”, tears! What a wholesome ending.

I learned, even in my own experience, that it doesn’t matter who is the reason we choose to sign up for a race. It’s the person who ends up waiting for us at the finish line. ❤️

[Mary Kramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and Elizabeth Hrib for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a review.

I really enjoyed reading this book! Usually, third person is hit or miss for me, but I didn't mind it at all.

I could feel the chemistry between Luke and Lydia from the first time they met. They had great banter and a great connection.

I laughed out loud a few times while reading this!

I had a bad feeling about J (not going to mention names in case of spoilers) the whole time. While in the end he ended up not being too bad, I didn't like the way he was acting towards Lydia.

I am happy with the way the story resolved!

I highly recommend if you like romance books. I plan to read more by this Author when they have new releases!

[Hannah Byrd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, pallet cleansing book. Better than I expected for sure.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good classic book

[Meg Inwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, but why am I reading 1st, 3rd and whatever the frick else person tense??? Not one to usually care but off putting

[evie ✧˖ ° · Rating 4 out of 5]

meet me in a mile was such a cute romcom that delivered on ALL fronts..

overall this book was really easy to read and i loved learning about lydia and luke .. it was clear they had CHEMISTRY from the off. it was exactly what i needed and i felt so much joy reading it.

plot ―୨୧⋆ ˚ the plot was fun and dynamic and i really felt that it made the whole book much easier to read.. the problems and solutions surrounding both lydia’s and luke’s jobs added a lot of depth to the story

characters ―୨୧⋆ ˚ i loved reading from both lydia and luke’s point of view and i found their relationship so cute (despite the slight miscommunication and slowwwwburn) although , for me this didn’t take away from the story at all and i felt that the slow burn was natural and made sense .. in other words i could perfectly imagine this happening in real life.

overall, i loved this book as a perfect romcom ! i was invested in the general plot that the ending nearly had me cheering on multiple fronts !

[kaitlyns_library · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick read that I was surprised that I actually enjoyed! I was hooked from the get go and I absolutely loved the dynamic between Lydia and Luke. The goal of the marathon being the backdrop to Lydia and Luke’s second meeting and what ultimately led to them spending more time together was a unique storyline that made my borderline romance reading slump end. What I will say though, is that the third person storytelling, while done well, kinda lost me at times and I do also wish that Lydia’s crush on J was more established at the beginning and have it be a conflict for Lydia when she becomes interested in Luke would’ve actually aided in that part of the storyline. Other than that, this was a really good book.

[Kayleigh Pugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75!

This was really cute and hella motivating for a girlie trying to start marathon training.

When is my hot personal trainer gonna enter the scene …just wondering.

Nothing to live changing about this but it was satisfying and made me giggle.

[Katie!!]

I’m gonna beat her

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid romance! Mildly spicy

I liked how the career goals of both characters was a focus point. As far as personal growth, that part was kinda lacking, which made the characters somewhat hard to connect with.

A quick, fun read

[Andrea Muzzin · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty sure the total time I spent reading this is faster than I could run a marathon 😂 safe to say I enjoyed it!

[Makena · Rating 4 out of 5]

lovely read! enjoyed both of the characters and their stories! it was also well paced... pun intended!!

[Ruta_skaito · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kaip pataikiau su nuotaika pasiimti šią knygą! Taip lengvai, greitai ir įdomiai susiskaitė. 🫰🏻

Žinot, kartais skaitai romaną ir jau matai, jog bus labai saldu. Čia viskas kitaip. 🙃 Veikėjai užsispyrę, su savo problemomis ir tikslais. Nors chemija kibirkščiuoja nuo pat pirmo susitikimo, viskas vyksta palaipsniui, natūraliai.

Visi veikėjai labai simpatiški, priimtini ir tinkantys siužetui. ☺️Lukas- nuostabus vaikinas, kuris moka ir paerzinti, ir paguosti, ir kartais savus ožius parodyti. 😏

Gražus romanas su trupučiu pipiriukų. Puikiai tiks atostogoms arba tada, kai norisi greito ir smagaus skaitinio.

[Chloë · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate to be one of those I rAn a mArAtHoN people but what’s the point in doing it if you can’t bring it up, am I right?

This book is called meet me in a mile but there’s actually not enough running!!??
They just go on their long runs and there’s no idea of the actual struggles of training for a marathon - weather, menstrual cycle, failed long runs, blisters, strength training, fuelling, the bone aching tiredness of it. Lydia just cruises through it with no issues.

It just kind of gives the vibe of “if a hot guy trains you, you can run a marathon” lol.

It focused way too much about their work lives, especially Lydia’s. It should’ve just been called meet me at the architecture firm.

[Johnna Wilford · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a runner, I loved the concept of a running romance. I do think the running was realistic as well, which is always good in a sports romance.

I liked Luke, but Lydia could be sort of annoying. Although there was good banter, I didn't feel like there was a lot of chemistry between the main characters.

The big plot points were also pretty predictable (which wasn't a negative thing for me but may be for other people).

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

“You’re already in the business of making other people’s dreams come true. Why not one of your own?”

Thanks to NetGalley and Afterglow Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I love a dual point-of-view romance, and the meet cute is adorable. Lydia and Luke come into each other’s lives at what seems like the perfect time.

Lydia decides to run the New York Marathon with her architecture firm only to impress the owner and her office crush. After her run-in with Luke, a personal trainer, she enlists him to help her. They’re both so passionate and ambitious about their professions which connects them immediately.

The mutual support they develop is really great and this is the type of romance that isn’t super heavy. With Lydia, we see her realize her true potential to not only run a marathon, but to realize what she needs to do about her job. She’s smart and driven, making for a great female main character.

Luke is incredibly sweet, and seeing him interact with kids at the youth center is such a swoon. He wants to open his own gym and offers classes to underprice kids, which I loved. The relationship he has with Lydia develops in a natural way. I do think some plot points were easy to figure out, but that didn’t complement take away from my overall enjoyment of this book.

[Kristina Dowler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so sweet! And it made me want to get back into running. 🧡

Lydia and Luke were adorable. Lydia literally ran into Luke at the gym, not realizing eventually he'd be the one training her for the NYC marathon. They begin to build a relationship - feelings and all - as she struggles to find her place at work and with the life she thought she wanted.

It's a beautiful story about following your heart - even if it's different than your plan, learning to trust yourself, and how to challenge yourself. I really enjoyed it!

It was a pretty low stakes book, which was nice. I felt like some of the side drama probably made it a 4 for me. But I really liked it overall - and I definitely teared up at the end! His voicemail DESTROYED me.

Thank you for NetGalley and Elizabeth Hrib for this ARC!

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

If Goodreads would allow us to give half stars, this would be a 3.5 stars for me.
This is actually a good story. I really like Lydia and I would like her to be my friend. And Luke is a really cute and sweet guy. They go so well together, screw Jake!
I really like how Lydia and Luke were there for each other without even realizing it and really love that ending. Also the way Luke talked about running made me want to pick up my running shoes (but I did not).
It was written in 3rd person which is not something I enjoy, but that's a me problem.
I feel like there was a bit of action missing for me to enjoy it more. But it was a quick and easy read

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher and also the author, Elizabeth Hrib, for this ARC.

[Claren G · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who runs inconsistently at best, this book made me want to commit and start training for a marathon. I loved the trainer/ trainer relationship and the way that he saw her potential before she did. I appreciated the banter and the connection both characters had and was rooting for Luke all along. Jack was cringy from the beginning and I wanted more closure there, but was happy with the ending regardless. I dislike when characters have feel inconsistent, but overall it was light and fun, full of office politics, but still a good read.

ARC: netgalley in exchange for honest review

[Amanda (Mrs.ZReads_23) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll never become a runner or participate in the NYC Marathon but Luke and Lydia sure made this a cute and steamy runner/trainer romance. The subtle love triangle didn’t really work for me because I never sensed Lydia had the same attraction to Jack as she did to Luke. I still enjoyed this one and look forward to reading more by the author.

[Cassidy Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

was this book good? maybe but it literally didn’t matter cause marathon training has made me delirious and I ate this shit UPPPPPPP in one sitting

“all you have to do is meet me in a mile” like are you kidding 😭

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elizabeth Hrib is my go-to romance author. This is the third romance novel I've read from her and I enjoyed it so much. I'm really looking forward to whatever comes next.

[Jessica Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable quick read. The love story was a nice twist to it as well.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Turned out to be much cuter than I expected given the first few pages. An easy read!

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was cute! I liked the banter between them and made set and earlier alarm tomorrow to do a mile run. (Let's see if I do it)