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We Can't Keep Meeting Like This
A wedding harpist disillusioned with love and a hopeless romantic cater-waiter flirt and fight their way through a summer of weddings in this effervescent romantic comedy from the acclaimed author of Today Tonight Tomorrow.
Quinn Berkowitz and Tarek Mansour’s families have been in business together for years: Quinn’s parents are wedding planners, and Tarek’s own a catering company. At the end of last summer, Quinn confessed her crush on him in the form of a rambling email—and then he left for college without a response.
Quinn has been dreading seeing him again almost as much as she dreads another summer playing the harp for her parents’ weddings. When he shows up at the first wedding of the summer, looking cuter than ever after a year apart, they clash immediately. Tarek’s always loved the grand gestures in weddings—the flashier, the better—while Quinn can’t see them as anything but fake. Even as they can’t seem to have one civil conversation, Quinn’s thrown together with Tarek wedding after wedding, from performing a daring cake rescue to filling in for a missing bridesmaid and groomsman.
Quinn can’t deny her feelings for him are still there, especially after she learns the truth about his silence, opens up about her own fears, and begins learning the art of harp-making from an enigmatic teacher.
Maybe love isn’t the enemy after all—and maybe allowing herself to fall is the most honest thing Quinn’s ever done.
Quinn Berkowitz and Tarek Mansour’s families have been in business together for years: Quinn’s parents are wedding planners, and Tarek’s own a catering company. At the end of last summer, Quinn confessed her crush on him in the form of a rambling email—and then he left for college without a response.
Quinn has been dreading seeing him again almost as much as she dreads another summer playing the harp for her parents’ weddings. When he shows up at the first wedding of the summer, looking cuter than ever after a year apart, they clash immediately. Tarek’s always loved the grand gestures in weddings—the flashier, the better—while Quinn can’t see them as anything but fake. Even as they can’t seem to have one civil conversation, Quinn’s thrown together with Tarek wedding after wedding, from performing a daring cake rescue to filling in for a missing bridesmaid and groomsman.
Quinn can’t deny her feelings for him are still there, especially after she learns the truth about his silence, opens up about her own fears, and begins learning the art of harp-making from an enigmatic teacher.
Maybe love isn’t the enemy after all—and maybe allowing herself to fall is the most honest thing Quinn’s ever done.
10 pages, Audible Audio
First published June 8, 2021
487 people are currently reading
32169 people want to read
About the author
Rachel Lynn Solomon
15 books8,411 followersRachel Lynn Solomon is the New York Times bestselling author of The Ex Talk, Today Tonight Tomorrow, and other romantic comedies for teens and adults. Her books have been translated into more than fifteen languages and optioned for film. Originally from Seattle, she's currently navigating expat life with her husband in Amsterdam, where she can often be found exploring the city, collecting stationery, and working up the courage to knit her first sweater. Connect with her on Instagram @rlynn_solomon.
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October 17, 2021Would "woke" non-Muslim Americans just stop fucking praising the Muslim representation in this book? Because as a Muslim I think it's trash. Thank you.
Why is it that every time there's Muslim rep in a romance book, the Muslim character needs to be non-practicing or "not that religious"? Is it because you find practicing Muslims too inconvenient in a western romantic setting what with their abstinence? Because refraining from drinking and eating pork and not having sex or kissing before marriage ruins your romantic aesthetic? Because romance books rely heavily on physical intimacy and being a religious Muslim is simply ruled out because your story cannot accommodate a character who will likely violate one of the pillars of a romance book, especially one with a Eurocentric take on romance? Because you just cannot imagine a different way of conducting romantic relationships other than yours? Because having them be non-practicing is far easier than integrating their Muslim faith into their everyday lives? Which is it?
And oh, don't tell me you care about representing secular Muslims in your work when there's barely any proper representation of practicing Muslims in western literature. This is at worst Islamophobia, because it suggests that Muslims living in the West cannot have interfaith romances unless it's the western way, and at best a cop-out to avoid bothering with/researching what being a practicing Muslim entails. I would've felt better if this was coming from a Muslim author, which is not the case. I had the same issue with Take a Hint, Dani Brown.
This is superficial representation: When you believe the work stops at labeling your character as a member of a particular minority without incorporating the implications of this membership into their character.
"My parents aren't nearly as religious as their parents were," he says. "But some things have just sort of stuck? Like we work with a halal butcher, but not everything we eat or serve is halal. My mom drinks, but my dad doesn't, and, well, you saw me do it at the beach. And I've had sex before marriage."
Why is it that every time there's Muslim rep in a romance book, the Muslim character needs to be non-practicing or "not that religious"? Is it because you find practicing Muslims too inconvenient in a western romantic setting what with their abstinence? Because refraining from drinking and eating pork and not having sex or kissing before marriage ruins your romantic aesthetic? Because romance books rely heavily on physical intimacy and being a religious Muslim is simply ruled out because your story cannot accommodate a character who will likely violate one of the pillars of a romance book, especially one with a Eurocentric take on romance? Because you just cannot imagine a different way of conducting romantic relationships other than yours? Because having them be non-practicing is far easier than integrating their Muslim faith into their everyday lives? Which is it?
And oh, don't tell me you care about representing secular Muslims in your work when there's barely any proper representation of practicing Muslims in western literature. This is at worst Islamophobia, because it suggests that Muslims living in the West cannot have interfaith romances unless it's the western way, and at best a cop-out to avoid bothering with/researching what being a practicing Muslim entails. I would've felt better if this was coming from a Muslim author, which is not the case. I had the same issue with Take a Hint, Dani Brown.
This is superficial representation: When you believe the work stops at labeling your character as a member of a particular minority without incorporating the implications of this membership into their character.
February 16, 2022
I love Ms. Solomon’s brilliant works so much! She nails both of adult and young adult genres and creates sweet, sensible characters you easily connect and writes remarkable stories of them.
However this new book is a little different from her previous works. I loved her choice to approach sensitive subjects like mental diseases including OCD, depression and diversity issues including race, religion and LGTBQ.
Those parts of the book and centering the story around two families work on wedding planning business were creative strengths of the book.
The realistic approach of MCs’ problems about adjusting themselves to be part of the adult world, the pressure they felt, their observations about their role models which shaped their opposite approaches to the romance were well developed.
As our main character Quinn is sarcastic and cynical girl who hardly believes in romance because of her parents’ 6 month long separation process, Tarek is hopeless romantic who can write a book about creating unique grand gestures because he’s raised by extremely romantic couple who met under the Eiffel Tower reminds us of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks’ characters’ meeting at Empire State Building at Sleepless in Seattle.
The book is centered on two topics: Quinn is about to leave for the college and feels pressure of her parents who want her chase the same career choices they’ve made and work in family business which she doesn’t truly want to involve but she also doesn’t want to hurt their feelings.
The other topic is her unrequited feelings about her long time crush and one of her best friend Tarek who left for college and ghosted her after she told her true feelings via an email. And now Tarek is back to work at their parents’ catering business in the summer which means they will stuck with each other throughout entire summer at several vivid wedding ceremonies including Quinn’s sister Asher.
I have to admit: I found Quinn dislikable and whiny. She’s suffering from OCD which is troubling for her to deal with her insecurities but I didn’t find her problems so hard to deal. She may deal with family issues and come clean with them and her immature attitudes around Tarek were also annoying.
I didn’t find their love story so intriguing like other characters the author created. Because the love story is not the main part of the book. This is mostly Quinn’s self discovery: it’s most about how she sees the inequality around genders, sexes, religion, race, how she looks for her passion, how she wants to explore her self.
Tarek was lovely, sweet, romantic and more mature part. He deals with his own issues, trying to get approval of her loved ones but he was more sincere one of the relationship from the beginning.
Overall: it was still good reading with thought provoking, genuine, realistic approach to the young adult problems which earned my four stars. ( it would be five if I resonated with the heroine )
Special thanks to NetGalley and Simon&Schuster Children’s Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.
However this new book is a little different from her previous works. I loved her choice to approach sensitive subjects like mental diseases including OCD, depression and diversity issues including race, religion and LGTBQ.
Those parts of the book and centering the story around two families work on wedding planning business were creative strengths of the book.
The realistic approach of MCs’ problems about adjusting themselves to be part of the adult world, the pressure they felt, their observations about their role models which shaped their opposite approaches to the romance were well developed.
As our main character Quinn is sarcastic and cynical girl who hardly believes in romance because of her parents’ 6 month long separation process, Tarek is hopeless romantic who can write a book about creating unique grand gestures because he’s raised by extremely romantic couple who met under the Eiffel Tower reminds us of Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks’ characters’ meeting at Empire State Building at Sleepless in Seattle.
The book is centered on two topics: Quinn is about to leave for the college and feels pressure of her parents who want her chase the same career choices they’ve made and work in family business which she doesn’t truly want to involve but she also doesn’t want to hurt their feelings.
The other topic is her unrequited feelings about her long time crush and one of her best friend Tarek who left for college and ghosted her after she told her true feelings via an email. And now Tarek is back to work at their parents’ catering business in the summer which means they will stuck with each other throughout entire summer at several vivid wedding ceremonies including Quinn’s sister Asher.
I have to admit: I found Quinn dislikable and whiny. She’s suffering from OCD which is troubling for her to deal with her insecurities but I didn’t find her problems so hard to deal. She may deal with family issues and come clean with them and her immature attitudes around Tarek were also annoying.
I didn’t find their love story so intriguing like other characters the author created. Because the love story is not the main part of the book. This is mostly Quinn’s self discovery: it’s most about how she sees the inequality around genders, sexes, religion, race, how she looks for her passion, how she wants to explore her self.
Tarek was lovely, sweet, romantic and more mature part. He deals with his own issues, trying to get approval of her loved ones but he was more sincere one of the relationship from the beginning.
Overall: it was still good reading with thought provoking, genuine, realistic approach to the young adult problems which earned my four stars. ( it would be five if I resonated with the heroine )
Special thanks to NetGalley and Simon&Schuster Children’s Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.
September 16, 2024
**4.5-stars rounded up**
Yet again you've succeeded in sweeping me off of my feet, Rachel Lynn Solomon. I see you and it's like you see me too.
Quinn Berkowitz is the harpist for her parent's thriving wedding planning business.
Tarek Monsour is a cater-waiter, and aspiring baker, whose family's catering business is frequently hired on by the Berkowitzs for events.
Over the years, the two have worked a lot of weddings together.
Somewhere along the way, Quinn became a skeptic of the whole love thing, while Tarek went in the other direction. He's now over-the-top romantic; full of positivity with regards to love.
Last summer, Quinn became fed up with watching Tarek's grand gestures for other girls. Perhaps she had secretly grown to like him more than she admitted.
When Quinn called him out on it though, her ire seemed to ruin everything. Tarek left for college and the two didn't have any contact for a year.
As summer returns, so too does Tarek, home from college and working with his parents.
The first wedding Quinn sees him at is uncomfortable as heck, but this is a romantic comedy, so y'all know what's coming.
We Can't Keep Meeting Like This is exactly as adorable as its synopsis makes it sound. Solomon always knows how to bring the cute, as well as relatable substance.
This book is full of incredible OCD-rep and sex positivity, as well as the exploration of other issues a lot of young adults go through; like, what the heck do I want to do with the rest of my life?
Solomon is always able to handle serious topics well, seamlessly incorporating them into an otherwise light-hearted narrative.
This is a YA Summer Romance that should be on everyone's TBR. I highly, highly recommend it!!
Thank you so much to the publisher, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
Rachel Lynn Solomon is an autobuy author for me and I can't wait to see what cutesy-creation she dreams up next!!!
Yet again you've succeeded in sweeping me off of my feet, Rachel Lynn Solomon. I see you and it's like you see me too.
Quinn Berkowitz is the harpist for her parent's thriving wedding planning business.
Tarek Monsour is a cater-waiter, and aspiring baker, whose family's catering business is frequently hired on by the Berkowitzs for events.
Over the years, the two have worked a lot of weddings together.
Somewhere along the way, Quinn became a skeptic of the whole love thing, while Tarek went in the other direction. He's now over-the-top romantic; full of positivity with regards to love.
Last summer, Quinn became fed up with watching Tarek's grand gestures for other girls. Perhaps she had secretly grown to like him more than she admitted.
When Quinn called him out on it though, her ire seemed to ruin everything. Tarek left for college and the two didn't have any contact for a year.
As summer returns, so too does Tarek, home from college and working with his parents.
The first wedding Quinn sees him at is uncomfortable as heck, but this is a romantic comedy, so y'all know what's coming.
We Can't Keep Meeting Like This is exactly as adorable as its synopsis makes it sound. Solomon always knows how to bring the cute, as well as relatable substance.
This book is full of incredible OCD-rep and sex positivity, as well as the exploration of other issues a lot of young adults go through; like, what the heck do I want to do with the rest of my life?
Solomon is always able to handle serious topics well, seamlessly incorporating them into an otherwise light-hearted narrative.
This is a YA Summer Romance that should be on everyone's TBR. I highly, highly recommend it!!
Thank you so much to the publisher, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
Rachel Lynn Solomon is an autobuy author for me and I can't wait to see what cutesy-creation she dreams up next!!!
July 14, 2021
Okay, so I liked a lot about this book originally—the Jewish representation and how the main character had OCD—but as the book went on, I started finding things that made me not enjoy the books as much.
First off, the pacing was just kinda wonky at some times. It was hard to push through a lot of the parts.
My biggest issue though was the questionable Muslim representation. (I was to preface this by saying I am NOT Muslim, therefore I can’t say what is and isn’t good representation. But I know the author is not Muslim, which is why I will be critiquing this). While I enjoyed the sex-positive aspect of this book, it felt strange that the Muslim love interest is depicted as having sex, with two separate people as well. He engaged in a ‘friends with benefits’ arrangement with the main character. While I’m not Muslim myself, this stood out to me, but I invite anyone who is Muslim to give your thoughts in place of mine.
I’ll edit this review as I see fit later to include thoughts from Muslim individuals on this situation!
EDIT: someone linked a Muslim readers review so I suggest reading that! It generally touches on what I mentioned, but goes more in depth in explaining!
First off, the pacing was just kinda wonky at some times. It was hard to push through a lot of the parts.
My biggest issue though was the questionable Muslim representation. (I was to preface this by saying I am NOT Muslim, therefore I can’t say what is and isn’t good representation. But I know the author is not Muslim, which is why I will be critiquing this). While I enjoyed the sex-positive aspect of this book, it felt strange that the Muslim love interest is depicted as having sex, with two separate people as well. He engaged in a ‘friends with benefits’ arrangement with the main character. While I’m not Muslim myself, this stood out to me, but I invite anyone who is Muslim to give your thoughts in place of mine.
I’ll edit this review as I see fit later to include thoughts from Muslim individuals on this situation!
EDIT: someone linked a Muslim readers review so I suggest reading that! It generally touches on what I mentioned, but goes more in depth in explaining!
Read
July 31, 2021"My parents aren't nearly as religious as their parents were," he says. "But some things have just sort of stuck? Like we work with a halal butcher, but not everything we eat or serve is halal. My mom drinks, but my dad doesn't, and, well, you saw me do it at the beach. And I've had sex before marriage."
?????
??
What?
The author is non muslim writing shitty muslim rep like this ? If you are islamophobic maybe dont write a muslim character in your book stop writing us the way you (westerns) want us to be just stop
?????
??
What?
The author is non muslim writing shitty muslim rep like this ? If you are islamophobic maybe dont write a muslim character in your book stop writing us the way you (westerns) want us to be just stop
February 7, 2023
“When you're in love, whether that love is platonic or romantic, you get to be the fullest version of yourself, uncertainties and mistakes and all.”
So as I said below, I only picked this up for Rowan and Neil and their little cameo and that cameo was the best part of the book. I literally almost cried when I saw them because I love them so, so much.
I did not have high expectations going into this. The bar was already pretty low based off of what I've heard about this book and it didn't even go over my already low expectations. It was just meh.
The Plot
Honestly, I can't really think of anything that happened. Sometimes there was drama, sometimes there was wedding stuff, and sometimes the chapters were just really boring. I kept thinking about how I just wanted to reach the Rowan and Neil cameo, and once I reached that point, I wanted the book to be over, which is the worst feeling you can get while reading.
I liked the diversity of the cast of characters, but there was one issue. Now, I can't really say a lot on this topic because I'm not Muslim myself, but I could just tell that it wasn't told right. Some of the top reviews of this book talk more about it, so if you want to hear more about that, go check out their reviews!
I also found the writing a little bit info-dumpy. So much unnecessary information was just being said, and I didn't care at all about any of it, and honestly, I think I remember the same thing happening in Today, Tonight, Tomorrow, but just not as prominent as it was in this one.
“But after a while, you grow weary of beautiful.”
The Characters
The characters honestly had no lasting impact on me. Tarek felt like he had no personality whatsoever outside of being a chef. At least I think he's a chef, I don't even care to remember. I hated how he kept doing all these grand gestures for Quinn after she literally said she didn't like big things MULTIPLE times, and yet he never listened. If he had, maybe they wouldn't have had so much unnecessary drama, but this is a rom-com so I don't even know what I expected. Maybe a better love interest.
One thing I did enjoy was Quinn having OCD. A lot of the things going on in her mind were very similar to things going on inside of mine and it was nice to see that represented in a book. But that being said, I hated Quinn. She was very annoying at times and I wanted to yell at her so many times. She created conflicts that didn't need to happen and kept pushing people away.
I feel completely indifferent towards the side characters, except for maybe her parents, who I hated. I did like Asher though, so that's a small plus I guess. Maxine was also fine, I just didn't feel much towards her.
“We can't keep meeting like this.”
This made me cringe so badly-
The Romance
I must say, I didn't like the romance much in this one. Now I don't mean to compare this to Today, Tonight, Tomorrow but I definitely will. Neil and Rowan's romance felt so much funner and those two had so much more chemistry. Tarek and Quinn didn't even feel like they fit together and I didn't see any spark between them. It just felt so...dry. And as I said before, I HATED the drama and stupid arguments that happened between them, like those didn't even have to happen.
Overall, this was not a good way to end the first month of the year (I can't believe it's over already-) but I suppose it's my fault for reading this when I already had really low expectations. Again, only came for the Neil and Rowan cameo
2.6 stars
“Rowan,” says the girl, and the guy whose mother just got married introduces himself as Neil. I’m not sure how long he and Rowan have been together, but they can’t seem to stop touching each other.”
MY LOVES MY LIFE
<><><><><><>
the only really good thing about this was the Rowan and Neil cameo
rtc
<><><><><><>
i've heard very mixed things about this book so i don't have much desire to read it, BUT i also heard that there's a Rowan and Neil cameo from Today Tonight Tomorrow and i am TOTALLY going to pick it up because of them and just because of them
So as I said below, I only picked this up for Rowan and Neil and their little cameo and that cameo was the best part of the book. I literally almost cried when I saw them because I love them so, so much.
I did not have high expectations going into this. The bar was already pretty low based off of what I've heard about this book and it didn't even go over my already low expectations. It was just meh.
The Plot
Honestly, I can't really think of anything that happened. Sometimes there was drama, sometimes there was wedding stuff, and sometimes the chapters were just really boring. I kept thinking about how I just wanted to reach the Rowan and Neil cameo, and once I reached that point, I wanted the book to be over, which is the worst feeling you can get while reading.
I liked the diversity of the cast of characters, but there was one issue. Now, I can't really say a lot on this topic because I'm not Muslim myself, but I could just tell that it wasn't told right. Some of the top reviews of this book talk more about it, so if you want to hear more about that, go check out their reviews!
I also found the writing a little bit info-dumpy. So much unnecessary information was just being said, and I didn't care at all about any of it, and honestly, I think I remember the same thing happening in Today, Tonight, Tomorrow, but just not as prominent as it was in this one.
“But after a while, you grow weary of beautiful.”
The Characters
The characters honestly had no lasting impact on me. Tarek felt like he had no personality whatsoever outside of being a chef. At least I think he's a chef, I don't even care to remember. I hated how he kept doing all these grand gestures for Quinn after she literally said she didn't like big things MULTIPLE times, and yet he never listened. If he had, maybe they wouldn't have had so much unnecessary drama, but this is a rom-com so I don't even know what I expected. Maybe a better love interest.
One thing I did enjoy was Quinn having OCD. A lot of the things going on in her mind were very similar to things going on inside of mine and it was nice to see that represented in a book. But that being said, I hated Quinn. She was very annoying at times and I wanted to yell at her so many times. She created conflicts that didn't need to happen and kept pushing people away.
I feel completely indifferent towards the side characters, except for maybe her parents, who I hated. I did like Asher though, so that's a small plus I guess. Maxine was also fine, I just didn't feel much towards her.
“We can't keep meeting like this.”
This made me cringe so badly-
The Romance
I must say, I didn't like the romance much in this one. Now I don't mean to compare this to Today, Tonight, Tomorrow but I definitely will. Neil and Rowan's romance felt so much funner and those two had so much more chemistry. Tarek and Quinn didn't even feel like they fit together and I didn't see any spark between them. It just felt so...dry. And as I said before, I HATED the drama and stupid arguments that happened between them, like those didn't even have to happen.
Overall, this was not a good way to end the first month of the year (I can't believe it's over already-) but I suppose it's my fault for reading this when I already had really low expectations. Again, only came for the Neil and Rowan cameo
2.6 stars
“Rowan,” says the girl, and the guy whose mother just got married introduces himself as Neil. I’m not sure how long he and Rowan have been together, but they can’t seem to stop touching each other.”
MY LOVES MY LIFE
<><><><><><>
the only really good thing about this was the Rowan and Neil cameo
rtc
<><><><><><>
i've heard very mixed things about this book so i don't have much desire to read it, BUT i also heard that there's a Rowan and Neil cameo from Today Tonight Tomorrow and i am TOTALLY going to pick it up because of them and just because of them
February 6, 2021
Still feeling extremely lucky to have read this book prior to its release. It pushes so many of my happy buttons: honest depictions of teens struggling with personal issues, sex positivity, friendship, finding yourself, glorious descriptions of dessert, the urge to yell "I SHIP IT!!" from the very beginning that carries you through the whole story. Very few Rachel Lynn Solomon fans will be surprised that she has Delivered (TM) yet again. But even knowing I'd enjoy it, it was a freaking delight to read, with sweet surprises and heartfelt moments from start to finish. So excited for it to be out in the world soon!
March 14, 2021
"Sometimes the world is terrible, and love stories... they make it feel less heavy."
After the incredible love for Today Tonight Tomorrow, I couldn't wait to see Rachel Lynn Solomon deliver another sex positive, Jewish centered contemporary novel, but this time with a flood of eager readers who have finally discovered her pure talent. Being an OG fan of an author means seeing them reach new readers is as joyful for you as it is for them. Although this is too heavy to be a romcom, the trademark humor and second-hand embarrassment are all present.
CW: divorce/separation, OCD, anxiety, depression
WE CAN'T KEEP MEETING LIKE THIS is like the fluffy white frosting artfully piped on a delicious wedding cake that you sneak extra pieces of in your purse as you leave. Quinn is an anxious wedding harpist with high family expectations, OCD, and my exact personality. I screen shotted half the book to send to my best friend, exclaiming "IS THIS NOT ME" and then freaking out because Quinn's best friend is just like that best friend. The way 👏🏼 that I 👏🏼 saw 👏🏼myself in 👏🏼 this 👏🏼 book 👏🏼!! Down to the mental illness, the high expectations of her from adults everywhere, and the business-oriented parents. Seeing her open and honest struggle with OCD, her coping methods, her frustration and her good days and her bad days... it was raw. It was my experience on a glistening, glowing page on my phone.
And then we have Tarek.
"We're all hurting, Quinn. In different ways, some that we can treat with medication and therapy and some with only time. And some in ways that might never heal. Sometimes the good outweighs the bad. Sometimes those great times are so f-cking great that they make the bad times a little easier to handle."
Tarek is Muslim, the son of the staple wedding caterers, a college boy returned for the summer, and a Soft Boi™️. He also has the unique struggle of eczema, something I struggled with in middle school. I have literally never read a book with that representation in it before. Unlike Quinn, he believes in love, passionate love that stems from grand gestures. We have a lovely mutual pining/secret romance trope going through this story, as well as some second chance romance vibes.
Tarek also struggled with depression at college in an authentic, heartbreaking way, and I love love love reading books with two main characters both working through their own mental illnesses and learning to allow others to love them. Seeing them discuss therapy and medication? In a YA novel? Indescribable. It feels like a warm hug.
Also, for other RLS fans who have read her backlist, there's a glorious cameo that you will not miss. IT IS FLAWLESS.
4.5 stars rounded up due to overall enjoyment and the pleasure of seeing myself in such a beautiful story 🥺I rarely add books to my "I see myself" shelf because I only want the most similar experiences to mine to live there, and this one just signed a lifetime lease.
Thank you to Simon Teen for gifting me the early copy. All opinions are my own and the quotes included are from an early copy and may not reflect a finished copy.
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I have seen the cover... and Y'ALL ARE NOT READY FOR THIS!!
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If she published her old college essays I’d still mark them as to-read and refresh Netgalley until I get an ARC.
June 21, 2021
**4.5 stars
This book was such a bundle of joy to read. I felt like each of the characters were so easy to relate to and the story sort of jumped off the pages. I can always count on Rachel Lynn Solomon to deliver incredible stories!
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, though some parts felt repetitive. But then again, that sense of repetitiveness made the story feel real, so I think it is allowed in this case. I found myself really wanting the main characters to get together, which made me not want to stop reading. Although this book was incredible, I think it missed that wow factor that came with Solomon’s book, “Today Tonight Tomorrow”. Therefore, this book was a solid 4.5 star book. :)
This book was such a bundle of joy to read. I felt like each of the characters were so easy to relate to and the story sort of jumped off the pages. I can always count on Rachel Lynn Solomon to deliver incredible stories!
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, though some parts felt repetitive. But then again, that sense of repetitiveness made the story feel real, so I think it is allowed in this case. I found myself really wanting the main characters to get together, which made me not want to stop reading. Although this book was incredible, I think it missed that wow factor that came with Solomon’s book, “Today Tonight Tomorrow”. Therefore, this book was a solid 4.5 star book. :)
March 21, 2022
In this cute YA contemporary romance, Quinn is the daughter of wedding planners and deals with anxiety and OCD. She is excited about starting college in the fall but doesn’t know how to tell her parents she doesn’t want to join the family wedding planning business like they’ve always wanted her to. Some absolutely hilarious wedding planning scenes. Tarek, the son of the bakers her parents often use for weddings, is one of her friends, who went off to college the year before, and her not so secret crush. Things ended awkwardly and now they’re thrust back together for the summer. This was super cute, had lots of funny wedding moments, some great discovering yourself moments, and lots of sweet YA romance.
June 20, 2021
3.5 Stars rounded up to 4!
CW:
Well that was adorable and I really liked the relatable characters!
I liked that the story had a bit of depth to it without feeling too laboured, if you know what I mean. Both Quinn and Tarek are trying to work out what their futures looked like away from the pressures of working in their family businesses. I was relieved there wasn't too much of the miscommunication trope as that can get wearisome. All in all a quick and enjoyable romance!
CW:
Well that was adorable and I really liked the relatable characters!
I liked that the story had a bit of depth to it without feeling too laboured, if you know what I mean. Both Quinn and Tarek are trying to work out what their futures looked like away from the pressures of working in their family businesses. I was relieved there wasn't too much of the miscommunication trope as that can get wearisome. All in all a quick and enjoyable romance!
February 6, 2022
I wanted to like this. I really did. I've read two other books by this author, and I really enjoyed both, but We Can't Keep Meeting Like This was not nearly as good.
Some chapters were just straight up boring and the Muslim rep was so wishy washy, there wasn't much to it. It all came off as performative, written for diversity points and not much more than that. While I have always loved how effortlessly Solomon adds in diversity into her books, she really dropped the ball with this one.
Additionally, I just felt like Quinn and Tarek did not have that much chemistry, it was hard to root for them. Their misunderstandings were all a bit stupid.
But I'm giving it two stars because I loved how Quinn has OCD. Being in Quinn's head just felt familiar and I understood her and what she was going through. I know a lot of people found her annoying, but I didn't view her that way. Plus, this book wasn't entirely boring. There was some occasional good parts. And Rowan and Neil from Today Tonight Tomorrow made an appearance, and gave me just a random burst of happiness.
So overall, not a horrible book, but also not good. Kind of sad that my first book of 2022 was this disappointing though.
Some chapters were just straight up boring and the Muslim rep was so wishy washy, there wasn't much to it. It all came off as performative, written for diversity points and not much more than that. While I have always loved how effortlessly Solomon adds in diversity into her books, she really dropped the ball with this one.
Additionally, I just felt like Quinn and Tarek did not have that much chemistry, it was hard to root for them. Their misunderstandings were all a bit stupid.
But I'm giving it two stars because I loved how Quinn has OCD. Being in Quinn's head just felt familiar and I understood her and what she was going through. I know a lot of people found her annoying, but I didn't view her that way. Plus, this book wasn't entirely boring. There was some occasional good parts. And Rowan and Neil from Today Tonight Tomorrow made an appearance, and gave me just a random burst of happiness.
So overall, not a horrible book, but also not good. Kind of sad that my first book of 2022 was this disappointing though.
April 25, 2025
We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This is many things; it’s funny, it’s charming, it’s a love letter to rom coms and wedding season and Seattle, but what truly makes it shine — and what has cemented it on my favorites list — is its exploration of breaking away from predetermined paths, standing up for yourself, and its honest mental health representation.
full review here
full review here
July 28, 2021
The newest YA rom-com by Rachel Lynn Solomon,
We Can't Keep Meeting Like This
is a funny, sweet, and emotional look at love, friendship, family, romance, and trying to find your way.
Quinn can’t escape weddings—her family runs a successful wedding planning business and her parents have already planned her future, which includes her course of study in college and eventually joining the company full-time. How does Quinn tell them this isn’t what she wants without destroying her family? And how does she figure out what she does want?
If there’s been a plus side to being part of the family business all these years, it’s been working alongside Tarek, whose family runs the catering company they partner with. She and Tarek have been friends for years, they’ve even flirted a bit, but just before Tarek went to college Quinn sent him an email letting him know that she actually liked him—and he never responded.
Now Tarek is back for the summer and looks cuter than ever. And as angry and hurt as she was by him, Quinn can’t stop the resurgence of her feelings. He is a romantic, a fan of the grand gesture, and she hates all of that, believing love is ultimately doomed to fail. But as they grow closer and learn just how vulnerable the other is, Quinn needs to make sense of all of it—her feelings, her future plans, and her fears.
I really enjoyed We Can't Keep Meeting Like This , as I have some of Solomon's other books, including Today Tonight Tomorrow and The Ex-Talk . I love the Jewish representation she always includes and I loved the conversations around mental health, which are so important. It’s funny and emotional and these characters are really complex—sometimes Quinn is annoying, but that’s just like life!
I’m a huge fan of Solomon’s writing and can’t wait to see what’s next for her!
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2020 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2020.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
Quinn can’t escape weddings—her family runs a successful wedding planning business and her parents have already planned her future, which includes her course of study in college and eventually joining the company full-time. How does Quinn tell them this isn’t what she wants without destroying her family? And how does she figure out what she does want?
If there’s been a plus side to being part of the family business all these years, it’s been working alongside Tarek, whose family runs the catering company they partner with. She and Tarek have been friends for years, they’ve even flirted a bit, but just before Tarek went to college Quinn sent him an email letting him know that she actually liked him—and he never responded.
Now Tarek is back for the summer and looks cuter than ever. And as angry and hurt as she was by him, Quinn can’t stop the resurgence of her feelings. He is a romantic, a fan of the grand gesture, and she hates all of that, believing love is ultimately doomed to fail. But as they grow closer and learn just how vulnerable the other is, Quinn needs to make sense of all of it—her feelings, her future plans, and her fears.
I really enjoyed We Can't Keep Meeting Like This , as I have some of Solomon's other books, including Today Tonight Tomorrow and The Ex-Talk . I love the Jewish representation she always includes and I loved the conversations around mental health, which are so important. It’s funny and emotional and these characters are really complex—sometimes Quinn is annoying, but that’s just like life!
I’m a huge fan of Solomon’s writing and can’t wait to see what’s next for her!
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2020 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2020.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
August 13, 2021
4.5 stars!
Incredibly poignant and heart-wrenching, Rachel Lynn Solomon delivers a young adult contemporary unlike any other. To start off, the book wasn’t predictable at all, which is quite rare for me in terms of YA romance. Furthermore, the initial plot of We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This had me thinking this would just be a romantic comedy, and boy was I wrong! This was such a rich novel, whose characters laid bare on the page.
Speaking of characters, despite not throwing in a gazillion references to pop cultures, the book’s characters are immensely relatable. Seventeen year old Quinn Berkowitz hates grand gestures. Eighteen year old Tarek Mansour on the other hand? It’s all he knows romance to be. The story essentially follows Quinn’s life as she navigates love (it wouldn’t be a Rachel Solomon book without it), family life, and the future. I must say, the experiences Quinn goes through really had me all over the place. Despite disliking Quinn, (I found her to be extremely infuriating), she feels so real as a character. Moreover, Tarek was the absolute sweetest! His character was so endearing. Tarek loves baking, and of course, rom-coms. What I found to be quite refreshing is that despite being a guy, he loves romance. His infatuation in it is something I have strictly only seen in female protagonists, so it was definitely a nice change of pace. Unfortunately though, I could never really understand what Tarek saw in Quinn. When he was basically head over heels for Quinn, she didn’t reciprocate even 50% of that energy despite having a huge crush on him. Admittedly, this made me dislike her a lot more.
On a more positive note, an aspect of We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This that I absolutely adored was the representation. Quinn is Jewish, and lives with OCD. Tarek is Muslim, and lives with eczema, and depression. I can’t speak on how accurate the OCD, Jewish, or depression representation was. However, I am someone that lives with eczema and is Muslim. In terms of eczema rep, I think it was represented quite accurately! As for the Muslim rep, I didn’t feel represented in it at all. I was actually quite disappointed with how it was portrayed. So if you're looking for good Muslim representation, you unfortunately won't find it here.
In addition, the dialogue is where it really hit me. It was just too good! The interactions Quinn and Tarek have are so genuine. They fight, they grieve, they love, and here I am tearing up, witnessing their whirlwind of emotions.
The story is told through Quinn’s point of view, and is written very smoothly. There aren’t any clunky paragraphs, and no typos either. Although, I will say that some chapter transitions seemed as though they had cut off mid scene. Moreover, Tarek and Quinn had a very on and off relationship. At times, it felt much too repetitive. Nevertheless, the writing style was very charming, which is always a plus!
The overall enjoyment level of We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This is, is very high. It explores various aspects such as mental health, relationships, consent, and so much more! We rarely get to see these topics compiled into a single novel, and that my friends is what makes this book a must read for all.
--Overall--
Age Rating: 15 and up
TW: OCD, Depression, Anxiety, some use of alcohol
Final Rating: 9/10 or 4.5 stars
For more reviews like this visit https://sunnysidereviews.wordpress.com/!
Thank you Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Incredibly poignant and heart-wrenching, Rachel Lynn Solomon delivers a young adult contemporary unlike any other. To start off, the book wasn’t predictable at all, which is quite rare for me in terms of YA romance. Furthermore, the initial plot of We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This had me thinking this would just be a romantic comedy, and boy was I wrong! This was such a rich novel, whose characters laid bare on the page.
Speaking of characters, despite not throwing in a gazillion references to pop cultures, the book’s characters are immensely relatable. Seventeen year old Quinn Berkowitz hates grand gestures. Eighteen year old Tarek Mansour on the other hand? It’s all he knows romance to be. The story essentially follows Quinn’s life as she navigates love (it wouldn’t be a Rachel Solomon book without it), family life, and the future. I must say, the experiences Quinn goes through really had me all over the place. Despite disliking Quinn, (I found her to be extremely infuriating), she feels so real as a character. Moreover, Tarek was the absolute sweetest! His character was so endearing. Tarek loves baking, and of course, rom-coms. What I found to be quite refreshing is that despite being a guy, he loves romance. His infatuation in it is something I have strictly only seen in female protagonists, so it was definitely a nice change of pace. Unfortunately though, I could never really understand what Tarek saw in Quinn. When he was basically head over heels for Quinn, she didn’t reciprocate even 50% of that energy despite having a huge crush on him. Admittedly, this made me dislike her a lot more.
On a more positive note, an aspect of We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This that I absolutely adored was the representation. Quinn is Jewish, and lives with OCD. Tarek is Muslim, and lives with eczema, and depression. I can’t speak on how accurate the OCD, Jewish, or depression representation was. However, I am someone that lives with eczema and is Muslim. In terms of eczema rep, I think it was represented quite accurately! As for the Muslim rep, I didn’t feel represented in it at all. I was actually quite disappointed with how it was portrayed. So if you're looking for good Muslim representation, you unfortunately won't find it here.
In addition, the dialogue is where it really hit me. It was just too good! The interactions Quinn and Tarek have are so genuine. They fight, they grieve, they love, and here I am tearing up, witnessing their whirlwind of emotions.
The story is told through Quinn’s point of view, and is written very smoothly. There aren’t any clunky paragraphs, and no typos either. Although, I will say that some chapter transitions seemed as though they had cut off mid scene. Moreover, Tarek and Quinn had a very on and off relationship. At times, it felt much too repetitive. Nevertheless, the writing style was very charming, which is always a plus!
The overall enjoyment level of We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This is, is very high. It explores various aspects such as mental health, relationships, consent, and so much more! We rarely get to see these topics compiled into a single novel, and that my friends is what makes this book a must read for all.
--Overall--
Age Rating: 15 and up
TW: OCD, Depression, Anxiety, some use of alcohol
Final Rating: 9/10 or 4.5 stars
For more reviews like this visit https://sunnysidereviews.wordpress.com/!
Thank you Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
March 20, 2021
Rachel Lynn Solomon has done it again! For the hopeless romantics, and for the ones who wish they could be, We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This will keep you well fed. The sort of book that leaves you feeling better about the world than you did before you began, you’ll want to pick this one up for the lovable characters, Solomon’s trademark tender focus on family, and the heartfelt exploration of what it means to be truly vulnerable.
October 30, 2021
DNF’ed at 57%
We Can't Meet Meeting Like This is Rachel Lynn Solomon's latest YA Contemporary/coming-of-age release featuring Jewish heroine Quinn Berkowitz. This new release primarily focuses on weddings, Jewish culture and Quinn figuring out what she wants to do with her life at 18 and connecting with people whom she thought had cut ties with her. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for permitting my access to an ARC! The pleasure is mine.
To begin with, the premise of the story sounds super adorable and perfect for the summer, but some writing choices and characterization did unfortunately let me down. For example, Quinn herself as a main character was hard for me to care for. I did not found her particularly interesting and seemed a bit basic to my liking. She lacked sparks. On the other hand Tarek, the love interest was so much more appealing and intriguing, as he dealt with college and others element that I will not spoil. I wish the book was split between Quinn and Tarek's respective point of views.
Plus, I was really excited about having finally an Egyptian Muslim boy in a YA contemporary, as I am Arab and Muslim too. Sadly, having only Quinn's POV was a missed opportunity to explore Egyptian culture the way she incorporated Jewish culture. Also, I am sad to see in fiction only Muslim characters that are not practicing... That is not really empowering for young readers who are practicing a religion. I found it disappointing to make both Quinn and Tarek non-observant.
Practicing narratives and religious experiences are valid too. We do not have to stick with one narrative. It would be so much nicer to have books where young adults and teens embrace and love their faith. Other than that, the prose is pretty fluid and easy-going. Also, the plot of the book was not as fleshed-out as I wanted too, so I easily got bored. Adding Tarek's storyline would have balanced and filled the empty spaces.
In short, this book did not too well work for me, but the story seem interesting to you, give it a go. I will still a try to Solomon's other books in the future.
We Can't Meet Meeting Like This is Rachel Lynn Solomon's latest YA Contemporary/coming-of-age release featuring Jewish heroine Quinn Berkowitz. This new release primarily focuses on weddings, Jewish culture and Quinn figuring out what she wants to do with her life at 18 and connecting with people whom she thought had cut ties with her. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for permitting my access to an ARC! The pleasure is mine.
To begin with, the premise of the story sounds super adorable and perfect for the summer, but some writing choices and characterization did unfortunately let me down. For example, Quinn herself as a main character was hard for me to care for. I did not found her particularly interesting and seemed a bit basic to my liking. She lacked sparks. On the other hand Tarek, the love interest was so much more appealing and intriguing, as he dealt with college and others element that I will not spoil. I wish the book was split between Quinn and Tarek's respective point of views.
Plus, I was really excited about having finally an Egyptian Muslim boy in a YA contemporary, as I am Arab and Muslim too. Sadly, having only Quinn's POV was a missed opportunity to explore Egyptian culture the way she incorporated Jewish culture. Also, I am sad to see in fiction only Muslim characters that are not practicing... That is not really empowering for young readers who are practicing a religion. I found it disappointing to make both Quinn and Tarek non-observant.
Practicing narratives and religious experiences are valid too. We do not have to stick with one narrative. It would be so much nicer to have books where young adults and teens embrace and love their faith. Other than that, the prose is pretty fluid and easy-going. Also, the plot of the book was not as fleshed-out as I wanted too, so I easily got bored. Adding Tarek's storyline would have balanced and filled the empty spaces.
In short, this book did not too well work for me, but the story seem interesting to you, give it a go. I will still a try to Solomon's other books in the future.
February 12, 2023
(1.5/5)
bro, what on earth was this ????
the only thing i can say is that whatever i was expecting of this book was not what i got. usually, i'm okay with this, because more often than not, i find myself reading something i end up enjoying. this book, however? it doesn't even manage to make it worthwhile (for the most part).
the first problem is quinn and tarek's entire dynamic, and no, i am not being dramatic. although i understand that both of them are dealing with their own struggles and issues (which i will talk more about in a minute), why are they so incapable of communicating?? just use your words??? i don't know if this is just my inability to feel for the main characters or what because i can't understand how quinn especially would rather be miserable than try to talk things out with someone who she clearly was comfortable (yet very much 'not-in-love') with.
the misunderstandings and miscommunication was just not it. i was not having a fun time and slogging through the book was straight-up painful, along with all of the secondhand embarrassment. i was getting no chemistry at all from the two of them and frequently wondered why i was willingly doing this to myself.
there's also the matter of tarek and how despite quinn told him that she wasn't comfortable with his huge, grand gestures, he still continued to pull stunts that ultimately added to the situation and quinn's reluctance to be truthful to herself. like, i get that he wanted to show her his feelings but at the same time, wouldn't it be better to actually respect what she wanted?? thankfully, this becomes much less of an issue as the book progresses, but still, it really rubbed me the wrong way at first.
i'm also not entirely a fan of how tarek and his faith were portrayed in this book—it honestly felt like the fact was thrown into the mix for the sake of keeping things 'diverse', and that no genuine research went into attempting to represent his faith in a meaningful way.
my favorite character was either quinn's best friend or the professional harpist lady.it should tell you something that i can't even remember their names. i wish we could have seen more of them, especially her best friend and how things panned out with the harpist.
everything else was mediocre (or, being realistic, less than so), but this book's one saving grace is probably the effective and genuine representation of the mental health struggles and journeys that both quinn and tarek experience. it felt real, and even if it didn't make up for how disappointing the rest of the book was, i really liked it.
overall, this book was just not worth the time and pain, because the parts that i enjoyed were few and far between. seeing the cover and reading the synopsis had me hoping for more, but it just wasn't there with this book. there's clearly a lot of potential here, but it saddens me that none it really came to fruition.
bro, what on earth was this ????
the only thing i can say is that whatever i was expecting of this book was not what i got. usually, i'm okay with this, because more often than not, i find myself reading something i end up enjoying. this book, however? it doesn't even manage to make it worthwhile (for the most part).
the first problem is quinn and tarek's entire dynamic, and no, i am not being dramatic. although i understand that both of them are dealing with their own struggles and issues (which i will talk more about in a minute), why are they so incapable of communicating?? just use your words??? i don't know if this is just my inability to feel for the main characters or what because i can't understand how quinn especially would rather be miserable than try to talk things out with someone who she clearly was comfortable (yet very much 'not-in-love') with.
the misunderstandings and miscommunication was just not it. i was not having a fun time and slogging through the book was straight-up painful, along with all of the secondhand embarrassment. i was getting no chemistry at all from the two of them and frequently wondered why i was willingly doing this to myself.
there's also the matter of tarek and how despite quinn told him that she wasn't comfortable with his huge, grand gestures, he still continued to pull stunts that ultimately added to the situation and quinn's reluctance to be truthful to herself. like, i get that he wanted to show her his feelings but at the same time, wouldn't it be better to actually respect what she wanted?? thankfully, this becomes much less of an issue as the book progresses, but still, it really rubbed me the wrong way at first.
i'm also not entirely a fan of how tarek and his faith were portrayed in this book—it honestly felt like the fact was thrown into the mix for the sake of keeping things 'diverse', and that no genuine research went into attempting to represent his faith in a meaningful way.
my favorite character was either quinn's best friend or the professional harpist lady.
everything else was mediocre (or, being realistic, less than so), but this book's one saving grace is probably the effective and genuine representation of the mental health struggles and journeys that both quinn and tarek experience. it felt real, and even if it didn't make up for how disappointing the rest of the book was, i really liked it.
overall, this book was just not worth the time and pain, because the parts that i enjoyed were few and far between. seeing the cover and reading the synopsis had me hoping for more, but it just wasn't there with this book. there's clearly a lot of potential here, but it saddens me that none it really came to fruition.
July 22, 2021
It's all about Cakes, Music and Love.
All three things I absolutely adore and when bought together would do wonders in a romance novel.
Both the characters as an individual are a great development, but the chemistry between the two was totally missing. I would have loved to see some more deeper connection between Quinn and Tarek.
All three things I absolutely adore and when bought together would do wonders in a romance novel.
Both the characters as an individual are a great development, but the chemistry between the two was totally missing. I would have loved to see some more deeper connection between Quinn and Tarek.
July 6, 2023
TW//
Before I dive into my review, I need to mention that the Muslim representation in this book has been criticized for being problematic. I’m not Muslim, so I’m going to post two reviews here that were posted by Muslim people that call out why the representation in this book is bad:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Now, on to the bulk of my review.
Rachel Lynn Solomon is doing a book signing with one of my favorite authors in my city soon, so I thought I’d read one of her books before the signing, especially since I have heard mostly good things about her books. At first, I was enjoying my time with this book because of the OCD representation. I have OCD and I felt that the OCD representation was done really well. This was one of the first times I’ve ever seen a character with OCD similair to mine. It was refreshing and relatable. I also felt that how the story dealt with the pressure from Quinn’s parents was done really well.
However, as the book continued on, I realized I was enjoying the story less and less. I found that mostly everything about this story was bland. I didn’t care for any of the characters and I couldn’t get invested in the story. It felt like something was missing from this story and the plot kept dragging on for way too long.
I think what tipped this over from being a three star to a two star read for me was Quinn and Tarek. They both lacked chemistry. I never felt like I truly got to know Tarek on any deep level. For at least 50% of the book, Quinn is just obsessing over how she’s “not” attracted to Tarek and the readers don’t get to see who he is as a person. Because of this, when things started to happen between Quinn and Tarek, it didn’t feel like it was happening out of pure connection, so it felt forced. I wasn’t a huge fan of Quinn as a character either. I hated how she treated certain people in her life, especially Tarek.
Overall this book was extremely disappointing and underwhelming. I honestly think this book would’ve been better if it focused on Julia and Noelle’s relationship instead of Quinn and Tarek’s. I will most likely give Rachel Lynn Solomon’s books another chance, but this was not a great introduction to her works. Hopefully her adult romances will work better for me.
Before I dive into my review, I need to mention that the Muslim representation in this book has been criticized for being problematic. I’m not Muslim, so I’m going to post two reviews here that were posted by Muslim people that call out why the representation in this book is bad:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Now, on to the bulk of my review.
Rachel Lynn Solomon is doing a book signing with one of my favorite authors in my city soon, so I thought I’d read one of her books before the signing, especially since I have heard mostly good things about her books. At first, I was enjoying my time with this book because of the OCD representation. I have OCD and I felt that the OCD representation was done really well. This was one of the first times I’ve ever seen a character with OCD similair to mine. It was refreshing and relatable. I also felt that how the story dealt with the pressure from Quinn’s parents was done really well.
However, as the book continued on, I realized I was enjoying the story less and less. I found that mostly everything about this story was bland. I didn’t care for any of the characters and I couldn’t get invested in the story. It felt like something was missing from this story and the plot kept dragging on for way too long.
I think what tipped this over from being a three star to a two star read for me was Quinn and Tarek. They both lacked chemistry. I never felt like I truly got to know Tarek on any deep level. For at least 50% of the book, Quinn is just obsessing over how she’s “not” attracted to Tarek and the readers don’t get to see who he is as a person. Because of this, when things started to happen between Quinn and Tarek, it didn’t feel like it was happening out of pure connection, so it felt forced. I wasn’t a huge fan of Quinn as a character either. I hated how she treated certain people in her life, especially Tarek.
Overall this book was extremely disappointing and underwhelming. I honestly think this book would’ve been better if it focused on Julia and Noelle’s relationship instead of Quinn and Tarek’s. I will most likely give Rachel Lynn Solomon’s books another chance, but this was not a great introduction to her works. Hopefully her adult romances will work better for me.
July 31, 2021
DNF at 22% 🙃🙃
The author is a zionist. Thus, I feel no desire to continue reading this book.
They’ve expressed feeling ’drawn to Israel’ in the linked interview.
https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/pb-...
I started this book out of curiosity towards the criticism of the portrayal Egyptian American Muslim character Tarek Mansour— in other words, I wanted to see just how bad it could be— but didn’t get very far to comment on that.
However, the constant cherry-picking of Islam by Western authors so that they may fit a Muslim character into their specific narrative is overdone and exhausting and all criticism I’ve read about this is 100% valid.
It’s pure laziness on the part of the non-Muslim writer who chooses to write Muslim characters that don’t really practice. Of course such Muslims exist. No one denies that there are Muslims who drink and have sex. But RLS, as a non-Muslim writer, is simply gaining profit off claimed religious representation provided by Tarek, while simultaneously not caring enough about that religion to do enough research to write about it properly and respectfully, thus they make their character not practice. It’s an easy route that also conveniently shoves Islam into their Western narrative so that it may be processed by an audience who refuses to think outside of their boxes. Its audacious. It’s laziness. It’s stolen space from a voice that is better equipped to write Tarek’s character, to begin with.
The main girl, Quinn, is annoying. That’s it. She was whiny and irritating and I’m glad to be slamming this book shut.
Additionally, I don’t need to point out how zionism and ‘feeling drawn to Israel’ as an entity is inherently racist and islamophobic. Don’t write Arab or Muslim characters while carrying ideals that essentially oppose their existence, yeah?
The author is a zionist. Thus, I feel no desire to continue reading this book.
They’ve expressed feeling ’drawn to Israel’ in the linked interview.
https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/pb-...
I started this book out of curiosity towards the criticism of the portrayal Egyptian American Muslim character Tarek Mansour— in other words, I wanted to see just how bad it could be— but didn’t get very far to comment on that.
However, the constant cherry-picking of Islam by Western authors so that they may fit a Muslim character into their specific narrative is overdone and exhausting and all criticism I’ve read about this is 100% valid.
It’s pure laziness on the part of the non-Muslim writer who chooses to write Muslim characters that don’t really practice. Of course such Muslims exist. No one denies that there are Muslims who drink and have sex. But RLS, as a non-Muslim writer, is simply gaining profit off claimed religious representation provided by Tarek, while simultaneously not caring enough about that religion to do enough research to write about it properly and respectfully, thus they make their character not practice. It’s an easy route that also conveniently shoves Islam into their Western narrative so that it may be processed by an audience who refuses to think outside of their boxes. Its audacious. It’s laziness. It’s stolen space from a voice that is better equipped to write Tarek’s character, to begin with.
The main girl, Quinn, is annoying. That’s it. She was whiny and irritating and I’m glad to be slamming this book shut.
Additionally, I don’t need to point out how zionism and ‘feeling drawn to Israel’ as an entity is inherently racist and islamophobic. Don’t write Arab or Muslim characters while carrying ideals that essentially oppose their existence, yeah?
March 25, 2024
|1.5 Stars| Ages 16+|336 Pages|YA/Contemperary|
If This Book Was A Song It Would Be 'Speechless' by Rachel Platten
If This Book Was A Movie It Would Be Rated R for Language and Sexual Content
I can't keep reading things like this.
First a foremost, this is almost an exact ripoff of SarSarah Dessen's novel Once and for All. I'm actually shocked this was allowed to be published with how similar the two are. Like Twilight and Crave.
Secondly, I don't mean I need to stop reading contemporary novels because that won't be happening anytime soon, I mean I need to stop reading books I know are going to be a two-star read from page one. This was...something special to say the least. I hoped that it would redeem itself, but it never happened. I spent my time form the 30% on mark wondering how much longer it would be till this book was over.
--
Quinn and her family have been in the business of organizing and running weddings for as long as she can remember. When she was younger, she loved it. Watching the bride and groom say their vows, have their first dance, and cut the cake, all made her dream of love. Until her world shattered around her and she was left to pick up the pieces alone.
Now, she can't stand attending weddings. But, she keeps a smile on her face and pretends to love it out of fear that she'll rock the boat that is her family. Quinn's anxious brain keeps her from telling everyone just how she feels, until Tarek, the boy whom she confessed her love to in a messy email a year ago, shows up and sparks fly.
As Quinn struggles to decide what the best course for her future may be, she pushes those closest to her away. But she may learn, that the best course for her future may be those people she's losing.
--
Book Content:
Language- Sh!t, Damn, Hell, a$s, as$hole, bi+ch, d!ck, pissed, dammnit, and frequent f-bombs. (All words are used throughout the whole book regularly)
Violence-None
Sexual Content- Talking about having sex, thinking about sex, sex, talking about m@sterb@tion, 0rg@$ms, talking about how good it feels to have a 0rg@$m, pole dancing, and nude paintings.
Other Things To Note:
~MC has OCD and anxiety
~F/F side couples
~M/M side couples
~Underage drinking
~Depression
~MC's parents separate for 6 months
I've said this before and I'll keep saying it. KEEP SEX OUT OF YA!!!!! Fade-to-black scenes are one thing, and I think those are fine to a degree, but talking about 0rg@sm$ every other page and having sex/hookups mentioned in every chapter is something completely different. I come to YA because I am not a fan of reading sex, that's just who I am, and then finding it to be as dirty as an NA book is so disappointing!
And the pop-culture references. Sometimes I can do them, sometimes I can't, but in this book...they just didn't work. They were random and sparse and, quite frankly, weird. It felt off to have them placed where they were like the author was trying too hard to make it appeal to young people.
Sadly, this was a miss for me. Typically, the MC having OCD/Anxiety can bring up my rating a bit, because those are things I deal with which makes the MCs more relatable, but nothing can save this sinking ship.
If This Book Was A Song It Would Be 'Speechless' by Rachel Platten
If This Book Was A Movie It Would Be Rated R for Language and Sexual Content
"By now, I should be strong enough to resist a cute guy in a well-tailored suit."
I can't keep reading things like this.
First a foremost, this is almost an exact ripoff of SarSarah Dessen's novel Once and for All. I'm actually shocked this was allowed to be published with how similar the two are. Like Twilight and Crave.
Secondly, I don't mean I need to stop reading contemporary novels because that won't be happening anytime soon, I mean I need to stop reading books I know are going to be a two-star read from page one. This was...something special to say the least. I hoped that it would redeem itself, but it never happened. I spent my time form the 30% on mark wondering how much longer it would be till this book was over.
“I cross and uncross my legs so many times it must look like I'm doing Pilates at best and a seductive chair dance at worst.”
--
Quinn and her family have been in the business of organizing and running weddings for as long as she can remember. When she was younger, she loved it. Watching the bride and groom say their vows, have their first dance, and cut the cake, all made her dream of love. Until her world shattered around her and she was left to pick up the pieces alone.
Now, she can't stand attending weddings. But, she keeps a smile on her face and pretends to love it out of fear that she'll rock the boat that is her family. Quinn's anxious brain keeps her from telling everyone just how she feels, until Tarek, the boy whom she confessed her love to in a messy email a year ago, shows up and sparks fly.
As Quinn struggles to decide what the best course for her future may be, she pushes those closest to her away. But she may learn, that the best course for her future may be those people she's losing.
--
“He's been bumping my hip the whole game, winking at me, gazing at my mouth. It's the kind of attention I've always liked–people making it so obvious they're into you that you don't have to drive yourself wild with anxiety trying to decipher their feelings.”
Book Content:
Language- Sh!t, Damn, Hell, a$s, as$hole, bi+ch, d!ck, pissed, dammnit, and frequent f-bombs. (All words are used throughout the whole book regularly)
Violence-None
Sexual Content- Talking about having sex, thinking about sex, sex, talking about m@sterb@tion, 0rg@$ms, talking about how good it feels to have a 0rg@$m, pole dancing, and nude paintings.
Other Things To Note:
~MC has OCD and anxiety
~F/F side couples
~M/M side couples
~Underage drinking
~Depression
~MC's parents separate for 6 months
“If I have time, I can schedule a panic attack right before the cake cutting.”
I've said this before and I'll keep saying it. KEEP SEX OUT OF YA!!!!! Fade-to-black scenes are one thing, and I think those are fine to a degree, but talking about 0rg@sm$ every other page and having sex/hookups mentioned in every chapter is something completely different. I come to YA because I am not a fan of reading sex, that's just who I am, and then finding it to be as dirty as an NA book is so disappointing!
And the pop-culture references. Sometimes I can do them, sometimes I can't, but in this book...they just didn't work. They were random and sparse and, quite frankly, weird. It felt off to have them placed where they were like the author was trying too hard to make it appeal to young people.
“When you're in love, whether that love is platonic or romantic, you get to be the fullest version of yourself, uncertainties and mistakes and all.”
Sadly, this was a miss for me. Typically, the MC having OCD/Anxiety can bring up my rating a bit, because those are things I deal with which makes the MCs more relatable, but nothing can save this sinking ship.
“And sometimes the world is terrible, and love stories... They make it feel less heavy.”
June 13, 2021
“Sometimes the world is terrible, and love stories . . . they make it feel less heavy.”
★★★★☆
I received an early copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own
We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This is the most recent novel by Rachel Lynn Solomon, which deals heavily with mental health representation, majorly anxiety, but also depression.
It follows Quinn, who deals with generalised anxiety on a daily basis. She has a crush on a boy (whose family has worked with her’s in the wedding planning business for years), and she decides to tell him via email. Except he never responds. Now he’s back and things are as awkward as ever.
I’m going to start off by saying I was very surprised by this book. I was super excited to read it but because it does deal primarily with anxiety, I knew I was going to have to be a little more critical, in terms how I review it because as someone who does have anxiety – I wanted the representation to be as accurate as possible. Personally, I think the way the author handled it in this book was very well done.
Mental health isn’t easy to incorporate into books and even harder to do well if only because it adds a certain depth to the character that most people don’t generally explore. I love the way Quinn’s character evolved in this book and she definitely had that depth I was looking for.
Another thing I loved was that nothing in this book was too convenient. There was also a lot of things going on in the background like misunderstanding parents, strained relationship with her sibling and a complicated love interest. It was pretty obvious going in that there was definitely a miscommunication trope at play here, which had me pretty concerned. Miscommunication is not one of my favourite tropes to read about because it can get pretty melodramatic or dragged out at times, which eventually leads it to overshadowing the actual plot. I was so relieved when that didn’t happen in this book.
I also loved the display of culture here. The protagonist is from a Jewish family and the love interest, Tarek, is Egyptian-American. However, I wish it was talked about a little more. I feel like his Muslim heritage wasn’t really delved into much in the book, even though it was mentioned a few times that he was non practising. I would have loved to have seen a little more of his cultural background.
The reason I cut down my rating even though I really liked this book A LOT was because I wanted a little more insight into Tarek’s character. I mean yes, we did explore a little bit but I feel like his character lacked the depth that Quinn’s character had. It could probably be because I relate more Quinn than Tarek, but I couldn’t really connect with him on an emotional level as much.
Either way, I definitely recommend adding this to your tbr because it has great anxiety representation that I think you will definitely really enjoy reading about. Also a side note, this book is not a light hearted rom com. So incase you were expecting that going in, just know that it deals with pretty heavy themes.
★★★★☆
I received an early copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own
We Can’t Keep Meeting Like This is the most recent novel by Rachel Lynn Solomon, which deals heavily with mental health representation, majorly anxiety, but also depression.
It follows Quinn, who deals with generalised anxiety on a daily basis. She has a crush on a boy (whose family has worked with her’s in the wedding planning business for years), and she decides to tell him via email. Except he never responds. Now he’s back and things are as awkward as ever.
I’m going to start off by saying I was very surprised by this book. I was super excited to read it but because it does deal primarily with anxiety, I knew I was going to have to be a little more critical, in terms how I review it because as someone who does have anxiety – I wanted the representation to be as accurate as possible. Personally, I think the way the author handled it in this book was very well done.
Mental health isn’t easy to incorporate into books and even harder to do well if only because it adds a certain depth to the character that most people don’t generally explore. I love the way Quinn’s character evolved in this book and she definitely had that depth I was looking for.
Another thing I loved was that nothing in this book was too convenient. There was also a lot of things going on in the background like misunderstanding parents, strained relationship with her sibling and a complicated love interest. It was pretty obvious going in that there was definitely a miscommunication trope at play here, which had me pretty concerned. Miscommunication is not one of my favourite tropes to read about because it can get pretty melodramatic or dragged out at times, which eventually leads it to overshadowing the actual plot. I was so relieved when that didn’t happen in this book.
I also loved the display of culture here. The protagonist is from a Jewish family and the love interest, Tarek, is Egyptian-American. However, I wish it was talked about a little more. I feel like his Muslim heritage wasn’t really delved into much in the book, even though it was mentioned a few times that he was non practising. I would have loved to have seen a little more of his cultural background.
The reason I cut down my rating even though I really liked this book A LOT was because I wanted a little more insight into Tarek’s character. I mean yes, we did explore a little bit but I feel like his character lacked the depth that Quinn’s character had. It could probably be because I relate more Quinn than Tarek, but I couldn’t really connect with him on an emotional level as much.
Either way, I definitely recommend adding this to your tbr because it has great anxiety representation that I think you will definitely really enjoy reading about. Also a side note, this book is not a light hearted rom com. So incase you were expecting that going in, just know that it deals with pretty heavy themes.
August 12, 2021
I discovered We Can't Keep Meeting Like This thru Inah @ Fueled by Chapters and the premise caught my attention. The story is lighthearted, sweet and angst-y. It's been a long time I found a great young adult novel that transitioned to new adult. I'll say this one is a gem.
Quinn works on their family's wedding planning business and she's a harpist. Her family works with Tarek's family wherein they have a catering business. Tarek is a baker and she has a crush on him whenever he bakes those beautiful cakes, I can't help craving. Our protagonists are passionate on what they're doing and I love seeing them enjoy it in spite of dealing with mental illness. It never stopped them and I love they openly talk about them.
The thing I love the most about this novel, the characters are unapologetically honest and relatable in every way. I love Quinn and Tarek talk about their sex lives. Most of the YA books I've read, they are not entirely detailed and I find this unexpectedly steamy and romantic. Plus, I love the teenage angst and the flaws shaped them to learn from their mistakes. I appreciate it a lot. Aside from these, it also talks about religion. I'm not familiar with Judaism and it's nice to see it here.
If you are looking for a lighthearted, crush to lovers, friends to lovers romance. I recommend this book. When you have chance, listen to the audiobook version. It's wonderfully narrated.
Quinn works on their family's wedding planning business and she's a harpist. Her family works with Tarek's family wherein they have a catering business. Tarek is a baker and she has a crush on him whenever he bakes those beautiful cakes, I can't help craving. Our protagonists are passionate on what they're doing and I love seeing them enjoy it in spite of dealing with mental illness. It never stopped them and I love they openly talk about them.
The thing I love the most about this novel, the characters are unapologetically honest and relatable in every way. I love Quinn and Tarek talk about their sex lives. Most of the YA books I've read, they are not entirely detailed and I find this unexpectedly steamy and romantic. Plus, I love the teenage angst and the flaws shaped them to learn from their mistakes. I appreciate it a lot. Aside from these, it also talks about religion. I'm not familiar with Judaism and it's nice to see it here.
If you are looking for a lighthearted, crush to lovers, friends to lovers romance. I recommend this book. When you have chance, listen to the audiobook version. It's wonderfully narrated.
Read
January 3, 2023“and sometimes the world is terrible, and love stories... they make it feel less heavy.”
it’s been forever since i’ve read this perfect of a young adult book. until now, i hadn’t ever read any rachel lynn solomon books, but by the time i’m writing this review, i’ve already read another one as well. i’m not even kidding when i say i’m in love with her writing. wckmlt is the ultimate grumpy/sunshine friends to lovers, which are literally my two favorite tropes. following quinn, jewish and the daughter of wedding planners and a harpist who is lost in life, and tarek, our egyptian american love interest who wants to be a pastry chef and has a knack for grand gestures. needless to say, this romance was adorable!!! 👏🏻
friends to lovers is the superior trope. there, i said it. but quinn and tarek have so much history and so much chemistry that is developed before we even meet them. and yet, there is still so much pining!! so! much! mutual! pining!! besides the romance, i really appreciated how we got to see quinn’s struggles. between her disbelief in love and her uncertainty about life after high school, her character development was so honest, and also, she plays the harp!! like a teen harpist ?? i love her
finally, the highlight of this book for me was honestly the mental health rep. quinn has OCD and anxiety, and though it’s not the main plot point of the book, it’s written to show just how it affects her daily life. i really appreciated how gently this book handled mental health, it was an aspect i wasn’t really expecting, but mental health rep in young adult books is so important!!
i haven’t loved a book this much in a while, between the beautiful writing and honest themes and the romance and literally being set at different weddings, it’s perfect.
🔻content warnings: death of a grandparent, discussions about mental health (OCD, anxiety, and depression)🔺
it’s been forever since i’ve read this perfect of a young adult book. until now, i hadn’t ever read any rachel lynn solomon books, but by the time i’m writing this review, i’ve already read another one as well. i’m not even kidding when i say i’m in love with her writing. wckmlt is the ultimate grumpy/sunshine friends to lovers, which are literally my two favorite tropes. following quinn, jewish and the daughter of wedding planners and a harpist who is lost in life, and tarek, our egyptian american love interest who wants to be a pastry chef and has a knack for grand gestures. needless to say, this romance was adorable!!! 👏🏻
friends to lovers is the superior trope. there, i said it. but quinn and tarek have so much history and so much chemistry that is developed before we even meet them. and yet, there is still so much pining!! so! much! mutual! pining!! besides the romance, i really appreciated how we got to see quinn’s struggles. between her disbelief in love and her uncertainty about life after high school, her character development was so honest, and also, she plays the harp!! like a teen harpist ?? i love her
finally, the highlight of this book for me was honestly the mental health rep. quinn has OCD and anxiety, and though it’s not the main plot point of the book, it’s written to show just how it affects her daily life. i really appreciated how gently this book handled mental health, it was an aspect i wasn’t really expecting, but mental health rep in young adult books is so important!!
i haven’t loved a book this much in a while, between the beautiful writing and honest themes and the romance and literally being set at different weddings, it’s perfect.
🔻content warnings: death of a grandparent, discussions about mental health (OCD, anxiety, and depression)🔺
June 21, 2021
4/5 stars from meeeeee
i love a good rachel lynn solomon book she always involves real life situations and still gives us a happy ending. the ocd & depression rep in this book is very important, and I like the way that she does not shy away from shining light on these topics. quinn being jewish and tarek being muslim it’s also very important, but i like that it doesn’t take away from the main point of the story! tarek is a dream come true and i wish i could meet my own tarek! he’s also egyptian which i don’t see much characters written as such, so i liked that diverse element as well! all in all i really liked this story and for that it gets 4/5 stars!
i love a good rachel lynn solomon book she always involves real life situations and still gives us a happy ending. the ocd & depression rep in this book is very important, and I like the way that she does not shy away from shining light on these topics. quinn being jewish and tarek being muslim it’s also very important, but i like that it doesn’t take away from the main point of the story! tarek is a dream come true and i wish i could meet my own tarek! he’s also egyptian which i don’t see much characters written as such, so i liked that diverse element as well! all in all i really liked this story and for that it gets 4/5 stars!
June 22, 2022
More of a coming of age story than I normally care for. 4 of 10 stars
December 9, 2024
its a tad bit unfortunate that i didnt love my 100th read of the year.. but what can you do? i was expecting to like this more because i loved today tonight tomorrow and see you yesterday, but unfortunately this one just wasnt it for me.
i think that quinn just annoyed me a bit too much. tarek was doing SO many nice things for her and she just could. not. grasp. the. concept that he liked her. it was just making me so mad and most of this book was just unnecessary. it could have been solved in one conversation if they were honest with each other.
i dont know something about it just wasnt working, but it also wasnt awful, i just would say it was far from being the best thing i ever read.
i think that quinn just annoyed me a bit too much. tarek was doing SO many nice things for her and she just could. not. grasp. the. concept that he liked her. it was just making me so mad and most of this book was just unnecessary. it could have been solved in one conversation if they were honest with each other.
i dont know something about it just wasnt working, but it also wasnt awful, i just would say it was far from being the best thing i ever read.
June 10, 2021
✨You need to hear me out and they said speak now✨
The beginning of this book was exactly what I wanted and expected from a Rachel Lynn Solomon book. It was a warm summer’s night wrapped in fairy lights kind of comfort; a long walk down a perfect spiral staircase in your best dress kind of setting. But by the end, the string of lights seemed to flicker out and I tripped three steps up from the landing. I wanted so desperately to love it but I finished the last page with lackluster thoughts and no real urge to reread.
Unlike Quinn, this book made me want a meet cute of epic proportions born from grand gestures and dramatic monologues. I’m such a hopeless romantic. I sit in coffee shops looking ~enigmatic~ and hoping a tall, dark, handsome Clark Kent will walk through the door, spill his latte on me, and propose marriage for the inconvenience.
Therefore, I really had a hard time connecting with Quinn. I couldn’t reconcile her thinking her parents love was fake so then, by using the transitive property, all public gestures of love were fake. I also couldn’t handle her slander of rom-coms and Sleepless in Seattle. So help me if it had been You’ve Got Mail that she was shredding apart like a paper mache streamer I’d have had to wack her with my rolled up copy of the movie poster.
I think talking to Tarek about her reasons behind hating grand gestures sooner would have made the most sense, since he would literally never understand her hatred and reluctance. Obviously, I think he needs to take a hint and not be a plane writing cursive in the sky at every turn. He also needs to not drop $800 on her to win her affection; that was just plain wacky. I think it’s a give and take not an all or nothing. She can’t discount his love for grand gestures and he can’t ignore her reservations and discomfort.
I just honestly don’t think they should have ended up together because I didn’t feel like either (especially Quinn) compromised or really changed mindsets. To an extent, their differences were more core beliefs than mindsets and it ending up being like “maybe they aren’t right fundamentally for each other.”
Quinn also just kept and I mean KEPT putting off important conversations. “I like it too much to think about it right now.” “I like it too much to ponder what it means right now.” “I figured I’d deal with it later.” It was April scheduling everything for the “nonexistent” yet completely existent March 31st. You just know it’s going to be a bitch when she has to think about it “right now.” Indeed, karma had its kiss for her.
I also disliked how Quinn treated Tarek at the end. She was so wishy washy and after literally telling him she never even wants to try to make it work between them, she has the audacity to ask him to stay with her. I knew she’d have to be the one to make a romantic gesture in the end but honestly? It made my head hurt. Her big revelation at the end was just too late and too sudden. I am not convinced that her opinions have actually changed. It was a pretty ingrained way of thinking that she didn’t even try to shake for 95% of the book.
Further, Quinn’s maid of honor speech was weird and very insightful for someone who just had the revelation. I get it’s ~the~ Hallmark grand gesture but as a rule grand gestures shouldn’t happen at other people’s weddings unless you’re in 27 Dresses and said grand gesture is directed at James Marsden. Or you’re Taylor Swift and your ex is getting married to a bride in a dress shaped like a pastry.
I did enjoy how some confessions came a lot sooner than a typical YA book so you got to see their relationship and friendship progress without lies inevitabley dimming the sparkle. There’s more than one kiss, more than one many things really. I also loved the wedding venues and atmosphere, as I was a wedding caterer for two years. I really REALLY related to Quinn having bangs during wedding season. They truly become a sticky sweaty forehead mess in that post-matrimonial glow.
I wrote a lot about Quinn and Tarek because this is a romance and they were the romance. While I didn’t feel a connection to either of them on that spectrum, I loved what they each represented. I loved the diversity and inclusivity that spanned more than just skin color. Sexuality, religion, ethnicity, mental health (depression, anxiety, OCD), physical traits, and family pressures/expectations to name the majority. I learned a lot and found each character to be complex and genuine. Rachel’s writing was clever as ever and remarkably unique.
Overall, this was a very bittersweet review. I was prepared to roll around in a sugar bomb while sampling about five different wedding cakes and drinking cotton candy champagne. It was such a shock to my system when I was counting down the pages because I wanted to be done, not because I wanted to prolong the experience. I feel icky just knowing I have these thoughts about a Rachel Lynn Solomon book. Somebody get the iodine! I love weddings and love and catering but this one just wasn’t as sparkly as I was anticipating. It had some great moments, great messages, and a beautiful cover but ultimately we’re just not a match.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5
__________
Initial reaction:
3.25? 3.5? Idk and I’m not used to feeling this way about a Rachel Solomon book so I need either a mourning period or a bottle of wine or probably just some sleep. I loved the first half (60%) and barely tolerated the second half (40%). Full review to come after I’ve tamped down this identity crisis
The beginning of this book was exactly what I wanted and expected from a Rachel Lynn Solomon book. It was a warm summer’s night wrapped in fairy lights kind of comfort; a long walk down a perfect spiral staircase in your best dress kind of setting. But by the end, the string of lights seemed to flicker out and I tripped three steps up from the landing. I wanted so desperately to love it but I finished the last page with lackluster thoughts and no real urge to reread.
Unlike Quinn, this book made me want a meet cute of epic proportions born from grand gestures and dramatic monologues. I’m such a hopeless romantic. I sit in coffee shops looking ~enigmatic~ and hoping a tall, dark, handsome Clark Kent will walk through the door, spill his latte on me, and propose marriage for the inconvenience.
Therefore, I really had a hard time connecting with Quinn. I couldn’t reconcile her thinking her parents love was fake so then, by using the transitive property, all public gestures of love were fake. I also couldn’t handle her slander of rom-coms and Sleepless in Seattle. So help me if it had been You’ve Got Mail that she was shredding apart like a paper mache streamer I’d have had to wack her with my rolled up copy of the movie poster.
I think talking to Tarek about her reasons behind hating grand gestures sooner would have made the most sense, since he would literally never understand her hatred and reluctance. Obviously, I think he needs to take a hint and not be a plane writing cursive in the sky at every turn. He also needs to not drop $800 on her to win her affection; that was just plain wacky. I think it’s a give and take not an all or nothing. She can’t discount his love for grand gestures and he can’t ignore her reservations and discomfort.
I just honestly don’t think they should have ended up together because I didn’t feel like either (especially Quinn) compromised or really changed mindsets. To an extent, their differences were more core beliefs than mindsets and it ending up being like “maybe they aren’t right fundamentally for each other.”
Quinn also just kept and I mean KEPT putting off important conversations. “I like it too much to think about it right now.” “I like it too much to ponder what it means right now.” “I figured I’d deal with it later.” It was April scheduling everything for the “nonexistent” yet completely existent March 31st. You just know it’s going to be a bitch when she has to think about it “right now.” Indeed, karma had its kiss for her.
I also disliked how Quinn treated Tarek at the end. She was so wishy washy and after literally telling him she never even wants to try to make it work between them, she has the audacity to ask him to stay with her. I knew she’d have to be the one to make a romantic gesture in the end but honestly? It made my head hurt. Her big revelation at the end was just too late and too sudden. I am not convinced that her opinions have actually changed. It was a pretty ingrained way of thinking that she didn’t even try to shake for 95% of the book.
Further, Quinn’s maid of honor speech was weird and very insightful for someone who just had the revelation. I get it’s ~the~ Hallmark grand gesture but as a rule grand gestures shouldn’t happen at other people’s weddings unless you’re in 27 Dresses and said grand gesture is directed at James Marsden. Or you’re Taylor Swift and your ex is getting married to a bride in a dress shaped like a pastry.
I did enjoy how some confessions came a lot sooner than a typical YA book so you got to see their relationship and friendship progress without lies inevitabley dimming the sparkle. There’s more than one kiss, more than one many things really. I also loved the wedding venues and atmosphere, as I was a wedding caterer for two years. I really REALLY related to Quinn having bangs during wedding season. They truly become a sticky sweaty forehead mess in that post-matrimonial glow.
I wrote a lot about Quinn and Tarek because this is a romance and they were the romance. While I didn’t feel a connection to either of them on that spectrum, I loved what they each represented. I loved the diversity and inclusivity that spanned more than just skin color. Sexuality, religion, ethnicity, mental health (depression, anxiety, OCD), physical traits, and family pressures/expectations to name the majority. I learned a lot and found each character to be complex and genuine. Rachel’s writing was clever as ever and remarkably unique.
Overall, this was a very bittersweet review. I was prepared to roll around in a sugar bomb while sampling about five different wedding cakes and drinking cotton candy champagne. It was such a shock to my system when I was counting down the pages because I wanted to be done, not because I wanted to prolong the experience. I feel icky just knowing I have these thoughts about a Rachel Lynn Solomon book. Somebody get the iodine! I love weddings and love and catering but this one just wasn’t as sparkly as I was anticipating. It had some great moments, great messages, and a beautiful cover but ultimately we’re just not a match.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5
__________
Initial reaction:
3.25? 3.5? Idk and I’m not used to feeling this way about a Rachel Solomon book so I need either a mourning period or a bottle of wine or probably just some sleep. I loved the first half (60%) and barely tolerated the second half (40%). Full review to come after I’ve tamped down this identity crisis
May 21, 2020
I was lucky enough to read an early version of this book, and OH MY GOSH. This book is SO clever and kept me laughing out loud the whole time. It's so funny while also being incredibly genuine, and that pairing made it an easy 5-star read for me. Quinn is a fantastic main character who I was rooting for from the very first page, and Tarek is the perfect love interest for her: thoughtful, kind, and oh-so-swoony. I absolutely LOVED this book and cannot wait to put it on the shelf with the rest of my Rachel Lynn Solomon collection.
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