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A Quick Overview of Meant To Be
Meant to be is an urban Cinderella Story. Joe Kingsley is the son of the most famous family in America and has a lot to live up to the standards of his diseased father whom was a prominent political elite figure. Cate had a difficult and abusive childhood and built a life from the bottom and worked her way up to gaining status in the modelling world. Their two worlds collide and their relationship gets challenged by the secrets of Cate’s past, the expectations of Joe, and the pressures of the media and everything that comes along with being famous.
“To Whom Much Is Given, Much Is Expected.”
My Impression
I enjoyed Meant To Be, but I can’t say I loved it. There are some books that grip you and make you feel things, making you feel as though you are the characters within the story, that you’re hurting with them or you’re falling in love with them, but this one just didn’t do that for me. It isn’t that the Book lacked plot. I thought the story was good but I suppose it just lacked feeling and connection to me. I often felt Cate was really bland in her dialogues. How she acted in her own perspective verses how Joe connected with her felt really different. It felt bland when reading her side of things. I thought her backstory was good but I really wasn’t a fan of her as a character and just couldn’t connect with her. She lacked a lot of emotion as a character.
Joe on the other hand I felt was better developed. He felt like he had a lot more personality. Something I really would have liked to see (spoiler alert) is more background with him and Berry (his childhood best friend), maybe even some romance between them. Something I always had a hunch about before it was later revealed was that she had feelings for him, and she did. She knew him since they were kids, they had something personal they connected with, and she was just supposed to accept him being with other girls the entire book while she was always in love with him on the sidelines. Not to mention, Joe’s mother already loved her and treated her like the daughter she never had. Yet, nothing ever became of her and Joe romantically, and I think that’s such a shame. I think I would have been more interested in this story if it were about him and Berry, the girl who was closest to him but always left unseen when it comes to his romantic interests. I wish there could have been more substance there with them because she had potential to be a big part of this story and add a lot of substance and drama to the plot. When she admitted her feelings to Joe, I wish it would have changed things somehow, but it didn’t. I just felt bad for her. There was so much potential there with her character, but she ended up being useless in the story more or less and acted more as a filler in my opinion.
Conclusion
I’m not sure that I’d recommend or not recommend this book. I’d say if you see it on sale at the book store or a thrift store and want a fairly enjoyable romance novel to read, I think it’d be a good book at bargain price. This definitely isn’t a book I’d run out and pay full price for though. There’s a little bit of spice, not a lot, but a little for those who enjoy spice. Just don’t get your hopes up for a really emotional or captivating read. It was good. Not great, but good.
Ready to Read Meant To Be by Emily Giffin? ☟
The Cozy Cat Rating: ★★★
Synopsis:
The Kingsley family is practically American royalty, beloved for their military heroics, political service, and unmatched elegance. When Joseph S. Kingsley III is born in 1960, he inherits the weight of that legacy. Growing up with all the Kingsley looks and charisma, Joe should have no problem taking up the mantle after his father’s untimely death. But he is also a little bit reckless, and can’t seem to figure out how to channel the expectations of an entire country.
No one ever expected anything of Cate, on the other hand. She, too, grew up in a single-parent household—just her and her mom scraping by in their small apartment. As a teenager, though, Cate is discovered for her looks. Modeling may be her only ticket out of the cycle of disappointment that her mother has always inhabited. Before too long, her face is everywhere, though she is always aware that she’d be a pariah in her social circles if anyone knew her true story.
When Joe and Cate’s paths cross, their connection is instant. What remains to be seen is whether their relationship will survive the glare of the spotlight that follows Joe everywhere. And just as they find themselves in the make-or-break moment, the tragedy that seems to run in Joe’s family right alongside all that privilege will repeat itself.
In a beautifully written novel that recaptures a gilded moment in American history, Emily Giffin tells a story of a love that may or may not have the power to transcend circumstances that seem arrayed against it… and the difficulty of finding your way to the place you belong.
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