Title: Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length:368 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss
Summary:
Can you fall in love like they do in the movies?
It’s Evie Summers’s job to find out. Because if she can’t convince her film agency’s biggest client, Ezra Chester, to write the romantic-comedy screenplay he owes producers, her career will be over. The catch? He thinks rom-coms are unrealistic–and he’ll only put pen to paper if Evie shows him that it’s possible to meet a man in real life the way it happens on the big screen.
Cynical Evie might not believe in happily ever after, but she’ll do what it takes to save the job that’s been her lifeline . . . even if it means reenacting iconic rom-com scenes in public. Spilling orange juice on a cute stranger? No problem. Leaving her number in books all over London to see who calls? Done. With a little help from her well-meaning friends–and Ben and Anette, the adorable father-daughter duo who keep witnessing her humiliations–Evie is determined to prove she can meet a man the way Sally met Harry. But can a workaholic who’s given up on love find a meet-cute of her very own?
Review:
Would Like to Meet by Rachel Winters is a charming, humorous romance.
Twenty nine year old Evie Summers is hoping to finally get promoted from assistant to agent. Dangling the promotion, her boss, Monty, assigns her to obtain the long delayed rom-com movie script from Oscar winning screenwriter Ezra Chester. Evie forces a meeting with the narcissistic Ezra who agrees to fulfill his obligation only if she can prove a “meet cute” can culminate with love. With her job on the line, Evie reluctantly agrees to his conditions and gamely recreates scenes from her favorite rom-coms. As she writes up her escapades and emails them to Ezra, she is delighted to discover he is actively writing the script. But Evie is continually frustrated by his refusal to show her the pages he has compiled. With the deadline looming, will Evie fall in love through one of her “meet cutes” and save her job in the process?
Evie’s dream of becoming a screenwriter were quickly dashed years earlier and she is now set on becoming an agent. She has a great circle of friends but since her move to London, she does not get to see them often enough. They reluctantly support Evie as she begins her meet cutes but their dislike of Ezra does not lessen.
During one of her “meet cute” set ups at a local coffee shop, Evie meets widower Ben and his precocious daughter Anette. She begins to look forward to their weekly meetings, but her relationship with Ben is a bit contentious since he is very disapproving of her “meet cutes”. Anette is a darling little girl who is very mature for her age. Evie learns just enough about Ben’s background to try to gently nudge him to step out of the quiet life he has created for himself and Anette. But will he resent her interference?
In between her funny escapades, Evie is growing and evolving as she takes a hard look at her career. Is she completely fulfilled working for Monty? Will he follow through and give her the promised promotion when Ezra delivers the script? More importantly, does Evie still want to become an agent?
Would Like to Meet is an engaging novel with a fun cast of characters. Evie is a plucky heroine but she is a little naive and too trusting. Ben and Anette are absolutely wonderful and their scenes are quite heartwarming. Ezra is an arrogant jerk who completely takes advantage of Evie. The storyline is creative and clever yet it is also a bit implausible. In true rom-con fashion, Rachel Winters brings the novel to a swoon-worthy conclusion. I greatly enjoyed and highly recommend this entertaining debut to fans of the genre.
