My Rating: 4/5 stars

My Thoughts:

Hannah Orenstein has become of my favorite contemporary romance authors and book recommendation sources on Instagram. I loved her last published book, Head Over Heels, and was really excited to jump into her 2022 release, Meant to Be Mine.

Meant to Be Mine follows NYC stylist, Edie, whose grandmother has successfully predicted the day their family members will meet the love of their life, including Edie’s recently engaged twin sister. Edie meets Theo, an upcoming musician, on a plane on the day she is supposed to meet the one and sparks fly in the air. However, as her and Theo’s relationship develops, she can’t help but wonder if Theo is really the man she is supposed to end up with.

Meant to Be Mine is a love letter to NYC. The city is also the main setting of Hannah Orenstein’s Playing with Matches and Love at First Like, but it felt extra special and atmospheric in this book. I’ve listened to a few podcasts with Hannah Orenstein about the book – I recommend listening to Get Lit with Lianna’s episode AFTER you’ve read, as there are spoilers – and she wrote the book during the early stages of the pandemic when she dreamed of travel and going around the city as normal.

There are a ton of other personal touches to the book and parallels to Hannah’s personal life. For example, Hannah’s family lives in Maine in the summer ( I recommend following Hannah on Instagram for her Maine content alone), and the book begins there. The book is Hannah’s most Jewish yet, as Edie’s family often honors their culture and traditions. There is a Rosh Hashanah scene and many nods to Edie’s Jewish culture throughout. As seen also in her dedication and acknowledgements, the book also reads as a love letter to Hannah’s own grandparents. This element is specifically seen in Edie’s relationship with her grandmother, Gloria. 

Meant to Be Mine is a relationship driven read, while still including other aspects like Edie’s job as a stylist and her family life. Edie spends a ton of the story trying to figure out if her relationship with Theo will work in the long run and dealing with the expectations of her grandmother’s prediction. I did like that throughout reading, I didn’t know what to expect, specifically whether or not Edie and Theo would end up together. While I want to avoid spoilers, I will say that I am quite happy with who Edie ends up with! I wanted a bit more depth sometimes in the story and maybe further exploration of Edie’s life outside of Theo. There are so many elements of this book , between Edie’s job and working with an upcoming politician, her relationship with her twin sister,  her relationship with Gloria, Gloria’s love prediction ability, and living in NYC that were so cool and I ultimately favored more than her relationship with Theo.

Overall, Meant to Be Mine is a cute contemporary romance that is perfect for readers in love with NYC settings or are looking for a unique spin on if someone really is the one. I can’t wait to see what Hannah Orenstein does next!  

Have you read Meant to Be Mine? What are your thoughts? Have you read any books by Hannah Orenstein? Share in the comments!