Review: Meet Me in Tahiti

Meet Me in Tahiti by Georgia Toffolo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars 

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

But Finn hadn't needed to be told: he'd always known Zoe was off-limits. 

Meet Me in Tahiti is the third book in the Meet Me series about four childhood friends that experienced a traumatic car accident in their senior year that has left lasting marks on each one in different ways into their adulthood. Zoe was the rich girl fairy princess that her parents and everyone in town coddled, this only increased when she became a paraplegic after the accident. Finn was the boy who had to drop out of school to work three jobs to help his ailing mother, but for a summer where they both worked at a restaurant together, Finn and Zoe recognized and were drawn to something in the other. For two years they danced around each other until after Zoe's accident has Finn finally making a move, only to be rejected harshly by a Zoe who was hurt and in pain about her new circumstances. Now, when they meet twelve years later, they're still drawn to each other but that old pain is still there too. 

He wanted time with her. 

This had a sweet and lightness to it, with a first half that had Finn just absolutely sick for Zoe that captured my heart. I'm serious, when Zoe shows up at his hotel resort, oh yes, kid from the wrong side of the tracks Finn does good and is now an owner of six hotel resorts, he's supposed to fly out the next day. He keeps making up excuses, and it will have you almost feeling sorry for the guy because of how helpless he is over her. We get some reminiscing flashbacks to Zoe and Finn during that summer together and then the two years and ultimate breaking point of when Zoe was harsh with him. The angst is all about Finn during his younger years staying away because he didn't feel good enough for Zoe and how that has carried over to him as an adult. Finn staying at the resort with Zoe though, is all about him wanting to show her that he's good enough for her now, so he's pretty much all-in from the beginning. Zoe for her part, felt too young and unexciting for the two years older Finn when they younger and now as an adult, still won't believe that he could ever like her like that. So, we have two people who are both wanting to get together, Zoe finds adult Finn even more attractive and definitely wants to start something with him, so why is this book three hundred pages? Well, we do get that sweet yearning and tension in the first half but the second half drags out with multiple rinse and repeat moments of stop, go, and misunderstanding. 

She laughed. “Are you only interested in one thing?” There was the smile, the glow, the heat, that promise. 

“Depends how you classify one thing.” 

One thing. The one thing was her. 

When they meet back-up as adults, Zoe is twenty-eight and Finn thirty, they do have some younger feel to them, especially Zoe with her “giggling” and covering her face whenever she's flustered, if the giggling hadn't been repeated so many times, it wouldn't have tripped me up as much, because these two did have a sense of reverting to their when-we-met younger selves that, mostly, worked tone. They share some kisses in the second half but the door is firmly closed in this one, they're headed to bed and then Zoe's waking up in the morning with a quick mention that they did sleep together. 

And it was at that precise moment that Zoe fell in love. 

I really enjoyed how Zoe's disability wasn't an element of the story but rather a part of her character, she's a travel writer and while she obviously acknowledges, lives, deals with other people's missteps, and thinks about accessibility, it wasn't forced but simply the fabric of her life. Having Finn growing up with a mother who taught him a lot in this regard and then him, obviously, thinking about Zoe when working to design the resort in Tahiti, really laid down a strong foundation building block in their relationship. All the secondary characters played their parts and helped to fill out the world and add to different dynamics of our two main characters. There's not a lot of the series connection friends in this but they share phone calls for some appearances. As the vast majority of the story takes place at the island resort, you'll also get some great tropical setting with descriptions of food, flowers, and some boat rides. I lost my heart to Finn and how much he just wanted to be around Zoe in the first half but there were a bit too many stop and repeat moments in the second that wore me out some. There's a grand gestures ending, covert by Finn and overt by Zoe, that will make you smile and if you're looking for an island setting and a sweet, trembling but trying couple, you'll want to pick this one up.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

Finn broke Zoe's heart when she needed him the most. 

But now that Finn's a successful businessman, he's not going to let everyone else, or himself, say he's not good enough for Zoe. 

When Zoe's job has her traveling to a new luxury hotel to review it, Finn's going to get his second chance.

This sounds emotional and perfect beach vibing! 

Meet Me in Tahiti by Georgia Toffolo purchase link

Salmon with Blackberry sauce recipe

Review: Meet Me at the Wedding

Meet Me at the Wedding by Georgia Toffolo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

Every time Lily Atwell punched a fist into the icing she was kneading, she imagined Henry Hawkesbury's face. 

Meet Me at the Wedding is the conclusion of a four book series about a group of friends that grew-up together, experienced tragedy, and now ten years later getting ready to attend one of their wedding. I haven't read the other books in the series and while enough of the past is relayed here, as our heroine Lily is still working through the pain of the past, you could randomly pick this up, but because of how well this group of friends was written, I'd suggest starting from the beginning so you could experience all the emotions. The four friends, Victoria, Malie, Zoe, and Lily were on their way to their last school dance when a car accident derailed their lives. Lily only sustained some scratches and scarring, but Victoria was injured enough she learns she won't be able to have children naturally, and Zoe lost feeling in her legs. The way this affected and shaped the characters obviously gets dealt with throughout the series and this last installment focuses on Lily. 

He'd had no idea how involved in the estate she'd become in the last ten years. 

Also involved in the accident, in the car with his girlfriend that hit Lily's, was Henry, the local troublemaker. His girlfriend ended up dying in the accident and this caused a huge fight with his dad and had them not speaking for ten years. When Henry comes back home to Hawke's Cove after his father dies, he plans on selling the family estate, an estate that has been a haven for Lily over the last couple years and the place where Victoria planned on having her wedding. Henry initially cancels all events, planning to sell, but needs help from Lily on conducting a tour, specifically of the winery part of the hotel estate, and has to agree to letting the wedding happen to get her to help him. There's immediate raw feelings from both sides toward each other, Henry jealous, hurt and angry over how his father seems to have made time to be Lily's father figure but couldn't make time for him and Lily angry over thinking Henry is a spoiled rich boy and how thoughtless he is in selling the estate and not thinking about how it will affect the small town and it's citizens. There's also that inconvenient attraction for each other between them. 

“The wedding for the tour.” 

This was pretty much contemporary romance, maybe a touch of chik-lit/women's fiction but Lily and Henry have their own baggage to work through and get fairly even page time to do so. Their relationship and attraction also gets top billing along with their inner emotional strife; there was a closed door bedroom scene. They both started off with some hackles raised by-play that couldn't help but morph into flirty teasing poking because of their attraction. They actually have it out in the first half and I was a bit worried about what was left to keep them apart in the second, but, with just a little steam lost at times, them finally putting to bed their individual baggage, had them ultimately being fully open to each other. Henry had to learn how to forgive himself for his troubled past, any blame he took on for the accident, and how off the rails his relationship with his father went, and Lily had to let go of any responsibility she took on for the awful way her ex-fiancé treated her and not bury herself in work. 

It's just that she wasn't used to being the “rescued.” She was used to being the “rescuer.” 

If you're a reader of the series, you're going to love how the “Awesome Four” friendships get some time to shine, as a newcomer to the series, I didn't feel like the previous couples overtook or over stayed their welcome, just made me want to go get their books and read about their romances. Henry even gets some time with his own friend and readers get to see an important other side to him in the beginning. I would have liked Lily to have even more time with her mother because of how sweet their relationship seemed to be. This was fairly low angst but with some emotional issues, if that makes sense. I liked how it was shown how friendships change after romantic partners come into the picture and how Lily did feel lonely but happy for her already partnered friends. 

As if she'd cast a spell over him, over the estate, and he was beginning to see less of the past and more of the future. 

The ending had a sort of felt forced to try and create one last emotional drama with Henry acting in a, what felt like out of character after how he was so caring and thoughtful towards Lily, moment to drag out will there be a HEA or not (spoiler alert, there's an HEA). Lily decides to not be scared anymore and Henry sheds his not thinking he's worthy and these two find a path together. There were at times I felt like Lily and Henry's personal baggage almost took too much time away from developing their romance, I could believe in the growing attraction when they had their flirty teasing and sweet taking care of each other moments, but I did finish thinking maybe there was less depth and too much, “she has beautiful auburn hair” and “look at his broad shoulders”. Series readers are going to love the wrap-up epilogue set in the future that delivers a sugary sweet look at all the couples happiness. This was sweet, laced with emotional issues, and had a charming couple. If looking for a shorter series with an engaging group of friends to read about, this would be one to pick up.

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Reading Update: Page 1

Heading into the weekend with what sounds like a sweet and tart bantering contemporary romance! 

Lily needs to convince the new owner of the estate where her best friend planned on having her wedding to not sell until after the event. The new owner turns out to be Henry, a man she hasn't seen in 10yrs, one fateful night that changed her life forever. 

But Henry has to agree to Lily's demands, and these two enemies-to-lovers might just get their second chance. 

Meet Me at the Wedding by Georgia Toffolo purchase link

BBQ Chicken Burger recipe

A little plain for me but quick and easy for a one and done recipe