I feel like I've read a different book to everyone else. This book has largely good reviews both here on GoodReads and on Amazon, but I found it painful.

The book started off OK - the weird dreams, finding the guy in real life, trying to work out what it meant was all vaguely interesting. The "reveal" was bizarre and didn't work at all for me. An enforced, creepy, co-dependent relationship does not the stuff of my dreams make. The beginning was so slow compared with the roller-coaster-with-no-brakes end of the novel and it just didn't mesh.

I didn't connect with the main character in the slightest - she was one of the most boring heroines I've ever encountered. The only thing that defined her as a character were the supernatural elements of her life.

I will say that the writing style was not that bad (in terms of spelling, grammar, and sentence flow) - not to the level of so many other free books - but even taking that in to account I can't give this book more than one star. There was just not one single thing in the book I cared about and I was more eager to finish it than to find out what happened.

Format: Kindle
Price Paid: Free
Recommended: No
Value: overpriced at free
Will I Buy the Next: No ( )

view my full review at http://fadeintofantasy.blogspot.com/2011/03/book-review-and-bonus-meant-to-be-by... ( )

Meant to Be blew me away. I really can't even find the words to describe how much I loved this book.

Meant to Be focuses around Krista Miller, a teenager who has recently moved to Santa Cruz, California. Her whole life, she has been different, always susceptible to other peoples emotions. Then there are the dreams. All her life, she has dreamed of a boy, her perfect soulmate, only she has never actually met this boy, or even seen his face in her dreams. Krista doesn't even think he is real, until she meets him face to face. The story that ensues was nothing short of amazing. Krista and Mark embark on a quest to discover just what it is that makes them and their friends Sam and Shawn so alike to one another. The story was fast paced and I loved it. The romance was perfect. I could not get enough! It really made you feel happy for the characters, and it made you smile. And the ending! Wow! I did not see that coming! The end really gets your heart pumping, trying to figure out what will happen next, etc. and it is great. The whole soulmates concept was amazing and it is definitely a breath of fresh air among most other YA novels right now. And the angel mythology involved is also wonderful, it is completely original and unlike any other angel/fallen angel YA books i have seen to date.

I think the strongest point of this novel were the characters. Tiffany king has created such a fun and entertaining cast of characters, you can't help but to love them all. Every single one of the side characters was developed to the point of them seeming almost... real to me. Sometimes you feel like they aren't important. Not in Meant to Be. Then there's Krista. Krista has to be one of my all time favorite main characters. Not only is she a strong hero, but she really connected with me. She did things that I could see myself doing in the same situations. I felt like we had similar interests and qualities, like her love of reading, etc. It was great to have such an amazing character in the novel and i'm sure others will enjoy that aspect also.

The setting of the novel, Santa Cruz, is crucial to the story line. It was an enjoyable setting that made the novel feel fun and kind of made me want to take a trip to the beach! Haha! The places there were fun, such as the Boardwalk/amusement park. There was also a bookstore too, which I wish we got to see a bit more of, just because... I like bookstores :) The locations were all described very well and were very developed. I can't wait to be back in Santa Cruz when I read Meant to Be's sequel.

Tiffany's writing was absolutely amazing. I loved every minute of the book. It kept me involved with the story, no matter what was happening, and it drew you in from the very beginning. Everything flowed together very well. There were a few formatting/spelling problems, but honestly, nothing enough to distract me from the novel overall. Tiffany wrote such amazing characters. It is a tough thing to do and it was done perfectly. I definitely will be watching out for more from Ms. King!

I cannot even put the love I have for this book into words. I loved this book so much, and i think anyone who is looking for an amazing read should check it out. It's only like, $.99 on amazon for the ebook, and its definitely worth the dollar. I'd buy it if it was $20, it was that good. Check it out!

I also had a chance to read a short story Tiffany wrote as part of The Glassheart Chronicles anthology, and it was amazing. It is a prequel story, so if you haven't read Meant to Be, i saw do that before reading the story, cause it is spoilery :)

Thank you so much to Tiffany for providing me a signed paperback copy in a trade I made with her, I will cherish it! ( )

I bought this book quite awhile back and have been hearing amazing things about it ever since, so I finally decided to read it. Krista is different from anyone else; her emotions always get the best of her and this happens often since she can feel what other people are feeling. She also has the same dream every night of the same boy. Her father died unexpectedly and in order to finally begin to heal, Krista's mom decides they need to move away to Santa Cruz, away from old memories. Upon arriving she immediately feels a sense of belonging, which is solidified even more when she meets her friend Sam; it feels like she's known her forever. The biggest surprise of all is when she meets Mark; it's like she's met her other half. They have no idea what ties them all together, but the secrets and their identities may be more dangerous than they realize.

1) Character Development: To be completely honest, I didn't connect well with the characters in this book. I wanted to, but I ended up just kind of feeling indifferent to them. Usually I have a lot to say about the characters, but I don't really in this case. Krista is sort of a loner due to her extreme and intense emotions; being close to other people means being subjected to their emotions as well. The only time she really seems happy is during her nightly dream of this guy that may or may not exist. She considers herself as somewhat of a freak, at least until she meets Sam. Sam and Krista turn out to have a lot in common, more than just their taste in movies or music. Where Krista is more serious, Sam is more bubbly and outgoing, so they kind of even each other out. Mark is like the ideal boyfriend; cute, smart, funny, and fiercely loyal and protective of the one he loves. We get a little bit of background on all of the characters, but not enough in my opinion to really connect and sympathize with them.

2) The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly: First, The Good - I loved the story line, the idea of dreaming of a guy your whole life and then finally meeting him one day. A soul mate. There's just something really appealing about the idea of soul mates, it's just really romantic. As much as I felt kind of so-so about the majority of the book, the ending was pretty intense and I enjoyed it. The Bad - The writing didn't flow well for me, I had trouble picking it up again after I put it down. I didn't feel drawn into the world the author created; it just wasn't described well enough for my taste. Some books are overly descriptive which is insanely annoying to me, but so to is being not descriptive enough about the characters and the world around them. Also, sometimes Krista would flash back to another time in her life and usually it was in the middle of a conversation; by the time the flashback had ended I totally forgot what in the world was happening present day. The Ugly - Mostly I'm just disappointed that I couldn't connect with the characters; that can make or break a book for me. The dialogue to me was a bit awkward and corny at times. It didn't affect the whole book, there were just times where it made me cringe a bit.

3) Romance Sizzle Or Fizzle: I'm kind of in the middle on this one. On one hand, we only meet Mark at first through Krista's dreams, before she even knows who he is. I get that they're supposed to be soul mates, but when that idea is implemented sometimes it's hard to believe that these two people are all of a sudden in love. That being said, since it does seem they were meant to be together and are soul mates (they did dream about each other their whole lives), their rushing into a relationship makes sense. There were some really sweet moments in this book, and I'll share my favorite quote with you:

"I want you to listen to me. You seem to be under the misconception that there is nothing special about you. There is nobody else in the whole world that I would rather be with. I could look at your for hours and never get sick of it. I could spend every second of everyday in your presence and I would die a happy man. You belong with me." (Mark talking to Krista, pg. 177-178 of paperback)

That scene just made me melt because it was so romantic. On that quote alone I'm leaning more toward sizzle on this one!

4) Uniqueness Of Plot: I've never really read anything quite like this story before. It takes awhile to get to the secrets of who these teenagers really are and the truth about their pasts, but I thought it was a really interesting and fresh idea.

5) Final Thoughts: I didn't love this book, it was just ok. I liked the overall storyline, but the middle of the book moved kind of slow and I wasn't able to connect with the characters as much as I wanted to. After the ending though, I'll definitely be reading the next installment in the series to see what happens next! ( )

It was really refreshing reading a UF romance novel with that doesn’t include the complicated love triangle. While I was in La La land, I was completely blindsided by something I did not at all see coming and then it goes from being only a romance novel to high intensity!

As soon as I picked up Meant to Be I was immediately intrigued by Krista, the life she lived and what has become of herself. Krista’s whole life has been complicated. She was found abandoned at the age of 2, she is sensitive to others emotions enough to make her terribly ill AND every night she goes to bed and dreams about a boy. Her and the boy with out a face grow up together in her dream and the dream boy is Krista's main comfort. After Krista's dad dies, her and her mother decide to move to the same place she has always been drawn to. Santa Cruz. Krista’s dreams have taken a turn for the worst. Every night, her dream is cut short and her dream guy is pulled away from her. What is cause?

I can't say that Krista is my favorite character because there are several characters that I really grew attached to. I LOVE Sam, who doesn't love Mark and I hope that I get to read more about Shawn in the next book. Even though there is only a couple pages with Robert and Lynn, I already like Lynn and I am looking forward to reading more about them as well.

I am really looking forward to see what will happen now that they know who they are and what is they need to do! ( )