Helena Hunting’s latest, MEET CUTE (Forever; April 9, 2019), is a perfect beach read…especially if you’ve ever had a crush on a teen TV star or boy band. Kailyn Flowers runs into Daxton Hughes, an old law school nemesis (and former teen heartthrob). Now both practicing attorneys, Daxton enlists her help with a family matter. As Dax navigates looking after his younger sister Emme, Kailyn wrestles with old grudges, her attraction to Dax and her new role as conservator to Dax’s sister.
Meet Cute strikes the right balance between the silly, the sexy and the serious. If you love enemies-to-lovers, I think you’ll like this one. Kailyn is working through her, “I should totally still hate this guy, but damn, he’s even hotter than he was” in real time and it’s so fun. At the same time, Hunting doesn’t wave away the fact that getting involved with a guy who has a 14-year old ward, is almost signing up for parenthood.
As these two do their dance, I loved that Dax is actually a good guy, not an egomaniac. Unlike so many former child stars, he’s well-adjusted and has managed a successful transition into the next phase of his career. He’s trying to do the right thing for his sister, while being a 30-year-old dude who has zero clue about teen girls.
The story flips back and forth between law school and present day and I will say, when the circumstances behind Kailyn’s longstanding grudge are revealed, I wasn’t on her side, especially this many years later. That said, Meet Cute is a fun read that carries more emotional heft than its ice cream shop cover lets on.
Meet Cute hits shelves April 9.
Get it at The Ripped Bodice | Amazon