I read Have We Met by Camille Baker last year as part of the Amazon First Reads program and thoroughly enjoyed my time reading. It was funny, emotional and also featured a non-binary character as one of the love interests. From the end of the book, it seemed very obvious that we were getting more books in this world. And The Moment We Met is the latest.
In this one, we follow Tiwanda, who after a dud of a 30th birthday, sees her’s life turning around, hopefully for the better. She quits her job, and applies for an entrepreneurial scheme, is gifted her late mother’s journal and is promised four possible soulmates by Met. Tiwanda isn’t interested in finding romance, but the app introduces her to new friends, romance and more.
The first thing I want to talk about is Tiwanda’s feelings toward romance. Now, I think her whole attitude is supposed to be fear. Her wanting to avoid getting close to someone and either leaving them herself or losing them. It seems to be what they’re going for. But I also kind of got demi vibes from all of it? Yes, she was a little closed off towards romance. But she also talks about not feeling sparks, and not getting PDA. When she does fall for guys in this book, it’s not anything close to immediate, even when she admits they’re attractive. It’s only when she starts to get to know them. Now, this isn’t demi rep for certain. It’s definitely not on-page. But I would say that it’s a possibility, and I’d like to hope that maybe this means we’ll start to see demisexuality and romanticism popping up in romance fiction and chick-lit for adults. That would be pretty great.
Tiwanda is a pretty blunt character. I’ve seen people describe her as unlikable, and though I did appreciate her, I can see why others might not. She’s blunt, determined, and to be honest, doesn’t change that much throughout the novel. That’s not to say that she doesn’t grow at all. She does. She realises she doesn’t have to do things alone, she tries to move closer to her family, and she opens herself up to new experiences. Her personality just doesn’t soften much, but that’s fine in my opinion. She’s 30 years old, so it’s not bad for her to have a good idea of who she is.
I will say it’s pretty obvious early on who the winning love interest is going to be, but I did appreciate him. He was a good guy, even if he also seemed a little blunt and rude at first. He helps people out, he’s close with his family, and he has skills with his hands. Just probably not the ones you’re thinking about right now. However, the majority of the possible love interests are all contenders in their own way. One of them is in a relationship, but it was kind of suggested that Tiwanda would be interested in being poly with them. Or, that’s the vibe I got. One of them is related to the winning love interest, so that didn’t seem like it was really going to go anywhere, but he was nice. And the final love interest was the first one that opened Tiwanda up to the possibility that Met might not be so bad. He was a nice guy, but they want different things. And that’s fine. It’s always nice in a romance or chick-lit book when a couple breaks up, and it’s not for these unforgivable reasons. Sometimes things just don’t work out.
This was a pretty short read, but I really enjoyed it. Tiwanda was a different kind of narrator to Corinne, but it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed seeing the problems Met caused this time, and I’m hoping we’ll get a third novel. Though if we do, I’m not sure who we’ll be following this time. Maybe Aunt Clara? That’s what it looked like they were suggesting. I feel like Met would also be Tiwanda’s Mum’s spirit for her though, so I’m not sure how that would work or if it would be a bit repetitive.
Either way, this book is worth a read, so check both Have We Met and The Moment We Met this summer.
4/5 Stars
Title: The Moment We Met
Author: Camille Baker
Genre: Chick-Lit/Romance
Age Range: Adult
Publisher: Lake Union
Release Date: 5/7/22
BUY LINKS’
Lace and Dagger Books 