It's the first day of law school, and Kailyn is ready to kick ass and take names. And then on her way to her first class, she—literally—runs into Daxton Hughes, the television actor she was utterly obsessed with as a teenager...and might still be now. (She still watches marathons of the long-canceled show and has a collection of memorabilia with his face on it.) Her encounter with Daxton quickly strips her of her sophistication, and she can't keep herself from becoming a giggly fangirl.
It turns out that Dax is her law school classmate, too. And once she mortifies herself in front of him and his friends a second time a few minutes later, she pulls herself together, and over the course of law school she shows him that she should be taken seriously.
The two become friends and rivals, with occasional flirtation thrown in for good measure, but Kailyn focuses on school first and foremost so she can catapult her way to a successful job. She's unprepared, however, when Dax betrays her, and she's fine with never seeing him again.
This plan works for five years, until she runs into him at her law firm, when he accompanies his parents on a legal matter. Infuriatingly, Dax is as good-looking as ever, and he seems genuinely happy to see Kailyn. He doesn't understand why she's angry with him all these years later, and it turns out he doesn't remember any of the bad stuff he pulled in law school, which angers her even more. But that doesn't mean she still isn't completely drawn to him, much to her chagrin.
When a tragic incident results in Dax's becoming the legal guardian to his 13-year-old sister, Emme, he is completely unprepared for the responsibilities that raising a teenager entails. After Kailyn is appointed Emme's conservator in the midst of some messy family issues, she's willing to put aside her anger with Dax and help him give Emme the love and care she needs. But she can't ignore the fact that she starts to fall for him, and their fun flirtation starts to give way to something potentially serious. Can she trust that he won't betray her again, and can she handle all of the female attention a former star like Dax attracts?
Kailyn is hiding a secret from Dax, too, one she knows will anger him if he discovers it. She has to decide what's more important to her, her professional ambition or the potential for a relationship with someone she's crushed on since she was a teenager. And she needs to do it fast, before everyone involved gets hurt.
Meet Cute is, like its title says, cute. While it starts out as a rom-com, the story gets a bit more serious than I was expecting, with tragedy, a custody battle, lies, and betrayal. Kailyn and Dax have great chemistry together, and Helena Hunting gives you a great deal of perspective into what makes Kailyn tick.
What I enjoyed most about the book was the dynamic of a woman actually falling for an actor she has been obsessed with for far too long. When Meet Cute explored that angle, the book really hit its stride. Sadly, I didn't feel quite the same way with all of the issues around Dax's struggles to prove he is capable and deserving of being Emme's guardian—while I don't mind when a rom-com feels predictable if there's charm and chemistry, the predictability of the domestic issues irritated me a bit.
Meet Cute was definitely a fun read, though, and Kailyn and Dax's relationship felt genuine as it hit its peaks and valleys. I just wish it was a little, well, cuter.
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