Olivia Lara

Maya Mass flew to California to surprise her boyfriend on her birthday, but the trip turned out much differently than she intended. When she called her boyfriend David, a stranger answered the phone, saying the boyfriend left it in the Lift car he hired, and the Lift driver assumed it was either the boyfriend calling or “the blonde in the red dress” he was making out with in the car.

Maya was devastated, and planned on sitting on an airport bench all day and night until she could get a flight back. But the Lift driver, eventually identifying himself as “Max,” suggested she go to a nearby town, Carmel by the Sea, and at least enjoy the day. He would text her guidelines for where to go and what to see.

Maya falls in love with the town (and the book offers up an excellent travelogue) and finds herself falling for the Lift driver as well. But when he doesn’t meet her after they plan to rendezvous at the end of a perfect day thanks to his texts, she gives up and goes home to her cheating boyfriend.

The story picks up a year later. A new incident with David convinced Maya she had no feelings left for him, and she only thought about Max. She picked up once again, and flew to Carmel by the Sea, where she serendipitously picked up a job and a place to live, and set out to find the man who stole her heart.

We all know what will happen, but the path to get there is full of histrionics, personal growth, and best of all, the most romantic gestures ever.

Evaluation: Entertaining romance with plenty of swoony moments.… (mais)

3.5/5 stars!

After a lousy turn of events, the heroine was stuck at the airport and decided to call her boyfriend's cell phone. However, the reply she gets back was unexpected. As she learns about her boyfriend's cheating, she ends up interacting with the Lift driver via texts. And thus started a chance meeting that will change both persons' lives in unexpected ways...

This is my first Olivia Lara book. Told in the heroine's point-of-view, the book features a beatific setting that makes you want to visit Carmel-by-the-Sea. It also has some wonderful secondary characters that enriches the story. I really liked the hero and even though I would have liked to hear from his viewpoint, the story provided enough nuances in showing the hero's personality. Yet there were times when the heroine was problematic in her reactions to certain situations, and I wanted more details for some points in the story. Overall, the book has this good vibe to it and I enjoyed reading it, too.

**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. All opinions and thoughts in the review are my own.**… (mais)

Book source ~ Tour

Maya Maas decides to surprise her boyfriend when he goes to California for work on her birthday weekend. She hops on a plane from New York and texts him from the airport. Except he doesn’t reply. And he keeps not replying to texts or calls. Until a stranger finally texts that he’s the Lift driver and David left his phone in the car. Then Maya finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her. Well, isn’t that just a wonderful birthday present? Stuck in the airport with nowhere to go she opens up to the stranger and he suggests she forget the cheating ass and go enjoy herself at a small charming beach town instead. For once in her life Maya decides to take a leap of faith. But will she stick the landing or break a leg?

I’m going to start off by saying something harsh - Maya is such a wimp. Wow. Talk about someone drifting through life with no real direction and letting people walk all over her. Instead of taking control of her own destiny and writing a love story for herself (instead of for strangers), she just exists. However, you knew there was a however, right? However, Maya is not a hopeless case. She writes love stories for strangers she sees, so there is a spark in her. It just needs the right material and a good wind to get it blazing.

Enter the Lift driver who drops the bomb on her about her boyfriend. For the first time Maya does something crazy. She takes a stranger’s advice and lets him set her itinerary for her birthday. But then, she falls back into her old ways. Except, her old ways don’t really fit her anymore. They aren’t easy and comfortable like before. She’s changed. Thank fuck. And that’s when the book really takes off.

While Maya has me rolling my eyes all the time because maybe she’s a bit too flawed, I can’t help but cheer her on as she tries to find the Lift driver who has changed her life. The Lift driver is a great character, but who is he, really? It’s a mystery! The town sounds so charming I want to visit there right now. Or maybe even live there! I mean, what’s not to love?

If you like flawed characters and a mystery with romantic threads woven into every fiber of this story then you really need to pick this up.… (mais)