mel ☽'s Reviews > Meant for More

2.5 stars ✩⋆

well this was kind of a mess. i should not read friends to lovers books back to back - *cough* malina *cough* - they're giving me a headache.

friends to lovers/unrequited trope would always be a double-edged sword for me because sometimes, the angst is just *chefs kiss* even though there are some elements that i absolutely loathe and i guess i just love stressing myself out so sometimes i like it, i even welcome it so there's that. but sometimes... it's just- well, (childhood) friends to lovers usually goes like this:

1. girl and boy are childhood bffs
2. girl has been in love with boy since forever but boy is obviously a blind dumbass
3. girl stays in the sidelines (never dating and is a virgin- this is very specific by the way) while boy becomes, you guessed it, a ✨ho✨
4. someone is suddenly interested in the girl, boy finally gets his head outta his ass and "sees" his best friend for the first time because obviously when another dude is sniffing around it's unacceptable.

and well, ya know. this is annoying af because you're telling me if there hasn't been another man interested in the best friend, the boy wouldn't have "seen" the girl?? yeah, no.

for the most part, this is exactly what happened here but the difference is there are TWO girls in the trio of best friends, Liv (OW), Bloom (h) and Carter (H). Carter noticed Liv first and had a thing with her for a couple months and then Benj (OM) suddenly comes along and shows interest in Bloom so obviously that's when Carter started "seeing" Liv for the first time. so there's this weird love square thing in the first half.

i did like some parts as i thought the sexual tension was immaculate and the writing was good! i can also appreciate the author giving a trigger warning in the beginning (spoilers // h's dad committed suicide) so thanks for that. if you like angst, and have no qualms about love square drama, then you'd like this.

but anyways, because of the dumbassery of the characters imma rant a little bit so,

✧✦ SPOILERS AHEAD ✦✧

we know Liv and Carter have been keeping their "thing" a secret while Bloom is "sister-zoned" for 2 months(?) now but obviously Bloom isn't a dumbass

"It's in the way he watches her sometimes, in the moments she's looking away or laughing at someone else's joke. It's in the intensity of his gaze when she's off on her own. He's always watching her, in different ways than he usually watches me."

that's lovely.

and you know, in almost all of these childhood friends to lovers books i've read, it's usually just the main characters having special connection right? well here, both Liv and Bloom are equally close to him because they've all been best friends since they were kids buuuut again, he noticed Liv first

"I like her, I do. More than a friend, definitely. She's bright and beautiful and supportive. She's hardworking and devoted and funny as hell when she wants to be. I definitely enjoy making out with her, and I love how she knows what she's doing."

first of all ew (because he thought about this even after he kissed Bloom). and second, im still salty about this by the way because eeeww. and Carter was exploring a relationship with her until Benj comes along and Carter finds out that Bloom is a virgin... and now suddenly Carter has all these feelings for Bloom just because of... this..??



i'm not convinced whatsoever because i mean- that fast? really? is he a fucking gemini is that it (no offense to geminis by the way, as a virgo i love geminis)? how can one's feelings switch up so quickly and so strongly i don't understand. and then this lovely scene comes up where Carter and Liv are making out, touching her ass and grinding on each other (around 32%), even after Carter started to have all these feelings for Bloom and we find out that these two have actually been making out behind Bloom's back for a couple of months now.

"But damn she feels good, and it's not like we haven't kissed or made out before. We have, far too many times than I'd like to admit, and for some reason, a jolt of guilt sparks in my chest when I think about the fact that Bloom hasn't known for a while."

hahaha *eye twitches* that's cute.

and you know, what happens next?? you guys know what happens next??? well, this dick went to Blooms workshop because she was upset and well, one thing lead to another, and they hook up when he literally just made out with the OW moments ago. and this isn't the only time by the way, a week goes by and he's still spending time with Liv (idk if they did anything) and during his football game Liv kisses Carter, Bloom goes to the bathroom because she saw this and then Carter kisses her, AND THEN she goes out to stargaze with Benj AND THEN makes out with him, goes home because she's confused af AND THENNN hooks up with Carter...



so basically, they're all just exchanging DNA's at this point i guess. Chuck? Blair? Serena? Nate?? is that you?

silverlining tho, Carter ended it with Liv faster than Bloom ended it with Benj. i also like the fact Carter longed for Bloom more and Bloom wasn't hung up on Carter but obviously, her feelings with Benj was annoying as hell too. but guess what!! this isn't the end of this weird ass love square by the way, we find out that Liv and Benj were sleeping together behind both of Carter and Bloom's back so here i am thinking... wtf was the point??? and y'all know how they found out? huh? well, Carter and Bloom hid in a closet because they heard a couple going inside the room, said couple was Liv and Benj, they start having sex, and Carter and Bloom watch while, ya know, Carter touches her... yeah.

in conclusion, everything is a mess and they're all f a k e f r i e n d s

honestly, i just couldn't connect with all of the characters because they annoyed me too much. and Carter's feelings switched real fast and when i mean fast, i mean in a day. he had genuine feelings for Liv who he most likely shares the same connection he has with Bloom and then when he finds out about Benj and the fact she's a virgin he suddenly has these intense feelings for Bloom? he went on and on about how he was exploring a relationship with Liv and suddenly he doesn't care anymore and just wants to bone Bloom? nah i don't buy it.

and that whole love square resolution wasn't really addressed properly. like, does Carter still have not-so-friendly feelings for Liv? did Liv even have real feelings for Carter? or was she using him to make Benj jealous? were Liv and Benj sleeping with each other this whole time? i need answers pls.

✦✧ ✧✦

there are some cute parts here that i liked, the pottery scene inspired by the movie Ghost? *chefs kiss* (but obviously Carter making out with Liv before this scene happened tainted things). and i do actually like the writing and how i can feel the longing from the characters (mostly on Carter's side). and the storyline with the dad made me tear up a little bit that was really sad.

but ugh i just can't with the love square drama y'all.

anyways, if there's a book about Liv and Benj, i ain't opposed to reading their side honestly. i wanna know why they're dumb af so there's that.