Tiwanda get's sent an app, that is for dating, but her focus is working on her small business.

I really wanted to like this book more, but that turned out not to be the case. I did like that not only was it set in Chicago, but it featured a young black woman who wants to own her own business of making and teaching people how to make soap as well as chocolates (separately, not together).

It did not feel like a romance. I didn't see enough chemistry between the main characters. There was also a lot of characters, and It took me a minute to figure out who was who when they came back on the scene. It was just ok for me, but I will be looking for more books from this author. This particular story was just not for me.

I received a copy of the book via Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review of my own thoughts and opinions.

I picked this one up because I enjoyed the first book, but I am still not fully on board with the Met app. I struggled with the concept in both books because they are contemporary romances and the app felt contrived even though it's the "source" of the love interests. I did like Tiwanda, but felt like I did not get time to truly connect with because there were so many other characters and sources of conflict. This made the pacing feel off, since there was never enough time to "know" anyone that well and constantly put Tiwanda in a state of inner turmoil. I hope see a book with a new premise from this author because I did enjoy the first one in the series!

Unfortunately, I had no idea this was a sequel to a previous book, so not much made sense to me. But of the details that did, I really did enjoy it. The first few chapters immediately drew me in, allowing me to never want to get out. I read this all in one sitting. The story was good, definetely a good book to pick up for a quick read.

DNF - I was hopeful, mostly hopeful because I loved the cover art! However, I found myself having no real connection or insight into the main character & at some point, I seemingly couldn't move forward for lack of caring. There is an audience for this book, certainly, & I am happy to note that the majority have found their way to this book. Unfortunately, this was a case wherein I am simply not the target audience.

I think overall this book was an easy, quick read. However, I couldn't help but draw comparisons to Yinka Where is Your Huzband? which had similar themes of a woman in her 30s trying to meet the man of her dreams.
I'd recommend it for anyone who loves a good, easy, rom-com.

Really enjoyed this read and felt that this is what I wanted to read. I felt that the characters were well-developed, had great chemistry, and of course something that is very important to me is the light-hearted aspect of the book. I thought this was a great read and would love to read the authors future work.

I appreciated Twanda's perspective on relationships, romance, and love. I relate deeply to her hesitations and hope. There are themes of grief that are being explored in thoughtful, challenging, and considerate ways. I didn't know this was a sequel. I went back to read the first one and I hope there is another in the future.

I really tried, but I couldn’t connect with this book. It fell flat for me as there were a lot of plot lines and many characters. I wanted to connect with the story but, but ended up feeling like it didn’t quite fit for me.

I completely love the cover and the synopsis was what originally pulled me in. I will definitely love to read another book from Camille Baker again in the future.

I want to thank NetGalley, Camille Baker and Lake Union Publishing for the e-ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are honest, my own and left voluntarily.

When I think of romance, I think of books just like this one, that gives all the feels and satisfies every romance junkies' heart. This is a perfect book to snuggle up with on any day.

THE MOMENT WE MET - Camille Baker

**Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the copy of eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I actually was attracted to the cover, first. Then I get to read the blurb and then I decide to give this book a go.

The premise of a young woman, Tiwanda trying to make her way in life by restarting over and doing what she loves, plus rediscover the remnant of her past, i.e : her deceased mother’s diary. In addition, she’s looking for a soul mate too, by installing an apps “MET” which suggests a pinch of romance in the mix.

It should be engaging, but then it wasn’t. I mean I love the idea, but somehow it doesn’t swallow me whole and forced me to finish it in a sitting. The book has its moments, but at times kinda make me want to take a break. This continues on until ¾ of the book, then it gets better, and made me finish it in in around one hour.

Three stars for the book, and this won’t make me hesitant to try and read more of her works in the future. The idea was great, but I think, the way of sharing the idea, can be better.

A sweet and heartfelt novel about love, family, and chasing your dreams.

Here’s the spoiler-free premise: Tiwanda already has a lot on her plate working a job she’s starting to hate and trying to launch her chocolate and soap-making business when, on her thirtieth birthday, she’s gifted her late mother’s pregnancy journal. Tiwanda is also applying for a grant/mentorship program to assist with her business. So she doesn’t have time for dating, not that she’s looking anyway. Enter Met, a dating app that will send Tiwanda four matches, one of whom is her soulmate. But it will be up to Tiwanda to see if any of them are worth pursuing, and to see if she really can have it all.

So first, I have not read Baker’s previous novel Have We Met? yet, and even though these The Moment We Met isn’t exactly a sequel, it’s predicated on Have We Met? so I think it would be helpful to have read that first. As I read, I kept wishing there had been more focus on the app – how it worked, settings, “rules” and features, etc. – and maybe that’s covered or hinted at in Have We Met?

I appreciated seeing Tiwanda’s process with the grant and mentorship, and I liked her interactions with her matches. I would have liked to have seen more of that, but that’s because I’m a sucker for romance. I was expecting Tiwanda’s mom’s journal to have a more significant role in the story, so that was a little disappointing. However, Tiwanda's attempts to build a relationship with that side of the family made up for it a little bit.

Overall I liked this book. I thought it was cute and sweet (see what I did there?) and a nice end-of-summer read. The ending seemed a little open, and I’m hoping that means there will be a third companion novel! In the meantime, I’ll be read Have We Met? and waiting to see what’s next from Camille Baker.

The moment we met follows Tiwanda, she’s never been in a serious relationship! However, she is finally starting trying to find love in an app her cousin created.

The premise of the book seemed very interesting but unfortunately I just couldn’t connect with any of the characters and had to DNF

Archived before having the chance to download, happy to re-review if the file is uploaded again. If you would like me to re-review please feel free to contact me at thesecretbookreview@gmail.com or via social media The_secret_bookreview (Instagram) or Secret_bookblog (Twitter). Thank you.

I enjoyed this read although sometimes I had a difficult time getting through it. I had to put it down for a while, but one I came around to finishing it I liked what I was reading. Overall, I think there was a lot going on throughout the book. That said, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

DNF @ 28%

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC!

I won’t lie, this book would take me forever to get into -- if it got to that point -- and I wasn’t going to force myself to sit and trudge through chapters until I feel motivated enough to continue. I will mention that the book has a beautiful cover and interesting plot for me to request an ARC, and there are plenty of great reviews.

I want to start by saying that I did not realize at first that this was the second installment of a series. That being said, this book can stand on its own really well BUT how Met (the app that notifies the user that they’ve met a potential soulmate) isn’t explained in a way that made me understand how it’s actually finding these matches and that did pull me out of the story just a bit. At first, I assumed it was a proximity based thing where both people have accounts but it kind of seemed like Tiwanda’s potential soulmates didn’t recognize the alert sounds or get any alerts on their end for that to be the case. It’s possible Met was better explained in the first installment but I wish that once the app was introduced in this book, the functionality would have been touched on just a tad more.

Despite not fully understanding how the app functions, I did really enjoy Tiwanda’s character and I found her job venture really interesting. I think this was a sweet and relatively quick read about dreams, family, love, and embracing the past as you moved towards the future. I am interested in picking up the first installment to see if I can get a better understanding of how Met works and see how that app can play into the story and struggles of another character.

Unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed the first book in the series, which is a shame, but is so often the case with sequels. It might be that I just need to try reading it again, but for now it fell flat and the story just didn’t flow or connect in the same way that the first one did.

Within the first few chapters of this book I was immediately interested. I always felt there was never enough coming of age books and this hits the nail on the head. You have a Black woman dealing with a job she can't stand and decides she needs to do something about it. Not only that her love for chocolate making and soap making has me swooning. I instantly loved this book.

The Moment We Met is the second book in the Met series by Camille Baker. Remember that meddling dating app called Met? Well it strikes again. Tiwanda's 30th birthday is a turning point and now she has an app that promises four matches, and among them, her soul mate. Despite the doubt, Tiwanda taps "yes" and hope it leads to a real love.

I didn't quite enjoy this follow-up book much as the first. The title is catchy. The cover is pretty. But the content was a bit dull. For the premise to be so promising, it fell flat. I can only imagine how lost readers would be if they haven't read the first book. The author did not provide a back story or introduction to previous characters. It was like an inside joke that you grin about but don't crack a full smile or laugh. I am not sure if the author has intentions on making this a full series but maybe it's a wrap for Met.

Happy Early Pub Day, Camille Baker! The Moment We Met will be available Tuesday, July 5.

Disclaimer: An advance copy was received directly from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are my own and would be the same if I spent my hard-earned coins.

Definitley not what I was expecting. I've read from Camille Baker before and she pushed some of the "message" Aka the gay agenda but the book was still a good book. But the message in this book was heavy and right out the gate. I figured I'd give her a second chance but this book was an all around disappointment. I would've never requested it if I had known its a LGBTQ category book. This book should not be listed as just a romance novel because it doesn't give the reader the choice on whether or not they want to read it.