Anatomy of a Meet Cute by Addie Woolridge
Actual Rating: 3.75
Thanks to the publisher and author for a free e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve been in kind of a reading slump for a while but this book was actually the perfect one to get me out of it. On the surface this seems like a common contemporary adult romance, but the story actually turned out to be so much more than that. There was an extremely refreshing level of maturity in the topics and relationships it covered.
Anatomy of a Meet Cute follows Sam, an ob-gyn who has an unfortunate (and embarrassing) run-in with a doctor who just then happens to show up at her place of work. In desperate need of a mentor to support her community program, Sam has no choice but to ask Dr. Grant Gao for help. And thus the drama begins. Combined with an overbearing mother, a friend’s imminent wedding, and the stupid hospital bureaucracy, Sam finds more and more on her plate — and her inability to say “no” starts biting her in the ass.
Admittedly I’m not a huge fan of medical plots and so I wasn’t that interested in that part of the book either; instead, for me it was more about what that showed about Sam’s character growth. Through it we saw her dedication to her craft, social commentary about underfunded communities, the pressure of work, and more.
In fact, I think Sam’s character development was the strongest part of the book. I’ve read several other reviews calling her overly snarky and defensive, but I actually found this really unique in a main character. To me, she seemed to be a paradox between confident and insecure, which made her all the more realistic and relatable. There are a few times it got too much but it was directly and decently addressed by the end.
I quite liked Grant’s dynamic with Sam too; yes she was prickly but he was able to stand his own and had his own way of calling her out for it and providing advice in a really straightforward way. I really wish we got more about him and his backstory because there were times he felt reduced to being Sam’s love interest.
Still, I absolutely loved their story and it was one of those stories that made me giggly and kick my feet in the air. The kind that gives you butterflies.
I really enjoyed the side stories too — Jehan’s wedding and Sam’s mother — I felt like those were the stories that really elevated this book into something more than a rom-com. It felt almost slice-of-life as we watched these burdens pile up on someone, bit by bit.
Overall, this is definitely a book I’d recommend for anyone in search of a light romance — especially if you like female main characters that are just a tad more hard-headed.
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