Meant to Be
- Downloads：3712
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-06-12 11:21:34
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Emily Giffin
- ISBN：0593587324
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A restless golden boy and a girl with a troubled past navigate a love story that may be doomed before it even begins， in this "glorious， satisfying" （Adriana Trigiani） new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of All We Ever Wanted and The Lies That Bind。
"I'm a sucker for an iconic， against-all-odds love story， and Meant to Be truly delivers。"--Tia Williams， author of Seven Days in June
The Kingsley family is American royalty， beloved for their military heroics， political service， and unmatched elegance。 In 1967， after Joseph S。 Kingsley， Jr。 is killed in a tragic accident， his charismatic son inherits the weight of that legacy。 But Joe III is a free spirit--and a little bit reckless。 Despite his best intentions， he has trouble meeting the expectations of a nation， as well as those of his exacting mother， Dottie。
Meanwhile， no one ever expected anything of Cate Cooper。 She， too， grew up fatherless--and after her mother marries an abusive man， she is forced to fend for herself。 After being discovered by a model scout at age sixteen， Cate decides that her looks may be her only ticket out of the cycle of disappointment that her mother has always inhabited。 Before too long， Cate's face is in magazines and on billboards。 Yet she feels like a fraud， faking it in a world to which she's never truly belonged。
When Joe and Cate unexpectedly cross paths one afternoon， their connection is instant and intense。 But can their relationship survive the glare of the spotlight and the so-called Kingsley curse？ In a beautifully written novel that captures a gilded moment in American history， Emily Giffin tells the story of two people searching for belonging and identity， as well as the answer to the question: Are certain love stories meant to be？
"I'm a sucker for an iconic， against-all-odds love story， and Meant to Be truly delivers。"--Tia Williams， author of Seven Days in June
The Kingsley family is American royalty， beloved for their military heroics， political service， and unmatched elegance。 In 1967， after Joseph S。 Kingsley， Jr。 is killed in a tragic accident， his charismatic son inherits the weight of that legacy。 But Joe III is a free spirit--and a little bit reckless。 Despite his best intentions， he has trouble meeting the expectations of a nation， as well as those of his exacting mother， Dottie。
Meanwhile， no one ever expected anything of Cate Cooper。 She， too， grew up fatherless--and after her mother marries an abusive man， she is forced to fend for herself。 After being discovered by a model scout at age sixteen， Cate decides that her looks may be her only ticket out of the cycle of disappointment that her mother has always inhabited。 Before too long， Cate's face is in magazines and on billboards。 Yet she feels like a fraud， faking it in a world to which she's never truly belonged。
When Joe and Cate unexpectedly cross paths one afternoon， their connection is instant and intense。 But can their relationship survive the glare of the spotlight and the so-called Kingsley curse？ In a beautifully written novel that captures a gilded moment in American history， Emily Giffin tells the story of two people searching for belonging and identity， as well as the answer to the question: Are certain love stories meant to be？
Reviews
Liane
，
3。5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️。5
Aleda Elizabeth
，
I didn't love this book， i kept waiting for something exciting to happen and then it was just kind of over。 I have read every Emily Giffin book， and this was my least favourite one。 I didn't love this book， i kept waiting for something exciting to happen and then it was just kind of over。 I have read every Emily Giffin book， and this was my least favourite one。 。。。more
Ashley
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3。5 stars
Laura McVicker
，
This book started off feeling kinda generic and one-dimensional。 But as the love story progressed， you could see the similarities between this story and that of JFK Jr。 and Carolyn Bessette - and how it was purposefully a retelling with differences。 I enjoyed it as a guilty pleasure read （I love celeb love stories）！
Katie MB
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A beautifully written novel， if only the real story could have played out this way。
Sherri
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Predictable good weekend readThe story line very reminiscent of John Kennedy Jr and Caroline Bissett。 I was a great saturday escape novel and a quick read
Kathleen
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If you’re going to write intrusive fiction （including sex scenes！） about two real people who died tragically， you could at least put in a minimum of effort。 This reads like it was written by an AI chat bot trained on People Magazine。
Jessica
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Loved this book so much！
Stephanie | stephonashelf
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4。5🌟
Deborah Bielins-gregory
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Truly a great story！Two people fall I'm love and life throws lots of curve balls。 The two main characters were great and they were definitely meant to be together。 Truly a great story！Two people fall I'm love and life throws lots of curve balls。 The two main characters were great and they were definitely meant to be together。 。。。more
Barbara Schultz
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Name of Book: Meant to BeAuthor: Emily GiffinNarrators: Caroline Hewett and Robert PetkoffPublisher: Random House Publishing Group ~ BallantineGenre: Mystery ThrillerPub Date: May 31， 2022My Rating: 2。5 Rounded up！Aww the rich and famous Kingsley’s are next to royalty in the US。 Story has a strong resemblance to Camelot and the Kennedy Family。In this case， we follow young Joe。 Joe senior was killed while serving in the US Navy as a fighter pilot ~ there were hoped that he would run for President Name of Book: Meant to BeAuthor: Emily GiffinNarrators: Caroline Hewett and Robert PetkoffPublisher: Random House Publishing Group ~ BallantineGenre: Mystery ThrillerPub Date: May 31， 2022My Rating: 2。5 Rounded up！Aww the rich and famous Kingsley’s are next to royalty in the US。 Story has a strong resemblance to Camelot and the Kennedy Family。In this case， we follow young Joe。 Joe senior was killed while serving in the US Navy as a fighter pilot ~ there were hoped that he would run for President。 Young Joe is expected to follow and make this dream come true。He meets and falls in love with Cate who is not by any means in the same social world。 Will their relationship last？Story was okay ~ I liked Joe but Hmm Cate ~ these two seemed more like teenagers than 30 something。 Our narrators were good so I hung in there！ 。。。more
Karen
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A perfect vacation read！
Sara Cooper
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I did not like the fact that it was a blatantly obvious， fictionalized version of the JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette love story。 No originality。 I found myself skimming just to finish it faster。
Stacey Robinson
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It annoyed me how this book mimicked the Kennedys。 It seemed unoriginal and predictable。 A decent beach read but not much substance or plot to it。
Colona Public Library
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Emily Giffin never fails to give the reader a nice story that surrounds you like a warm blanket！ Great beach read for the summer！
Patti Bradley
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I really enjoyed this book and would have given it 5 ⭐️ if only Joe had not been so perfect。 He seemed to be the one always getting the short end of the stick， but he always understood or would go overboard trying to accommodate。 Just didn’t seem too realistic。 Cate on the other hand was more believable。 She was insecure and unsure of everything。 I hated her mother and her stupid decisions and stubbornness。 And I of course hated Chip。 A real jerk。 But overall- I enjoyed this story and especially I really enjoyed this book and would have given it 5 ⭐️ if only Joe had not been so perfect。 He seemed to be the one always getting the short end of the stick， but he always understood or would go overboard trying to accommodate。 Just didn’t seem too realistic。 Cate on the other hand was more believable。 She was insecure and unsure of everything。 I hated her mother and her stupid decisions and stubbornness。 And I of course hated Chip。 A real jerk。 But overall- I enjoyed this story and especially the similarities between the Kennedys。 I would definitely recommend this book。 。。。more
Jackie Roth
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I love all Emily Giffin books。 This book didn’t have any big plot twist or anything in particular that grabbed me but loved hearing the Kennedy Story and a brief “what if”
Laura
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Didn’t finish。 Too trite。 Too predictable。 Dialogue was 🤮。
Ashley Thiesen
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Captivating love story inspired by the Kennedy family， in particular JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette。 Enjoyed the author’s creative liberties， though if you know their story， you kind of get the gist of this novel。 If you dont， then it’s excellent！
Dana Romano
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I am always up for an Emily Giffin book， and even more up for a Kennedy-esque style telling。 I love the way Emily crafts her stories， and it makes them so readable and so easy to love！！
Erin
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Joe Kingsley III is born into a family of war heroes and astronauts and politics and power are in his blood。 Cate， on the other hand， spends her childhood watching her mother’s abusive relationship with her stepfather and crawls her way out into a modeling career。 When the two meet， their relationship becomes the stuff of legends and they must figure out if they can survive the curse of his storied family。 I had heard that this book was “Kennedy-esque” and it is for sure inspired and influenced Joe Kingsley III is born into a family of war heroes and astronauts and politics and power are in his blood。 Cate， on the other hand， spends her childhood watching her mother’s abusive relationship with her stepfather and crawls her way out into a modeling career。 When the two meet， their relationship becomes the stuff of legends and they must figure out if they can survive the curse of his storied family。 I had heard that this book was “Kennedy-esque” and it is for sure inspired and influenced heavily by the story of JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette。 I was all in。 I was in college when their plane crashed and I remember seeing the news。 I’m not always a fan of Giffin， but found this to be delightful。 An almost perfect beach read！ 。。。more
Mala Ashok
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If you like reading Romances or even if you don't this book is "meant to be" read。 Emily Giffin is a good author and she has done justice to the story of Joe and Cate。 Joe and Cate are from as dissimilar backgrounds as possible - Joe from a pedigreed family and Cate from the wrong side of the tracks。 However， the improbable happens and they fall in love。 Is their romance "meant to be" or will the inevitable happen and they break up？ Definitely worth a read。 If you like reading Romances or even if you don't this book is "meant to be" read。 Emily Giffin is a good author and she has done justice to the story of Joe and Cate。 Joe and Cate are from as dissimilar backgrounds as possible - Joe from a pedigreed family and Cate from the wrong side of the tracks。 However， the improbable happens and they fall in love。 Is their romance "meant to be" or will the inevitable happen and they break up？ Definitely worth a read。 。。。more
Jessica
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Wish the epilogue included all of the characters
Courtney
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Giffin nails the reimagining of JFK Jr。 and Carolyn Bessette。 Hope， promise and the what-if will leave you with the best kind of book hangover。 This story was one only Giffin could tell。
Susan Krutzler
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This was a first for me by this author and I really enjoyed it。 It was a very nice and lighthearted love story。 Nothing special but just a very enjoyable read told from two different perspectives of Joe and Cate。 It trails along the vision of Camelot and the Kennedy family。 It was a break from my usual suspense thriller genre but I really enjoyed it。 A nice beautiful love story that wasn’t mushy or overdone。
Bookworm Between the Sheets
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I absolutely devoured this book！ I am a major JKF Jr。 and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy fan and this book just gives you all the feels of their romance。 This is the perfect summer beach read that you will absolutely fall in love from cover to cover。
Erin Clements
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I had a love/hate relationship with this book。 I loved the concept and was rooting for the characters and needed to know how it ended， but the character arcs and dialogue was so frustrating at times。 I felt like they kept going in circles and kept repeating my the same mistakes。Overall I did enjoy it though and it was a very quick read。
Courtney
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Emily Giffin is an automatic read for me。 This story was easy and interesting but super…basic？ Obviously a take on JFK Jr and his wife， it came across really emotion-less and trite。 American Wife （Curtis Sittenfeld） told Barbara Bush’s story in a similar fashion and did it much better。 Still， a good summer beach read if you enjoy Giffin’s other books。
Robyn
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Best of all her books。 Loved it。
Karen
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This was a quick read but since I am not particularly a fan （or not） of JFK Jr。 this didn't really speak to me。 I liked the audio and the voice of both of the characters but I found the book to be mostly boring to be honest。 This was a quick read but since I am not particularly a fan （or not） of JFK Jr。 this didn't really speak to me。 I liked the audio and the voice of both of the characters but I found the book to be mostly boring to be honest。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Meant to Be
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Meant to Be&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Meant to Be&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0