Meant to Be (The Saving Angels book 1)

By Tiffany King

Krista Miller feels like she has lived her entire life in a glass box with her every emotion on display. She can't help feeling like a defect as her sensitivities have made her socially inept and without any real friends; the one exception being the boy that visits her each night in her dreams.

Krista's emotions are put to the test when a move to California triggers a devastating change to her fantasy world. The nightly comfort that the boy provides has now become a recurring nightmare as he is taken from her by an unseen force. Struggling to appear normal, Krista enrolls in a new school and finds it to be nothing like she thought. Her new life is sent spiraling out of control from a strange connection with a boy, Mark, who claims to know all her secrets.

As Krista begins to explore the emotions that Mark evokes in her, secrets from their past about their shared connection threatens to separate them just when they have found each other.

Other Titles by Tiffany King

The Saving Angels Series
(Meant to Be- Book 1)
(Forgotten Souls- Book 2)
(The Ascended- Book 3)
Wishing for Someday Soon
Forever Changed
Unlikely Allies
Miss Me Not
Jordyn: A Daemon Hunter Novel Book 1
No Attachments

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tiffany King
• Release date: Mar 16, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458021649

Tiffany King

Tiffany King is the USA Today bestselling author of over fifteen young adult and new adult novels. Publishers Weekly called her adult contemporary romance release, A Shattered Moment, "heartfelt... an admirably authentic portrait of PTSD."

Book preview

Meant to Be

By

Tiffany King

Copyright © 2011 by Tiffany King

License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

http://www.authortiffany.wordpress.com

To my wonderful husband, Karl.

None of this would have been possible without you.

And also to my beautiful children, Ashlynn and Ryan, for being so patient

throughout this journey.

I love you.

Meant To Be

Chapter 1

The dream was as familiar as always, but that didn’t keep my heart from practically beating out of my chest from the anticipation of seeing him again. The bright moonlight overhead and the lights from the amusement park in the distance provided just enough light to see him waiting for me. I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corner of my mouth as I slowly walked toward him. The hard packed wet sand crunched under my bare feet as I walked along the tide line. I could feel the cold water lapping over the top of my feet, reaching my ankles. The fact that I have never seen his face didn’t diminish the intimacy that has blossomed from the many nights we have spent together. There was a subtle, cool breeze off the ocean that might have chilled me if not for his warm embrace that comforted me like a down blanket on a cold winter night. I hoped against hope that the new twist of the dreams was a fluke, and that tonight would be different. I felt his fingers tighten around mine, and I tried with every bit of strength I had to hold on, but the invisible force yanked him away like a kite in the wind, and in an instant he was gone.

I woke to a damp pillow from the tears I had shed while dreaming.

The dream had changed over the last few weeks and I could hardly control the sorrow that filled me when I awakened. I didn’t understand why, after dreaming about him my whole life, the dreams were now different. What was this mysterious force that suddenly pulled him away, leaving me all alone in the darkness?

I sat up and brushed away the wet blonde strands of hair that was stuck to the moisture on my face.

Glancing at the alarm clock beside my bed, I was dismayed to see that dawn was just minutes away, and my alarm would be going off any minute.

Well, I might as well go take my shower now, I told Feline.

Feline was my cat, and even though he was getting up in cat years, and would rather stay on my comfortable bed, he peeked his eyes open at the sound of my voice. When he saw me watching, he closed his eyes back up and snuggled even deeper into the blankets.

For the first time that morning, I smiled. Even though he looked like he was zonked out, I knew he would beat me to the bathroom.

Sure enough, the instant I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, Feline was at my feet.

Bending over, I scratched him behind his ears before heading out of my room. With Feline at my heels, I walked down the hallway to the bathroom.

I was finally getting used to the set up of the new house and had stopped opening the hallway closet door to go to the bathroom. The first night, I actually walked all the way into the closet before realizing I wasn’t in the bathroom. In my defense, I had been half asleep, but it was still embarrassing, especially after telling my mom. My mom teased me and said maybe we should put signs on the bathroom doors like you see in restaurants, if that would help.

I could feel the flush of embarrassment begin to creep up my neck as it headed for my face. I knew my mom didn’t really think I would have used it as a bathroom, but it didn’t take much to embarrass me. Just joking sweetie, my mom had said, reaching over and patting my hand.

I know. My red face couldn’t hide my embarrassment.

If I could change one thing about myself, it would be the fact that everything made me blush. Most girls would want to change something about their appearance, but not me. Not that I think I’m anything great, as a matter fact, I pretty much feel I’m a lost cause.

If asked to describe myself, I would mumble medium height, blue eyes, dish water blonde hair, average build, and a chest not worth bragging about. There were so many ordinary aspects to my body that I was in the opinion you would have to change my whole palate to make me beautiful. No, if I could change anything, I would change the fact that my face flushed red at the drop of a hat. Everything seemed to tinge my cheeks with color. It didn’t matter if someone paid me a compliment, or if a teacher called on me in class, everything made my face bright with color.

Often, even watching sitcoms was difficult for me. If I sensed something was going to embarrass a character on a show, I would have to flip the channel to avoid almost becoming sick from empathy. My dad used to lightly tease me about it when I was younger. He would call me their sense-a-meter.

There was no denying that I was sensitive. If a book was sad, it was a given that I would cry buckets reading it. If a movie had a sad ending, I would walk around sad for days afterwards. My parents quickly learned to curb my movie watching and to keep all depressing movies away from me. They often joked that they were the only parents that had to keep their child away from Disney movies. When I was eight, it had taken me weeks to get over Bambi’s mother dying. It wasn’t just books and movies that I was sensitive to. I was also keenly aware of the emotions of other people around me. If my parents were happy, I was filled with a warm joyful feeling. To the other extreme though, if they were sad, I was filled with unexplainable grief.

Growing up, once my parents became aware of just how sensitive I was, they tried to mask their emotions to spare me the agony they felt I went through. This adjustment made life easier for me and for the most part I lived my life relatively happy. That is until a year ago when my dad died from a heart attack during his morning run; my world was shattered.

After his sudden death, I wound up spending a few weeks in the hospital. At first the doctors thought I was suffering from depression, but it was more deeply rooted. My own grief compounded with my sensitivity to my mom’s sorrow was almost enough to kill me. The doctors were flabbergasted that even sleeping pills did not seem to give me the peace I needed. They observed that if I fell into a natural sleep, I seemed more peaceful.

My dreams had always been the soothing medicine that I needed for any pain that I experienced in life. We have never once, in all our years together spoken a single word, but we share a conscious bond that makes it unnecessary.

For obvious reasons, I had to keep this info to myself since the doctor’s already thought I was a basket case. I could just imagine what they would think if I told them I was comforted by some boy I had been dreaming about all my life, and even though he always stood in the shadows, and I had never seen his face clearly, I was in love with him. Not even my parents knew everything about the dreams. Sure, they knew that I occasionally dreamed about some boy I had never met, but I never let on that I dreamt of him every night, and that he is the reason I paid no attention to the boys in school.

My grief over my dad’s passing gradually lifted, and I started to function again. I knew a big part of this was because my mom realized that I could not handle her grief on top of my own. She learned to hide her own grief when I was around. I felt bad that she had to mask her own sorrow, but I could not help appreciating the loosening of the band of sadness that had encircled me.

I knew my mom still missed my dad even a year later, and often at night I could still sometimes hear her crying in her room.

That’s why we were in a new house, in a new town.

Two months ago after our first Christmas without my dad, my mom abruptly closed the book she had been reading at the breakfast table. At the slam of the book, I looked up startled from my own book.

That’s it, she had announced. We’re moving.

What? I asked, not sure I heard her right. Moving? We had lived in this house as long as I could remember.

Were moving, she repeated.

Why?

Because we are never going to let go of him if we stay in this town, everywhere we go reminds us of him. The movies, our favorite restaurants, even the mall. I’m reminded of him wherever I go, and I know you are too. We need a new beginning.

Isn’t moving expensive? I asked, not sure my mom had thought this through completely. We weren’t poor, but I knew that both my parents had to work to maintain their lifestyle. I had been worrying about how we were going to make ends meet since my dad had died.

We have the money from your dad’s life insurance.

Dad had life insurance? I asked surprised.

Yes, we both had policies in our name. We took them out after we adopted you. We wanted to make sure if anything ever happened to us, you would be taken care of.

I felt the familiar pang in my heart. I knew I should get over being abandoned, but for some reason I could not let it go that my real parents didn’t love me enough to keep me. I knew my adoptive parents loved me like I was their own flesh and blood, but I couldn’t help wondering why I had been left behind by my real parents.

How much money is the policy? I had asked, shaking off the bothersome thoughts.

Enough that you never have to worry about college and you get to spend your last couple months of school in private school.

I was thrilled. Attending a private school had been a lifelong dream of mine. Not because I was vain and wanted to surround myself with other smart kids, but because I felt if I attended a school where there were other kids with high IQ’s, I could get lost in the crowd. Don’t ask me why I had assumed everyone at private school were smart, I had just always perceived it that way.

In public school I always seemed to be the smartest in my class, and my teachers were always trying to get my parents to have my IQ tested, but I always fought it. I didn’t want to skip grades. I didn’t want to be tested for gifted classes. I just wanted to be like any other teenager. For years my goal was to fly under the radar. I always got straight A’s, but I never went beyond that. The less attention I got, the happier I was.

It was easier when I had teachers that didn’t care much about their jobs, and had only gone into teaching for the summers off. They appreciated kids like me who made their jobs easier. The teachers that actually liked their jobs were harder to fool. Usually, after a couple of months, they would catch on to just how smart I was and then the cycle would start over again. They would meet with my parents.

Do you know Krista is gifted? They would ask.

Yes, my parents would reply.

Would you like us to test her?

No, my parents would say. We think Krista is comfortable where she is.

I had seen this cycle many times and just wanted to put it all behind me. I felt a private school was the way to go, but they were expensive and I knew that it would be too costly for me to attend one, so I had never asked.

Yes, my mom replied.

There’s more, I’ve been researching private schools and guess where one of the best in the nation is located?

Santa Cruz? I asked, not daring to believe my good fortune.

Yep! she replied, using one of my favorite slang words.

Except for being overly sensitive and dreaming about some guy I had never met, the next craziest thing about me was my ridiculous, burning desire to visit Santa Cruz. My parents could never explain this strange desire of mine, but I couldn’t help wondering if I was born there or something like that.

The Department of Children and Family Services had no information to pass on about me, except the fact that some woman found me sitting on a park bench at a rest stop in Utah, when I was two. I was found clutching a bear and a small backpack. I couldn’t tell them my name, and all the social workers could get out of me was that Franklin, or what sounded like Franklin, had told me to sit until someone came to help me. The authorities searched the area high and low for anyone close to the name of Franklin, but their searches proved to be fruitless.

Santa Cruz, I had repeated. Saying the name out loud filled me with an unexplainable rightness.

Now, two months later, here we were. From the moment we drove through the town limits, I had felt it. I didn’t know why, but I knew I belonged here.

I studied my reflection in the mirror over the sink as I smoothed moisturizer on my face. The sea air was playing havoc on my complexion. I hated the constant gritty texture my face seemed to have and the dark black smudges under my eyes that made me resemble a NFL football player. I couldn’t help feeling a little frazzled about starting school the next day. It was one thing to feel like a freak on the inside, but a whole other thing to look like one.

I traced the dark smudges with my fingertip. The gritty texture of my skin could be fixed, but the smudges would be harder to cover up. The dream had shaken me more than I was willing to admit. I was terrified at what they meant. Was he going to leave me after all these years? How would I function without him? Who would I turn to in my times of need?

All of these thoughts filled me with despair, and sleep was now a double edge sword. I longed to see him, but I feared for the day he would no longer be there.

I stepped into the shower after laying down an extra towel under the bathmat. The shower door was older, and no matter how hard we closed it, it still leaked around the edges.

Hoping the water would wash away the last lingering side effects from the dream, I deliberately twisted the knob to the hottest setting. Of course it took a while, since the hot water heater in the house must have been installed when the house was built twenty years ago. My mom told me that it couldn’t be that old, since typically hot water heaters only lasted about ten years. It may not be twenty years old, but it had definitely seen better days, and was another item on the endless to do list hanging on the refrigerator. My mom and I aren’t the handiest with tools, so the list keeps growing while nothing ever gets crossed off. My mom promised to call a handyman last night after the pantry door fell off its hinges. I could only laugh; the new house may be in a great location being only a block from the beach, but it definitely needed some work done, my mom called it T.L.C (Tender Loving Care). I felt it needed a lot more than that, like maybe a bulldozer.

I rushed through washing and conditioning my hair to conserve some of the limited hot water for shaving my legs. The sunny California weather was nice, and I definitely liked wearing shorts, but shaving my legs every day was getting old fast. At least it was better than wearing my regular attire of jeans and long johns like I would have to if we were still in Montana.

I was forced to switch off the shower when the hot water turned lukewarm. I toweled off with one of the plush rose colored towels my mom and I had special ordered when we still lived up north. We both hated stepping out of a hot shower and at least the plush towels helped ward off any chills. Of course, the mild temperatures in California were a lot different than the frigid temperatures we were used to.

I pulled on a pair of blue and green plaid board shorts and a Roxy t-shirt. I let out a sigh of contentment; I loved being able to wear such light weight clothes in March. Though before the move, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you the difference between a Roxy shirt and the standard Target t-shirts I usually wore during the summers back in Montana. I have never been a name brand junkie, but there was no denying that the Roxy shirts were super comfortable, not to mention they were very flattering, even for someone as flat chested as me.

Of course starting tomorrow, I would be wearing a uniform everyday and my new Roxy shirts would have to wait until the weekends. This thought didn’t make me cringe like most teenagers would have. I liked the idea of not having to decide what to wear each morning and never having to second guess my outfit choice. Even in the small town I had moved from, I had always been one step behind all the fashionistas.

I spent the hours waiting for my mom to wake up by getting my school supplies ready for the next day. I’d been out of school for two weeks for the move and had enjoyed my time off. I almost wished I had opted for early graduation. School had always been easy for me, but this past year it was ridiculously easy since I had finished all my core classes the year before. I had enough credits to graduate early, but I decided to do the whole graduation thing for my mom’s sake. Being an only child, I didn’t want to deprive her of my last few high school memories.

I was a little apprehensive about starting a new school, and hoped that I could remain unnoticed until I graduated. I just wanted to finish high school and move on to a big university where it would be easier to blend in.

I had organized my backpack about a million times and had stuffed it with plenty of notebooks, pens and pencils. I had also packed an extra book on the off chance that I forgot my current novel I was reading.

Finally, I set my backpack aside realizing it was as ready as it could be. I moved to my desk, but I was a perpetually neat person, so there really wasn’t much to organize there. After a few minutes of just reshuffling things around, I sat on my bed.

Settling against my mountain of throw pillows, I picked up my favorite teddy bear that I had made at Build-a-Bear Workshop when I was ten. We bought it when we went to Las Vegas on vacation. It had become a ritual for my dad to buy me a new stuffed animal from B.A.B.W. every time we went on vacation, and I had a whole shelf of different animals we had purchased over the years. My favorites held court on my bed; like the cute orange tabby cat that we had bought in Orlando and the monkey from our trip to Colorado. Each one was special to me since my dad had helped me pick all of them out. I had fourteen in all, to remember every trip we had taken together.

I held my bear loosely in my hands as I studied the ceiling trying to keep my mind off the topic that was lurking in the back of my mind. At first

Reviews for Meant to Be (The Saving Angels book 1)

[bloodofareptile · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I feel like I've read a different book to everyone else. This book has largely good reviews both here on GoodReads and on Amazon, but I found it painful.

The book started off OK - the weird dreams, finding the guy in real life, trying to work out what it meant was all vaguely interesting. The "reveal" was bizarre and didn't work at all for me. An enforced, creepy, co-dependent relationship does not the stuff of my dreams make. The beginning was so slow compared with the roller-coaster-with-no-brakes end of the novel and it just didn't mesh.

I didn't connect with the main character in the slightest - she was one of the most boring heroines I've ever encountered. The only thing that defined her as a character were the supernatural elements of her life.

I will say that the writing style was not that bad (in terms of spelling, grammar, and sentence flow) - not to the level of so many other free books - but even taking that in to account I can't give this book more than one star. There was just not one single thing in the book I cared about and I was more eager to finish it than to find out what happened.

Format: Kindle
Price Paid: Free
Recommended: No
Value: overpriced at free
Will I Buy the Next: No

[kreagsheehan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Meant to Be blew me away. I really can't even find the words to describe how much I loved this book. Meant to Be focuses around Krista Miller, a teenager who has recently moved to Santa Cruz, California. Her whole life, she has been different, always susceptible to other peoples emotions. Then there are the dreams. All her life, she has dreamed of a boy, her perfect soulmate, only she has never actually met this boy, or even seen his face in her dreams. Krista doesn't even think he is real, until she meets him face to face. The story that ensues was nothing short of amazing. Krista and Mark embark on a quest to discover just what it is that makes them and their friends Sam and Shawn so alike to one another. The story was fast paced and I loved it. The romance was perfect. I could not get enough! It really made you feel happy for the characters, and it made you smile. And the ending! Wow! I did not see that coming! The end really gets your heart pumping, trying to figure out what will happen next, etc. and it is great. The whole soulmates concept was amazing and it is definitely a breath of fresh air among most other YA novels right now. And the angel mythology involved is also wonderful, it is completely original and unlike any other angel/fallen angel YA books i have seen to date. I think the strongest point of this novel were the characters. Tiffany king has created such a fun and entertaining cast of characters, you can't help but to love them all. Every single one of the side characters was developed to the point of them seeming almost... real to me. Sometimes you feel like they aren't important. Not in Meant to Be. Then there's Krista. Krista has to be one of my all time favorite main characters. Not only is she a strong hero, but she really connected with me. She did things that I could see myself doing in the same situations. I felt like we had similar interests and qualities, like her love of reading, etc. It was great to have such an amazing character in the novel and i'm sure others will enjoy that aspect also. The setting of the novel, Santa Cruz, is crucial to the story line. It was an enjoyable setting that made the novel feel fun and kind of made me want to take a trip to the beach! Haha! The places there were fun, such as the Boardwalk/amusement park. There was also a bookstore too, which I wish we got to see a bit more of, just because... I like bookstores :) The locations were all described very well and were very developed. I can't wait to be back in Santa Cruz when I read Meant to Be's sequel. Tiffany's writing was absolutely amazing. I loved every minute of the book. It kept me involved with the story, no matter what was happening, and it drew you in from the very beginning. Everything flowed together very well. There were a few formatting/spelling problems, but honestly, nothing enough to distract me from the novel overall. Tiffany wrote such amazing characters. It is a tough thing to do and it was done perfectly. I definitely will be watching out for more from Ms. King! I cannot even put the love I have for this book into words. I loved this book so much, and i think anyone who is looking for an amazing read should check it out. It's only like, $.99 on amazon for the ebook, and its definitely worth the dollar. I'd buy it if it was $20, it was that good. Check it out!I also had a chance to read a short story Tiffany wrote as part of The Glassheart Chronicles anthology, and it was amazing. It is a prequel story, so if you haven't read Meant to Be, i saw do that before reading the story, cause it is spoilery :)Thank you so much to Tiffany for providing me a signed paperback copy in a trade I made with her, I will cherish it!

[jamesterck · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I bought this book quite awhile back and have been hearing amazing things about it ever since, so I finally decided to read it. Krista is different from anyone else; her emotions always get the best of her and this happens often since she can feel what other people are feeling. She also has the same dream every night of the same boy. Her father died unexpectedly and in order to finally begin to heal, Krista's mom decides they need to move away to Santa Cruz, away from old memories. Upon arriving she immediately feels a sense of belonging, which is solidified even more when she meets her friend Sam; it feels like she's known her forever. The biggest surprise of all is when she meets Mark; it's like she's met her other half. They have no idea what ties them all together, but the secrets and their identities may be more dangerous than they realize. 1) Character Development: To be completely honest, I didn't connect well with the characters in this book. I wanted to, but I ended up just kind of feeling indifferent to them. Usually I have a lot to say about the characters, but I don't really in this case. Krista is sort of a loner due to her extreme and intense emotions; being close to other people means being subjected to their emotions as well. The only time she really seems happy is during her nightly dream of this guy that may or may not exist. She considers herself as somewhat of a freak, at least until she meets Sam. Sam and Krista turn out to have a lot in common, more than just their taste in movies or music. Where Krista is more serious, Sam is more bubbly and outgoing, so they kind of even each other out. Mark is like the ideal boyfriend; cute, smart, funny, and fiercely loyal and protective of the one he loves. We get a little bit of background on all of the characters, but not enough in my opinion to really connect and sympathize with them. 2) The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly: First, The Good - I loved the story line, the idea of dreaming of a guy your whole life and then finally meeting him one day. A soul mate. There's just something really appealing about the idea of soul mates, it's just really romantic. As much as I felt kind of so-so about the majority of the book, the ending was pretty intense and I enjoyed it. The Bad - The writing didn't flow well for me, I had trouble picking it up again after I put it down. I didn't feel drawn into the world the author created; it just wasn't described well enough for my taste. Some books are overly descriptive which is insanely annoying to me, but so to is being not descriptive enough about the characters and the world around them. Also, sometimes Krista would flash back to another time in her life and usually it was in the middle of a conversation; by the time the flashback had ended I totally forgot what in the world was happening present day. The Ugly - Mostly I'm just disappointed that I couldn't connect with the characters; that can make or break a book for me. The dialogue to me was a bit awkward and corny at times. It didn't affect the whole book, there were just times where it made me cringe a bit. 3) Romance Sizzle Or Fizzle: I'm kind of in the middle on this one. On one hand, we only meet Mark at first through Krista's dreams, before she even knows who he is. I get that they're supposed to be soul mates, but when that idea is implemented sometimes it's hard to believe that these two people are all of a sudden in love. That being said, since it does seem they were meant to be together and are soul mates (they did dream about each other their whole lives), their rushing into a relationship makes sense. There were some really sweet moments in this book, and I'll share my favorite quote with you: "I want you to listen to me. You seem to be under the misconception that there is nothing special about you. There is nobody else in the whole world that I would rather be with. I could look at your for hours and never get sick of it. I could spend every second of everyday in your presence and I would die a happy man. You belong with me." (Mark talking to Krista, pg. 177-178 of paperback) That scene just made me melt because it was so romantic. On that quote alone I'm leaning more toward sizzle on this one! 4) Uniqueness Of Plot: I've never really read anything quite like this story before. It takes awhile to get to the secrets of who these teenagers really are and the truth about their pasts, but I thought it was a really interesting and fresh idea. 5) Final Thoughts: I didn't love this book, it was just ok. I liked the overall storyline, but the middle of the book moved kind of slow and I wasn't able to connect with the characters as much as I wanted to. After the ending though, I'll definitely be reading the next installment in the series to see what happens next!

[bookluvrmindy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It was really refreshing reading a UF romance novel with that doesn’t include the complicated love triangle. While I was in La La land, I was completely blindsided by something I did not at all see coming and then it goes from being only a romance novel to high intensity!As soon as I picked up Meant to Be I was immediately intrigued by Krista, the life she lived and what has become of herself. Krista’s whole life has been complicated. She was found abandoned at the age of 2, she is sensitive to others emotions enough to make her terribly ill AND every night she goes to bed and dreams about a boy. Her and the boy with out a face grow up together in her dream and the dream boy is Krista's main comfort. After Krista's dad dies, her and her mother decide to move to the same place she has always been drawn to. Santa Cruz. Krista’s dreams have taken a turn for the worst. Every night, her dream is cut short and her dream guy is pulled away from her. What is cause?I can't say that Krista is my favorite character because there are several characters that I really grew attached to. I LOVE Sam, who doesn't love Mark and I hope that I get to read more about Shawn in the next book. Even though there is only a couple pages with Robert and Lynn, I already like Lynn and I am looking forward to reading more about them as well.I am really looking forward to see what will happen now that they know who they are and what is they need to do!

[andreat78_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Meant to Be is a great debut for author Tiffany King. The story has great characters. Krista is very relatable and endearing. As teens, many of us felt as if every feeling and emotion was on display. But for Krista, that's a reality. She is the kind of character you can't help but love. Mark is the handsome and noble young man that many of us wish we had known in high school. He was totally swoon-worthy. There are the great sidekicks, Shawn and Sam, that are a lot of fun to read. In addition to great characters, Meant to Be had a nicely developed, well paced storyline. I had gone in thinking the book was only a love story, but about halfway through, I was caught by surprise. I found myself suspensefully reading, frantically trying to find the answers to the questions forming in my mind. What is the connection that binds Krista and Mark? What is this unseen force trying to tear them apart. I literally flew through the last half of the book trying to find the answers to those questions. That to me is the mark of a truly great book. I HAD to know the answers. Tiffany King has a great way with descriptive writing. She is able to set the scene and emotions without being too wordy and bogging the flow. Every time Krista became overwhelmed, I became flustered as well. When King described the climate, I almost felt I needed to clean myself of the salt and sand of Santa Cruz, California. I am looking forward to reading many more books by Tiffany King.

[l_manning · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

First of all, don't let star ratings fool you. There is a lot to love about this book. At first, I was afraid this was going to fall under what I refer to as "Twilight Syndrome." You know, imperfect girl meets perfect guy of her dreams who then exhibits bizarre almost stalkerish behavior that is passed off as "romantic." I'm clearly not a fan of that. This book turned out to be much more though. Once I had finished, I was left with the urge to start again from the beginning, as I was seeing everything in a new light. The plot was very interesting, and there were plenty of surprises until the end. That being said, there were a few technical issues. For some reason the formatting was kind of weird on my e-reader. There were be breaks in paragraphs in random places. It was especially bothersome when there were breaks in the dialogue. Sometimes I'd have to read it a few times to see who was speaking via context clues. I'm not sure what the issue was really. Also, there were some grammatical issues. This may not be a problem for some people, but it tends to pull me out of the narrative. That's more of a personal issue though.The pacing in the beginning felt a bit slow, but any shortcomings were made up for in the last 40 pages or so. It felt like that's where the story really became fully realized, and it was a fantastic ending. Not only did the story feel original, but it left me wanting more. I really was on the edge of my seat, and I would love to know what happens next. I would recommend this book for sure. It starts out as one thing, but turns into another book entirely by the end. The romance aspect that I felt was overdone in the beginning made perfect sense in the end. I will definitely look for the authors next book