Searching for Meredith Love

by Julie Christensen

Meredith Love thought her life was just fine. Fresh out of graduate school, she had a shiny new job in the medical office where she used to be a secretary. Sure, she didn’t really like all her co-workers, and yes, her bosses still asked her to drop everything to send a fax. And, okay, she had an irritatingly successful best friend who was always telling Meredith that her life sucked. But, like most people living a quietly miserable existance, Meredith didn't realize how unhappy she was in her adopted home of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Then Ben Abel, second-year medical resident, appears on the scene, and Meredith realizes what true happiness could be. Suddenly, her life looks as bad as her best friend always said and it's getting worse by the minute. Now Meredith is going to have to stand up and fight for the life she wants instead of the life she's got. And even if she succeeds, a secret from her past could ruin everything.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Ebooks, Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit

413 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 27, 2010

About the author

Julie Christensen writes YA and MG contemporary fiction and is represented by Allison Remcheck at Stimola Literary Studio. She has also indie-published several adult books, including three Ruby Neptune mysteries: "Murder Beyond Words" "Murder with Art," and "Murder at a Private School."

Julie is from New York, studied art at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, and has lived in Barcelona, Albuquerque, and Omaha.

She is @JulieChristens7 on Twitter and blogs infrequently at julielivingthedream.blogspot.com

Reviews

[Clarinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first started the book, I didn't know what to expect because I bought it with a couple of other books and forgot what it was supposed to be about. Reading the first few chapters, it got a little boring, what with Meredith's complains and whiny depressing self.
But as I read on, Meredith's character started to grow on me. Some parts, it reminded me of myself, some parts, I could see in friends. I think it highlighted a lot of things that we think in our minds but are afraid to say it out loud. Meredith's insecurities and uncertainties are things that occur in everyday life and I can certainly relate to them. Who can deny that there are times when one is lonely but do not dare admit it? Or when one is afraid to say what one feels and in the end give an answer or comment that is considered good social etiquette? I could put myself in many of the situations in this book. And although I can't say that for myself, it was also great to see how Meredith's character grew with the experiences she had as she struggled to find herself.
This book is definitely worth to read plus it is free as an ebook on amazon!

[Amber Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meredith Love is a whiner with low self-esteem.

Made me nuts, but I liked the fact that by the end of the book she got over herself and quit being such a whiney baby.

Got it free on my kindle...can't expect too much.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was okay, but the characters were somewhat juvenile in their behavior much of the time.

The really off-putting part of this kindle edition was that the formatting was terrible. Spacing errors, line indents that were random and inconsistent, typos, etc. all detracted from the reading experience overall. The author should have standardized these things before uploading it and should also have paid for a good proofreading.

I attended a class led by the author on the ease of self-publishing for e-readers, but maybe it is not as easy as she claimed.

[arlene k anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting dating novel

I felt the first few chapters where heavy. I even considered passing on finishing the book.
Stopped reading for a few weeks and restarted where I left off reading.
At that point the book picked up in pace. I began to enjoy the characters in the book.

[Randi. B. Hinton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meredith was boring! Her love interest Ben was interesting but zero chemistry.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really kept trying to like this book and this main character but just couldn't relate to her and the wooden dialogue. She is neurotic and self-absorbed and top of that gorgeous, skinny and smart. What's not to relate to, right? Oh, and has a perfect boyfriend she can't seem to completely connect with. I wanted to cheer for her when things get ironed out but I just couldn't seem to drum up the emotion to care much...like one of the characters says "I feel like I am experiencing my emotions through a layer of cotton", that is how I felt about Meredith and her story, like I was witnessing the whole thing through a layer of cotton.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this as a free e-book for my kindle, and while many of the free books are not great reads, this one was particularly well done.

Meredith is a young woman with a lot of emotional baggage and some hang ups for sure, but I felt that she came across as a genuine person. She is now doing a job she loves but has problems with some of her co-workers and has a friend (Sarah) who has a type A personality that eventually causes a rift between them. I enjoyed watching Meredith's personality develop and how she overcame a lot of work and personal situations.

This is a book I would definitely recommend. I always looked forward to getting back to the story.

[Beth Caruso · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book that had me hooked from the beginning. I was really surprised by how good this book was. I had a hard time putting it down once I started reading. I was expecting a lot of drama that would not be all that believable. I found I could relate a lot to the main character Meredith Love and her life. Who hasn't had the annoying coworker that expects you to drop everything for them? Or that boss that hits on you? Meredith has quirky coworkers and some great friends that give her many learning experiences throughout. A must read!

[Larissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The style of this book felt very realistic to me. There were some parts that rambled a bit and the style was not the most eloquent, but for me it worked. The way this book was written mirrors the way I feel life happens. I got this book for $1 on amazon, and read it in 2 sittings because I wanted to know what happened so much. I'd describe this as a great read for when you just want to get away from your own life for a while and look at someone else's.

[Klaudyna Z. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was cute. I really liked Ben's character and Meredith reminded me a little bit of myself. I liked how the story showed how Meredith grows into the person that she wants to be and stands up for herself in order to do so.

The only gripe I have with this book was that it was a little too long and I feel like it dragged at times. But it flowed easily and kept me interested for the most part.

[Jonna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, my favorite character in this book was the city it's set in, Albuquerque. Second favorite was the cat.
Yet I read the entire book, waiting to find Meredith Love, or for her to find herself, or her boyfriend to find out he's gay, or for something truly interesting to happen. It didn't. The end.

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Amazon freebie. Almost done with it even though I should just delete it from the Kindle. It is dragging out and the lead character is whiny and getting on my nerves. But than it was a free book. I will finish it and than delete it I guess. Finally finished it but will never re-read it. I mean for a free e-book it is okay.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent for a free e-book, and a good light read. I wish I could give half-stars. A handful of grammar/spelling errors, which bothered my nitpicking self. Definitely found it easy to identify with Meredith's social anxiety throughout the book, but some character revelations seemed just too neat and tidy. A good easy "beach read", etc.

[Katherine Bates · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not sure where this book came from - it just appeared in my Kindle (I now, I probably downloaded it, but I don't remember it) It wasn't well written, it was very disjointed. The main character's backstory wasn't developed at all - and the friendship between 2 of the characters wasn't either. I just didn't like it.

[Abbey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am of two minds about this book. There were several things I could relate to and a few moments I enjoyed, but overall, I found the story to be slow and the internal dialogue to be whiny. I wanted to like this story, because I could relate to the main character, but it just never really developed into something I could invest in.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that Meredith Love was immature. The free download to my Kindle was worth reading in that it was light and required no thinking. I do not understand what happened to editing and proofreading -- the number of errors in this book astounded even jaded me.

[Jody Schwartz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this was a free or inexpensive Kindle book, so I never expect much! This was a pretty uneventful story but I liked the main character. She was a complicated young woman who worked through her issues and it ended happily. This was a mindless read really nit recommended.

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to like this, I really did, but I just couldn't. I probably only finished it because I was on a 9 hour flight and was determined to get through it before I started a new book. Meredith's character is whiny, and difficult to like.

[Ann]

Mixed feelings on this one. I wanted to like this book other reviews said I should have liked it but...ehh it got interesting half way through for me. The beginning was lloonnggg for me but from the middle on though I wanted to finish it I just wished it grabbed my attention from start to finish.

[Dana · Rating 1 out of 5]

First book in a long time I couldn't finish. And don't want to. Within the 50 pages I read, the main character is a whiny "woe is me" type person with no insight as to why she's this way or why we should even care about her.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was exactly the light read I was looking for at the time I read it. Fun story about a young woman figuring out who she is and what she wants in life. Won't be one I reflect back on, but worth reading if it's what you're in the mood for.

[Beata · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a cute book. You could relate to Meredith as a female going through every day life challenges.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good story of a women finding out who she really is. Learning what she thinks people are thinking of her is what she is thinking of herself. Learning how to love herself as well as others.

[Carrie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dislike. I stopped reading and deleted it off my kindle after waiting for a plot that never seemed to materialize. The main character is whiny and insecure. So much for this free kindle book...

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun chic lit

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very good. Be prepared to laugh and also cry. It was nice to read about things that could happen in a normal persons everyday life & be able to say "yeah, I know what that's like".

[Doanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 for me. There were times when I couldn't follow like it changes from one scene to another but for the most part I liked it.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Romance examining the heroine's insecurities with a bit more depth than most in this genre.

[Ellie Revert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Adequate chick lit. (free on Kindle)

[Angel **Book Junkie** · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't do it...I got to the second chapter and normally I am ready for the next even if it isn't interesting. One Free Book that will be coming off my Kindle in the matter of moments.