Meant for Me
(Magnolia Bay #3)
By Betsy St. Amant
Christian Contemporary Romance
Paperback & eBook, 330 Pages
August 11, 2025 by Sunrise Publishing
Summary
He was her best friend. Still is. But when her beloved beignet shop burns down, he’ll have to be more if she hopes to start over. But will friendship survive the dangers of a marriage of convenience?
Lincoln “Linc” Fontenot enjoys working out, running his crawfish business, and the company of approximately three people. Zoey Lakewood has been at the top of that short list for years, the only bit of sunshine he ever allows to part his comfortably cloudy sky. But when Linc’s steady, quiet world is rocked by the unexpected guardianship of a teen girl, his friendship with Zoey becomes even more crucial. He needs help, bad...but maybe not as bad as Zoey.
Zoey’s never had a problem manifesting joy. But having just lost her home and her beignet business to an uninsured fire, for once she struggles to find the silver lining. She and Linc arrange to help each other out—as just friends, of course. She’ll provide teen-parenting assistance while he provides a place for her to get back on her feet. But one thing her friendship with Linc has never had to navigate is close proximity.
Tension—and chemistry—mount as they attempt to manage this sudden insta-family. But Zoey just lost everything, and she can’t risk losing her best friend, too. Will her friendship with Linc go up in flames like her beignet shop? Or will Linc and Zoey finally realize they were meant for each other?
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My Review
MEANT FOR ME is a small-town romance about a guy who pretends to be a bit rough around the edges in order to protect his heart and his best friend who agrees to a marriage-of-convenience to support him as he raises a teenage daughter he didn't know about. It's about friendship, family, learning to trust and believe in yourself, and love. Fans of the genre and this series will love getting to see how this happily-ever-after story turns out!
Read this book if you like:
- Small-town settings with unique characters and charm
- Rough-around-the-edges guys with soft hearts
- Best-friend romances
- Strong friend groups
- Marriages of convenience
- Stories about family, both found and blood
- Themes of worthiness and trust
I enjoyed visiting this small coastal town again and diving into Linc's and Zoey's story. I got to know them both a bit in the last book and knew that they were going to end up together, but I wasn't sure how that would come about. I love best-friends romances because there is already this solid relationship that is becoming something stronger and sweeter. That definitely was the case here. I loved how frank and honest these two were with each other. I also appreciated that the author didn't let them just easily fall in love and everything go smoothly. They had some roadblocks and had to adjust to a different view of their relationship as well as the surprise of a teenage daughter with her own baggage. I also couldn't help falling in love with that daughter and how both Linc and Zoey had to learn to trust in God, each other, and believe they were worthy of a happy ending. There were cameos from previous characters and it was fun to have all the other small-town townspeople chime in and support this small family. There's just something about this type of community that seems to make a story heartfelt.
In the end, was it what I wished for? This was a sweet and fun read with plenty of feels! I'm looking forward to falling in love with more characters and other places to visit (if we're not coming back here) with this author.
Content: Clean
Source: I received a complimentary copy through JustRead Publicity Tours, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.
You can read my review of the second book in this series here. Have you read any of the books in this series or by this author?
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