This book began with such promise, but unfortunately, it took a turn for the .

The story kicks off with 24-year-old Margot Hart passionately kissing 27-year-old Oliver Gray as if her life depended on it. They met through 'the apps' (to avoid any unintentional publicity, the specific apps that are central to this story are never named, but we can assume it’s Tinder, given the references to swiping left, which I believe is a concept associated with Tinder). They had a truly dreadful date filled with awkward small talk and unintended rudeness. However, now they find themselves in his car, and the chemistry is palpable—until Oliver suggests they talk, prompting Margot to retreat, and they part ways for the next three years.

Yet, they don’t completely forget each other. Occasionally, Margot re-downloads the apps during bouts of loneliness, where she encounters Oliver once more. Eventually, she decides to message him, leading to a chain of events that results in something she never anticipated: a relationship that didn’t begin with a classic meet-cute.

Ultimately, my main concern with the book is that its entire foundation revolves around the concept of 'the meet-cute'. I didn’t find the romance particularly enjoyable and I jusr wanted more development to see between them!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc!

I am a huge Casey West young adult fan so I was excited to check out her first adult novel Casey West always explores some hard topics and this novel doesn’t shy away from sibling relationships, and the pressures we feel being compared to each other.

Margot is struggling in her work life and her personal life online dating is going nowhere and she is having trouble breaking out of the mold. She’s stuck in at work. She is resorted to an inappropriate and unsatisfying relationship with her boss that has made things even more complicated, but over the years Through her online dating she keeps getting matched with one person Margo and Oliver have a very cute banter filled sort of friendship. Their first date was disastrous, but they continued pairing causes them to become friends, but the chemistry keeps pulling them closer.

I loved Oliver, but some of the twist will make you question him. Margo was a little harder of a character for me to love because she’s in the stage of her life where she doesn’t necessarily love herself either, but I did like to see her growth I will say I felt that the sexual comments and banter were a bit over the top And tried to show that this was an adult novel instead of a young adult novel, but all in all, it was a solid read.

Kasie West, welcome to the adult Rom-Com genre. I have loved every book I’ve read by you and have never been disappointed, and that still holds true for this book. It was great. I loved it from beginning to end.

Life is messy, and not everyone can be perfect, but you just can’t help but love the main character, Margot. She’s quite the character. In publishing, currently as an assistant hoping to move on but from one bad mistake to another everything leads her to leaving her job and trying to do it all on her own. She’s constantly looking for that perfect meet cute that usually just does not exist in life, especially when you are looking for it constantly. Sometimes it’s when you least expect it that things begin to happen.

We meet Oliver, who they just keep matching on and have been talking for a while. It’s so obvious there is a chemistry between the two of them. But I mean, chemistry!! Even I felt it through the pages. I loved him too because he was just the opposite of Margot.

There are a lot of things that happened throughout the book, but I really don’t want to spoil it for anyone. I just loved all the different dynamics throughout the book. The different relationships Margot has, whether between her and her sister, her parents, roommate, coworkers. It was all pretty great. I couldn’t put the book down and I would recommend this to anyone. Amazingly addicting chemistry.

I loved this. A light, breezy, but emotionally layered and complex read. Romance fans, don't miss out on this one!

I really needed a meet cute, and this one was perfect 🫶🏻

If you are a romance girlie, and I mean romance in the purest form of the word, this is for you. No shmutty little scenes here, everything just happens when it needs to, and you know what? I missed sweet romances like this 🫶🏻

Even though I kind of guessed why the third act breakup would happen quite early on, I was still on the edge of my seat waiting for it to happen.

Margot and Oliver are the cutest and they are so respectful with each other, I can't. They had me giggling with each of their interactions 🙈

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this early!

I was absolutely hooked on this book from the first page. There chemistry crackled, the banter made me giggle, and I was just having a ball reading this book. Then we got to the big reveal- and it just completely fell flat. I am so disappointed by the turn this took. I can understand the themes the author was trying to address but I just hated the way it was executed. It ultimately left a bad taste in my mouth.

3.5 STARS!
~~~~
When looking for and finding our own meet-cute is the focus of the story, it can detract from the book a bit. I never correlate a spicy book with a meet-cute, but this author is working on blending those two together.

I really enjoyed the main male lead in this one. After the first (somewhat) disaster of a date, the main characters evolved into the friend zone for a bit. Oliver slowly transformed into a hottie with a naughty sense of dry humor and the hottest kisses and bedside manner to blow her mind.

Margot focused on looking for her meet-cute that doesn’t exist as she unwound her failing career, all the while relying on Oliver to be there when needed. She is convinced life is like the books she surrounds herself with, looking for something that is in front of her.

We Met Like This is a flirty read, with some spice, great text conversations, and a few heated scenes that level up this adult romance from rom-com to sexy.

Kasie West should keep writing adult romance (on top of the YA) forever! This was such a fun read and a fresh spin on modern dating.

Margot was so relatable and such a fun character. I loved her growth through the story. Her journey was very inspirational and had me thinking about my own life.

The banter between Oliver and Margot was awesome. Their love story was one full of laughter, fate, and surprising twists!

4.25 Stars

First off I want to say that I really enjoyed my time with this and I'm sorry to see some of these reviews with lower rating simply stating it is because of explicit sex scenes (that *I* definitely don't see has explicit but to each their own, it just shouldn't be the cause for low ratings) and how disappointed they are in Kasie because of them....... authors are allowed to change, grow and write something different, in fact the whole premise of the large author featured in the book is that she is writing something different...... I feel like some of you missed the ball on that one.

I would have liked to see more of the back and forth between Margot and Oliver when they reconnected, more messages and more banter and I didn't quite believe that Margot at 24(?) could just up and start her own company and get inquiries right away but it in no way affected my enjoyment of it. It's a sweet, fun, enjoyable story.

This is my 14th, I think, time reading Kasie West and I'm so happy she has dived into adult romance as I have very much aged out of most YA lol. I hope she continues, and I can't wait to see what love story she comes up with next.

Thank you to St. Martins Press, Kasie and Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I just finished a great book. We Met Like This by Kasie West is out this summer. Pick it up! This is one you won’t want to miss!

I love Kassie West! Her books always grab my attention right away and have the prettiest covers! Quick read! Great summer beach day read!

This was a sweet and easy read with plenty of charm, but it didn’t quite hit the emotional depth I was hoping for. The premise was promising and had the potential for a heartfelt story, but the characters and plot felt a little underdeveloped.

There were definitely some cute moments and enjoyable banter, and fans of light YA romance will still find plenty to like here. The story moved along at a good pace, and the feel-good vibe made it a relaxing read overall.

That said, the emotional stakes never fully landed for me, and I found myself wishing for a bit more complexity and connection between the characters.

A pleasant read, just not one that stuck with me for long.

I really enjoyed this book!! The premise was great!! I will say- the text messages in my book weren’t in italics, and sometimes it made that confusing of what was a text message and what was a narration. I also think some parts were resolved too quickly. However, the plot was great!!

3⭐

big thanks to netgalley and saturday books for the e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review

spoiler free

18+

romance: 9/10 (explicit sex scenes including penetrative, oral, and finger. words like c*ck and p*ssy are not used)

cursing: 5/10 (semi frequent minor curse words, f-ck used as well)

violence: 0/10 (none)

other: drinking/drunkenness. drugs mentioned, used by bystanders

tw: none that i can think of

tropes: second chance, golden retriever mmc

first person, past tense

pub date: 09-16-25


–OVERVIEW–

so i liked this book.
was it amazing? no
was it the next emhen in my eyes? nope.

if you’re looking for lyrical almost poetic writing, closer to lit fic than romance, this ain’t it. look elsewhere.

now, is this a quick enjoyable romcom? yes.
but emily henry has very much shaped my expectations when it comes to writing quality in adult romance novels.
was i expecting a masterpiece? no, i’m familiar with kasie and know she doesn’t have anything that’s outstanding.
but i **was** expecting writing at least on a slightly higher level than her YA books. this was just exactly her YA writing but with curse words and exorbitant amounts of sex.

honestly that icked me out so bad. it felt like i was reading a book abt two horny teens with jobs and cussing problems 💀

–PLOT–

tbh, i don’t remember anything abt the plot or if there even was one. i just remember margot trying to start her own literary agency 😓

–CHARACTERS–

margot
⤷ now, i didn’t expect to read two adult romance books this year with the fmc named margot, let alone two arcs. but here we are.
she was unremarkable, she whined a lot, her whole personality was not being as good as her sister. 🤧🫠

oliver
⤷ he was so cute. his interactions with margot were adorable.

audrey
⤷ she was just a bish for most of the book 😭😭😭😭

the best friend
⤷ lwk i forgot her name, she was just THERE. idk. she didn’t imprint on me at all 😓 i think her name starts with an s…?

–CONCLUSION–

🤷‍♀️ i don’t have any strong negative nor positive feelings for this book, so ig read it if you want to 😭

Margot Hart is hopeless romantic and believes in love. She wants to write romance books and bring love to readers.

Thank you to Netgalley and Saturday Books for the opportunity to read the eARC of this book!

I have been reading Kasie West books for 10 years. I have read every single book that she has written so far. She is one of the most thoughtful and realistic authors I've ever encountered and every single book of hers has been 4-5 stars. Not once has she ever disappointed me.

Her adult debut is no exception to this rule! I am completely floored by how well she translated her abilities into an adult book. She has the BEST banter and character development and it shines so brightly here in Margot and Oliver. I want Margot to be my agent and I'm not even querying. She was brilliant. And I loved the outspoken, blunt and emotional book agent with the awkward, introverted software engineer. These two had the BEST chemistry and I adored their interactions. Also, Oliver with his out of the blue sexy comments. Settle down, boy. You're making all the girls swoon.

I know that some romance readers will probably throw this book in the pile of "typical romance" but for me, it reminded me of why I LOVED reading romance. I've forgotten that lately with this push for more exciting tropes and intense smut. I just want to read about two people finding each other and loving each other in this crazy weird world. And these two were it for me: I couldn't get enough of them.

Ahhh, I want to read this book again. I can already tell you it will be added to the pile of "emotional Kasie West reread books" for when I need a pick-me-up!

In Kasie West’s first adult romantic comedy, “We Met Like This,” Margo dreams of becoming a literary agent so she can share romance novels with the world. Her love for these stories fuels her desire for the ultimate meet-cute love tale. After a disastrous yet steamy date with Oliver, she finds herself back on dating apps, searching for her perfect match.

For the past three years, Margo has consistently been matched with Oliver. Eventually, they start communicating and decide to help each other navigate the world of dating apps. Will Margo realize that a perfect meet-cute is unrealistic, or will her time with Oliver reveal that sometimes an imperfect meet-cute can be the most authentic?

The book is spicy! The first few pages might leave you blushing, but it’s a wonderful story featuring a twist I didn’t see coming. I want to thank NetGalley, Kasie West, and St. Martin's Press for providing this advanced ARC copy for my honest review.

Super sweet and very sexy! Love a meet cute! I really enjoyed the characters and their development. What a great read!

This book was exactly what I was looking for. I wanted light and fun. I wanted a book that was not going to make me cry, stress me out, or have any overly heavy storylines. Mission accomplished! I’ve read lots of this author’s YA books and this is her first adult novel and it definitely works.
I’d say the first page comes on really strong but that’s kind of how things start with Margot and Oliver.

This book literally starts, on page one, with Margot and Oliver fooling around in a car. They’ve gone on one date. The date was bad. But the chemistry is great. But ultimately they slow down and plan to go their separate ways.

But Margot and Oliver keep meeting time and time again on dating apps. They keep matching. Margot hates dating apps because she wants a meet cute and she does not like the idea of meeting on an app.

It’s been three years and every time Margot reconnects to the apps: there’s Oliver. They touch base off and on in messages and laugh a bit about matching again.

But after 3 years they finally decide to meet again. And things feel different this time, like maybe they are actually meant to date. But there are plenty of obstacles in their way, on each of their sides.

I enjoyed this book and I like that it never bogged me down. Reading this book was as enjoyable as her YA books but just written with more grown up storylines and characters.

I got to read an early ebook edition on NetGalley, thank you!

I struggled so much with the formatting and editing of this book. I recognize that it's an ARC but it was very difficult to read and follow. thanks for letting me try.