Spotlight & Giveaway: We Met Like This by Kasie West

Today, HJ is pleased to share with you Kasie West’s new release: We Met Like This

Beloved author Kasie West’s sparkling, seductive adult rom-com debut about a hopeless romantic falling for the one man she never expected. This deluxe paperback features beautiful designed edges; order now to receive it while supplies last!

Can a swipe right turn into swept away?

Margot Hart is a hopeless romantic. That’s why she wants to be a literary agent—to help bring romance books to the world. It’s also why she hates dating apps with all her romance loving soul. She wants her own love story to be just as much fun as the books she reads—a mixed up coffee order, a mistaken identity. She’s not going to tell the story that she swiped right on future husband’s shirtless pic for the rest of her life.

The problem is that her most consistent relationship over the last several years is with Oliver, a guy she keeps rematching with on the apps. They’ve only been on one date and it was a disaster…well, until the make out session in the car before parting ways. But, she keeps reminding herself, a make out session does not a relationship make. And so there will not be a date two regardless of how witty their app banter is.

When Margot gets fired from her job on the same day she meets Oliver again, her life becomes a veritable shit show. Her dream career is dying right before her eyes, and Oliver thinks she’s interested in only one thing: a repeat of the hot make out session they had three years ago so she can get him out of her system. And maybe that is all she wants from him, because she and Oliver are definitely not compatible—he doesn’t hit the snooze button, he runs five miles every morning, he reads nonfiction, and worst of all, she didn’t meet him in cute way! But in her scramble to keep her dream career alive, by opening her own agency, Oliver is there with his golden retriever energy, more steady and helpful than any man she’s ever dated. Just when she thinks she’s overcome her app bias, she realizes that maybe it’s not her who’s holding back, but him. And his reasons are more than she bargained for.

Kasie West’s romantic and sexy adult debut is full of witty banter, meet cutes gone awry and, ultimately, true love.

Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from We Met Like This 

From We Met Like This by Kasie West. Copyright © 2025 by the author, and reprinted with permission of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.

Good morning, beautiful

That was the message waiting for me when I woke up, from not one but two people I had matched with the day before. With all my heart, I wanted it to be a sweet, genuine sentiment, but when every other guy sent the same message after a few short exchanges, it no longer felt genuine.

I unmatched both of them and sat up with a stretch.

My room was cold. It was late April, which brought us perfect weather outside, but Sloane had once read that the optimum temperature for sleeping was sixty-eight degrees and she took her sleep very seriously. I pulled on my robe and stepped into a pair of slippers I kept at the foot of my bed, then exited my room.

Our kitchen was a good size for an apartment. Probably bigger than we needed, considering neither of us liked to cook. It had a small island and two long countertops. It had a large oven that we never used; instead we’d bought a Crock-Pot, then an Instant Pot, and finally an air fryer, all of which we also never used. The one appliance we religiously used was our coffee maker.

I poured myself a mug now. Sloane joined me, sliding her mug next to mine. I obliged, filling her cup.

“How many good morning beautifuls today?” she asked.

“Two,” I said.

“Should we write a book for men titled How’s ur day going and other things you shouldn’t type into a chat box because every dude bro across all platforms does?”

I took a sip of my coffee and hummed in agreement.

“I mean, I know a literary agent. I bet we could get that published,” she said.

“We might need to work on the title. It’s a bit long.”

She poured some vanilla creamer into her mug, then added a dash to mine. “I think it’s perfect.”

“Speaking of agents, I asked Rob about a promotion.”

Sloane’s eyes went wide and she slapped the counter with her hand. “It’s about time! Good job. What did he say?”

I took my coffee to the table and sat down. A vase full of dying flowers dropping their petals occupied the middle of the table. They weren’t mine to throw away or they would’ve been in the garbage at least three days ago. Maybe that was just my jealousy speaking. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gotten flowers. “He said we’d talk about what that entails soon. Or something like that.” I didn’t remember exactly what he said but that was the gist of it.

Her happy expression faded as she slid into the chair next to mine. “That sounds like classic Rob. Always later.”

“It felt different this time.”

She patted my arm. “I hope you’re right.”

“I am.”

“Good. That’s great. I’m proud of you. Make sure you bring it up again sooner rather than later.”
She was right. I needed to make sure it happened this time.

My phone gave a chime.

“Ooh,” Sloane teased. “More good morning beautifuls await.”

I groaned and took another sip of coffee to fortify myself, then opened the app that had the little red number one in the corner indicating an awaiting message. Only it wasn’t a message. It was a blurry picture with the warning from the app: click to view

“What?” Sloane asked.

I must’ve made some sort of noise. “A picture from Oliver.”

“Of what?”

“I don’t know.” I held my breath and clicked on the pic. It cleared to an adorable photo of him crouching down by a golden retriever, a bright red leash in someone else’s hand. The dog’s mouth was open in a smile and its tongue flopped out to the side. Oliver was wearing running shorts and a T-shirt, a sweat ring around the collar. His hair was damp, which made his waves more pronounced. His brown eyes sparkled with happiness and gave me a wave of butterflies that hadn’t been activated by an online exchange in a while.

“Not a dick pic, then?” Sloane asked, raising her eyebrows at my smile.

“Unless this dog’s name is Richard.” I turned the phone so she could see.

“Ah, cute,” Sloane said, then she squinted a little. “And the dog’s cute too.”

I typed: You have an adoring dog?

“He’s actually better-looking than I remember,” Sloane said, inspecting the end of one of her long braids.

“I know, right?”

She flung her braid over her shoulder. “But you’re not going to go out with him?”

“Attraction is not our problem.”

“So if he asks you out you’ll say no?”

“He will not. I promise you. We swiped as a joke and are now talking to pass the time in between real matches. He doesn’t even have my number. We chat in the apps.”

“You have some real matches, then?”

“I’m working on it,” I insisted.

“He’s too cute to be a time passer.”

“Looks aren’t everything. Believe me.” I shuddered, remembering our date.

The chime sounded again and Oliver’s message read: My neighbor’s dog. I wanted you to see that animals are in love with me as well.

And your feelings for animals? I asked him, because he had asked me that same question.

This particular dog is my favorite, he replied, not really answering my question, but I’d given him a snarky reply to that question when he’d asked it, so I deserved it.

“I need to get ready,” Sloane said with a big yawn. “Tell your boyfriend that all future Richard pics need to go through me.”

“Not my boyfriend.”

“Considering your years of matching and chatting history, he is probably the most consistent, healthy relationship you’ve had in a long time.” She laughed as she walked down the hall.

“Ouch,” I called after her. “Not cool!”

Back in my phone I typed: Is this a recycled pic or did you take it just for me?

I told you I wouldn’t use recycled material on you. All original.

I actually think you told me at least fifty percent of your material would be recycled.

Oh, right. I knew I said one or the other.

Hey, that’s not a bad idea, though. We could help each other out. There’s obviously something wrong with our banter on these apps if we both continually end up back on them. Maybe you should run all your pickup lines by me before you use them on women from now on. If he was still single, he was obviously still making the same mistakes he had made with me.

And you’ll run yours by me?

Well, duh. This isn’t a one-sided service, I typed.

First advice: strike duh from your vocabulary.

I huffed. Completely? Or just when responding to men?

More the second.

Ha! Will attempt. Does that mean all sarcasm must go or just the bits that make men feel stupid?

You can say duh to me all day long, but other men . . .

Oh, sure. You have feelings of steel but those other men, they need to be handled delicately.
Exactly. I like it rough.

A smile took over my face, but before I even responded, another message came through: In the most innocent of contexts, of course. Where did your mind go?

My first advice to you: Wait until at least after a first date for dirty talk.

Good thing we already had one of those then.

Excerpt. ©Kasie West. Posted by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved.
 
 

Giveaway: St. Martin’s Publishing Group is giving away five finished copies of We Met Like This by Kasie West. Open to US/CAN only.

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Meet the Author:

Kasie West is the author of more than fifteen (and counting) young adult novels. Her books have been named ALA-YALSA Quick Picks, Junior Library Guild Selections, and ALA-YALSA Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults. Her books have been translated into more than twenty languages. Kasie is also the author of We Met Like This, her adult debut. When she’s not writing, she’s binge-watching television, devouring books, or taking care of her growing collection of houseplants. Kasie lives with her family in central California.

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