When Katie Met Cassidy

As a woman who used to have a boyfriend but now has a wife I have to say that there aren’t a lot of romantic comedies out there aiming for my very specific demographic. So I was pleasantly surprised to encounter this breezy story about a woman who discovers she has a few things to learn about love.

Katie, a blonde corporate lawyer with an affinity for chic Dior footwear, has just been dumped by her vegan boyfriend. She’s spending her days sulking over barbecue and Wild Turkey in her wrecked Manhattan apartment (she’s a transplant from the South). Cassidy, her intimidating opposing counsel on a high-stakes closing, couldn’t be more different. She’s fond of $300 haircuts, well-tailored men’s suits, and the family she’s made at a divey lesbian bar called “Cheers,” where she spends most nights trolling for new romantic conquests. They meet, and an adorably awkward game of will-they-or-won’t-they cat and mouse ensues.

This book is like popcorn! It’s the kind of bubbly romcom you can’t stop reading despite getting sunburned on your lawn chair because you haven’t realized how much time has gone by. When Katie Met Cassidy is like Kissing Jessica Stein updated for the age of Instagram and Taylor Swift, a flirty and fun story of two girls trying to figure out where they fit in the world, and if they fit together. It’s the sweetest, sunniest beach read. Don’t forget your sunscreen.

Katie Daniels, a 28-year-old Kentucky transplant with a strong set of traditional values, has just been dumped by her fiancé when she finds herself seated across a negotiating table from native New Yorker Cassidy Price, a sexy, self-assured woman wearing a man’s suit. At first neither of them knows what to make of the other, but soon their undeniable connection will bring into question everything each of them thought they knew about sex and love.

When Katie Met Cassidy is a romantic comedy about gender and sexuality, and the importance of figuring out who we are in order to go after what we truly want. It’s also a portrait of a high-drama subculture where barrooms may as well be bedrooms, and loyal friends fill in the spaces absent families leave behind. Katie’s glimpse into this wild yet fiercely tight-knit community begins to alter not only how she sees the larger world, but also where exactly she fits in.