A Case Study on Maybe This Time by Kasie West (creating the perfect meet cute for your romance novel)

Recently I read a Kasie West novel called, Maybe This Time, and, as I always do with Kasie West’s books, I fell in love. Her books are all so sweet and real that they’re an inspiration to my own writing. (Like, really, y’all. If you haven’t read any of her books, you need to drop everything right now and go read one!)

This one especially was incredibly written and inspired me to do a case study on it. But, as a case study on the entire book would probably be quite lengthy, I wanted to focus on the adorable meet cute.

In film and television, a meet cute is a scene in which the two people who will form a future romantic couple meet for the first time, typically under unusual, humorous, or cute circumstances.

Now, for the record, I don’t typically write romance. But that being said, if it’s done right, I love reading it. And, I mean, there has been the occasion that it’s happened to creep into my stories so… I have done some research on it. Especially the meet cute which is, without a doubt, my favorite part of a romance. So do it right fellow writers, because it makes or breaks some of the most adorable bookish relationships. Just saying. 😉

The Meet Cute

If you’ve read any romance book, I’m sure you know what the meet cute is. However, you might not have noticed it if you didn’t know what you were looking for. Those are the best meet cutes, when it’s done so flawlessly you don’t know what happened. Just that it was the sweetest thing you’ve ever read.

As the quote from Wikipedia above states, the meet cute is where your two characters first meet at the beginning of the book. This is where the fun starts. This is where you can be creative and come up the cutest and funniest thing to happen for your characters first meeting.

In Maybe This Time the protagonist, Sophie Evans, works for the local florist, so she goes to all the main events. At the beginning of the book, it starts on Valentine’s Day, and flowers are everywhere. This is where Andrew Hart shows up.

New to town, city sleeker, thinks all the girls will fall head over heals for him… Yeah, that kind of guy. As opposite to Sophie as they can be. Yet perfect for each other. But they don’t know that yet, and I’m getting ahead of myself. (I love this couple, can you tell?)

When they first meet, it’s when Andrew walks up to Sophie with a flower… One that he stole from the bouquets she put together. She’s furious that he would ruin one of her bouquets that she spent hours on and rushes off to find the one he took it from. He finds it hilarious that she thinks she can find the exact one he took it from when there are dozens of bouquets that, to him, all look alike. So he makes a bet. If she can’t find it she has to keep the flower, but if she can, then he owes her a whole bouquet of her favorite flowers.

He’s a touch cocky… Okay, quite a bit cocky… And doesn’t think she’ll find the one. In a couple minutes she’s placed the flower. The entire scene was hilarious and set up the rest of the book so flawlessly. It was amazing. I loved it.

But a vital point about the meet cute is that it’s not only adorable in the moment, but it’s also the set up for the climax of the book. Let me explain.

Making it Connect

What makes a meet cute perfect and flawless in my opinion, is when it connects to the ending beautifully. You see, there’s a moment at the end of every romance novel where the couple has to finally admit their feelings for one another. Or maybe they already have but then they got in a fight so they have to make up. Whatever happens, your characters will have a dramatic scene at the end. This is where you wrap up the meet cute.

Maybe This Time was an enemies-to-lovers story so throughout the entire story Andrew and Sophie were at each other’s throats. (It was pretty fun!) But by the end, they had obviously fallen for each other… Now all they had to do is admit it. Easier said than done.

It was towards the end of the book when Sophie finds a bouquet of flowers, her favorite flowers, from Andrew. From their bet at the beginning of the book. 🥹 Okay, is that sweet or what?! They probably said something sweet as well, I actually don’t remember. Just the fact that Kasie West so beautiful tied in the meet cute to the end of the book was amazing.

I’m not sure all the reasonings behind what makes this so sweet, it just is! It makes it feel like the story came full circle and you can see how far they’ve come. It ties in the beginning with the end. And it’s amazing.

What You Need to Know

So out of all that fangirling mumbo jumbo, this is what you need to remember:

• Create a meet cute that is memorable and will stick with the readers long after they finish the last page. Don’t skimp on this part, take time to fully brainstorm this scene. Make it funny! Because who doesn’t like a good laugh?

• After coming up with the best meet cute for your characters, make it tie in to the end of the story. Pick something like the flowers Andrew gave Sophie! Something that will tangibly tie it all together with a perfectly tied bow. And this doesn’t have to be an object! In the Anne of Green Gables movie Gilbert calls Anne carrots because that’s what he originally called her during their meet cute. Like I said before, be creative! Come up with something fitting for your characters.

• Fall in love with it. If you don’t love it, than neither will your readers. Create something that makes your heart beat so fast that you might just swoon right along with your characters. That’s when you know you’ve nailed it.

And that’s all there is to it! I hope you take these tips and write your own amazing meet cute. Then come back and tell me about it in the comments so that I can fangirl with you!

Your Turn!

Are you writing a romance novel? Have you ever written a meet cute? What’s your favorite meet cute in fiction?

Blessings, Allyson

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