Published in 2013, The Distance Between Us is Kasie West’s first young adult romance, and only her second novel. Caymen Meyers has spent her life working at her mother’s porcelain doll shop, catering to the rich and learning that they aren’t to be trusted. When Xander Spence, a rich, handsome teenager, enters the shop one day, Caymen is immediately on her guard. Despite her initial reservations, they begin to grow closer. However, Caymen can’t forget what her mom taught her about how quickly the rich can forget about you. When she learns that money is more important to their relationship than she thought, Caymen is unsure that they will ever be able to make it work.
Like many of her pre-2020s novels, the cover might seem cheesy, but don’t let that discourage you. I read The Distance Between Us right around when I started high school. While it was not the first book of Kasie West’s I had read, it was the first romcom she released. I loved the unique setting of the porcelain doll shop, and the novel has the classic tropes and moments from teenage romances during this time. It remains one of my favorite books of hers, even years later.
Published just a year later in 2014, On the Fence is set in the same universe as The Distance Between Us. But, they do not have to be read in order because there is very little overlap between the two. The novel follows Charlie Reynolds, a sixteen-year-old girl who’s been raised by a single dad, three older brothers, and her next-door neighbor and honorary brother, Braden. After getting a speeding ticket, she’s forced to get a job at a cute boutique to pay for it. Charlie knows nothing about makeup and fashion after spending years surrounded by boys, but she starts to learn, meeting a guy who knows nothing about how she used to be. She’s faking her way through this new life, and her only solace are her late-night chats with Braden at their backyard fence. When Charlie starts catching feelings for Braden, she’s terrified of what they might mean for their friendship.
On the Fence may seem cliché, and Charlie may seem like a stereotypical “I’m not like other girls” character. But, there’s more to it than meets the eye. My favorite trope in romances is friends-to-lovers. While it’s definitely not as popular as rivals or enemies-to-lovers, oftentimes, the relationship has a deeper foundation. Charlie was not a girl poking fun at the “girly girls.” Instead, she was a girl that grew up with no female role models who found herself out of her depth and putting on a front to fit in with a guy who didn’t know her before. Braden gave her solace and comfort by loving her exactly the way she was. If you are going to read any of Kasie West’s earlier novels, let it be this one.
The Fill-In Boyfriend follows Gia Montgomery as she uses one of the oldest tricks in the romcom book: a fake boyfriend. After her boyfriend Bradley breaks up with her in the parking lot at prom, Gia panics. She was supposed to finally introduce him to everyone that night. When she sees a cute guy waiting to pick up his sister, she asks him to be her fill-in boyfriend for the night. The only problem is that now all she can think about is him and not Bradley, who she wanted to win back. Gia tracks down her fill-in boyfriend and agrees to be his fill-in girlfriend for another event. Just when their relationship starts to feel real, Bradley threatens to expose the truth and ruin everything.
This book was the first fake relationship romcom I ever read, and I think it’s a great introduction into the wonderful world of YA romance books. All of Kasie West’s books are very wholesome, with the perfect balance of cute, fun, and important moments where the characters learn and grow. It’s been a long time since I’ve read The Fill-In Boyfriend, but I know that I loved it at the time.
If you couldn’t tell from the cover, P.S. I Like You was published in 2016. In the novel, Lily writes one of her favorite song lyrics on her desk while bored in her chemistry class. When she comes back the next day, she notices that someone finished the lyric and wrote her a note. Lily and her mysterious pen pal continue to exchange notes and secret letters from the desk, but she still has no clue who he is. She can tell she’s falling for him, and now she just has to discover who he really is.
One of my favorite things about Kasie West is that she never does the same thing twice. While I am one of those people who will gladly read the exact same plot in slightly different books over and over, it’s nice to read something with new ideas. A pen pal romance might not be groundbreaking, but I had never read a book quite like this one. Since I read it in high school, I loved the desk element, and the mystery that surrounds his identity adds a whole new level to the book. Don’t let the corny cover fool you because this is a must-read!
In By Your Side, Autumn Collins ends up locked in the library for an entire weekend with Dax Miller, the school’s resident loner and troublemaker. They both want nothing to do with each other, and Autumn is convinced her almost-boyfriend will realize he left her locked in the library and come back for her. He never does, nor does anyone else. Instead, Dax and Autumn are forced to eat from the vending machine and spend the weekend together. They begin to connect and open up to each other, but will their relationship survive outside of the library?
When I was 14, I discovered By Your Side at Barnes & Noble and decided to buy it on a whim. I instantly loved it and immediately ordered every other book Kasie West had published at that point. I read every single one. I’m now in college, but this is still one of my favorite books of hers. I love when romance novels are set during a short period of time where the two characters are stuck together, especially when they don’t know each other well beforehand. It provides the perfect moments for the two characters to open up to each other and establish an emotional connection. If you were to ask me which Kasie West books I recommend, By Your Side would be the first one.
Published in the same year as By Your Side (2017), Lucky in Love follows teenage Maddie as she wins the lottery. Her life is transformed from stressing over scholarships and money to buying anything and everything she wants. But, with great amounts of money comes great amounts of problems. People start asking her for loans and spreading rumors, and she has no idea who to trust. Well, except for her coworker at the zoo, Seth Nguyen. It seems like he has no clue she won the lottery, and she has no intention of telling him. Maddie loves spending time with him, but what will happen when he learns the truth?
While I’ve loved most of Kasie West’s books, there were a few that fell flat for me. Lucky in Love was one of those books for me. I still enjoyed it back when I read it, but it didn’t stick with me in the way many of her other books have. It was a fun premise that came with a lot of obstacles. Unfortunately, it just missed the mark in my opinion.
The first in a trilogy of connecting romcoms, Love, Life, and the List follows Abby Turner as her summer begins to fall apart. Not only is she hopelessly crushing on her best friend Cooper and struggling to help her mom with anxiety, but she’s also been rejected from an art show because her work “has no heart.” After getting another opportunity to display her art, she creates a list of things to do to ensure she can become an artist with heart. Abby has one month to complete the list, which consists of things ranging from facing a fear to falling in love. As her deadline approaches, Abby realizes the list might not be as straightforward as she thought. To change her heart, she will have to do more than accomplish a few things from a list.
Love, Life, and the List is the first book in Kasie West’s only trilogy, and it’s a great one. Like most romcom series, the characters are all connected, but the stories also stand on their own. However, I would suggest reading them in order because the events from the first one influence the plot of the second one. All three of them are classic Kasie West books and must-reads if you’re a fan of her other books.
Listen to Your Heart released in 2018, the same year as Love, Life, and the List. The main character, Kate Bailey, is an introvert who would rather float alone on the lake than talk to people. When her best friend Alana convinces Kate to join the high school podcast, Kate is shocked to be chosen as the host. The girl who preferred talking to no one was now going to have to answer calls and give advice on air. No matter how reluctant Kate initially was, no one can deny how great she is at being the host. The podcast gets a call from an anonymous guy about his unnamed crush, but Kate is certain the caller is Diego Martinez, and his crush is her friend Alana. At first, she’s excited for Alana, but then she starts to develop feelings for Diego. Kate has to navigate her feelings and her friendships, realizing that it’s harder to take her own advice than to give it.
I can’t say this about every book I’ve read, but I vividly remember reading Listen to Your Heart my freshman year of high school. It was released just as podcasts were starting to become a widespread thing that people listened to, making it an extremely intriguing topic. The podcast created a unique plot that made for a great book that perfectly balanced the budding romance and the personal growth between Diego and Kate.
Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss is the second book in the Love, Life, and the List series, following Lacey Barnes, who was introduced in the first book. Lacey has always dreamed of being an actress, so she immediately accepts when given the opportunity to star in a movie with one of the hottest actors in Hollywood. However, life as an actress isn’t everything she thought it would be. Lacey is having trouble with her co-stars, her dad has to hire a tutor, Donovan Lake, for her, and she can’t seem to act as well as she used to. As life in Hollywood continues to take its toll on Lacey, Donovan seems to be the only person who can calm and focus her. However, he starts to become another distraction when she develops feelings for him. Lacey must navigate the pressure of her career in movies and her growing crush as she begins to question whether real life is better than the movies.
After reading about Lacey’s dreams of being an actress, it was exciting to see her achieve her goals. My favorite part of this book was that it didn’t glamorize Hollywood and working with famous actors. West could’ve written a book where Lacey fell in love with her famous costar, but instead she found solace in her unassuming tutor, which is infinitely better in my opinion. This book is unlike anything else Kasie West has written (in a good way).
Maybe This Time takes place over the course of one year, where Sophie and Andrew cross paths at nine different events. Sophie Evans works for the local florist in her hometown, which means she’s working every event, from funerals to weddings. Andrew Hart is the son of a fancy chef that also requires him to be at many of the same events as her. Sophie just wants to quietly do her job and finish her application for design school, but Andrew is everywhere with his entitled attitude. He makes her life more complicated, but Sophie starts to wonder if complicated isn’t such a bad thing after all.
While Maybe This Time has such a great premise, I just couldn’t get into it. I think the long gaps of time between their interactions made it hard for me to get invested in their story. It was still a good book, but it just didn’t click with me.
Moment of Truth is the third novel in the Love, Life, and the List series. Hadley Moore is a dedicated high school swimmer whose sole focus is to earn a scholarship to college. When a guy dressed as Heath Hall, an action hero from a movie, interrupts her swim meet, she is extremely unhappy. Hadley won’t let anything get in the way of achieving her goals. As the imposter continues to interrupt countless sporting events at their school, she searches for their identity. However, it turns out that there could be multiple imposters, including her ex-boyfriend and her friend’s crush. As her investigation continues, she also has to face some uncomfortable truths about herself and where her true happiness lies, finding love where she least expected it.
I loved this book. When I read it years ago, I instantly knew it was my favorite Kasie West book. While it was a great romance story, there were so many coming-of-age elements. I think every romcom is better when the main characters discover vital parts of themselves and what will truly bring them happiness. Sometimes, the thing you thought you wanted isn’t what you actually want, and Hadley perfectly embodied this. I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a young adult contemporary romance.
Published in 2021, Sunkissed marks a new beginning for Kasie West. Avery loves music, but nothing can help her escape from the fact that her best friend betrayed her. Now, her parents are forcing her and her sister to go on a two-month long remote camping trip. However, her horrible summer takes a turn when she meets Brooks, the charming staff member at the campsite. With Brooks, Avery embarks on a journey to discover herself—and possibly fall in love along the way.
Sunkissed is one of the two Kasie West romances I have yet to read, so I can’t give my personal opinion on the novel. However, I know people who have read it, and they really enjoyed it, though not as much as some of her other books. Like I mentioned before, the addition of a journey of self-discovery always enriches a romance book, and I still plan on reading this book one day!
In Places We’ve Never Been, childhood best friends Norah and Skylar reconnect on a family road trip after moving away from each other years ago. When Skylar first moved away, him and Norah used to text all of the time. Time and distance have caused them to drift apart, but Norah hopes their families’ joint RV trip will change that. Instead, Skylar seems like he wants to be anywhere but on the trip, and Norah is hurt by his behavior. As they travel across the country, they begin to reconnect and discover new things about themselves. Their relationship grows into something new as love blossoms between them.
This is the only other Kasie West book I have yet to read, but it is at the top of my list. It is my sister’s favorite Kasie West book of all time, and she’s read it multiple times. I love childhood friends-to-lovers, even if there is a brief rivalry, because the characters have such a deep understanding of each other. They always find so much comfort in each other. Places We’ve Never Been is on my 2025 TBR, and the only thing that’s kept me from reading it lately is that my sister’s copy is hours away from my college apartment.
When Wren overhears a guy getting picked on by his friends for being catfished, she saves the day by pretending to be his online crush. She’s always been one to follow the rules, but she couldn’t resist helping Asher when she saw him in the coffee shop. Wren originally pretended to be his crush to save Asher from embarrassment. Things got out of control, and now she’s fake-dating a boy she knows nothing about and who thinks she’s someone else. What will she do when he finds out?
Borrow My Heart is my least favorite Kasie West book. I still flew through it and enjoyed my time reading it, but I had a few problems with it. My favorite character was the grumpy shelter dog that Wren and Asher work to get adopted, which says something about my lack of connection to the characters. I personally just felt a bit bothered by the ending and how long Wren took to come clean to Asher about her identity.
Better Than Revenge is Kasie West’s most recent book, published at the very end of 2024. Finley’s one dream was to become a famous podcaster, and the first step was to land a spot on her school’s podcast team. Out of nowhere, her football-player boyfriend Jensen auditions for the podcast with her idea and takes the spot as host. Feeling betrayed, Finley plots her revenge. As a former soccer player, she realizes she has a great kick, and she enlists the help of Jensen’s enemy, Theo, to train to take Jensen’s spot as kicker on the football team. Theo and Finley quickly realize their relationship runs deeper, but will their revenge stand in the way of love?
I recently reviewed Better Than Revenge, and I stated it was the perfect YA romcom. I finished the book in a single day, completely absorbed by Finley and Theo. Not only did the story have great, romantic moments between Finley and Theo, but it also had a lovely side plot about Finley’s grandmother’s past. She learned so much about herself, her grandma, and what truly matters in life. This is a Kasie West book that you don’t want to miss!
Kasie West has written over a dozen novels that I’ve read and loved. Hopefully, you’ve been inspired to read a few of her books after this. Each one is a perfect, light-hearted read for any day that you’re looking for a bit of laughter and love.
Sam Yanis, Pine Reads Review Lead Writer