When We First Met

Forever Yours #0.5

by Cara Bastone

School’s out for the summer and public school teacher, Cat LaFievre, is ready to blow off some steam. A few nights of no-strings, mindless distraction with a sexy guy is exactly what she needs. Lucky for her, the perfect specimen lives across the hall from her. He’s gorgeous, a little ridiculous, and, according to a neighbor, very good at sex.

Quentin Foster has had a thing for Cat since they hit if off a few months ago. She’s smart, funny, and loves exploring the neighborhood—just like him. He thought he had a shot…until she admits she’s interested in hooking up with his clueless chick-magnet roommate.

Cat thought she needed a fling. But as their connection deepens, Cat realizes Quentin might be the real thing. Thing is, she may have ruined her shot with him…

Genres: Romance, Novella, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Adult, Friends To Lovers, Fiction

61 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2020

About the author

Cara Bastone is the author of Ready or Not. She lives and writes in Brooklyn with her husband, sons, and an almost-goldendoodle. Her goal with her work is to find the swoon in ordinary love stories. She's been a fan of the romance genre since she found a grocery bag filled with her grandmother's old Harlequin Romances when she was in high school. She's a fangirl for pretzel sticks, long walks through Prospect Park, and love stories featuring men who aren't hobbled by their own masculinity.

source: Amazon

Reviews

[Dab · Rating 2 out of 5]

We cringed so hard when we first met…

[book bruin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really cute prequel novella to the Forever Yours series. It’s not necessary to read this first (I didn’t!) to enjoy the series however, and I actually think it would be most appreciated if you read book 1 first even though this takes place first chronologically.

When We First Met focuses on Quentin and Cat (who is Matty’s teacher in Just a Heartbeat Away). It’s a fun, low angst forced proximity and friends to lovers romance. Quentin was such a sweetheart and I loved how adorkable he was. It was a little frustrating at times as these two stumbled their way to each other, but the epilogue was the perfect way to bring it all together and I loved getting the glimpse of Seb and Matty.

[aarya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw a recommendation for Bastone’s upcoming full-length debut on twitter. I was in the mood for a novella and my library luckily had a copy of Bastone’s recently published novella (60ish pages).

I liked the voice a lot. Not a fan of frequent ableist language (“crazy”), but otherwise it’s impressive that a short novella was fleshed-out. It’s VERY short and while I believed in the hero’s crush, I’m not sure I felt those emotions returned until the end (again, this is more a length issue than the voice). I’m definitely checking out Bastone’s upcoming full-length debut.

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

While short this one was super cute. I liked how Cat kept making excuses to see Quentin and how he didn't get it. Of course her excuses weren't the best as she used his roommate. But once she came clean it was nothing but sunny days ahead for them.

[Liina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 stars

[Kate (kateexplainslit) · Rating 4 out of 5]

In short: absolutely adorable 😍

[Jessie ツ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️
No spice ᴖ̈

MCs are neighbors; FMC has a crush on his roommate/cousin. MMC has crush on her. They become friends & develop connection.

Super cute story of shy-ish, blushing, puppy MMC x the outgoing, bubbly, confident FMC.

•Neighbors
•He-falls-first
•sweet

Cute & quick story but nothing I’d re read. If you want something short & low angst I’d maybe try this!

——SAFETY——
-No cheating
-No real OPD
~details~
1. OM - FMC likes (attracted) OM at first
2. OW - OW runs into MCs & went to school w/ MMC. Confesses she’d always had a crush on him, gives her #. MMC was oblivious to her flirting & when FMC pointed it out his monologue is like “I’m only thinking of FMC”

-HEA

——NOTES——

Laura & Jared:
-Could totally see them getting their own big second chance romance down the line but tbh wouldn’t wanna read it. I see the vibes that they both went through stuff but I’d be STUCK on Jared being “so in love w her” but the second they break up he fucks anything that moves. They weren’t even the MCs but yuck …

Like there was so many mentions of Jared being all sad bc he loves Laura so much AND also mentions of how often he hooks up/is player when they break up… no way homie wasn’t cheating fr

[Christina (A Reader of Fictions) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly adorable! I absolutely wish I could have more of this couple, but I also think this is satisfying as a novella, which is a hard thing to accomplish.

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

When We First Met is a prequel (sort of) Bastone's Forever Yours series -- it features public school teacher Cat LaFievre and the roommate of a guy across her apartment hall (whom Cat wants to have sexy fun times with), Quentin Foster. I read the novella out of order, so I know Cat before from Just a Heartbeat Away, in which it is informed that she has been married for a decade.

I LOVED this novella as well, although at the same time, I also felt dissatisfied about other things. I'm blaming the novella format, of course.

First of all, QUENTIN IS ALL KINDS OF ADORABLE!! He's kind, he's sweet, he's SO CUTE having a crush on Cat... and I want to hug him tight because 1) Cat is a little oblivious, and 2) Quentin always thinks that women go to his gorgeous sexy cousin first. Yes, Quentin is the one on "friend-zone" guy. Although, maybe, he also needs to be courageous a bit (which Quentin does of course after an advice from someone he doesn't expect)

I can believe the romantic progress... and knowing that they have been together for a decade, my heart just goes warm and fuzzy all over.

BUT, there's this 'clue' about them wanting to start a family, and this is NOT addressed in the next following novels, so I feel bummed about it. Also, I feel like Cat's family situation is not as explored (again, I blame the length)

In overall though, this novella cements Cara Bastone as one of my favorite new-to-me authors this year. All three stories of hers are winner in my eyes.

[Maria Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really sweet romance! Low angst, flirty and fun, Cat thinks she wants a chance to spend the night with her neighbor Jared but it's his roommate Quentin that she ends up spending time with. Quentin's got a crush on her, but thinks that she thinks he's too nerdy for her. Cat is a free spirit and Quentin is a little more straitlaced so it's an opposites attract romance. An easy quick read (kisses only), and a lovely prequel to the series!

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

When We First Met features an excellent romance between neighbors.

Teacher Cat LaFievre is ready for a mindless distraction now that summer is here and her gorgeous neighbor is the perfect solution. Quentin Foster has been interested in Cat since meeting her a few months ago so when Cat tells him she's looking to hook up with his roommate, he's disappointed. As Cat spends time with Quentin, she realizes she may have set her sights on the wrong neighbor and that Quentin may actually be what she's been looking for all along.

Cat and Quentin develop a great friendship over the course of the novella. As the book goes on, Cat begins to realize she doesn't actually want the roommate and she actually wants Quentin. I liked that despite Quentin having a crush on Cat, he was completely oblivious when Cat created situations to just spend time with him. The chemistry between the two was fantastic and I liked the scene where they both finally confess their feelings. With When We First Met being so short, the romance doesn't have a ton of time to develop but I did still enjoy it.

Overall When We First Met was a cute contemporary and I will definitely be picking up the first full-length book in the series, Just a Heartbeat Away, soon.

[Kate Vale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cutesy story of Cat and Quentin, who live across the hall from one another, he with a cousin that Cat has a crush on. Too bad her crush is aimed at the wrong guy. And too bad that Quentin doesn't realize it until he's set straight by the woman who is constantly fighting with his cousin--until she finally (and I mean finally!) breaks up with him and tells Quentin to open his eyes and see what's right in front of him.

When he does that, he sees whose right there--across the hall. Wonder what will happen next? Guess.

[Dharini · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very, very short novella, but I loved it. Sweet, low angst, with no giant misunderstandings. Quentin was a total sweetheart, thought Cat read a little more like a manic pixie dream girl who couldn't decide what she wanted. The characters really clicked though, and I found myself smiling through a good chunk of the book.
This was like a little mini vacation in the middle of my day, and now I'm looking forward to the series.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much in such a short story. I wish this story had been longer. Looking forward to her next one.

[Siobhan Colley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and sweet

Short but sweet
Really enjoyed the story.
Quick read for some lightness in you life.
Cat and Quentin are adorable.

[Alecia Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, sweet and adorable novella that I would totally recommend!

[Min · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid, cute romance in less than 60 pages! Only Cara Bastone can pull this off!

Cat slowly falls for her neighbour down the hall, Quentin when she finds her spending more time with him while trying to hook up with his roommate. Quentin's the archetypal Bastone love interest, a sweet and awkward guy who's real as can be. I loved their charming banter and chemistry.

The story ends with the cutest epilogue that intersects with us meeting Sebastian from Just a Heartbeat Away. I wish there was more in this world!

[Averie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cat lives across the hall from her crush and his roommate Quentin. She has no clue that the neighbor she has become friends with is full-on crushing on her. When they start spending more time together, she realizes that she's enjoying her time with Quentin way more than the guy she thought she was crushing on.

I thought this was super cute!! Cara Bastone can do no wrong in my eyes!

TROPES: friends to lovers, pining, neighbors, novella, teacher (heroine)

[Shallowreader VaVeros · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sweet sweet novella/short novel. I love a short form romance, and the hero was just sweetness. A fun read.

*I misuse the hatch-back-hero tag as he doesn't drive a hatch back but he does ride a bike (and the train). Swoony man!

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, short, neighbors to lovers, Cat falls for Quentin while trying to hook up with his cousin.

[Julissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This prequel novella has me excited for the series! Super sweet and cute. And my favorite line: “You’re not a lot. You’re the perfect amount.”
Swoon.

[Amy Graymire · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Meet cute prequel novella before I get started on the series. This is Cat and Quentin’s story and he’s a shy, adorable red head that has a big crush on Cat, who just wants to hook up with his cousin/roommate. Main characters are likeable but side characters aren’t so much.

We will see how this plays out in the series as the epilogue goes to 10 years later….

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and sweet- even in 60 pages Bastone can write characters you root for and love.

[zilan · Rating 3 out of 5]

short n’ sweet

[Maja · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Realistic rating: up until about... a third of the way or so through this?, I was enjoying what I thought was a perfectly sweet love story with relatable characters and solid chemistry if with subpar writing, and then it dropped that paragraph about Quentin's MAN PHEROMONES and MAN SCENT and quite frankly I could not have possibly justified rating it higher than three stars after that even if the rest had been perfect, and I honestly think even that is a bit generous! This should have deducted an entire star easily! As is, though, three stars pretty accurately captures the mood of "fun but forgettable, with a couple things executed very well and a couple glaring flaws.")

Weak writing (and some truly bewildering word choices) aside, this was a perfectly cute love story! Believable characters with believable chemistry -- at every point in the story, I genuinely felt like Cat and Quentin liked each other, which is honestly a sense I get pretty rarely from contemporary romance! I liked that they met each other on a platonic level first; I liked that Quentin didn't want to stand in the way of Cat's fling regardless of his own thoughts or feelings on the subject. I LOVED Cat realizing at the end that she'd been playing herself the whole time! It's just a nice, simply, fluffy, enjoyable story, and I mostly liked reading it all in one go (again, bewildering man scent paragraph aside).

My other big complaint about this, as I feel like is really often the case with novellas, is that the pacing totally fizzles out at the end. Cat's feelings come on just a little too quickly, and an epilogue in which they're MARRIED AND ABOUT TO TRY FOR KIDS, TEN YEARS LATER, when they've ONLY JUST KISSED feels... a little wild! It's too much whiplash! I know this is just meant to set up the series (and that's why I read it!), but I still wish the romance had had a bit more space to breathe at the very end rather than just such a sharp pivot. It just doesn't work for me! (While I'm complaining, too, I'll say that the writing felt a bit clunky at times and the dialogue sometimes didn't always read very realistically.) So these are all things that make it a solid three-star read -- enough to keep me going and leave me feeling reasonably warm towards it at the end, but definitely not enough to unequivocally rec.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Closed door sweet little F2L novella

[Ari · Rating 4 out of 5]

*3.5 Stars!*

[Kate McMurry · Rating 3 out of 5]

PG romance novella

Cat LaFievre is a 25-year-old, public-school teacher who is on summer break. She has had a hard year in the classroom and decides the very thing she needs as a refreshing pick-me-up is a brief fling with a handsome Lothario who lives right across the hall from her. She has chosen him as her target for dalliance not only because of his looks, but because he has a reputation for competence in the sack with fellow single women in her Brooklyn apartment building who are equally free and easy in their liaisons.

Quentin Foster is the same age as his beautiful, sexy neighbor, Cat, and has had a huge crush on her since they first met a few months ago. Because they have a similar sense of humor and many of the same interests, he thought he had a chance with her and was slowly working up the courage to ask her out. Until Cat blows his fragile hopes out of the water when she attempts to rope him into helping her snag the attention of his roommate, who is Quentin’s dopey, chick-magnet cousin.

Cat spends 75% of this story plotting how to have a one-night stand with Quentin’s promiscuous cousin, while firmly lodging poor Quentin in the dreaded friend zone. This makes for a very odd type of romantic triangle, since the cousin never shows an ounce of interest in Cat, and Cat comes off as superficial and clueless for far too long as to what a treasure Quentin is.

Though this novella is very short, the author offers an epilogue set 10 years in the future in order to connect it to the next book in this series, in which she is the concerned teacher of the hero’s little boy.

I rate this novella as follows:

Heroine: 3 stars
Hero: 4 stars
Romance Plot: 3 stars
Writing: 3 stars
Overall: 3 stars

[Mama Needs to Read Romance · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this quirky novella fun, most of the time. I wasn't a huge fan of our heroine, Cat, who is just looking for a good time and continually overlooks super cute Quentin, who lives across the hall with the man of her dreams, Jared. Cat is only interested in Jared, and Quentin is used to his roommate/cousin getting all of the attention. He even agrees to invite Cat over so she can spend time with Jared. Jared, meanwhile, has been having a years-long on-again, off-again with Lara, and it is MESSY. Lara's pretty awful, but still feels the need to impart some wisdom on Quentin as she (supposedly) breaks up with Jared for the last time...she believes that the reason Quentin avoids them isn't because they're a train wreck, but because he's afraid to work for a real relationship. (HUH?) She tells him that Cat seemed interested in him...which had only just started like an hour before, so it's not surprising that this would be news to him too. At least Cat and Quentin get on the same page about their mutual attraction by the end, and then have a cute ten years later epilogue in which they're happily married and considering a family.

[Manda Marigold · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This book's main character is Cat LaFievre, a public school teacher who is currently facing many obstacles in life. These obstacles include a breakup with her boyfriend, a sick father, and a job rut. Cat is looking to let loose and enjoy herself using a summertime fling. Cat hopes that her fling will come from her sultry neighbor Jared. Jared is still wrapped up in his on and off ex Lara, unaware that Cat exists. Cat has friend zoned Jared's roommate Quentin because she is painfully oblivious to his crush on her. Cat's plans to have a casual hookup with Jared fail yet again ,but she starts to wonder if she found something more valuable with Quentin.
Overall, Cara Bastone did it again. Her books always leave me with warm, fuzzy feelings and a smile. I am pleased to say that this book is no different. I am excited to continue the series.