When Katie Met Cassidy

April 30, 2018
Perri’s flimsy latest (after The Assistants), set in New York City, follows lawyer Katie Daniels as she questions her sexuality and becomes smitten with fellow attorney Cassidy Price, a go-getter with a reputation as a player. When her fiancé Paul Michael leaves her for her best friend, 28-year-old Katie hopes to drink away her sorrows. She runs into Cassidy, the lawyer who intrigued her at a closing earlier that day. Cassidy, 30, takes Katie to her local hangout, the Met, a lesbian bar that’s slated to be closed and turned into condos. Cassidy’s pals are wary of her new crush, though Cassidy feels optimistic, even monogamously inclined, as the pair’s relationship turns physical. Perri doesn’t do much to turn the book’s minor characters into real people: Paul Michael is little more than a list of traits to avoid in a boyfriend, and Cassidy’s friends are all interchangeably sassy. A run-in with Katie’s ex tests their relationship, but even at this point nothing really feels at stake. Areas of conflict are hinted at with no follow-through, culminating an overly sweet, unsatisfying ending. Though the love story at the center is solid, readers will be disappointed by the narrative’s slapdash feel.

Katie Daniels and Cassidy Price, New York City-based corporate attorneys, meet on a fateful morning following the implosion of Kentucky-transplant Katie's marriage plans. Narrator Allyson Ryan's empathetic performance navigates the women's relationships and sexual experiences as the plot's point of view alternates. Lesbian-identified Cassidy's lower register and somewhat masculine-sounding voice contrast with straight Katie's dulcet voice, suppressed drawl, and feminine appearance. Differences in their lifestyles and backgrounds are emphasized throughout as their relationship evolves from being acquaintances into something more complicated. Cassidy's favorite bar, enlivened through Ryan's energized characterization of friends and regulars, contrasts sharply with Katie's pretentious former social circle. The audio production enhances this contemporary romance between opposites. Ryan further strengthens characters and plot elements with the well-timed delivery of humor and awkward missteps. J.R.T. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine