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Verdict: A sweet, food-filled new adult debut: an aspiring chef lands a job cooking for her favourite pop star on a European tour, and a friendship turns into more. Readers love the travel, the food writing and the surprising emotional depth around grief; critics found the characters immature, the chemistry thin and too much told rather than shown.
Best for: Readers who want a cosy, romantic travel read with a pop star and a lot of good food.
Heat level: 🌶️🌶️
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.4/5 — a 3.75 Goodreads average across 426 ratings, 3.7 on StoryGraph from 215 reviews, and 4.2 stars across 35 Amazon ratings)
Tropes: Celebrity/non-celebrity, friends to lovers, fake relationship (Luna’s boyfriend), travel romance, grief, following your dreams.
I Kissed Her First is Betty Cayouette’s 2026 debut sapphic new adult romance from Saturday Books. This is Riley’s last summer as a chef — or so she has promised her dads, who run a Cape Cod lobster shack and don’t want her following them into a stressful industry.
It holds a 3.75 average across 426 Goodreads ratings, with 65% of them four or five stars, 3.7 on StoryGraph from 215 reviews, and 4.2 stars across 35 Amazon ratings.
What Is I Kissed Her First About?
Riley auditions as a private chef for a singer’s European tour and discovers the singer is Luna Leya, her and her sister’s favourite pop star. The two strike up an unexpected friendship, much to the disapproval of Luna’s manager.
Luna is supposed to be chasing a Grammy and dating heartthrob Hudson — not sneaking off to the Eiffel Tower and private Andalusian dinners with her chef.
What Works in This Book
- Food: Readers say you can practically taste the cooking.
- Setting: Fans love the shifting tour locations and the vivid Provincetown scenes.
- Emotional depth: Several readers were surprised by how moving the grief storyline is.
- Likeable leads: Several readers call Riley and Luna sweet, earnest and easy to root for.
Book Synopsis
A chef with one last summer. A pop star with a Grammy to win.
Across Europe, their story starts to sound like a love song.
My Review
Told in alternating first person, this is warm, comforting and easy to get swept up in — one fan calls it the best kind of late-’90s rom-com, only sapphic.
The criticisms are consistent, though. Several readers say the relationship moves fast with little build-up or tension, some found it surface-level with everything told rather than shown, and one was frustrated by how much 24-year-old Riley needs her dads’ permission. A couple simply found the chemistry flat.
My honest note: A good beach read if you don’t mind young leads.
| Element | In I Kissed Her First |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Riley (private chef) & Luna Leya (pop star) |
| Core tropes | Celebrity/non-celebrity, friends to lovers, travel |
| Setting | A European pop tour and Cape Cod |
| Heat level | 🌶️🌶️ |
| Length | 320 pages (paperback) |
| Series | Standalone |
| Content notes | Grief, death of a parent, addiction, homophobia |
How Spicy Is I Kissed Her First?
Moderate — StoryGraph readers note some sexual content, but the focus is on the emotional story.
StoryGraph readers flag grief, death of a parent, addiction and homophobia.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you want a sweet, food-and-travel pop-star romance. It is on our celebrity lesbian romance list.
You may want to skip it if: you need mature leads or a slow, detailed build.
In short: Tasty, tender, a little thin.
What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)
On Goodreads the split is 16% five stars, 49% four, 26% three, 5% two and 1% one. On StoryGraph, 80% tagged it emotional and 76% found the characters loveable. Many early reviews come from advance copies.
Why readers love it (according to the discourse): Food first. Second, travel. Third, emotional depth. Fourth, sweetness.
What readers argue about and complain about: Rushed romance, above everything. Second, immaturity. Third, telling not showing.
The comparison worth making first: Lacey Lassiter Is Not a Lesbian, another light pop-star romance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is I Kissed Her First sadder than the blurb suggests?
Yes. Readers say it is more emotional than the description implies: both leads are grieving someone they lost, and one reader urges checking content warnings first.
How old are the main characters?
Readers put them in their early twenties (around 21 and 24), and several found them immature — which some felt suited their age.
Is Luna Leya based on Taylor Swift?
Some readers read her that way; one critical reviewer calls it thinly disguised “Gaylor” fan fiction, while a fan compares it to a late-’90s rom-com.
Where does the story take place?
On Luna’s European tour — including Paris and Andalucía — with the ending in Riley’s Cape Cod hometown.
Is I Kissed Her First on Kindle Unlimited?
Not when we checked; the Kindle edition was listed at $11.99.
If You Loved I Kissed Her First, Read These Next
Try Falls From Grace or Lacey Lassiter Is Not a Lesbian. Browse our celebrity list or the full Book Reviews archive.
The Bottom Line
I Kissed Her First sets out to be a sweet, romantic tour of Europe with grief at its heart, and its food and warmth deliver. What holds it back is a romance that doesn’t build enough tension. A pleasant summer read. Check I Kissed Her First on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, I Kissed Her First ranks as a fair celebrity pick — sweet, slight.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall ★★★☆☆ 3.4/5
- ✓ 3.75 average across 426 Goodreads ratings
- ✓ 65% of Goodreads ratings are four or five stars
- ✓ 3.7 on StoryGraph from 215 reviews
- ✓ 4.2 stars across 35 Amazon ratings
Romance ★★★☆☆ 3.1/5
- ✓ Friends to lovers
- ✓ Fast
- ✓ Flat for some
- ✓ Sweet
Characters ★★★☆☆ 3.3/5
- ✓ Earnest Riley
- ✓ Pressured Luna
- ✓ Immature for some
- ✓ 76% loveable on StoryGraph
Writing ★★★☆☆ 3.2/5
- ✓ Vivid food
- ✓ Alternating first person
- ✓ Tells more than shows
- ✓ Debut
Emotional Impact ★★★★☆ 3.7/5
- ✓ Tagged emotional by 80%
- ✓ Grief
- ✓ Following dreams
- ✓ Misty-eyed for one
Heat Level ★★☆☆☆ 2/5
- ✓ Some sexual content
- ✓ Moderate
- ✓ Not the focus
- ✓ Adult
Ending ★★★☆☆ 3.3/5
- ✓ Back in Cape Cod
- ✓ Hopeful
- ✓ Standalone
- ✓ Satisfying for fans
Re-read Value ★★★☆☆ 2.9/5
- ✓ $11.99 Kindle price
- ✓ 320 pages
- ✓ Beach read
- ✓ Not on Kindle Unlimited
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