Book #1: The Right Swipe
Publisher: Avon Books
Publication Date: August 6, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★
Rhiannon Hunter may have revolutionized romance in the digital world, but in real life she only swipes right on her career—and the occasional hookup. The cynical dating app creator controls her love life with a few key rules:
– Nude pics are by invitation only
– If someone stands you up, block them with extreme prejudice
– Protect your heart
Only there aren’t any rules to govern her attraction to her newest match, former pro-football player Samson Lima. The sexy and seemingly sweet hunk woos her one magical night… and disappears.
Rhi thought she’d buried her hurt over Samson ghosting her, until he suddenly surfaces months later, still big, still beautiful—and in league with a business rival. He says he won’t fumble their second chance, but she’s wary. A temporary physical partnership is one thing, but a merger of hearts? Surely that’s too high a risk…
Review:
I absolutely knew from the bottom of my heart that even before I was a quarter of the way through this book that it would receive a five-star rating from me. The writing, the heat, the characters..everything was perfect from start to finish.
The first thing I loved about this book was the representation of diversity. There were so many different races represented in this book and this needs to happen more in novels. It was so refreshing and inspirational to see all different types of people working together and having a fun time together in this novel that it gives you the best kind of vibes.
Next, I loved that all characters were represented in The Modern Swipe. In most books, the side characters are usually just here-and-there. They pop up from time-to-time and it’s never really more than that. However, Alisha Rai did such a phenomenal job showing every and all characters. I’m not usually a fan of too many characters because it’s hard for me to keep track, but this was written so well that I could see everyone and make sure that all of their stories were represented.
Finally, the romance was AMAZING. The heat of it all. The story of it all. The chemistry of it all. It’s truly one of my favorite romance novels ever. I am a contemporary romance reader. In reality, a lot of the books I read are that genre. That’s really big to say if that’s all I read! Alisha Rai’s writing was spectacular and I can’t wait to read her next books!
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Book #2: Girl Gone Viral
Publisher: Avon Books
Publication Date: April 21, 2020
Rating: ★★★.5
OMG! Wouldn’t it be adorable if he’s her soulmate???
I don’t see any wedding rings [eyes emoji]
Breaking: #CafeBae and #CuteCafeGirl went to the bathroom AT THE SAME TIME!!!
One minute, Katrina King’s enjoying an innocent conversation with a hot guy at a coffee shop; the next, a stranger has live-tweeted the entire episode with a romantic meet-cute spin and #CafeBae is the new hashtag-du-jour. The problem? Katrina craves a low-profile life, and going viral threatens the peaceful world she’s painstakingly built. Besides, #CafeBae isn’t the man she’s hungry for…
He’s got a [peach emoji] to die for.
With the internet on the hunt for the identity of #CuteCafeGirl, Jas Singh, bodyguard, friend, and possessor of the most beautiful eyebrows Katrina’s ever seen, comes to the rescue and whisks her away to his family’s home. Alone in a remote setting with the object of her affections? It’s a recipe for romance. But after a long dating dry spell, Katrina isn’t sure she can trust her instincts when it comes to love—even if Jas’ every look says he wants to be more than just her bodyguard…
Review:
Thank you Alisha Rai, Avon Books & NetGalley for a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
After a frightening childhood where she was abused by her father-turned-manager, Kat grows up with PTSD and has panic attacks. There’s only a few people that Kat trusts. In her life, she trusts her two roommates and her bodyguard, Jas. After being photographed at a café and makes her anxiety jump, Jas takes Kat away from all of the madness. It’s here where their story begins. If you like slow burn novels, this is one you should read.
One of the main reasons why this wasn’t my favorite novel was the fact that the slow burn was one of the slowest I ever read. I wished things would’ve happened a little sooner writing wise.
I loved these characters. I loved Kat & Jas and their backgrounds. Kat has a good amount of wealth, but I always felt as though she was humble throughout the entire novel. I wish this book focused a little less about their backgrounds though. Unfortunately, I feel as though now I’m loving Alisha Rai’s writing style, I was expecting more romance and more heat. The backgrounds, the fighting with families, etc., really just took away from the whole romance of it all. I wish there was more cute scenes like the snow fight.
Overall, I think that this book was good. There were a lot of great qualities, but a lot of qualities that missed the mark for me as well. I don’t want to compare her books, but this book was more mental health based and the first in this series was more romance based. There’s nothing wrong with differing books by the same author, but I expected Girl Gone Viral to be romance as well.
Lacey's Library 