Keanu Reeves Is Not In Love With You: The Murky World of Online Romance Fraud

by Becky Holmes

"Fabulous. I read this in a single weekend and I didn’t want it to end. Scammers, con-artists, catfishers – you have met your match" — Jeremy Vine

"A brilliant read. Moves effortlessly between hilarious and informative and back again." — Ed Byrne, comedian and actor

"Astonishing." — Daily Mail

Online romance fraud is a problem across the globe. It causes financial and emotional devastation, yet many people refuse to take it seriously. This is the story of one middle-aged woman in a cardigan determined to understand this growing phenomenon.

No other woman has had so many online romances – from Keanu Reeves to Brad Pitt to Prince William – and Becky Holmes is a favourite among peacekeeping soldiers and oil rig workers who desperately need iTunes vouchers. By winding up scammers and investigating the truth behind their profiles, Becky shines a revealing, revolting and hilarious light on a very shady corner of the internet.

Featuring first-hand accounts of victims, examples of scripts used by fraudsters, a look into the psychology of fraud and of course plenty of Becky’s hysterical interactions with scammers, this is a must-read for anyone who needs a reminder that Keanu Reeves is NOT in love with them.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Humor, Audiobook, Crime, Adult, Technology

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 2, 2024

Reviews

[Merry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fast funny read about a serous subject and how anyone can be taken advantage of in regard to a Romance scam. Becky even references a policewoman who is taken in. I first read about Becky on twitter when she posted during covid about going out to an oil rig to "meet her love" It was hysterical.
Thank you for this ARC

[Jaidee · Rating 1 out of 5]

0.75 "even sweet dapper Keanu cannot save me from this..." stars !!

Thank you to Netgalley and Unbound for an ecopy. This was released January 2024. I am providing an honest reaction.

So quite frankly this was stupid and kind of gross and the juvenile humor makes me want to hurl. I cannot get past 16 percent.

I just can't read this shite...to this reader it seems self-important, attention seeking, and faux altruistic... one of the most silly and unhelpful and simplistic guides ever written.... just fuckin terrible....

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative, but also hilarious! The author tells stories of the way she messes with the scammers and catfishers, which had me literally laughing out loud. For me, the humor kept me hooked instead of it being a book of just facts, because I normally don’t read nonfiction, with the exception of memoirs.

Now if only I could get my friend to listen to the audiobook, because she’s being catfished by someone pretending to be an actor. Luckily, he hasn’t asked her for money yet, but she did send him NSFW pics. I’m constantly pointing out things that he says that just don’t add up, but she either gives me an excuse or brushes me off.

[Chloe A-L · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has so much interesting info but it is absolutely bogged down with so much fatphobia that I kind of can't believe it got published this calendar year. Maybe the editorial standards are laxer when your book is crowdfunded.

The fatphobia gets a special callout of course, but really it's typical of the writing style, which is that "aren't I fun and quirky" self deprecating "wine and sweatpants" "sweary in a way that feels affected" "inappropriate but pretending it's a funny confessional" blog style writing that was inescapable in the early 2010s, and feels INCREDIBLY dated and EXTREMELY annoying in 2024.

It's also a DEEPLY white book, aimed squarely at British and American (white) people, and while she attempts to be empathetic in her discussion of the scam culture in Nigeria and how that's become a stereotype, she fails dramatically in one of the worst parts of the book. This is where she publishes a message from a scammer that describes in detail the anger they have as an African for how their country and continent have been strip mined by the white world and that their scamming is essentially revenge, and says she's "never read anything so vitriolic". It's tone deaf, and to be honest, pretty racist! Scamming and romance scams specifically are wrong, and deeply hurtful, but the scammer in question had a point and she dismissed it so abruptly that it seems clear by "vitriolic" she means "angry about their oppression" and that seems like unjustified anger to her. She seems legitimately horrified that a black man would think of British women as stupid, or that they legacy of Western oppression would maybe influance the mindset of contemporary Africans. God knows there's a history of attributing anger, vitriol, and violence to black and African people, especially when they're talking about the oppression they face. This part of the book should have been cut, if she wasn't able to look past her own biases, but again, maybe the editorial standard goes down if you're crowdfunding the publication.

I think her blindness towards racism should've been clearer to me when she talked about being Liam Neeson being super super sexy, which was a cultural position I thought him admitting he tried to commit a violent hate crime had quashed, but well, you give a girl a pass for discussing Liam Neesons penis at length and she ends up tossing in a real disdain for black men.

This annecdote leads me into another complaint, which is her treatment of celebrities and specifically Greg Davies throughout the book. Despite having an entire subsection of the book where she talks about sympathy for people whose pictures are stolen and used by romance scammers, she clearly doesn't extend that sympathy to celebrities. From Liam Neeson's penis to continual aggressive sexual fantasies about Greg Davies, she seems to have no problem talking about celebrities bodies and selves as if they aren't attached to real fucking people. Greg Davies can read, probably, and might be kind of upset about hearing a sexual fantasy about taking advantage of him when he's "drunk, horny, and desperate" in a book about romance schemes. It's off topic and embarrassing at BEST, and a weird running line of dehumanization that again, I maybe should've picked up on before the scammers message. At the end of the day it's pretty nasty to include a joke about stalking a guy whose photos are continually stolen for romance scams a chapter after discussing the victim of cyber stalking and your sympathy for her.

I'm super disappointed in this book and wish I hadn't purchased it, and had just waiting to put a library hold on it. It'll be a nice new release to throw in a Little Free Library, at least.

[Evie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a bit of a strange one. There were some elements of this book I thought were super interesting but also some aspects which I felt disappointed by.

I suppose firstly, while this is non-fiction it’s very much infotainment. The author is someone who became exposed to twitter and romance fraud at the start of the pandemic and then, after becoming intrigued by it, proceeded to explore and investigate the nature of romance fraud on her own.

I really enjoyed the case studies, although they were often tragic, as they kind of highlighted how often these cases can snowball from a small exchange and the massive scope of the damage that can be caused. I thought that it did a lovely job of humanizing these cases and highlighted how often victims are normal people in periods of vulnerability.

I also thought that this was a really good accessible point into some of the problems and basic psychological theories that underpin the issues with these relationships and the similarities present with domestic violence dynamics.

I found that the tone of humor in this started to get a bit grating by the second half though. I think that perhaps the darker content in the book didn’t really align fantastically with the off the cuff tone of humor.

I also found that this account was heavily biased to the victims, which I completely understand, as what they suffer is horrific. But I would have personally enjoyed a more unbiased exploration of the nature and circumstances of the scammers as well. Especially given what I already know of the role of human trafficking by Chinese organized crime and the horrific treatment that these people are subject to themselves. It is mentioned very briefly (like a page or two) but when compared to how much is dedicated to the horrible crimes that the scammers commit in Nigeria and Ghana such as torture, murder and black magic you can’t help but feel that a very specific narrative is being pushed to further villainize the scammers.

Either way, there was some very interesting content in here and I think if the topic interests you then you may enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGalley and Unbound for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Jillian B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twitter personality Becky Holmes takes on the world of romance fraud. Holmes’s thirst for justice for victims makes this book a compelling read. She shares her own moments of “scam-baiting” (deliberately messing with romance scammers) alongside practical advice and the sometimes heartbreaking tales of women who’ve been duped.

The humour style is very distinctly Gen X British, which isn’t necessarily my cup of tea, but I think it will really resonate with fans of writers like Caitlin Moran. There were moments I found incredibly funny as well as moments when the author’s sense of humour felt a bit grating, but I think that’s just a matter of personal taste.

What truly sets this book apart is the information it shares about spotting a scammer. It gives really practical advice for spotting liars by pointing to facts about the armed forces or offshore oil rigs (common jobs scammers pretend to have) that scammers almost always get wrong.

I think this would make a really good gift, particularly for older relatives you might be concerned about. It’s wrapped in such an entertaining package that the great advice doesn’t feel preachy.

[Sally Marsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! I learnt a lot about romance fraud and how it impacts so many people around the world! It’s so sad! The writing was really well done and at sometimes really funny which made reading something with such a heavy subject matter easier to get through. I think what Becky has done bringing all of this to light and educating us about something that is so common yet not really discussed, is commendable and really helpful at giving us the Information about what red flags to look out for and the common scams that occur. I really hope with all my heart that this book can prevent another woman from being scammed.
Thank you netgalley for providing me with an advanced readers copy and all thoughts are mine.

[Sam Wescott · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 A mixed bag! Interesting info, but I’m really exasperated with this author.

So, I originally picked this up because I thought it was going to be about parasocial relationships and celebrity worship because I have an in-law who is actually worryingly obsessed with Keanu Reeves (she got ahold of his mom’s phone number somehow and it was all very troubling). But when the subtitle set me to rights I was still very interested because scams and the overlap with modern internet culture is fascinating.

And when this author was talking about the scams, I’ll admit I was riveted. I think this book was at its absolute best when she was interviewing victims of romance fraud. She treats them with a lot of care and they all seem very articulate about their emotional experiences and even have great suggestions for mitigating this problem in the future. The author’s exasperated reporting on the lack of accountability from banks, emotional resources for victims, and adaptability from the criminal justice system was UK-specific, but emblematic of the general dismissal of these crimes.

I did have a lot of discomfort with the way Becky talks about the scammers once we get into the chapters about international trends in Ghana, Nigeria, and Malaysia. She mentions in concerning brevity about reports of human trafficking related to pig butchering scams and then doesn’t seem to let the knowledge that the scammers she so gleefully teases on Twitter might actually be victims themselves. It didn’t seem to change her interactions with them at all while it fundamentally changed the way I think about scammers. Her stupid jokes with Twitter scammers about being a murderous cannibalism and making bathroom humor puns with fake gift card codes weren’t funny to start with and majorly dragged the first 30% of the book, but after the trafficking information was dropped, they seemed tone deaf and cruel as well. There was a death threat message she read with the sole purpose of expressing how angry and scary it was with no acknowledgement that while misdirected and not at all exonerative, some of things he said about England needing to atone for its centuries of colonization and resource theft was true. That discussion would require self-awareness and nuance and I don’t think Becky is up for that.

Also why was she constantly apologizing for the English in the messages she copied? She made such a big fuss about the spelling and grammar and it was so annoying. How many languages do you speak, Becky? Can you manage twelve simultaneous chats in a second language that feel modern and grammatically correct and appropriately casual? I doubt it. Focus on the extortion and scamming, not the language barrier.

Finally, I was so, so irritated by the constant self-deprecating humor than hinged on the author’s size. It’s lazy and unfunny and was so distracting the entire book. This author in general had a sense of humor that did not click with me. The constant sex-puns and asides about wanting cake or liking to pet puppies felt like trying to read an interesting book about an important topic while wading through a sea of boomer Facebook memes. I could picture the minion memes that could have been made out of some of her one-liners. She’s only in her forties. Is it because she’s British??

So, yeah. Hated the minute recounting of conversations she had on Twitter and her fat jokes and I don’t trust her talk about international labor trafficking or the lasting effects of colonialism. BUT, the book was still decent, which is a testament to the topic. The firsthand accounts and sympathy with which she holds the victims of these scams was notable and appreciated. It’s a good enough book for you to give a relative who might be vulnerable to this kind of fraud. But I do look forward to the day when this topic is taken more seriously so we can get better, more nuanced books written about it by different authors who won’t make jokes about their back fat.

[Szaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keanu Reeves is not in love with you... Because he's in love with me xD

Bardzo szybka lektura, ale polecam z serca. Na początku dużo śmieszków autorki w postaci zabawnej narracji czy przez przytoczone rozmowy ze scammerami. Potem robi się poważnie i niektóre historie sprawiały, że aż mi się skręcał żołądek i w głowie miałam Jak można być tak głupim!. A potem przypomniałam sobie, że sama kiedyś na studiach dałam jakiemuś typowi kasę na bilet, mimo że wiedziałam, że mnie oszukuje, ale pomyślałam, że może nie i jednak mi odda jak obiecał (nie oddał xDDDD). I jak okropne jest to, że ktoś wykorzystuje czyjąś dobrą wolę, empatię, brak asertywności, chęć pomocy, samotność i pragnienie miłości i zwykłych ludzkich relacji, a potem ludzie jeszcze wjadą im na głowę z gromkim SAMA TEGO CHCIAŁAŚ BO BYŁAŚ GŁUPIA. Bardzo mnie też zaciekawił wątek, że karząca pięć internetowych krytyków zawsze ostatecznie spada na kobietę. Jak się dała oszukać, to jej wina, bo głupia i naiwna, a jak oszukuje, to też jej wina, bo oszukała dobrego chłopa, najgorsza. Czy to, że organy ścigania totalnie nie ogarniają tego typu scamu mnie zdziwiło? No błagam xD

[Martha Daisy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The grating humour, coupled with the consistent lack of nuance and perspective makes this book feel elementary at best and offensive at worst. There are some interesting stories of scam victims and she definitely shows these victims’ stories with a sympathetic tone but there’s a complete lack of curiosity when it comes to the scammers themselves. It is not a comprehensive investigation at all.
There is some content which doesn’t sit right with me; her consistent leering at Greg Davies being one example. The immature humour seems more catered towards older Facebook users, and in general it is quite clear the generation that this book is aimed at.
Her inability and lack of desire to investigate the lives of the scammers and the effects of colonialism on certain nations which she focusses on (Nigeria for example) often comes across as tone deaf or even racist, as she makes a point to emphasise extreme violence and ritualistic magic. She seems to be committed to perpetuating a certain negative idea of what some African nations are like, whilst labelling herself “woke”. It’s weird.
There is a touch of misogyny too where she talks about “skinny bitches” and constant conversation about being fat. It comes across as someone hiding their insecurities behind humour and prejudice. It’s not cool and tbh is just not interesting.
Regardless of the offensive content, in the end she actually provides no real advice or conclusion. Her main thing seems to be that we shouldn’t say “falling for” a scam. This is a nice sentiment but I’m not sure what it actually does for victims of scams at the end of the day. We conclude the book with the knowledge that we should change how we talk about fraud, and that the police service is underfunded. This is no revelation.
Overall I was really hoping for a really deep investigation into online fraud, encompassing both the experiences of the victims but also that of the scammers. I found myself being curious and left wanting more in the way of information about the root causes of this. There’s a weird mix of her saying that shes not like these other clever people she interviews, and also talking about how she got a first class degree from a top London university. If this is the case, she should be more than capable to deeper investigate this phenomenon. I think she should challenge her own prejudices, lay to one side the immature humour, and commit to learning a bit more about the roots of the scam industry.

[*ੈ✩‧₊˚Sassy Little Hippy˚₊‧✩ ੈ* · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️🎧📕
For fans of “Who TF Did I Marry” and the show CatFish. Becky had me cracking up with her punny sense of humor! Her narration is great, but the book has images that are HILARIOUS so I recommend going that route if you must choose.

💔 First off, I like to go in blind on books, and this was nothing like I was expecting. It’s not a novel (I was totally envisioning a female stalker of Keanu 😂). It’s a comical non-fiction documentary-style collection of stories and warnings about online romance fraud, and how susceptible we are to the lures when we are at some of our most vulnerable times.

“When they asked me for money in the form of gift cards, I started sending them fake codes such as 5C4MM1NG 4R53H0L3 or 5CUMB4G, which they would try and use and couldn’t figure out why they weren’t working. I really was having the most glorious time.”

🤭 Becky Holmes’s book is unapologetically truthful, informative, hilarious, scary, angering, and heartbreaking. Her sense of humor on such a serious topic is enlightening and right down my alley. She would say the most outlandish things, and they would just go with it.

“It’s 1:30 am and I have to go. I’ve got a head in the oven.”
“Show me”
{Sends a picture of her best friend’s head in the oven} 🤣🤣🤣

🕵🏻‍♀️ She’s done her homework - interviewing victims, fraud specialist, and even the scammers. She also covers the religious aspect of scamming, and even gets her hands on some scripts used in scamming. As a girl that pride’s myself on having watched almost every season of CatFish, I learned SO much more about the world of romance fraud.

😱 This book should be required reading for all people that are on any form of social media, dating apps, etc. If you think you could never be scammed, think again. It might happen to you, a relative, a friend… In this current age, it’s happening more than you probably realize, and people are shamed from opening up about it. There isn’t much that can be done legally, so it’s a very isolating experience. It’s just horrifying!

A very sincere thanks to NetGalley, Unbound, and Becky Holmes for honoring me with a complimentary ARC to review. This has truly been my pleasure 😂

[Lilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give it a different rating for the writing vs the information given which ends up at a 4-star.

The author goes off on tangents sometimes not completely necessary, but overall it’s readable and pretty important to educate yourself about the hazards of online romance fraud (money scams). She used humour to keep interest, but it’s not really my style of humour, but I could overlook that for the helpful information over-all. I was impressed with the research she put in and her empathy for victims of romance fraud and her respectful approach to sharing their stories. It was informative enough that honestly, I wish something like this was required in high school, or as an important topic of discussion in a widow or widowers group, anyone single or newly single. Heck, anyone male or female; married or single would benefit from reading it. Fraudsters actually have a “rule book” they study before “going pro” so it only makes sense that the general public should also keep up. And honestly, dating apps and social platforms are not doing all they could to help prevent this.

It’s eye-opening and you will surely learn something.

[Aimee · Rating 3 out of 5]

SCAMMER: What’s your favorite color?

BECKY: I like pink, purple, yellow and the mottled colour of the rotting corpse I currently have propped up in my living room!

SCAMMER: Awww okay. My favorite color is blue, what’s your favorite food and drinks?

Becky: I like to eat pasta, vegetables, hummus and I’m looking forward to tucking into that corpse when it hits its peak.

Scammer: mmmm that sounds good. I like pizza, Italian and wine. 🍷


If the author had a podcast series just reading the messages of her “relationships” I would binge listen in a heartbeat.

British author Becky Holmes is charming, and her trolling convos with scammers are hilarious. It lost me a little towards the end because the chapters were a cut-and-dry description of the playbook and antics scammers use on their victims.

I already had a pretty good understanding of it just from watching catfish videos on YouTube . I’m also a sucker for a trashy Dr. Phil catfish episode. Like the one where he dips the “white money” in water? TV gold!
… anyway
It was a fun little audiobook to pop on and listen to all the ways ordinary people find themselves in these awful traps searching for love.

[Kimmy C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly interesting and cautionary tale of those who went looking for love (or: love came looking for them), and lost thousands into the deal. It deals a lot with the people behind the scams, and then the interviews with those who were drawn into them, fed increasingly bizzare tales but always with the remedy of Send Me More Money/Gift Cards/Transfer My Friend. Even when the warning bells sounded (misspelling from the UN??), they were ignored in the pursuit of eventual love, and threats from the oil worker/pilot/doctor etc.
Becky deals a lot with the victim blaming (guilty, although decades with cynicism honed from pharmacy work means I sit very far on the Pull The Other One scale), and the frustrating response, or lack thereof from the anti-fraud agencies, should the victim decide to report it.
She absolutely hits the nail on the head with the education side of things. I know to not bake my skin silly under the sun, not to vape, not to drive without a seatbelt, so where is the education to not send money to potential paramours, how to do a reverse google search on a photo, and how to say no without guilt (mostly women, there). It’s an amusing, eye-opening and wtf’ing insight into a world not many of us would have seen, and should be compulsory reading before using any social media account/dating website.
Shouldn’t have to be this way, but here we are. Personally, I’ve got a lot fewer friend requests on my socials from doctors (full scrubs photo and all), pilots, and people who look like they own significant landholding, since I changed my profile pic from Middle Aged Woman, to Dog.

[Wendelle]

Manipulative masterminds have flocked to cyberspace and used crude techniques of love-bombing, constant communication, and gaslighting to pressure people to part with their money and transfer fat digits over to a purported lover. Online romance fraud may sound funny, but it exacts a heavy toll and has devastating repercussions on the lives of men and women who have been scammed. Becky Holmes has devoted resources and an extensive internet presence into luring fraudsters and trolling them back using creative techniques and funny lampoons. She exposes the traditional narratives fraudsters use to beguile-- they often pose as soldiers, peacekeepers, doctors, oil-rig workers or desired celebrities with romantic, far-flung and service-intentioned careers that necessitate unreliable communication and somehow, huge influxes of money. With the siren song of future union, they target women (or men) who have been made susceptible by a current condition of emotional distress or trauma, such as a bout with cancer, a divorce or loneliness. The book shows the pain of the fraud victims, as once the hair-raising amounts have been pocketed, the online contacts morph from lovestruck partners to nasty strangers: "You deserve a hard death" and "No wonder your husband left you" have been thrown out after the victims have been leeched completely and no money could be further bled. Thus, this book by the funny Becky Holmes is a good corrective contribution to help people be informed about romance scams.

[Ella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disorganised and repetitive, and probably would have made a better podcast or a blog.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy to read, informative book on romance fraud. Mainly focusing on online scams, but some other stories are mixed in as well. I found the author's tone very funny and I laughed out loud a lot. After reading this book, I have more understanding for people who had to deal with this.

Thank you so much to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC to read & review. These are my honest opinions.

[Dr. Bower · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the intentionally hideous cover to the fantastic final word, this book was an excellent adventure of which Ted would be proud. Holmes used a slow shift from humorous to serious to parallel the ��creeping normality’ tactic. Maybe that wasn’t on purpose. But, I appreciated how she brought the reader through the difference between public perception and the lived experience in a way that allows them to grow in understanding. Brilliant.

[Laura Jade · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

This was such an Insightful, detailed and informative book that had me engrossed from the beginning.

Some of those who had fallen victim to romance scammers bravely shared their stories and while these were incredibly fascinating, they were also very distressing.

It was so emotional to see how so many people were effected by scams and blackmail. Their lives have completely changed because they've used up all their savings, sold homes or taken out loans to help who they thought was their partner. Others are still living in fear that the scammers will come back and blackmail for more money or they will expose photos etc. it's so devastating that these monsters are causing so much stress and destruction to peoples lives and are still able to sleep at night.
It's so easy to blame the victims and say it's their own fault for being so naive but there's a lot of expert knowledge put in the book from many sources which explains how they fall into these traps through things such as manipulation and coercion.

It was nice that the author brought some humour into something so serious, to help provide a little light in-between the serious conversations too.

I also enjoyed reading some of the conversations between herself and scammers online - So funny (albeit, a little weird at times) Some real laugh at loud moments!!

A really interesting book that I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read about a subject that needs so much more awareness! Thank you so much to Netgalley for the gifted copy!

[Yasmine Richmond · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was looking forward to reading this book on its release, but finished feeling totally disappointed. 90% of this book is the author cracking jokes and thinking she’s the funniest person (she’s not - I did not find any part of this book funny. I don’t know how the author nor publishers didn’t cringe out of their skins proofing this). It’s practically a picture book of streams of Twitter messages sent from the author - not mentally enriching at all. And finally, what kind of non-fiction book only has TWO citations?? Neither of which are directly related to the primary subject of the book? This book has few statistics and next to no supporting evidence to back up the authors often vague, sweeping, and commonly assumed claims. This book is a worse association for Keanu Reeves name than the actual cyber-scammers pretending to be him.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars--Holmes is the voice behind a celebrated social media account that calls out romance scammers. I loved the writer's sense of humor. Her self-depreciating wit is a real joy to hear on audiobook.

However, it should be noted that KEANU is not all giggles. The scam industry not only ruins the lives of its victims, but its participants have been caught engaging in human trafficking and even murder.

[Lisa Lynch · Rating 1 out of 5]

The overall tone of this book is... not it. At all. While romance scams, as a topic, might sound comical to some, I personally don't think this is something to be laughed at or joked about.

At first, I thought that the author was unaware of the fact that people are sometimes human trafficked into scam rings like the ones she discusses in this book. I was willing to forgive her for trolling scammers and making fun of them because I assumed she didn't know.

And maybe she didn't when she sent them silly insinuations that she was a cannibal or pictures of her roommate faking his murder. It was the pandemic after all, and she was bored. The poor, privileged thing.

But then the author, eventually, towards the end of the book, very briefly discusses the intersection of human trafficking and internet scammers, so at some point, she was made aware. I kind of can't stomach the fact that she still wrote and published this book with its goofy, snarky, blasé attitude. AND that she shared many of her interactions with these scammers/potential human trafficking victims so we could all laugh about it together.

Gross. And I'm not laughing.

I couldn't help but imagine that the scammers she's playfully trolling are human trafficking victims, chained to their computers, starving and beaten. And I'm sorry, but I don't think it is cute or funny or clever to waste any time or brain-space making light of this topic. I'd be SO embarrassed if I had acted the way this author did, trolling people who could be victims in such a childish way.

And sure, not all internet scammers are victims, but there's no way to tell them apart. So you won't catch me having a goof and a laugh about any of them, just in case. Because personally, I'd rather shrivel up and die than be the insensitive, privileged white lady laughing at desperate people.

I should have known by the book's cover and title that it was a joke.... and not the good kind.

This is probably the worst book I've read all year. 1 out of 5 stars because I can't give it less.

[Sara]

I don't rate non fiction.

A interesting look at a very niche form of fraud - namely romance, and by extension celebrity, scams. I liked the journey Becky Holmes takes the reader on, from her early explorations on Twitter during lockdown into the murky rabbit hole of people who pray on others for capital gains. As Becky mentions it's a woefully unknown area of fraud that offers a great degree of exploitation from scammers, leading to some truly awful outcomes. I liked the inclusion of stories from victims, which were tackful and helped center their story. Becky offers a lot of the light relief in between these stories, with tales of her own exploits poking fun at the scammers. I could have done with a little less of the Greg Davies obsession though. Granted, the man is funny but it got repetitive after a while.

Likeable narration and a really fascinating topic, Becky Holmes does a really good job at engaging the reader and taking them along for the ride here. I'd certainly be up for reading anything else she writes in the future.

[Michele Young · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book reads like Take a Break or Chat magazine - stories of women who have been duped for money by cruel men on dating sites. The advice given may have been good for these women, but it is too late for them as they have often lost everything financially and can be too embarrassed to tell friends and family of their plight. Not for me.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, I will admit something. If a random person happens to message me on WhatsApp or Instagram, in my past I have been known to mess around with them a little. Hence where I discovered Becky Holmes’ Twitter account from. In the past, I have always had a great chuckle at her scammer trolling antics. So, I could not resist checking out her debut novel on the same topic.

First of all, Holmes’ writing voice is at times vulnerable, always incredibly unique, and oftentimes doused with humorous anecdotes. What more could you want from a writer, really? In Keanu Reeves Is Not In Love With You, Holmes explains the topic of romance scammers in an incredibly accessible way by using real life case studies and bullet point lists, all written with a deep sense of understanding regarding the sensitive topic. She also shares her own attempts at trolling scammers (the content which she primarily shares on Twitter) by inserting a few screenshots here and there, which serve as a great boundary between the heavier conversations which she undertakes.

This is honestly a book for everyone, and even if, like myself, you have no experience with being conned online (apart from the odd message from a suspicious looking sugar daddy), it makes for a fascinating read. The internet is getting increasingly scary out there, and there is no time like the present to remind your loved ones about being safe.

Four out of five scammers, ahem, I mean stars.

[Soph Thurlby · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you don’t own a copy of this book, stop what you’re doing immediately and go and buy it - it’s by far one of the best books I’ve ever read. I laughed out loud so many times reading this.

The perfect blend of fact and funny, Becky’s writing style is both hilarious and emotive. Wasting romance scammers time as much as they try to waste hers is utter genius and makes for very funny reading, whilst being interspersed with real life stories of people who have been scammed out of tens of thousands of pounds and the help (or lack of) available and what needs to change. I used to read Becky’s tweets in lockdown when she began her “let’s play these idiots at their own game” journey and it was funny then, but this book is something else.

[Agnė · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 out of 5

Keanu Reeves is Not in Love With You: The Murky World of Online Romance Fraud is Becky Holmes' entertaining and enlightening exploration of online romance scams.

Much of the book consists of Holmes' own personal anecdotes of interacting with online romance fraudsters and celebrity impersonators. While often hilarious, her "clever" attempts to scam the scammers become repetitive, and the humor starts to wear thin.

Later, the mood shifts significantly as the author shares compassionate accounts of romance fraud victims and offers deeper insights into the world of scammers. She explores scamming scripts and manuals, common patterns, motives, organized crime groups, and even human trafficking. These sections were by far the most informative and engaging for me, and I wished there were more of them and fewer anecdotes of the author toying with scammers.

The book ends with an overview of the apparent lack of effort in combating romance fraud. It's a devastating crime, leaving victims financially and emotionally ruined, while many scammers themselves are victims of exploitation. Yet, frustratingly little can be done legally. This is an important issue that needs more exposure and education, and Holmes does a good job bringing it to light.

[Jenny Twomey · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read which I downloaded solely for the humour from the sample I read beforehand, which totally deserves a five-star rating and featured DMs between her and the scammers she encountered during her research. The rest of the book was enlightening, about the murky world of romance fraud, which I knew little about, and was dealt with sensitively. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for anything else this author writes — especially if she injects as much humour into it (and possibly about a less-serious subject).

[Tintaglia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ho imparato più di quanto immaginassi (o, francamente, desiderassi sapere...) sul mondo delle frodi amorose: sono crimini poco conosciuti, che spesso non vengono denunciati per vergogna, e con una derisione delle vittime e una sottovalutazione dei danni, sia economici che emotivi, impressionante.
Invece sono un crimine, diffusissimo, con predatori organizzati che hanno l'unico scopo di rovinare le proprie vittime: e il fatto che lo facciano online non lo rende meno grave, o devastante. Francamente, le testimonianze delle vittime mi hanno stretto il cuore, perché mostrano come ci si approfitti di una fragilità, anche momentanea, per generare una dipendenza psicologica gravissima.
Lo stile è vivace (alle volte forse troppo, vagamente stancante), ma questo non toglie la sincerità e dell'empatia dell'autrice nei confronti delle vittime - e dei loro parenti, sono crimini che hanno ripercussioni su molte persone.
Una lettura interessante e vagamente allarmante.

[mikaela (spinebreaker) · Rating 4 out of 5]

bonus star for Beanie's stunning portrayal of "body in kitchen" and "man about to be dismembered" and if you want to know what that means you better just read it

anyway, a very interesting surface dive into the world of romance fraud. got darker than i expected (didn't think ritual sacrifice would be tied to this subject at all) but i enjoyed it all the same.