Love at First Sighting

by Mallory Marlowe

A chance at love might not be out of this world in the next romantic comedy from USA Today bestselling author Mallory Marlowe.

Los Angeles social media influencer El Martin seems to live the perfect aesthetic life. But what El wants more than anything is to find something real to make her heart race in a way it hasn’t in years. She doesn’t expect that feeling to come from capturing footage of an unidentified flying . . . thing, much less from the charming Man in Black who keeps following her around.

Agent Carter Brody is trying his best to keep the Private Intelligence Sector afloat by dragging their hopelessly out-of-date office into this century, even though what he really wants to do is follow in his father’s footsteps identifying and hiding extraterrestrial sightings. He gets his chance after being assigned to El’s case and is stopped in his tracks not only by her ingenuity and confidence, but also by the unnerving coincidence of how her sighting looks eerily like what he saw right before a family tragedy.

The deeper El and Carter fall into the mystery, the harder it is for them to ignore their growing chemistry, as their own alien feelings become dangerously terrestrial.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Audiobook, Paranormal, Fiction, Science Fiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published August 12, 2025

About the author

Mallory Marlowe is the USA Today Bestselling author of Love and Other Conspiracies. Seriously right-brained since childhood, her love of telling stories began with highly elaborate plots for her Barbie dolls and taking elementary school writing projects too seriously. She studied Writing for Film and TV at Emerson College. While romance is her truest love, she also loves to write across several genres from paranormal to fantasy to horror. When she isn’t writing, she’s likely reading, stuck in L.A. traffic, or fallen down a weird internet rabbit hole. She lives in Los Angeles, CA and writes video games by day.

Reviews

[Jenna Levine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet sexy cinnamon roll of a MMC in a Men in Black suit with government conspiracies and (aliens!!) as the backdrop? SAY LESS. This book is sweet, funny, romantic— basically the entire package.

[DIVINITY🌙 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5✨
I had such a fun time with this romance 🥰👽🛸

[Mallory Marlowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love at First Sighting is now on NetGalley, and people are going to be able to dive into El and Carter's adventure and love story! With that, I want to be very transparent with the content warnings in this book. When I first set out to write it and realized it'd have to have an X-Files-esque mystery to it, I knew if I wanted to pull it off, I had to commit to it and not shy away from the adventure elements. It's still a rom-com (and I actually think it's funnier than LAOC) and I would say if you're okay with the average episode of The X-Files, you'll probably be fine with LAFS, too!

CWs: Love at First Sighting is first and foremost a romantic comedy, but it also contains a high-stakes mystery with action/adventure elements including the past deaths of parents (off-page), grief, guns/gun violence, car accidents (mentioned), a car chase, hand-to-hand/fist-fighting violence, sex, drinking, smoking, and adult language. If you are sensitive to any of these, please read with care.

[Alina ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

☆☆☆☆☆

Love at First Sighting by Mallory Marlowe was an absolute joy to read! What stood out to me most was the genuine, heartfelt love story at the center of it all. The connection between the characters felt so natural and authentic, and I loved watching how they encouraged each other’s dreams and supported one another in every possible way.

It was incredibly refreshing to read a romance where the story didn’t rely on unnecessary drama or forced conflict to move things forward. Instead, the emotional depth and mutual respect between the characters carried the plot beautifully. Their relationship felt mature, inspiring, and honest.

Highly recommend this one if you're looking for a feel-good, emotionally fulfilling romance without the usual tropes or predictable pitfalls. Mallory Marlowe truly delivered a love story worth rooting for.

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love at First Sighting is a fun and quirky romcom full of heart, humor, and steam! The story follows El, an influencer who, after seemingly being attacked by what she can only describe as a UFO, finds herself under the watch of a less than discreet Man in Black, Carter. I had such a good time reading this book, El and Carter made for such a fun pairing and I loved the mystery plot that came into play. The two had so much rapport and banter, it was so fun seeing them slowly fall for each other as the story came together. Their flirting was so sweet and I loved that their relationship was lusty but not too rushed as they got to know each other before falling into bed. The fast paced action and adventure was the perfect addition to the romance and the slow build mystery plot. If you're in the mood for a not so serious romance full of intrigue, chemistry, and so many happenings, this one is for you!

~Many thanks to Berkley Romance for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

[jenny reads a lot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good adventure romcom and this is no exception.

How cute is this? An influencer has a close encounter with a UFO and a “man in black” hunts her down - but then they end up teaming up to figure out a conspiracy?!

Not quite as perfect as Love and Other Conspiracies but still a good time.

What’s to love…
- X-files but make in sexy (and modern)
- influencer FMC + secret government employee MMC
- Blonde MMC (what can I say i’m a sucker for a blonde man)
- tension
- a side of trauma
- mystery and adventure!
- He’s down bad
- dual POV
- self-discovery

What’s not to love…
- personally this leaned a little too heavy into the physical attraction and felt a bit insta-love as a result

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for sending this book (eARC) for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

4.4⭐️ | IG | TikTok |

[✨⚡ Kelcey (felinebooktrovert) ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy Release Day!!

4.25 stars

Such a cute and fun read.

If not for the weekend and some plans I had, I probably would have finished this in one day. Perfect amount of romance, storyline intrigue, and some emotional depth that kept me invested.

Would recommend for a quick read for romance readers ❤️

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 rounded up. Unfortunately everything I loved in Love and Other Conspiracies was missing in Love at First Sighting. I couldn’t connect with our FMC El (Ariel). I felt like she didn’t have a good backbone and truly was just unrealistic as an influencer. Maybe I’m just not a fan of reading about influencers. Her mom hits her up for money but that’s all you hear about her, it’s kind of a plot hole. And Carter, he was fine but so young and green. Neither of them excited me as MCs or felt super deep.

I also couldn’t stand the amount of gen Z references in the book, I almost DNF’d very early on but since I loved Mallory Marlowe’s first book I gave it the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately it was just a big miss for me.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Katie (spellboundbooks_) · Rating 5 out of 5]

ADD THIS TO YOUR PRE-ORDER LIST IMMEDIATELY 🩷

I genuinely LOVED this book - the banter, the slow burn, the mystery, the action, and of course a secret government Men in Black MMC 😩

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

I loved El and her struggle to find herself in all the influencer hype. I keep seeing so many reviews saying they didn’t necessarily like this element but I personally thought it was a very good take on someone who has put her life online and started losing herself in the process. Her character arc was amazing and I loved that she was much smarter than people assumed.

Carter was the same way for me. I loved his character arc and that immediate attraction they felt for each other. His career was a bonus because I could quite literally picture this man in his hat and suspenders.

There was tension, chemistry and so much good banter. Marlowe has quickly moved up in my ranks of authors I will always preorder. There wasn’t much spice but it was done so well and as soon as he hit her with that “good girl” in the beginning I knew I was done for.

The mystery itself kept me intrigued and I needed to know what happened although I had a pretty good idea of where it was going to go. But I was still surprised by certain elements.

I will say I wished there was more alien stuff for a book that has aliens on the cover. But the overall story left me happy with how it turned out.

Deff add this one to your list of books to look out for!!

🖤 Big thanks to Mallory Marlowe, Berkley and NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions!

[BookishKB · Rating 5 out of 5]

El & Carter foreverrrrr ✨🫶🏾
Very cute paranormal romance!

[Lindsay (pawsomereads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️
Love at First Sighting was an absolute delight that had me laughing out loud from start to finish (the Carly Rae Jepsen playlist as the background tracking to a car chase really got me). El’s witty commentary and Carter’s deadpan seriousness made for the perfect comedic duo, especially as they stumbled through UFO chaos and undeniable chemistry. The banter sparkled, the situations were hilariously over the top, and yet the romance still felt sweet and genuine. Mallory Marlowe nailed the balance of humor and heart, making this a rom-com that was every bit as entertaining as it was swoony.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. Such a fun, flirty + quirky little tale! And what a great twist on the movie Men in Black! El Carter is struggling to find herself other than being an influencer when she sees something otherworldly. Then she meets Carter Brody not long after who appears to be a dead ringer for a “Men in Black/X-Files” character—although his uncle actually is one. You see Carter had lost his parents not long after they both had “supposedly” came into contact with a terrestrial. Carter and El join up on this adventurous caper to investigate, spy, and do any other not so legal activities to find answers.. during which they fall head over heels.. smitten with each other. With a cinnamon roll hero, flirty banter, funny one-liners, and growing chemistry.. who doesn’t enjoy a sweet romance with a bit of paranormal/government conspiracy as the backdrop.. I enjoyed it all! This caught me off guard as I didn’t expect it to be as good as it was. Pub. 8/12/25

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.**

A hot influencer who’s grown wary of her shallow existence survives a UFO sighting and gets semi-cancelled after she posts about it. The only person who believes her encounter is a gen z government agent for the antiquated Private Intelligence Sector (pronounced P-I-S not Piss) who’s been sort of stalking her and dresses like an extra on the set of Boardwalk Empire. El and Carter band together to investigate the extraterrestrial mystery, but can’t deny the lusty gravitational pull between them. She’s 4 years older! He’s emotionally available! Sex on a desk! Not as many aliens as you might hope for, but plenty of government conspiracy and flirty banter to keep things interesting. He falls first and hard, which feels a bit instalove, but makes sense when you remember the title of this book. The social media culture was cringe, but it afforded some much needed growth for the FMC as well as some funny promo bits like the vodka bottles shaped like dicks and the guy whose wellness routine is eating 6 ears of corn a day…#cornography?

[Gabi D'Esposito · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25

Not nearly enough aliens for a book with a UFO on the cover but this was a fun read. I enjoyed the central romance but HATED that every female character but the main female lead was vapid, mean, and disingenuous.

A good pick for a quick romance but not incredibly memorable when you dig deeper.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Lia Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75 stars. I really wanted to love this book, but I just couldn’t get quite there. I felt like there were so many story plots that were left unfinished and I felt like I was reading the same scene over and over again.

I absolutely loved Love and Other Conspiracies so I’m really disappointed that this book felt like it was written by a different author.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5 ⭐️
1/5 🌶️

This was a fun romcom with a pairing I haven’t seen before (influencer + MIB agent). It was cute and campy with a touch of drama.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The love child of the Ex Files and Men in Black, Love at First Sighting concerns a UFO sighting, a social media influencer, a government agent, and a conspiracy gone wrong and all of it is out of this world romantic. El Martin, aforementioned social media influencer, witnesses a UFO sighting that changes everything (if anyone would actually believe her). The only person who does is Carter Brody, agent for the Private Intelligence Sector tasked with keeping tabs on her. But Carter is drawn to El for more personal reasons: mainly the death of his father many years ago—who bore witness to the same object El saw careening through the sky only nights prior. With a UFO mystery afoot, Carter and El will become unlikely allies and unexpected partners and lovers, as they race to uncover the truth before it’s too late.

If you like your romances served with an entire plate of chaos and absurdity (affectionate), then look no further than Mallory Marlowe’s latest, Love at First Sighting. I’m big on the unconventional duo’s and social media influencer x government agent has to be the icing on the unconventional cake. Love with a dash of the paranormal is always the right call especially for autumn and this one leans heavily into alien sightings and all the conspiracies you've read about. With a slower build, Love at First Sighting gives a lot to its two perspectives, El and Carter—how they are different, and what exactly makes them the best of partners even when they aren't chasing down UFO’s and breaking and entering. Love within the quirks is something I have come to adore. Here it’s chewing gum, suspenders, and Carly Rae Jepsen songs, all of which are essential to the romance. This is a romance for those who don't just think of extraterrestrial contact as a far off possibility, but know it’s here, and anyone craving more romance formed in the fire of the paranormal.

Bookstagram | Blog

[Sarah | Kerosene.Lit · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked Love and Other Conspiracies by Mallory Marlowe, so I was very excited to jump into this one that follows a social media influencer who stumbles across a potential UFO. But unfortunately, this wasn't it for me.

The setup was definitely fun, but the execution was a little too over-the-top. The agency Carter works for gave off a Men in Black vibe, which might have worked better for me if it didn’t feel quite so silly. The trilby hat and suspenders uniform that he wore everywhere did not help. I don’t know, it just felt very different from the tone of the first book, which at least had some sense of realness.

This one leaned more into romantic suspense, which isn’t really my jam, and I struggled to connect with the story. The character backstories felt a bit underdeveloped, and the portrayal of lifestyle influencers bordered on caricature. Everyone aside from El was so exaggerated and terrible that it took me out of the story.

There were certainly aspects I enjoyed, like El finding a sense of adventure through Carter and recognizing how unfulfilling her carefully curated lifestyle is. But overall, this was sadly a miss for me.

(heat level: 3 open-door scenes, moderate details)

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Caraline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything I've ever wanted in a romance book was in this one! No third act break up, a mix of romance AND mystery, made better by the subplot of UFO tracking and government cover ups! Need I say more?

We follow El and Carter as their paths cross after El's chance encounter with a UFO while live-streaming. Carter works for PIS, the government agency that oversees UFO sightings and subsequent coverups. As they embark on a journey to track down the UFO El claims she saw and seek answers to questions from Carter's past, El & Carter find a little bit more than that.

I found this book to be so fun & unique! A romance I truly have never read before, but one I have always been looking for. I appreciated that the overall mood was playful and unserious while both main characters were very mature and entertaining. The character growth we got to see from both El and Carter were really beautiful and I look forward to reading more books from Mallory Marlowe in the future!

Thank you to Mallory Marlowe, Berkley, & NetGalley for sending me an early copy!🖤

[Charity (Booktrovert Reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't as good as the first one. But I enjoyed it.

Note: The first book was amazing, can't wait to read the second one!

[Jill (readinginpjs) · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was such a cute & fun adventure, and I loved the dynamic between El & Carter! 🥰

Thank you Berkley Publishing & Penguin Random House Audio for the eARC & ALC. All opinions are my own.

✦ tropes & stuff:
🛸 solving mysteries + ufo sightings
🛸 (underestimated) influencer fmc
🛸 man in black cinnamon roll mmc
🛸 cute banter
🛸 family trauma/baggage and secrets
🛸 found family
🛸 dual 1st person pov

•┈••✦ review ✦••┈•

🎧 audio/ebook | ⭐️: 4.25 | 🌶️: 3 |

El & Carter were just the sweetest characters, and I loved seeing their growth throughout the story.

They really supported & brought out the best in one another, even if on the surface they didn’t seem like a match.
Both were underestimated, and meeting each other gave them the space & support to be their true selves 🥹

The mystery element was a fun addition to the romance, adding some suspense to the story as well 😍

🎧 audiobook thoughts:
I’m totally obsessed with Elizabeth Lamont, and loved her as El! Iggy Toma was the perfect fit for Carter’s character too.

📖 Love at First Sighting by Mallory Marlowe
💜: paranormal romance (+suspense/mystery)
🎙 narrated by: Elizabeth Lamont & Iggy Toma

*Connect with Me*
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[♥Milica♥]

Aliens and X-Files vibes OH I'M SEATED

[megs_bookrack]

ARC received!! Thank you so much, Berkley!!



I'm obsessed with this cover and really enjoyed Love and Other Conspiracies. I'm so excited to get to this one!

[Christina O’Keefe · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
👽 dual POV
👽 1st person POV
👽 single timeline
👽 ALIENS!
👽 influencers
👽 Men in Black 🤪
👽 a little mystery ✨

The plot of this book was so silly; I absolutely loved it!! I love that this author writes books that a little bit out of the norm, because there are so many similar books out there (you can really only tell so many stories 🤪🤪) but this one was so different!! I rarely ever read the descriptions before I read a book, so I was very pleasantly surprised as soon as I started reading.
I really enjoyed the writing style and the humour in this one; it made a very fun and exciting read that I did not want to put down. I love books about influencers because it is just so relatable in this day and time.
I love when a book includes multiple story-telling formats, in addition to narrated storytelling. This one included emails, blog posts and comments, and it really adds so much to the story. It makes it so fun to read seeing all these other pieces that the author spent time on adding into the story.
I am a thriller girl at heart, so I really liked that this “romance” book also had some mystery to it 💜💜 The best of both worlds ❣️❣️
I loved the main characters right from the start ❣️❣️
I really appreciated all the references to things I love in the real world, like TV shows, movies, places 🩷🩷 It made the story that much more relatable to me.
Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing and Mallory Marlowe for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review 💕💕 I absolutely loved this one ❣️❣️

[Rolé - Hooked By That Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the writing style and the humor in this book. Carter and El were both fun and interesting characters and Carter was just so adorable. But the plot left me less than enthused. I had a lot of questions about the objectives of PIS and their methods, and the motivations of the people surrounding the events towards the end.

[Christi (christireadsalot) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars! I really loved Love and Other Conspiracies by this author last year so I was excited about this new standalone romance. This one didn’t live up to how fun I found L&OC, but it was still an easy enjoyable listen full of banter, slow burn, mystery, action, alien spotting, and a secret government (think Men in Black) hero.

El (short for Ariel) is a social media influencer who one night spots a shiny unidentified flying object and live streams it on her socials. The footage goes viral quickly but the next day her video has disappeared and a charming Man in Black is following her around. Carter is assigned her case and to follow her around, he also has some ties to seeing the same thing himself years ago and wanting to follow in the footsteps of his father. This book leans more into the mystery plot of it all, he’s a cinnamon roll type hero and I just wasn’t as invested or blown away by the characters/couple in this one. A super quick easy audiobook to fly through!

I received an ARC, all thoughts in this review are my own.

[whatkelseysreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe 4.5?! All I know is I’m officially making Mallory Marlowe an auto-buy author!!👏 she was not a one hit wonder!!

What do you get when you mix a cinnamon roll Man in Black and an influencer on the brink of cancellation? A hilarious and heartwarming rom-COM🥹

A mysterious UFO sighting, a secret government agency, an unlikely duo teaming up to figure out what is going on and who is hiding what! They had banter, they had chemistry! They’re both underdogs who believe in the other! There was no third act break up!

Dual POV (+ fantastic narration on audio!!!) - if you liked her debut you’ll love this one too! It’s so cute with a few spicy scenes too and I binged it in a day! Highly recommend!!🤩

[jaycie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an X-Files lover, this was so fun! I went into this thinking it would be a silly little romance with some UFO chatter. 🛸💞👽

Instead I got:
• plenty of heart-racing scenes (The Rookie playing as ambience didn’t help regulate my anxiety)
• emotional moments for our characters together and as individuals
• cutesy flirting between our mmc & fmc

El & Carter are so precious and each deserves a big, fat hug!!🫂

There were definitely some cheesy (and sometimes cringy) moments, but I went into this wanting my OG X-files characters to come to live again in an alternate universe. The vibes were great!

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was the perfect summer weekend read! Five stars for this adorable, sweet, steamy, and hilarious romance with a terrific mystery. I loved every page of this one!

El Martin is a very popular influencer. One evening while she is taking pictures, she encounters something odd. Something chases her, and she shares her encounter with her followers. This attracts the attention of a government agency.

Enter Agent Carter Brody. His job is to convince El that she didn’t see what she saw. But soon enough, El and Carter develop feelings for each other. This begins a romantic comedy/mystery that is one of the sweetest I have ever read.

El and Carter both have histories that have trauma and sadness and grief. They really find each other at the perfect time. I absolutely loved reading their journey. I also laughed out loud so many times with this one. This book is fun, and it will also tug at your heartstrings - in the best ways. It also has a great mystery.

But that ending - I loved it! I truly enjoyed spending time with El and Carter.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the opportunity to read this fantastic book! I cannot wait to read more from this author. This book is out on August 12th - pick it up!

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.5 Stars) Thank you @berkleyromance and @prhaudio for the #gifted advanced digital and audio copies! #berkley #berkleyromance #prhaudioinfluencer

El Martin lives the perfectly curated life of a social media influencer - on instagram she’s always flattering angles, product placements, and good filters. But she’s beginning to wonder if anyone, including herself, knows who she really is. Then when returning from a photo shoot, she has an ENCOUNTER. And she live streamed it. Now, her fellow influencers think she’s lost it, her follower count is dropping, and there is a legitimate MAN IN BLACK after her. That man in black is Carter Brody, who works for the aging, antiquated Private Intelligence Sector responsible for hiding extraterrestrial sightings. But El’s case is different for Carter, because it mirrors the case that changed the trajectory of his childhood. Together, Carter and El form an unlikely pair as they race to, often haphazardly, solve the mystery from his past and her present. And it just might result for an unexpected future for them together.

In Mallory’s debut, Love and Other Conspiracies, I fell in love with her unique brand of heart and humor. It is also where she plants the seed of the “men in black” agency that ties the books together. I love books that can be hilarious, action-packed and swoon-worthy - and this one checks all those boxes. It is a quick, wildly-entertaining read and I cannot wait for Marlowe’s next book!

🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: Elizabeth Lamont (who has narrated 3 of my favorites this year - including this one) and Iggy Toma (new to me!) do a fantastic job with this dual POV narration that leaves us loving Carter and El so much! (8h 54m)