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Modern Love #1
The Right Swipe
Alisha Rai returns with the first book in her sizzling new Modern Love series
Rhiannon Hunter may have revolutionised 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 then 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...
'I absolutely loved it: Strong, successful, unapologetically ambitious alpha woman. Huge, muscly, softy, emotionally intelligent guy. Crackling connection. Cackle-worthy dialogue . . . I HIGHLY recommend' Sally Thorne, New York Times bestselling author of The Hating Game
'Rai crafts some of the best romance writing of the year' Entertainment Weekly
403 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 6, 2019
1125 people are currently reading
37513 people want to read
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June 10, 2025Alisha Rai has a real talent for writing lovable characters and handling their struggles gracefully. I was surprised at how quickly I became invested in the story, as dating app development and football injuries are not things that usually take up a lot of my limited brain space, and I feel completely satisfied with how everything wrapped up in the end.
the only thing I wish had been different was regarding the actual romance itself. It was cute, but I found myself more invested in Samson and Rhiannon separately, rather than as a pair. The new soft bitch in my brain was waiting for the overwhelming wave of “I will die if these two people don’t smooch” feeling. But, alas, it never came. (I did however feel a lot of “I will die if Rhiannon’s app-related dreams don’t come true” & my ghost is not typing this review, so that is positive)
the only thing I wish had been different was regarding the actual romance itself. It was cute, but I found myself more invested in Samson and Rhiannon separately, rather than as a pair. The new soft bitch in my brain was waiting for the overwhelming wave of “I will die if these two people don’t smooch” feeling. But, alas, it never came. (I did however feel a lot of “I will die if Rhiannon’s app-related dreams don’t come true” & my ghost is not typing this review, so that is positive)
August 5, 2019
“Rhiannon Hunter worshipped at the altar of no man.”
The Right Swipe was my first time reading Alisha Rai; filled with promising tones of empowerment and feminism, it held so much potential. Unfortunately, this one was not for me and while I loved discovering more about online dating and the power that female emancipation can show through text; I failed to enjoy it for what it was primarily advertised as -romance.
_______________
Our Characters
I will always credit an author for creating a unit comprising of diverse and unique characters. This book focused on people of color as well as different sexualities and ethnicities. However, my first problem arose when I couldn't relate to our main character, Rhiannon Hunter.
Firstly, do not get me wrong. I, like many others that read contemporary romance, absolutely loathe a main character (especially a female) that is a human rendition of a welcome mat. I love my gals powerful and confident! Yet, I found Rhiannon to be at the extreme side of this and her hard-headed and callous attitude towards quite a lot of things to be off-putting. I was hoping we would see her character traits develop through the novel, but she remained intensely indignant and cold throughout. Additionally, her character arc leaves so much room for the audience to want to understand more of why she is so hard, but I felt like everything could have just been more. On the other hand, I also found the love interest - Samson - to be bland and underwhelming for the most part. Their story (although slightly cliche) had such a great premise, and I enjoyed seeing the plot unfold (rather than being told what was happening).
During my initial read of this book, I was really excited and I enjoyed meeting all our characters and understanding their backstory. During this time, I thought things would pick up and the chemistry between Samson and Rhi would spark. Sadly, I didn't experience the usual flutters and satisfaction that I adore when reading an exhilarating romance novel. Yet, I still think many people will (and have) come to love this book simply for its different approach to romance. I also think many people will (and have) think this is a kickass book all in all. Still, I remain true to my "it's not you, it's me" mindset.
Our Plot
I actually reached out to the author to understand a quote in this book that I was unsure of and her reply lead me to a bunch of articles on feminist theory that had me digging deeper. It started becoming apparent that I was more interested in that then the story between Samson and Rhi. In truth, there were just too many things that I didn't connect with in this book.
Even though this wasn't right for me, I can say that I could definitely feel the passion Alisha Rai has on certain topics and it showcases with a high degree of sophistication. I only wish I related to the characters or the storyline more.
The true intent and message of this book warrants five stars in itself but I was told I would be getting a swoon-worthy romantic comedy and while TRW is not without merit, I felt like it was lacking quite a bit in that department. It has a plot filled with relevant topics that debate the misogynistic and unequal demographics of the tertiary workforce as well as women empowering other women that isn't often found in contemporary romance. For that, it's a triumph.
The quotes in this review are taken from an ARC and are subject to change preceding final publication.
The Right Swipe was my first time reading Alisha Rai; filled with promising tones of empowerment and feminism, it held so much potential. Unfortunately, this one was not for me and while I loved discovering more about online dating and the power that female emancipation can show through text; I failed to enjoy it for what it was primarily advertised as -romance.
_______________
Our Characters
I will always credit an author for creating a unit comprising of diverse and unique characters. This book focused on people of color as well as different sexualities and ethnicities. However, my first problem arose when I couldn't relate to our main character, Rhiannon Hunter.
“This has to do with success.” If that success was also about revenge, well. Rhiannon couldn’t help that. “I’ll talk to Samson. Listen to him, talk to him, get my closure.” Rhiannon shrugged. “And then, I’ll ask him for a favor.” When he was feeling bad.
Firstly, do not get me wrong. I, like many others that read contemporary romance, absolutely loathe a main character (especially a female) that is a human rendition of a welcome mat. I love my gals powerful and confident! Yet, I found Rhiannon to be at the extreme side of this and her hard-headed and callous attitude towards quite a lot of things to be off-putting. I was hoping we would see her character traits develop through the novel, but she remained intensely indignant and cold throughout. Additionally, her character arc leaves so much room for the audience to want to understand more of why she is so hard, but I felt like everything could have just been more. On the other hand, I also found the love interest - Samson - to be bland and underwhelming for the most part. Their story (although slightly cliche) had such a great premise, and I enjoyed seeing the plot unfold (rather than being told what was happening).
During my initial read of this book, I was really excited and I enjoyed meeting all our characters and understanding their backstory. During this time, I thought things would pick up and the chemistry between Samson and Rhi would spark. Sadly, I didn't experience the usual flutters and satisfaction that I adore when reading an exhilarating romance novel. Yet, I still think many people will (and have) come to love this book simply for its different approach to romance. I also think many people will (and have) think this is a kickass book all in all. Still, I remain true to my "it's not you, it's me" mindset.
Our Plot
I actually reached out to the author to understand a quote in this book that I was unsure of and her reply lead me to a bunch of articles on feminist theory that had me digging deeper. It started becoming apparent that I was more interested in that then the story between Samson and Rhi. In truth, there were just too many things that I didn't connect with in this book.
Even though this wasn't right for me, I can say that I could definitely feel the passion Alisha Rai has on certain topics and it showcases with a high degree of sophistication. I only wish I related to the characters or the storyline more.
The true intent and message of this book warrants five stars in itself but I was told I would be getting a swoon-worthy romantic comedy and while TRW is not without merit, I felt like it was lacking quite a bit in that department. It has a plot filled with relevant topics that debate the misogynistic and unequal demographics of the tertiary workforce as well as women empowering other women that isn't often found in contemporary romance. For that, it's a triumph.
The quotes in this review are taken from an ARC and are subject to change preceding final publication.
March 2, 2022
What’s the romance got to do, got to do with this book! What’s this heroin who hasn’t even second hand emotion! Who needs to read this book when it gives you only disappointment… TWO sulking, unsatisfied, B-list STARS are coming from red-haired lady!
( Special apologizes to legendary Tina Turner for the worst cover of her song)
This year I had terrible experiences with romance book, all my favorite writers shocked me with their haphazardly released non-creative stories with unlikable bunch of characters such as unwitty, doormat heroines, douchebag narcissistic heroes! So I put all my trust to the romcoms lately. I read really good examples such as Honeymooners, There’s something about Sweetie, Bride Test, Faker, Don’t you forget about me!
So as I took this book in my hands and I thought I could work with online dating, enemies to lovers, non-stop texting or sexting kind of elements. But lately I understood I couldn’t be so wrong.
FIRST ALARM BELL RANG:
Oh God! I HATE THIS BOOK’S CHARACTERS SOOO MUCH which gave me a real crazy idea!
I’m planning to be founder of “Worst Literary Characters Extermination Club” or “SLAP YOUR WORST CHARACTER CLUB” (you can pick alternative names like punch the heroine club or beat the shit out scumbag womanizer hero club.) to help the devoted readers not to waste their precious time to understand their motives, push themselves hard to connect with them and finally save them to get betrayed by the author’s lack of character developing abilities.
First rule of the club: Be free to talk about the club!
Second rule of the club: Be free to talk loudly about club! So all the authors will have second thoughts when they create their unlikable characters and they will hesitate to torture us! Hell yeah!
My services will start to pull the plug of the characters! I visualize to send hired killers to get rid of those unrealistic, obnoxious characters who pissed us off so badly so by getting rid of them by sending those to the literary hell to burn forever would be best favor I could do for the loyal, honest readers to save them from hurt feelings.
Rhiannon Hunter could be most detestable fictional character. In my opinion being ruthless shark, over competitive at the work side are not the definitions of feminism. This is definition of a woman who read “Atlas Shrugged” million times and turned herself into worst savage version of incarnated Ayn Rand. She acted like somebody stabbed a fork in her ass that she had no intention to take it off indeed she enjoyed her situation. She is so paranoid and accusing when it comes to form a relationship with a man.
Also the Samson is not a credible character. He is overly prefect, too good to be true! I didn’t want to buy the brain injury, concussion kind of baggage stories, too because lately it seemed like all the authors made a pact to use the same background traumatic story instead of finding another heart wrecking solution to help us empathize with the character.
There is no angst, no heartbreak, no edgy conversations, no deep sexual chemistry in this story. So I’m out for new romance-take out because I have craving but this book is LEFT ME HANGRY!
( Special apologizes to legendary Tina Turner for the worst cover of her song)
This year I had terrible experiences with romance book, all my favorite writers shocked me with their haphazardly released non-creative stories with unlikable bunch of characters such as unwitty, doormat heroines, douchebag narcissistic heroes! So I put all my trust to the romcoms lately. I read really good examples such as Honeymooners, There’s something about Sweetie, Bride Test, Faker, Don’t you forget about me!
So as I took this book in my hands and I thought I could work with online dating, enemies to lovers, non-stop texting or sexting kind of elements. But lately I understood I couldn’t be so wrong.
FIRST ALARM BELL RANG:
Oh God! I HATE THIS BOOK’S CHARACTERS SOOO MUCH which gave me a real crazy idea!
I’m planning to be founder of “Worst Literary Characters Extermination Club” or “SLAP YOUR WORST CHARACTER CLUB” (you can pick alternative names like punch the heroine club or beat the shit out scumbag womanizer hero club.) to help the devoted readers not to waste their precious time to understand their motives, push themselves hard to connect with them and finally save them to get betrayed by the author’s lack of character developing abilities.
First rule of the club: Be free to talk about the club!
Second rule of the club: Be free to talk loudly about club! So all the authors will have second thoughts when they create their unlikable characters and they will hesitate to torture us! Hell yeah!
My services will start to pull the plug of the characters! I visualize to send hired killers to get rid of those unrealistic, obnoxious characters who pissed us off so badly so by getting rid of them by sending those to the literary hell to burn forever would be best favor I could do for the loyal, honest readers to save them from hurt feelings.
Rhiannon Hunter could be most detestable fictional character. In my opinion being ruthless shark, over competitive at the work side are not the definitions of feminism. This is definition of a woman who read “Atlas Shrugged” million times and turned herself into worst savage version of incarnated Ayn Rand. She acted like somebody stabbed a fork in her ass that she had no intention to take it off indeed she enjoyed her situation. She is so paranoid and accusing when it comes to form a relationship with a man.
Also the Samson is not a credible character. He is overly prefect, too good to be true! I didn’t want to buy the brain injury, concussion kind of baggage stories, too because lately it seemed like all the authors made a pact to use the same background traumatic story instead of finding another heart wrecking solution to help us empathize with the character.
There is no angst, no heartbreak, no edgy conversations, no deep sexual chemistry in this story. So I’m out for new romance-take out because I have craving but this book is LEFT ME HANGRY!
August 7, 2019
Don't you just love it when a book lives up to your expectations? THIS WAS SO GOOOOOOOD. If you're looking for a sexy and smart romance with a strong ass female lead, THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU. I loved it SO MUCH.
August 24, 2019
RTC <3
➽ Content and Trigger Warnings:
Sexual harassment, cyber bullying and harassment, domestic verbal abuse
(From Saniya’s short but amazing review that I love!)
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This was the August pick for the Dragons and Tea Book Club! 🐉☕
March 19, 2025
If this book was written, published, and read by Goodreads users the world over as part of an elaborate plan to teach me empathy, let me tell you: it worked.
https://emmareadstoomuch.substack.com...
I am usually on one side of the negative-rating equation, giving low ratings and rant reviews to people’s favorite books that they find inexplicable, presumably dropping to their knees and shouting WHYYYYYYY?! heavenward.
But oh, how the turntables…
Because now, I am reviewing a fairly low-rated book well, and I am SO CONFUSED.
Now I understand how you all feel when you see that I gave a Harry Potter book one star. (Well not really. But I’m closer to it than I was.)
I had to read negative reviews of this book to try to figure out why people didn’t like it, because I legitimately couldn’t fathom it. And while I don’t understand the urge to comment on said opposing review and refute every point (WHY DO PEOPLE DO THAT! WRITE YOUR OWN REVIEW!), at least I can say that at one time in my life I enjoyed a book and then immediately read a negative review of it.
Which, I must say, has always seemed like an unhinged move from my perspective. Hurting your own feelings on purpose? Couldn’t be me.
Anyway. A lot of people complained about our main character, Rhi, being too abrasive/hard-headed and too inclined to jump to conclusions, but I didn’t feel that way. I thought this was a realistic portrayal of people with trust issues, a woman who has been traumatized by a past relationship. This book didn’t choose to glorify the aftermath of such manipulation. Traumatized people can be hard to love and that’s a difficult thing to reckon with, but it’s true.
Some people took issue with the romance, but I liked it too. I liked the idea of two people being like “hey we can both be difficult so let’s just deal with it together and be in love!” That’s nice.
And I loved that Rhi had a tight-knit group of family and friends and coworkers who supported her, because that, besides potentially swoon-worthy reconciliations, is my favorite part of rom-coms.
Honestly, the only issues I really had with this were the kind of teeny-tiny observations that are part of my charm (by which I mean evidence that I have gotten completely out of control).
Here are some of those minuscule things, for your reading (dis)pleasure:
- Talk shows don’t have plastic single-use water bottles. They have water in branded mugs. The plastic of the bottle would be hell on a sound editor for god’s sake.
- Though Rhi’s love interest, whose name I honestly don’t remember, is a former professional football player, I at no point got the impression that the author is any kind of expert.
- WHY WOULD PORTLAND, OREGON HAVE A FOOTBALL TEAM.
- The mechanics of the way people who are not our main characters treat each other - in terms of suddenly deciding when they will date and who and why and for how long - did not track.
But otherwise I found this to be a pleasant surprise.
Bottom line: A delight!
-----------
tbr review
there's no problem a rom-com can't solve
(if this isn't true, don't tell me. i'm fragile)
https://emmareadstoomuch.substack.com...
I am usually on one side of the negative-rating equation, giving low ratings and rant reviews to people’s favorite books that they find inexplicable, presumably dropping to their knees and shouting WHYYYYYYY?! heavenward.
But oh, how the turntables…
Because now, I am reviewing a fairly low-rated book well, and I am SO CONFUSED.
Now I understand how you all feel when you see that I gave a Harry Potter book one star. (Well not really. But I’m closer to it than I was.)
I had to read negative reviews of this book to try to figure out why people didn’t like it, because I legitimately couldn’t fathom it. And while I don’t understand the urge to comment on said opposing review and refute every point (WHY DO PEOPLE DO THAT! WRITE YOUR OWN REVIEW!), at least I can say that at one time in my life I enjoyed a book and then immediately read a negative review of it.
Which, I must say, has always seemed like an unhinged move from my perspective. Hurting your own feelings on purpose? Couldn’t be me.
Anyway. A lot of people complained about our main character, Rhi, being too abrasive/hard-headed and too inclined to jump to conclusions, but I didn’t feel that way. I thought this was a realistic portrayal of people with trust issues, a woman who has been traumatized by a past relationship. This book didn’t choose to glorify the aftermath of such manipulation. Traumatized people can be hard to love and that’s a difficult thing to reckon with, but it’s true.
Some people took issue with the romance, but I liked it too. I liked the idea of two people being like “hey we can both be difficult so let’s just deal with it together and be in love!” That’s nice.
And I loved that Rhi had a tight-knit group of family and friends and coworkers who supported her, because that, besides potentially swoon-worthy reconciliations, is my favorite part of rom-coms.
Honestly, the only issues I really had with this were the kind of teeny-tiny observations that are part of my charm (by which I mean evidence that I have gotten completely out of control).
Here are some of those minuscule things, for your reading (dis)pleasure:
- Talk shows don’t have plastic single-use water bottles. They have water in branded mugs. The plastic of the bottle would be hell on a sound editor for god’s sake.
- Though Rhi’s love interest, whose name I honestly don’t remember, is a former professional football player, I at no point got the impression that the author is any kind of expert.
- WHY WOULD PORTLAND, OREGON HAVE A FOOTBALL TEAM.
- The mechanics of the way people who are not our main characters treat each other - in terms of suddenly deciding when they will date and who and why and for how long - did not track.
But otherwise I found this to be a pleasant surprise.
Bottom line: A delight!
-----------
tbr review
there's no problem a rom-com can't solve
(if this isn't true, don't tell me. i'm fragile)
March 19, 2023
Rhiannon Hunter is a successful business woman with only one thing on her mind. No, not that. It's actually her career.
As the founder and CEO of a successful dating app, she wants nothing more than to expand her company's reach and influence.
Currently, Rhiannon has her sights set on a rival company, whose just lost one of their founders. The remaining owner, Annabelle, seems like she could be persuaded to sell, if Rhiannon could come up with just the right pitch.
Samson Lima is a former pro-football player, who happens to be Annabelle's nephew.
He also happens to be the hot guy that Rhi hooked up with one magical night and then subsequently ghosted her.
When Rhi spots him at an industry event, she runs. This is the last person she ever wants to see again!
When Samson and Rhi are forced to work together, however, sparks begin to fly. Privately, of course. Neither one of them is about to communicate what they are feeling with the other.
In the beginning, I'll be honest, I wasn't sure I was going to connect with this. Rhi felt too rigid in the beginning, but once I learned more about her character, her behavior started to make a lot of sense.
In fact, as a person who has been burned before, she became incredibly relatable and by the end, I absolutely adored her.
Samson, I loved right from the start. Rai made him fairly irresistible. His relationship with his Aunt Annabelle was so heart-warming to read.
Actually, all of his relationships were pretty great. His friend group is definitely goals; so cute.
As with many Adult Romances, the drama mainly revolves around miscommunications and misconnections, which I know for a lot of people can be frustrating.
I think Rai did a great job though of resolving things in a timely manner. I never felt like I wanted to beat my head against a wall, so that's a plus.
Also, can we all agree that verbalizing desires and consent is sexy AF?
The steamy scenes were great. There were just enough to add that extra-pearl clutching factor without diminishing the other serious subplots.
I love football, so thought it was nice to see the issue of CTE, and the League's initial reaction to it, spotlighted here. Samson's life was filled with individuals impacted by the degenerative brain disease and I thought that was displayed so well.
I also love business, so Rhi's issues were equally interesting. Overall, I felt it was a very well-rounded story.
I'm so excited to continue on with Rai's, Modern Love series. This definitely exceeded my expectations.
I believe the next story follows Rhi's silent partner, and sometimes roommate, Katrina. I'm looking forward to it!!
As the founder and CEO of a successful dating app, she wants nothing more than to expand her company's reach and influence.
Currently, Rhiannon has her sights set on a rival company, whose just lost one of their founders. The remaining owner, Annabelle, seems like she could be persuaded to sell, if Rhiannon could come up with just the right pitch.
Samson Lima is a former pro-football player, who happens to be Annabelle's nephew.
He also happens to be the hot guy that Rhi hooked up with one magical night and then subsequently ghosted her.
When Rhi spots him at an industry event, she runs. This is the last person she ever wants to see again!
When Samson and Rhi are forced to work together, however, sparks begin to fly. Privately, of course. Neither one of them is about to communicate what they are feeling with the other.
In the beginning, I'll be honest, I wasn't sure I was going to connect with this. Rhi felt too rigid in the beginning, but once I learned more about her character, her behavior started to make a lot of sense.
In fact, as a person who has been burned before, she became incredibly relatable and by the end, I absolutely adored her.
Samson, I loved right from the start. Rai made him fairly irresistible. His relationship with his Aunt Annabelle was so heart-warming to read.
Actually, all of his relationships were pretty great. His friend group is definitely goals; so cute.
As with many Adult Romances, the drama mainly revolves around miscommunications and misconnections, which I know for a lot of people can be frustrating.
I think Rai did a great job though of resolving things in a timely manner. I never felt like I wanted to beat my head against a wall, so that's a plus.
Also, can we all agree that verbalizing desires and consent is sexy AF?
The steamy scenes were great. There were just enough to add that extra-pearl clutching factor without diminishing the other serious subplots.
I love football, so thought it was nice to see the issue of CTE, and the League's initial reaction to it, spotlighted here. Samson's life was filled with individuals impacted by the degenerative brain disease and I thought that was displayed so well.
I also love business, so Rhi's issues were equally interesting. Overall, I felt it was a very well-rounded story.
I'm so excited to continue on with Rai's, Modern Love series. This definitely exceeded my expectations.
I believe the next story follows Rhi's silent partner, and sometimes roommate, Katrina. I'm looking forward to it!!
October 5, 2019
It's never good when my predominant feeling while reading a book is boredom. The Right Swipe should have been a fun, breezy modern-day romance, but instead it felt like slogging through 400 pages of molasses.
Almost from the first page, that spark of interest and excitement I should feel while reading a new book was missing. I thought if I kept going, it would eventually show up, but it never did. I think a large reason is that I just couldn't relate to the main female character, Rhiannon. She's extremely rigid in her view of relationships and weirdly sensitive to any perceived slights. She's constantly on her guard waiting for the other person to slip up, and when that inevitably happens, she jumps up and down on them and pretty much says "I knew you're no good!" Sorry girl, but if that's your attitude, your relationships are doomed to failure.
The writing also came across as stilted and awkward. The author writes in detail about everything, including every business meeting, every conversation with friends, every thought in the characters heads. It came across as if I, the reader, is quite dumb and must have every interaction spelled out in triplicate detail for me to understand. I don't need a plot point harped upon in so many different ways... I got it. The phrase "leave them wanting more" obviously doesn't apply here.
And for all that quantity, there was no quality. The dialog lacked wit, the main characters had no chemistry, and the plot line was unimaginative and plodding. This reading experience is like being accosted by a rambling relative known for telling long and pointless stories, and you can't escape. Sigh.
Maybe I need to take a break from light romances and romcoms. The last few I've read have been disappointing across the board. The conflicts have been surprisingly contrived and the characters were unlikable, one-dimensional extremes of who they should be. Without likable and relatable characters, what's even the point of a romance?
Almost from the first page, that spark of interest and excitement I should feel while reading a new book was missing. I thought if I kept going, it would eventually show up, but it never did. I think a large reason is that I just couldn't relate to the main female character, Rhiannon. She's extremely rigid in her view of relationships and weirdly sensitive to any perceived slights. She's constantly on her guard waiting for the other person to slip up, and when that inevitably happens, she jumps up and down on them and pretty much says "I knew you're no good!" Sorry girl, but if that's your attitude, your relationships are doomed to failure.
The writing also came across as stilted and awkward. The author writes in detail about everything, including every business meeting, every conversation with friends, every thought in the characters heads. It came across as if I, the reader, is quite dumb and must have every interaction spelled out in triplicate detail for me to understand. I don't need a plot point harped upon in so many different ways... I got it. The phrase "leave them wanting more" obviously doesn't apply here.
And for all that quantity, there was no quality. The dialog lacked wit, the main characters had no chemistry, and the plot line was unimaginative and plodding. This reading experience is like being accosted by a rambling relative known for telling long and pointless stories, and you can't escape. Sigh.
Maybe I need to take a break from light romances and romcoms. The last few I've read have been disappointing across the board. The conflicts have been surprisingly contrived and the characters were unlikable, one-dimensional extremes of who they should be. Without likable and relatable characters, what's even the point of a romance?
October 24, 2020
Alisha Rai has become quite the popular name in romance lately, so I have been dying to pick up a book of hers. There are so many romances out now about dating apps and websites, but I loved how this one was about someone who actually owned a dating app company. I couldn't wait to read it!
Ever since Rhiannon left her old job on bad terms, she is determined to succeed by starting her own dating app with her best friend. Now, Rhiannon's app is very successful and she's looking to buy a competing dating company. The last person she expects to find as the new face of the company, though, is the guy she had a one night stand with who ghosted her immediately after. Rhiannon has no desire to even talk to Samson again, but Samson is determined to try again with Rhiannon. Can she let him in?
First of all, I'm all for a good romance, but I love when the two characters falling in love have so much to their storylines. Both Samson and Rhiannon have two separate lives and separate problems going on that need to be resolved. While they were trying to figure out their relationship, they were also dealing with their own conflicts that were equally as important to them.
As for the romance, I really loved how Rhiannon made Samson really work for her attention and for that second chance. Both of the characters have really rough pasts, so it was really nice seeing them learn to trust each other and grow closer to one another.
Overall, this was a super sweet romance that had a lot of depth and layers to the story. I really enjoyed the messages about work place harassment and CTE (concussions in the football industry) this book dealt with, along with the diversity among all of the characters. If you want a refreshing, timely romance, I'd definitely recommend picking this one up!
Ever since Rhiannon left her old job on bad terms, she is determined to succeed by starting her own dating app with her best friend. Now, Rhiannon's app is very successful and she's looking to buy a competing dating company. The last person she expects to find as the new face of the company, though, is the guy she had a one night stand with who ghosted her immediately after. Rhiannon has no desire to even talk to Samson again, but Samson is determined to try again with Rhiannon. Can she let him in?
First of all, I'm all for a good romance, but I love when the two characters falling in love have so much to their storylines. Both Samson and Rhiannon have two separate lives and separate problems going on that need to be resolved. While they were trying to figure out their relationship, they were also dealing with their own conflicts that were equally as important to them.
As for the romance, I really loved how Rhiannon made Samson really work for her attention and for that second chance. Both of the characters have really rough pasts, so it was really nice seeing them learn to trust each other and grow closer to one another.
Overall, this was a super sweet romance that had a lot of depth and layers to the story. I really enjoyed the messages about work place harassment and CTE (concussions in the football industry) this book dealt with, along with the diversity among all of the characters. If you want a refreshing, timely romance, I'd definitely recommend picking this one up!
August 25, 2019
3-3.5 stars
I was really excited to read this book, as I loved the cover and synopsis and I’ve only heard good things about the author. I loved the idea of the characters meeting on this dating app and their jobs coming into play. I mostly liked this one, though it didn't give me that connection I craved.
Rhiannon and Samson meet using a hook up app. They have an amazing night together, then it happens. One of them is ghosted. Even though there is a good reason, it’s one thing that the heroine can’t seem to get past. When the two of them run into each other at a work thing, all Samson wants to do is explain.
Rhiannon and Samson begin running into each other a lot and even do a work thing together. With time, she starts to come around to him. The heroine of this story is strong, but stubborn. Too stubborn for me, personally. After hearing her story, I get why she is the way she is, but dang. Poor Samson couldn’t get a break. I found the hero is sweet and lovable, which was a plus.
My biggest problem with this book was maybe more of a ‘me’ problem and not a problem with the book. Overall, I did like the book. But it took me a full week to listen to it (which is crazy long for me) because I never truly felt connected to the characters or invested in their story.
I enjoyed this author’s writing lots and I loved that the characters were diverse and there was more to their stories than what meets the eye. I’m looking forward to continuing on with the series and I hope that the next book gives me that connection.
I was really excited to read this book, as I loved the cover and synopsis and I’ve only heard good things about the author. I loved the idea of the characters meeting on this dating app and their jobs coming into play. I mostly liked this one, though it didn't give me that connection I craved.
Rhiannon and Samson meet using a hook up app. They have an amazing night together, then it happens. One of them is ghosted. Even though there is a good reason, it’s one thing that the heroine can’t seem to get past. When the two of them run into each other at a work thing, all Samson wants to do is explain.
Rhiannon and Samson begin running into each other a lot and even do a work thing together. With time, she starts to come around to him. The heroine of this story is strong, but stubborn. Too stubborn for me, personally. After hearing her story, I get why she is the way she is, but dang. Poor Samson couldn’t get a break. I found the hero is sweet and lovable, which was a plus.
My biggest problem with this book was maybe more of a ‘me’ problem and not a problem with the book. Overall, I did like the book. But it took me a full week to listen to it (which is crazy long for me) because I never truly felt connected to the characters or invested in their story.
I enjoyed this author’s writing lots and I loved that the characters were diverse and there was more to their stories than what meets the eye. I’m looking forward to continuing on with the series and I hope that the next book gives me that connection.
March 11, 2019
I knew before I was even halfway into this book that it would be receiving five stars, and holy hell was I right. This book did not hold back any punches and it offered such a profound story about powerful women of color that also was so touching that I was weeping throughout the last 20% of this book.
My list of things I enjoyed about this book is vast compared to a nonexistent section of things I didn't enjoy. I'll try and write a brief (read: long) list of things I adored about this book.
The representation. This book is primarily about people and women of color, so the main character is a dark-skinned black woman, her best friend and assistant is an Indian lesbian, her other best friend and roommate is a thai-american plus sized woman with agoraphobic anxiety (!!!!!! i need a book about her), the love interest is Samoan, the love interest's two best friends are black, one of whom is a stay-at-home father. That's not even mentioning other side characters. So yeah, this book rocked. The way women of color uplifted and supported each other in this book was also so touching and empowering.
This book dealt with such a diverse and unique array of subplots and handled them all spectacularly. Even the trope of the love interest being a sports player had valuable discussion about mental health and retirement. This book also tackles women of color being in positions of power and how others perceive that, as well as the trust issues Rhiannon experiences.
It's hard to get me to genuinely care about side characters, but even the side characters in this book had full character arcs and contributed meaningfully to the story in their own wholesome ways. I hope this book gets developed into a long, drawn-out spinoff series because I loved all the side characters.
The romance in this..... OOF!!!!! And I'm talking both the angst, the pacing of it, the consent, the steamy scenes..... everything was spectacular. this is SOOO healthy but is never boring or robotic because of it. the characters are still sexy as hell and have genuine and cute and funny interactions alongside maintaining healthy boundaries and communication. LOVED rhi and samson together!
The only complaint that I had during the first half of this book--that Rhiannon's bitter and rock hard side seemed a lot more developed than her soft side--definitely went away by the last half of the book. It was so touching to see women championing other women and to see Rhi's growth in learning to trust and speak out against injustice.
This is NOT a book to miss and I cannot smash the preorder button on Amazon hard enough.
My list of things I enjoyed about this book is vast compared to a nonexistent section of things I didn't enjoy. I'll try and write a brief (read: long) list of things I adored about this book.
The representation. This book is primarily about people and women of color, so the main character is a dark-skinned black woman, her best friend and assistant is an Indian lesbian, her other best friend and roommate is a thai-american plus sized woman with agoraphobic anxiety (!!!!!! i need a book about her), the love interest is Samoan, the love interest's two best friends are black, one of whom is a stay-at-home father. That's not even mentioning other side characters. So yeah, this book rocked. The way women of color uplifted and supported each other in this book was also so touching and empowering.
This book dealt with such a diverse and unique array of subplots and handled them all spectacularly. Even the trope of the love interest being a sports player had valuable discussion about mental health and retirement. This book also tackles women of color being in positions of power and how others perceive that, as well as the trust issues Rhiannon experiences.
It's hard to get me to genuinely care about side characters, but even the side characters in this book had full character arcs and contributed meaningfully to the story in their own wholesome ways. I hope this book gets developed into a long, drawn-out spinoff series because I loved all the side characters.
The romance in this..... OOF!!!!! And I'm talking both the angst, the pacing of it, the consent, the steamy scenes..... everything was spectacular. this is SOOO healthy but is never boring or robotic because of it. the characters are still sexy as hell and have genuine and cute and funny interactions alongside maintaining healthy boundaries and communication. LOVED rhi and samson together!
The only complaint that I had during the first half of this book--that Rhiannon's bitter and rock hard side seemed a lot more developed than her soft side--definitely went away by the last half of the book. It was so touching to see women championing other women and to see Rhi's growth in learning to trust and speak out against injustice.
This is NOT a book to miss and I cannot smash the preorder button on Amazon hard enough.
Read
August 30, 2019I'm not going to bother rating this one. It doesn't matter. This is a perfectly fine romantic arc. The male main character is lovely: big and gentle. That's the kind of male character I love and Samson is absolutely wonderful. His entire arc and the world around him was great. He's the real reason I finished this story.
The problem though, is with Rhiannon, or more specifically the author's representation of Black women in this book. There is absolutely no reason why an African American woman should go through an entire book and have NOT ONE Black female friend. That's quite possibly the most unrealistic thing here. It's even more incomprehensible to have a Black woman in an industry where she is a minority and that is part of her storyline to not have a single Black woman in her orbit. Black women seek one another out when they are isolated. They mentor one another. They befriend one another. They try and protect one another. Rhiannon has none of that. Everyone surrounding her is either white or Asian. Every. Single. Person. For no reason. Samson has more Black people in his life than Rhiannon.
This then makes her relationship with her mother all the more frustrating. She spends the entire novel avoiding her mother. As someone said to me, this is a great device to make sure that she doesn't speak to the only other Black female character in the book. It is entirely possible for Black women to have fraught relationships with her mothers, but the dismissive tone that she uses when even thinking about her mother is completely disrespectful since her mother's greatest sin is that she was a single Black mother trying to raise her Black child to survive in a world that wanted to diminish her, and a mixed, white passing adopted son to feel loved in a world where he felt thrown away. That is her sin. And in return her daughter throws money at her but can't commit to calling her once a week and uses her assistant to avoid her. That's gross.
The book is attempting to present a Black female character who understands that the world will see her one way and that she must protect herself by closing herself off. This is common for Black women in any industry. The problem is Rhiannon doesn't have an interior self to differentiate from her outward self. She *is* closed off and harsh and at times emotionless. So the attempt to subvert the Angry Black Woman stereotype doesn't work, because that's how the author presents her. Whatever emotional vulnerabilty the author attempts to give Rhiannon doesn't work primarily because she doesn't allow herself to be emotionally vulnerable for 95% of the book.
The book spends an inordinate amount of time trying to convince the reader that her employees and colleagues are her family. The found family trope is all well and good, but these are people she pays or to whom she is tied by money. Those can be real bonds, but who is going to push her to really think about her actions? In this book, nearly no one. And I'm consistently wary of non-Black authors writing the found family trope for Black characters because they ignore that Black people have cousins, play cousins, friends who are like sisters etc. (who are usually other Black people) to put them in a context where they are THE ONLY Black person. Why? Why does Rhiannon have to be the token Black person in her life? Why would she want to, if she went to schools where she was one of the only Black people around?
In fact, Samson's world is full of people, some who look like him, some who don't. There's a wonderful and careful discussion of grief and CTE. His characterization puts in relief how Rhiannon did not receive the same attention.
There's also another scene near the end that, for me, ruined the book. The way the book treats Sonya, Rhiannon's mother, is annoying but tolerable right up until the end. In a vulnerable moment where Rhiannon is telling her mother how a throw away piece of advice had harmed her, Sonya takes that in and is sad. And then her white passing son tells her "this isn't about you." How. Fucking. Cruel. Because it *is* about her. She raised these children into relatively healthy and successful adults and they spend the entire novel calling her annoying and saying she's guilt-tripping them. It's disgusting. She does't have to be a saint and they don't have to revere her, but they can show her compassion. And none of that is evident in this novel.
I really wanted to like this book, but I didn't. No matter how much I loved Samson, the shadow of the way Rhiannon and Sonya were written left a bad taste in my mouth. If authors want to write Black characters they would do well to write them with a critical eye to their work and having critical beta readers to help them do so. There's no evidence that that happened here.
The problem though, is with Rhiannon, or more specifically the author's representation of Black women in this book. There is absolutely no reason why an African American woman should go through an entire book and have NOT ONE Black female friend. That's quite possibly the most unrealistic thing here. It's even more incomprehensible to have a Black woman in an industry where she is a minority and that is part of her storyline to not have a single Black woman in her orbit. Black women seek one another out when they are isolated. They mentor one another. They befriend one another. They try and protect one another. Rhiannon has none of that. Everyone surrounding her is either white or Asian. Every. Single. Person. For no reason. Samson has more Black people in his life than Rhiannon.
This then makes her relationship with her mother all the more frustrating. She spends the entire novel avoiding her mother. As someone said to me, this is a great device to make sure that she doesn't speak to the only other Black female character in the book. It is entirely possible for Black women to have fraught relationships with her mothers, but the dismissive tone that she uses when even thinking about her mother is completely disrespectful since her mother's greatest sin is that she was a single Black mother trying to raise her Black child to survive in a world that wanted to diminish her, and a mixed, white passing adopted son to feel loved in a world where he felt thrown away. That is her sin. And in return her daughter throws money at her but can't commit to calling her once a week and uses her assistant to avoid her. That's gross.
The book is attempting to present a Black female character who understands that the world will see her one way and that she must protect herself by closing herself off. This is common for Black women in any industry. The problem is Rhiannon doesn't have an interior self to differentiate from her outward self. She *is* closed off and harsh and at times emotionless. So the attempt to subvert the Angry Black Woman stereotype doesn't work, because that's how the author presents her. Whatever emotional vulnerabilty the author attempts to give Rhiannon doesn't work primarily because she doesn't allow herself to be emotionally vulnerable for 95% of the book.
The book spends an inordinate amount of time trying to convince the reader that her employees and colleagues are her family. The found family trope is all well and good, but these are people she pays or to whom she is tied by money. Those can be real bonds, but who is going to push her to really think about her actions? In this book, nearly no one. And I'm consistently wary of non-Black authors writing the found family trope for Black characters because they ignore that Black people have cousins, play cousins, friends who are like sisters etc. (who are usually other Black people) to put them in a context where they are THE ONLY Black person. Why? Why does Rhiannon have to be the token Black person in her life? Why would she want to, if she went to schools where she was one of the only Black people around?
In fact, Samson's world is full of people, some who look like him, some who don't. There's a wonderful and careful discussion of grief and CTE. His characterization puts in relief how Rhiannon did not receive the same attention.
There's also another scene near the end that, for me, ruined the book. The way the book treats Sonya, Rhiannon's mother, is annoying but tolerable right up until the end. In a vulnerable moment where Rhiannon is telling her mother how a throw away piece of advice had harmed her, Sonya takes that in and is sad. And then her white passing son tells her "this isn't about you." How. Fucking. Cruel. Because it *is* about her. She raised these children into relatively healthy and successful adults and they spend the entire novel calling her annoying and saying she's guilt-tripping them. It's disgusting. She does't have to be a saint and they don't have to revere her, but they can show her compassion. And none of that is evident in this novel.
I really wanted to like this book, but I didn't. No matter how much I loved Samson, the shadow of the way Rhiannon and Sonya were written left a bad taste in my mouth. If authors want to write Black characters they would do well to write them with a critical eye to their work and having critical beta readers to help them do so. There's no evidence that that happened here.
September 13, 2019
I enjoyed this so much!
A female character who’s closed off, broken but runs a fuckin’ empire.
A soft, male character who just gets it, and is too damn caring.
I loved the story line and seeing how the characters developed.
My favourite Alisha Rai book so far.
———————
Here’s to hoping this books provides me favs and I something entertaining and swoon-worthy. 😁
A female character who’s closed off, broken but runs a fuckin’ empire.
A soft, male character who just gets it, and is too damn caring.
I loved the story line and seeing how the characters developed.
My favourite Alisha Rai book so far.
———————
Here’s to hoping this books provides me favs and I something entertaining and swoon-worthy. 😁
September 5, 2019
I've been dying to read this book based on that cover and the blurb, which sounded so enticing, even to a contemporary romance-hater like me. However, though I really enjoyed some aspects of the book, other parts didn't quite work for me.
I love how Alisha Rai gives us diverse MCs and feminist, sex-positive main characters. That's really important to me, and Alisha Rai totally delivered on that front. I liked the plot and the trajectory of the story, even if I had some issues with the personalities of the characters themselves.
I found a bit hard to relate to Rhiannon, who was tough as nails and felt really closed off, even to me as a reader. She was a bit of an overreactor, and though I really grew to understand her more the more I knew of her backstory, I found her to be exceedingly abrasive at times. In contrast, I felt like Samson was forced to be this overly perfect, forgiving character. I found him to be too perfect, without any flaws, and I didn't like that. I wanted some temper or some grit, and I felt like he had to be the way that he was to balance Rhiannon.
I also think this book wasn't very... well, romantic. I like my romance to give me that squishy feeling inside, and I certainly didn't feel that between the two MCs here.
I did love the plot, which was interesting because the characters weren't my favorite, but I liked the spotlight on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and how the football community tried to cover it up for many years. It was really eye-opening for me, as just a very casual sports watcher, and I liked Samson's involvement and that storyline with him and his former teammates.
I also enjoyed reading about the whole online dating scene and the ghosting and struggles of people wanting to hook up or find love in modern times. It was something I haven't really read about before in romance, and I liked it a lot.
I don't know, parts of the story worked for me and other parts didn't, but I left the story feeling minorly underwhelmed, which, to be fair, is common for me in contemporary romance. Not a total win, but not a total loss either.
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I love how Alisha Rai gives us diverse MCs and feminist, sex-positive main characters. That's really important to me, and Alisha Rai totally delivered on that front. I liked the plot and the trajectory of the story, even if I had some issues with the personalities of the characters themselves.
I found a bit hard to relate to Rhiannon, who was tough as nails and felt really closed off, even to me as a reader. She was a bit of an overreactor, and though I really grew to understand her more the more I knew of her backstory, I found her to be exceedingly abrasive at times. In contrast, I felt like Samson was forced to be this overly perfect, forgiving character. I found him to be too perfect, without any flaws, and I didn't like that. I wanted some temper or some grit, and I felt like he had to be the way that he was to balance Rhiannon.
I also think this book wasn't very... well, romantic. I like my romance to give me that squishy feeling inside, and I certainly didn't feel that between the two MCs here.
I did love the plot, which was interesting because the characters weren't my favorite, but I liked the spotlight on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and how the football community tried to cover it up for many years. It was really eye-opening for me, as just a very casual sports watcher, and I liked Samson's involvement and that storyline with him and his former teammates.
I also enjoyed reading about the whole online dating scene and the ghosting and struggles of people wanting to hook up or find love in modern times. It was something I haven't really read about before in romance, and I liked it a lot.
I don't know, parts of the story worked for me and other parts didn't, but I left the story feeling minorly underwhelmed, which, to be fair, is common for me in contemporary romance. Not a total win, but not a total loss either.
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December 28, 2022
RHI is an amazing female main Character. I absolutely adored her personality and overall character. She was independent and was a fresh and new and different type of female mc for me which I loved.
However the romance fell flat for me or was just okay. Don’t get me wrong Samson was really cute and I loved his story and the overall message behind his sorry but this like him not knowing what a fuck boy is (as an ex football player) and not knowing how to take a selfie was a bit cringey and felt very forced.
I still liked this story but I was bored and it was just an okay story
However the romance fell flat for me or was just okay. Don’t get me wrong Samson was really cute and I loved his story and the overall message behind his sorry but this like him not knowing what a fuck boy is (as an ex football player) and not knowing how to take a selfie was a bit cringey and felt very forced.
I still liked this story but I was bored and it was just an okay story
August 17, 2019
Many thanks to Edelweiss and Avon for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I didn't hate this, but I didn't love it either...In fact I would probably have to swipe left 🤣
2.5 stars
This is a tricky one for me to review! I was so excited to read it, that I requested an ARC (and got my first ever one from Edelwiess!). The cover was so pretty, and the synopsis sounded so much fun! But I don't think the book really delivered what the synopsis said it would?
I loved the diversity in this book! Rhiannon, the narrator was a black woman, and the love interest, Samson was Samoan. There is also a very diverse supporting cast of characters! I especially loved Rhiannon's assistant, Lakshmi, and hope she will get her own book.
I liked that Rhiannon had a strong personality. A lot of people didn't like that about her, but I thought she was intelligent, successful and independent. I hate doormat types in my books, so this was encouraging to see. Rhiannon could come across as quite abrasive though, but that is further explained later in the book. I did find her quite hard to relate to though.
I liked the commentary on CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) and head injuries to athletes, and how it was being covered up at the expense of the athlete's health, that was interesting. I also liked that the book addressed abuse and sexual harassment in the workplace, and online blackmailing. I liked learning about the online dating world, as this dinosaur never got to experience that, although many of my friends did.
However..I did not feel the chemistry between the two main characters! The book was not very romantic to be honest, and I felt that the actual romance was more of a subplot than the main plot, which was Rhiannon's business Crush, and her desire to purchase another online dating app, Matchmaker. I didn't get butterflies in my stomach! My heart didn't race or squeeze!
As I said earlier, I didn't really connect with Rhiannon, despite admiring her work ethic. I also felt she judged Samson really harshly, letting her past and one man in particular jade her whole life, and experience with men. I also didn't really like Samson?! He was perfect...like too perfect? That must sound ridiculous, but I think that characters need flaws, and he was just so bland and apologetic. I just didn't really know why he was chasing after Rhiannon I guess. He was just a bit meh!
Then there was the pacing. The start was so slow and uninteresting to me, and then it got a bit bogged down in the middle. I just felt like I was being told so many things, instead of shown. It got to a point when I would read a chapter, then put the book down and do other stuff. I was purposely finding distractions, which unfortunately shows that I wasn't fully engaged in the book. The pace did pick up a bit at the end.
All in all, I feel a little bit underwhelmed by this so called romance. It definitely isn't about two rival app creators finding themselves at odds in the boardroom, like suggested ☹️ Although I appreciated the commentary on online dating (ghosting, dick pics), I like my romance books to have the romance as the star of the show, and sadly that just wasn't the case. It wasn't badly written, but just wasn't for me.
I didn't hate this, but I didn't love it either...In fact I would probably have to swipe left 🤣
2.5 stars
This is a tricky one for me to review! I was so excited to read it, that I requested an ARC (and got my first ever one from Edelwiess!). The cover was so pretty, and the synopsis sounded so much fun! But I don't think the book really delivered what the synopsis said it would?
I loved the diversity in this book! Rhiannon, the narrator was a black woman, and the love interest, Samson was Samoan. There is also a very diverse supporting cast of characters! I especially loved Rhiannon's assistant, Lakshmi, and hope she will get her own book.
I liked that Rhiannon had a strong personality. A lot of people didn't like that about her, but I thought she was intelligent, successful and independent. I hate doormat types in my books, so this was encouraging to see. Rhiannon could come across as quite abrasive though, but that is further explained later in the book. I did find her quite hard to relate to though.
I liked the commentary on CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) and head injuries to athletes, and how it was being covered up at the expense of the athlete's health, that was interesting. I also liked that the book addressed abuse and sexual harassment in the workplace, and online blackmailing. I liked learning about the online dating world, as this dinosaur never got to experience that, although many of my friends did.
However..I did not feel the chemistry between the two main characters! The book was not very romantic to be honest, and I felt that the actual romance was more of a subplot than the main plot, which was Rhiannon's business Crush, and her desire to purchase another online dating app, Matchmaker. I didn't get butterflies in my stomach! My heart didn't race or squeeze!
As I said earlier, I didn't really connect with Rhiannon, despite admiring her work ethic. I also felt she judged Samson really harshly, letting her past and one man in particular jade her whole life, and experience with men. I also didn't really like Samson?! He was perfect...like too perfect? That must sound ridiculous, but I think that characters need flaws, and he was just so bland and apologetic. I just didn't really know why he was chasing after Rhiannon I guess. He was just a bit meh!
Then there was the pacing. The start was so slow and uninteresting to me, and then it got a bit bogged down in the middle. I just felt like I was being told so many things, instead of shown. It got to a point when I would read a chapter, then put the book down and do other stuff. I was purposely finding distractions, which unfortunately shows that I wasn't fully engaged in the book. The pace did pick up a bit at the end.
All in all, I feel a little bit underwhelmed by this so called romance. It definitely isn't about two rival app creators finding themselves at odds in the boardroom, like suggested ☹️ Although I appreciated the commentary on online dating (ghosting, dick pics), I like my romance books to have the romance as the star of the show, and sadly that just wasn't the case. It wasn't badly written, but just wasn't for me.
August 10, 2019
Rhiannon Hunter worshipped at the altar of no man.
Sometimes, ratings and reviews are hard, and this is one of those times, because this is probably one of the most “meh” 4-star reviews I’ve ever given a book. I can’t find any good reason to lower it to 3 stars because it objectively has so much good stuff going for it, but when I think back on it — having finished reading it several weeks ago now — it feels like the sort of book I’ll forget about pretty quickly.
Rhiannon’s a likeable heroine and Samson’s enjoyable enough as a hero (if a bit bland). There’s a lot of conversation around some really necessary and tough topics, like the treatment of pro athletes regarding sports-related injuries, and the way assault/abuse survivors are often cornered into keeping quiet about their abusers, especially when the abusive person is someone in a position of power.
All of that said… I don’t know, something about it just never fully “clicked” for me, but I’m leaving this at 4 stars because it does have a lot going for it. I really loved the diverse range of characters (Rhiannon is black, Samson is Samoan, Rhiannon’s bestie/housemate/business partner is Thai-American and fat, her assistant is Indian and queer… everyone important in this book offers some sort of valuable and beautifully done rep), and because it’s the sort of book that I will happily recommend to others even if it wasn’t the perfect read for me.
All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
October 6, 2020
I don't have a logical explanation why I disliked this book so much
August 9, 2019
So I didn’t love this, which is obvious, and there’s a bunch of reasons for that but it’s mostly because I didn’t like the characters. Specifically, Rhiannon.
The plot opens up with our heroine fixated on the fact that she wants to buy up this eHarmony-esque dating site, one of the OG sites of its type, to expand her own app-based dating service. We see her drive, we see her reminisce about the one that got away, and who happens to be the new face of her competition’s marketing campaign? The one who got away. The one she almost threw her rules out the window for. And boy does she have a lot of rules.
The girl is.. rigid. Uncompromising. Unforgiving. Hard to forking love and, as a reader, hard to endure. I don’t want to be dismissive of the heroine’s very real trauma and trust issues but holy forking shit did she also make this a brutal read. She’s something of a shark when it comes to business, she’s successful, all that, all of which are positive things that loads of women get flak for, so it’s unfortunate I found this kind of character so frustrating, but she’s also problematic. She skirts very very close (and sometimes crosses the line) into outright manipulation of the hero — as well as relying on an emotional debt she feels she’s owed (and maybe sorta is but not in this particular context) — and it felt gross. She constantly doubted him, (falsely) accused him of this that or the other thing, was totally hypocritical.. and it was just hard. I am exhausted from it.
She’s not the only drawback THE RIGHT SWIPE, though. The hero, for all his goodness, didn’t do much for me. There’s a whole secondary plot line surrounding brain injuries and concussions (which makes for the second or third time I’m reading of this particular issue in sports-ish romances — not a complaint, just an observation) and a whole lot of baggage that Samson is carrying around but, back to my point, it didn’t do much for me. Which is rather how I feel about the story itself.
What didn’t frustrate or exhaust me just.. did nothing.
There were a few side characters that lightened some of the load of the plodding, and that helped a bit, but not enough. Infact, a certain eccentric aunt did the opposite of what I think she was supposed to do — which was charm the reader. Even she annoyed me. Or, maybe more to the point, I didn’t care and so, again, I was unmoved.
The writing made for an easy read but the plot, the people, the point? Nope. I have yet to determine if I’ll read on in this series. I think it hugely depends on which side character will get the spotlight and I’ll definitely have to pay closer attention to the plot. It’ll have to really draw me in for me to push on in this spinoff. I’ve loved Rai’s books in the past, in particular her Forbidden Hearts series had so much greatness, but this one just totally missed the mark for me.
1.5 stars
** I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **
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This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
The plot opens up with our heroine fixated on the fact that she wants to buy up this eHarmony-esque dating site, one of the OG sites of its type, to expand her own app-based dating service. We see her drive, we see her reminisce about the one that got away, and who happens to be the new face of her competition’s marketing campaign? The one who got away. The one she almost threw her rules out the window for. And boy does she have a lot of rules.
The girl is.. rigid. Uncompromising. Unforgiving. Hard to forking love and, as a reader, hard to endure. I don’t want to be dismissive of the heroine’s very real trauma and trust issues but holy forking shit did she also make this a brutal read. She’s something of a shark when it comes to business, she’s successful, all that, all of which are positive things that loads of women get flak for, so it’s unfortunate I found this kind of character so frustrating, but she’s also problematic. She skirts very very close (and sometimes crosses the line) into outright manipulation of the hero — as well as relying on an emotional debt she feels she’s owed (and maybe sorta is but not in this particular context) — and it felt gross. She constantly doubted him, (falsely) accused him of this that or the other thing, was totally hypocritical.. and it was just hard. I am exhausted from it.
She’s not the only drawback THE RIGHT SWIPE, though. The hero, for all his goodness, didn’t do much for me. There’s a whole secondary plot line surrounding brain injuries and concussions (which makes for the second or third time I’m reading of this particular issue in sports-ish romances — not a complaint, just an observation) and a whole lot of baggage that Samson is carrying around but, back to my point, it didn’t do much for me. Which is rather how I feel about the story itself.
What didn’t frustrate or exhaust me just.. did nothing.
There were a few side characters that lightened some of the load of the plodding, and that helped a bit, but not enough. Infact, a certain eccentric aunt did the opposite of what I think she was supposed to do — which was charm the reader. Even she annoyed me. Or, maybe more to the point, I didn’t care and so, again, I was unmoved.
The writing made for an easy read but the plot, the people, the point? Nope. I have yet to determine if I’ll read on in this series. I think it hugely depends on which side character will get the spotlight and I’ll definitely have to pay closer attention to the plot. It’ll have to really draw me in for me to push on in this spinoff. I’ve loved Rai’s books in the past, in particular her Forbidden Hearts series had so much greatness, but this one just totally missed the mark for me.
1.5 stars
** I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **
---
This review can also be found at A Take From Two Cities.
March 21, 2020
I received this book for free free as part of an Instagram tour (TLC Book Tours specifically) I did to promote the book.
I was really impressed with this book. This is the first book in Alisha Rai’s new Modern Love series which is an appropriate name for it since it reflects exactly that. It tackles a lot of timely issues, like dating apps, the #MeToo movement, and CTE in the NFL. It was so refreshing seeing a romance that was very on point with what is going on in today’s world. On top of that, this is a diverse book which is always nice to encounter, especially in the romance genre.
I loved the cast of characters. I really liked the female lead, Rhiannon. She was a total boss. The male lead, Samson, was a great love interest. I loved how he was able to get through to Rhiannon since she is so guarded due to her past. Additionally, I loved Samson’s Aunt Annabelle, who was a supporting character. She was so quirky and eccentric but very endearing. Rhiannon’s friend, Katrina, was another supporting character I loved as well.
This book does fall prey to the typical miscommunication at the end of the book (a common trope in the romance genre) but it does get resolved fairly quickly.
Overall, I loved this very modern (and diverse) take on romance and will be looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.
For more book reviews, be sure to check out my blog: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/
I was really impressed with this book. This is the first book in Alisha Rai’s new Modern Love series which is an appropriate name for it since it reflects exactly that. It tackles a lot of timely issues, like dating apps, the #MeToo movement, and CTE in the NFL. It was so refreshing seeing a romance that was very on point with what is going on in today’s world. On top of that, this is a diverse book which is always nice to encounter, especially in the romance genre.
I loved the cast of characters. I really liked the female lead, Rhiannon. She was a total boss. The male lead, Samson, was a great love interest. I loved how he was able to get through to Rhiannon since she is so guarded due to her past. Additionally, I loved Samson’s Aunt Annabelle, who was a supporting character. She was so quirky and eccentric but very endearing. Rhiannon’s friend, Katrina, was another supporting character I loved as well.
This book does fall prey to the typical miscommunication at the end of the book (a common trope in the romance genre) but it does get resolved fairly quickly.
Overall, I loved this very modern (and diverse) take on romance and will be looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.
For more book reviews, be sure to check out my blog: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/
July 17, 2019
In theory, the blurb for The Right Swipe was a treasure of romance book.
It had all the things I’m usually craving in my romance:
-Online dating
-One night stand
-Enemies to lovers
-Texting / emailing
Furthermore it’s delivered by an author I’ve had such a pleasure discovering through her previous series.
This book should have been a winner. Except it wasn’t. AT. ALL.
I was craving human emotions, angst, and all I got was a thesaurus for online dating terms.
I felt nothing for the characters.
Ok let me amend that, I felt nothing for the characters as a couple but oh man did I feel for Rhiannon Hunter.
I hated her guts. Pure and simple I just couldn’t stand her.
Am I going to get heat for feeling this book may be a tad too feminist? Don’t @ me.
(Or rather the feminist revendications arc was detrimental to the romance, which is regrettable when advertising a book as romance.)
It’s just how I felt. Or rather it’s how Rhiannon Hunter made me feel.
I love a strong heroine, I’m all for empowered women in romance novels but if it becomes detrimental to qualities I find essential characters in romance have, then I guess I’d rather have a doormat heroine growing empowered and showing some kindness and emotions and I don’t know… personality?
I couldn’t tell for the life of me why Samson, the hero, would decide to pursue this determined cyborg—I mean Rhiannon.
Watching him go after her was like watching a dog trying to catch the attention of a negligent owner.
Samson was so damn sweet.
To say the author has been torough in her depiction of modern dating is putting it lightly.
I felt bored and irritated with a theme I actually enjoy.
If the goal of this —feminist manifesto—romance was to acknowledge how women can do as much and better than men professionally, then congratulations, this reader got the message loud and clear.
Too bad it’s all I could retain from The Right Swipe.
I truly enjoyed the author's books in the past (Hate to Want You, Wrong to Need You Forbidden Hearts series), it could be just a "me" issue, I strongly encourage you to read other reviews or follow your guts about this book, you could end up loving it.
More reviews and book talk at :
You can find me here too ☞
It had all the things I’m usually craving in my romance:
-Online dating
-One night stand
-Enemies to lovers
-Texting / emailing
Furthermore it’s delivered by an author I’ve had such a pleasure discovering through her previous series.
This book should have been a winner. Except it wasn’t. AT. ALL.
I was craving human emotions, angst, and all I got was a thesaurus for online dating terms.
I felt nothing for the characters.
Ok let me amend that, I felt nothing for the characters as a couple but oh man did I feel for Rhiannon Hunter.
I hated her guts. Pure and simple I just couldn’t stand her.
Am I going to get heat for feeling this book may be a tad too feminist? Don’t @ me.
(Or rather the feminist revendications arc was detrimental to the romance, which is regrettable when advertising a book as romance.)
It’s just how I felt. Or rather it’s how Rhiannon Hunter made me feel.
I love a strong heroine, I’m all for empowered women in romance novels but if it becomes detrimental to qualities I find essential characters in romance have, then I guess I’d rather have a doormat heroine growing empowered and showing some kindness and emotions and I don’t know… personality?
I couldn’t tell for the life of me why Samson, the hero, would decide to pursue this determined cyborg—I mean Rhiannon.
Watching him go after her was like watching a dog trying to catch the attention of a negligent owner.
Samson was so damn sweet.
To say the author has been torough in her depiction of modern dating is putting it lightly.
I felt bored and irritated with a theme I actually enjoy.
If the goal of this —feminist manifesto—romance was to acknowledge how women can do as much and better than men professionally, then congratulations, this reader got the message loud and clear.
Too bad it’s all I could retain from The Right Swipe.
I truly enjoyed the author's books in the past (Hate to Want You, Wrong to Need You Forbidden Hearts series), it could be just a "me" issue, I strongly encourage you to read other reviews or follow your guts about this book, you could end up loving it.
More reviews and book talk at :
You can find me here too ☞
November 7, 2019
Edited to round this down to a 3* as after sleeping on my review I just didn't quite connect to these characters nor their romance in the way I did with KQ and RW&RB which I keep thinking about even now and still dip in to reread often...this book just didn't grab me like those did so my rating drops from 3.5*
However my love for the side characters & the themes tackled in the subplots 10/10 will continue the series and hopefully connect better with the next couples.
On with my OG review 😊
This was my first group read with the fabulously fun peeps @Dragons & Tea Book Club
Thank you so much for the invitation to join in. I had a blast sharing thoughts with you guys 😎
Such a quick and easy read, I'd have finished this in a day/overnight if I'd picked it up outside of a buddy read type scenario. Without the group, however, I may have overlooked it as I've only recently returned to reading these kinds of romcom'y books.
So special thanks to @Melanie & @Amy for choosing this fun read.
The pages kept turning & putting it down after 5 chapters every day wasn't easy but the group chats around them were great fun and kept me going till the next day 😁
This was a fluffy romcom that fed into some tropes but flipped others on their head.
I loved the cast of supporting characters, they were effortlessly diverse and well rounded without ever feeling forced. There are characters with different ethnic backgrounds, sexual preferences and ways of coping with the world all the while being super supportive of one another. There are so many great friendships in this series opener that I for one am looking forward to seeing which characters get their own spin offs and who shows up in what capacity in later books 😈
Rhi, one of our MCs, is a driven lady, she knows what she wants from life & love and is no nonsense in her approach to both. She is CEO of a very successful dating app. However past experiences have hardened her to the outside world. As a result she has wrapped herself up tight in self-preservation and thrown herself completely into making the best most inclusive work environment she can to help prove herself in the typically male dominated realm of tech.
Samson provides the alternative PoV chapters. He is an ex-pro NFL player who despite his size is soft af (with a flair for the dramatics when his path crosses with her skeezeball ex). He really just wants to find a love like his parents had and struggles to do so in this modern era of technology while being as genuine and honest as a giant puppy. This dude is so soft it's almost hard to believe he was a pro-player but at the same time it feeds into his characterisation so well in all the decisions he has made in putting others in his life first.
This book had its share of steamy moments with allusions being made to their previous encounter almost straight out the gate. I happened upon some of the steamier descriptions while on my work commute which made me giggle as English is such a widely read language and I'm always curious as to how nosy others might be on public transport 🤣
The external subplot lines both characters have dovetail nicely with one another to flesh out their characterisations, help them with their growth, knock down some of their self-imposed walls and also provide some roadblocks/drama outside of themselves. This made for a refreshing change to my least favourite romcom trope of miscommunication, which this book could very easily have made use of from the set up given in the blurb. Don't get me wrong, there are instances where communication is lacking between the leads but in this narrative it makes sense to me due to the personal baggage each brings to the table.
As a big fan of rugby, another high contact sport, I particularly enjoyed the CTE sideline arc of Samson as he comes to terms with the knock on (maybe a small pun intended for any fellow rugby fans 😉) effects of coming from a family of pro-ball players.
I also liked how the topics of gender and race were addressed when it came to the revelations towards the end of the book. There are so many layers to this story, it is not just a flash in the pan romance...there is food for thought here should we choose to indulge.
Other highlights include, in no particular order:
Lakshmi
Katrina
Annabelle (especially her outfit choices so delightfully OTT)
Dean & Miley
Harris (maybe didn't really see enough of him tho)
"Walk me to my car"
Glitter-grams & brown shoes
Sonya + Gabe & the napkin crisis
Jia - bringing more rep
'Be like Beyoncé' 😂
Things I didn't love
Rhi was annoying and overbearing in places even though we know why, she was still a bit much.
Samson was almost too perfect which meant he could be a bit of a doormat, again we learn why and it fed into the trope reversal which I actually did enjoy but it was laid on a little thick for my liking.
It bordered on sickly sweet how it all comes together and this is a me compatibility issue with this type of book and not the books fault but thems my feelz *shurg*
However my love for the side characters & the themes tackled in the subplots 10/10 will continue the series and hopefully connect better with the next couples.
On with my OG review 😊
This was my first group read with the fabulously fun peeps @Dragons & Tea Book Club
Thank you so much for the invitation to join in. I had a blast sharing thoughts with you guys 😎
Such a quick and easy read, I'd have finished this in a day/overnight if I'd picked it up outside of a buddy read type scenario. Without the group, however, I may have overlooked it as I've only recently returned to reading these kinds of romcom'y books.
So special thanks to @Melanie & @Amy for choosing this fun read.
The pages kept turning & putting it down after 5 chapters every day wasn't easy but the group chats around them were great fun and kept me going till the next day 😁
This was a fluffy romcom that fed into some tropes but flipped others on their head.
I loved the cast of supporting characters, they were effortlessly diverse and well rounded without ever feeling forced. There are characters with different ethnic backgrounds, sexual preferences and ways of coping with the world all the while being super supportive of one another. There are so many great friendships in this series opener that I for one am looking forward to seeing which characters get their own spin offs and who shows up in what capacity in later books 😈
Rhi, one of our MCs, is a driven lady, she knows what she wants from life & love and is no nonsense in her approach to both. She is CEO of a very successful dating app. However past experiences have hardened her to the outside world. As a result she has wrapped herself up tight in self-preservation and thrown herself completely into making the best most inclusive work environment she can to help prove herself in the typically male dominated realm of tech.
Samson provides the alternative PoV chapters. He is an ex-pro NFL player who despite his size is soft af (with a flair for the dramatics when his path crosses with her skeezeball ex). He really just wants to find a love like his parents had and struggles to do so in this modern era of technology while being as genuine and honest as a giant puppy. This dude is so soft it's almost hard to believe he was a pro-player but at the same time it feeds into his characterisation so well in all the decisions he has made in putting others in his life first.
This book had its share of steamy moments with allusions being made to their previous encounter almost straight out the gate. I happened upon some of the steamier descriptions while on my work commute which made me giggle as English is such a widely read language and I'm always curious as to how nosy others might be on public transport 🤣
The external subplot lines both characters have dovetail nicely with one another to flesh out their characterisations, help them with their growth, knock down some of their self-imposed walls and also provide some roadblocks/drama outside of themselves. This made for a refreshing change to my least favourite romcom trope of miscommunication, which this book could very easily have made use of from the set up given in the blurb. Don't get me wrong, there are instances where communication is lacking between the leads but in this narrative it makes sense to me due to the personal baggage each brings to the table.
As a big fan of rugby, another high contact sport, I particularly enjoyed the CTE sideline arc of Samson as he comes to terms with the knock on (maybe a small pun intended for any fellow rugby fans 😉) effects of coming from a family of pro-ball players.
I also liked how the topics of gender and race were addressed when it came to the revelations towards the end of the book. There are so many layers to this story, it is not just a flash in the pan romance...there is food for thought here should we choose to indulge.
Other highlights include, in no particular order:
Lakshmi
Katrina
Annabelle (especially her outfit choices so delightfully OTT)
Dean & Miley
Harris (maybe didn't really see enough of him tho)
"Walk me to my car"
Glitter-grams & brown shoes
Sonya + Gabe & the napkin crisis
Jia - bringing more rep
'Be like Beyoncé' 😂
Things I didn't love
Rhi was annoying and overbearing in places even though we know why, she was still a bit much.
Samson was almost too perfect which meant he could be a bit of a doormat, again we learn why and it fed into the trope reversal which I actually did enjoy but it was laid on a little thick for my liking.
It bordered on sickly sweet how it all comes together and this is a me compatibility issue with this type of book and not the books fault but thems my feelz *shurg*
July 7, 2023
It was really clear that Rhi has been through something even before we delved deeper into her life. The “tough” character she was constantly trying to showcase was used to hide a lot of hurt and Ria explores this well. Samson on the other hand was also used to explore the topic of standing up for what is right and fighting for the people we love. I thought they were okay together but not necessarily extremely compatible.
A bit underwhelmed with this one but I still didn’t feel like a waste of time.
A bit underwhelmed with this one but I still didn’t feel like a waste of time.
September 10, 2019
Book provided by Avon in exchange for an honest review.
This was my first book by Alisha Rai and wooooo boy, can she write romance! Don’t let this cute illustrated cover fool you. This book is packed full of racy and steamy scenes.
This book stars Rhiannon, a black woman who came from a poor family and has had to always work twice as hard to prove herself working in a male-dominated field (tech industry.) She is very career driven and smart. She also started her own dating app. While at a conference Rhi sees an old hookup. A hookup who ghosted her in the past. His name is Samson Lima and he’s a retired NFL football player who is currently the spokesperson for a rival dating app.
I think you can see where this is going. And while I knew the enemies-to-lovers thing was coming, I wasn’t expecting Rhi and Samson to reconnect so soon. This was actually a breath of fresh air for me, because sometimes that trope can drag out too long. It was fun reading about their dynamics in the workplace while being in the middle of their angst and sexual tension.
This book also touches on the topic of CTE, Chronic Traumatic Encelphalopathy, which is a degenerative brain disease found in athletes or others who have repetitive head trauma. We learn as part of Samson’s backstory that his uncle (also a former football player) passed away from CTE and he is very involved in CTE research. I’d never read a book that highlighted this condition and appreciated the author bringing awareness to it.
The lack of communication between Rhi and Samson was what ultimately didn’t bring this up to a full five stars to me. But I loved the story so much, and how strong and unapologetic Rhi is. Overall this was such a great book!
Trigger/content warnings: abusive relationship (gaslighting), sexual harassment.
This is the August pick for the Dragons & Tea Book Club, which is a book club that I host with Melanie!
The Dates & Breakdown:
August 19th: CH. 1 – 5
August 20th: CH. 6 – 10
August 21st: CH. 11 – 15
August 22nd: CH. 16 – 20
August 23rd: CH. 21 – 25
August 24th: CH. 26 – End
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September 12, 2019
3.5 stars
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Rhiannon has been burned badly in the world of tech business, she decides her best revenge is to succeed. With the help of a friend, she starts her own dating app company, Crush, and wants to buy Matchmaker, one of the original online dating companies.
Samson ended his professional football career early in protest over how head injuries were being taken care of, after seeing how his father and uncle suffered from CTE, he has no compromise for it. Now that his uncle has died, he begins working for his aunt's company Matchmaker in a P.R. campaign.
Rhiannon and Samson end up having one amazing night and then a next day that, accidentally, ends in ghosting and then are brought back together through chance and some meddling. Rhiannon has trust issues and Samson has patience, in the world of modern dating these two might just find themselves in an old fashioned love story.
She’d been decimated before, and by someone whom she’d thought was on her side. Samson was technically a competitor, and she needed to be careful.
If you've read Rai's Forbidden Hearts series, you'll recognize Rhiannon as Gabe's (Hurts to Love You) sister. We know her as a tough cookie who doesn't like to dress up and has a strained relationship with her mother. Rhiannon clearly has trust issues and as you learn the backstory of how her boss, who became her boyfriend, began to become controlling, and eventually forced her out of a company she helped to build and spread nasty rumors about her, you'll understand why she's developed a harden layer. I thought Rai did a good job of giving us glimpses into her cracks, her relationship with Katrina (silent partner in Crush and friend) showed her caring and human connectivity side and the way she continuously “hugged” herself with hoodies or long sleeves. The sheer fact of how hard Rhiannon fought to be unreachable showcased her vulnerability.
Samson came from a football dynasty that was publicly celebrated but he lived the personal downside of what professional sports can deliver back. The way his father's personality changed and how his uncle declined through ALS and Alzheimer was sad and anger inducing, Rai did a good job of addressing how players had to fight against an employer who didn't want to admit there was a problem and accountability and a culture of “tough it out”. I did think we missed some emotional connections without getting scenes of Samson with his uncle. Samson has friends that pop in and out but there were times where he felt like he existed more in a vacuum.
Now what? What did one do when someone behaved badly and gave you a reasonable explanation for what motivated their bad behavior and apologized?
I thought the set-up of Samson accidentally ghosting Rhiannon and the surprise competitor angle worked well but even though their decision to do a P.R. campaign together gave us some cute and steamy scenes, I'm not sure I really ever bought into the why and then it is kind of left to dangle off in the end. There were some heavy topics discussed and addressed in this story, CTE, work place sexual harassment, abuse, and toxic masculinity, while I felt Rai did a good job creating a story and characters with these topics, the romance seemed to be left out in the cold.
He missed Rhiannon. Like she was home.
As a story, I give this 3.5 stars but if I were to rate it solely on the romance, it'd be 2 stars. Rhiannon and Samson have their P.R. campaign dates and then some text messaging but I didn't quite feel they had enough time together, giving me the highs of seeing and feeling them fall in love. Samson was also written to be a very patient and understanding man, which made two later half instances where Rhiannon leans into her trust issues very frustrating. I understood why Rhiannon had trust issues but by that time in the story, Samson's character warranted more trust.
Distrust issues stretched out too long for me and for the most part, this felt more like Rhiannon and Samson's story separately, instead of theirs together. Rai is fantastic at writing family and friendship and all the support and angst that can come from those relationships. There were some steamy sexual moments but, maybe due to feeling a weaker emotional romance connection between the leads, I thought they lacked the heat of her usual flair. I always enjoy Rai's writing and will definitely be reading the next in the series that stars Rhiannon's friend Katrina, and hoping for more of a romance feel.
*******************************************************************************
First, my excitement for this story knows no bounds.
Buuuut, kind of disappointed they went with drawing cover, I LOVED the Forbidden Hearts series live model cover photos; really some of the best covers I've ever seen.
I see others really liking the fun vibe the cover does send out, so I'm going to go and stare at my Livvy and Nicholas cover to work through my feelings.
Friends, what you thinking/feeling about this cover?
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Rhiannon has been burned badly in the world of tech business, she decides her best revenge is to succeed. With the help of a friend, she starts her own dating app company, Crush, and wants to buy Matchmaker, one of the original online dating companies.
Samson ended his professional football career early in protest over how head injuries were being taken care of, after seeing how his father and uncle suffered from CTE, he has no compromise for it. Now that his uncle has died, he begins working for his aunt's company Matchmaker in a P.R. campaign.
Rhiannon and Samson end up having one amazing night and then a next day that, accidentally, ends in ghosting and then are brought back together through chance and some meddling. Rhiannon has trust issues and Samson has patience, in the world of modern dating these two might just find themselves in an old fashioned love story.
She’d been decimated before, and by someone whom she’d thought was on her side. Samson was technically a competitor, and she needed to be careful.
If you've read Rai's Forbidden Hearts series, you'll recognize Rhiannon as Gabe's (Hurts to Love You) sister. We know her as a tough cookie who doesn't like to dress up and has a strained relationship with her mother. Rhiannon clearly has trust issues and as you learn the backstory of how her boss, who became her boyfriend, began to become controlling, and eventually forced her out of a company she helped to build and spread nasty rumors about her, you'll understand why she's developed a harden layer. I thought Rai did a good job of giving us glimpses into her cracks, her relationship with Katrina (silent partner in Crush and friend) showed her caring and human connectivity side and the way she continuously “hugged” herself with hoodies or long sleeves. The sheer fact of how hard Rhiannon fought to be unreachable showcased her vulnerability.
Samson came from a football dynasty that was publicly celebrated but he lived the personal downside of what professional sports can deliver back. The way his father's personality changed and how his uncle declined through ALS and Alzheimer was sad and anger inducing, Rai did a good job of addressing how players had to fight against an employer who didn't want to admit there was a problem and accountability and a culture of “tough it out”. I did think we missed some emotional connections without getting scenes of Samson with his uncle. Samson has friends that pop in and out but there were times where he felt like he existed more in a vacuum.
Now what? What did one do when someone behaved badly and gave you a reasonable explanation for what motivated their bad behavior and apologized?
I thought the set-up of Samson accidentally ghosting Rhiannon and the surprise competitor angle worked well but even though their decision to do a P.R. campaign together gave us some cute and steamy scenes, I'm not sure I really ever bought into the why and then it is kind of left to dangle off in the end. There were some heavy topics discussed and addressed in this story, CTE, work place sexual harassment, abuse, and toxic masculinity, while I felt Rai did a good job creating a story and characters with these topics, the romance seemed to be left out in the cold.
He missed Rhiannon. Like she was home.
As a story, I give this 3.5 stars but if I were to rate it solely on the romance, it'd be 2 stars. Rhiannon and Samson have their P.R. campaign dates and then some text messaging but I didn't quite feel they had enough time together, giving me the highs of seeing and feeling them fall in love. Samson was also written to be a very patient and understanding man, which made two later half instances where Rhiannon leans into her trust issues very frustrating. I understood why Rhiannon had trust issues but by that time in the story, Samson's character warranted more trust.
Distrust issues stretched out too long for me and for the most part, this felt more like Rhiannon and Samson's story separately, instead of theirs together. Rai is fantastic at writing family and friendship and all the support and angst that can come from those relationships. There were some steamy sexual moments but, maybe due to feeling a weaker emotional romance connection between the leads, I thought they lacked the heat of her usual flair. I always enjoy Rai's writing and will definitely be reading the next in the series that stars Rhiannon's friend Katrina, and hoping for more of a romance feel.
*******************************************************************************
First, my excitement for this story knows no bounds.
Buuuut, kind of disappointed they went with drawing cover, I LOVED the Forbidden Hearts series live model cover photos; really some of the best covers I've ever seen.
I see others really liking the fun vibe the cover does send out, so I'm going to go and stare at my Livvy and Nicholas cover to work through my feelings.
Friends, what you thinking/feeling about this cover?
dnf
August 14, 2019I've been trying and trying with these romcoms, but the problem is, these books are just not funny or fun. You've seen the best romantic comedies. Dialog is everything. You don't have snappy, fun, interesting dialog, you don't have a story.
This is the issue with The Right Swipe. This narrative is BORING! People are dull. They talk about dull, boring things. No amount of sex can make me continue reading something so charisma-less.
This is the issue with The Right Swipe. This narrative is BORING! People are dull. They talk about dull, boring things. No amount of sex can make me continue reading something so charisma-less.
April 30, 2020
➽ book 21 out of 100
rtc!
tw: sexual harassment, workplace harassment, talk of a past emotionally abusive relationship
read for book roast's O.W.L's Magical Readathon
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rtc!
tw: sexual harassment, workplace harassment, talk of a past emotionally abusive relationship
read for book roast's O.W.L's Magical Readathon
youtube ❀ twitter ❀ instagram
July 2, 2020
This...
Okay, so I rated this book four stars not for the romance but because of the social issues that it tackles. The romance, in my opinion, falls a little flat because the characters don't feel like they have chemistry. I enjoyed them individually, but it was quite difficult to visual them as a romantic couple. I loved that this book focused on a WOC that OWNED a dating app company and didn't just work there. Rhiannon reminded me of a lot of experiences that I've gone through as a Black woman and how often you have to continuously work to prove that you're even qualified to hold any sort of position in your career/community. It didn't surprise me that she had trust issues or was so focused on doing what she needed to do to become successful. In contrast, Samson is caring, has such a love and respect for his family but has let a lot of his familial and emotional baggage determine how he does and does not allow himself to fall in love. After ghosting Rhiannon for a supposedly unknown reason, these two get a second chance at love.
As stated above, Rai does an amazing job tackling and incorporating social issues into her books. I don't want to say specifically what she does cover because they both feel like spoilers. But it is clear from her discussion within the text that she has done research and handles each topic with care. Honestly, I'm a huge fan of romance books that not only focus on the romance of the book, but also social issues that the characters may be facing.
Rai's writing was easy to follow and I loved the alternating perspectives of Samson and Rhi. You could really get a sense of the different lives that these characters lived and how it affected their interactions not only with each other, but with their own family and friends. I just wished that Rai would have addressed a small conflict that arose with Samson's aunt. I don't think that it was explained very well or really addressed.
Overall, I thought this was a good first book to a series and I'm looking forward to reading the next two books.
Okay, so I rated this book four stars not for the romance but because of the social issues that it tackles. The romance, in my opinion, falls a little flat because the characters don't feel like they have chemistry. I enjoyed them individually, but it was quite difficult to visual them as a romantic couple. I loved that this book focused on a WOC that OWNED a dating app company and didn't just work there. Rhiannon reminded me of a lot of experiences that I've gone through as a Black woman and how often you have to continuously work to prove that you're even qualified to hold any sort of position in your career/community. It didn't surprise me that she had trust issues or was so focused on doing what she needed to do to become successful. In contrast, Samson is caring, has such a love and respect for his family but has let a lot of his familial and emotional baggage determine how he does and does not allow himself to fall in love. After ghosting Rhiannon for a supposedly unknown reason, these two get a second chance at love.
As stated above, Rai does an amazing job tackling and incorporating social issues into her books. I don't want to say specifically what she does cover because they both feel like spoilers. But it is clear from her discussion within the text that she has done research and handles each topic with care. Honestly, I'm a huge fan of romance books that not only focus on the romance of the book, but also social issues that the characters may be facing.
Rai's writing was easy to follow and I loved the alternating perspectives of Samson and Rhi. You could really get a sense of the different lives that these characters lived and how it affected their interactions not only with each other, but with their own family and friends. I just wished that Rai would have addressed a small conflict that arose with Samson's aunt. I don't think that it was explained very well or really addressed.
Overall, I thought this was a good first book to a series and I'm looking forward to reading the next two books.
September 10, 2019
I really enjoyed this which is surprising since I usually dislike books related to sports and such. Thought the male mc was sweet and wholesome and we need more Samson's in NA.
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Buddy read with a bestie!!!
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Buddy read with a bestie!!!
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