Publisher: HarperCollins


Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Light-Hearted and Thoughtful: The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai

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I received this book for free from Avon in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Light-Hearted and Thoughtful: The Right Swipe by Alisha RaiThe Right Swipe by Alisha Rai
Series: Modern Love #1
Published by Avon on August 6th, 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Rom Com
Source: Avon
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four-stars

Alisha Rai returns with the first book in her sizzling new Modern Love series, in which two rival dating app creators find themselves at odds in the boardroom but in sync in the bedroom.

Rhiannon Hunter may have revolutionized romance in the digital world, but in real life she only swipes right on her career—and the occasional hookup. The cynical dating app creator controls her love life with a few key rules:

- Nude pics are by invitation only

- If someone stands you up, block them with extreme prejudice

- Protect your heart

Only there aren't any rules to govern her attraction to her newest match, former pro-football player Samson Lima. The sexy and seemingly sweet hunk woos her one magical night... and disappears.

Rhi thought she'd buried her hurt over Samson ghosting her, until he suddenly surfaces months later, still big, still beautiful—and in league with a business rival. He says he won't fumble their second chance, but she's wary. A temporary physical partnership is one thing, but a merger of hearts? Surely that’s too high a risk…

The Right Swipe was easily one of my most anticipated romances of the year and yet general existential issues meant I didn’t get around to it before it was released or even immediately after. Alisha Rai became an auto-read author for me after I fell head-over-heels for the Forbidden Hearts series. The Right Swipe is definitely a departure from the general vibe of those books and if you come into this expecting angst and drama and lots of emotions, you won’t get it. What this book is is a light-hearted, incredibly thoughtful rom com. It may seem like a 180 from what I am used to from Alisha Rai but it also seems very quintessentially her. 

Rhiannon Hunter is at the top of her game. She revolutionized the dating world and yet still doesn’t feel like she has truly succeeded. She is always looking for new ways to further her success and become more grounded in this field. What she doesn’t expect is to have to face the man that stood her up after they connected, at a professional conference, while he is working for her rival. 

Samson has had a rough year. More like a rough couple of years. After his uncle passes away, he doesn’t really have much direction. When his aunt presents him with the opportunity to be the face of her company and help with a campaign, he is all on board. He doesn’t expect to run into the girl he unintentionally stood up several months ago, and she is the head of his aunt’s rival company.

While the romance in The Right Swipe is a very slow simmer, the MCs become friendly pretty quickly and it’s so great watching them learn to get to know each other better. There is a lot of external conflict in this book but not so much conflict within their relationship, even if it did get off to a shaky start. Even with Rhi’s truckload of trust issues, Samson manages to find his way into her inner circle and figure out how to be a good friend/partner to her.

Rhi may be a little rough around the edges but I genuinely just clicked with her. Sometimes her issues became frustrating but the way Rai unpacked and handled them made me really feel for Rhi. EVEN WHEN SHE WAS HER own worst enemy. 

Samson, and I don’t say this lightly, was perfect. And sometimes perfection might be too much for other readers but he was perfect. He is kind, understanding, thoughtful and aware that even though Rhi was imperfect and it occasionally interfered with their relationship, she couldn’t always help her reactions given her history. This all makes Samson sound very one-dimensional but Rai still managed to make him a nuanced character. Rhi didn’t completely overshadow him in the character development department.

The Right Swipe, while marketed as a romance, is not necessarily as romance driven as I expected but the character development *chef’s kiss* made it absolutely worth the read for me. I cannot wait to read Katrina’s story and anything else Rai will write.

four-stars

4 Hot Espressos

A Promising Spin Off: Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews

Posted by on 10/31/2019 • 2 Comments

While I was incredibly taken in by the world that Ilona Andrews had built with the Hidden Legacy series, I was still somewhat skeptical about how I’d take to having a new main character at the helm and especially a younger main character (Catalina is only 21!) As soon as I started reading though, all those doubts I had faded away and I instantly fell in love with these characters and the world again. 

I thought I would spend most of the book missing Nevada and Rogan, and while I certainly missed them, Catalina brought something new to the table and I really enjoyed watching her journey unfold. 

Three years have passed since Wildfire and Catalina is now head of house. The three protected years that Baylor house had are…

Review: The Arrival of Someday by Jen Malone

Posted by on 07/09/2019 • 0 Comments

The Arrival of Someday is a very emotional, very realistic novel that has all of the feels – yet has so much charm and wit that you won’t help but find yourself falling in love with all of its characters, no matter the gloom that follows the story. 

Amelia was born with a liver disease that hasn’t ever been an issue until now. Until its become so very real, so very scary, very fast. From the very first page I loved Amelia’s voice. Her personality and wit makes it impossible to dislike her. She’s got a lot of crap to deal with, and you can feel her anger, her despair, and also her passion for life. She wants to live, she has so many plans, so many wants and hopes….

A Soft, Low-Stress Book: Some Like it Scandalous by Maya Rodale

Posted by on 07/05/2019 • 0 Comments

I will fully admit to not reading book 1 in this series but I have read Maya Rodale before and when I saw that Some Like it Scandalous was hate to love, I was sold. I did go in expecting good romantic tension but I was a little surprised by how much I was taken in by this book. Rodale must have done a lot of research to help immerse us within the gilded age. 

I wouldn’t categorize it as a true love to hate because their dislike is based on misunderstandings and apologies are made quite early on but… their relationship is still amazing. It is founded on their mutual agreement that they do not want to get married, then they become business partners and finally something more. They…

Review: Destroy All Monsters by Sam J. Miller

Posted by on 06/25/2019 • 0 Comments

I chose to read this book because of the mention of a Patrick Ness-like style, and this is definitely true. It starts out confusing as heck, but in a good way. The kind of confusing that captivates you, and pulls you in fully with the promise of a very odd, gritty, mysterious book.

Told in dual POV, we go through this story with two very different angles. One is Ash who is your typical teenage girl who doesn’t completely fit in, but who’s also not a complete loner. Then there’s Solomon who takes us on a wild ride filled with dinosaurs, monsters, and magic. Which is real, though? Is Solomon just making this all up, or is it Ash who is unable to see the monsters? I found this aspect…

Relevant, Funny and Swoony: A Prince on Paper by Alyssa Cole

Posted by on 04/30/2019 • 1 Comment

Idk how its possible but each book in this series has been as good as or better than the previous one and I am just truly in awe of Cole’s talent. I’ve been reading romance for a while now and I truly feel that Cole is changing the landscape of romance literature. Not only is A Prince on Paper unbelievably swoony and adorable, it also takes on really big and relevant things. It isn’t afraid to dissect racism and call out colonialism, we see fake news and propaganda make an appearance and we also see our MC deal with emotional and mental abuse from a parent.

When Nya’s father is arrested and sent to prison for attempting to poison Naledi, she can finally start living her life. She runs…

Ridiculously Awesome and Fun: The Disasters by M.K. England

Posted by on 12/24/2018 • 1 Comment

I dove into The Disasters with almost no expectations. I had grabbed it on a whim and only vaguely remembered it had something to do with space. I’d say I regretted doing this but honestly, it was truly the best way to read this book because I ended up being taken completely by surprise by its awesomeness and just, IT WAS SO GOOD and it’s so GREAT to have a book completely surprise you.

There are many space books out there and it’s likely you’ve read and loved some of them. I am here to tell you The Disasters is better (or at least I think it is.) It’s the space book I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW I NEEDED. Are you tired of all those space books that are super…

New Beginnings: Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews

Posted by on 11/23/2018 • 0 Comments

I’ve been obsessed with the Hidden Legacy for years now so I was more than a little sad when it came to an end. OF COURSE, they announced a spin off and we got the first hint of that in this little novella.

Nevada and Rogan are getting married! FINALLY! And of course, given how things just happen around them, the wedding planning isn’t going as smoothly as anticipated. A family heirloom goes missing and there might be someone plotting a wedding murder.  In comes Catalina (also the narrator of the spin-offs I believe) who is put to the task of solving this mystery without alerting Nevada to the on-going shenanigans.

So, I went into Diamond Fire with no idea what the novella was about or that it…