Posts Tagged: Contemporary

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

Romance Mini Reviews #5: Trio of Contemporary Goodness

Posted by on 12/10/2019 • 2 Comments

The Bromance Book Club Lyssa Kay Adams

GOODREADS | PURCHASE

The first rule of this book club: You don’t talk about book club.

Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott’s marriage is in major league trouble. He’s recently discovered a humiliating secret: his wife Thea has always faked the Big O. When he loses his cool at the revelation, it’s the final straw on their already strained relationship. Thea asks for a divorce, and Gavin realizes he’s let his pride and fear get the better of him. 

Welcome to the Bromance Book Club.

Distraught and desperate, Gavin finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville’s top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency…

Pulls No Punches: Deadly Little Scandals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Posted by on 10/24/2019 • 1 Comment

HOLY FUCK THIS BOOK. Omg. What the fuck are words anyway??? This book does not pull any punches whatsoever. There are many many MANY twists and my head is still spinning from trying to figure out what I just read. Jennifer Lynn Barnes is known for her mysteries and her mysteries are why I keep coming back to her. Deadly Little Scandals, in my opinion, is unlike some of her previous stuff in terms of how major plot points unfold and the punches we are thrown. I cannot quite decide if this is a good thing or a bad but it is definitely a thing.

Little White Lies took me a while to get invested in but by the time I was 10% into Deadly Little Scandals, my eyes were…

Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite

Posted by on 10/04/2019 • 1 Comment

Here is the thing, I like this book but it’s simply too long. At 432 pages, it took me days to drudge through. On top of that, I feel like the book is trying so hard to tackle so many things at once that it fails to really examine any of the issues it presents us with in depth. 

After a presentation that goes very wrong, Alaine is suspended. Her parents decide that maybe spending some time in Haiti will help Alaine redirect her energy so she is shipped off to live with her aunt and her mother – who is also licking her wounds. One of the conditions of her suspension involves her doing an internship at her Aunt’s major non-profit organization and so begins several months of Alaine…

So Much Food and Softness: Natalie Tan’s Book of Fortune by Roselle Lim

Posted by on 07/19/2019 • 0 Comments

Here is the thing about Natalie Tan’s Book of Fortune, it is sweet with a dash of magic and an incredible amount of food porn. For those reasons, I was immediately drawn in and enjoyed the book. But, the writing is not quite there so even though the story itself is wonderful, the way it is written and told isn’t? 

First things first, this book is not a romance for those romance readers eyeing this book. It is a story about love but not necessarily romantic love. 

Natalie Tan comes home for the first time in years after her mother passes away. They parted on bad terms and Natalie never got to bridge the gap that emerged between the two. A letter her ma-ma left behind for her imparts her…

Heartbreaking, Swoony & Funny: Symptoms of a Heartbreak by Sona Charaipotra

Posted by on 07/10/2019 • 0 Comments

Remember how back in 2012 the only book anyone ever talked about was The Fault in Our Stars? I wish Symptoms of a Heartbreak was around back then because it is infinitely better and hits a lot of the same emotional notes that TFIOS hit for many people. While this book is pitched as a medical romcom, I’d actually describe it as less of a romcom and more of a family comedy with a smidgen of romance and a lot of growth and development. 

Saira is Girl Genius and the youngest doctor ever. But all that genius cannot prepare for her first year as an intern at the place where it all started – when she diagnosed her best friend with cancer at the age of 6. It also cannot…

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….

Potentially the best Pride and Prejudice Adaptation: Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin

Posted by on 07/02/2019 • 8 Comments

I’ve been going through a reading slump lately and starting a book takes a lot more effort than I would like. When, I picked up Ayesha a couple days ago, I was really sad I couldn’t get into it so I put it down and continued binging Brooklyn Nine Nine. Because I had it for review though, I decided to pick it up again  and push through. I ended up going to bed at 5:30 AM because I legitimately did not want to put Ayesha at Last down.

I first read P&P in 10th grade and watched the BBC adaptation alongside reading it. I thought the Colin Firth adaptation was the peak of P&P adaptations. Reading Ayesha at Last has made me completely reevaluate that opinion. This thoughtful, creative retelling…