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Alisha Rai’s Modern Love series is a fun, diverse series of love stories with a perfect mix of humor and heart.
Series Title: Modern Love
Author: Alisha Rai
Publisher: Avon
Intended Audience: Adult
Genre: Romance
The Right Swipe
“I am not easy to hurt. I am a stone cold bitch when it comes to men. No rose-colored glasses here.”
The Right Swipe
Title: The Right Swipe (#1)
Narrated by: Summer Morton and Brian Pallino
Published: August 6, 2019
Pages: 387
Pacing: Medium
Moods: Emotional, Lighthearted
Tropes: Sports Romance, One Night Stand, Matchmaking, Epistolary, Miscommunication, Businessperson/Billionaire, Rivals to Lovers
Representation: POC
Content Warnings: Death, Grief, Physical Disability, Toxic Relationship, Emotional Abuse, Sexual Abuse Mention, Racism, Sexism
Spice Scale: 🌶🌶🌶
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 sweet, spicy, and full of heart, and the audiobook narrators did a great job of bringing the book to life. I loved the diverse characters and the role reversal of the heroine being the closed-off tech billionaire instead of the hero. Rhiannon was strong and independent but cared deeply about her friends, which I liked. Her chemistry with Samson was great, and their being dating app rivals worked so well.
Alisha Rai handled the discussion around CTE and sexual harassment so well, and it was balanced well with the sweet and spicy moments in the book. Overall, The Right Swipe was a great read. There was a perfect mix of laugh-out-loud moments and emotional depth, fun characters (like the quirky matchmaking aunt), pop culture references, and quality spicy scenes.
Girl Gone Viral
To be happy, or even to have the possibility of happiness, when the world tells you you shouldn’t, it’s downright subversive.
Girl Gone Viral
Title: Girl Gone Viral (Modern Love #2)
Narrated by: Summer Morton and Brian Pallino
Published: April 21, 2020
Pages: 384
Pacing: Medium
Moods: Emotional, Lighthearted
Tropes: Bodyguard, Ex-Military, Celebrity/Ex-Model, Forced Proximity, Mutual Pining, Characters in Therapy, Social media “meet cute”, Travel/Road Trip
Representation: POC, Punjabi Sikh MC, American/Thai-American MC, Mental health
Content Warnings: Kidnapping Mention, Injury, Military/War Discussion, Mental Health/Anxiety, Family Dysfunction
Spice Scale: 🌶🌶🌶
OMG! Wouldn’t it be adorable if he’s her soulmate???
I don’t see any wedding rings [eyes emoji]
Breaking: #CafeBae and #CuteCafeGirl went to the bathroom AT THE SAME TIME!!!
One minute, Katrina King’s enjoying an innocent conversation with a hot guy at a coffee shop; the next, a stranger has live-tweeted the entire episode with a romantic meet-cute spin and #CafeBae is the new hashtag-du-jour. The problem? Katrina craves a low-profile life, and going viral threatens the peaceful world she’s painstakingly built. Besides, #CafeBae isn’t the man she’s hungry for.
He’s got a [peach emoji] to die for.
With the internet on the hunt for the identity of #CuteCafeGirl, Jas Singh, bodyguard, friend, and possessor of the most beautiful eyebrows Katrina’s ever seen, comes to the rescue and whisks her away to his family’s home. Alone in a remote setting with the object of her affections? It’s a recipe for romance. But after a long dating dry spell, Katrina isn’t sure she can trust her instincts when it comes to love—even if Jas’ every look says he wants to be more than just her bodyguard…
I loved so much about Girl Gone Viral, mainly the characters. I loved Katrina and Jas. Katrina was such a sweetheart and was so caring to everyone in her life. Her struggle with mental health felt realistic, and I loved watching her grow and heal throughout the book. I loved watching Jas grow and heal as well. They had fantastic chemistry from the beginning, pined like crazy, and genuinely cared for each other.
However, the structure and pacing of the book felt off. The plot took a while to take off, especially the viral social media part that the blurb advertised. But, while I did not like the pacing or the structure of this book, the sweet and genuine romance between Katrina and Jas made up for it. They truly adored each other, and it was a joy to read.
First Comes Like
Sometimes it’s not all about big misunderstandings. Sometimes it’s about learning how to talk to each other. We all have insecurities, and we have to help each other navigate around them.
First Comes Like
Title: First Comes Like (#3)
Narrated by: Priya Ayya and Neil Shah
Published: February 16, 2021
Pages: 432
Pacing: Slow
Moods: Lighthearted
Tropes: Fake Dating, Mistaken Identity, Celebrity/Actor, Only One Bed, Catfishing, Arranged Marriage, Single Parent/Guardian
Representation:LGBT, POC, Demi Heroine, Pakistani American Muslim Hijabi Heroine, Indian Hero
Content Warnings: COVID Mentions, Grief, Death of a Family Member, Racism Mentions
Spice Scale:🌶🌶
OMG! Wouldn’t it be adorable if he’s her soulmate???
I don’t see any wedding rings [eyes emoji]
Breaking: #CafeBae and #CuteCafeGirl went to the bathroom AT THE SAME TIME!!!
One minute, Katrina King’s enjoying an innocent conversation with a hot guy at a coffee shop; the next, a stranger has live-tweeted the entire episode with a romantic meet-cute spin and #CafeBae is the new hashtag-du-jour. The problem? Katrina craves a low-profile life, and going viral threatens the peaceful world she’s painstakingly built. Besides, #CafeBae isn’t the man she’s hungry for.
He’s got a [peach emoji] to die for.
With the internet on the hunt for the identity of #CuteCafeGirl, Jas Singh, bodyguard, friend, and possessor of the most beautiful eyebrows Katrina’s ever seen, comes to the rescue and whisks her away to his family’s home. Alone in a remote setting with the object of her affections? It’s a recipe for romance. But after a long dating dry spell, Katrina isn’t sure she can trust her instincts when it comes to love—even if Jas’ every look says he wants to be more than just her bodyguard…
Unfortunately, First Comes Like was my least favorite of this series. I liked the diversity because it’s not often that I read a lot of straightforward demisexual representation. I’ve also never read anything with Muslim representation (although I can’t comment on the authenticity or quality of the representation). But Jia and Dev just didn’t seem as strongly developed as the characters in the previous books.
Alisha Rai did a good job exploring complex family dynamics, and I loved the relationship between Dev and Luna. However, at times the book felt more tell than show. Overall, it was a cute read, and I liked the tender, slow-burn romance between Jia and Dev, but it didn’t grab me as much as the others had. Also, the COVID mentions were too ambiguous that it took me out of it.
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