Thank you to the publisher for sending this to me in exchange for my honest review!

This was surprisingly my first book from Alisha Rai and it definitely won’t be my last! I completely ADORED this story!! It was fast paced, addictive and such a fun enemies to lovers romance! It was sexy and smart with a HEADSTRONG female lead!

First, the representation is so important!! I loved it!! Especially in this day and age, this type of romance is important to read! I loved how even though it was a romantic comedy, it stayed realistic in a way! It was perfect for this story and had a great balance. Not only does it tackle real issues, it’s also a bit of a sports romance with the main hero being a FOOTBALL PLAYER! I can’t even being to tell you how many times he made me swoon. He was so SWEET and had my heart melting!

The ANGST in this book had me aching for these two to be together and let me tell you, these two EARNED their happily ever after! Rhi was a badass and I loved how she didn’t make it easy, although I will say towards the end I was getting a bit frustrated with her. I loved her so much but I just wanted them to be happy! These two had to work towards the ending they deserve and it was a rollercoaster!! Even though there was a lot of that “push-pull” this book is filled with so much heart and sweet moments as well. It’s witty and fun and everything you would expect from the synopsis and cover!

I’m very excited for more from this series and to circle back and read more of Alisha Rais books!

Well, friends and readers, it’s been a month of nonstop work and no play, which, for this feral spinster, means barely romance reading since mid-August other than a slog through Alisha Rai’s The Right Swipe (not to say that the novel was sluggish). It wasn’t a shining star of the romance universe, but the romance-reading torpidity was all me. I can safely say to you, my readers, that The Right Swipe was better in concept than execution. It certainly hit a lot of the cool-romance-gestalt buttons: the heroine, Rhiannon Hunter, CEO of a date-matching app, Crush, out to buy the tried-and-tested-and-first-now-dated app, Matchmaker; the hero, Samson Lima, a mild, muscular beta, former football star, nephew to Matchmaker’s owner, Annabelle Kostas. Honestly, I started the novel such a long time ago, I barely remember the beginning, other than to say Samson and Rhi are thrown together at a tech con, Samson having taken on a promotional role in his aunt’s company. Ah, but dear readers, there be a past history there. Thanks to said apps, Samson and Rhi spent one night together months ago. Though Samson asked to see Rhi again at the end of the night, he never contacted her. As she thinks in the first chapter, he “ghosted” her … cool-romance-element, check two.

But, but, but, dear readers, Samson does come with the bestest of reasons for the “ghosting”: he’d been caring for his uncle, also a former football star, as was Samson’s dad, who died of Alzheimer’s and ALS. Samson was devastated. (This made me think Rai is paying a little homage to my three favourite films, Before Sunrise, Sunset, and Midnight … when Celine doesn’t show up for her reunion with Jesse because her beloved grandmother died. Really, if you haven’t seen them, do, they’re great.) When Samson explains why he didn’t contact Rhi, she does sort of forgive him. But, Rai definitely set out to create a difficult, closed-off, and prickly heroine, so Rhi agrees to sleep with Samson (the intimacy is great and was), but no emotions, strictly come-hither-babe and we’re done once this con is over. Samson, on the other hand, is an emotional dude; moreover, he’s a one-women-kind-of-guy and anything but a player, as we learn: “He’d been single and entirely celibate for almost five years before That Night. A modern Lothario, he was not.”

Business throws and keeps Samson and Rhi together, with the whole app-world laid out in the novel, which this old fogey found boring. Other than the fairy-app-godmother role played by Samson’s aunt, Annabelle, which was delightful and fun. She was wonderful. While Samson and Rhi enjoy a hands-on relationship, things truck along the check-list of cool-romance-requirements: vulnerabilities are revealed. Samson has trust issues; Rhi, on the other hand, has trust-blocks, with good reasons, like gaslighting and mental abuse from someone she thought she could trust, someone she loved. Things come home to roost by the end of the novel, there is a Big Mis between Samson and Rhi, so the hand of romance’s Achilles’ heel rears its ugly “head”? (Let’s face it, heels aren’t the most attractive of bits.) But there is a mild HEA, with requisite cool-not-PIV-sex and cutesy avowals of lurve.

This is definitely a romance that many romance readers will enjoy and applaud. I found the Samson-Rhi romance lacklustre and sporadic. It felt like there were so many other things important to Rai, the “ghosting,” the CTE issues in football, which become central to Samson’s story, Rhi’s asshole former BF and what he did to her ability to love and trust (which also has roots in her schooling). While I admit to some liking for Samson, I found Rhi difficult, not because she was prickly and weird and had a penchant for wearing hoodies (which I admit I have an unreasonable dislike of), but because Rai took so long to let us know what made her tick. I did sympathize with Rhi … by the end, but the revelations came so late that I’d already invested in a long novel (it felt long to me) without much reader-payback. I don’t regret reading Swipe, but I won’t be following the series. With Miss Austen, we say Rai’s The Right Swipe is “almost pretty,” Northanger Abbey.

Alisha Rai’s The Right Swipe is published by Avon Books. It was released August 2nd and may be found at your preferred vendor. I received an e-ARC of The Right Swipe from Avon Books, via Netgalley.

Super cute romance! I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick and easy read but was culturally relevant. Definitely will be reading Alisha Rai's next book!

I loved this book so much from the very beginning! I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a profoundly interesting and steamy romance. 5/5 stars!

I have loved Alisha Rai's books to date and this was one of my most anticipated reads of the summer. I was SO excited to get a copy through NetGalley. Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me. A lot of things I like about Rai's previous books weren't present here: snappy chemistry between characters, forbidden romance, etc. I felt more like I was being told by the characters that there was chemistry than observing it in dialogue and actions. Maybe that was in part because I felt like Rhiannon held on to her anger (at being ghosted by Samson) longer than was logical for someone we're told is so logical and strong. I wanted to love the book -- especially because it seamlessly integrated a lot of current issues like CTE, Me Too, and diversity and women in technology (and romance!) -- but, honestly, I had to force myself to finish. A Rai first for me.

I was given a free copy of this book by #Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Competing dating services all vie for a chance to merge with the oldest dating service on the market. Rhiannon thinks she has a good shot at completing the business deal merging her company with the other, but she gets a surprise when she sees a guy who ghosted her is the spokesman for the competitor. Can Rhi get over her anger to complete the deal? And is that the only deal she'll complete? Fun read.

This was my first Alisha Rai book (I know, I know, I'm so far behind!!!!) but will definitely not be my last. I love how the author weaves such a modern and contemporary spin to the dating game, which let's face it, is not always so fun!

Rhiannon is my kind of woman....strong, driven, takes no prisoners. And to see her heart softened by big ol' Samson made me smile. I love .a second chances romance and paired with a "it's JUST sex" angle that turns to, of course, a love connection, made me squeal with delight.

Loved it!

Really enjoyed this modern romance story with wit and humor. I especially liked how it brought up and handled relevant issues of CTE and the #metoo movement. This story made me laugh and really root for the characters

Thank you NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. It was such a great read and finished it in one sitting. The characters chemistry was perfect. I would recommend this book.

Before beginning I want to give a trigger warning for representation of an abusive relationship in here, which is mentioned throughout the novel multiple times.

I love Alisha Rai, and I love her most recent release. This book hooked me from the start, with what is probably one of the best first lines in a book (not telling you what it is, that way you can pick up the book and find out on your own). I didn't know too much about this book going in besides the fact that it was about a dating app creator (who made a cameo in the Forbidden Hearts series). I loved getting to know Rhiannon more, and see what it was like for her to be a female in a male dominated field.

"Working for other employers, she'd always had to be on guard against displaying her femininity for fear they would think she wasn't tough."

Like the rest of Rai's books, once I started The Right Swipe, I couldn't put it down until I was done. After a few chapters I was totally engrossed and obsessed with the story and the characters. Not only was Rhiannon a tough executive and creator and so great to read about, but Samson was so sweet and the perfect love interest. Both characters have a lot going on in their lives, but being with each other brings out the best in them, and gives them a safe space to be themselves and be vulnerable.

"He didn't want to go on another date with another woman from Matchmaker. He wanted to see Rhi. In bed, in her car, on a rooftop. She was his Green Eggs and Ham, he'd take her anywhere."

Not only was the romance fun (which I wish there was more of), I love that there was so much discussion on CTE and the #metoo movement. Samson is an ex pro football player who quit because of the dangers of CTE and because of family members who died from the disease. Throughout the book Samson struggles with the deaths of family members, and wanting to bring more attention to the disease. Rhiannon experienced being blacklisted in the technology community because of a former male employer. Throughout the novel she struggles with being vulnerable because of what happened to her in the past. We are also able to see what Rhiannon struggles with being around people who've heard rumors about her and judge her.

Overall Alisha Rai's newest release is an easy to read novel with so much meaning throughout. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series! There was so much in this book, and I highly recommend it.

If you've read The Right Swipe, what did you think of it?

ARC courtesy of Netgalley

Rai shifts from erotic romance to straight-out contemporary with this story of an app developer with a chip on her shoulder and the man who hopes for a second chance to make a better second impression. Thirty-seven-year-old Rhiannon Hunter, an African-American entrepreneur, is looking to expand her dating app company by negotiating the purchase of a competitor. But her business plan becomes more complicated when the new spokesman for her target company turns out to be the hunky guy with whom she last hooked-up—and who later ghosted her.

The feminist underpinnings of Rai's romance are clear:

"The funny thing was, Rhiannon could be sweet and kind, and she was loyal to the death, if she loved a person. But no one would have ever described her as sweet, kind, and loyal. Because the world had decided long ago what a sweet, kind, and loyal woman looked like, and it wasn't her.... When she'd found herself heartbroken and alone four years ago, she'd made a promise to create an alternate universe for herself. One in which she didn't spend hours and days and weeks and months losing time mourning people who who treated her poorly. In the other universe, with her time reclaimed, she owned the world."

I loved reading about an African-American woman who had made it in the computer app world, especially one who had overcome sexism in her past work life. I did wish, though, that Rai had showed us, rather than just told us, about Rhiannon's kind and sweet side. She's so tough and closed off, even to the reader, it make it difficult to feel strongly for her or to relate.

I wasn't as charmed as some reviewers were with the story's depictions of app-dating life (having not experienced it personally myself), although young readers with whom I've talked about the book say that those depictions are hilariously dead-on accurate. Rai depicts the impact of the NFL's attitude towards CTE on one former football player and his family with skill and care, too.

The big disappointment here: the love story fell surprisingly flat. Rai's previous books have been emotional roller coaster rides, with strong chemistry between all protagonists and lots of feels for the reader. Not so much in this one. Rhi's continued bad feelings towards Samson, even after she discovers the very excusable reason for his ghosting her, made it difficult for me as a reader to like or relate to her, or to buy into the idea that her feelings for Samson are changing. Samson's repeated observation that Rhi is "tough and blunt" but also "super adorable" was a bit more convincing, but still, not as emotionally moving as I'm used to from Rai's previous books.

I'm a huge fan of Alisha Rai. But while I did enjoy The Right Swipe, it's easily my least favorite title to date and there were some things about it that bothered me. Some of these things I picked up on while reading, and later saw a fellow reader talk about (JenReadsRomance on Goodreads). Other things were like a niggle in the back of my mind but I didn't really grasp why until I read a review from an author I follow (Katrina Jackson, also on Goodreads). I would seriously point to both of those reviews to both sum up my feelings on the book (Jen's review) and the problematic things that I didn't fully understand while reading (Katrina's review).


Those things aside though, the sex scenes were hot, there were some cute moments between the couple, and Samson is a great cinnamon roll type hero. The Right Swipe is still a good read, IMO, but it's not what I would give to a Rai virgin, you know?

This was a great book with a strong female heroine, I think it might make a great rom-com movie. It covered a lot of issues (online dating, ghosting, CTE in pro football,) without preaching about them.

Rhiannon Hunter runs a company and created an online dating app and wants to buy a rival company. She had a rare online dating fiasco and finds that the representative for the company she wants to buy is none other than the guy who ghosted her after an amazing weekend together.

I really like the book a lot even though sometimes Rhiannon's character frustrated me with her lack of compromise.

Thanks to HarperCollins Publishers and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rhiannon is a powerful woman in the tech industry running a successful dating app. She has a plan to buy a competitor dating site but is thrown off balance when she finds out the company’s new spokesperson and a minority shareholder is the hot hook-up she had a few months earlier and then never saw again, Samson Lima. Rhiannon and Samson are powerfully attracted to each and soon find that they also like each other but both have their “issues” from prior heartbreaks, betrayals and losses.
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THE BOOK: it was well-written and had likeable well-developed characters, both primary and secondary. The plot was quirky and fun.
WHAT I DIDN’t LIKE ABOUT THE BOOK: it felt a lot like this was a book with a mission. It read like an ideological instruction manual on how to have a “modern” romance giving detailed accounts of asking for consent to hold hands and when it’s appropriate to send a nude selfie to a lover. Moreover, the plot used the trope that the way best way for these heartbroken people to avoid future heartbreak was to have a sex-only relationship. This completely ignores the fact that anytime we let someone touch our bodies we expose our hearts to them as well.
I believe the author meant to tell a story that gave good advice on how to have a healthy relationship but unfortunately part of her advice just felt wrong. Plus, when a romance novel becomes preachy instead of dreamy it just isn’t much fun to read.

This was a cute book - about an app developer who hooks up with a guy who then ghosts her. Of course their paths cross again and they're stuck working together, both working for rival matchmaking apps. The woman - Rhi - wants to buy the other app, which is owned by a close family friend of the guy. Should she trust Samson again or just use him to close the deal? There were some interesting parts and cute parts of the book. Some of the backstory may be a little heavy for some and for me there wasn't enough romance but overall a good story. It held my interest and I enjoyed it, and I'm glad to see some minorities represented in romance!

Rhiannon and Samson met on a dating app, that she’s the owner and created of, and they hook up. After making plans to see each other again, Samson ghosts Rhiannon (but with good reason!). Fast forward, Rhiannon sees Samson for the first time in months at a work function working for the competitor and their paths end up crossing more than they expect. The synopsis of this book sounded right up my alley and I was really excited to pick it up. But it fell somewhat flat for me. I was expecting another 4-5 star book like The Kiss Quotient and while it held a lot of the steam factor, the story overall just wasn’t as great as I hoped.
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I really liked the “we’re not going to fall in love” premise of the book (in which they ALWAYS fall in love), but Rhiannon’s character bothered me a lot. She seemed very immature in so many ways, and acted somewhat childish. I expected her character to develop a bit, but she just didn’t. While I liked them as a couple, it also was hard for me to enjoy the story as much when she was overreacting about everything.
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I took away a star because of Rhiannon’s character, and a half star because the story just didn’t develop like I had hoped it would. It was predictable but I still enjoyed it for the most part. I could easily see this becoming the next rom com movie to come out... and I’ll probably still pick up the 2nd book in this series 😉
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Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy in exchange for my honest review!

The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai is an adult contemporary romance which I received as an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) from @NetGalley (& Harper Collins!) in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. (Release Date | 06 August 2019)

SYNOPSIS | Rhiannon Hunter has revolutionized romance in the digital world by creating an app where you swipe right on a person you want to get to know better/hook up with (similar to Tinder). The idea is to not fill out the lengthy, archaic, personality tests of some of the rival dating companies, but instead to empower people to swipe & take a chance. However, Rhiannon uses her app for a one night stand with a gentleman she later discovers is Samson Lima (a retired pro American football player). He ghosted her, she is bitter and then she finds out that he is the face of the new marketing campaign of a rival dating company that she is looking to buy.

MY THOUGHTS | I have been having a difficult time with romance lately and I am not sure if I have become more picky, or if I am just not picking up stuff that is hitting the spot. My main criticisms for this book is that I really struggled with the amount of times that Rhiannon's clothing was mentioned. I get it, she is a super chill girl who feels comfortable in sweats and a hoody, but I don't need reminding in every single chapter. I also wasn't a fan of her relationship with Samson (& I really need to feel invested in the romance to root for it). It reminded me a lot of Fix Her Up (which I also didn't really enjoy!).

The Right Swipe is a fun and self-aware romantic comedy. I liked the discussion of modern dating in particular online dating from both a woman and a man's perspective. I am thrilled that people of these characters were people of color which did not need any explanations and just are people. I found Samson's football career to be interesting and I'm glad that Rai did talk about CTE, a topic that is not very much discussed in sports books that I have written. The second chance romance was sweet as both characters had to overcome their own insecurities and hang-ups, but I was expecting a bit more heat to the romance.

4.5 stars. This was a delight! I loved the main characters. The romance deals a lot with trust and vulnerability. The secondary characters were fantastic too. I am so happy to see that this is going to be a series and some of these secondary characters are going to get to tell their stories! This is smart and funny and I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I already have book 2 (Girl Gone Viral - Spring 2020) on my reading list. (Language, sex)

This is a really fun contemporary romance. FYI the doors are open in this one so proceed accordingly if you’re prone to blushing like I am. I loved the characters and their backstory. They grew and progressed and had great chemistry. The plot was fun and quick paced and just exciting enough to fall into that escapist reading that sometimes is exactly what I want to read. It also tackles some timely issues really well and I appreciated the sensitivity and personal growth that the characters acknowledge about each other as they progress. That isn’t always the case so it stood out in a really great way.