Girl Gone Viral is a meaningful contemporary romance about overcoming your past and opening yourself up to love. The characters are sweet and innocent yet they both struggle with their past. This is my first time reading Alisha Rai and it most definitely won't be my last.

Katrina is a young woman who has been through it. She loves living her life on the low down and doesn't seek out attention. But a live tweet at a cafe changes everything. Her 'date' with #CafeBae has made her go viral. If only people knew the truth. She doesn't want affection from #CafeBae more like #HotBodyguard.

Jas has been her bodyguard after she experienced some horrific things as a child. They have an awkward relationship because they are both somewhat timid. He is gorgeous and swoon-worthy.

Their romance is a slow burn but when it happens it feels right. I liked that the author gives readers two complex characters who struggle with anxiety and PTSD because so many of us do and it isn't always talked about.

I give Girl Gone Viral 4 stars. If you enjoy a sweet romance that has depth, you need to read this one. Jas and Katrina are pretty adorable together and you will see it.

Alisha Rai is one of my favorite romance authors, not just because she creates fantastic love stories, but because her books also focus on strong friendships, family dynamics, and mental health. In Girl Gone Viral, we're following Katrina, a former model and current investor who suffers from panic disorder, and her bodyguard and love interest Jas, a veteran dealing with PTSD and the heir to his family's peach farms. No one is ever just one thing in Alisha Rai's books--people are multifaceted, the way they are in real life, and this is one of the best things about her writing. She shows us, over and over again, that people can struggle yet remain awesome, and that mental health issues aren't something to be ashamed of. It's a message that's never heavy-handed, but instead infused into the story, as we see Katrina and Jas support each other, as well as how they're supported by their friends, family, and therapist, and how, without fail, open and honest communication makes things better, not worse.

Katrina and Jas have a sweet relationship; both have unwittingly been pining for each other for years. I don't always like when couples in romance novels have relationships prior to the start of the book, but Rai does a great job justifying why they aren't together yet (not only does Jas work for Katrina, but he also worked for her late husband, and no one wants to cross any lines). I loved how supportive they were of one another throughout the book; what tips off the series of events that brings them together is a threat to Katrina's identity that occurs when a chance encounter at a cafe with another man goes viral, akin to the live-tweeting of a possible couple on an airplane that went viral awhile back.

I can't ever talk about an Alisha Rai book without remarking on her strong female friendships (although there's also a developing friendship group with Samson and his former NFL buds from book 1 that Jas finds himself included in). Rhiannon, the heroine of The Right Swipe, the first book in the series; her badass associate Lakshmi; and Jia, a beauty influencer and Katrina's roommate, support and love one another throughout the book. I also loved the scenes with Jas's family, and their near-instant approval of Katrina.

If you love contemporary romance, and want to read a book that's both extremely fun and extremely thoughtful, you're really going to need to pick this one up. It's one of my favorite romances I've read in a long time.


I received an eARC of Girl Gone Viral from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

I love anything written my Alisha Rai, her stories are original and her characters diverse and strong. In Girl Gone Viral modern themes are touched upon a FPS both the main characters work through trauma together and by themselves, having issues does not mean that you are weak, the main characters learn and help each other but they are not each other’s solution but draw strength from their experiences.

I LOVE this series and this author. How is this book even better than The Right Swipe?!? Love this and am already recommending it left and right.

I loved this book. It wasn’t really what it sounds like. I thought it was going to be about a character heavily engaged in social media. Instead it’s about a woman who has a form of agoraphobia. She’s also extremely wealthy and very kindhearted. And she has a crush on her bodyguard. When some busybodies take a picture of her in a cafe talking to a stranger, the story goes viral and she freaks out. Her handsome bodyguard, Jas Singh, also has a crush on her but is too reserved to think that he could be worthy of her. In order to protect her, he takes her to his family farm. He has to work through his own problems and she can help him reconnect with his family.

This was hard to put down. I found myself really engaged with these characters and pulling for them.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free ebook in exchange for a review!

All the stars for this one ❤️

I couldn’t keep a smile off of my face the entire book! It was so cute and just what I needed right now. There are some heavy subjects such as panic attacks, PTSD, parental abuse and neglect mentioned but it’s done in such a tactful way. Katrina and Jas were extremely like able and you just root for them from the very beginning ❤️ I loved getting Katrina’s story as she was only mentioned in the first book and it was amazing getting to explore her story and seeing her get a happy ending

The predecessor to Girl Gone Viral, Alisha Rai's book The Right Swipe, was absolutely charming and also weaved in more serious topics like traumatic brain injuries in football and #MeToo in tech, so I was excited to read this follow-up focusing on Katrina, a character I really loved in the first Modern Love novel.

As y'all know by now, I'm always hesitant about romances that start off with two characters already in love, since it's often hard to build enough stakes or tension to really invest in that relationship. (And often you're sitting there asking, "For God's sake, why didn't you two just TALK to each other about this?!?!?") However, there always exceptions to rules, and Rai's Girl Gone Viral is one of them. The trajectory of Jas and Katrina's relationship makes sense, and once again, Rai has done a beautiful job bringing in large discussions of mental health, immigrant stories, and family history.

I'd say that one issue I've struggled with in both of the novels in Rai's Modern Love series is the dialogue; it sort of oscillates between being a little robotic and a little too pat for me. But it's definitely not terrible and or anything. Just not my favorite.

Curse you once again, Goodreads, for the lack of half stars. This one's 3.5 for moi.

Beyond just the beautiful romance of Katrina and Jas, Girl Gone Viral highlights how trauma affects people differently. The dynamic that they have with each other, the understanding, comforting, and the loyalty is a treat to read. The steaminess was perfect and fit the story so well. Those moments never took me out of their feelings, journey or away from their progress together. Love the Modern Love series and cannot wait to see whose next!

Girl Gone Viral is a genuinely sweet romance with two protagonists so kind and giving that you can’t help but be swept into their love story. The beginning of this book is familiar if you remember the “Plane Bae” viral phenomenon in 2018, where someone grossly violated the privacy of her neighbors on a plane by tweeting out their interactions, reporting on what they said, speculating on their actions, and generally weaving a story without their knowledge or consent and feeding it to Twitter. In Girl Gone Viral a similar situations happens to former model Katrina King and it’s horrible. Katrina has anxiety and a panic disorder and she’s worked hard to build a life where she feels safe going to even a few places without worry. She guards her privacy and with good reason, so it was even more heartbreaking to watch that privacy be violated when she speaks to a handsome stranger in a café. After someone live tweets the interaction (and makes up some things to go along with it) and it goes viral, Katrina feels the need to get away. Her bodyguard (and longtime crush with amazing eyebrows), Jas Singh, sweeps Katrina off to his family farm in Northern California… And that’s where things get really interesting.

Katrina and Jas are so kind and self-sacrificing that they trip over themselves trying to give the other what they want. It’s incredibly sweet, but their wariness and caution have also kept each from revealing their true feelings to the other. Getting out of their normal routine may just be the push these two cinnamon rolls need to take a risk and let their feelings show. Author Alisha Rai takes what would otherwise be a fairly straightforward romance and gives it depth and breadth by introducing real-world issues into the story. As previously mentioned, Katrina has a panic disorder. I love that she’s so matter-of-fact in how she copes and how Jas interacts with her in the midst of an attack. Mental health problems can’t be cured, only managed and I appreciated that it wasn’t sensationalized but that we see how Katrina builds her world around her to accommodate her needs without shame. Jas also has very real-world issues to face in this story. The military veteran suffers from PTSD and he struggles with communicating and asking for what he needs, even when he’s among those who love and care for him. Add in family drama for both heroes and you have a very full story, but Ms. Rai weaves everything together effortlessly.

From the start of Girl Gone Viral it’s clear that Jas and Katrina are in love with each other, but their actual romance is slow to burn. I do wish I had seen more of them together once they were romantically linked, but it wasn’t too big an issue for me because they operated as a team so well from the start of the book. I really enjoyed Jas and Katrina’s romance and I know I keep using the word “sweet” but it fits them perfectly (even when things get spicy). Girl Gone Viral feels modern in every way, but there’s a timeless quality to the gentleness and quiet strength of Jas and Katrina’s characters that means this book will be enjoyable for years to come.

A really great book, nicely focuses on PTSD in both men and women and how it manifests itself in different ways. Believable heroine and hero, and enough steam to make a girl blush but not put the book down!

Alisha Rai’s second book in her new Modern Love series places the romance between an ex-model and her dutiful bodyguard in the context of a hot topic today. What are the ethics of violating a person’s privacy in public spaces, especially in the age of ubiquitous social media usage? Katrina is a young and quite wealthy woman suffering from PTSD. She can cautiously go into public places as long as she has her bodyguard, Jas, close by, and she observes a number of rituals that she has developed over time to help her. The nature of her PTSD is a big fuzzy in the book, but we are told that she was a childhood victim of domestic violence, and as a young adult, she was kidnapped by a fan and stabbed. The translation between these events and having coffee in a coffee shop could have been examined a bit more for clarity, but I accepted on face value that her trauma is manifesting this way. The premise of the main conflict in the book is that a handsome young man asks to sit with Katrina and flirt over coffee, while unbeknownst to both of them, a lurking patron secretly videos their conversation and later posts it on Twitter. It becomes a viral sensation – though to be honest, I didn’t ever really buy into why their conversation captured so much public attention. Katrina panics when she finds out that her face and name might become available for public consumption and she and her bodyguard flee to his childhood home. And that's where a rather lackluster romance evolves.

I've had a few days to ponder this story, and overall I have to say disappointment is my primary feeling. The main couple have little chemistry, and there is not really much of a plausible reason to explain why they have co-existed in a mutual state of unrequited love for so long. Jas is a rather passive hero in that he is content to love Katrina from afar. He too suffers from PTSD from his years in the military, though the murky story of his trauma remained too confusing to understand fully. Jas also is broody and unable to discuss his feelings with anyone, which quite rightly frustrates Katrina for most of the book.

My overall sense is that I felt disconnected with the story. I didn't understand the dynamic between the main couple as to why they couldn't communicate with each other and what obstacles were keeping them apart. I thought the conflicts in the story had quick resolutions. While the story early sets up privacy in the social media age as a cultural problem in need of examination, the book actually does very little to explore the issues here or offer any insight into what victims of privacy invasion should do in the event flaming or overexposure happens. It is in the end a fairly shallow romance with underdeveloped attention paid to some important social topics in our culture today.

This book just sizzles right from the first page. I loved Katrina’s character when I met her in the previous book, The Right Swipe and desperately wanted her to find her HEA. When I read the synopsis of this book, it made me so happy that she was getting her story. The chemistry between Jas and Katrina is fantastic and just burns the pages. Along with the beautifully written romance, the parts that I absolutely loved are the beautiful relationships that the author has written about Katrina and her friends. The scene where Katrina finds Rhiannon’s sweatshirt packed in her luggage with a note saying it was there in case she needed a hug. Ohhhh, my heart just melted after reading about that. Those are the kind of friends you want in your life who know you even better than yourself. The book just filled my heart up in all the right places. I would highly recommend this book and this series. If you are looking for a sexy as heck and romantic love story, pick up this book. You will absolutely love it.

* I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

The peaked my interest just by chance and I was delighted to discover a good contemporary romance with just the right amount a fluff, gritty issues and steamy sexiness. I will definitely be reading more in the series.

I love this series, and this second book is so much fun! After reading The Right Swipe, I wanted more of these characters, and this story about Katrina and bodyguard Jas was perfect. Fun, heartfelt and touching, I loved every page of it. Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for the advance digital copy!

“Life rarely made narrative sense, but sometimes it could take something away and give something else right back.”

Girl Gone Viral is the second romance novel in the Modern Love series by Alisha Rai.

I read the first book, The Right Swipe, late last year, so it was a treat to read the follow up so quickly. The author recently had a viral experience of her own (for the record, super #TeamAlisha on this) which is a bizarre instance of life imitating art.

Katherine King escaped an emotionally abusive and domineering father when her late husband married her—just to save a young woman he’d met the day before. While they were married, she was kidnapped and held for random. To top it all off, she’d experienced panic attacks since a young age. So when she fell for her bodyguard, it seemed like the worst luck ever. Trying to start a relationship with a trusted employee was off limits.

Jas Singh had a much happier childhood—but enlisted at age 18 and served in Iraq. Not only had he been shot while he was abroad, but the gunman was on his own side. Years later, he still suffered from nightmares and had to avoid certain situations. He’d been lucky to come home to a job with a family friend, but since his friend had died, he had inconveniently fallen in love with the woman he was charged with protecting.

The social media aspect of this was great. So many times I feel iffy on a writer’s grasp of the medium—but Rai gets it. Obviously. This was a strong second book in a series and I hope we get to follow these characters through future novels.

I was a big fan of Alisha Rai's previous novel, The Right Swipe, so I was very excited to read Katrina's story. I had high expectations, and Alisha met every one of them. Both Katrina and Jas have been through a lot, so when they open up and give into their feelings, they come together beautifully. This is a well-written, emotional, engaging read that will leave you thoroughly satisfied.

Alisha Rai addresses some important themes like PTSD, anxiety and panic attacks with honesty and sensitivity. She doesn't just brush them under the rug or mention them in passing, showing a true understanding of the issue. She stresses the importance of friendship and support.

Alisha also addresses maintaining privacy in the age of social media, and how you can become the subject of a viral post despite your permission, knowledge or intentions.

Katrina is a complicated character, with mental health issues. But Alisha has written her as someone living with her issues, with developed coping strategies, knowledge of her triggers, and a desire to push herself to expand her comfort zone on her terms. She is a kind-hearted person that helps her friends get the best they can out of life, and she's ready to get a little bit of happiness for herself, too. She's beginning to go after what she wants.

Jas is a grumpy bodyguard, but he is so much more than a generic trope. He has his own PTSD, and as a result he is kind, compassionate and considerate, especially to Katrina. They fit so well, and their relationship has developed organically over years. It take a lot for them to open up with each other, talk about themselves and their issues, and when they do, the reward in amazing.

Alisha Rai's books are always more than straightforward romances. They're about real people who have real problems and just happen to find love in the process. This book was sweet and lovely, but it was also full of excellent insight into what it's like to live as a person with PTSD or severe anxiety. Can't wait for more from Alisha Rai!

I’m always excited to see a new book by Alisha Rai! Her books aren’t just about a couple falling in love. They feature people facing their fears and finding help. And they show how important emotional support systems are for men and women. The love stories aren’t just about the couple but also how they love their friends and families – biological or found.

In this second book in the Modern Love series, wealthy and reclusive former model Katrina has a huge crush on her bodyguard. Jas, former military, suffers from untreated PTSD and unresolved family issues. Katrina suffers from panic attacks and the emotional damage from an abusive father.

Their relationship is a slow slow burn and I was totally there for it.

If you’re a Swipe Right fan, Rhi and Samson show up in this book along with other quirky, adorable characters. I’d like to be the fierce Lakshmi when I grow up!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the eARC.

This book was good.. I loved the premise and all of the LOL moments. super cute. I love Alisha Rai and all of her books..I dont think she can write a bad one. Looking forward to more rom coms with adorable covers!!