This deliciously perfect slow burn of a romance deals with difficult subjects and delivers a divine serving of justice. For fans of Pride Prejudice and Other Flavors and Get a Life Chloe Brown.

I loved the premise of this book. It shows the author is a woman who pays attention to current events and pop culture for inspiration, which means her books are relatable. The portrayal of a couple with their own emotional and mental baggage was nuanced without being clunky (and SURPRISE! Their anxiety and PTSD aren't cured by magical orgasms!)
This was my first book by Rai, but I will definitely look for her others. The one issue I had may seem nitpicking, but it was pervasive enough in some areas that it pulled me from the story... For large sections of the
book, 90% of the sentences began with He, His, She, Her. At times I was chanting, "Pronoun, pronoun, pronoun," as I read.
Also, the hero put off their full bedroom antics because he forgot to go get protection?? Dude. I'd have gone full diva on him. It seriously undermined my belief as a reader that he was THAT invested in transitioning their relationship to a fully sexual one.

I never got the chance to read the first book in this series but found that this was FINE as Girl Gone Viral can be read as a complete standalone. That being said, I really enjoyed this one. The characters deal with some dark issues (which was very unexpected for me) and it's not at light as I thought it would be. However, Alisha writes the story with heart and it shows through the pages. I think I'll have to go back and see how the series started.

I love this series. Excellent follow up to the right swipe. I really appreciate how normal the diversity is portrayed throughout the series with religion, ethnicity and sexuality.

The romance plotline in this book was cute but fairly routine - where this book was really enjoyable was that it dealt with a lot of topics that other romance books wouldn't normally tackle, such as PTSD, mental health, and privacy concerns in social media. Would recommend.

I really enjoyed this companion novel to Swipe Right. Liked how it touch on topics like, mental health, PTSD, and privacy issues. It also helped that the couple in this book were so adorable. The one problem I would have say is felt kinda rushed at the end and "open" ended when came to the whole plot of the book.

Reclusive millionaire Katrina King is ready to puncture her safety bubble. With the help of a small group of great friends, a reliable therapist, and - of course, it is a romance novel - hot long-time bodyguard, Jas, her support system is in place. One morning, as Katrina is enjoying a coffee in one of her few approved safe places, she’s asked to give up a chair at her table to a handsome stranger. She quickly realizes this guy isn’t for her, but the nosy table neighbor did not get the memo and live tweeted this nothing of a meeting, making it into very much something of a viral sensation. Thus, #cafebabe was born, and the world was captivated. A questionable invasion of privacy is now the worst nightmare of a woman who has spent years cultivating her privacy and hiding from the world. Thankfully, that support system launches into motion.

This is the second book of Alisha Rai’s Modern Love series, and fans of the first will enjoy getting better acquainted with Katrina, the best friend and business partner of Rhiannon, the main character from The Right Swipe. You needn't read the first in the series to understand the second, but do go read it if you haven’t: Rai is a gift. One thing she does so well is feature mental health prominently. We follow Katrina’s daily battle with anxiety while slowly learning of past events that caused her such trauma. Rai doesn’t sensationalize this in a way that hijacks the narrative, it’s just a part of life that factors in when, say, you get shoved outside the comfort zone you’ve carefully cultivated for decades by some nosy second rate blogger and escape to the family farm of your hot bodyguard who you’ve been lusting after for years. Mental health is just one blip on a busy radar here, but it should still be complimented.

This is a feel good romance, yet carries enough weight to recommend to a wide variety of readers. Recent authors that strike similar tones would be Helen Hoang and Jasmine Guillory.

Alisha Rai does it again with this amazing story! I loved every second of Kat and Jas' story.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44148565-girl-gone-viral?from_search=true&qid=JD2X2MAR2m&rank=2

Girl Gone Viral, Alisha Rai's second novel in the Modern Love series, is a sweet contemporary romance that centers around Katrina King and an interaction at a local coffee shop that blows up online and gets a worldwide following. The premise of this story does actually seem entirely plausible, with a trending hashtag and morning news coverage of this "cute" meet-up.

I really enjoyed the character of Katrina King - she's a complex character with a lot of backstory who lives a unique life. The pacing of the romance in this book is pretty good. I really appreciated the change of scenery in this book and that the leading man got a ton of backstory as well. This book is easy to cruise through, and fans of breezy yet complex contemporary romance would enjoy this one.

This book was cute! I struggled with the first book in this series but I really enjoyed this one. Who doesnt love a good bodyguard romance? Jas is Katrina's longtime bodyguard and has spent years being secretly in love with her. After a friendly encounter with a stranger in a coffee shop that ends up going viral, Katrina has to lay low and Jas offers her is family farm. There's family drama and pinning and lots of cooking. Overall I really enjoyed it! I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!

This was my first Alisha Rai book and I unfortunately wasn't that impressed with it. I appreciate the diversity in this book and that it dealt with anxiety in a realistic way, however the chemistry between the two main characters was lacking for me. I still was intrigued enough with the story to finish it and I would definitely give this author another try.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this contemporary multicultural romance. Katrina is recovering from a tramautic experience in her past as she unsuccessfully attempts to date again. She has a crush on her military bodyguard who appears to be unaffected by her. Little does she know he is just as infatuated with her. One internet misunderstanding forces Jas to retrieve with her to his childhood home. There they get to know another and their attraction for each other grows. Some angst and plenty of sweet moments.

Ahhh, I LOVED THIS BOOK! It got me out of a reading slump but I am not surprised because Alisha's books are AMAZING. Such a fan of the Modern Love series. I liked Katrina since the first book and was happy to read her story. And damn, Jas just sounds super smoldering. I thought it was super interesting the way mental health was handled in this book, with it showing up in various ways. I felt like it wasn't stigmatized but helped to bring a real layer to the characters. Well done. Also I wanted more steam but I'll take what I got because it was good lol!

The premise is one of my faves! The multi cultural tones. The inclusion and real life-fiction story line. This book felt so fresh and I am so thrilled I was introduced to this new-to-me author.

SUCH a satisfying read. The diversity is A++ and a reason for me to auto buy Alisha Rai's books. Love the warmth, humor, and romance and SMARTS that I know I'll find with each of her books.

The Right Swipe was, for me, kind of just okay. I liked the characters, I think Rai did a good job with it, it just didn't really stick with me or do anything particularly different. It didn't utilize my favorite tropes...it was just kind of a textbook 3 star read.

Girl Gone Viral, on the other hand, I enjoyed significantly more. My anxiety is nowhere near as bad as Katrina's, but it's always really nice to read books with characters I can relate to on that level. It had a really good "cabin in the rain" trope (I mean...in this one it was farmhouse during an internet scandal, but still the same trope). Jas and Katrina were both nice to the point of ridiculousness which is honestly so so much better than romances about jerks. The side characters continue to be amazing (even though most of them were the same side characters from The Right Swipe).

Honestly, I don't have too too much to say. This may not be one of my favorite books of the year, but it made me smile and giggle and have a good time. And in the end, what are books if not entertainment?

This was a wonderful read! The diverse characters were a delight to learn about and it was refreshing to see myself in a heroine with crippling anxiety but who learned to grow within that. Katrina was interesting and nuanced and Jas was drool-worthy! Definitely recommended

An absolute delight from start to finish. Rai knows her way around romance tropes, some of which she plays relatively straight (can we say "oh my god, he was her bodyguard"?) and others she inverts in interesting ways (the meet-cute in a cafe that sparks the central plot is with an unrelated third party). I really enjoy the complex family tensions surrounding Jas (and his untreated, undisclosed PTSD), and Katrina's girl squad is perfection. (You don't have to have read The Right Swipe or the Forbidden Hearts trilogy to appreciate the side characters, but I think it would help.) The straightforward depiction of Katrina's anxiety -- as a chronic condition which she treats with both therapy and medicine; as a part of Katrina which her friends and family accommodate without question; as something that is not curable with the application of the right man's penis -- is excellent. And, most importantly, the romance is ADORABLE. The chemistry is there right from the start, the pining feels believable, the employer-employee conflict is dealt with in a way that didn't raise any hackles, and I was so glad to see these two idiots get their happily ever after.

For several reasons, Katrina King is trying to keep a low profile in life. So when a stranger live tweets photos of what appears to be a meet-cute between her and a man who asks to share her table at a crowded coffee shop, the internet is suddenly obsessed with #cafebae and trying to figure out who she is.

Katrina’s longtime bodyguard, Jas, offers his family’s remote farm as a place to hide out for a few days. He can totally handle being alone with Katrina. He definitely doesn’t think about her all the time, or want to confess his feelings (well, that last one is true).

The story unfolds slowly here, in spite of the dramatic events around them, giving our main characters time to work on their own issues and grow closer together. I really enjoyed it.