I do not say this lightly - this is the best romance book I have ever read. Diverse characters always draw me to a book, but this one also dealt with a huge host of issues - mental health, family drama, love, and sex - SO WELL. This is the truly feminist romance that I have been searching for! The ways in which Katrina and Jas help each other through their individual traumas, and how anxiety and PTSD are portrayed, was incredibly beautiful. I think the representation of these issues is really important and I hope that readers who have similar conditions can see themselves in this book. Also I have to say the sex scenes are written SO WELL!! It was so refreshing - and frankly, needed! - to see informed consent and sexual pleasure happening simultaneously and realistically.

I haven't read the author's earlier book, The Right Swipe, but you can bet I will be picking that up soon, and I can't wait to see what she writes next!

I really enjoyed The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai, so I was really looking forward to reading Girl Gone Viral. Having already been introduced to sweet Katrina by way of her roommate Rhiannon, I couldn’t wait to see her bodyguard romance with Jas unfold. However, Girl Gone Viral fell a little flat for me. The pacing was a bit slow for my taste and I kept waiting for characters to connect in ways they never did. I was left with questions about a few characters and wondered why certain topics weren’t further explored. I did like seeing diverse characters dealing with issues such as PTSD and social anxiety, though. While it made for a relaxing read during the pandemic, I was expecting more from this one.

Many thanks to HarperCollins and Netgalley for a copy of Girl Gone Viral in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Alisha Rai book and it will not be my last. I absolutely loved this slow burn friends to lovers romance. Kat and Jas are a perfectly matched pair matched who have harbored secret feelings for each other for years but because of their personal issues (her panic attacks and agoraphobia, his stoicism and ptsd) and professional issues (he's her longtime head of security) they've never acted on them. We first meet Kat following a therapy session where her therapist suggests she try to be open to dating. Unfortunately her chance meeting in a cafe threatens her closely guarded privacy when she becomes the viral subject of romantic speculation with a stranger. The #cafebae viral storyline was so frustrating and I definitely sympathized with Kat.

Kat retreats to Jas' childhood home. I really liked the glimpse into Jas' family life and how well Kat fits in, she's a calming and understanding addition. I appreciated that Jas and Kat are both professionally fulfilled and that they understand and complete each other. Finally, even though the relationship was slow burn, the love scenes were refreshing and full of heat.

Kat, whom we met in The Right Swipe, is an intensely private person. Part of the reason for that is she suffers from anxiety and also experienced a traumatizing event that has made her extra guarded and slow to trust. Her immediate circle includes her best friend Rhiannon, Rhiannon's assistant and Jas, her bodyguard. She's happy to keep her circle tight and look after them. When her much-valued privacy and anonymity are blown thanks to a viral tweet, she panics and Jas' protectiveness kicks in. He takes her to his family's peach farm, far, far away from the prying eyes of the city where she can take a breath and wait it out until the public interest wanes. While Kat escapes the media hounding, Jas comes face-to-face with what he's been avoiding: his family. His grandfather's expectation of him and the weight of his inheritance has driven a wedge between them. After his tour of duty, Jas finds it hard to confide in anyone about his experience and the nightmares that torment him. Coming home is almost more than he can handle but he has to keep it together for Kat's sake.


Firstly, Kat and Jas are hopelessly in love with each other though neither has admitted that out loud. There's the sensitive employer-employee dynamic and also the fear of being that vulnerable and open to rejection and heartache. They're ridiculously attractive people and together they're basically blinding to our mere mortal eyes; we don't stand a chance. I have to say that I did enjoy the dance they'd do around each other, noticing the little things, being hyper aware of the shift in atmosphere whenever they were close or barely touched. I liked how that tension between them gradually built while they were hiding away from the rest of the world in their own tiny bubble.


Secondly, the social media angle felt to me like Rai was putting into words how I feel about it sometimes. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy scrolling through feeds and seeing all the pictures but I am also acutely aware that most of that is staged. Perfection sells. So do fairytales and these days fairytales are written differently. In this case, they're live tweeted by people detailing every bit of what they observe is happening in front of them. Now I'll admit, it can be cute. Who doesn't want to get behind two people falling in love and witness it happening in real time? But it's creepy when you think about it. There's someone there watching you intently, listening in on what should be a private conversation even if you are in public, putting things out there and spinning things into something it may not be. It is a total invasion of privacy. So I completely understood Kat's feeling about it and how the unwanted scrutiny further fueled her anxiety.


Rai writes some spectacular romances and I like Girl Gone Viral and The Right Swipe for different reasons. Both offer pertinent commentary on social culture as you fall in love with the characters. They're entertaining reads with gratifying resolutions and I love every bit of them.


~ Bel

I love that this was "ripped from the headlines" of #planebae (like a Law & Order episode, which I used to watch religiously)-- but with the author's own take. I haven't read the author's other books, but now I will. It was just that good!

This novel was so much more than I thought it would be. I loved that there were laugh out loud moments, sentimental moments, and moments that revealed the realities of PTSD from both a military perspective and a perspective from someone with a not-so-good childhood. The characters had great backstories, and I enjoyed that the story was more than just a cute, romantic tale. The basis of this novel sheds light on the power of social media and the importance of privacy -- even in the face of a so-called "meet-cute" moment in a coffee shop.

Yay me, for attempting to clear a backlog of arcs to be reviewed.

This is well-written and slow-burn angst, but it didn’t quite click like I hoped. I enjoyed a lot about this book (Katrina’s struggles with anxiety and panic attacks, the history/culture behind Jas’s Sikh family and peach farm, the sinister implications of social media vitality). But I wasn’t completely sold on the relationship, especially the pacing of the romantic development.

To put it more bluntly, I liked everything about this romance novel except the romance. It’s fine; I just wasn’t particularly moved by them as a couple even if I loved Katrina’s individual arc. I love slow-burn so I’m not sure why I wasn’t moved by this book. Who knows? 🤷🏽‍♀️ Maybe it’s because bodyguard romance isn’t my thing? Plus, it’s coupled with friends-to-lovers, which also isn’t my fave trope... maybe the combination of two meh tropes is why I didn’t love this book. Sometimes there’s no rhyme or reason to a book reaction.

I’d still rec it for fans of slow burn because Alisha is a fantastic writer and many of my friends have loved GIRL GONE VIRAL. It’s definitely worth a read, imo.

Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I was in a book slump before reading this book and I’m going to credit Alisha Rai with helping me slowly make my way out of it. Here, Rai is doing for live tweeting strangers’ lives what Jasmine Guillory did for public proposals: exposing it as not the best idea that leads to a whole mess of consent issues.

Katrina King is just living her life when a random man asks to sit at her table in a crowded coffee shop. They make small talk and she leaves, only to find out later that the people at the table next to her were listening in and live tweeting their perspective of the whole encounter. Their “date” goes viral and the Internet wants to know who the couple is. This is the last thing Katrina wants, having invested A LOT of time getting out of the public eye and healing from past trauma. Luckily, her trusty (and super hot) bodyguard, Jas Singh, happens to have access to his family’s farm and a secluded cabin…

I absolutely love the deep dive that Rai takes into exploring her characters’ trauma. I think sometimes you see a sort of “love heals all” in some romances, but things don’t work out that easily. Here, both Katrina and Jas have developed their own coping mechanisms and still get to work on that continuation of their healing processes and how they’re going to adapt to their evolving relationship. Part of why their friends to lovers works is because they’ve known each other for a long time, although it did throw me off a bit to know that Jas worked for her husband before becoming Katrina’s employee. Both of them are not big risktakers, so that familiarity is necessary both for conflict and for it to be realistic for them to get together. Once you get past the initial café encounter, it’s extremely clear that Katrina is not the type of person to jump into anything, especially because of her past trauma. Jas was a soldier before he was a bodyguard, so his training and life experiences have conditioned him to not automatically trust that people are harmless.

To go back to the inciting incident of the live tweeted “date,” I want to say again that I really appreciated this more complex meditation on the phenomenon. I have read those meet cute threads or the reddit AITA posts, and I’m not going to lie, I definitely have found them fascinating. The live-tweeting observer usually has an excellent way of picking out the interesting tidbits and making observations that create an exciting story happening in real time. But, like many aspects of the Internet, this is another example of how people use their faceless anonymity and distance from the situation to forget that there’s a real person on the other end of the story. Someone is living out their everyday life, not realizing that their actions are being broadcast to the world, and they have no way to opt out or give permission. And when the Internet decides that they need to know more and track down the people involved? It’s a quick jump from identifying a person to doxing.

To sum up, Alisha Rai is fantastic and this is an excellent book! Also, the inspiration for Jas’s family farm is so cool—it’s based on a real community in Yuba City that “is reportedly home to one of the largest populations of Punjabis outside of Punjab” (Letter from the Author 6).

Girl Gone Viral is the 2nd book in the Modern Love series.  I had not read the first one and it did take me a bit to get into reading this one and I am not sure if it is because I was missing some backstory or not, but once things started to take off, I was hooked.  Katrina is an investor that likes to keep things private and stay to herself.  When she finds herself politely sharing a table with a guy at a coffee shop, another patron tweets the whole thing as if it is a first date and they just met their soulmate, causing the encounter to go viral.  Will the public figure out that it is Katrina?  She skirts off for a secret getaway with her bodyguard - the one who knows everything about her and is there to protect her.  She is a client.  But is that all she is?  Katrina is determined to get to know Jas more and get him to talk about his feelings... but was going to his family's farm to escape really the right thing to do?

I enjoyed this book - lots of sub plots throughout it that kept things interesting and I also liked how it revolved around Katrina's panic attacks and how she is trying to escape them but didn't ignore the importance of mental health and several characters mentioned coping mechanisms and how therapy isn't a bad thing and it could be helpful to put your thoughts and feelings out there.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.

This book was super slow and nothing spectacular about it. I thought the author did a great job with the Kat's anxiety disorder and making Kat more than someone defined by that. The hero was a fine and caring person and was a good match for Kat. But nothing in this book overwhelmed me. I do think I was at a disadvantage for having not read the previous book and perhaps missed the opportunity to get to know all the characters more. But nothing made me feel compelled to go back and read that one either.

I wish I’d great The Right Swipe prior! I think I would have enjoyed it more but it was still a fun book! Round up to 3.5 stars!

Here’s what I loved about Girl Gone Viral (and the first book in the series, The Right Swipe): Alisha Rai makes the implausible plausible by using emotional depth. That’s a pretty generic statement, so let me clarify. We all know romance has a plausibility problem: there can only be so many dukes, after all. Same is true for billionaires, if you’re into that. And how many remote cabins with just one bed can there actually be? We know it, we acknowledge it, and we enjoy it all regardless, right? But somehow, here, Alisha Rai is taking tropes that might seem delightfully implausible anywhere else – the rich lady simply HAS to run off to the country with her bodyguard!! – and imbuing them with real-world issues and emotional backstory that make it seem really realistic that the only solution to an extremely rich former model’s problem is a peach farm. No, really!

Between pulling stories from actual headlines, whether it’s the misogyny inherent in the algorithms of dating apps in the first book, or fake meet-cutes going viral in this one, and giving her characters backstories that work well in the modern world (Katrina’s modeling past and the lasting trauma her treatment gave her is something that’s widely recognizable these days, as is Jas' PTSD and anxiety), Rai is bringing real world cred to her trope-heavy romances, and I love it.

The other thing I love? Communication, baby. I’ve said it here and lots of other places that my second-least favorite kind of romance is the kind where the entire conflict hinges on the fact that the characters can’t bring themselves to have a simple conversation. Here’s another place Girl Gone Viral turns tropes upside down. Early on, I thought we were on track to have a classic can’t-tell-them-I-like-them communications breakdown, and JUST as I started to roll my eyes, the story flipped everything around and the kind of honest conversation I love happened – and THEN the real communication conflict began, in a much more satisfying, realistic way for a book about two people with severe trauma, anxiety, PTSD, and panic disorders.

And let’s talk a little bit about mental health. This is another thing that Rai has done really well with both books; her characters are frank and honest about needing therapy (my romance mantra: THERAPY FOR EVERYONE), and we even sometimes see specifics about how they manage their mental health, particularly Katrina, who has a panic disorder that was exacerbated by trauma. We see, in the narrative, how she manages herself, how she communicates about her disorder, and – most importantly – how the story is about her, and not her mental illness. It’s an important part of her, yes, and impacts how she lives; but it’s not the focus of the story and it’s not magically ‘cured’ by good sex.

And speaking of good sex! This book had one of my favorite moments in recent sex scenes. It’s been a while since Katrina has had penetrative sex, and when she and Jas finally have PiV sex, it initially stings a bit. She tells him to go on, something we frequently see in sex scenes, normally followed by, you know, juices and things that somehow magically make it all better. Instead, Jas frowns at her, stops, tells her it’s absolutely not okay for him to hurt her, and goes and gets lube. MORE OF THIS PLEASE, ROMANCE.

Finally, the last thing I loved about this book was Katrina’s commitment to her sourdough starter. It might be because I read this during quarantine, where everybody and the New York Times cooking section is showing off their sourdough starters, but I was deeply charmed by this little detail. It was such a simple, effective way of showing a lot of facets of Katrina’s character – she feeds the thing every day without fail, she takes it with her when she travels, she cooks delicious food with it, and it is a remnant of her lost childhood with her mother. How can one little jar of yeasty goodness show so many things about a character??? Who knew?

This one was very different from book 1 but I still liked it. If you don't remember, Katrina was the silent partner and friend to Rhiannon, the heroine in book one of this series. We got the little tidbit about Katrina being a recluse, but not the fully understanding as to why.

In this sequel, Katrina is trying her hand at making a love match. However, she isn't finding that zing of attraction that she feels when she is around her bodyguard Jas. She is determined to find someone who returns her affections so when a chance meeting occurs with a handsome stranger at a cafe, Katrina strikes up a conversation. What happens as a result exposes the very private Katrina on the internet. To buy time for the attention to die down, Katrina's bodyguard Jas whisks her away to his family farm and that is when both characters really begin to open up and see what's been in front of them the whole time.

The writing was really engaging and dynamic. The author deals with their mental health issues with sensitivity and grace, so I was really able to empathize with the main characters. Katrina and Jas were dealing with issues that made trusting others very difficult but they clearly don't have trouble trusting with each other. Their subplots with their respective families added another layer of intrigue to this story. I learned a few cultural things thanks to Jas's family. The grandfather reminded me of my own.

The pacing of this story made the romance more believable because these are very cautious and skittish individuals. Imagine a turtle slowly poking their head out of their shell and being to take steps. Each step revealed the characters were always aware of the other and tried their best to meet the other's need. They were pretty good at communicating with the other. The dual pov made the romance more authentic because the reader got to follow the character's mental and emotional journey.

I thought there was an excellent balance with the romance and their individual growth/healing. I am always a fan of love stories where the characters grow and make the choice to fight for their own happiness. I enjoyed the slow burn and ultimately the happy ending. This series proved to be a hit for me and I can't wait for the next book.

Katrina King, Aka Kat, would like to date again, but tries to keep a low profile ever since she left modeling and her father’s control. She ventures out to local places gaining a comfort level to avoid a panic attack. One morning she is having a coffee at a local cafe and as the other tables are full, a cute guy asks to share her table and they have a conversation. Unknown to Kat, the gal at the next table is listening and tweeting about their meet-cute in error. The event goes viral, so Kat’s bodyguard and friend, Jas, rescues her by taking her to his family farm a few hours away. While there, Kat discovers her feelings for Jas run deep and that his troubles with his family are deeper. Can they resolve their issues to make a love connection?

Girl Gone Viral is the second book in the Modern Love series. Although I did read The Right Swipe first, this book could be read as a stand alone without any confusion to the reader. The connection between Kat and Jas is undeniable and electric. I cheered for the two of them to get over themselves and just admit their feelings. Full of suspense as well, I couldn’t put this book down. Great Rom-Com based in modern digital times - perfect for a beach read or getaway!

I loved this book! Such a sweet and funny romance. This is a companion to "The Right Swipe" but you do not have to read the first book in order to enjoy this gem! Thank you to Netgally and the Publisher for allowing me to enjoy this book!

This was a great next book in the series. You really want for the characters to connect and put their fears behind them. I will definitely be recommending this book to my book club. Thank you for the arc NetGalley.

Alisha Rai knocks it out of the park in Girl Gone Viral, and this book more than deserves to go viral itself.

You may have heard a little to do a while ago about a romance author who went out on a first date and subsequently found herself Twitter-famous for a tweet about cake pops. You’ll be happy to know that Alisha Rai’s new release, Girl Gone Viral, isn’t meant to be autobiographical, but she probably has a better understanding of its heroine’s central debacle.

Katrina had a traumatic childhood. After losing her mother at a young age and living with a control freak, gas-lighting, abusive father/manager, she’s happy to put her modeling persona behind her and enjoy the delights of anonymity in adulthood.

So, when a chance encounter at her favorite local coffee shop hits the internet with force, Katrina looks to her most loyal bodyguard, Jasminder, to help her find a way to avoid the masses. And he is more than happy to do whatever it takes to keep her safe, even if that means returning to his childhood home and facing his entire family.

I can’t believe this is my first Alisha Rai read. I mean, I’m glad it was, because Katrina and Jasminder are one hell of a pair to introduce me to her immense talent and distinct style. This vibrant world full of unique and authentic people left me feeling warm and tingly down to my toes.

I am in love with the men and women that make up the Modern Love series, and you better believe I am about to rectify my not having read The Right Swipe first (I’m pretty damn eager now that I know who that story is about).

But putting all that aside, I really just want to talk about how wonderful a story Girl Gone Viral is. I immediately identified with both Jas and Katrina, because I’ve definitely been in their emotional shoes before.

Watching them both tiptoe around each other, feeling the other out while believing in equal measure that there’s absolutely no chance that this loyal friend could possibly have the same feelings. Luckily for them, it just took the right place, the right time, and the right circumstances to give them the push they needed to throw caution to the wind.

And that’s what is so wonderful and remarkable about good romance. You don’t have to have anything in common with the lives that Kat and Jas have lead to feel kinship. I have very little experience in the type of world they spend their days in, and share very little commonality with their histories and cultures, but I immediately knew that ever-present ache of an (assumed) ill-fated crush. And I knew them, just like that. I knew their hearts and souls before I ever knew their lineage and histories.

And the rich backstory for both of them brings a satisfying fullness to the world they inhabit. Learning everything about Jas in relation to his family, understanding his life experiences and how they both empower and inhibit him in particular circumstances, I saw the image of the kind of man Kat has been surrounded by all these years in striking detail.

Kat has such a dichotomous history with men. She’s known both great cruelty and great kindness. She has experienced one man’s intense manipulation and another’s blissful attempt at freedom. So it’s only fitting that her emotions attach themselves to a constant source of kindness and protection, a man whose job it is to keep her safe, but whose goal is to help her live.

I am beyond grateful that this book dropped into my world at the exact moment it did. I don’t know how much longer I would have gone without experiencing the incredible writing of Alisha Rai, if Girl Gone Viral hadn’t fit perfectly into an unintended gap in my reading schedule. I believe it was meant to be, and I look forward to taking advantage of any spare time I may have in the next few unpredictable months by diving into her back catalog, especially since a few of them have been on my TBR for longer than I care to admit.

And this might just be the perfect book to escape into during these uncertain times. I find myself searching out comfort reads, and while sometimes that’s a high fantasy world completely separate from these current circumstances, other times, it’s just a wonderfully crafted, intimate story set in the familiar. One that doesn’t require learning a new world order, but one that opens my perspective to just how many different ways there are to live and learn in the world we share.

Girl Gone Viral is the perfect tale of unrequited love that is so very, very far from ever being unrequited. I really hope I learned from Kat and Jas’ reticence to take chances with acceptable to reach for spectacular. I hope that anyone who needs to break free from the confines of their homes finds escape and solace reading Katrina and Jasminder’s love story.


Girl Gone Viral is available now! Get your copy from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound, or Book Depository, and remember to add it to your Goodreads, too! Happy reading!

For social media influencers and celebrities, going viral may be desirable. But for privacy conscious Katrina King, it’s a nightmare. After her casual conversation with a stranger at a coffee shop is framed as a date by someone live-tweeting from the next table, Katrina feels like she has to get away. Luckily, her bodyguard, Jas Singh, can provide sanctuary in the form of a secluded house on his family’s peach farm. Going to the farm brings Katrina a sense of safety. It also forces her to confront her growing feelings for Jas.

Girl Gone Viral is much more than a love story. It explores a wide range of issues from privacy on social media and generational family dynamics to anxiety and post traumatic stress. Readers will appreciate the comedic touches and the realistic depictions of modern dating and sexual relationships.

Widow Katrina King is trying to live an unassuming and private life, until a misunderstood photo causes her to go viral. While she is trying to keep her anxiety from going haywire, she also is trying to keep her feelings for her bodyguard, Jas, under wraps.

Jas Singh has been working for Katrina since before she and her now deceased husband got married, and has been in love with her for just as long? He now has to decide if he will further bury his feelings, or make his request known.

Although this book shows as being part of a series, I read the first book, and it's not mandatory to read the previous book before this one, unless you really just want to (and the first one was good also). It was a slow romance, and I'm glad to see that. The book also showcased PTSD in a respectful way. The book was very enjoyable, and I will be looking for more from this author in the future.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Katrina is a very wealthy former model, who is just trying to live her life, and go unnoticed in this up and coming digital world. After sharing a table with a handsome stranger, at a local cafe, Katrina finds herself going viral on Twitter. Someone captures a picture of them, and tags them #cutecafegirl with a fake meet cute story! To try and keep her out of the spotlight, her bodyguard Jas, takes her away to his family’s farm. While hiding out, are they going to realize they actually have feelings for one another?

Alisha Rai does it again, I absolutely loved this book!! This is the second book in the Modern Love series. This book can be read as a stand alone, but would be better followed by the first book! I really enjoyed the bodyguard romance in this book. There is some heavy topics in this book, but I felt the author did a good job at mentioning them lightly. I felt like Katrina and Jas were such real characters, it was easier to connect to them. If you haven’t read this series yet, I highly suggest it!

Thank you Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.