Jia is a popular beauty vlogger, former medical student, and the little sister everyone worries about from Rai’s Forbidden Hearts series. Like her family and friends, I feel so protective of Jia. Alisha Rai did such a beautiful job in this book of doing right by the Jia character and staying true to who she has been and is. If I’m honest, I wasn’t really sure how the author of such delightfully steamy romance books would write the love story of a young Muslim hijabi woman with a conservative family. Given how much I loved the first two stories in this series, I should’ve been ready for how well Rai would write Jia’s story. Also, Jia got a BISCUIT of a partner.
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Dev Dixit is the scion of a wealthy and powerful Bollywood family. He’s always tried to make his own way and he’s decided it’s time to conquer the American market. This is great for Jia, because she and Dev have been chatting on social media, except...they haven’t.
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The cat fishing plot device was a great way to have the protagonists encounter each other. I found the quick resolutions of real and potential conflicts to be so refreshing in this book. I find unnecessary conflict/misunderstandings that drag on in romance books so tedious. Relatedly, I respected that Rai had both Dev and Jia adhere to cultural norms. She’s written the “break free” story before and it was interesting to see what the story looks like when the characters are fine going along with the norms.
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Overall, I found this to be the best of the Modern Love series books. It was sweet and, yes, eventually delightfully steamy. The innocence and fumbling between Jia and Dev’s characters were just right. And all of the supporting characters were, as always with Rai, standouts. I want to read follow-up books about Lakshmi, Ayesha, and even Dev’s grandmother.
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I highly recommend the entire Modern Love series and especially First Comes Like!

My first read of 2021 and it did not disappoint!! I really enjoyed Jai and Devs stories. I would have liked to see more of them adapting to life as a couple with Luna. Loved it!

First Comes Like by Alisha Rai is a great contemporary romance that is the third in the Modern Love romance series. I really enjoyed Girl Gone Viral, so I knew that I had to read this book. I am sure glad I did.

I really liked the dynamics between Jia and Dev. Opposites attracting and the narrative of two individuals falling in love...subconsciously or accidentally. The mutual realization of the blossoming of the romance is always wonderful to read. I liked both main characters and feel that they were realistic, likeable, and had great chemistry.

I also really enjoyed the inclusion of the respective family members and the family dynamics and relationships as well. It definitely added another layer of complexity and really added to describing why the MCs are developed as they are.

4/5 stars

Thank you Avon Books for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 2/16/21.

Truly one of the most delightful books I read in 2020. Alisha Rai just does such a wonderful job giving accurate and careful representation to mental health and how it shows up in romance. Pre-2020 I was not a romance reader but now I am and honestly a lot of that has to do with the works of Alisha Rai. Cannot wait to get this on the library shelves and recommend it to ever romance reader, both dedicated and those coming into the genre like myself.

“First Comes Like” is a romance novel about Jia Ahmed, a twenty-something, moderately successful Pakistani American influencer who posts makeup videos on YouTube. For the last year, she believes that she is exchanging romantic messages with Dev Dixit, a famous Bollywood actor, but when he comes to the United States to work on a soap opera and she approaches him at a party, he appears as if he doesn’t know her. It turns out that someone else was impersonating him, using lines from his Bollywood series scripts to impersonate him on the messages Jai is receiving. However, Dev is intrigued by this feisty young woman, and tracks her down via his agent. When he finds out she believes he had been sending her messages, he invites her on a date to try to clear up the misunderstanding. When a photograph of them appears in the gossip magazines in what appears to be a kiss outside the bar where they met, the pair embarks on a fake romance to allay Jai’s parents concerns about her apparent immodest behavior.

The first two thirds of the book was a charming story about a burgeoning romance between two likeable, multi-faceted characters with interesting backstories. Moreover, the secondary characters including Jai’s friends and family, as well as Dev’s uncle and niece, whom he lives with, were also well drawn. However, the last third of the book, starting with the overused plot twist involving an unexpected stay in a hotel that only had one room left, felt contrived and rushed. If the rest of the book had continued in the same vein as the first two thirds, this would have been a delightful book. As it was, the ending dragged down the rating.

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of Harper Collins and William Morrow Marketing.

I was very excited to read the third installment in the Modern Love series from Alisha Rai. Her first two books were fun, romantic reads centered on People of Color and this book did not disappoint. I read it in a day.

We first met Jia at the end of The Right Swipe and had more interactions with her in Girl Gone Viral. She seemed young and fun in both, as a budding internet influencer. At the start of this story, at least a year has passed since Girl Gone Viral. We find that she was sick for a period of time, and it seems both she and one of her sisters, a doctor, may have battled coronavirus, though their illness is never fully explained. Before Jia was sick, a famous Indian TV soap opera star, Dev, slid into her DMs. But after a couple of months, the messages stopped, and she got sick. When Jia discovers Dev has moved to L.A., she reaches out to him, but he brushes her off, so she decides to crash a launch party for his new show. Their story takes off from there.

This is a story about romantic, sweet, conservative love. The side characters were perfect. I loved Adil Uncle and Jia's sisters and parents. I feel like we lost a little of Jia's fun spirit from the previous novels, but that may be due to the author trying to show how Jia turns "on" for her videos, but is more relaxed with her friends and family.

I flew through this book, and I actually think there could have been even more added to the story, as Jia and Dev learn to navigate their relationship.

I love that the Modern Love series is not the normal formulaic romance novel. Each romance (read: amount of/lack of graphic sex) is dependent on the main characters and their stories or beliefs.

This was such a beautiful modern romance. Jia and Dev were authentic characters that were so sweet. I thought their chaste romance was cute and refreshing. The family dynamics worked well to show motivation of the characters but I was slightly skeptical at how quickly it wrapped up and turned out. I would have liked to see a little bit more of Jia’s relationships with her friends, but overall thought it was very good. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I requested First Comes Like because of the Hijabi main character, even though Romance is not usually a genre I prefer. I found the story sweet and a good read. I struggle with writing a review, because I am not very familiar with the culture and religions of the hero and heroine. I felt the topic was treated respectfully, but I have no way to gauge how accurate a representation it was. As a religious person myself, I have seen well-meaning authors portray my faith incorrectly from a lack of knowledge not from disrespect.

What a delight First Comes Like was, to read!
Having enjoyed the first two of the Modern Love series, by Alisha Rai, The Right Swipe and Girl Gone Viral, I was chomping at the bit for this next instalment in the series.
This time we focussed on Jia, a Social Media influencer and successful vlogger, and her love life choices.
It was a breath of fresh air to have a heroine with a headscarf, but that not to be the main point. Heaven knows women of all backgrounds have love lives and similar feelings, but they are not often all portrayed in mainstream writing.
Jia is a girl on a mission; She's already gone against her family's wishes by moving out, after quitting her medical degree, to be an influencer.
But deep down, Jia still has her family ideals and morals ingrained within; mindless flirting and sex before marriage are a no-no.
This is why she is heartbroken when an online connection that felt real ends up being far from it.
Even worse, it was with Dev Dixit, from a hugely popular Bollywood family.
Enter the brooding hero, who, it turns out, didn't even know he was meant to be that particular romantic hero.
Recently moved to the USA, to try and cross over to the Western screens, with a newly acquired young niece under his care, Dev is struggling to keep afloat, and the appearance of this beautiful headscarf-wearing woman throws him.
Tackling a few issues within the story, including cultural clashes, classism, as well catfishing, First Comes Like is a fantastic read, and a feel-good one, to match!
Many thanks to Netgalley, Avon and Harper Voyager for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

This whole series has just been an utter delight? Like truly? I loved how instantly smitten he was and the mature development of their relationship (and her awesome independence in her career!). I’m unsure how I feel about the inclusion of a world post COVID but that was my only sticking point.

I read an ARC of First Comes Like from @netgalley. *The pub date is 2/16/2021, so you don’t have long to wait!*

Modern Love is the best kind of series - I loved The Right Swipe, and after Girl Gone Viral, I couldn’t wait for Jia’s story. Also, Alisha Rai is a delight on Instagram - you should follow her!

Jia is a YouTube make-up vlogger who falls “in like” via DMs with Dev (an Indian serial actor with a very famous family). When they met in person, Dev has no idea who Jia is - she was catfished! (Side note: this is why I’m afraid of online dating.) When they meet in person so Dev can apologize, the paparazzi catches them in a compromising spot. Jia and Dev then fake a relationship that doesn’t stay fake.

I enjoyed this! It’s way more of slow burn that The Right Swipe because Dev and Jia are super traditional, but it did get steamy towards the end. I can’t wait for the next one!

Also, the cover is super cute!

When instagram influencer, Jia, finally meets Bollywood soap star Dev, she remembers all their social media chats with pleasure. That is until he doesn’t know who she is. After undercoving the catfish scheme, they begin to know each other and engage in a fake dating scheme.. each for reasons of their own.

There were many things about this book I liked, and a few that I didn’t. It was an enjoyable read and I liked the main characters. Dev was a bit too good to be true but still swoon worthy. I loved the families and the cultural background that was ingrained within the story. I also give mad props for just the simple fact that the main character is a Muslim, hijab-wearing, makeup guru, Instagram influencer... so freakin’ cool. I found it a bit strange that this was part of the “modern love” series, yet there was no sex... or even touching before marriage. Then I reminded myself that the characters are from a different background, and while it may not be modern for me, it’s the norm for some. That said... I felt the plot was too “insta lovey” for me. I would have preferred more buildup. A common problem that I have with rom com is the shallowness of the relationship conflicts... but I take it for what it is with certain genres. There was also quite a bit of steam. I liked that they were able to add that in, as I wasn’t expected it with the whole chastity/marriage thing.

“Be careful how many times in your life you say not yet, Beti. You’d be surprised how quickly time flies.”

“It wasn’t a romance. It was a fauxmance at best.”

First Comes Like comes out 2/16.

First Comes Like by Alisha Rai is a wonderful blend of modern career paths and traditional family and cultural expectations in this fake dating romance. I really enjoy the diverse cast of characters in this series, as well as the heavier topics covered (grief, loss, abandonment).

I don't love the catfishing trope, so I was glad that it happened mostly before the start of the book. The progress from there kept me intrigued. I liked the authentic details of their careers, and how something they had loved to begin with can shift into something that has burned them out. Especially enlightening was the expectations set upon Jia and Dev for how they should seek out a spouse. It's something that's so culturally different from other families and is great to learn about.

Overall, I'd say this is a 3.75, rounded up. Really fun and sweet and I'd recommend the series. However, there were some things that left me dissatisfied: the conclusion felt a little rushed, the blended family was left hanging, and the career issues were not resolved. I hope that there's another book that might come along and wrap up everyone's stories. Lakshmi maybe? ;)

Thank you Avon and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, what a perfect intersection of modern social platforms and traditional cultural expectation!

It was awesome to see details that really seemed authentic, like the behind the scenes of Jia's vlog as a separate apartment space for her work. Being an online personality is absolutely a huge drain on energy, so having that depicted in her interactions with other streamers was great!

I am going to start off by saying that I literally love anything and everything that Alisha Rai writes and that this book was no exception. However, I feel like the conclusion for this book happened way too quickly, in like 10 pages it went from major problem to everything is fine, the career issues were also not really address or finalized in any sort of concrete way nor was the issue of having a blended family. Rai might sort of really wrap up this book in her next one but I was left mildly dissatisfied.

I really liked the real world situations in this book. Jia Ahmed doesn't necessarily come from a conservative Muslim American family but a modern traditional one. There are still issues with her being a beauty YouTuber/influencer but they aren't because her family believes it is not proper but because they view it as not a real livelihood and they wish she would've stuck with med school. Dev Dixit comes from a really well known Bollywood film dynasty but has chosen TV over films. After the death of his brother and Dev being made guardian of his 13 year old niece he has moved his small family (with his uncle too) to LA to try and be a crossover star of American television. Jia has been communicating with someone she believes is Dev but is actually one of his family members trying to set them up. Jia and Dev manage to work things out but after a series of comedic errors are pushed into getting married before a lot of time has passed. Like a true American/Bollywood romance everything works out in the end. It's not picture perfect but anything worth it in life takes effort. A fun and delightful read well worth anyone's time.

Alisha Rai does an excellent job of making a catfish situation — something that is terrible and not romantic whatsoever — beautiful and exciting. The relationship between the lead characters is so cute that I started dreaming up a whole follow-up story for them, and that's exactly what a good book should do. While there were some pacing issues for me, overall, I really enjoyed "First Comes Like." Maybe I should give dating apps another try....

I have really enjoyed this series about three friends finding romance. I also enjoy the glimpse into two different sorts of ethnic backgrounds.

Pakistani-American Jia writes about beauty tips on Instagram. She’s not an airhead, but she has fallen for catfishing texts from someone pretending to be Dev, a star of Indian television. When Jia gets to meet Dev and they both realize what has happened, Dev is mortified. He’s also really attracted to Jia. Dev is just the nicest guy, trying to make his own way in Hollywood while raising his niece.

This was a very enjoyable read about good people making their way and figuring out how to have a real relationship while pretending to have a fake relationship.

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.

I was so excited to receive this eARC from NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. I loved the first two books in this series and was beyond excited to read Jia’s book. I’m happy to say that I loved this one just as much.
Jia is a beauty influencer. She is feeling like her content is stale and she wants something new. Her dream is to have her own make up line, so that is what she’s working toward. I thought it was really interesting to read about someone that was an influencer. I loved it. I loved how it was shown how hard Jia works, and how much work it really is. But despite all the work she does, her family still doesn’t get it and Jia feels the need to prove herself. I love Jia. I can’t speak to the Muslim representation but I love that this book exists for others to see themselves in. So, Jia has been talking online to Dev Dixit for a while. She manages to get invited to a part that he’s going to be at, so they can finally meet. Except, he has no clue who Jia is.
Dev was a great love interest. He is the guardian of his niece since his brother died and he is trying to cultivate an acting career in America. Dev is just all around a nice guy that is trying to do the right thing for the people in his life. I loved how sweet and thoughtful he was. So, when he learns of what has happened with Jia, he wants to meet with her and make amends. It also helps that he can’t stop thinking about her. (The fact that he watched all of her YouTube videos makes my heart melt.)
I loved their romance. The fake dating trope is such an excellent one. I also thought the book overall did a great job talking about religion and grief, class differences and family differences. I think there were so many good things about this book, but the slow burn, emotional development of Jia and Dev’s relationship was absolutely the best part. While I love a steamy romance, I really loved seeing these two fall in love without any of the usual physical intimacies. They don’t even kiss until after they’re married.
Overall, I cannot get enough of Rai’s books. She made me fall in love with both Jia and Dev (and also all of their family members) while they were falling in love with one another. I adored all the family dynamics, with Jia’s big family and Dev’s grandmother, uncle, and niece. I would love to see the next romance in this series to be one of Jia’s sisters. I think the romance was wonderful and at the same time, it did a great job talking about tough topics like grief. I absolutely recommend this book.

First Comes Like is the third book in the Modern Love series and can be read as a stand alone. I was so excited to finally see that Jia was going to have her love story since she was first introduced in book 2 of the Forbidden Heart series, Wrong to Love You, as Sadia's sister and then she made appearances in the Modern Love series, The Right Swipe and Girl Gone Viral, as Rhiannon and Katrina's friend and roommate. This book is more of a slow burn and is definitely a way more tame than any of Alisha Rai's previous books. The author definitely tackles sensitive issues like traditional beliefs, conservatism, religion, and family pressure in a tactful way while implementing the fake relationship and catfish tropes. I really liked the fake relationship trope in this story which worked out well, but I just couldn't get into the catfishing trope (FYI I have not found any romance book that successfully does the catfish trope). Though both of the main characters are sweet and they're a great fit for each other, the pace of their relationship was a bit off and felt that the main characters overall were a bit flat. I love that we see reoccurring characters from previous books like Rhiannon, Katrina, Sadia, and Lakshmi. We are also introduced to some lovable new side characters like Adil Uncle and Luna. Even though I didn't enjoy this as much as I enjoyed Girl Gone Viral, I absolutely love the author's writing style. I'm really hoping we'll get to read Lakshmi's story next!

First Comes Like is the next in Alisha Rai’s Modern Love series and features Jia…the third of the roommates.

Jia has been talking to Dev ever since he slid into her DMs a while back and she’s determined they are finally going to meet in person. Only issue…once they meet Dev has no idea who she is.

Can you spell C.A.T.F.I.S.H?

But what started as this conflict filled story turns into a sweet and adorable romance. Dev is instantly taken with Jia, feeding his obsession by watching all her social media videos (how adorable is it that he watches her makeup videos and orders the skincare items she recommends??). Jia doesn’t really want to have anything to do with him, despite her attraction, but they are caught by a paparazzo during an innocent night out and both of their families see the photo.

Thus, one of my favorite tropes emerges: fake relationship that turns real. Their relationship progresses really fast, but Jia is Muslim (and one of Dev’s parents was) so there is a cultural aspect to their story that is something I can’t totally relate to. It did make for a very interesting story, and I loved learning more about their traditions and culture.

First Comes Like was sweet and adorable and Dev is 100% my next book boyfriend.