Wasn’t expecting to love it but it worked. Have tried this author but I think she’s best at South Asian characters. I think this is why it shined out of this series.

It had a lot going on but I loved it. It was a marriage of convenience/fake relationship that was culture.

Had a lot going on so often it was a lot to follow but 98% of the book was pinning, getting to know each other and such. I’m not sure what counts as a halal romance but it took marriage to get them to go that far and even that took nearly the entire book.

I really like when this author does what they do best, which is south Asian characters. When she does that its gold.

Near the beginning of COVID, I found Girl Gone Viral on Hoopla and absolutely adored it. I then read The Right Swipe (which actually is the first in this series), and loved that, too. So, when I was accepted to receive an ARC of this book, I was SO excited. A HUGE thank you to Harper Collins and Netgalley for the ARC ebook and the finished copy!

All three could be read as standalones, as they focus on a different romance within a tight knit group of friends/roommates, but knowing each character’s backstory adds an additional layer. This book is far less steamy than the first two, but incredibly sweet. Jia’s journey to love has its troubles (catfishing, fake dating/engagement), but is just so fun to read.

Jia is Muslim, Pakistani, and wears a hijab. Dev is a Bollywood star who has just moved to the US. Because of their backgrounds and their family’s traditional and conservative values, this might seem like a slow burn romance, but I saw it more as just tender and sweet. It wasn’t insta-love, but their chemistry was evident from the get, and they took their time getting there, both out of respect for one another, their families, and themselves.

There’s plenty of family drama and baggage, hiccups along the way with their plan to fake an engagement, and real life in the way, which gives this sweet romance some extra depth. I really enjoyed it, and I liked the present day connections (it’s evident some characters had COVID, and TikTok is implied as well as Instagram, influencers, etc).

Absolutely recommend this series if you haven’t read any of the books yet. And there’s gotta be another one coming, right? Lakshmi’s story is next, right?!

This was a sweet and innocent love story. I loved the representation in this book of a woman wearing a headscarf as the protagonist. It's a fake relationship trope that's light and easy to read. It includes the big Indian family as well as some Hollywood glamour. I liked the inside look to Jia, a beauty influencer because it can be hard to understand how/what they do, and how someone can make a living off social media. I liked that it was portrayed and respected as a real job, because for some people it is!

I did however find it a bit stereotypical that they weren't allowed to be alone together or were worried about dating and what people would say. While there are still some more traditional South Asians, the majority are no longer like this, so I kind of wish we had broken that stereotype instead of reinforcing it. Especially with Dev being a Bollywood star, Bollywood is the same as Hollywood in the sense that societal norms apply differently, so it's even less likely for him to be traditional.

Thank you to Avon Books & NetGalley for the eGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

First Comes Like by Alisha Rai is an entertaining and different romance between an Indian soap opera star and an Internet influencer. Jia Ahmed is a Muslim American Pakistani who has a make-up and lifestyle presence aimed at woman 13-85, but mostly young women. She has been communicating by DM with an Indian TV start and has fallen in love. She wants to meet him but he is reticent so she takes it into her own hands and turns up at a press gala for the new American TV show he is on. She is not normally this bold, but she walks right up to him and he does not respond at all. She is devastated. She is angry. He thought she was beautiful and wanted to know why s he was so angry with him so he got a copy of the guest list and narrowed it down until she was the last name; he got his assistant to find her phone number, and he called her. He met up with her...it turned out she had been catfished. She had never been in contact with him at all. She's really angry now, and embarrassed. He is taken with her, the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Circumstances throw them together, entertaining circumstances, and they are photographed. His publicist in India puts it out that they are engaged and then the fun begins.

What a totally different and enchanting book. First: cultures no American dictate other sorts of behavior. Second: people in the public eye are different than the rest of us; they have different concerns. Third: trying to do the right thing can lead to trouble. They have trouble, in spades, but it all leads to deepening their relationship. It was great! They got to know each other, but they were married before they ever even kissed: part cultural, part situational. This was a thoroughly entertaining book that presented a romance from a different perspective. I had trouble getting into it in the beginning but it was not long before I was knee-deep into the relationship and I loved every minute of it. I forget, sometimes, how different other cultures can be, and yet how much the same. It's good to be reminded, and entertained. I recommend it.

I was invited to read a free ARC of First Comes Like by Netgalley. All opinions contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #firstcomeslike

3.5 - After having mixed results with the first two books in this series, I was intrigued to read Jia’s story. The premise of a social media influencer getting catfished by a famous actor didn’t bother me, and I’m a sucker for a fake relationship. Overall, there are things I enjoyed but I wasn’t particularly wowed by this book.
This story takes place in what seems to be a post-Covid reality. Though the illness was never named, we learn that Jia had been sick, she had quarantined and felt lonely, and she had taken weeks to recover. I actually really appreciated this approach, it felt true to life without dwelling on or belittling the reality of it.
Jia and Dev, our protagonists, are good people with admirable qualities who happen to work in the public eye but are still humble. Jia seemed to have crises of confidence that I should have found relatable instead of annoying. Dev read much older to me, possibly due to some combination of caring for his teenage niece and his years of industry experience in India. I could buy into Dev and Jia’s growing attraction in theory but I never felt really invested.
They did truly support each other in their careers and dreams, which was sweet.
As a white non-Muslim woman, I cannot vouch for the Muslim or South Asian representation but I personally enjoyed the inclusion. With that said, it seemed that cultural traditions and expectations contributed to a chaste courtship (by some standards) with little physicality, though on-page sex did happen toward the very end of the book.
The many supporting characters brought energy to this book that I appreciated. Family is important to both of them and the end of the book where their families meet and come together engaged me the most. Some of the family shenanigans were dramatic and entertaining.

It's safe to say that First Comes Like is my favorite of the Modern Love series. In true Sarah fashion, ever since being introduced to Sadia's twin sisters in Wrong to Need You (part of the Forbidden Hearts series), I've been waiting on books for Jia and Ayesha. First Comes Like is Jia's book.

While I believe that Jia and Dev could have met under better circumstances things I loved:
- fake dating/faux relationship
- mutual pining
- celebrity/non-celebrity relationship
- interfering family
- nod to "there's only one room"
- How supportive Dev is of Jia's career
- Zara, Dev's niece. Can she grow up and get her own book yet? Or maybe Ms. Rai can start writing YA contemporary romances

If you are looking for a closed-door/low steam Romance to read, I recommend picking up First Comes Like.

CW: mourning/grief, anxiety, microagressions, diet culture, and references to controlling relationship, drug use, and alcoholism

This one was just ok... it didn’t really hit the mark for me like her other books, I would have liked more characters development, although I absolutely love the cover and it was cute.

This was such a sweet slow burn romance between two people who had so many obstacles to overcome before they were finally able open themselves up to the possibility of being happy together. Jia is a beauty vlogger / social media influencer trying to live up to her family's high standards. This seems impossible since they are all doctors. Dev's family are all famous Bollywood legends and he's trying to start over away from their shadow in LA after some major family drama. There were so many silly situations and twists that the story definitely kept me on my toes the whole way through.

As the story progresses the two find refuge from their ridiculous circumstances in both their found families and each other which leads their catfish situation to a fake dating situation to something so much deeper. I really enjoyed reading a this multicultural story and learning about how heavy their family expectations can be and yet also how willing and happy our main characters are to hold them up while following their own dreams as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first 2 books in Alisha Rai's Modern Love series, so I was excited to start her latest book about Jia the social influencer, who was introduced in book 2. I love how her stories embrace so many different cultures, personalities, and problems and anxieties that people have. Jia is a young Pakistani Muslim woman who is very sure of herself and shares her confident and beautiful personality with others as a beauty expert and social influencer, but also props herself up with prerecorded affirmations behind the scenes. After she exchanges text messages with Dev, an Indian soap opera star, and then arranges to run into him at a party, she discovers she has been catfished and he has no idea who she is. But they both are secretly happy when their agents suggest they start fake-dating for publicity. The story takes a few unbelievable turns after this, but their chemistry does feel real and it's a cute, uplifting story so I was willing to overlook the crazy aspects of their whirlwind romance. This story is less steamy than the other books in the series, but I don't think this detracted from the story at all, it was consistent with the personalities of the characters and if anything made it sweeter.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager, and the Book Club Girl Early Reads program for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my 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.

Jia Ahmed is a YouTube beauty and style influencer who has fallen smitten with Bollywood royalty and soap opera star, Dev Dixit after he slid into her DMs, but he keeps evading her after he moves into the area. Possible catfish? Her friends think so. Jia's fears are confirmed when she crashes a party she knows he will be attending and he doesn't even know who she is. But who could have been behind this not-so-cute meet-cute? Dev has his suspicions. When he offers to speak with Jia about who he suspects, she and Dev are photographed in a compromising position and they are forced to faux-date.
A very cute rom-com with POC main characters, positive Muslim representation, and strong female characters. Jia and Dev are attracted to each other, but I wish readers were shown and not told (through the use of inner-monologue). I appreciated how supportive Dev is of Jia's profession when she doesn't feel much support from her parents. There were a lot of modern-day references to TikTok, social media influencers, Alexa, Tindr, and Lyft. There was a side-eye moment for me when Jia mentions her mannequin (Mann E. Quinn), which, to me, seemed like a clear nod to Brad Mondo, so clearly, Alisha Rai used a lot of real influencers as a reference (not necessarily a bad thing!). Overall, the story was sweet without the soap opera drama I was initially expecting. As with many romance books, communication gets muddled creating--in this case--relatively low stakes tension (I actually thought the point of tension at around 90% was a joke and laughed heartily until I realized Jia was legit upset...). This was my first Modern Love book to read in the series and I look forward to reading the first two (which is a good sign of Rai's story-telling talents)!

This was a perfect romance for the Valentine’s Day weekend 💕 It’s the newest book in the Modern Love series by this author, and while the characters all exist in the same universe, it’s not necessary to have read the other two books in order to enjoy the story. I really liked the diversity of the cast, and how she shines a light on how technology has really changed the dating scene. Pick this one up today! 🤗
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Thank you @williammorrowbooks , @netgalley and the @alisharaiwrites for a copy of this book and the chance to review this book ahead of print!

Are you in the market for a slow burn romance starring one of the sweetest heroes I’ve read in a long time? OF COURSE YOU ARE. Alisha Rai somehow wrote a book that started with catfishing and made me like it. Magic. It helps that the hero wasn’t the catfisher. Someone pretending to be Dev, our Bollywood star hero, romanced Jia, our beauty YouTuber heroine, via Instagram. When they meet in person, the connection is instant, despite the embarrassing miscommunication.

FIRST COMES LIKE feels different than any book I’ve ever read by Rai. It’s poignant in its quiet moments and the romance unfolds slowly—Dev and Jia just like each other. Of course, the chemistry is there, but our main characters take the time to get to know each other and become friends. Dev’s genuine enjoyment when he spends time with Jia and his appreciation for her hit me right in the emotions. I loved watching them build the foundation of their relationship brick-by-brick. (Dev is A+ boyfriend material, FYI).

Watching Dev and Jia tackle issues like religion, family expectations, grief, and many more added weight to the story. But overall, this was a feel-good, low-angst romance, and I enjoyed it immensely. It was easy to get lost in the small romantic moments while the chemistry between Dev and Jia simmered. The love scenes at the end of the book were well worth the wait. Sensual, yet realistic, they had Rai’s signature flair. The secondary characters, both from the previous books in the series and Dev and Jia’s families rounded out the book perfectly.

If Rai had kept with the low-angst romance theme, I think this would have been an easy five-star read. Instead, she tried to add some drama and tension right at the end. It ended up feeling out of character for Dev and out of place within the book. The unnecessary drama threw me for a loop and had me knocking off a star.

I appreciated the representation in FIRST COMES LIKE, and I am looking forward to reading some Own Voices reviews! I listened to an ALC thanks to Libro.fm and thought the dual narration brought the book to life.

Overall, I highly recommend this romance for anyone looking for a sweet and sexy contemporary romance with a wonderfully diverse cast of characters. Rai’s superb writing shines through; I anxiously await her next book!

**I received a free copy of this book in order to provide an honest review**

First Comes Like by Alisha Rai is the third in the Modern Love series and the best one yet! Jia and Dev begin a fake romance to keep their families from finding out some embarrassing and hurtful truths. As usually happens, these two fall for each other for real! While I liked Jia and Dev, their families and friends made this book for me! Dev is raising his 13 year old niece, Luna, who I loved. Jia has 4 sisters who were amazing! This book felt a little like My Big Fat Greek Wedding and I loved it!

Thank you to #netgalley and @harpercollins for the advanced e-copy of #firstcomeslike !
#book #bookreview #romcombooks #romance #modernlove #alisharai #alisharaibooks

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The third book in Alisha Rai’s Modern Love series was a sweet and lighthearted read. I never tire of strong female leads and just like her friends, Jia is a total badass. I enjoyed the romance between Jia and Dev but the pacing did seem a bit erratic to me. There were some last minute miscommunications and other dramatic elements that made the book feel far-fetched and more like one of Dev’s Bollywood soaps. Overall though, I think fans of The Right Swipe and Girl Gone Viral will be pleased with this cute romcom.

This was my first Rai book, and I really enjoyed it. I laughed a lot, especially because of the family aspect, as I liked seeing how Dev and Jia's family butted their heads into their relationship. It kind of felt like a soap opera in its own way.

I liked the cultural aspects with Jia's faith and Dev's family's connection to Bollywood. It made the characters feel very fleshed out. I also liked Jia's friends, so I'll definitely need to read the first two books to learn more about them, but I didn't feel like I was missing anything in this one. Also this was the kind of book where characters that I didn't understand or like much at first, I ended up loving by the end. There was even a few pages of steam toward the end which was unexpected but very welcome.

Overall, I would give this one a read if you want to read a nice rom-com. There are conversations around grief, illness, and insecurity, so it's not a completely light book, but Rai balances the heavier topics with witty banter and outrageous situations.

I really ended up enjoying this particular romance from this series.

I know a lot of people talk about how nothing seems to happen in this book. I honestly like it for that. It shows love in a way that doesn't need to be wrapped up in a ton of drama. This felt more like a real life romance.

I really found both of our protagonists to be likeable, and to have a lot to offer the other person. I had a great time reading this, and would recommend reading it for yourself. Just don't expect a lot of drama, as there isn't a lot to be had. I found this one refreshing, and perfectly timed for me!

this was okay, but I think it was a little bit underwhelming for me.

Things I liked:

• JIA! My favorite part of this book. I loved loved loved her! Such a great character to read about. She had an amazing, loving personality, and I loved getting to know her more!
• Luna! She stole the show for me. She was sooo great!
• The friendship between Jia, Rhiannon and Katrina, and later on how Jia and Lakshmi became friends! I loved their scenes together and how they worked out their silly differences and started to like each other. I’ve been wanting to read more about Lakshmi since The Right Swipe so I really hope she gets her own book! This series always hits the mark perfectly when it comes to the friendships!! I’m always a fan of their scenes.


Things I didn’t like:

• unfortunately what missed the mark for me with this book was the romance. It had absolutely no depth, no development, no chemistry.. nothing. These two barely knew each other and were already so sure they were a perfect match and would make a great couple. This book is the definition of instant love and I just wasn’t a fan. I didn’t feel their connection at all. I got excited when it seemed like they would start fake dating but then things went a completely different route after that and just moved too fast for my liking.
• dev.. he was just so bland. I didn’t care about his character or his POV. he barely had a personality! he was just boring in my opinion. I did enjoy how supportive he was of Jia, of course, but that was the only highlight of his character for me.


I did really enjoy Jia and the girls in this book, but I feel like this series is a constant hit or miss for me. I thought The Right Swipe was just ok, but loved Girl Gone Viral, and this one didn’t hit the mark for me either. I loved Jia in the other books so I was excited for it, and I’m glad I still loved her so much in this book, but aside from that and the scenes with the girls, I just found I had to force myself to pick it up unfortunately!

This is book number three in the Modern Love series, and I absolutely adored the first two books The Right Swipe and Girl Gone Viral.

Jia Ahmed is a successful beauty and fashion vlogger and influencer, living in LA. Her family (mostly doctors) don’t understand or respect her chosen career, but she’s working her tail off trying to create a life and independence for herself anyway. She doesn’t have time for a relationship, but when a Bollywood superstar slides into her DMs she’s intrigued, and they get to chatting.

Dev Dixit has some serious family drama of his own, but he’s come to the USA for a role, and is trying to find independence of his own and support himself and his tween niece, who he looks after since his brother died.

Jia realizes Dev is in town and decides it’s time to take their relationship from texting to meeting in-person, so she surprises him at a cast party. The problem is, he has no idea who she is. It turns out she’s been catfished, but by who?

Even though Jia is hurt and angry, she agrees to meet Dev and talk through what’s happened. But when paparazzi blast photos of them all over the internet, Jia’s family is outraged that she’s seen with him. Things escalate from there, and the two of them agree to pretend they are dating.

Usually, fake dating is one of my favorite tropes, and because the first two books in this series were so great, this was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021. Unfortunately, I don’t feel it lived up to the other two books.

I was left with more questions than answers, and I just didn’t feel the chemistry or buy the relationship between the two main characters. It was neither an arranged marriage or a love match, so why the rush for them both? And while I really liked both characters I felt that even by the end of the book we knew facts about each of them and their pasts, but we didn’t really know either of them. I think I needed more build-up, tension and scenes where they got to know each other—there wasn’t enough of that for me to believe their connection.

Without giving any spoilers, there was so much mystery and build-up about the catfishing scheme at the beginning of the book but then it was sort of explained away in a fashion that didn’t make sense to me, or feel like a satisfactory reason for it.

Also, the author’s other two books are quite steamy and this was completely clean (they didn’t even hold hands) up until the end. I think it should either have been clean, or at least closed-door, or had more intimate (even if not steamy) moments throughout the book but it felt quite jarring to be clean all the way to the end and then BAM, sex scene.

I did still enjoy the book, I just didn’t feel it was up to the same standard as the first two books.

First Comes Like was such a super cute romcom read. While it’s the third in Alisha Rai’s Modern Love series, I absolutely read this one as a stand alone with no problems.

First Comes Like follows Jai and Dev’s blossoming romance, which starts out on the wrong foot - errr the wrong inbox!

I appreciated the slow burn and how Jai and Dev took their relationship much slower than is traditionally seen in romance books. There is some heat, but it’s definitely slow to get there.

The family dynamics are also fun and tense in this book. Jai moved to California from the East Cost, whereas Dev moved to California from his family in India. When all the parents and grandparents get together to meet one another you can feel the tension in the air.