This one really wasn't for me. I couldn't get myself to relate to the FMC and the writing style felt clumsy to the point where it was distracting. I really wanted to read it all the way to the end, but unfortunately I had to give up at 70%.

Sadly I had to give up on this book about 1/3 of the way through, I just didn't connect with the main character or with the plot, but thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a chance to read this book.

This was a quick and easy read. I found the writing amateurish, and the plot was lost at some points. I was unable to connect with the characters and felt that they were missing any depth in them and their actions. I did like that the events in the book are relatable and up-to-date, so it was nice to read about things that I am familiar with. Not bad for a first novel, but the writing style needs some work. Kudos to the author for getting the book published! Not an easy task and should be recognized.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for the ARC of #InfluencedLove

This was a super quick read but so so random. It was really hard for me to keep up with the storyline and figure out what was going on. It was definitely not my favorite read of the year but it was fine for someone just looking for something to read.

I had to read this book when I read the description. I have a few influencer friends and well, I had to know if the adventures and mishaps of Alivia matched up to the stories I heard from friends.

First let me say I feel Alicia is completely self-assured and can hold her own with Travis. (Wasn’t big on the Morley storylines!)

Beyond the love aspect, I really love the watching Alivia navigate life as a BIPOC beauty influencer in a very whitewashed beauty industry. She kept it 100!

The laughs were constant (Vaseline, anyone?) and I really had fun with this one. I’d like to see more from this author!

Alivia is a make-up influencer who finds herself in a fake dating love triangle, and this is about as exciting as it gets sadly.

Unfortunately the story was a bit all over the shop and certain storylines weren't completed or thought through throroughly but if you are looking for a cute and fast paced read that gives an honest insight into the influencer life this could be for you.

Influenced Love follows the story of Alivia Fae, a social media influencer, who has begun a fake dating relationship with Moe Gava, another popular online personality, to take the attention away from a scandal (albeit undeserved) that she is facing. But during the fake dating experience, she realizes that she is really falling for Moe's assistant and friend, Travis, instead. I really wanted to like this book. It has a strong female lead, great representation, and a lot of potential for funny moments. However, unfortunately, I didn't have the overly positive experience of reading this book that I would have wanted. There were so many random details (e.g. the more-than-platonic looks that her male best friend -- who is married -- gives her) that were given that were not fully explored or even outwardly addressed by characters that made it feel incomplete. It felt like the plot was jumping around without any rhyme or reason. The plot points with said best friend drew away from the main romance between Alivia and Travis without adding anything in return. <spoiler>Moe and Alivia were also exceedingly lax about their fake dating relationship (e.g. kissing other people in public) in a way that didn't seem realistic. It made the end of the book more predictable than necessary.</spoiler> I wish there was a little more depth and cohesion to the story, but the book is a quick read and I would recommend it to people wanting a quick and light story with a variety of tropes.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher and author via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

While this is a standard contemporary romance, I love how "Influenced Love" doesn't rely on the traditional fake-dating trope. Instead, the author adds in a love triangle, which I think adds a fresh take to fake dating normally seen in romance. I also thought the book's discussion of physical appearance/beauty and the nuances of Black woman's beauty and textured hair was really well done, and added depth to all of the characters - but especially Alivia and Travis.

Alivia is an influencer.

She's quite popular with the beauty crowd.

She polls her followers to pick her date, pairing her up with another influencer Moe.

She's realized that it was a bad choice to go on a date with him, however his assistant Travis is more her type.

She "puts up with" Moe to satisfy her influencer duties but is searching within herself to see what she truly wants..

I enjoyed this book, there were several laugh out loud moments!

I just reviewed Influenced Love by Shellee Marie. #InfluencedLove #NetGalley

This was all over the place. Her personal story of the influencer life and all that was intersting and humorously told. But boy, the romance was just.. not. All over the place, pushing boundaries in not a good way, and just fell flat entirely for me.. So, not what I wanted from a romance.

I liked this book. It was a very fast-paced, quick, cute read. I do feel that the characters needed more development. The storyline was a bit all over and the flow wasn't great. I did feel the chemistry with Alivia and Travis though some scenes were a little too cheesy. A lot of the book just seemed rushed. There were short descriptions, short scenes, and everything wrapped up quickly. For a debut novel, this was pretty good. I did laugh a few times. I just wanted a bit more. I would read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the ARC!

Our main character is Alivia and she is a beauty influencer and entrepreneur who is making her own line of hair care products.

The book begins with Alivia being the best woman at her best friend Dan’s wedding. They have known each other since they were in school together. Now, this is not just any simple wedding with friends and family, no it also includes Dan’s teammates (he is a baseball player) and the media.

With any wedding day, you hope it goes off without a hitch right? Well for Alivia it all falls apart from the get-go. Then one thing leads to another and it’s reported that Dan and Alivia are romantically involved. I guess looking in from the outside you could see that. This doesn’t make Dan’s new wife, Donna very happy and she begins to think that something is going on between the two besties.

Alivia tries to do damage control amidst the negativity so she comes up with a plan. She polls her followers asking who her next date should be and it just happens to be Moe who is a fitness influencer. When the fake dating trope was announced I knew that this wouldn’t go well because what Alivia doesn’t know is Moe’s assistant Travis is helping him out and she can almost spot the difference between the two when it comes to messages. Can they pull this off or will it be another thing for the media to discuss?

Although behind the scenes Alivia and Travis are always together and I loved their interactions. As you read you can’t help but wonder if there is more to this “friendship” than meets the eye. I know as I was reading I was rooting for Alivia and Travis. The chemistry was there instantly. The whole time I was reading I was really surprised they weren’t exposed sooner for as much as they were out in public together.

Will Alivia admit her true feelings to her followers?

I really enjoyed this and definitely can’t wait to continue the series.

This is a light rom-com read perfect for the beach. There were some great laugh aloud moments that I really enjoyed, but personally, the romance fell a little flat for me. BUT it could just be the mood I was in at the time when reading.

I would definitely recommend this book to readers who enjoy a good fake dating troupe and who cute rom-com movies. This would be right up their alley.

I want to thank NetGalley, Shellee Marie and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for the e-ARC of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are honest, my own and left voluntarily.

Lately, I have been on a bit of a serial killer kick and felt like I needed something light to read in between. Influenced Love by Shellee Marie caught my eye as the cover was bright and colorful and looked like a fun light-read, something perky and romantic. Influenced Love by Shellee Marie is the perfect read for fans of Alexa Martin, Jasmine Guillory, and Alisha Rai as it was written in a style similar to those authors above. In Influenced Love, we are first welcomed to a wedding between Dan and Donna. Dan's best man is the best woman - it is his long-time childhood best friend Alivia Fae. Dan's new wife is intimidated by Alivia and starts to imagine things that aren't there. The thing though is it just isn't his new wife, but the whole world, and soon Alivia is painted as the "bad girl" and "homewrecker" by celebrity news as it turns out that both Dan and Alivia are famous in their ways. Dan is a popular athlete and Alivia is a popular beauty influencer and has her own Youtube series and Instagram called Liv Love Life for all her Fae's out there. As the characters are mainly African-American, we have a lot of focus on aspects of black beauty from their particular haircare which has always been talked about as you can't care for a black person's hair - the way you do for a white person. To take the spotlight from Dan's troubles, Alivia decides to start fake-dating another influencer, Moe. What happens though when Alivia starts to fall for Moe's manager Travis where there is definite chemistry and he is more Alivia's type of guy? Will Alivia break off the fake relationship and pursue a real one with Moe or has she made things more complicated when Dan ends up crashing on her couch as he has marriage issues too? Who will Alivia choose? Fake Dating - Moe, The One She Loves - Travis or Her Best Friend - Dan?
Find out in Influenced Love by Shellee Marie, an author to keep an eye out for as I love social media in novels and the book was written well and kept me entertained.

This book was really cute but the content just did not stick with me. I feel like a lot of people will love this story and I hope it finds its audience.

Influenced Love by Shellee Marie gives us an idea how influencers' lives work, especially in the romantic side. Apart from that, it also incorporates themes of friendship, toxic relationships, honesty and media.

My first thoughts while reading this romance was that the writing was good, and I was able to continue reading easily because of it, even though the plot wasn't that exciting yet.

Did it ever get exciting for me? Yes. That one time where a considerate guy finally comes in. I mean, come on! The bestfriend and the other influencer and both pains in the ass, give me someone to root for!

It did eventually happen, and it was vanilla from thereon. Until, the good guy did . . . something questionable for me (I obv couldn't say, because, spoiler) and though they worked it out in the end, I don't know, I just didn't feel like rooting for him anymore.

About the boybestfriend, I wasn't particularly happy with how the author chose to conclude the book like that. It's so abrupt, and it feels lie there should've been more to it. I almost want to say it's a cheap resolution.

Over-all, I'm giving this book 3 stars. This book came out February 22, 2022. I read an advance copy provided by the publishet through Netgalley, but rest assured all opinions here are my own.

Beauty influencer Alivia is shocked when false rumors arise that she's trying to break up the marriage of her pro athlete best friend. To shut down the scandal, she starts dating fitness influencer Moe. Except he's clearly not into her, and she's more interested in his assistant Travis. Caught in the middle of two supposed love triangles, can she untangle the situation before she loses the trust of her followers? And can she and Travis find a way to be together?

This is a cute story with a subtle Cyrano de Bergerac theme. Alivia and Travis have tons of chemistry, but the people around them are kind of a mess. Actually, Alivia and Travis are kind of a mess, too, but they look like they totally have their act together compared to their friends. The story is a bit of a romp, but it also has its serious moments.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Influenced Love by Shellee Marie is a solid debut.
I would recommend this to fans of the fake dating trope.
This book was fun and light. I can’t quite put my finger on it but it was missing something for me.
Alivia was very well crafted, but the rest of the characters needed work.
I really liked the writing style and I look forward to more of these authors books!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
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Alivia is an influencer who has been wrongly accused of getting in the middle of her best friend’s marriage, and need some good publicity and stat. Enter Moe Gava - a fitness influencer who is interested in collaborating and fake dating. While love is decidedly not on the table between the two of them, she ends up attracted to his best friend and assistant, Travis.

Alivia and Travis were cute together and had believable chemistry! It was a NA romance with a few short steamy scenes. Their conflict seemed like something that had been previously resolved, but it all worked out in the end. This is Shellee Marie’s debut novel and first in her Black Beauty in Love series. I will definitely be reading future books from her!

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC*

Okay, I knew I was gonna love this once I read the title and synopsis and saw the cover. As soon as I started reading this book I was laughing. Once I was hooked though… I really didn’t want to put it down!

This story follows two influencers in separate areas, one a make-up YouTuber Alivia, the other a workout manic Moe! This storyline stood out to me because it is very relevant to today's society, with everyone being on social media and I'm also a makeup Youtuber myself, so I related to the story and it was drawn to me.

Alivia finds herself needing to get out of a misunderstanding situation and seeks out a date through social media, ending up with Moe. But as one thing leads to another you quickly discover that Alivia and Moe aren’t meant to be. This book was just full of love twists and turns, it definitely checked off all of my boxes - cute, funny, steamy in some scenes, and ends with a HEA.

This was a fun and easy book to read. I would recommend it to young adults and adults who loves the fake dating trope.