This book covers such an important subject, and raises awareness about the impact of romance fraud. But it is very frustrating. I will say, I am not familiar with the author's Twitter, and so perhaps I am not the target audience here.

The humorous tone is pretty grating, and not particularly funny, and the author is self-effacing to the point I'm not sure I trusted her expertise. She isn't an investigative journalist, or psychologist and her research, beyond directly engaging with scammers, is limited. She puts forward a psychological theory with no qualifications. Finally, there is a frequent objectification of men throughout the book that verges on the uncomfortable; had the genders been reversed, it would have been unacceptable to publish.

Ultimately, this is an important topic, and I can see the author penning a series of articles to raise awareness with the approachable tone. But it does not really work well as a book.

Becky Holmes' "Keanu Reeves is Not in Love With You" is precisely what the title says on the front cover - Keanu isn't in love with you, regardless of what your DMs may say. A look into the scams we all seem to deal with now, it's at times funny as Holmes details the various slides into her own DMs and sometimes tragic as she recounts the stories of other people who have fallen for the scams, some to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

My one wish is that this book was more of either - either solely funny scam baits (shout out to r/scambait) or a serious look at the processes and real life victims. The balance between the two leaves a little to be desired but it is worth a laugh. My thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy to read and review.

I picked this book based on:

1. Title! I lol'd. I love Keanu!
2. Cover! Such a fun bold cover!
3. I always complain about online scammers with my friends and I figured it would be fun!

The book has a lot of introductory pages and random blabbing. I skipped over most of it and was 100% annoyed before the author began the "story". It is nonfiction and based on trolling the author did during the pandemic shutdown, what is why I used "story" the way I did.

I tried, I really tried to like it, I did. But I did not enjoy it. I couldn't finish it, heck, I couldn't hardly start it. I am sure the author is an awesome person. They are funny (kinda) and witty (kinda?). The concept was intriguing but I feel like it's something we would read on buzzfeed, laugh because we know all about the scammers because we deal with too ans move on. No way I could finish 280 pages of this!

So for the record, I did not finish, I will not finish and I don't recommend. You might like it and I feel bad for my review but it just wasn't for me. Try again, Becky!

Many of us found ourselves getting bored during the Covid lockdown. Becky Holmes was no exception. Moved to join Twitter for the first time, Becky soon became curious about the large volume of scam messages, she quickly started to receive as a matter of routine, particularly those which attempted to use some sort of romantic approach as a means to attempt to extract money from her. You've probably seen the same sort of thing. Some of the messages were from people claiming to be soldiers or oil rig workers, some claimed to actually be celebrities like the Hollywood film stars, Liam Neeson or Keanu Reeves. For a laugh, Becky started responding to these messages. She would often pretend to react entirely sincerely, as if she believed every single unlikely word which was being written to her. The results which she quickly posted on her live feed for everyone to see, proved hilarious. Some of the scammers were clearly completely baffled by Becky's increasingly eccentric responses. Her tweets soon became a social media sensation.
The opening stages of the book are thus often very funny. But the book grows more serious in tone as Becky explores the dark world of online romance scams more deeply. It is a serious business which has ruined many lives and as Becky discovers, the provisions available to anyone who has been scammed out of a sum of money are often woefully inadequate. One simple fact: fraud accounts for over 50% of all crime reported but anti-fraud measures only account for 1% of the overall police spending budget.
Ultimately, Becky Holmes deserves full credit for tackling this complex and potentially awkward subject in such a readable and thoroughly accessible way.

An interesting look at online romance fraud. Its sad how many people think they can scam potential paramours out of money, and equally sad that so many people are loving enough to give these scammers said money. I enjoyed how the author messed with the scammers (how some of the scammers didn't realize she was messing with them within the first response is beyond me) but also appreciated the way she spoke about victims and how to move forward. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Keanu Reeves is Not in Love With You' by Becky Holmes.

'Keanu Reeves is Not In Love With You' is a non-fiction by Becky Holmes detailing online fraud - specifically in the romance sector. I've read a book by Holmes before and I knew of her due to her Twitter convos with 'Keanu Reeves' so hearing more of her tales mixed in with other people's stories about romance fraud and the sad endings it caused was really a wake up call to how scary the Internet can be and how we need to protect people from fraud more. It was a fascinating read.

Online romance scams in all their gory details here. I must admit, I thought all romance fraud was pretty much the same, that is not the case. Full of facts, information and the author’s humour shines through. It really did have me laughing as well as nearly crying with sad stories of victims. So much information - I really learnt a lot from this as well. Written with such honesty and I am glad that Action Fraud was dealt with in this way too. A must read! #KeanuReevesIsNotInLoveWithYou #BeckyHolmes

#ukbookreviewer #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #onlineromancescammers #romancefraud #internetscam #yahooboys #sakawaboys #yahooplusboys #scammers #fraudsters #netgalley #unbound #ebook

The author is hilarious. Very well written and easy to read. I loved the inclusion of the direct messages between her and these catfishers. It made it so much more humorous. Definitely one you want to check out if you've ever been a fan of the show Catfish or wondered how these people end up on Dr. Phil because they got scammed.

Enjoyable self help book with lots of examples on the romance scams. Good writing and fun stories. The writer was entertaining and made the subject enjoyable

I thoroughly enjoyed this exploration of the world of romance fraud. I knew a little about this crime from watching reality TV shows such as Catfish but Holmes' book is far more in-depth. More than just telling stories of how people get conned out of money and get their hearts broken in the process, she arms the reader with tools to spot these scammers early on. The book's title alone gives you an idea of the tone of its contents. Holmes' message is an important one and it's a compelling read helped in large part by her liberal sprinkling of sarcasm and dry humour throughout.

In each chapter, Holmes shares a story that illustrates her overall message. She treats the victims of romance fraud she writes about with a great deal of care and understanding. She challenges the view that anyone who falls victim to romance fraud deserves what happens to them for not being savvy enough to see what was happening. Instead she points out that the majority of victims are just nice people, looking for love whose only crime was trusting someone.

Holmes herself admits that the book only looks at heterosexual couples where women were the victims. She hinted at perhaps writing a book which covers what romance fraud looks like in same sex couples and how the tactics used can differ. I would be very interested in reading that book and I hope she goes on to write it.

I recommend this book to everyone. Given its prevalence, there is a high chance that we have either been the victim or know a victim of romance fraud and the first step in tackling this awful crime is to know what it looks like in all its forms. I learned a lot from this book and I am grateful to the women who allowed their stories to be told so that, hopefully, in the future these scammers won't be able to get away with it.

Enjoyed this a lot. A quick read that started off funny and then got really dark really fast. I read it in a day and wasn't expecting to be reading about scam organisations harvesting organs, I learned a lot. I do find the title to be a personal insult though, absolute slander.

Thank you for the arc, it's not something I would have normally picked up otherwise.

Keanu Reeves is Not in Love With You surprised me in a few ways. Becky is very funny, and it is clear she has enjoyed her investigations into romance fraud. I'm not a twitter fan so haven't seen her tweets so this book opens out Becky's investigation to a wider audience. I was also shocked at how little there is to support people effected by romance fraud (and fraud in general).

I found the book a little up and down. I appreciated the humour but found some of Becky's responses to be ludicrous, and whilst I know this is hammering home the fact that the fraudster isn't taking any notice of what you are saying it became a little tedious. The personal accounts were really eye opening and interesting, I found these sections to be more of the investigative journalism I had assumed the book would contain. I appreciated the section on where to go and what to do if you are involved in romance fraud and think that this book could be vital for some people who are blind to what romance fraud is.

Thoughtful , funny and insightful!

With thanks to netgalley and the author

I have heard of romance fraud but only thought magazines such as take a break.
Keanu Reeves is Not in Love with you opened my eyes to how bad Romance fraud is and how much it can affect people.

Even thought there is a lot of humour in this book, which made me laugh out loud at parts, it’s also deals with what the sufferers have to go through which made me feel very angry.

A brilliant book that I will be recommending to my friends and family.

I will also be following Becky on twitter .

Romance fraud is terrifyingly on the increase and this book takes a witty and poignant look at these scams and their impact.

The well-pitched humour is balanced gently with the heartfelt stories shared by the innocent victims of these awful crimes.

Every DM you get from a stranger on social media should automatically come with a pop-up link to read this book!

Ho imparato più di quanto immaginassi (o, francamente, desiderassi sapere...) sul mondo delle frodi amorose: sono crimini poco conosciuti, che spesso non vengono denunciati per vergogna, e con una derisione delle vittime e una sottovalutazione dei danni, sia economici che emotivi, impressionante.
Invece sono un crimine, diffusissimo, con predatori organizzati che hanno l'unico scopo di rovinare le proprie vittime: e il fatto che lo facciano online non lo rende meno grave, o devastante. Francamente, le testimonianze delle vittime mi hanno stretto il cuore, perché mostrano come ci si approfitti di una fragilità, anche momentanea, per generare una dipendenza psicologica gravissima.
Lo stile è vivace (alle volte forse troppo, vagamente stancante), ma questo non toglie la sincerità e dell'empatia dell'autrice nei confronti delle vittime - e dei loro parenti, sono crimini che hanno ripercussioni su molte persone.
Una lettura interessante e vagamente allarmante.

I love Becky Holmes and her quest to “scam the scammers”. This book is a more in-depth than her social media accounts and will have you laughing out loud in some spots and shaking your head in others.

I first discovered Becky Holmes on Twitter/X where she has the brilliant and hilarious account, @deathtospinach - a platform she uses to take down some of the sleazier characters who send her messages. She's funny and sassy and so entertaining, so I was delighted to hear she had written a book. Sign me up for a review copy!

Thanks to NetGalley for granting me a copy to review - opinions, as always, are my own.

In this book, Becky Holmes tackles the topic of online romance fraud - all those 'Keanu Reeves' and similar accounts that try to woo unsuspecting women on the internet with the aim of taking money from them. Some of this involved engaging with the scammers themselves, but Holmes also talks to women who have been the victims of such fraudulent activity - and warns against the way that the scammers are getting smarter and harder to resist.

As expected, some of the book is very funny - many of Holmes' exchanges with the scammers made me laugh out loud as she proves that they often don't really engage with the women in their mission to make money. This means that she gets away with some outrageous and ridiculous conversations - the dachshund one was my favourite (which I won't recreate here because I don't want to spoil it for future readers!), and the hand-drawn gift cards, and the stalking of the 'oil rig' scammer. Loads of it made me laugh and I commend Holmes' imagination and drive to come up with these things!

There is a much more serious side to the book as well - this lies in Holmes' interviews with victims of this type of fraud and her stories about her own past. There are some really tragic tales from women who - for a whole host of reasons - have lost a lot to these online fraudsters, and the loss is beyond monetary. Family relationships, self-esteem, what they believed to be a chance at love - all lost and it's really sad. I kind of expected to feel that this only happened to quite gullible people, but some of the techniques used to ensnare the women were actually really clever and increasingly more sophisticated (obvious Keanus aside!) Holmes balances the tragedies with her trademark humour, but the book is hugely impactful on the fallout from online romance fraud.

There's quite an educational slant to some of the book too, as Holmes explains the background to the scams, the techniques used and the sources of help for those affected.

I'd whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone who uses social media (and - if you do - check out @deathtospinach on Twitter/X). It's a highly engaging and entertaining way of looking at a very serious issue - and it might just make you a bit savvier next time you are online too.

Loved this book! Tackled a sensitive subject with a whole lot of humour and compassion and hilarious personal experiences. It was clear the author had done a lot of research and the book came across as a mix of information on the subject along with tales of other peoples dealings with romance scammers and the authors own dealing with them aswell.

I didn't know much about romance fraud before reading this illuminating (and entertaining) book. The irreverent humour never detracts from the seriousness of the topic, and both her anger and empathy shine through.

A really important read that had me hooked from the outset. I follow Holmes on twitter so was familiar with her hilarious exchanges with Keanu Reeves Impersonators already and this contained many more funny exchanges with people that has contacted her online. Beneath the mirth, Holmes, delves into the very merky and quite scary world of romance fraud. It is a must read for everyone as the scammers become more sophisticated anyone could be deceived. The personal stories show the emotional, physical and mental consequences that affect those that are conned by these criminals. I was appalled but fascinated as Holmes shows the scripts that scammers use to ensnare victims and the exploitation experienced by some committing the crimes. A compulsive and important read!