The premise of this romance plus the cute cover grabbed my attention. From the very beginning I knew I would like Ariel (El) as she tumbled down the mountain being chased by who knew what but had her wits about her and thought quick on her feet. El was sharp and vigilant, especially once she realized she had drawn attention to herself in the form of Carter, our cinnamon roll hero, aka Man in Black. He didn't know what hit him when he met El and tried to keep up with her. Once these two decided to work together the sparks flew. I loved the pacing, the attention to detail, and small twists that added to the unique mystery. Love at First Sighting was my first book by Mallory and it definitely won't be my last.

Firstly, a huge thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the eARC for Love at First Sighting. I read Love and Other Conspiracies last fall and absolutely fell in love with the nerdiness and adorable romance that Mallory Marlowe’s books contain.

Love at first sighting follows El (short for Ariel) and her adorable, blond hair and blue eyed Federal Agent. El has a close encounter following an influencer photoshoot that changes her whole life for the better, including having Agent Carter crash into her life. This is an incredible story about found family, being true to yourself, and allowing yourself to feel worthy and loved as you are. El and Carter have the sweetest of love stories. I enjoyed both of them. When I first read that El was an influencer, I thought I would hate her as an FMC but she was awesome.

This story has a lot of twists, ups and downs, extremely eccentric side characters, and charm. Ironically, not a whole lot of aliens, but I think that’s another part of the charm of Mallory’s books. They’re grounded more in reality than science fiction, but add the fun factor of the unknown.

If you loved Love and Other Conspiracies, you will definitely enjoy this treasure too… except El’s mom. She can kick rocks. Definitely enjoyed this read and zoomed through it. Hope there are many more books in this interconnected standalone series.

Super fun with great main characters. This was like if Mulder and Scully meet the CW, and I was here for every second of it. Sexy, funny, and enjoyable. I loved Carter and El both!

Influencer encounters a UFO, then falls for her golden retriever Man in Black? Yes, please.

For a rom-com with a silly but straightforward-sounding premise, this book has layers! A little bit X-Files (more shadowy government conspiracy, less monster of the week), with a central mystery, elements of action-adventure, and not-so-subtle commentary on influencer culture.

And above all, it was a fun love story featuring an unlikely couple who bring out the best in each other.

Thanks to NetGalley & Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley for access to the ARC!

#LoveatFirstSighting #NetGalley

Love love love the concept of this book! I have nothing bad to say about it! Will be recommending to several friends.

I love a good adventure romcom, and this one totally delivered! An influencer has a UFO sighting, a “man in black” hunts her down, and somehow they end up teaming up to solve a conspiracy. How could I not be hooked?

It gave me major X-Files but make it sexy vibes, with a blonde government agent I absolutely fell for (I’m weak, okay?). There’s banter, chemistry, a little trauma, a lot of adventure, and dual POV goodness

Absolutely adored the sophomore novel from Mallory Marlowe. I feel like the blending of the paranormal and spooky into this one was not *quite* as prolific as the first novel, but it was still absolutely stellar. I also loved getting a glimpse into the world of influencers, because it's a world that I don't understand at ALL. I felt really attached to El and her struggles with finding her true self under all of the bullshit that comes with living the "perfect" influencer life.

Can't wait for the next novel by this author; she's quickly rising to the top of my list of favorites!!

This is so so cute! I am in a cryptid book club, and I cannot wait for this to come out so I can recommend it as one of our next reads!!!

Thank you for the e-ARC!!!

This was a cute book! I can't believe that Mallory Marlowe made me find a man wearing a fedora (or trilby) attractive! I thought the bit of a thriller aspect really helped make this story standout and was great. We need more cryptids!!

Thanks to Berkley for the eARC; all opinions are my own.

A fantastic sophomore book from Mallory Marlowe!

Love at First Sighting is fun, funny, spicy, has action, some mystery and, of course, a happily ever after!

El and Carter are an unlikely duo, brought together by having each witnessed - albeit many years apart - some suspicious activity that could lead one to think UFOs and aliens. El is an influencer, Carter works for a secretive government agency and if it wasn't for El posting a video about being followed by a mysterious aircraft, it is so unlikely that the two would have met.

And yet.... they work so well together. Each is lonely, isolated from family and no real close friends. El's mom only talks to her to get money, and Carter's parents have passed. Each is just getting by day by day, until they are forced together and work together to find the truth.

Marlowe writes great banter, is fantastic at "showing, not telling", knows how to build tension between a couple, and, in a book that has a mystery, has done an excellent job of laying the groundwork that leads to solution that makes sense.

I snort laughed at the line "I went to Fyre Festival... I can handle anything" because anyone who has heard about that festival knows what a gong show it was but also, I 100% believe that an influencer like El would have gone to Fyre Festival and have the photos to prove it.

I love that Marlowe, in her books, leans into the paranormal genre without fully doing so; it's a nudge and a wink, an "is it or is it not". I'm excited to see what else she writes!

I loved Mallory Marlowe's first book, Love and Other Conspiracies and I was so excited to see Love at First Sighting on NetGalley. I absolutely LOVED IT. It's modern, set in LA and was so fun with the MMC as a "man in black" and an influencer FMC. I honestly wasn't sure what I was going to think of El (just because I'm not huge on influencers) but I loved how Mallory captured the lifestyle, and the potential downsides (and upsides!) to it. I felt like Marlowe really masterfully handled Carter's feelings about the loss of his parents, and his father in particular and how that grief can sneak up on you periodically, even as the years wear on. I loved Carter and El's ability and desire to be vulnerable to each other, and their willingness to find family and comfort in each other despite years or being alone - and recognizing their need to grow and work on themselves, but being willing to do it together.

I had so much fun reading this one, and I honestly couldn't put it down. I always love how Mallory kind of turns the paranormal on it's head in a really fun way and this one is just so good and I can't recommend it enough.

I couldn’t stop smiling while reading this, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a sweet, offbeat romance with a dash of mystery.

Not nearly enough aliens for a book with a UFO on the cover but this was a fun read. I enjoyed the central romance but HATED that every female character but the main female lead was vapid, mean, and disingenuous.

A good pick for a quick romance but not incredibly memorable when you dig deeper.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for this e-ARC!!

An influencer ends up encountering a UFO on a solo photo shoot and ends up on the Men in Black’s watchlist. The Men in Black agent assigned to her case ends up having a haunting connection - the UFO she saw is the same one. His dad saw before he died.

El and Carter have great flirty chemistry and work together to solve a government conspiracy!

Well, not as good, (in my opinion) as her debut this book is a must read!

A light hearted romantic read that answers the question… what if a woman saw a ufo and the men in black existed? I love the blend of paranormal/spooky what ifs and how we even had a few cameos of the characters in ‘love and other conspiracy theories’. This read made you really feel and connect to the characters while maintaining a comedic tone all throughout. So thankful to have read the arc for this and I will absolutely continue to read anything this author releases!

so much cuteness

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

📖 do you think aliens are out there?

I don’t know about you my reading has been proceeding at a snail’s pace recently. Despite that fact, Mallory Marlowe‘s Love at First Sighting was a fresh breath of air that wafted in with a suspenders-wearing hero.

There’s a web of conspiracies in this book that keeps the action moving forward, but it’s all supported by two leads who aren’t afraid to be soft with each other when they can’t be soft with anyone else.

El & Carter realize that despite their very different lives, they need comfort, support, & kissing, & that can be found with each other—even as an alien sighting monitoring organization is bearing down on them.

This book is charming, funny, & sexy, & with enough tenderness to power a fleet of drones.

5 ⭐️. Out 08/12.

CWs: past loss, emotionally negligent mother, violence, past murder

[ID: the ebook is on a black table & in front of a glass with two hyacinths in it & a gray cat.]

I read this author’s other book and immediately knew she’d be a must-read. This book is so fun! I loved the couple and their individual voices, and I loved the mystery element of this book. I’m going to recommend it to all romance-lovers possible.

4.5 stars!

Influencer x Man In Black? SIGN ME UP!!

Absolutely loved the premise, it was refreshing to see, honestly. The story as a whole had some slow moments, but overall, the pacing was good.

We got to know characters, their motivations, fears and family history. They felt alive. Carter gave off a comical relief character at first, but that was quickly replaced with deeply hurt person, who just wanted answers. Ariel, on the other hand, gave off a very sheltered vibe and I think that was on purpose. She grew a lot in the span of the book and I was very happy to see that.

The romance was cute, but I was expecting a more deep connection, especially after reading Love and Other Conspiracies first. It just felt more genuine somehow.

Love at First Sighting is perfect for lovers of a quick romance with some mystery. Inspiring, but not lighthearted. An unlikely Mulder and Scully, if I dare say so myself.

Mallory Marlowe really knows how to write tender romances and action sequences! This book was so beautifully high concept and was executed so well. I absolutely loved the dynamic of passive Carter and headstrong El. They complimented each other so well and really supported each other with so much love and humor. Truly, my only issue was that since this book was quite high concept, there was a fair bit of set up at the beginning in order to establish the PIS and cement El's influencer lifestyle. However, once the book hit 40%, it cruised and kept me hooked all the way through!

As an X-Files lover, this was so fun! I went into this thinking it would be a silly little romance with some UFO chatter. 🛸💞👽

Instead I got:
• plenty of heart-racing scenes (The Rookie playing as ambience didn’t help regulate my anxiety)
• emotional moments for our characters together and as individuals
• cutesy flirting between our mmc & fmc

El & Carter are so precious and each deserves a big, fat hug!!🫂

There were definitely some cheesy (and sometimes cringy) moments, but I went into this wanting my OG X-files characters to come to live again in an alternate universe. The vibes were great!