Alisha Rai returns with the first book in her sizzling new Modern Love series, in which two rival dating app creators find themselves at odds in the boardroom but in sync in the bedroom.
THE RIGHT SWIPE by ALISHA RAI
Series: Modern Love #1
Publication date: August 6, 2019
Published by: Avon
Genre: romance
SYNOPSIS
Rhiannon Hunter may have revolutionized romance in the digital world, but in real life she only swipes right on her career—and the occasional hookup. The cynical dating app creator controls her love life with a few key rules:
- Nude pics are by invitation only
- If someone stands you up, block them with extreme prejudice
- Protect your heart
Only there aren't any rules to govern her attraction to her newest match, former pro-football player Samson Lima. The sexy and seemingly sweet hunk woos her one magical night... and disappears.
Rhi thought she'd buried her hurt over Samson ghosting her, until he suddenly surfaces months later, still big, still beautiful—and in league with a business rival. He says he won't fumble their second chance, but she's wary. A temporary physical partnership is one thing, but a merger of hearts? Surely that’s too high a risk…
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Praise for The Right Swipe:
“Alisha Rai delivers compelling emotion, fascinating characters and edgy romance in a razor-sharp, thoroughly modern voice that readers will adore. I sure did!”
- Jayne Ann Krentz
“I absolutely loved it… volcano-hot sex and cackle-worthy dialogue…I highly recommend this!”
- Sally Thorne, USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game and 99 Percent Mine
“Rising romance star Rai brings a perfect relationship to life in this luscious contemporary series launch... As the onetime lovers are drawn into closer proximity, their chemistry sizzles on the page. Both Rhi and Samson are learning how to enjoy life and balance each other beautifully as they face realistic conflicts and tantalizing romance and sensuality. This winning novel will enhance any romance reader’s collection.”
- Publishers Weekly starred review
“The Right Swipe is everything you want in a Summer read: fun, clever, and so, so sexy.”
- Popsugar
“Top-notch romance.”
- New York Times Book Review on The Right Swipe
“Rai turns up the heat and finds the funny in modern dating, from almost-dick pics to glitter grams and ghosting. But it’s not all steamy, as the characters have issues with trust and love, making them vulnerable both to each other and the public. Taking the dating app business to another level, with a dose of girl power, sexual politics, and one eccentric red-headed aunt, Rai scores a touchdown.”
- Booklist
“Rai addresses heavy issues without sacrificing passionate sensuality or emotional connection... a high-tech romance that proves respect is the most potent love drug.
- Kirkus Reviews
“Alisha Rai delivers compelling emotion, fascinating characters and edgy romance in a razor-sharp, thoroughly modern voice that readers will adore. I sure did!”
- Jayne Ann Krentz
“I absolutely loved it… volcano-hot sex and cackle-worthy dialogue…I highly recommend this!”
- Sally Thorne, USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game and 99 Percent Mine
“Rising romance star Rai brings a perfect relationship to life in this luscious contemporary series launch... As the onetime lovers are drawn into closer proximity, their chemistry sizzles on the page. Both Rhi and Samson are learning how to enjoy life and balance each other beautifully as they face realistic conflicts and tantalizing romance and sensuality. This winning novel will enhance any romance reader’s collection.”
- Publishers Weekly starred review
“The Right Swipe is everything you want in a Summer read: fun, clever, and so, so sexy.”
- Popsugar
“Top-notch romance.”
- New York Times Book Review on The Right Swipe
“Rai turns up the heat and finds the funny in modern dating, from almost-dick pics to glitter grams and ghosting. But it’s not all steamy, as the characters have issues with trust and love, making them vulnerable both to each other and the public. Taking the dating app business to another level, with a dose of girl power, sexual politics, and one eccentric red-headed aunt, Rai scores a touchdown.”
- Booklist
“Rai addresses heavy issues without sacrificing passionate sensuality or emotional connection... a high-tech romance that proves respect is the most potent love drug.
- Kirkus Reviews
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alisha Rai writes award-winning emotionally complex contemporary romance novels and is frequently sought as a speaker on a range of topics covering romance and media.
She is the first author to have an indie-published book appear on Washington Post’s annual Best Books list. Her books have also been named Best Books of the Year by NPR, Vulture, Entertainment Weekly, Amazon, Kirkus, Bustle, and Cosmopolitan Magazine and her novels have won the RT Reviewer’s Choice Award for erotic and contemporary romance. When she’s not writing, Alisha is traveling and tweeting.
You can find her on:
The Right Swipe by Alisha RaiMy rating: 1 of 5 stars
I wanted to love this book. No one can say that I didn't give it every opportunity to swing me away from apathy or frustration. I probably should have just accepted defeat, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt until the very end. Probably the biggest red mark against The Right Swipe for me is the heroine. She isn't the easiest to warm up to in the beginning, but I can't say I started out disliking her. I knew there was some difficulty in her past that was causing her issues, so I could have very well jumped on her team later on and started loving her when I had all of the facts. Unfortunately, my opinion of her ended up plummeting to rock bottom by the end.
The heroine had some positive traits: she's independent, driven, disciplined, and does show a soft and protective side for the few she includes in her inner circle. But she's also a major commitment-phobe, allergic to trust and romance, and puts her career goals at a higher priority than people. Which is perfectly fine based on her past, and I'm all for a character showing growth through the story. The problem is that I failed to see that. Listen, if the roles were reversed and Rhiannon was the hero doing these things, I would feel completely annoyed as well. I don't enjoy reading about commitment phobic people whether they're male or female. Forcing a set of rules on another person, making them agree to nothing more than an impersonal relationship to keep emotions at a safe distance is cowardly.
I was expecting more of an enemies to lovers book with some lighthearted romance threaded in and that's not what this story was. The heroine is a hardened cynic whose entire living is based off of modern dating apps. You couldn't make her take on dating any more depressing. Dating was dollar signs to her and nothing more. After being burned by love, she's given up on it completely and has a glaring lack of empathy for anyone but herself. Her ex was emotionally abusive and controlling, so it has motivated her to take back her power which is a good thing. The bad thing is that she holds onto it with an iron fist and hides behind his actions rather than treating people fairly who deserve her respect.
One thing that bothered me to no end was his supposed ghosting of her in their past. Technically he did this to her, breaking her already fragile trust. In REALITY it was unintentional, and he has a valid excuse for his actions. I could understand her cutting him off and feeling angry towards him before she learned the circumstances. But even after she got proof that he did nothing wrong, only put his dying family member first above a hookup...she still didn't want to listen to him. She still threw it in his face, and used it to her advantage in order to manipulate him into helping her win business favor with his aunt. Meanwhile, he struggles to find footing with her, debating over the smallest form of affection towards her because he's scared that a compliment or cuddle could scare her off.
“You can kiss me, by the way. I’ll allow it.” His smile was slow and real. This woman was tough and blunt and made no sense, but she was also super adorable.
This coolness, this toughness, had been missing then. A stab of regret went through him. A broken piece to spackle. So he’d take this time to spackle over some of the damage he’d done. Temporary or not, he could shower her with reliability and kindness.
This is the point where I felt so completely done, but I wanted to see if she would apologize and grovel. Negative. Her past is finally completely uncovered, and we're now led to believe that she gets a free pass to mistreat people because she has a traumatic history. She's forgiven before she even gives her offhand apology text. But it was the resolution that proved in the very last pages that it wasn't much of a resolution at all. No growth on her part, and we are supposed to be okay with that. Make up sex first, (her decision) immediately followed by a question about business (which he finds cute) and then she offers to clear up their personal problem and talk. What does that tell me? That she places their "relationship" on the lowest rung of the priority ladder. At 98%, he's telling her he can be patient with her trust issues and says he'll take her as she is. Baggage and all. This is where I throw my hands up in the air and try to hold in my violent feelings.
I didn't care for this heroine, and I think that's an obvious understatement after venting my frustrations with this story. Cracking through her tough exterior was like trying to chisel through granite with a butter knife. I wasn't rooting for this couple at any point in the book, and felt that Samson could have done so much better. That's a big issue when I'm reading a book categorized as a romance. I'm sad to say this book was a complete loss for this reader.
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