The Right Swipe

It is not a weakness to take care of yourself.

the right swipe, alisha rai

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Author: Alisha Rai

Publication Date: 6 August 2019

Publisher: Avon

Page Count: 400

Reading Method: Physical

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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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Review: 

This is the first book in Rai’s Modern Love series.  I accidently read the second book before this one, but that’s the great thing about these romance books – it doesn’t really matter what order you read them in!  Though to be quite honest, I’m glad I read the second one first or I might not have liked this one as much as I did.  

Plot: 

Rhiannon runs one of the top dating apps in the biz – but she’s looking to take the next step and expand her business.  In order to do that, she has to team up with Samson, the face of her competition and the guy she just so happened to have an ill-fated hook-up with.  Rhi and Samson have to figure out how to navigate their new partnership and it may be more than they ever hoped for. 

There is so much going on in this story.  It takes a second to get into, but once the ball starts rolling there is no stopping it. 

Characters: 

Our MC is Rhiannon – Rhi.  Rhi has been burned in the past with relationships and she isn’t about to do that again.  She keeps everyone at a distance and has some (understandably) big trust issues. But she’s tough and on a mission, which I can respect.  I did find her a bit difficult to relate to or root for through most of the book, but I came to like her more towards the end. 

My biggest issue with this story is Sampson, the love interest.  You know what doesn’t do it for me?  Ridiculously and unbelievably perfect men.  I have zero interest in reading about someone who has absolutely no flaws.  People like that just don’t exist and don’t make for interesting, engaging characters.  That’s literally my only critique of Samson – that he’s too perfect.  

There is obvious chemistry between the two, but I had a difficult time liking them together.  They didn’t do much for me until closer to the end.  Which brings me to my next point: 

Writing: 

I feel like this book was longer than it needed to be.  We could have sped up the timeline and cut out a lot of the middle section and it would have been perfectly fine.  Probably more enjoyable and easier to read.  The beginning of the book hooked me right away and I really enjoyed the last 20% of the book, but the middle dragged.  I am glad I read the second book in the series first because it gave me a bit of hope for what this one could be – which made me stick with The Right Swipe til the end.  One thing I do love about Rai’s writing is how she writes the chemistry between characters and the steamy scenes.  I also loved the discussion of clear boundaries and guidelines that Rhiannon sets for herself.

Overall: 

I liked it – but I didn’t love it.  There were great elements and then some things I could have done without or would have liked to see done a bit differently. My honest recommendation would be to read Girl Gone Viral first and then loop back to The Right Swipe, because of the two, Girl Gone Viral wins.  

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