The Right Swipe (Modern Love #1)

The book has been on my radar for a long time and I’m glad I finally got a chance to read it. It was my first book by Alisha Rai but it definitely won’t be my last> I was expecting a book about finding love through a dating app but this was so much more.
Rhiannon is a smart, independent, stand-offish woman with trust issues.Samson Lima is a retired football player with a heart the size of a football stadium. She is the designer and woner of a dating app and he is the a bit of an online novice who is representing a more old-school dating match program.
I was expecting a fun romance – which I certainly got but there was so much more. Rhiannon was forced out of her previous company because of sexual harrassment and then bad mouthed by her former boyfriend/ company owner. Samson is fighting the NFL over issues about brain injuries in football players. Both his father and uncle were found to have issues and he walked off the field into retirement over the treatment of a friend who had a concussion.
Both are wary of love and have their own issues but watching them overcome their lack of trust to let someone in is an amazing thing. I am just glad to see that this is the first in a series because someof the secondary characters made me want to know more about them.

|Thank you @avonbooks for the eARC #partner|

Rhiannon (Rhi) Hunter is a tech industry mogul. She’s independent, strong-willed, and isn’t afraid to go after what she wants. She created a dating app that’s doing very well and she has her sights set even higher — on buying one of her competitors that’s experienced a corporate shake up. She puts an immense amount of pressure on herself to be the best and do the best. She’s in control of her emotions and doesn’t put herself out there for fear of getting hurt. On the outside she looks like she’s doing very well, but in my opinion, it’s tough to be Rhi on the inside.

When she reconnects with a former hookup, Samson Lima, Rhi is forced to deal with the negative feelings she harbors toward him. He’s working for her competitor (the same one she’s hoping to buy) so it’s in her best interest both personally and professionally to make amends and learn how to work together. Things get complicated as Rhi and Samson realize they still have feelings for each other. Samson is ready to go all in for a relationship but Rhi has serious reservations and past traumas she needs to deal with first.

I applaud The Right Swipe for addressing important issues like CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is a neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated head injuries), the #MeToo movement, and being a female entrepreneur. The diversity in this book is amazing! The main character, Rhiannon is a black woman. One of her best friends is a plus sized Thai American woman who suffers from agoraphobia. Her other best friend (who’s also her assistant) is an Indian lesbian. Samson and his family are Samoan. His two best friends are black and one of them is a stay-at-home dad. Awesome mix of characters, right?

I really enjoyed the way the women empower each other in this book. I would love to see that spirit permeate our society and hopefully reading about it more and more will help bring it into existence.

Modern dating apps. A fiery, dont-mess-with-me go-getter of a heroine. A tough but sensitive ex-pro football player. Both people of color. After an accidental ghosting incident, will these two mid-thirty year-olds get a second chance at romance?

Rai writes with feeling. Lots of it. From the chemistry Rhiannon and Samson exude to the more serious topics of football players and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, sexual harassment and coming forward, The Right Swipe had me swiping right. The themes of trust and vulnerability, risk and loyalty, with a side of steam are what make up this contemporary romance. I recommend to fans of Tessa Baileys Fix Her Up and Helena Huntings The Good Luck Charm.

I’ve yet to read an Alisha Rai book that I didn’t enjoy, this was no exception. She writes a fantastic blend of sex appeal and heartfelt emotion. Her “Forbidden Hearts” series was like a small town soap opera with family secrets and drama. This spin-off has a different tone, but still has everything that makes Rai such a pleasure to read.

Rhiannon (the sister of Gabe from the last “Forbidden Hearts” book, is a successful business owner, having taken a terrible departure from a previous job and spinning it into creating her own dating app. Her romantic life isn’t as fulfilling, her last good encounter was months earlier with a guy she met on her own app, a guy who wound up ghosting her after an initial amazing encounter. When he unexpectedly pops up in her professional life, she has to decide whether or not to forgive him.

Rhiannon and Samson, to me, were a great couple. I’ve read the reviews that said Samson felt too good to be true, and he is a really great guy. He’s the type of considerate and thoughtful guy many of us would wish for when we feel especially wounded or prickly. To me, it came across as his genuine personality, one that was also fostered by the good relationships he was surrounded with while growing up. But I can understand why some readers would view it differently. Another thing I appreciate about Rai’s books is that she usually does enough research (or draws on real life experiences) to make the professional lives of her characters seem authentic. Nothing snaps me out of a book faster when a career is presented completely inaccurately and that has never happened to me with one of her books.

Two overachievers, damaged and unwilling to trust again. She runs a dating app, he is working for his aunts matchmaking business. Very me too just when we all need reminding who the injured parties were, who were gaslighting whom. Alisha Rai has created an alpha heroine and a nurturing hero and shown us how that can be a beautiful relationship. She has also shown what strength and weakness looks like and it doesnt mean not crying or never backing down, but quite the opposite. There is a lot to process here, but as usual it is a pleasure to have Alisha Rai leading the way. What a remarkable character she has created in Rhiannon and what a great foil Rhi has in Samson. There is also a great cast of secondary characters, some with their own interesting quirks. Well done and well worth the wait!

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