The Right Swipe

by Alisha Rai

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.

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...

• ISBN10: 0062877860
• ISBN13: 9780062877864
• Publish Date: 6 August 2019 (first published 2 July 2019)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Avon Books
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[FranJessca @ A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog]

I’ve been in a reading funk for the last two weeks, and I’m not sure why. I needed to get back to reading and picked up The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai for the #Romanceopoly2020 Challenge. It didn’t take me long to read the book, and it fulfilled the Drive-In Movie square. I originally had another book that I scheduled to read for that particular square, but The Right Swipe’s synopsis caught my attention.

Female Protagonist: Rhiannon Hunter is the successful CEO of the Dating App – Crush. Rhiannon is what I would call a very stubborn but determined person. She is proven to everyone in the dating field that she knows how to revolutionize dating through her application. She has a silent partner that believed in her and helped her with her new company, especially after her old job. She may know all about dating, but she only does hook-ups every once in a while. She doesn’t do relationships because of what her ex put her through. Her ex is a douche, and he gets what comes to him in this book. I loved Rhi and determination but didn’t like how she handled certain things with Samson Lima. (I’ll get into that more in the storyline.) Her past ends up almost ruining her future with a fantastic guy. 

Male Protagonist: Samson Lima is a Former Pro Football Player who walked away from football after the league tried to play one of his friends after getting a concussion. He was a successful football player, especially after his father and his uncle also played pro-football. Samson is now helping his Aunt at her company Matchmaker after her partner (his uncle) and her sister (his mother) passed away. Samson is what I consider a caring individual because he takes care of everyone. I loved his character, and he’s the reason why I continued reading the story. 

Storyline: Rhiannon’s dating app is crushing the competition, and now she’s determined to buy out another App called Matchmaker. She is determined to have a meeting with one of its creators, but the creator keeps disappearing on her. She ends up going to a conference to have a meeting with the creator but ends up meeting the person that ghosted her a while ago. He promised he would see her again, but never got back with her. Now, Rhi is avoiding him, but she can’t for long because he helps his Aunt at Matchmaker. They end up working together, but Rhi wants him to help her with his Aunt, and Samson wants to prove he never meant to ghost her. Readers will find out the truth of what happened between Samson, and if you are like me, you may end up wanting to knock some sense into Rhi. Her past comes to light towards the end of the story on why she has trust issues, and I could understand her character better. Be prepared to meet her ex-boyfriend in the story. He is someone you are going to hate immediately. I loved the storyline of The Right Swipe and loved how everything came together in the end. Some small issues made me give the story only 4-stars. It was due to miscommunication and secrets. Otherwise, this was an enjoyable book.

I look forward to the next book in the series. 

Steaminess: Some Steam.

Standalone or Series: It’s part of the Modern Love series, but each follows new main characters. Each can be read as a standalone.

Cliffhanger: No

Trope: Brief Romantic Tryst. 

HEA: Yes. 

Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you are a fan of Alisha Rai’s previous books or you are a fan of Contemporary Romance stories. Some readers felt this was more of a Women’s Fiction story, instead of contemporary, which I could see why in certain aspects. There were some steamy moments between the characters, but it was not heavily steamy like other books I’ve read. 

Forewarning, there is some sexual harassment triggers and other triggers that could be sensitive to some readers. There are some powerful and supportive characters in this story that help each other through everything. I will say this, Rhi is one kick-butt character. 

[Amanda]

All the heart eyes.

[blackbibliophile]

3.5 stars ⭐️

[Sam@WLABB]

Rhiannon had shared one hot and sexy night with a hookup she had arranged via her own dating app. Though it went against her self-imposed rules, she accepted a second "date" with this mystery man, JUST to have him ghost her. Fast forward several months, and what to her wondrous eyes should appear, but said mystery man, who happened to be an ex NFL star and working for the company she hoped to acquire. Rhiannon's straight forward plan just got complicated.

This book had so much "yes". First and foremost, I absolutely loved Rhiannon and Samson. They were perfection together. Yes, there were many bumps in the road on their way to the HEA, and yes, things went hot and cold quite a few times, but this was an important part of both their healing processes.

Rhi came off as hard and closed off, and she was, but with good reason. A former lover more or less tried to destroy her, both personally and professionally. She was forced to rebuild her life and her career after the breakup, and I could not fault her with having some trust issues. She did what she had to do to protect herself, but she didn't just wallow in the pain. She used it to drive her to do more for herself and for other women. Her revenge was to become a success, which she did. She also challenged the idea of being a victim and found her voice in the process. It was rather wonderful watching her come to terms with her past, and seeing her slowly form more open relationships with those around her.

Samson sort of owned me. He was such a sweet and wonderful teddy bear of a guy. I was rooting for him from the very beginning. I really wanted Rhi to stop and listen to his explanation about that night. I wanted her to give him a chance, because I believed there was something between them. Like Rhi, Samson had a lot of hurt to unpack. The ending of his career, the death of his uncle and father -- all of these things had taken a toll on Samson. I loved the support he received from his former teammates, and really liked the direction Rai sent him in.

The focus on CTE was unexpected, but I thought Rai incorporated it quite well. She did a nice job showing how the condition not only affected those suffering from it, but how it affected their loved ones. I probably shed the most tears over the parts associated with this plot, than any other.

Then there was the romance. At first, it was mostly attraction, hot sex, and great banter, but it evolved into so much more. Together they learned to be themselves, to enjoy life, and trust again.

This book had so much more than romance going for it too. It was about being a successful woman of color, and the obstacles and barriers that exist, as well as being an example to a younger generation, and speaking up for what's right. This was my first Alisha Rai book, and I was NOT disappointed. I will eagerly await the next Modern Love book.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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[whisperingchapters]

Can I start by saying that I loved this novel?! I loved the idea of the story and how it was executed. Here we have Rhi, who had an unforgettable night with Samson. They agree to meet again, but he stoods her up. Rhi believes in no more second chances and doesn't want anything to do with Samson. Later, they meet again at a conference and it's there she finds out that Samson is the current spokesperson for the company she wants to buy. Samson wants to rekindle what they had and he suggests having a physical partnership for the media so both dating companies can get the media exposure.

"I am not easy to hurt. I am a stone cold bitch when it comes to men. No rose-colored glasses here."

This novel was all about feminism and I was loving every aspect of it! Rhi is a strong, independant, fierce woman who didn't give up when rumors started going around the internet about how she was a gold-digger in her job. What she did was she started her own dating company, which has flourished more than anyone thought it would. I love how real she gets when it comes to her company and how she cuts down the stigma of women having needs just as men have needs. When I read the quote below, I was grinning and screaming in celebration!

"Just because I don't want to have a relationship doesn't mean I don't have needs. You'd never shame a man for casual sex. Crush's business model is built on empowerment. I'm using my own app exactly as it was intended."

Samson was all kinds of dreamy. Guys, read this novel even if it's just for Samson. I cannot even begin to describe the kind of amazing man this guy is. My fave parts were when Rhi would be working and he knew just how stressed she would be so he'd send in Thai food and massages, a junk food basket, Vegan food, pizzas, Mexican food! By this point, I wanted to smack Rhi in the head so she could just accept Samson! He's so dreamy and caring and soft and handsome and a gentleman and I can just keep on going. *sighs dreamily* The romance and all the angst that came with it had me swooning so hard! *heart eyes*

Something to note about Samson that I was praising highly was how he always let the ball in Rhi's court. He never pushed for sex or for a relationship. He took what she offered because he knew she needed to come to terms with everything by herself. It was all about consent with this guy and I was loving it.

He wanted to play her body like a concert violinist.

Not only was this novel empowering for women, it also has some diversity that I was adoring greatly! The main characters as well as the side characters had me completely invested! The side characters had their own arcs, which were done so unbelievably well. Rhi's assistant is the one I was loving more than anything! I am anxiously waiting for her own novel!

Overall, The Right Swipe exceeded my expectations. It had more than I had bargained for and I was loving every minute of it. This book represents women in a wonderful, strong and independent way, and I praise Alisha Rai for taking this route with her book. I cannot wait for more by this author!

WHAT ARE SOME BOOKS FEATURING EMPOWERING WOMEN? ARE YOU PLANNING ON READING THIS ONE? HAVE YOU EVER DELVED INTO ONLINE DATING APPS?

I can personally say I have and I've gotten great experiences from it. Some, not so much. But the majority have been good. To the point where some of the guys I met are now some of my best friends. It's interesting how it works. I never went into Tinder, though, and I'm glad I never did.

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[ccbookwitch]

Originally I was going to write a regular review for this book, but I was just so impressed with the craft of this romance that I decided to write about why this is such an excellent romance instead. So, without further ado…

what makes the right swipe a good romance

TENSION. OMG, there’s so much excellent tension in this book. Initially, it comes from how much Rhiannon hates Samson for ghosting her. She tries so hard to convince herself that she’s not hurt by him because she’s fine with casual sex and relationships, but she really liked him and trusted him enough to say yes to a second date, so really, she is hurt. Later, there’s tension because Rhi is somewhat using Samson to get close to his aunt Annabelle in order to talk to her about buying their company, Matchmaker. I liked also that this was called out by Rhi’s friend Katrina, because otherwise my opinion of Rhi at that point might not have been so good.

Characters. All the characters in this book were great. Rhi is such an ice princess, and has trouble dealing with being hurt, feels guilty for not talking to her mom more, and is a good friend to Katrina, the woman who originally invested in her company, Crush. Samson is definitely a big softie/gentle giant type who cares deeply about his family and always wants to do the Right Thing. These two personality types seem like they might not go together, but they definitely do. Alisha Rai also did a great job making me want to know more about the side characters, especially Lakshmi, Rhi’s assistant who sorta falls for another woman, and also Rhi’s best friend and sometimes-roommate, Katrina, who has anxiety (even though it wasn’t a major focus of the book, the anxiety rep is still really good).

Exploration of issues outside the romance. The actual romance plotline is all well and good when you’re writing, well, a romance, but a romance still needs other things in it going on to make it really stand out. For Samson, Rai had his other issues be focused largely on family, and the reader gets to learn a lot about brain trauma issues with football players, which is a huge cause that Samson champions throughout the book. I really related to Rhi’s struggles with her past relationship with her boss at Swype and dealing with the aftermath of how emotionally manipulative and controlling he was, and not knowing whether to come forward and having it affect her reputation and just generally how she dealt with it. All of these other topics in the story made it a very well-rounded story and added so much depth to the characters.

Obstacles. In any good romance, there are major obstacles to the characters being together. Samson and Rhi definitely have a lot of obstacles. For one, there’s Rhi’s trust issues, both with Samson himself and Rhi in general. For another, there’s a time limit on their relationship when they start filming for the Crush/Matchmaker video campaign. There’s also the snag of Rhi sort of at times using Samson to get closer to his aunt because she wants to buy Matchmaker and that’s a major goal for her for most of the book. These obstacles create more tension and increase the character’s chemistry and make the reader root for them more, and Alisha Rai did a really good job with doing all these things.

In short, THE RIGHT SWIPE is really a top notch romance. It is expertly crafted, supremely well-written, has interesting, well-rounded characters, and has a main romance that you definitely want to root for. I’m so psyched that this is going to be a series, and I REALLY hope that there is a Lakshmi book and a Katrina book, because I really want to know more about them, and there are just so many characters in the series I would love to read more about. I cannot wait for this book to come out so everyone can read it and I super can’t wait for the next book to be announced/cover reveal/to come out. If you’re looking for a romance with depth and heart, definitely check out THE RIGHT SWIPE.

[Rowena]

This book ended up being an enjoyable read but for most of the beginning and a little into the middle of the story, the story was slow and the romance was too hot and cold for me. I felt like the hero was paying for shit he had nothing to do with and I wasn't a fan of that. I did love that the hero was Samoan, just like me, so that was great so while I enjoyed the book overall, I didn't LOVE it the way that I hoped.

3.5 out of 5