Adorable romance with swoon worthy romance and characters. I love books that use media, text, technology to connect readers to the story. This is such a modern and relevant thing now. I was initially drawn to the cover but found myself laughing and cheering through the whole book! Liking this style of quick witted writing and looking forward to more from this author!
A cute and clever read!

I received a free advanced reader copy of this title from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I'm generally a happily ever after historical fiction reader, but Alisha Rai (and a few other amazing contemporary romance authors) are converting me to modern romance. This was such a realistic modern romance. It features women supporting each other, a strong female CEO who is at the top of her game, sexual harassment issues, and a strong male character who understands and respects consent. For those readers who aren't fans of a slow-burning romance, you might want to look somewhere else. But if you are looking for a diverse cast of well-rounded characters and two main characters who are overcoming their baggage to make a real romance work, try Alisha Rai's The Right Swipe.

This is my first Alisha Rai book and the first book at Netgalley I wished for and actually got! So, I dove straight in. Based on the cover I expected a romcom, but this book is actually a lot more than that.

Rhiannon is a real business woman. She owns 'Crush', a dating app with millions of subscribers. Her plan is to buy a rival app 'Matchmaker'; owned by the Kostas sisters but the visionary sister has died last year. She then finds that Samson Lima, football star, is pushed forward to represent the other app. Samson, the man she had a hot one night stand with (via her own app), who begged her for a 2nd night but then stood her up. She is still mad as hell about that. The book says Samson 'ghosted' Rhiannon, but I think that is too strong a word after just a ONS. He also had a very good reason to forget their date.

It was a bit hard to really like Rhiannon, especially at first. She comes across rather abrasive and hard, but it is soon explained how she became to be that way. It tugged at my heartstrings a lot. Samson is a real good and nice guy! He appealed to me from the start. In the middle of the book the story dragged a bit with the same arguments, but the last part was great.

So not really a romcom but a rather powerful story!

The Right Swipe is about Rhiannon & Samson who used an app to hook up months earlier then are forced into each other’s business & personal lives as competitors in the tech industry.

Alisha Rai hit it outta the park with this one! First, we’ve got a powerful, successful black woman & thoughtful, family centred ex-footballer Samoan love interest that are both in their mid 30’s (nice to see more mainstream romances including this age group as irl more people are focusing on their careers first, then finding love-totally relatable).

What I loved most about this book was how strong willed & work-focused Rhi was. In a way, Rai flipped the romance script, making Rhi the very put together one & Samson the one who was a bit career lost. Instead of the idea that one saved the other & helped guide them, they complimented each other with their personality traits, talked to one another & gave good advice.

Alisha Rai does this astounding job of dissecting all of Rhi’s personal fears about how she may be perceived in the business world (as a woman, as a black woman, as a black women business owner) & does so by allowing Rhi to explore these feelings as part of her internal dialogue. Even though she’s got insecurities, she acknowledges them & attacks them head on, not allowing those insecurities or people hold her back from success. This makes her an inspiring female MC in my opinion!

This concept was ingenious! In the age of app dating, a novel about characters with quick wit & marketing prowess, Rhi & Samson are a force to be reckoned with❣️It’s got all the best romance tropes (imo)-enemies to lovers, second chance romance, it’s a book with a lot of heart, tons of humour, & a peppering of sexiness throughout that’s just enough of a fix to get you to the much anticipated hot stuff 😉

This is my first Aisha Rai book but it definitely won’t be my last! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A lively take on matchmaking methods and dating apps with a hard hitting #MeToo plotline in the mix, The Right Swipe doesn't take it easy, but builds a genuine connection between two lovable characters and fights through their less-than-ideal circumstances.

I went into this book expecting a mostly lighthearted rom-com but Alisha Rai delivers so much more than that with The Right Swipe. So much more. This is a vibrant, diverse and dynamic romance featuring a powerful and successful woman of color up against all the crappy odds and swirling b.s. that dominates our news cycle every day. Prejudice. Racism. Sexism. Harassment in the work place. And yet Rhiannon kills it in the business world. It was just the sort of heroine I needed to read right now.

However...Rhiannon isn't perfect. In fact, I was often pretty mad at her. She has MAJOR trust issues, and I get it, but I think she was too hard on Samson most of the time. Because, seriously, he had a REALLY good reason for "ghosting" her. And she held that against him for way too long. Come on, Rhiannon.I loved Samson. He was all things kind and patient and muscley-hot and what else could you want?! I don't often want to see a heroine grovel before a hero but I think Rhiannon's journey toward trust would have been more satisfying for me if she'd groveled a little. Samson deserved a grovel.

Having said that though...I loved The Right Swipe. I completely FREAKED OUT when I was granted the chance to read an ARC. The RIght Swipe will be released in July and it's going to be a glorious summer pool-side read! Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

An adjacent title to the Forbidden Hearts series that can be read as a stand alone. Rai excels at creating vibrant, complex characters who have flaws and vulnerabilities that make them seem more realistic.
Rhiannon is a tough woman, succeeding in the world of apps and tech startups. Sampson is a former football start who comes back into the public eye to help his aunt’s business, a tradition dating site in contrast to Rhiannon’s sort of feminist version of Tinder.
As wonderful as their story is, what’s really special about Alisha Rai’s Books is the secondary characters. Rhiannon has a wonder group of women who surround her. The list of her characters who’s stories I want to read grows every time I read one of her books.

It took a little while for me to really get in to the story but once I did I was swept away by the complex and diverse characters, the great friendships they cultivated, and the angst ridden steaminess! I love reading about take charge women who don’t suffer fools and Rhiannon, a CEO, was no exception. Samson, a former pro athlete, was a sweet counterpart to her strength. I didn’t love the misunderstanding that started the plot but Rai made it work for the story. This is not a book to miss!

This book was everything I needed to get back into the romance genre. I loved the Tinder/Match/eHarmony -esque vibe as I have used the first one mentioned in the past. This was such a cute read and again had a sports romance element to it that was very entertaining. I highly recommend this.

i absolutely loved the forbidden hearts trilogy and since discovering it i have devoured everything alisha rai has published. i was so so excited when i heart about this one and i legit squealed when i got approved for the arc. i admit, i had high expectations and i was worried the book wouldn't live up to them. but it totally did, obviously. Rai writes fantastic, realistic characters and i am so here for it. i love how flawed they are, it makes it so realistic. Rhi is definitely a different kind of heroine, but i loved her and how strong she was. Samson, of course, was adorable and i wanted to put him in my pocket. you do feel a bit sorry for him when Rhi won't even give him a chance, but you know where she's coming from and that it'll all work out in the end. i will say, normally i hate the trope where the book starts off where characters have had a one night stand, but the readers don't get to experience that. i feel like we are just told there is a connection but we don't get to feel it- that being said, i also don't exactly want sex scenes in the first chapter because there is no way i'll feel any kind of connection that early, so there's no winning. but, Rai gets the balance right in this one, we get snippets of their night out but their relationship on the page, all the stuff that we get to see, is developed and built up perfectly, so we don't miss out on a thing. loved it. i admit, sometimes it can get a bit frustrating to pick up a romance these days and just have all of these current topics and issues brought up because i just want to read to escape and ignore all of those things, but again, Rai does it perfectly - in a this is how i feel about these topics without beating you over the head kind of way. i agree with all the things and it was a really authentic way to incorporate all of those topics, i think. it was an emotional read for sure. anywho. love the cover, i admit, i was a bit worried the cutesy cover would mean a different writing style or content, but i was not disappointed. can't wait for the next one!

Having heard a lot about Alisha Rai but never having read her books (I know, I know), I felt like I was jumping into the deep end with this book. Something about reading a story rooted in such a personal experience without reading her other work felt almost like a transgression.

The Right Swipe is a delightful book. There's growth. A lot of growth. A lot of humanity. There's no perfect hero or heroine, no one-sided morality. I don't know what I expected, but this wasn't it. It is so grounded in its own story that I can't compare it much to the few sports- or tech-related romances I've read, each lovely in its own way. This one just felt very honest and true to current times — an aspect I see threading throughout the romance genre like a conversation. This is an important part of that conversation, and I can't wait for Rai's next contribution to carry it forward even further.

Alisah Rai starts off her new series spectacularly! Rhiannon Hunter and Samson Lima are engaging characters that are funny and, at least in Samson's case, sweet.

I knew before I was even halfway into this book that it would be receiving five stars, and holy hell was I right. This book did not hold back any punches and it offered such a profound story about powerful women of color that also was so touching that I was weeping throughout the last 20% of this book.

My list of things I enjoyed about this book is vast compared to a nonexistent section of things I didn't enjoy. I'll try and write a brief (read: long) list of things I adored about this book.

The representation. This book is primarily about people and women of color, so the main character is a dark-skinned black woman, her best friend and assistant is an Indian lesbian, her other best friend and roommate is a thai-american plus sized woman with agoraphobic anxiety (!!!!!! i need a book about her), the love interest is Samoan, the love interest's two best friends are black, one of whom is a stay-at-home father. That's not even mentioning other side characters. So yeah, this book rocked. The way women of color uplifted and supported each other in this book was also so touching and empowering.

This book dealt with such a diverse and unique array of subplots and handled them all spectacularly. Even the trope of the love interest being a sports player had valuable discussion about mental health and retirement. This book also tackles women of color being in positions of power and how others perceive that, as well as the trust issues Rhiannon experiences.

It's hard to get me to genuinely care about side characters, but even the side characters in this book had full character arcs and contributed meaningfully to the story in their own wholesome ways. I hope this book gets developed into a long, drawn-out spinoff series because I loved all the side characters.

The romance in this..... OOF!!!!! And I'm talking both the angst, the pacing of it, the consent, the steamy scenes..... everything was spectacular. this is SOOO healthy but is never boring or robotic because of it. the characters are still sexy as hell and have genuine and cute and funny interactions alongside maintaining healthy boundaries and communication. LOVED rhi and samson together!

The only complaint that I had during the first half of this book--that Rhiannon's bitter and rock hard side seemed a lot more developed than her soft side--definitely went away by the last half of the book. It was so touching to see women championing other women and to see Rhi's growth in learning to trust and speak out against injustice.

This is NOT a book to miss and I cannot smash the preorder button on Amazon hard enough.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this digital ARC.
While I have been rec'd Alisha Rai a handful of times, this is actually my first book of hers that I'm reading. I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The cover suggests that it's a cute romcom style story but it's a lot more than that. There is diverse representation across the board with the MCs and supporting characters. Rhiannon is a strong and tough character who can hold her own in the boardroom as well as the bedroom. Samson is more than just a big ex-football player. He has a big heart with a rough past. After these two hooked up and he 'ghosted' her, he returns a few months later and she's ready to close the door on him. Luckily for the reader, she gives him a second chance.
I have to admit that it took me a little time to actually get into this story. The hook was taking a little long to get there but once it did, I was into the story. Not only is the banter between the two MCs well done, the characters have depth to them when they're on their own. You're rooting for them to be together as well as succeed in what they're trying to accomplish. The supporting characters bring more to the table and build the story up, making you want to read more about them as well. The story is also heavier at times, dealing with sexual harassment/abuse and CTE but I think both are handled very well. This is not your average superficial romcom (honestly, the cover is cute but I don't think it's the best choice for this story). It actually makes you think about the choices people make. It's a good, solid book from Alisha Rai.

I could not get through this book. The writing felt very clunky and amateurish, like it was trying too hard to be cool and failing miserably. I had no idea going in that Alisha Rai was already an established author, I would have bet money that she was a first-time author getting her feet wet, based on the writing quality--or lack of it. Was excited to see multicultural characters, too bad the writing sells them short in personality. Will our library buy this? Yes, because of the likely demand for the cute premise and that means check outs for us. Will I actively recommend it to readers? No.

Alisha Rai is a one click buy for me every time she comes out with a book and boy did she not disappoint this time! I loved every moment of this book. The tender approach to mental health, workplace harassment and CTE was refreshing. Rhiannon was one of my favorite side characters from Forbidden Hearts and I loved how she brought this story to life. Their chemistry was so perfect and I couldn't wait to get to the end to get to their HEA!

A fun, flirty take on 21st century dating. The characters are well developed and complex, the plot well paced and appropriately smutty. A fun quick read for any chick lit fans.

This was totally fine! I really don't have much to say about it. It was less raunchy than some of Rai's other books that I've seen, which makes it easier to sell to patrons because you never know how explicit they want their romance to be. I'm a little over emotionally unavailable female protagonists, but this was totally fine.

I didn't finish this but I'm rating it up because I appreciate Alisha Rai as a Twitter personality and I think she's a great writer, it's just that I've read enough of her books now to determine that they're just not my cup of tea.

I love emotion and angst, but they're a certain brand of emo that I don't care for. Like.. lots of pride and defensiveness going on.

I really liked this one. The characters were all so well drawn out and the story was complex enough that it held my attention throughout. It was interesting to read about the world of app dating, and I love Rhi’s drive to conquer the world. 4.5 stars from me!