I enjoyed this book immensely. A sweet but not saccharine love story between two people that you can't help but root for. They both have baggage to overcome and it could have been a story that made me want to yell at the characters to "just talk to each other" but the author kept the story moving forward without getting bogged down in angst.

I like ALisa Rai's books and this one was great. I gives a different take on the romance genre. More complex character than one usually finds.

This is the second in a series called Modern Love by Alisha Rai. Having loved the first book, I was excited to read this second book, featuring some characters from the first book. Although it was a book that kept my interest and was a cute story, it definitely did not live up to the first book. The main female character's story was very dramatic - bordering on the point of being ridiculous - so it really was hard to empathize or connect with her at all. I feel like the falling for the main male character also happened really awkwardly and all of a sudden they were in love after one kiss. It just didn't feel realistic to me.

I'm looking forward to more from Alisha Rai and hoping she'll get back to the greatness that was book 1.

This is my first Alisha Rai book, even though this is technically the second in this series (the first being the story of two other characters, friends of the ones in this book, you know how that goes) and I was curious to see if it could be read as a standalone, because I felt such a draw to the synopsis of Girl Gone Viral. And I think it, mostly, can be read separately. There were a few fumbles near the beginning where it felt like I may have missed something but it wasn’t a deal breaker.

I love the general idea of this book and how the author expands on it and gives some real depth to the situation. It’s not just a cutesy throwaway chick-lit. It explores some real and valid issues in today’s society of constant social exposure.

I mean, I love reading twitter threads of interesting overheard stranger conversations or first dates, etc... but I definitely draw a line at taking a picture of said strangers or exposing their actual identities in any way. That is such a ridiculous violation. I once had a cashier in Target that looked hilariously just like Creed in The Office’s episode when he dyes his hair black with toner. I took a pic to show family and I was dying to share on social... but I couldn’t do it. I felt there was such an ethical wrongness to it, especially since I have over 35k followers on IG.

Longwinded point being, I appreciated that storyline of Girl Gone Viral so much. Along with the characters! I loved their individual backstories.

Okay, so on to what I didn’t like... I wish it were longer. The author gave the story and characters such rich material to work with and I thought it was rushed. Years and years of not talking about issues between all the different relationships and I thought the heart to hearts were too easy.

I also thought the conversational segues were a bit clunky. There were moments throughout that just didn’t sound like realistic discourse.

So overall, there was a lot to love but I wasn’t completely charmed.

*I received a free early e-ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Girl Gone Viral is the second title in Alisha Rai’s Modern Love series. I liked it more than the first book in the series, probably because the dynamics and characters in this story are very different from The Right Swipe. Katrina and Jas have a sweet friends/ colleagues-to-lovers story, and it was a refreshing change of pace from the glut of enemies-to-lovers novels being published lately. Also refreshing was watching two adults without a lot of sexual experience fumble around–not everyone is a porn star their first time–although they caught on remarkably quickly, apparently. Perhaps that comes from being two people so attuned to each other and so eager to please the other.

One of the most frustrating plot devices in romance novels is often the one where everything could have been solved if only the characters had communicated and/or been honest with each other. But Girl Gone Viral actually uses that device believably and effectively. How do you communicate your long-held tender feelings with…your employer? With your loyal and indispensable employee? Katrina is very much aware of the potential power imbalance in their relationship, and Jas is very much aware of his duty, and as a result we get a gentle slow burn of a relationship between two kind and devoted people.

People with a lot of baggage, though. Wow. Katrina suffers from severe anxiety, complete with debilitating anxiety attacks. Jas is a veteran with his own traumatic past, who appears to suffer from serious PTSD (although it is never named as such). I love that this book is so brutally honest in showing the reality of living with these conditions. At the same time, reading about these conditions could feel exhausting sometimes. I think Rai communicated skillfully how frustrating it must be for people who must constantly deal with struggles like this. But reading about it wasn’t always enjoyable. I did like that both characters were eventually willing to seek any necessary help for their conditions and to communicate their struggles honestly with their loved ones.

Jas is a smoking hot hero. I kept picturing him as Deep Singh (without the turban) from the comic Super Sikh (which I absolutely loved) complete with those rippling muscles, his beard and the metal bracelet. I have never read about a romance starring an Indian Sikh hero before, but it was everything I hoped it’d be. Katrina is pretty easy to picture too, as she’s described as a half-Thai, half-white former model who married into wealth and is now an investor who loves to cook and be a homebody. Sound familiar? Yes, I kept picturing Chrissy Teigen the whole time too. She is a sweet character, kinder than some around her deserve, and it’s easy to root for both her and Jas.

I love the strong sense of family in this story as well, both Katrina’s found family with Rhiannon and Jia, and with Jas’ birth family. Jas’ farming background, with his family of wealthy farmers, was also interesting. I don’t tend to associate farming with wealth, having grown up around small family farms in Pennsylvania, so that took some mental adjustment. I loved the idea of a large Sikh farming community though, especially with the welcome inclusion of other cultures.

I was also intrigued at the romance Rai seemed to be setting up for Jia in the next novel. I wouldn’t have expected it, but I’m here for it. Representation matters. Jia is already a terrific character, helping to break stereotypes, but I enjoyed getting to know her more in this book and look forward to hearing from her and her possible love interest more in the next (unannounced) book in the series.

So, if you enjoy contemporary romances with truly diverse representation, and characters grappling with real issues, all while getting down and dirty with someone sweet, please do check out Girl Gone Viral. I think you’ll enjoy it too.

Thank you to #Netgalley and Harper Collins for this advanced copy of #GirlGoneViral . This is my honest opinion.

So cute! Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai hits all of the right tropes! I’m such a sucker for a bodyguard romance and this was no exception!

Alisha Rai is a constant and consistently good storyteller. This slow burn, friends to lovers, forbidden love story kept me locked in and rooting for the hero and heroine. Fresh and relevant, feisty and feminist, and so deeply romantic.

Alisha Rai writes modern books that really capture the state of the world we live in. Girl Gone Viral explores themes of privacy and exposure in a world where anyone could be exposed on social media at anytime, and what it's like when that happens to someone who is intensely private and suffers from a panic disorder, The characters are funny and sexy but also fully-formed -- they have family issues, hobbies, distractions, and interests. Katrina's voice and perspective seemed fully authentic for someone dealing with the sort of backstory she has -- model-turned-heiress isn't exactly something the average reader can relate to, and yet somehow Katrina is likable and sympathetic. I love the multicultural aspects of these books and giving the role of romantic hero to an ethnically Indian man is so great to see as Asian men are not typically cast in that way in the U.S. Supporting characters are also diverse, both ethnically and in sexual orientation/identification, but without the tokenization we so often find in pop culture. It's refreshing and encouraging. Rai manages to cast a critical eye on the toxicity that exists within internet culture and the harm people can unwittingly do, while still keeping a light tone and providing lots of romantic comedy.

A sweet follow-up to Rai's The Right Swipe. Katrina and Jas were both well fleshed out characters, and their love story was perfectly paced. This did, perhaps, have one too many subplots for a book of its length, but the way they navigated their secret crushes on each other made up for the busyness. I would have been interested to see a deeper dive into viral love stories, rather than just having it be the inciting incident. Thoughtful portrayals of both characters' PTSD and anxiety. A great pick for fans of Rai's previous Modern Love book, Jasmine Guillory, and Helen Hoang.

I LOVED THIS ONE! I was a bit hesitant since I didn't love The Right Swipe, but I loved this one so much! I fell into Katrina & Jas's world so quickly and loved all their interactions. I loved when she met his family and how they learned to open up to each other. Rai did an excellent job balancing the seriousness of their pasts with more light hearted moments together and with friends.

Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai is the second book in her Modern Love Series, however this is the first book that I have read from this author. The reader definitely does not need to read the first book to follow and enjoy this one, but I am seeking out The Right Swipe now as I truly enjoyed this second book.

This is a special modern-day romance that I think is unique because while the dialogue and plot flow easily, some of the undercurrent of messages concerning anxiety, depression, acceptance, and PTSD which are quite heavy and serious, are also added. The author’s ability to interweave both concepts is impressive, and the reader is left with a great book that is enjoyable and heartwarming, yet is solid and has substance.

I liked Katrina and Jas. I enjoyed their backstories and their complicated pasts added a layer of complexity that made them realistic and honest to me. As a reader, it is important for me to find a connection and feel invested in characters that I feel are like able and believable. These two definitely fit the bill. I also enjoyed that by finding each other, and helping one another work through their own problems and pasts, they were able to help foster the healing process for one another as well. I truly liked the element and base of friendship that was present before the romantic feelings evolved. It just felt more real to me.

I thought the characters had chemistry and were well compatible, and I really liked the collection of secondary characters as well. It definitely sets up the author to have several great options for further installments.

Overall, this is a great read that incorporates romance with serious subject matter to create a realistic and honest portrayal of real-life hang-ups and relationships that anyone should be able to identify with and truly enjoy.

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Avon/HarperCollins for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

Unfortunately this book is not as great as The Right Swipe. The characters were believeable, but it was difficult to read about Katrina's PTSD and anxiety since I struggle with anxiety and OCD myself. The plot did not keep me interested, so I put it down before the halfway point.

I am a BIG fan of yearning in my romance novels, so if you like that in the books you read, you're going to enjoy this one. The hero is not the best communicator, and part of that is he's suffering from PTSD, and thinks that if he never talks about it, then it'll get better and go away, and that's something he learns that he's going to have to work on in the future, but he doesn't actually do it in this book. This book is more about him learning he has to be better at communicating and asking for help and what he needs, and that's a great story. I hope that in the next books they check in with this character, so I can see that he's doing better.

The heroine is also suffering from problems, and I like that she is further in her journey of healing. She has a therapist, she's working on her problems, and she's not yet problem free. I really like that you can see the difference. She's also not the best communicator with the hero, which is really because they'd rather have the relationship they have then no relationship at all. And they are both worried that if they talk about their feelings they'll ruin their friendship. WHICH IS LIKE ONE OF MY FAVORITE TROPES. So... yeah, I really liked this book.

I am SUPER interested in who is going to be the next person with a book. Can't wait to read it!

Love, love, love! This was my first book by Alisha Rai and now I'm excited to go back and read more of her novels. This was a great slow burn and I really liked both of the lead characters.

Thank you NetGalley, Harper Collins Publishers, and Alisha Rai for the Advance Readers E-Copy.

Katrinas life was never easy at age nine her mother passed away. Her dad then took over raising her, but for his own gain. Her father was Psychological and emotionally Abusive. One day at an event she meets Hardeep, a Wealthy older man, where they strike a deal to get married. He wants companionship and she wants to be rescued from her father. To add to Katrinas anxiety she is one day kidnapped and held for ransom. Causing her to have PTSD and severe panic attacks.

The first paragraph to me is A need to know before going into this book. When you first start out reading this book your hit with so many questions that are later answered. It’s to a point it kind of drives you a little batty because you want to know why Katrina has PTSD and severe anxiety attacks. Why is this happening? Why is she like this? Also Katrinas husband dies but you don’t really know why you can only guess old age. It never goes in to details of why he died just he just plain kicked the bucket. So many unanswered questions at once.


There’s also the subject of Katrinas kidnapping/ being held for ransom. There’s a lot of details being left out, I would liked to have had a little more back story details on the kidnapping.

Then there is Jasvindar, who is Katrina’s bodyguard who has been there since she married Hardeep. He also has a history of PTSD from his time in the military. They both suffer from their past and you think it would make them clash but it brings them together. Jasvindar doesn’t like to open up about his past. So when Jasvindar sweeps Katrina away from all the #cutecafegirl girl gone viral fiasco. They get a chance to really get to know each other and it’s there at Jasvindar’s family farm we really get to get a look inside at Jasvindar.

Girl Gone Viral brings up a lot of important factors that we can learn from. PTSD is not something to play around with. Don’t let people bottle their emotions up they are not a burden. The internet oh boy oh boy social media. Its well it’s on kind of crazy. It really can ruin your life and take control of you. Sometimes what we think are harmless pokes at people could really be doing harm to people.

When a book holds my interest, I generally read it within one to two days. Sometimes I stay up until the wee hours of the morning as I cannot put the book down. I started reading this book over a month ago and it just did not hold my interest. I found the story to be slow and boring with little or no chemistry between Katrina and Jas. Since I received an advanced copy, I felt obligated to finish the book but it was a slow read.

This books is fun, and the romance builds. I love a story where the two romantic leads are stuck in the middle of nowhere.

Most importantly, I felt that mental health was very well-represented. Nothing was sensational or exploitative. Normally, I feel stressed reading such things, but I felt that this book was warm.

I liked this a lot. I thought their chemistry was fun, the story was fun, all the friends were fun. I will definitely keep my eyes open for the next book in this series!

I've been procrastinating on this review. I came in with the highest of hopes and enthusiasm with this one! The premise is fun, the blurb, inviting and the cover, super cute! 


Unfortunately Girl Gone Viral fell a bit short for me. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it because there were a lot of parts where I did. The writing I must say is stellar and flows very well but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I had to TRY too hard to love it, if that makes sense? 

There are a plethora of characters in this book, all with something to love but for me it was hard to fall for the main characters, It was too slow burn for me and took me awhile to finally get into the story and by the time I did it was too little too late.

I will say that I will try this author again, while this story didn't pull me in hard, I'm sure it will work for others.

I went into this book having not read the first one in the series. With that being said, I would give this book 3.5 stars.

I loved the main hero, Jas was sweet and not at all what I expected. The side characters were delightful, and I loved the slow burn concept.

But I found myself having to re-read certain parts because I was confused or because I couldn’t find the reason as to why it was mentioned or what connection it had to the story.

Overall, it was a enjoyable read - I would definitely give this author another chance.