Shelle Marie’s Influenced Love is a fun rom-com between two influencers who fake date and wind up in some awkward situations because of their lie. I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes look at the life of a social media influencer, especially following a woman of color in the beauty industry. Alivia was a strong, well-developed character, and I enjoyed her supportive friend Veronica. Dan’s relationship with Alivia was distracting to me and his personal-life drama fell a little short for me, but I can see the need for the characters to move the story forward. I enjoyed Moe’s playful, yet softer side, and Travis was spot-on perfection for Alivia. Their relationship was adorable and I found myself wanting more of them.

Overall, this was a fun, light read for those hungering for a fake dating trope and anyone who enjoys the beauty blogging lifestyle.

Thank you to NetGalley and Shelle Marie for an advanced copy of this book.

Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes so I was excited for that. I felt like the setup for the fake relationship here was not entirely convincing so I had to suspend disbelief to get started.

Even with suspending disbelief, I had a hard time truly loving any of the characters. Alivia, the main character, was so much of what I love in a person - confident in her own skin, wanting to help others, open to things - but I still did not love her.

I think a big reason for lost stars on this rating is that a lot of the conflict here seemed to be communication. This is my least favorite form of conflict. If any of the conversations had been resolved before the characters walked away from them, the story itself would have flowed differently.

A lot of the descriptions were repeated often (every character had an “intense gaze”). I had trouble engaging with the writing style. Unfortunately, I had to force myself to finish it.

A fun novel looking at the influencer's life and good to have a Black central character. I felt like the relationship between her and Dan was a bit weird, and there was some off stuff about the other relationships too, however I am coming I think at a young person's novel from a middle-aged perspective so you can probably ignore this!

I really enjoyed seeing the behind the scenes influencer life, it was interesting and unique! Alivia and Travis are adorable but I wanted more of them. There were so many side storylines that took away from their romance and didn’t feel resolved.But since it’s the start of the series, I’d love to see if the side storylines were set ups for the other characters love stories (similar to Jasmine Guillory’s novels).

I didn’t care for the storyline of Dan and Alivia- they had a toxic friendship and terrible miscommunication was constantly happening, which I’m not a fan of. They make a huge deal about Dan and their sexual tension but it becomes an afterthought at the end. Their history kept being referenced in addition to the main conflict so it seemed like it would blow up and there would be a resolution but it was left unresolved.

The ending felt rushed since the big twist/climax happens around the 80% mark. Overall the book was enjoyable and a light read! If you enjoy reading about the inside life of influencers and fake dating trope then you’ll enjoy Influenced Love!

Rating: 3.5 rounded to 4

I love a fake dating romance with a touch of mistaken identities thrown in. I absolutely fell head over heels for Alivia, a Black woman who was tired of being misled by false claims for beauty products that claimed to be for Black women and failed so she started reviewing the products on social media and eventually started her own product line. There are some really beautiful interactions in this book between Alivia and her followers that I just adored. 5 stars for Alivia!

The plotline with Alivia/Moe/Travis was at times really great, and I love the chemistry between Alivia and Travis. Sometimes it was rather contrived, or some of the things Moe/Travis did were just... kinda of skeevy. I'd be drawn in by their chemistry and then put off by something that came off as just wrong. 3.5 stars for the fake dating goodness.

And then there's the weirdness with Alivia's male BFF Dan and his wife Donna. What the heck. It felt like it was going to go a certain way and then sort of bobbed and weaved all over the place. Their relationship was for sure toxic AF and they need couples counseling, stat. I see how it was supposed to contribute to the overall plot, but I feel like Shellee Marie just did Donna really dirty. I don't love when other women are just blatantly ill-used to make a main character look better. 2 stars for the whole Alivia/Dan/Donna storyline.

Finally, this reads as a bit more women's fic than romance, as Alivia is dealing with so many things outside of the central couple (and there's a bit of who is the male lead supposed to be? Moe? Travis? Dan? What's happening now?) I'd give this 4 stars as a women's fic novel, but it's a 3 (still a fun read!) as a romance novel.

3.5/5

This book contains a fake relationship, childhood friendships, a problematic sibling relationship, jealousy, lying, sweet and thoughtful moments, new business endeavors and fade to black bedroom scenes.

Alivia and Moe's fake relationship was a bit rocky. I liked that they were dedicated in trying to make their relationship look real, but it seemed like Moe did more work than Alivia did.

Alivia and Dan's friendship and the problems that came with it was not working for me. It felt kind of forced and Dan's marital issues definitely felt like a nuisance in Alivia's life.

I loved the storyline with Travis. He's such a cool, caring and thoughtful guy. It also doesn't hurt that he's so hot and super sweet! Travis and Alivia worked for me.

Shellee Marie's debut novel is a good one and I can't wait to read her next book.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced e-book copy in exchange for my honest review.

Influenced Love by Shellee Marie is a fun, fake dating rom-com. And while it does a lot of things right, it still fell flat for me. I did enjoy the behind-the-scenes look at the life of a social media influencer, though as someone who wears makeup maybe twice a year, the beauty blogger parts didn't really connect with me. I thought Alivia was a strong, well-developed main character, but the rest of the cast could have used a little more dimension. For example, Alivia's best friend Dan and his new wife Donna were not used to their full potential, especially Donna. She comes off as a caricature of a scorned woman, without really giving us a true basis for that scorn. I really felt like we needed more of the history of the relationship of this group to fully understand why everything went off the rails.

And the whole fake dating thing was...fine? I guess? It was pretty standard fare. There are misunderstandings and misrepresentations and getting caught in lies and everything you would expect from this trope. So it was a nice, breezy read and if you enjoy a fake dating book you will probably like it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cute rom-com but I just didn't love it. The tension between the main character and her "best friend" didn't come across. We are told there's an issue but I didn't feel it. As far as the faking dating, it's too clear who is behind text messages and I just didn't believe our Alivia wasn't savvy enough to figure that out from the beginning.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

I picked this book up because I liked the synopsis and I enjoyed reading it, it had a lot of laugh out loud moments which we all know is one of the best things a book can offer. It also showed how toxic social media can be at times which I also liked, it wasn't really spicy but the romance was adorable. This was my first book by the author and I'll be looking out for more of her books in the future.

This was a cute romance following a beauty influencer and everything that comes with social media as a career these days. A great debut novel by Shellee Marie and I can't wait to see what else she writes in the future.

Influenced Love is out on February 15!

I really enjoyed this first entry in the Black Beauty in Love series. Incredibly likable characters (Moe is such a lovable lunkhead) and interesting content (influencers/media personalities) had me reading this book straight through in one sitting. If you’re looking for a slightly steamy, very well written, funny romance, be sure to pick up this book. I can’t wait to see who will be featured in the next one.

Alivia Fae, an influencer, starts fake dating Moe who is a fitness influencer. Moe does not seem like a guy Alivia would want...but his assistant Travis seems like a good- nah great guy! Hence begins the roller coaster of a beauty influencer's life.
Ah well, how could I not enjoy this one? Alivia is such a great main character, she is confident and strong. She even makes her beauty products which is so cuteeee.
Easy-going language along with a humorous narration makes this book a cute-heartwarming read! I'll definitely recommend this one.

Alivia a black beauty blogger won my heart with her honesty and while the major theme of the book is romance,the author does touch upon the topics of dark skin and the beauty industry. The chemistry of Alivia and Travis is awkward but a lovely one. What I liked the most was how the author keeps you on your toes and ends the book finally with a HEA but it was such a powerful ending you wanted to know more about Alivia and her journey. The author definitely shows the shallow side of media and not just social media. The continuous attempt of magazines to take advantage of infleuncers and celebrities to mess up relationships of all kinds.

3.5 stars, rounding down
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Influenced Love tells the story of Moe Gava and Alivia Face’s relationship. The relationship starts as part of an Instagram poll Fae sets up to pick her next date after her embarrassment at what has been dubbed “weddinggate”.
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I don’t feel like this book was like anything else I’ve read recently, and I liked that. I was a little confused in the first half of the book as to what was actually going on, but I feel like it came together
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There are side plots for both of Alivia‘s best friends: Dan and Victoria, who are also cousins. Admittedly, this was distracting and I felt took away from the overall plot rather than adding to it. However, if this becomes a series with books focusing on each of the main characters sign me up!
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This was a fun romance that had me hooked. I really enjoyed the characters and the love stories and definitely recommend this book.
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This book is a cute and classic romance between an online beauty influencer, Alivia Fae, and the behind the scenes camera boy and assistant Travis. It was set up from the beginning with an adorable meet-cute, and it was adorable to watch the romance unfold. The book falls into a couple of classic tropes, but manages to pull them off because the tropes don’t work. It’s as if Marie used classic romance book tropes to write the other love interests, but the main love connection between Alivia and Travis was pure without any of the tropey-ness. I personally loved that because it made it easier for me to root for the main character’s happiness.

What other love interests, you ask? Number one is Dan, Alivia’s childhood best friend. Dan gets married right at the beginning of the book, but due to a series of unfortunate circumstances, tabloids believe that Alivia is in love with Dan. That’s right, tabloids. This isn’t any tale of love! Alivia is a famous influencer who blew up by sharing makeup tips for other black women to use. This throws his marriage, and their friendship, into disarray. I was really enjoying this little side plot because I think it helped to flesh out Alivia’s character, but I don’t think it was wrapped up as well as it could have been at the end.

The other love interest is Moe Gava. Moe is a fitness influencer that seems to have about 2 braincells. He’s classically stupid but he and Alivia start fake dating in order to distract from Alivia’s scandal. Moe does get more fleshed out as the story continues, which is good, and his character even becomes endearing for both me and Alivia.

Travis, the true main love interest, is a very sweet kind boy. He’s the type of man that everyone wants to end up with. Marie did a great job of showing how supportive he was of Alivia, and making this a romance that I was cheering for the entire time! I kind of liked how there was no ambiguity over who she would end up with, because that gave more time for their relationship to develop naturally and feel real, as opposed to being squeezed in between interactions with another boy.

Oh, and from what I hear, this is book #1 in Marie’s series, Black Beauty in Love, so you should read this one and get a whole trilogy out of it at some point in the future! The best part is, this book is fully self contained so you don’t have to worry about cliffhangers if you decide not to continue.

I just didn’t love it. I read the first 40% of the book and kept hoping I would feel drawn to the characters. Hoping that they’d grow on me. The synopsis reminded me of “Love, Comment, Subscribe” which I had loved- very similar premise but this missed the mark.

The main character is just meh. They make a huge deal about her male best friend and this weird sexual tension between them…but it almost becomes an afterthought at the end. It was hard to really invest my time in the remainder of the book but I can’t seem to ever #DNF a book. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I was given an ARC of this story to read; but thoughts an opinions are all my own. Thank you to NetGalley and Shellee Marie for the chance to read this book!

I enjoyed this one! I'm an elder millennial so I constantly flip between feeling old and "participating in the young kids trends" (aka tiktok). I was worried that I would feel too old for this book but it was such a fun read! It's definitely a slow-burn, but I love those. This book is nothing too special, but a great debut novel and I'm looking forward to more from this author! I rate it 3.5/5 stars.

This was a 2.5 star read for me - it wasn't bad, but it also didn't blow me away. I was really excited upon reading the blurb, but the book just didn't live up to my expectations. I really enjoyed the unique premise, and I liked the main character, but the romance fell slightly flat.

Fake dating to course correct online gossip anyone about Alivia and Dan. This is very much a contemporary romance centered on a beauty influencer trying to maintain her image so why not date another influencer. The overall plot was straight forward and delivers on a romcom.

Feel good romance fans can rejoice because this is the ultimate charmer! I really enjoyed this one and read it in one sitting with a big smile on my face. I not only connected with our heroine but I found myself loving her even though she's fictional! That my friends makes this one a winner! -4.5 stars!