This book is HILARIOUS! It's a candid and funny look into online love scammers. The name alone had me wanting to read this. Becky is a riot. She is a true comedienne and I hope to see much more from her. Read it. You won't be disappointed.

Keanu Reeves Is Not In Love With You

Firstly what a great title!

Secondly, I know romance is dead but it turns out it's because you've been looking in the wrong places! It's right there in your Instagram DMs...

Except they are fake.

'Keanu Reeves Is Not In Love With You' is an engaging, witty and also enraging look at romance scams - how people are manipulated, the techniques used, the people behind the fake profiles and also how victims and their lives unravel.

Not only does Becky Holmes speak to the victims of online scammers but she talks to the scammers themselves and the gangs behind themselves schemes. There are no consequences for the scammers themselves, and it's turning into big business. It's really shocking the scale of these types of operations.

The devastating consequences for the victims is jaw dropping and I really felt for the victims as there is no where to turn for help. This book really makes you think about the way you interact with the internet.

But there are also funny sections. Cut between the investigation and interviews, are her hilarious responses to scammers.

This is a great book about online romance scams. This is a must read!

Thank you to Netgalley for an e-book version of this book!

#keanureevesisnotinlovewithyou #netgalley

This was a great read and is a must read for everyone. It is brilliantly written, with the author sharing her laugh out loud responses to these scammers, combined with the heart wrenching real life stories of the victims of these romance scams.
Unfortunately, as this is the direction the world is turning to, with more of our lives being lived online, it can make us all sceptical of potential romances, but it rightfully makes us to be cautious.

3.5! I'm familiar with catfishing, online romance fraud, and even the sakawa boys, so much of this was already known to me. I did laugh out loud at some of the conversations Holmes had, and I appreciated the tips at the end (even though most of them were UK based).

While working at a library I regularly encounter patrons who have fallen for scams of various types, yet trying to explain that the person on Skype who asked for $200 was not *actually* Elon Musk, doesn't tend to go over very well. KEANU REEVES IS NOT IN LOVE WITH YOU offers an engaging look into world of online romance scams, easily blending education and humor. Holmes' witty storytelling keeps readers hooked, especially with the example scripts. This book is both delightful and enlightening.

Thank you to Unbound and Netgalley for providing a review copy.

A humorous insight into a serious subject, Becky Holmes delves into what really goes on with romance fraud.

Readers can understand just how easy it is to be scammed, it can happen to anyone, as we learn from some of the real life cases in the book.

I laughed when Becky regaled us with her antics and would recommend this book for say a holiday read.

This is a very funny and informative read on social media romance scams and how to deal with them and avoid them. It includes real stories form people who have been scammed. Really useful on what to watch out for if you're active on social media.

"Keanu Reeves is Not in Love with You" by Becky Holmes is a humorous yet eye-opening exploration of online romance fraud. With wit and determination, Holmes dives into the world of fraudulent Twitter profiles, exposing the tactics used by scammers who prey on unsuspecting victims. From fake romances with celebrities like Keanu Reeves and Brad Pitt to interactions with peacekeeping soldiers and oil rig workers in need of iTunes vouchers, Holmes shares her hilarious encounters while shedding light on the devastating impact of romance scams. Through first-hand accounts, script examples, and insights into the psychology of fraud, this book offers both entertainment and education, serving as a cautionary tale for anyone navigating the murky waters of online relationships.

Genuinely love Becky Holmes and I follow her antics on twitter. There's plenty of humour in the book but it also tackles the real issue of online abuse and love bombing from people pretending to be someone that they aren't. Such an important read. Highly recommend. Thanks to Becky, NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A highly enjoyable read and an eye opening one too.

At times hilariously funny and pants wetting, at others touching, shocking and astounding.

Becky Holmes has created something that deserves to be read, it will give the reader more than enough information about what signs to look out for as well as a sense of frustration with the lack of interest the lawmakers and police give to this crime.

Engrossing and informative, it is a must read!

genuinely funny and accessible book about a really misunderstood area of crime - felt less like a traditional nonfiction book and more like listening to a friend monologue about their latest hyperfixation for several hours. the case studies were very well done and really humanised this issue.

while i appreciated that this was a very victim-focused book, I do wish the scammers’ background could been explored a bit more so that their motives could be better understood beyond the generic ‘evil man wants money’ explanation. also, could’ve done without the repeated mentions of how attractive the author found certain men - just didn’t think it was necessary in the context of the book.

5⭐️🎧📕
For fans of “Who TF Did I Marry” and the show CatFish. Becky had me cracking up with her punny sense of humor! Her narration is great, but the book has images that are HILARIOUS so I recommend going that route if you must choose.

💔 First off, I like to go in blind on books, and this was nothing like I was expecting. It’s not a novel (I was totally envisioning a female stalker of Keanu 😂). It’s a comical non-fiction documentary-style collection of stories and warnings about online romance fraud, and how susceptible we are to the lures when we are at some of our most vulnerable times.

“When they asked me for money in the form of gift cards, I started sending them fake codes such as 5C4MM1NG 4R53H0L3 or 5CUMB4G, which they would try and use and couldn’t figure out why they weren’t working. I really was having the most glorious time.”

🤭 Becky Holmes’s book is unapologetically truthful, informative, hilarious, scary, angering, and heartbreaking. Her sense of humor on such a serious topic is enlightening and right down my alley. She would say the most outlandish things, and they would just go with it.

“It’s 1:30 am and I have to go. I’ve got a head in the oven.”
“Show me”
{Sends a picture of her best friend’s head in the oven} 🤣🤣🤣

🕵🏻‍♀️ She’s done her homework - interviewing victims, fraud specialist, and even the scammers. She also covers the religious aspect of scamming, and even gets her hands on some scripts used in scamming. As a girl that pride’s myself on having watched almost every season of CatFish, I learned SO much more about the world of romance fraud.

😱 This book should be required reading for all people that are on any form of social media, dating apps, etc. If you think you could never be scammed, think again. It might happen to you, a relative, a friend… In this current age, it’s happening more than you probably realize, and people are shamed from opening up about it. There isn’t much that can be done legally, so it’s a very isolating experience. It’s just horrifying!

A very sincere thanks to NetGalley, Unbound, and Becky Holmes for honoring me with a complimentary ARC to review. This has truly been my pleasure 😂

This was soooo good and such a quick read - also very funny. To my knowledge, Holmes got big on Twitter by baiting romance scammers and posting screenshots of their conversations, which she includes in the book. At first, I was worried this was just going to be her Twitter in book form, but she ended up delving deep into the world of romance fraud through interviews with experts, victims, and scammers. Holmes is clearly passionate about the topic and cares deeply about understanding why romance fraud is so prevalent, stigmatized, and damaging. Highly recommend.

This was a fantastic, easy read. I don’t normally go for memoir or non-fiction, but Becky Holmes made me want to read on with her light humour and fun writing style.

I’ve always seen this type of romance fraud accounts online and assumed it was only really unintelligent people who would fall for it, but Holmes speaks to and writes about many educated women who fall for these convincing fraudsters. This mixed with her original humour made this an informative but also funny read.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGallery for ARC

4 stars - A fun time that, whilst never really giving new insight to romance fraud, entertained me throughout . A little more scope in who was interviewed would have been nice.

This was a great read, especially for someone who rarely leaves the comfort of fiction.

Ms. Holmes has written a book based on a budding fascination with romance fraud, which acquired during the Covid-19 pandemic. She began with her own experiences and then decided to explore how people just like her and nothing like her could be lured into this modern scam that the internet so "lovingly" gave us.

I appreciate how Ms. Holmes was able to inject a delightful wit to something that is rarely a laughing matter. It allowed some of the darker moments in this book to never become unreadable. In a more clinical book, hearing about people lose everything have to a stranger could create a book most people would have to put down. By using this humor, Holmes escapes this issue entirely. Nothing like joking about bodies in your kitchen to lighten the mood!

At the same time, Holmes emanates a deep compassion and empathy for everyone she interviews. It's far too easy for people to actively mock and tease people who fall for romance scams. Holmes writes about each interviewee with such a depth of explanation that you never are left questioning why someone became a victim. It must have taken immense bravery for the victims to allow themselves to be interviewed and I'm glad Holmes was able to tell their stories.

So why is this book not 5 stars?

2 reasons.

Firstly, I don't think Holmes really adds something new to the discussion. Her observations of romance fraud always seem a little surface-level. For example, Holmes never really explores why romance scammers scam people. I understand that it is much harder to interview those sorts of people, but a little time spent on it would have been amazing. This is infotainment for better or worse. I can't criticize this too much, when the lightness of the book was so important in allowing me to finish this quickly (best train read I've had!). -0.5 stars

Secondly, the relative absence of diverse voices in this book was disappointing. Practically everyone Holmes speaks about is a woman, heterosexual , and often from the United Kingdom. Holmes has mentioned the potential for a second book exploring how men can be victims of romance fraud. I would suggest that she not only explores their stories, but makes a conscious attempt to go global on her exploration of romance fraud and maybe also the ranges of sexuality Please do this Holmes!
-0.5 stars

I loved every bit of this non-fiction! It was eye-opening and informative without being dull thanks to Becky's wit and dry humour.
•
I'd known some of the basics of online romance fraud but there was still so much more I learnt through reading this. The personal stories from those who were targeted by these scammers were frightening, intriguing and sad all at once but I gained a better understanding of it all through reading these firsthand experiences than if the book had been without them. Prior to this book I'd never actually known of Becky or discovered her twitter and after seeing snippets of the hilarious conversations she'd had I fear I've been missing out! I loved that there was plenty of light relief all the way throughout without it once feeling inappropriately funny.
•
There were also plenty of reflective moments where I found myself realising how close minded I'd been before reading this about the whole idea of romance fraud and those targeted; it's definitely made me think twice about how I personally view those that have suffered at the hands of these criminals. Speaking of the scammers, it was really interesting to get an insight into how they work told from a couple themselves, although it's hard holding much (if any) sympathy for them when you realise how many lives they've ruined and still are ruining.
•
Overall, a really enlightening book that has shone a light on a topic we don't hear about as often as we should. I try to refrain from using star ratings on most non-fics but with the context of this one I'm happy giving it five stars.

Thank you Netgalley & Unbound for the digital ARC.

After following the author Becky Holmes for some time in Twitter (X) and finding her comments both hilarious and disturbing I was very much looking forward to this book.

The author started by telling the readers about herself and her online journey, both with dating and contact via social media platforms by such “stars” as Keanu Reeves, taking snippets of these and adding photos as with her online accounts. Of course these are not who they say they are and her comments are hilarious, but when you dig deeper as she did into the world of online romance fraud and scammers the stories that she told were at times harrowing.

This really was a book of two halves, the funny and self deprecating stories about their and her online contacts and the murky and confusing stories of those who have been lured and manipulated by overseas scammers, believing they were in a relationship.

Enjoyable but also informative and will be recommending others to read.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

this was such an interesting topic about a very little reported on subject. becky holmes tells the story in a personable and funny manner, while also highlighting the very real risks and vulnerabilities that these people are put through. an easy accessible read and one i'm definitely going to read more about

I follow the author on Twitter. It’s a fun account about all the pathetic scam artists trying to chat people up and get them to give up their cash. 
As it turned out, it was both silly and heartbreaking, reading about women who had been fooled by these creeps and had got themselves into all sorts of awful messes. Definitely a lesson to be learned in not giving too much away online and questioning everything.

While I thought the premise of this book was very intriguing, it was just ok for me. I would read another book from this author as I loved her writing style and was quite amused in parts.