Review: LOVE AT FIRST SIGHTING by Mallory Marlowe http://bit.ly/4njKRI5
Publication Date 8/12/2025
Genre Romantic Comedy
Reviewed by Reading in Pajamas/ Donna
Rated 4.5 Stars

I enjoyed this romantic comedy on several levels. The banter between El and Carter was entertaining and moved the romance along nicely. Normally I’m drawn to books that have a group dynamic that pushes the story and demonstrates the main character’s likeability. But I didn’t like anyone around these two, and neither did they. That was part of the story.

As the book blurb states, El was a popular online influencer that basically lived a plastic life. She knew it was empty but still played the game. Carter was a “Man in Black”, dealing with UFO sightings for the government. He had such low self-esteem brought on by those around him. But he knew deep inside that he had more to give. They were perfect for each other. Through circumstances, they joined up to solve a UFO mystery and managed to work to find themselves as well.

This is a sweet and sexy romance filled with humor, mystery, and danger. Yes, some parts were a bit cringeworthy…Private Intelligence Sector – P.I.S. ? Really? I was able to overlook that and enjoy the story. It had my pulse pumping and left me with a smile. BUT-I wanted more alien stuff.

*Review copy provided by Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review.

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Kindle https://amzn.to/3UYAsoY

What happens when an influencer sees a UFO and livestreams it? The Feds find them, of course. This was a fun romance between two traumatized people just trying to make it in 2025. I normally do not read books where protagonists are cops (yes the Men in Black are cops), but I had faith that Mallory would write a good character arc for Carter (spoiler: she did!).

I had difficulty connecting with El but I appreciated hers and Carter's chemistry. The mystery elements were fun as well, and I appreciated that the "conspiracy theories" in this book were less theoretical and much more concrete and historically accurate.

I do think this book could have been shorter. I felt fatigued getting through it, and although I stayed committed to finishing it I just thought the flow would've benefitted from more editing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was so freaking cute!!! Easy 4.5 stars but I'll bump it up to 5!

So - I thought the first book was good.... oh, no - this one was so much more hilarious and heartwarming. I LOVE LOVE LOVE how Mallory Marlowe just writes the humor in this book - it's effortless and I was cracking up outloud - my husband kept asking if I was okay. Loved all the quirky moments and the swoony moments!

I can't wait for book 3!

I very recently read another book by this author and really enjoyed myself so I was excited to get the chance to read this one. I thought the is one started pretty thrilling yet comedic and had me hooked very quickly. I was reminded of the movie Men in Black but even more comedic in my opinion.

El and Carter were both adorable in their own right. They both worked so well together, romantically and on their adventure. I liked that they were both quite lovable characters.

This was a fun story and a great palate cleanser from the heavy books I’ve been reading lately.

5⭐️
3🔥

Quick Breakdown

Strangers to Lovers
Influencer x Man in Black
Cinnamon Roll Hero
Bit of Mystery & Adventure
No 3rd Act Breakup
Dual POV
Open Door - Mild to Moderate

THANK YOU @berkleyromance for the eARC & @prhaudio for the gifted ALC #berkleypartner

El is a lifestyle influencer working out of LA, who sees then subsequently livestreams a supposed alien encounter while shooting in the desert. Only, no one believes her & cancel culture basically accuses her of hallucinating or making it up for attention. It’s then she meets Carter - the government agent tasked with shutting down possible sightings to keep them secret. Only the video El posted is shocking similar to the one Carter experienced as a child, right before his father suspiciously passed away. As the one person who actually believes El, Carter & she work together to figure of the mystery of what they both actually saw.

I LOVED this & easily binged it in under two days. Given the fact that this is Men in Black adjacent & we’re basically coming along to hunt for aliens, there is some suspension of disbelief to be had. It’s totally worth the escape. I adored El & Carter together. He was the soft & accepting slightly younger man that fell for HER & not her brand, where she showed him love & acceptance when he didn’t have much in his past.

Along with the romance was an underlying story of finding yourself & your purpose. I enjoyed watching as not only El but Carter, too, found their way to jobs that fulfilled them through gentle, mutual encouragement. He encouraged her to pivot to sharing more authentically with her audience while she encouraged him to find a career path that actually brought him joy.

I also loved the bit of mystery & adventure weaved in. I was invested right along with El & Carter. There was a level of suspense towards the end I wasn’t expecting, but I loved all the same.

After loving Mallory’s debut, I was beyond eager to jump into her sophomore book. I held off, though, with hope the audiobook would be narrated by my favorite Elizabeth Lamont. Sure enough, she did & it was EVERYTHING I’d hoped it would be. Highly recommend you listen along, too!

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This was not as good as the first one (and I liked the first one well enough - obviously enough to read the sequel). There were a lot of things that didn't seem plausible in this one, such as El and Carter are investigating things and suddenly turn into expert espionage agents, even though they've never done this kind of thing before. Also, Carter apparently lives on a diet of fast food and sits at a desk for the majority of the day, and somehow has a ripped six-pack. Seriously, I can suspend my disbelief only so much. The chemistry between El and Carter wasn't quite there, either. The book wasn't horrible, but I didn't love it, either.

This book was so fun! I couldn't put it down. The banter, the flirting, the tension - ugh it was everything. And Carter is baby boy and I love him. The action in the story also kept me on edge and I was excited to see what would happen next. I loved Love And Other Conspiracies but THIS BOOK - THIS BOOK KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK!

What a fun book! I really enjoyed the mystery and the chemistry between the two characters. The twists and turns.

She's an influencer who had an encounter with a UFO during a live taping. He's the special agent, Man in Black, trying to figure out exactly what she saw and if it was connected to his same experience. Together, they uncover something bigger than they expected while answering questions that haunted the agent for years. What really happened to his father.

I had a great time reading this book. Thank you NetGalley and Mallory Marlowe for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the free book @penguinrandomhouse and @berkleyromance #penguinrandomhousepartner #berkleyIG #BerkleyBookstagram. Thank you for the free audiobook, @prhaudio!

Okay friends who love The X Files vibes, this book comes out today and I think you’d want to read it!!

El is a social media influencer who unexpectedly witnessed a potential UFO sighting, livestreamed her experience, and she almost got cancelled for it! But this is how our male lead, Agent Carter Brody finds her! I am such a gullible human being because I thought Men in Black really exist😂

Anyhoo, I loved the banter and chemistry between the two leads. But my fave part is that this book is a mix of romance and mystery!!

I still preferred the author’s first book but that included haunted hotels and stuff and you guys know I love spooky storylines but this one was also equally entertaining especially if you love UFO/ alien conspiracy theories! I actually read this while watching the Storming Area 51 documentary so it was a very alien-ish week for me 😂

As for the spice, I’d give it a 2-3🌶️ I’ll try my best to add spice ratings now on my romance book reviews as I’ve noticed that it’s one of the things that gets asked a lot :)

💭 Do you guys love extraterrestrial tropes/ storylines?
☕️ I am not a super fan of it because it creeps me out 😂

There was a bit too much going on here in my opinion. The romance with the mystery with the action kinda randomly coming in toward the end that I don’t think really fit the lighter more silly vibes of the book. I was intrigued at first and wanted to know how things were going to play out but felt confused by the end.

Plus I’m sorry but I can’t handle the mmc wearing the fedora (sorry, trilby) unironically.

😊 strangers to lovers
👥 close proximity
👏🏻 no third act breakup

dual POV
3/5 stars ⭐️
2/5 spice level 🌶️

So I am actually really disappointed that I didn't enjoy this. I read the author's first book last year and ADORED it but this just didn't have the same magic.

The biggest reasons this one didn't work for me:
-The romance felt secondary and flat. The characters both felt very surface-level and I never really connected to either.
-The mystery/conspiracy plot line was not interesting enough to make up for the lackluster romance.

(4.5 Stars) El Martin lives the perfectly curated life of a social media influencer - on instagram she’s always flattering angles, product placements, and good filters. But she’s beginning to wonder if anyone, including herself, knows who she really is. Then when returning from a photo shoot, she has an ENCOUNTER. And she live streamed it. Now, her fellow influencers think she’s lost it, her follower count is dropping, and there is a legitimate MAN IN BLACK after her. That man in black is Carter Brody, who works for the aging, antiquated Private Intelligence Sector responsible for hiding extraterrestrial sightings. But El’s case is different for Carter, because it mirrors the case that changed the trajectory of his childhood. Together, Carter and El form an unlikely pair as they race to, often haphazardly, solve the mystery from his past and her present. And it just might result for an unexpected future for them together.

In Mallory’s debut, Love and Other Conspiracies, I fell in love with her unique brand of heart and humor. It is also where she plants the seed of the “men in black” agency that ties the books together. I love books that can be hilarious, action-packed and swoon-worthy - and this one checks all those boxes. It is a quick, wildly-entertaining read and I cannot wait for Marlowe’s next book!

🎧 Audiobook Thoughts: Elizabeth Lamont (who has narrated 3 of my favorites this year - including this one) and Iggy Toma (new to me!) do a fantastic job with this dual POV narration that leaves us loving Carter and El so much! (8h 54m)

Book: 🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
🎧 Audio: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
🔥 Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

This book was better than I expected. Carter and El both grew a lot as characters, and I loved rooting for them as a couple. Love at First Sighting is a fun mix of romance, mystery, and even a little alien drama. I do wish there was little more alien talk, but I overall really enjoyed it! Mallory is becoming one of my favorite authors!

Thanks to NetGalley for the free eARC in exchange for my review!

Mallory Marlowe creates such fun romances! I love the nerdy touches and opposites attract tropes that she weaves in. This one made some good points about how women are only praised for being “real” and “authentic” if it’s the brand of real and authentic people expect. Looking forward to reading book 3!

👽Book Review👽
*
My thoughts- thank you so much @prhaudio and @mallorymarlowe for the ALC of Love at First Sighting! This was a super fun paranormal romance. El was a surprisingly deep main character, I was worried about the influencer aspect but she was weirdly relatable. I enjoyed following her storyline but I really loved Carter. He was just the most lovable main character, he was deep, kind, thoughtful, and just all around perfect. There wasn’t a ton of supernatural elements outside of Carters job but I still really enjoyed this one. Tina of witty banter with a little bit of steam! I can’t recommend this one enough, it was sweet and fun and such a fabulous read!
*
Review- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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Summary- Los Angeles social media influencer El Martin seems to have a picture-perfect life. But what El wants more than anything is to find something real to make her heart race in a way it hasn’t in years. She doesn’t expect that feeling to come from capturing footage of an unidentified flying . . . thing, much less from the charming Man in Black who keeps following her around.

Agent Carter Brody is trying his best to keep the Private Intelligence Sector afloat by dragging their hopelessly out-of-date office into this century, even though what he really wants to do is follow in his father’s footsteps by identifying and hiding extraterrestrial sightings. He gets his chance after being assigned to El’s case and is stopped in his tracks not only by her ingenuity and confidence but also by an unnerving coincidence—her sighting looks eerily like what Carter himself saw right before a family tragedy.

The deeper El and Carter fall into the mystery, the harder it is for them to ignore their growing chemistry as their own alien feelings become dangerously terrestrial.
*
QOTD- do you believe that aliens exist ?! I sure do!

I loved this one so much! Even more so than the first one. But then again im a sucker for anything that reminds me of the Xfiles. I have to admit, the beginning was realy slow and I almost became uninterested, but im so glad I stuck with it. I love the story and thwm as a couple. I lo e the message that this sends and the ending. I love most that not once did Agent Carter admit there were real aliens lol.

*Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and to PRH Audio for the gifted ALC*

A man in black who falls for an influencer? Say less. Uncovering a conspiracy all while falling in love? Classic. I enjoyed the dual PoV audio, though my preference was for Elizabeth Lamont's chapters, mostly because I felt like El's perspective was super interesting. I found it to lean more into the com than rom, but I about died laughing every time El said she survived Fyre Festival.

Now did I love this as much as Love & Other Conspiracies? No. But it was still a solid read for me!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️

men in black meets x-files *cue in music and the meme of the girl with all the math equations around here head*

i absolutely loved @mallorymarlowewrites first book last year & this was no different! 🫶🏻

carter is the perfect cinnamon roll boyfriend & i love how protective he was of ariel aka el. their relationship definitely built off the dramatics…i mean she literally sees some alien encounter like shit, but it was so fun to read about! 💜👽

i would definitely recommend this one to anyone who loves:
🛸 witty banter
🛸 ufo’s & sci-fi
🛸 action romances
🛸 a girl getting the guy who worships her

oh how I love Mallory Marlowe's stories!!!
there's so much love and tenderness and excitement in this story! I love how, even thought they start off on a wrong foot, El and Carter have such a deep mutual respect and connection with one another. I just adore El & Carters whole relationship and just how tender and loving they are with one another. especially the last chapter and epilogue just had me in tears happy for their hea. also if the author ever wants to do an extended epilogie, short story, or even a whole book for Leonard getting his own hea I am first in line because I adored him lol!!!
thank you so much for this arc!!!

Rating: 4.25⭐️ | Spice: 2🌶️ | Audio: 5🎙️
What to Expect:
UFOs
Government Conspiracy
Found Family
Undercover
Suspense/Romcom
Golden Retriver MMC
Instant Connection
Opposites Attract

Thanks so much @berkleyromance for the gifted paperback and @prhaudio for this gifted audiobook!

Review Title & Vibes:
{BEAM ME UP} as in my smile is beaming. You might not know it - but you were on the hunt for a Men in Black meets the X-files romcom!

Fitness and beauty influencer Ariel “El” Martin encounters a frightening UFO and promptly burns her curated brand to the ground in the process. When Agent Carter Brody convinces her to trust him by opening up regarding his tragic past - they work together to solve the mystery around his father’s death and her current ufo sighting.

Things I Loved:
-He’s hot but doesn’t know it. Vulnerable and open refreshing and novel for an MMC
-she’s gorgous but constantly used for her beauty and popularity. She just wants genuine love and affection - which Carter provides in spades. She is surprisingly capable and geared towards problem solving/espionage 🕵️‍♀️
-surprisingly no actual aliens make their debut although certain files show evidence of their existence. 🤯
-spice - El knows what she wants, for all his insecurities Carter knows how to bring the pleasure. 🔥

Audio Notes:
{dual} banter and care. This performance was wonderful, giggling, swooning, breath-holding in the suspenseful parts, toe-curling in the spice. I would highly recommend this audiobook.

Recommended to...  
You secretly nerdy girls in need of an MIB MMC!

Narrated by #ElizabethLamont #iggytoma
Produced by @prhaudio