This was my first Mallory Marlowe and I'm obsessed. Any weird conspiracy thing is right up my alley so a romance centered around a UFO sighting, let's go! I took my time with this one because I just didn't want it to be over, I wanted to be best friends with Carter and have El give me a makeover (I don't even know if she'd do that but I know she'd be great at it). Even Leonard would be fun to meet. I loved the character growth for both Carter and El and how well they balanced each other out. This was hilarious and wonderful to read, and it made me want a grilled cheese desperately.

I'm so glad I snagged an early copy from NetGalley so I can tell everyone to go read this one!

I’m just getting into the adventure romcom genre and this was one was a good time! Obviously I loved The X-Files vibes and our MMC was absolutely adorable. So well done. As for the romance, it was a bit insta-love for me. Loved the mid-level stakes adventure though, so overall an absolute win.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Love at First Sighting has the most delicious premise, I was hoping that reading would deliver on that and it most certainly did. The book was fun but surprisingly emotional as well as Secret Agent Carter lives a lonely life that he has to revisit the origins of - the death of his father - while investigating similar events that transpired just before his death. The similar events are a sighting of a UFO but this time by gorgeous El, who is an influencer living a hollow life up until her partnership with Carter. Fun (with plenty of adventure), emotional, and romantic, this book literally has it all (including some UFO intrigue if you were a fan of the X Files). It seems like everyone needs a bit of an escape, and finding it within the pages of this book will be the perfect one, especially if you’d like a bit of change to typical romances, but not so much you’re completely disbelieving.

El and Carter’s dynamic is electric, crackling with humor, mystery, and slow-burn tension that keeps you hooked. Their push and pull is as compelling as the extraterrestrial mystery they’re unraveling, making every moment pulse with possibility. Fresh, clever, and just the right amount of absurd, it proves that love, like UFOs, tends to appear when you least expect it.

Ariel "El" is a successful social media influencer in Los Angeles. Taking selfies for a social media campaign for athletic wear, she fears someone is following her. She live streams a video and when she turns around, it's not someone but something following her, an unidentified flying object flashing colored lights. Her video goes viral and people think she's either crazy or trying to gain attention. Carter works for the Private Intelligence Sector, verifying UFO videos, most of which are fake. When he sees El's video, he sees the same UFO he saw when he was 10 just days before his dad died. Tracking El down to learn more about the UFO, they end up working together to discover the real purpose of the UFO. Could it have anything to do with Carter's dad's death? The more time they spend together, El and Carter start developing feelings for each other and find themselves caught in a dangerous mystery. El's influencer friends are ditzy and annoying and make her rethink her life goals. Carter's life is lonely, full of work and not much else. If you like the X Files mixed with romance, this would be a fun mystery to read. Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️ 🌶️

You guys. Love at First Sighting is literally everything. Mallory Marlowe gave us a rom-com with UFOs, government secrets, and a Man in Black who is equal parts nerdy, considerate, and hot? Yeah, I’m obsessed. The fact that anyone was able to make me think about Spike from Buffy is an automatic yes 🤭

El as a main character was so perfect to me. Not only is she THAT girl, but her journey was so nice and fun to read. And then there’s Carter, who shows up all serious about his job, but immediately starts short-circuiting around her (love that for him). Their chemistry? Off the charts. The slow-ish burn? Painfully good. The sci-fi twist? Lowkey unhinged in the best way. And the spice??? 🥵 THE DESK???? MALLORY. How am I supposed to move on with my life after this????

One thing I specifically loved about their relationship was the fact that there was no miscommunication, no third act breakup, and no lying…yet I STILL felt it was a perfectly well-rounded and dynamic relationship on its own. I love that when they decided to get together they just fully went for it. It was so refreshing to read and made it that much more of a five star read. 💜

This book is like if The X-Files and a rom-com had a love child raised by TikTok conspiracy theories. If you love banter, mystery, and the kind of romance that makes you kick your feet, you need this on your TBR.

Thank you Mallory and NetGalley for the arc. 🫶🏼 👽 🛸

This was cute, but I wanted so much more! The premise is really fun but it took me awhile to warm up to El and Carter together, especially with how fast their relationship and feelings grew. I also didn’t care much for any of the side plot lines with Marcus or El’s influencer friends. El and Carter did grow on me by the end, though and I enjoyed where they both ended up!

An action packed romcom with aliens and a conspiracy song me up!

This story was so much fun and so unexpected. Not having yet read the first book I dove into this one with no expectations and ended up having the best time. This story between a female influencer and a male in a black suit (very men in black vibes) team up to try to figure out a conspiracy seeming to try to ignore their own growing connection. I love how fun and fast paced this was. I didn’t want to put it down in fear of missing what could happen next. I think both characters were written so well and I found myself laughing along with most of the book.

I will say I was a little thrown by a blonde MMC (lol) but I ended up loving him the most of all. A down bad man who is included in the high jinx along side the FMC, following her path. When falling for each other just becomes inevitable.

I love this authors way of completely transporting you into this story and keeping a hold of you until the very last page. Wishing there was at least 50 more pages between these two.

Mallory Marlowe is my new favorite go to for a quirky, cozy book with just the right amount of spice. Love at First Sighting is Mallory’s second book and it’s just as good as her first!
El, our fmc, stumbles onto a UFO and records it. Enter Carter, our mmc, the Man In Black who’s sent to deal with it. I loved this. It was fun, mysterious, full of love and support but also touched on some heavy topics that were done really well.

I LOOOOVED THIS BOOK! 1000000 stars!

Ariel (El) is an influencer who has grown discontented with her life. She lives in an influencer house and basically her whole life is sponsored content, which leaves her feeling empty. Carter is a man-in-black government operative tasked with keeping El silent after she livestreams a UFO encounter. What El caught on camera is reminiscent of an encounter Carter himself had in childhood, which he is convinced has something to do with his dad’s death.

El and Carter team up to investigate what she saw and find themselves tangled up in government secrets, dirtbag billionares, and aliens.

Carter is the cutest babygirl cinnamon roll mmc ever. He is babyfaced and easily intimidated, and El makes him nervous because she is gorgeous, poised, and glamorous. El is confident and capable, and she is the perfect partner for Carter to finally get answers about his dad’s death and the mysterious things they both have seen.

This book is saturated with dry humor, excellent banter, and gen z pop culture references. Somehow even with such a bizarre concept and high stakes situations, I was giggling and kicking my feet the entire time I read this. I will be recommending this book to everyone I know!

Thank you SO much to Berkley and Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I will (X-) file this as another out-of-this-world romcom from Mallory Marlowe. High stakes, witty banter, and spicy scenes that sent me into orbit--this had it all.

I thoroughly enjoyed how both main characters were in a sort of "opposites attract" relationship, but they both had a common goal in finding how to love themselves before they could love eachother. The FMC is an influencer who "has it all" in the public eye, but wants to prove she's more than a pretty face. The MMC isn't sure he's worthy of love because in his eyes he has nothing.

This was a very impressive sophomore release from Mallory Marlowe and I have added her to my auto-buy list for sure.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Berkley and Mallory Marlowe for the advanced copy of this book!

This book was so much fun and I had to force myself to put it down last night so I could truly enjoy the ending and not binge it in one sitting. The pacing was phenomenal (we all know I'm a huge pace person) and I just had the best time reading this.
The story was cute and original. The stakes were high enough to keep me really engaged but I never was too stressed about where the plot was going.
The romance in this was also SO strong. No miscommunication, just true love and understanding for each other and knowing what the other needed at all times (aka my standards are even more ruined). I want more of them but I also was so happy with how the story ended!
I also think that begrudgingly I am in my blond mmc era (SO SCARY, I KNOW) and I do not know what to do with this information.

Thank you Berkley Romance for my copy! Mallory Marlowe once again writes an out of this world rom-com! I absolutely loved her debut novel and was eagerly awaiting this book. It was a JOY to read...the plot, the characters, the swoon, the banter. It was such a good blend of romance, humor, mystery and action-adventure.

This is everything I could want in a rom-com - a golden retriever MMC, an X-Files-inspired plot, and a sweet romance between two idiots hesitant to trust anyone other than themselves. It's quick and cute! I was mildly annoyed by some of the influencer talk, but not enough to negatively impact my reading experience. A solid 4-star romance read!

What a cozy, quirky read! An LA influencer encounters a UFO and the Man in Black they send to deal with her is attractive. I absolutely love books like this and want to read more silly, out-of-the-norm stories like this one. Where can I find more?

Definitely will be reading Mallory Marlowe’s previous publication next to see what else this author has up her sleeve. Already looking forward to her upcoming one!

I loved the Men in Black movies when I was younger, so getting a MIB flavored romance?! It was amazing! This was such a sweet romance with great comedic moments and even a bit of a mystery going on. I really felt every emotion while I read this book, from laughing at the quirky characters, to crying and feeling their pain and frustrations while they try to crack their case. This was super well written and had me captive from chapter 1. Even if getting chased by possible UFOs is scary I would totally be down, if it led me to a super hot secret agent!

This was such a cute and fun read! I really enjoyed the romance, the mystery, the action, just all of it! These characters were written perfectly and I loved the whole Men in Black vibe. I definitely recommend this book!

Mallory Marlowe was my favorite debut author of 2024. Her first book “Love and Other Conspiracies” was amazing and I knew she would be an author to watch. So when I heard she had another book coming out in 2025 that was perfect for fans of Romcoms meets Men in Black. I immediately had grabby hands. So thank you to arc publishing gods because NetGalley & Berkley Publishing came through. I have never been so excited to receive an arc copy for a book. And let me tell you Mallory’s second book, “Love at First Sighting” did not disappoint.

Ariel & Carters story kicked off with a bang and I ended up being unable to put the book down until I finished it at 1am. PS I have zero regrets this book was worth the lack of sleep. I loved both characters individually and I loved them even more as a couple. Watching them find and heal each other through this action pack adventure felt like watching a movie. And I wish I could rewind and reread it all again.

Overall, I cannot recommend this book enough. Please check this book out when it releases August 2025! On a personal level I’m so excited for my trophy copy to arrive for my bookshelf later this summer.

Arc review: 4.75 ⭐️
Binged this in a day while home sick from work.
Deep (fictional) dive into both influencer culture AND government conspiracies, which is a combo that just *worked*.
Hot-floppy-haired-blond-Gen-Z-man-in-black +
Shit-I-think-I-just-saw-a-ufo-influencer-babe = a real deep, meaningful connection and some fun hijinks to boot.
🛸 💜 👽

Mallory Marlowe’s *Love at First Sighting* is a delightfully quirky rom-com that blends swoon-worthy romance with a dash of extraterrestrial intrigue. Los Angeles influencer El Martin has crafted the perfect aesthetic life, but what she truly craves is something real—until an unexpected UFO sighting and a mysterious Man in Black throw her world into chaos. Enter Agent Carter Brody, a reluctant investigator with a personal tie to her case, whose skepticism is no match for El’s confidence and charm. As they dive deeper into the mystery, sparks fly, making it impossible to ignore their undeniable chemistry. Marlowe masterfully balances witty banter, heart-tugging romance, and an engaging sci-fi twist, creating a love story that’s both out of this world and deeply grounded in emotion. Perfect for fans of paranormal rom-coms and opposites-attract dynamics, *Love at First Sighting* is an irresistibly fun and heartfelt read that proves love—like the truth—is out there.