[Book Review] The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai

Rhiannon Hunter may have revolutionized romance in the digital world, but in real life she only swipes right on her career—and the occasional hookup. The cynical dating app creator controls her love life with a few key rules:

- Nude pics are by invitation only

- If someone stands you up, block them with extreme prejudice

- Protect your heart

Only there aren't any rules to govern her attraction to her newest match, former pro-football player Samson Lima. The sexy and seemingly sweet hunk woos her one magical night... and disappears.

Rhi thought she'd buried her hurt over Samson ghosting her, until he suddenly surfaces months later, still big, still beautiful—and in league with a business rival. He says he won't fumble their second chance, but she's wary. A temporary physical partnership is one thing, but a merger of hearts? Surely that’s too high a risk…

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CW: sexual harassment, cyber bullying/harassment, domestic verbal abuse, threat of revenge porn

One of my 2020 goals was to read more romance books because of how much fun I had while reading a few last year. So when I needed a lighter story to read before bed and when I couldn't sleep I saw that this one was available and I am so glad I gave this one a shot! I knew a few of my favorite reviewers fave this book flowing rating so I was pretty sure I'd at least enjoy myself. 

"The first touch of her tongue against him was like dropping a lit match onto dry kindling, both of them turning needy and hungry."

The characters really make or break a romance book, which makes sense because you have to want the characters to find love and be happy. I absolutely wanted both Rhiannon and Samson to fall in love, they not only had fantastic chemistry but as individual characters they were easily likeable. They had their flaws, and they make mistakes, but their motivations and actions are easy to empathize with. Rhiannon is a black woman who owns Crush, a dating app that focuses on empowering women. Because of her past, Rhi has a lot of trust issues and they're written in a way that instead of getting annoyed with her I could only empathize with her. I never found her pessimism dramatic or over the top but  instead I felt for her and wanted her to learn to trust again. Samson, who is a Samoan retired football player who is the sweetest love interest. He seemed so determined to show Rhi that he could be trusted. At first  I thought his eagerness and infatuation from the start seemed a bit heavy handed because they had one night together ages ago, but after learning about his past and abandonment issues, his actions were easy to empathize with as well. 

I loved their romance. From flirting, fating and the sex scenes didn't even gross me out. Typically, I am not a huge fan of sex scenes and prefer fade to black or vague sex scenes in the romance books I read. However, these were well written and not overly detailed to where it became cheesy and cringe-y. So, although The Right Swipe has more detailed scenes than I would have liked, I never felt uncomfortable while reading. The flirting and dialogue between Rhi and Samson is my favorite part of their relationship. There is a short chapter that is solely their text conversations and they're so funny and cute. I just found their flirting super adorable. 

"See, that's the funny thing. Sometimes you don't intend to do something, and you do it, and no one gives a fuck what you intended because you've done the thing." 

Normally with romance books it's hard to have strong opinions either way about the side characters because the book typically focuses on the couple. However, I really enjoyed so many of the side characters in The Right Swipe. Rhi has two best friends, one is her roommate, a Thai-American fat woman with agoraphobia, who seriously needs her own book. The other is a hilarious Indian lesbian woman who helps Rhi with her company. I love both of these women so much and I'd love books about both of them, honestly. Samson's also has a best friend who is a black man who is a stay-at-home dad, and honestly his love for his daughter is the cutest thing. Obviously, I want more stories with these side-characters, and I also really loved the diversity in this book. 

The Right Swipe also tackles a lot more serious and important topics I didn't expect to be included in this story. I picked this up for the romance, because I needed something fluffy to read before bed, and although those aspects are included there's a lot of fantastic issues that spark discussion. Without giving any spoilers, I'll talk about the important issues that are expanded upon. First, Alisha Rai opens discussion about how women, women of color especially, are treated when they hold positions of power. Rhiannon is a strong independent woman that can be perceived as cold and private and because she has had to deal with events in her past that sprouted rumors about her she has to work harder to prove her worth and Crush's worth. Alisha Rai also tackles the very relevant topic of how women are harassed in the workplace. This becomes a more prevalent topic by the end of the book and honestly it had me in tears. Although it's never specifically named, with the way the internet is used in this book it definitely gave me #MeToo vibes and it was a powerful aspect of the story. The third big issue that is discussed is one I didn't know too much about before reading, and that is the dangers of being a football player and how they're treated by their employers when it comes to mental illness and health. I always assumed the employers and coaches would be serious about taking care of their players and stopping them playing when they start showing signs of mental illness or head damage from getting knocked around. And I am not sure how it is in the real world, but in this book it is incredibly eye opening. 

"Being vulnerable is a risk. Love - romantic, platonic, familial, it doesn't matter what kind of love - is a risk."

However, with all of these amazing aspects of this story I am not sure what is stopping me from giving it a full five stars. I think it's because I wish we got more softer moments with Rhi and Samson. Especially from Rhi because being vulnerable is so hard for her. I know we are shown that she wants to work on it but because she comes to that revelation so late into the book the reader doesn't see it. I strongly related to her not being a vulnerable person about deep sensitive topics in her life, so it would have been nice to see her show that side of herself more. Maybe if there are more books to come we will see that, since according to Goodreads this is the first of a series. The next book centers around Katrina, who is Rhiannon's friend and business partner. So maybe Rhi and Samson will be side characters in Katrina's love story.

Overall, I highly recommend this feminist romance book! I cannot wait to read more from this author because she is obviously a talented writer. If you're in the mood for a romance this is one to pick up! 

Thanks for reading!