💕🐞📱 “Swipe Right for Romance” (Love Bug Novel #1) (2024) 📱🐞💕 – Book Review
MY REVIEW
Series: Love Bug (Book #1)
Paperback: 278 pages
Publisher: Book Nook Press (November 27, 2023)
Language: English
ISBN-13: 979-8870099019
⬅️ Click Photo for Purchase Information
“Looking for true love? There’s an app for that.
AJ Steel is the titan of the tech world. Those cutting-edge apps in your pocket? He's the mastermind behind them, a suave and successful maverick who's utterly cynical about love.
Meanwhile, I’m a totally broke dreamer on a mission—to revolutionize the dating game forever. No more shallow hook-ups. No more catfishing. I want to lead people to real, lasting love using science and heart—provided I don’t end up homeless first.
The Steel Enterprises Great App Challenge is my absolute last shot. There's just one giant, grumpy roadblock: AJ Steel, who despises dating apps as much as I despise being penniless. So, when he needs a fake girlfriend to escape his mother's relentless matchmaking, I'm up for the charade.
But when my app, Love Bug, matches us, I'm certain it's a glitch—until that first electrifying, toe-curling kiss sends my heart into overdrive. Nothing that feels that incredible can be accidental.
As the competition intensifies, my dreams and my heart hang in the balance. Is Love Bug a digital disaster, or have I stumbled upon a breathtaking truth I never expected? Could AJ Steel really be my perfect match? And if he is, how do I persuade a man who doesn’t believe in love that I’m his one and only?
Dive into this side-splitting, soul-stirring romance where technology collides with destiny. It's a whirlwind adventure of unexpected connections, laugh-out-loud mishaps, and finding love in the most surprising places.”
Thank you in advance to the author, Kelly Collins, for providing a complimentary review copy through Kate Rock Book Tours. A positive review was not required nor requested, and all words are my own.
Honestly, I’m not into dating apps, there is SO much that could – and likely has – gone wrong. But, when it goes right – could be a cute or heart-warming story. Just to see how this was going to play out … I definitely wanted to read this.
I mean … this has all the elements to be a great story:
📱 Fake dating trope
🐞 Dating app
🌞 Clumsy “sunshine” girl
👔 “Grumpy” business man … what isn’t to like? It’s almost like Pretty Woman!
Collins introduces readers to:
🐞 Juniper “Junie”
📱 Liv
👔 AJ (Andrew)
📱 Ethan
👜 Maxine
👔 Henry
For some worried about “content” – there is some content that might not pass a clean reader’s “vibe check” one of these is an on-page intimate scene. While not graphic, there are some who prefer “closed door” scenes. Also, there is some “mild” language – he!!, variations of the s-word, and a variation of d@mn. There is a drink mentioned that some might be uncomfortable with – Screaming 0rg@sm.
With that said …
Right off, Collins sets the trap that will ensnare the two potential victims into a sweet, hilarious relationship.
Junie’s Love Bug app is destined to be the next greatest app, and it’s biggest skeptic, might be the biggest supporter.
Junie is at the end of her financial rope – and one I can DEFINITELY relate to. She’s two months behind on rent and needs her app to succeed. Her friend Liv has set up a potential investor for Junie’s “LOVE BUG” dating app. And, Junie needs help with being two-months past due on her rent, and other bills piling up. Of course, the investor isn’t interested and dashes Junie’s dreams. But, Liv has an ace up her sleeve.
AJ Steel’s company is looking for the next big app, and one of the applications is – Junie’s Love Bug app. He, not believing in dating apps, tosses it to the side. He’s forced to reconsider when his analysts veto his rejection, which is part of the rules, and wants him to look into it. To add to his woes, his mother is insistent on matchmaking him, especially since she wants grandbabies.
Just before he meets his mother at a restaurant, he meets up with a sweet woman – Junie. And, to keep his mother from meddling – he asks Junie to be his “fake” girlfriend.
Junie actually likes AJ right off, and he likes her. His mother is curious about her as well.
Then … Junie finds out AJ is “Andrew” Steel, the man behind Steel Enterprises, and he finds out she’s the person behind Love Bug – the app he first rejected.
From the moment they first meet, sparks are apparent, though he promises her – no special treatment. However, since his mother likes Junie, he wants to pay her to be his fake girlfriend, even going so far to take her on a Pretty Woman like shopping spree.
For him, it is fake; for Junie, it’s real. They’re complete opposites, which even his friend Henry says is just what he needs to come out of his social isolation.
Under a pseudonym, AJ tries out the app, which he soon finds just might lead him to Junie and to believe that true love isn’t just a fairytale to sell books and make movies of. AJ soon finds out that what they have is very real, and wants it to be more. There are two problems – the competition and him paying her.
As with all romances – something goes horribly wrong. AJ finds himself trapped between integrity and the woman who made him believe in true, fairytale love.
Just like a movie, it is AJ who is determined to get that happily ever after!
Sweet, honest, and hilarious – this definitely has potential!
And, the story did live up to most of that potential.
I absolutely love when two opposites come together. And, especially when the match is deemed perfect by the most imperfect way to find love in the digital era.
I love how Junie’s app focused more on the “right” match based on interests, intellect, as well as emotional aspects before pairing up with someone. I definitely liked the fire ant and ladybug avatars.
The author definitely brought San Francisco and the Bay Area to life, though I was familiar with the city due to watching Nash Bridges (1996-2001) and Charmed (1998-2006). Her descriptive writing definitely painted vivid images, and I loved the intellectual look at dating and romance.
One “writing structure” issue I had, was the lack of proper transitioning in POV. Usually when it is first person (and even with third), the person who has the current POV is listed at the beginning of the chapter, like: CHAPTER TWO – AJ, or something similar. This didn’t, so I found myself struggling a bit to make sense of who was telling the story.
In addition, readers have to wait until page five (5) (the story starts on page one [1]) to find out who is starting off the story.
The language and on-page intimate scene definitely took me by surprise, as well as the reference to 50 Shades of Grey. That is a highly controversial book/movie series, and one that not all readers might be comfortable with, including those who enjoy lighter sweet romance and clean reads.
I did want more of a conclusion with one storyline. Without spoiling it – there is an issue of sabotage, and even when the person is found out – there is nothing more said or done. The story moves on from there.
Despite the issues, I decided to round up from 3.5 stars to 4 stars.
I did enjoy Junie’s careful, methodical, and intellectual approach to the app, not to mention the Pretty Woman references, so it balanced out.
This was my first introduction to the author’s work, and I would definitely be interested in reading the next book in the series – A Dating Dilemma.
Those who enjoy movies such as Pretty Woman and Notting Hill – I’d suggest checking this one out.
RATING:
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Goodreads
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Bookbub
4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ – Personal Rating (see rating explanation in this blog: https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2020/01/rating-system-2020-changes.html;update https://readingexcursions.blogspot.com/2022/07/what-goes-into-my-reviews-2022-edition.html)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
International bestselling author of more than thirty novels, Kelly Collins writes with the intention of keeping love alive. Always a romantic, she blends real-life events with her vivid imagination to create characters and stories that lovers of contemporary romance, new adult, and romantic suspense will return to again and again.
Kelly has sold more than a quarter of a million books worldwide, and in 2021 she was awarded a Readers' Favorite Award Gold Medal in the Contemporary Romance category for A Tablespoon of Temptation.
She can also be found on the following social media sites:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorkelleycollins
Instagram: http://instagram.com/authorkellycollins
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kcollinsauthor
Website: https://www.authorkellycollins.com/
**This review contains Amazon affiliate links.
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