4.5 stars and a definite swipe right for The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai!
***Trigger Warning: sexual harassment/intimidation, brain injuries***
Synopsis:
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…
This review may contain spoilers.
The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai was the February pick for The Romcom Book Club I started here in Cheltenham. We had 5 people last month and since this book covered a lot of serious topics (more than I expected), we were up to 6 in February, which was great because there was definitely a lot we could discuss! The Right Swipe is an excellent example to all the rom-com haters that these books are not just about sex and love at first sight.
Sexual harassment is a major theme in the book, and while it's not unfolding in "real-time" throughout the story, it is discussed and does play a big role in Rhiannon's actions, thoughts, and feelings. Because of that, if you have been the victim of sexual harassment/intimidation, I would recommend you double-check how you're feeling before diving into this story. It was a wonderful story full of hope and bravery, but it may still be triggering.
In recent years, discussions around sexual harassment and intimidation have become more prevalent in society, but it is still far too widespread (any cases of sexual harassment are too many cases). The fact that someone could think they have the right to subject someone else to that is disgusting. What's worse is still how many people still feel they won't be believed if they come forward. The author takes this point and proves that even those at the top of a company can still fall prey to it and feel that silence is their only option. Rhiannon's trust issues (I hate using that word to describe it) are real and understandable. You can relate to why she would still keep Samson at arm's length. Just because he seems like the real deal, doesn't mean she can trust (yet) that he won't do a 180° and break her trust again.
After I finished the book, I looked up the NFL Concussion Settlement class action lawsuit. I remember hearing about it and changes being made to players' helmets to make them more protective, so I already knew this was a real lawsuit. While Samson's feelings of helplessness and his baggage or different, they also possess similarities. The criteria players had to meet to be a part of the lawsuit were very narrow and strict. Samson watched his dad's personality completely change due to the head injuries he took playing in the NFL, yet no one would believe them and they were denied any additional help until after his father died and someone took the time to test his brain and find out the truth. It's another instance of a victim not being believed or taken seriously. Samson chooses to take a stand as a player and retires in the middle of a game because his teammates are not being carried for and made to play while obviously concussed. He took the risk to make a stand, and while he finds out later on that it makes a difference to many, at the time he's received a lot of backlash about it from not only the public but his own teammates as well. It makes sense that when he's approached by one of those bad-mouthing former teammates to be the spokesperson of a new charity aimed to help former athletes with brain injuries, Samson would be skeptical.
All this to talk about and we haven't even mentioned the romance (read: sex) part or the wonderful cast of supporting characters. While I didn't feel there was a ton of sex in the book, what was there was hot and spicy and well written. I could especially relate to the following:
"I loved it (having Samson go down on her). I just can't come easily from it, and most men don't want to stay down there forever."
I'm still not sure why talking about blowjobs is found more "acceptable" than talking about female oral sex. And let's be honest, blowjobs can take a really long time to...come to completion as well. So why do I feel bad when my husband is pleasuring me and it's taking a little longer? I mean I get what Rhiannon is saying and if it truly doesn't get you off, then enjoy it and move on to what does keep you satisfied. But for me, I love it. And I agree with Samson that people who think "penetrative intercourse is the whole and sole point of sex" are missing out. There are so many other things that provide pleasure and intimacy. Sometimes, for me, just the act of being naked feels intimate. Those moments when I'm struggling with body issues and am feeling self-conscious, just being able to trust my partner to love me for me is extremely intimate. So yeah...oral sex might sometimes take longer, but ladies...let's try to remember that we deserve to have what we like. And besides, perhaps making us come like that is a huge turnon for our partners.
All-in-all, the book club enjoyed this book. There were a couple of things that some people didn't love, but that's to be expected.
"Ah. He almost pressed his hand over his heart for a second to dull the ache that threatened to pierce through the fog. Joe had loved lemon anything."
When I read that quote above, I knew I had to make something with lemon. My husband loves anything lemon as well and due to a couple of recent family favorites, lemon cakes have started becoming one of my favorites. One of our wedding cake flavors was lemon blueberry and while we haven't been married a year yet, I've been wanting to try different recipes to find the perfect one for our anniversary in July. I used a lemon drizzle cake recipe from BBC Good Food (https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/lemon-drizzle-cake Instagram: @bbcgoodfood) as a starting point. I added a touch of vanilla and about a cup or so of frozen blueberries to the batter before I spooned it into the loaf tin. I added the blueberries while they were still frozen with the hope that they wouldn't release too much moisture while baking and make the cake soggy. It turned out really well. It's a thick batter and the next time I make it, I need to make sure and distribute the blueberries more evenly so they don't end up all in the bottom. Even though I already used more lemon than it called for, it could have taken more zest in the batter and twice as much of the drizzle on top as well.
Thanks for stopping by!
-Kim
Commentaires