I received an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
In today’s day and age, nobody meets organically anymore. I feel like meet-cutes are no longer a thing. In the 90’s, a couple would order the same drink at a coffee shop and both would go to pick up their drink only to fall in love at first sight, or some nonsense like that.
Now, a girl can lay in bed in her baggiest sweats, wearing no makeup, with her hair in a bun, while eating ice cream and somehow meet Mr. Right via apps like Tinder (not that I’ve ever done such a thing, I prefer to browse Tinder while wearing my fleece Santa leggings, and I eat chocolate, not ice cream while doing so. Huge difference).
In Nicole Flockton’s latest novella, “Swipe for Mr. Right,” she takes the online dating game a step further. When Australian native Caryn suffers a horrifying break-up, the Aussie agrees to meet up with someone from a dating app for their first date at a resort in America. Talk about adventure.
The entire premise of this book was just too cute for words. When Caryn arrives at the resort to meet the mysterious accountant, Brad, she has no idea that she has been catfished. “Asshole Brad,” as he will henceforth be known, lured poor Caryn to the resort using a picture of an American reality T.V. star, Tom. Tom, in the midst of a much needed vacation, thinks that Caryn is just another fan trying to get into his pants, and blows her off. That is, until he realizes that she has been catfished by Asshole Brad, at which point, instead of coming clean, he proceeds to pretend he is the aforementioned asshole.
I liked both Caryn and Tom as narrators. Caryn was sweet, if a little naive and Tom seemed to genuinely have his heart in the right place, despite the lie he chose to perpetuate. I imagined Tom as one of the “Property Brothers”–specifically, the hot one that does all of the actual renovating. As always, Flockton’s book managed to pack a very sexy punch. The sex scenes between Caryn and Tom were certainly steamy and didn’t feel like they happened too soon. By the time they fell into bed, they seemed to have developed a very real connection.
The only thing that prevented me from rating the book five stars was the lack of resolution with Asshole Brad. The book ended so quickly that we never got to see him get his comeuppance–something that I was dearly looking forward to. I almost wish that Flockton had included an Epilogue where the happy couple discovers the identity of Asshole Brad and decide to thank him for getting them together in the first place. I’m no romance author, so I’m sure Flockton could’ve come up with something better, but you get the gist of what I’m saying here.
My Takeaway: With a premise that was cute as a button, “Swipe for Mr. Right” brought a smile to my face. While a little bit more of an ending would have made this book perfect to me, if you are a fan of HGTV hotties, this is the book for you.
My Rating: 4.25/5 Stars
To read more of Erin’s reviews, check out her blog, As the Book Ends. Here is her most recent interview with the author of “Swipe for Mr. Right.”
Recent Comments