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nmfcarney's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
the_white_bear's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
laura_cs's review
4.0
Influencer Jia Ahmed is nervously excited to finally meet Dev Dixit for the first time. After all, they've been talking online for months, but real life is so different. But IRL is quickly heartbreaking when Dev doesn't have the slightest clue who she is.
Bollywood actor Dev is trying to keep things together: he's moved to California to make his debut in American television, he's now raising his tweenage niece after the death of his womanizer brother, and reconnecting with his mother's brother. He doesn't have time for romance. However, he makes time to figure out who Jia is and why she insists that they have been talking through some very personal private messages over social media.
They meet up again so that Dev can make sense of what happened and give Jia the answers she needs for how they got into a catfishing mess, the last thing they anticipate is getting caught by the paparazzi. While Dev's quick thinking saves Jia's face from ending up in the gossip rags, Jia's mother and older sisters quickly recognize a piece of Jia's wardrobe and demand answers. To save face and to prove she's not the screw-up they all think her to be, Jia declares that she and Dev have been dating. And after the pain that Jia has gone through, Dev is willing to play the part. But quickly the 'fake' part of their relationship is called into question as feelings develop.
While I love Alisha Rai and her Modern Love series, I entered this book with some hesitation. As far as I am aware, Rai is not Muslim, so I was interested to see how she handled two Muslim main characters. (Especially since there has been some back-and-forth regarding Jia on the cover's design.) Also not being Muslim, I can't 100% say that everything was depicted in an accurate and respectful manner, but having read books by and about Muslim women where romance plays a large role, I thought that the religious aspects of the book were handled well.
However, it does lead to my central complaint. The second half of the book felt rushed, and it didn't have to be. Jia and Dev do get married in the book, but that seems to largely serve the purpose of getting them into bed together. The first half of the book was this nice slow-ish burn, fake-dating trope book where we could see exactly where and how Jia and Dev were going to develop individually and come out stronger. But then it didn't happen; everything that could have been got dropped to push them to the altar so that they could, eventually, end up in the bedroom. Nothing feels truly resolved at the end of the book, and it's so hard to feel like the characters got a Happily Ever After when they aren't the characters we were rooting for at the beginning.
Bollywood actor Dev is trying to keep things together: he's moved to California to make his debut in American television, he's now raising his tweenage niece after the death of his womanizer brother, and reconnecting with his mother's brother. He doesn't have time for romance. However, he makes time to figure out who Jia is and why she insists that they have been talking through some very personal private messages over social media.
They meet up again so that Dev can make sense of what happened and give Jia the answers she needs for how they got into a catfishing mess, the last thing they anticipate is getting caught by the paparazzi. While Dev's quick thinking saves Jia's face from ending up in the gossip rags, Jia's mother and older sisters quickly recognize a piece of Jia's wardrobe and demand answers. To save face and to prove she's not the screw-up they all think her to be, Jia declares that she and Dev have been dating. And after the pain that Jia has gone through, Dev is willing to play the part. But quickly the 'fake' part of their relationship is called into question as feelings develop.
While I love Alisha Rai and her Modern Love series, I entered this book with some hesitation. As far as I am aware, Rai is not Muslim, so I was interested to see how she handled two Muslim main characters. (Especially since there has been some back-and-forth regarding Jia on the cover's design.) Also not being Muslim, I can't 100% say that everything was depicted in an accurate and respectful manner, but having read books by and about Muslim women where romance plays a large role, I thought that the religious aspects of the book were handled well.
However, it does lead to my central complaint. The second half of the book felt rushed, and it didn't have to be. Jia and Dev do get married in the book, but that seems to largely serve the purpose of getting them into bed together. The first half of the book was this nice slow-ish burn, fake-dating trope book where we could see exactly where and how Jia and Dev were going to develop individually and come out stronger. But then it didn't happen; everything that could have been got dropped to push them to the altar so that they could, eventually, end up in the bedroom. Nothing feels truly resolved at the end of the book, and it's so hard to feel like the characters got a Happily Ever After when they aren't the characters we were rooting for at the beginning.
bookjunkie57's review against another edition
4.0
First Comes Like
Modern Love, Book 3
I Picked Up This Book Because: Finish the series.
Media Type: Audiobook
Source: Netgalley/BCPL
Dates Read: 3/19/24 - 3/21/24
Stars: 4
Narrator(s): Priya Ayyar, Neil Shah
The Characters:
Jia Ahmed Beauty influencer working to make her dreams come true after losing momentum due to illness.
Dev Dixit Actor from a famous family whose world has been flipped after the loss of his brother and Grandfather.
Dev’s Niece, Dev’s Uncle, Jia’s roommates (who I would love to see have their own stories)
The Story:
While I do not have a super dramatic reaction to this story I liked it a lot. I think Jia and Dev are low key characters that have some semi dramatic things happen to them. There is a lot of growth and change for these characters as they are both thrown into major upheavals. I wasn’t in love with the last bit of miscommunication. Jia really didn’t need to jump to conclusions about the housing situation.
I love Dev’s uncle and I would have liked to see more of his niece.
Modern Love, Book 3
I Picked Up This Book Because: Finish the series.
Media Type: Audiobook
Source: Netgalley/BCPL
Dates Read: 3/19/24 - 3/21/24
Stars: 4
Narrator(s): Priya Ayyar, Neil Shah
The Characters:
Jia Ahmed Beauty influencer working to make her dreams come true after losing momentum due to illness.
Dev Dixit Actor from a famous family whose world has been flipped after the loss of his brother and Grandfather.
Dev’s Niece, Dev’s Uncle, Jia’s roommates (who I would love to see have their own stories)
The Story:
While I do not have a super dramatic reaction to this story I liked it a lot. I think Jia and Dev are low key characters that have some semi dramatic things happen to them. There is a lot of growth and change for these characters as they are both thrown into major upheavals. I wasn’t in love with the last bit of miscommunication. Jia really didn’t need to jump to conclusions about the housing situation.
I love Dev’s uncle and I would have liked to see more of his niece.
mcgibbons93's review against another edition
2.0
This literally felt like it was written by a different author. I loved the first two in this series and have been looking forward to this one, but there was very little chemistry and hardly any plot in the second half of the book. I skimmed to the end.
jackiehorne's review
My ebook library loan expired before I could force myself to finish this (got about halfway through). I usually love Rai's work, but this installment of the Modern Love series was big disappointment. Many great ingredients, including its two main characters, a shy Indian soap opera star who has come to the States to get away from fans and family after the death of his younger brother, and a Pakistani-American hijab-wearing social media influencer who has always been the outlier in her focused, professional family. But without much of a plot to bring these two together, or to create forward momentum, I couldn't get very engaged by it.