THE RIGHT SWIPE

First in a very contemporary new series by a writer known for her expansive view of what a romance novel can do.

Rhiannon Hunter is an ambitious entrepreneur, having created a successful dating app that gives women safety and control, but she wants more. If she can acquire Matchmaker, a more traditional dating service, she can exponentially grow her business and reach. But then Matchmaker announces its new spokesman: former pro football player Samson Lima. Samson was a dating-app hookup who left Rhiannon wanting more, but he ghosted her after one night. Samson never meant to hurt Rhiannon, and he’s determined to win this “interesting, demanding, adorable puzzle of a woman” over. A patient, loving, and caring man, Samson finds that his interest in Rhiannon competes for emotional bandwidth with the problem of living down his legacy as a traitor to his sport. To protest the league’s careless handling of traumatic brain injuries, which deeply impacted his friends and family, Samson walked off the field in the middle of a game. At loose ends, he agrees to co-host an ad campaign with Rhiannon and learns just how much harassment and abuse she's had to endure as a black woman coming up in the tech startup world before #MeToo. Rai (Hurts To Love You, 2018, etc.) addresses heavy issues without sacrificing passionate sensuality or emotional connection. Although Rhiannon seems more guarded, Samson is just as fearful of vulnerability, and their path to lasting love is a slow but satisfying one.

An ex–football player woos an entrepreneur in a high-tech romance that proves respect is the most potent love drug.