Quick Synopsis

A chance at love might not be out of this world in this astronomically charming romantic comedy from the USA Today bestselling author of Love and Other Conspiracies.

Publisher’s Synopsis

Los Angeles social media influencer El Martin seems to have a picture-perfect life. But what El wants more than anything is to find something real to make her heart race in a way it hasn’t in years. She doesn’t expect that feeling to come from capturing footage of an unidentified flying . . . thing, much less from the charming Man in Black who keeps following her around.

Agent Carter Brody is trying his best to keep the Private Intelligence Sector afloat by dragging their hopelessly out-of-date office into this century, even though what he really wants to do is follow in his father’s footsteps by identifying and hiding extraterrestrial sightings. He gets his chance after being assigned to El’s case and is stopped in his tracks not only by her ingenuity and confidence but also by an unnerving coincidence—her sighting looks eerily like what Carter himself saw right before a family tragedy.

The deeper El and Carter fall into the mystery, the harder it is for them to ignore their growing chemistry as their own alien feelings become dangerously terrestrial.

Book Review

Even as someone who reads rather than writes, I acknowledge that sophomore novels are probably the most difficult to write. Sometimes an author triumphs and produces something better than their debut, and sometimes the second novel flounders. Sadly, this is a case of the latter. 

Love at First Sighting is a romance novel about El, a social media influencer, who stumbles across a shiny potential UFO and uncharacteristically live streams it to her followers. The next day, the video has disappeared, and a man in a black suit and trilby is following her. Agent Carter is tasked with discovering what El knows and then either discrediting her or convincing her that she did not see what she thought she saw.

What did not work for me was the characterization. El is an unlikeable influencer with a perfectly curated life. While Carter is a fun character, the over-the-top Men in Black routine and uniform are unbelievable and become a bit annoying. El has no backstory and is underdeveloped. Plus, she is completely unrelatable. Can we please stop using influencers as protagonists? And there is a ton of zoomer references. Between the influencer culture and the pointed references, this book became a bit alienating for someone in their 30s who avoids basic lifestyle influencers and overconsumption.

Despite a fun, quirky plot, Love at First Sighting suffers from a lack of chemistry between the protagonists. In addition, the action-packed, suspenseful plot did not allow room to develop the characters’ feelings for one another. Instead, there is insta-lust and not much progression past that. 

Overall, Love at First Sighting is a unique romance novel that is heavy on the action and adventure. I think there is an audience for this book, but unfortunately, it does not include me.