cover image Girl Gone Viral

Girl Gone Viral

Alisha Rai. Avon, $15.99 trade paper (400p) ISBN 978-0-06-287813-7

Rai (The Right Swipe) riffs on the viral Twitter #PlaneBae story in this gorgeous romance. Privacy-obsessed Katrina King, a former model turned angel investor, copes with her social anxiety and the specter of her abusive father with the ample support of her female friends and sexy bodyguard Jasvinder “Jas” Singh. Former soldier Jas, meanwhile, is nursing an impossible crush on Katrina and struggling with PTSD. When a stranger approaches Katrina in a café, she flirts with him but says no when he asks her out. Unbeknown to either of them, an eavesdropper livetweets their entire exchange, along with surreptitious photos, and “#cafebae” quickly goes viral. To escape the social media frenzy, Jas suggests that he and Katrina retreat to his family’s remote farm in Northern California until it blows over. There, their true feelings bubble up. Rai handles her characters’ mental health issues with incredible care while not shying away from depicting the effects such issues would have on a relationship. Katrina and Jas’s loving, mutual support of one another is truly touching. This sensitive and sexy contemporary is sure to be a hit. Agent: Steve Axelrod, Axelrod Agency (May)