Want a celebrity crush? Dev’s heartthrob looks make Jia weak in the knees, and his family embodies all the drama of a soap opera.

Love a mistaken identity? Jia thinks Dev is the mysterious man who’s been sending her flowery lines for a year. The story blends so many tropes, there’s something here for everyone:

Every time he fell asleep to Jia’s videos about eyelash curling, I found myself smiling.įirst Comes Like is a tropetastic ball of delight. His insta-pining had him buying her recommended serums even though Dev has no idea what serums are. Reconnecting with his uncle and niece, Luna, means he starts the book living with accepting family members for the first time since his childhood.ĭev seems to spend most of his days worrying about how to make his niece happy, then, after they meet, watching Jia’s skincare tutorials. Dev’s parents died when he was sixteen, and he was forced to move in with the grandparents who’d rejected his mother for being Muslim. I feel certain that Adil gives great hugs. Dev is raising his recently orphaned niece, while supporting his Uncle Adil, who’s the kind of relative who offers a hot roti to everyone who visits. His family is Bollywood royalty, but he’s from a less wealthy offshoot, and reluctantly joined the family business in his teens.

They’re both unprepared for the media frenzy they stir up after their paparazzi photos go viral.ĭev is a total cinnamon roll. He’s intrigued by this gorgeous woman who angrily confronts him she’s embarrassed about being catfished. He’d never DMd her, and doesn’t manage his own social media accounts. for his first American role, has no idea who she is. Unfortunately Dev, a Bollywood star who just moved to L.A. When she falls for a famous actor after he DMs her, Jia decides to surprise him at a Hollywood party. Jia is unapologetically vain, and used to people underestimating her. She’s been an influencer long enough to feel old compared to the fresh-faced teenagers on the scene. Jia’s an outlier in her family of doctors. It has a more lighthearted, fluffier tone than Girl Gone Viral, with a heroine whose thirstiness made me smile, and a down-to-earth hero who overcomes a tragic backstory. But First Comes Like might be my perfect pandemic read. I tend to avoid novels about models, and wasn’t sure that I was millennial enough to appreciate this romance. The main character, Jia, is a social media influencer who creates videos about make-up. I was initially skeptical of the newest installment in Rai’s Modern Love series. Theme: Fake Relationship, Mistaken/False IdentityĪrchetype: Actor/Actress/Celebrity, Diverse Protagonists

First comes like by alisha rai