REVIEW: Love at First Sighting by Mallory Marlowe

Love at First Sighting by Mallory Marlowe: When social media influencer El accidentally captures what looks like a UFO on her latest livestream, she is more than ready for a few trolls to grill her and maybe even a sassy meme or two making fun of her…what she didn’t expect was for her fans to go into a frenzy or to find herself being followed by her very own man in black, Carter Brody. As an agent in the private intelligence sector Carters mission is to make sure that he can contain El’s little sighting before it spirals out of control. The only problem with this is Carter’s own past is kind of linked to the strange lights that El saw that night, soon the two find themselves on a wild goose chase to try and uncover the mystery of the strange lights and the even stronger connection pulling them together…

There is just something about the way Mallory Marlowe writes these slightly kookie paranormal romcom that gets me very time. While it is not normally my go to genre, I just can’t help but loveMarlowe’s fun, silly and cute play on these tropes. Right from the very first chapter I found myself drawn into this slightly wacky but cute offbeat mystery, with snappy banter and an undeniable slow burn connection El and Carter had me hooked wanting to know what exactly is going on with these strange lights in the sky.

El was a total sweetheart, I loved how real and relatable her character felt. In a world full of influencers, it was nice getting to see the real side of how these people sometimes struggle to find there feet. While she is definitely full of sassy confidence and comfortable in her own skin, there were also moments that we got to see her struggling to balance how much of her true self she could share with her fans and if she was still staying true to herself. Where as Carter was the kind of hero that only opened up in tiny bits, but these small nuggets that we got only made you greedy to know more. I really enjoyed getting to see carter’s story unfold as he got more comfortable with sharing with El, we get to see him open up about his past, guilt and grief. As well as get to see how much he feels torn between his duty and need to find out the truth. I just loved his entire vibe and his love for retro, it was so easy to picture him in his suit and suspenders with a hat, lurking about trying to solve a mystery.

The build up between El and Carter just felt right, there was no insta love between these two but instead we got to see this simmering passion brew as they grew closer as the book progressed. I just ate up all their banter and the underlying tension that was present whenever they were alone together. The thing about this couple that I liked the most was the fact that they wanted to help each other, not change each other. I really liked the fact that there was no extra drama, we got to see two people support each other and help bring out the best in each other. More than this I loved the fact that we got to see their relationship progress seamlessly as the investigated the mystery, Marlowe does a brilliant job in giving both romance and mystery equal attention and crafting a well rounded book.

I absolutely loved the fact that there was a mystery woven into this love story and that we got to enjoy both of them together without either taking a backseat. The blend of secret whispers and conspiracy theories added such an interesting backdrop for this romcom. There are more than a few twists and turns that keep El and Carter on their toes and keep us also wondering, “wait what exactly is going on?” And I just loved this extra playful element to this book.

Overall I absolutely loved following El and Carter as they tried to get to the bottom of this mystery in Love At First Sighting. If you are a fan of The X Files but also want a cute playful romcom then this is definitely a book you need to check out!

Book Info:

Publication: August 12, 2025 | Berkley |

Los Angeles social media influencer El Martin seems to live the perfect aesthetic 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 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 the unnerving coincidence of how her sighting looks eerily like what he 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.