"Keanu Reeves is Not in Love with You" by Becky Holmes is a humorous yet eye-opening exploration of online romance fraud. With wit and determination, Holmes dives into the world of fraudulent Twitter profiles, exposing the tactics used by scammers who prey on unsuspecting victims. From fake romances with celebrities like Keanu Reeves and Brad Pitt to interactions with peacekeeping soldiers and oil rig workers in need of iTunes vouchers, Holmes shares her hilarious encounters while shedding light on the devastating impact of romance scams. Through first-hand accounts, script examples, and insights into the psychology of fraud, this book offers both entertainment and education, serving as a cautionary tale for anyone navigating the murky waters of online relationships.

Genuinely love Becky Holmes and I follow her antics on twitter. There's plenty of humour in the book but it also tackles the real issue of online abuse and love bombing from people pretending to be someone that they aren't. Such an important read. Highly recommend. Thanks to Becky, NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

A highly enjoyable read and an eye opening one too.

At times hilariously funny and pants wetting, at others touching, shocking and astounding.

Becky Holmes has created something that deserves to be read, it will give the reader more than enough information about what signs to look out for as well as a sense of frustration with the lack of interest the lawmakers and police give to this crime.

Engrossing and informative, it is a must read!

genuinely funny and accessible book about a really misunderstood area of crime - felt less like a traditional nonfiction book and more like listening to a friend monologue about their latest hyperfixation for several hours. the case studies were very well done and really humanised this issue.

while i appreciated that this was a very victim-focused book, I do wish the scammers’ background could been explored a bit more so that their motives could be better understood beyond the generic ‘evil man wants money’ explanation. also, could’ve done without the repeated mentions of how attractive the author found certain men - just didn’t think it was necessary in the context of the book.

5⭐️🎧📕
For fans of “Who TF Did I Marry” and the show CatFish. Becky had me cracking up with her punny sense of humor! Her narration is great, but the book has images that are HILARIOUS so I recommend going that route if you must choose.

💔 First off, I like to go in blind on books, and this was nothing like I was expecting. It’s not a novel (I was totally envisioning a female stalker of Keanu 😂). It’s a comical non-fiction documentary-style collection of stories and warnings about online romance fraud, and how susceptible we are to the lures when we are at some of our most vulnerable times.

“When they asked me for money in the form of gift cards, I started sending them fake codes such as 5C4MM1NG 4R53H0L3 or 5CUMB4G, which they would try and use and couldn’t figure out why they weren’t working. I really was having the most glorious time.”

🤭 Becky Holmes’s book is unapologetically truthful, informative, hilarious, scary, angering, and heartbreaking. Her sense of humor on such a serious topic is enlightening and right down my alley. She would say the most outlandish things, and they would just go with it.

“It’s 1:30 am and I have to go. I’ve got a head in the oven.”
“Show me”
{Sends a picture of her best friend’s head in the oven} 🤣🤣🤣

🕵🏻‍♀️ She’s done her homework - interviewing victims, fraud specialist, and even the scammers. She also covers the religious aspect of scamming, and even gets her hands on some scripts used in scamming. As a girl that pride’s myself on having watched almost every season of CatFish, I learned SO much more about the world of romance fraud.

😱 This book should be required reading for all people that are on any form of social media, dating apps, etc. If you think you could never be scammed, think again. It might happen to you, a relative, a friend… In this current age, it’s happening more than you probably realize, and people are shamed from opening up about it. There isn’t much that can be done legally, so it’s a very isolating experience. It’s just horrifying!

A very sincere thanks to NetGalley, Unbound, and Becky Holmes for honoring me with a complimentary ARC to review. This has truly been my pleasure 😂

This was soooo good and such a quick read - also very funny. To my knowledge, Holmes got big on Twitter by baiting romance scammers and posting screenshots of their conversations, which she includes in the book. At first, I was worried this was just going to be her Twitter in book form, but she ended up delving deep into the world of romance fraud through interviews with experts, victims, and scammers. Holmes is clearly passionate about the topic and cares deeply about understanding why romance fraud is so prevalent, stigmatized, and damaging. Highly recommend.

This was a fantastic, easy read. I don’t normally go for memoir or non-fiction, but Becky Holmes made me want to read on with her light humour and fun writing style.

I’ve always seen this type of romance fraud accounts online and assumed it was only really unintelligent people who would fall for it, but Holmes speaks to and writes about many educated women who fall for these convincing fraudsters. This mixed with her original humour made this an informative but also funny read.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGallery for ARC

4 stars - A fun time that, whilst never really giving new insight to romance fraud, entertained me throughout . A little more scope in who was interviewed would have been nice.

This was a great read, especially for someone who rarely leaves the comfort of fiction.

Ms. Holmes has written a book based on a budding fascination with romance fraud, which acquired during the Covid-19 pandemic. She began with her own experiences and then decided to explore how people just like her and nothing like her could be lured into this modern scam that the internet so "lovingly" gave us.

I appreciate how Ms. Holmes was able to inject a delightful wit to something that is rarely a laughing matter. It allowed some of the darker moments in this book to never become unreadable. In a more clinical book, hearing about people lose everything have to a stranger could create a book most people would have to put down. By using this humor, Holmes escapes this issue entirely. Nothing like joking about bodies in your kitchen to lighten the mood!

At the same time, Holmes emanates a deep compassion and empathy for everyone she interviews. It's far too easy for people to actively mock and tease people who fall for romance scams. Holmes writes about each interviewee with such a depth of explanation that you never are left questioning why someone became a victim. It must have taken immense bravery for the victims to allow themselves to be interviewed and I'm glad Holmes was able to tell their stories.

So why is this book not 5 stars?

2 reasons.

Firstly, I don't think Holmes really adds something new to the discussion. Her observations of romance fraud always seem a little surface-level. For example, Holmes never really explores why romance scammers scam people. I understand that it is much harder to interview those sorts of people, but a little time spent on it would have been amazing. This is infotainment for better or worse. I can't criticize this too much, when the lightness of the book was so important in allowing me to finish this quickly (best train read I've had!). -0.5 stars

Secondly, the relative absence of diverse voices in this book was disappointing. Practically everyone Holmes speaks about is a woman, heterosexual , and often from the United Kingdom. Holmes has mentioned the potential for a second book exploring how men can be victims of romance fraud. I would suggest that she not only explores their stories, but makes a conscious attempt to go global on her exploration of romance fraud and maybe also the ranges of sexuality Please do this Holmes!
-0.5 stars

I loved every bit of this non-fiction! It was eye-opening and informative without being dull thanks to Becky's wit and dry humour.
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I'd known some of the basics of online romance fraud but there was still so much more I learnt through reading this. The personal stories from those who were targeted by these scammers were frightening, intriguing and sad all at once but I gained a better understanding of it all through reading these firsthand experiences than if the book had been without them. Prior to this book I'd never actually known of Becky or discovered her twitter and after seeing snippets of the hilarious conversations she'd had I fear I've been missing out! I loved that there was plenty of light relief all the way throughout without it once feeling inappropriately funny.
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There were also plenty of reflective moments where I found myself realising how close minded I'd been before reading this about the whole idea of romance fraud and those targeted; it's definitely made me think twice about how I personally view those that have suffered at the hands of these criminals. Speaking of the scammers, it was really interesting to get an insight into how they work told from a couple themselves, although it's hard holding much (if any) sympathy for them when you realise how many lives they've ruined and still are ruining.
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Overall, a really enlightening book that has shone a light on a topic we don't hear about as often as we should. I try to refrain from using star ratings on most non-fics but with the context of this one I'm happy giving it five stars.

Thank you Netgalley & Unbound for the digital ARC.

After following the author Becky Holmes for some time in Twitter (X) and finding her comments both hilarious and disturbing I was very much looking forward to this book.

The author started by telling the readers about herself and her online journey, both with dating and contact via social media platforms by such “stars” as Keanu Reeves, taking snippets of these and adding photos as with her online accounts. Of course these are not who they say they are and her comments are hilarious, but when you dig deeper as she did into the world of online romance fraud and scammers the stories that she told were at times harrowing.

This really was a book of two halves, the funny and self deprecating stories about their and her online contacts and the murky and confusing stories of those who have been lured and manipulated by overseas scammers, believing they were in a relationship.

Enjoyable but also informative and will be recommending others to read.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

this was such an interesting topic about a very little reported on subject. becky holmes tells the story in a personable and funny manner, while also highlighting the very real risks and vulnerabilities that these people are put through. an easy accessible read and one i'm definitely going to read more about

I follow the author on Twitter. It’s a fun account about all the pathetic scam artists trying to chat people up and get them to give up their cash. 
As it turned out, it was both silly and heartbreaking, reading about women who had been fooled by these creeps and had got themselves into all sorts of awful messes. Definitely a lesson to be learned in not giving too much away online and questioning everything.

While I thought the premise of this book was very intriguing, it was just ok for me. I would read another book from this author as I loved her writing style and was quite amused in parts.

An easy to read, informative book on romance fraud. Mainly focusing on online scams, but some other stories are mixed in as well. I found the author's tone very funny and I laughed out loud a lot. After reading this book, I have more understanding for people who had to deal with this.

Loved it!!!! Great writing and an all round entertaining read! I’d recommend it to all my friends I know they would love it! 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This is a fast funny read about a serous subject and how anyone can be taken advantage of in regard to a Romance scam. Becky even references a policewoman who is taken in. I first read about Becky on twitter when she posted during covid about going out to an oil rig to "meet her love" It was hysterical.
Thank you for this ARC

Keanu Reeves is not n love with you.
Becky Holmes is on a mission. ‘The Cardiganed Crusader’ as she dubs herself is going to reveal the secrets and tragedies associated with romance scams. I read a magazine interview with the author about the book and immediately put it on my ‘To Be Read’ list.
In the foreword, she describes her two years of research and her decision not to use the v-word or victim and scammer due to their stigma.
In 2020, during lockdown, many people turned to online dating sites such as Tinder to find the love of their life and so did the author. She describes viewing lots of photos of ‘men holding a dead fish’ or with a urinal behind them as they stared into a mirror. Classy. But it wasn’t long before she was targeted by a ‘scammer’ He claimed to be a Pilot and the author describes her hilarious experiences as she sent him increasingly nonsensical replies while he persisted with what was obviously a script. The occupation of Pilot is popular with scammers as is that of an oil rig worker, doctors and surgeons.
The author then encouraged romance scam fraud victims to contact her wit their stories and the chapters are interspersed with real cases. They make shocking and sad reading. Especially as the author says that people keep quiet about being scammed, often for significant amounts of money, and that she was the only person that they confided in. It is ‘a very unreported crime’ .
However, the author not only interviews the victims but also the scammers. She travels to Asia where their activities are described as ‘pig-butchering’, also to Africa and the Sakawa boys. She reveals the secrets of a scammer’s script and speaks to academics in the field. Sextortion is also mentioned in which a victim is threatened with intimate photos of themselves being sent to all and sundry unless they pay up. A policeman quoted in the book describes it as ‘the ultimate betrayal of someone’s generosity with their own body and their own sense of self respect.’
But although the book is on a very serious subject, there is a lot of laugh out loud humour especially when the author is targeted by celebrity scammers. Surely there can be nothing creepier than being contacted by someone purporting to be Prince Andrew! This is not a compliment by any standards!
The title refers to scammers often using Keanu Reeves name as an alias whereas in fact he doesn’t use social media. This is a book that made me laugh out loud and then feel sad for the victims. After all, it could happen to anyone.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and Unbound for the ARC of this title.

This so badly wants to be one of those Twitter-to-Book Deal sorts of deals you'd pick up near the checkout at Urban Outfitters, but we don't really do those any more.

The title and copy on this one made me think we were getting something fun, but a little more researched than you're actually getting. If the author could have made this a collection that was _just_ the various ways they had toyed with online romance scammers, I think that's what it would have been. Instead, we get some of those interspersed with (it must be said, very good and well-written) stories of what online romance fraud looks like and red flags to look out for, but the author spends so much time beating an I'm-not-an-expert drum that it's a little sad. You are an expert! You put the info together for this book! It's good infotainment, but don't come in expecting anything too deep.

⭐️⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️.5


I have no idea where I heard about this book, but I know that I had not read any reviews. It’s a great book, but I was shocked when I got to the end. How does this book not have a traditional publisher? It was crowd funded! Anyway, everyone should read this book. I have no idea who Becky Holmes is, but she writes a funny (!, but not in a mean way at all), engaging book about her digging into online romance fraud.

Becky tells victims’ stories respectfully and gives them a voice about the horrible ways in which they were manipulated by romance scammers. It’s easy to think oh, this will not happen to me, but these victims are smart, educated and accomplished. Becky digs into the scammers’ scripts, MOs and what she finds out about groups in Nigeria and Ghana that promote the scammer way of life for fast cash. It is disgusting. Unfortunately, there seems to be little that law enforcement is doing to slow these scammers down.

This is one of those rare nonfiction books that reads like fiction. Unfortunately, it is all too real!

Thank you @netgalley and @unbound for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. It was brilliantly informative and so engaging from the offset and throughout. Becky’s dry and sarcastic humour absolutely made this for me.
As well as being entertaining I have actually learnt quite a lot too & it’s definitely a book I’ll be recommending to friends.