Summary (From the publisher):
When a notoriously difficult class for future entrepreneurs leads to three freshmen developing the next “it” app for dating on college campuses, all hell breaks loose…

Type A control freak Sara lives by her color-coordinated Post-it notes.

Rich boy Braden wants out from under his billionaire father’s thumb.

Scholarship student Roberto can’t afford for his grades to drop.

When the three are forced to work together in one of the university’s most difficult classes, tension rises to the breaking point…until, shockingly, the silly dating app they create proves to be the most viable project in class. Late nights of app development, interest from investors and unexpected romance are woven into a true-to-life college drama that explores what it means to really connect online and IRL.

My Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

My Thoughts:

Since college YA is one of my favorite contemporary sub-genres, I’ve been highly looking forward to reading Kiley Roache’s books, Frat Girl and The Dating Game. While I haven’t yet read Frat Girl, I will be soon because I absolutely loved The Dating Game!

The Dating Game is one of those books that I absolutely fell into and didn’t want to put down. The Dating Game does depict college culture in most of its stereotypicalness–fraternities, drinking, all nighters, NETFLIX. Nonetheless, it was a fun ride.

The writing style was very easy to fly through, yet I found myself being able to relate to (okay, some of) the characters. I admit that I did try so hard to like Braden, but by the end, I simply couldn’t stand him. Out of our three perspectives, Sara was definitely my favorite. Maybe it’s because of where I am in my life right now, but I found myself marking multiple moments where she talks about boys and relationships. It was also of course awesome to see a girl in app development and taking charge in business.

While I have read books about characters interested in technology and apps (hello Sandhya Menon’s When Dimple Met Rishi), I thought it was cool how in-depth Kiley Roache explored app development and business. As expected from the title, their app also revolves around dating and dating culture, as users get to rank each other based on appearance and messages. Roache brings in conversation on the morality of it all. Sara and Roberto question their own morals and relationships through the app. In addition, aside from girls in tech, Roache further interweaves current conversation and politics, as Roberto is the child of immigrant parents.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Dating Game for its glimpse into app development, college culture, and relationships. If you enjoyed The Social Network, you would enjoythis fun and entertaining read. I look forward to picking up Frat Girl soon!

The Dating Game comes out on March 26, 2019.

This review is based on an uncorrected proof provided by the publisher. By no means did receiving this ARC affect my thoughts or opinions.

Is The Dating Game on your TBR? Have you read Frat Girl? Share in the comments!