Sophie Gravia is back with another fresh and funny romance that takes her three favourite Glasgow girls off to the Big Apple. Chantelle Streete enjoys following their (mis)adventures.

Stars and Swipes
By Sophie Gravia
Published by Zaffre

After the success of The Dicktionary Club, Ella, Katy and Zola are back. This time, they’re swapping Glasgow for New York. When their infamous dating website catches the attention of Manhattan-based company Flirtify, the trio are invited to help transform their idea into an app for the American market. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime, but between complicated love lives and a mystery that threatens everything they’ve worked for, the girls soon discover that New York is every bit as chaotic as Glasgow.  

Returning readers will know exactly what to expect from Gravia’s refreshingly candid portrayal of relationships. Stars and Swipes is a romantic comedy that is unafraid to be messy or awkward when the situation calls for it, giving the novel a brilliant sense of authenticity. Although Stars and Swipes is a sequel to Sophie Gravia’s The Dicktionary Club, it works remarkably well as a standalone novel. Even readers unfamiliar with the first book should have no difficulty following the story or becoming invested in the characters and their relationships. 

Stars and Swipes grips readers right from the start. The girls have barely landed in New York before Katy, the undisputed queen of chaos, finds herself in one of the book’s funniest and most disastrous situations. Swept away by what she believes is the perfect start to her American adventure, she spends the night with Mason. She is convinced he could be ‘the one’, then discovers the following morning that not only is he one of her new bosses at Flirtify, but he is also very much married. Anonymous messages soon begin arriving, warning the three Glaswegian leads to stop working on the app and leave New York, or else they will expose Mason’s affair. Katy’s storyline provides a constant sense of tension throughout the novel. Her impulsiveness makes for some of the book’s biggest laughs, but beneath the chaos is a character who desperately wants love and connection – she’s someone readers will find relatable. 

Ella arrives in New York just days after breaking up with her long-term boyfriend, Philip. While the move offers an exciting fresh start, leaving the past behind proves easier said than done. As she spends more time with Jimmy, her ambitious and charismatic boss, she begins to rediscover the drive and ambition she so often pushed aside while she was with Philip. Jimmy gives Ella the space she needs to grow and encourages her ideas, all the while introducing her to New York’s iconic places and lifestyle. When Philip begins reappearing in her life, Ella is forced to confront whether she is holding on to the past out of love or familiarity. Ella’s storyline is the main emotional thread running through the novel. It explores how the right person builds you up and helps you realise your ambitions, rather than holding you back for fear you might outgrow them. 

Compared to the other two protagonists, Zola’s love story is a slow burn, which provides a welcome contrast to her best friend’s whirlwind romances. Her relationship with Ethan, one of Flirtify’s developers, grows through late nights working together on the app. Ethan is reserved, thoughtful and has a strict preference for order, making him hard for Zola to get to know at first, but is ultimately an unexpectedly endearing addition to the cast. Watching their relationship develop naturally and over a longer period of time feels authentic. In a novel filled with dramatic twists and romantic chaos, their moments offer a welcome balance. 

What was particularly enjoyable about the romance in this novel was that each woman’s storyline feels distinct. Katy’s is high-energy chaos, Ella’s centres on self-discovery and ambition, while Zola’s reminds readers that love is not a race. Following all three perspectives keeps the narrative fresh, allowing Gravia to explore different relationships without any one story overshadowing the others. 

While romance is central to the novel, one of its greatest strengths is the friendship between its three leads. Ella, Katy and Zola’s friendship is genuine, and their unwavering loyalty and willingness to call each other out make them endlessly entertaining. Beneath all the laughs is a heartfelt story about women who champion each other and pick one another up when things go wrong. Even when they disagree, there is never any doubt they’ll be the first people to answer the phone when one of them needs help. 

New York itself feels alive within the pages of the novel. Gravia captures both the excitement and fear that come with starting over somewhere new, and the city mirrors everything the women are experiencing. The sleek offices, glamorous apartments and endless opportunities provide an exciting backdrop, but the novel never loses sight of the friendships, humour and distinctly Scottish voice that made readers fall in love with these characters in the first place. 

Fans of Sex and the City and Gossip Girl will find plenty to enjoy here. From dating disasters and glamorous nights out to threats from a stalker, there is more than enough tension to keep readers invested. Gravia combines these familiar ingredients with a distinctly Glaswegian sense of humour. I still found myself thinking back to several scenes days after finishing the book, laughing at Katy’s latest dating disaster. 

Stars and Swipes is the perfect summer read. More than anything, it is a story about opportunity. Each of the women is given the chance to pursue something bigger than she ever imagined, and each must decide what, and who, is worth taking into that future. By the final page, I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Ella, Katy and Zola, and I found myself hoping this won’t be the last time we get to join the Glasgow trio on another adventure. 

Stars and Swipes by Sophie Gravia is published by Zaffre, priced £9.99