BOOK REVIEW: The Matchmaker’s List by Sonya Lalli @saskinthecity @BerkleyPub #bookbestiesmatchmakerslist #TheMatchmakersList

Heartwarming, funny, and fresh—Sonya Lalli’s novel The Matchmaker’s List is already a favorite in the romantic comedy category for me! I loved the story about a woman who is feeling pressured to get married as she nears the age of 30, and I loved the way Lalli wrote. She lets her characters be flawed and make mistakes, but the book is also clearly filled with love. And not just romantic love! Family love, friendships, and the love of a community in a time of change. I hope you enjoy this one!

About the Book

One devoted modern girl + a meddlesome, traditional grandmother = a heartwarming multicultural romantic comedy about finding love where you least expect it.

Raina Anand may have finally given in to family pressure and agreed to let her grandmother play matchmaker, but that doesn’t mean she has to like it–or that she has to play by the rules. Nani always took Raina’s side when she tried to push past the traditional expectations of their tight-knit Indian-immigrant community, but now she’s ambushing Raina with a list of suitable bachelors. Is it too much to ask for a little space? Besides, what Nani doesn’t know won’t hurt her…

As Raina’s life spirals into a parade of Nani-approved bachelors and disastrous blind dates, she must find a way out of this modern-day arranged-marriage trap without shattering her beloved grandmother’s dreams.

Reflection

I found The Matchmaker’s List to be completely refreshing, bright, and filled with heart. To me, this was a book about a woman, and a community, on the cusp of transitioning from generations of tradition, and newer generations who are evolving to a different way of living their culture and religion. An evolution that maybe puts less emphasis on the way things were done in the past. Raina (and even her best friend Shay, to an extent), are both caught in the middle. Wanting to choose happiness on one side, and feeling pressure to not disappoint their families on the other.

But while Shay seems to know what will make her happy and just needs to find the courage to tell her mother, Raina doesn’t know what she wants from life. Raina has always done things because she felt she was supposed to. Which means that Raina has never really thought about what makes her happy. What she does know is that the pressure is becoming too much. Raina has lost a bit of herself, through a heartbreak and a career that she is good at, but not sure she enjoys.

Not everyone is brave enough to be themselves.

This line has stuck with me long after finishing this book. It’s not only the perfect line to describe the story, it’s something that we can all reflect on and learn from. I can think of several characters in this novel who learn this lesson throughout the book. For Raina, this book is about finding out who she is. Finding out how to be brave and live with the best of her and the worst of her out in the open.

A few things that I completely loved about this novel, in addition to what I already wrote. First, I loved many of the male characters. This is a female-centric novel (as it should be), and the women characters are incredibly well developed. But even many of the male characters who were supporting roles I found to be unique, refreshing, and delightful to read about. I think that is a hard balance to write!

Second, I loved the way the characters were drawn to be imperfect. No one is without fault in the debacle that happens. Raina is perhaps the character with the most outward mistake (that lie…it just spirals out of control and she doesn’t know how to reclaim it), but nearly all of the characters show the best of themselves and the things that make them imperfect. And they are all the more loveable for it!

Finally, I love the context and culture. An Indian community, and all of the quirky and fun and light, as well as the dark sides of a community such as this one. They love and support one another. And they also perpetuate traditions for the sake of tradition. In addition and related to this, there was such a cozy feel to this novel! Lalli mentions the smells and the textures a lot. Talcom powder. Cocoa butter. Roasted cumin. Pepper. Every scene and character had these cozy scents that really brought the book to life for me.

Book Besties

I read this one with my book besties Jennifer and Berit, and we all loved this story. The friendships, the family, and the community made this romantic comedy good-to-great. Because while there is a fantastic love story, to me this is a book about Raina—a woman finding herself in the midst of a cultural evolution that left her behind. I hope you love it as much as we did! Check out their reviews:

Berit at Audio Killed the Bookmark
Jennifer at Tarheel Reader

Thank you to Berkley for our partner copies!

Mackenzie