The Matchmaker's List

by Sonya Lalli

[Sam@WLABB]

I was forewarned that this was NOT going to be the romance I was expecting and it wasn't. This was a story about a women turning 30 and reevaluating her life. What was she passionate about? Who was she passionate about? And, for the most part, it was an interesting and thoughtful journey.

Raina's inspection of her life began with a list. This was a list of possible suitors assembled by her Nani, and as she began her string of first dates, Raina began to unravel the emotions which had been knotted up inside of her for many years. She began to reflect on her failed relationship with Dev, and her need to move past it. She questioned her career choice, and began grappling with what her calling actually was. She confronted her confusion regarding her relationship with her estranged mother, as well as acknowledging some emotions regarding her best friend.

There was one choice the author made for Raina, which I am sure you have read about in many other reviews, that I also was not a fan of. I think the story could have been told without it, but there is also a part of me that believes the author had a reason for including it. There was a great deal of time dedicated to Raina's community in the book. Lalli showed the good and the bad sides of this community, and I feel like maybe she wanted to address the community's attitude towards this particular issue.

For me, that was the single scar on a story, which was otherwise quite heartwarming. I really enjoyed seeing Raina find her way and herself, and found The Matchmaker's List to be a lovely story of struggling with expectations and self fulfillment, as well as a story of family, friendship, and love.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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