The Love Match
Author: Priyank Taslim
Published: January 3, 2023
Publisher: Simon Schuster Books
Genre: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary
Format: eARC
Purchase links: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound | Indigo
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before meets Pride and Prejudice in this delightful and heartfelt rom-com about a Bangladeshi American teen whose meddling mother arranges a match to secure their family’s financial security—just as she’s falling in love with someone else.
Zahra Khan is basically Bangladeshi royalty, but being a princess doesn’t pay the bills in Paterson, New Jersey. While Zahra’s plans for financial security this summer involve working long hours at Chai Ho and saving up for college writing courses, Amma is convinced that all Zahra needs is a “good match,” Jane Austen style.
Enter Harun Emon, who’s wealthy, devastatingly handsome, and…aloof. As soon as Zahra meets him, she knows it’s a bad match. It’s nothing like the connection she has with Nayim Aktar, the new dishwasher at the tea shop, who just gets Zahra in a way no one has before. So, when Zahra finds out that Harun is just as uninterested in this match as she is, they decide to slowly sabotage their parents’ plans. And for once in Zahra’s life, she can have her rossomalai and eat it too: “dating” Harun and keeping Amma happy while catching real feelings for Nayim.
But life—and boys—can be more complicated than Zahra realizes. With her feelings all mixed up, Zahra discovers that sometimes being a good Bengali kid can be a royal pain.
Before anything else, I want to give a huge thanks to Colored Pages for having me in this amazing book tour. (Honestly, I am days behind my posting schedule due to how hectic my life has been and have only found this weekend to settle down and write this review.)
Proceed with caution, there might be spoilers.
I wanted to read this book because it was marketed as To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before meets Pride and Prejudice. I love TATBILB and as much as I have not read or watch Pride and Prejudice, I know I want to read this book. Plus I have promised myself to read more diverse books and POC written books, books that are set in Asia and this book hit all those. It is so nice to learn more about the Bangladesh culture and how fixed marriage worked for them. It is a common knowledge that Asians set up their heirs for marriage to provide security and help them have a better life. There are a few terms and phrases that I don’t fully understand but it was so nice to learn new things about other countries that we seldom see on books.
I really loved seeing Zahra’s relationship with her mother, siblings, nana, friends, job and her love for writing. I can see the passion she has and how hard she keeps going to satisfy everyone in her life. But as an Asian eldest sibling, the responsibilities tend to weight heavier than anything else, most especially with losing their father. It was nice seeing her follow what her mother wants her to do but still try to think about herself.
The romance in this book was okay. I can tell from the very beginning who Zahra would end up with despite her being confused and indecisive. She might have chosen someone else but end up a disaster and broke her heart that lead her to someone she sees herself enjoying. Both men are great in their own way. If you were on Zahra’s shoes you would also be confused. Harun is your typical rich kid who follows what their parents tell them to do, and Nayim is the rebel kid. Most books would always have the lead be with the rebel kid than a sweet boy next door person. But I love how this book broke the stereotype.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. Everything in it is just amazing. Although those last few chapters really put on the edge of the seat because we are already almost to the end, then an issue or plot twist happened?!? But all is well because I love how this book ended.
Wanders Between Pages 