Book Review: The Matchmaker's List by Sonya Lalli

The Matchmaker's List 

by Sonya Lalli

Release Date: February 5, 2019

Source: Publisher

Goodreads

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.

Berkley has been delivering all of the diverse romances and I have been all for it. When I saw that this was about an Indian woman who was being pressured to marry while still hung up on her ex, I was excited to get my hands on it! 

Raina has just turned 29 and is feeling the pressure from her grandmother to find a man and get married. Raina agrees to try dating, which gives her grandmother the green light to set her up with every eligible Indian man she knows. Unfortunately for Raina, she's still hung up on her ex-boyfriend who she thought could have been the one. When the dates become too much, Raina feels trapped and doesn't want to disappoint her grandmother. Can she really find the man of her dreams with the pressure from everyone around her? 

I wanted to like this book so much, but from the start I wasn't a fan of Raina's character. We weren't really given a lot of background of her and this ex she was so hung up on until well into the book, so it was hard to understand why she acted the way she did. Raina complained a lot and her whole life literally revolved around her love life. I get she was "running out of time" to find the one, but she put that above her friends, her family, her job...it just felt like too much for me. 

I did enjoy seeing how hard it was for Raina to stay true to who she was while still trying to please her grandmother and their cultural expectations. While there were a ton of characters and it sometimes became hard to keep who was who straight, I did enjoy Raina's friends and family and how much they really cared for her. 

Overall, this was definitely a disappointment for me. I didn't agree with some decisions Raina made and didn't completely buy why she acted the way she did. Raina ended up being to selfish for my taste and I just couldn't connect with her.