Review By Veronica

The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim will charm your romance socks right off your feet.

Favourite Quote:

Usually, I’m smart enough to avoid weddings and busybodies. 

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not immune to the occasional fairy-tale wedding fantasy. It’s hard to when all my favourite stories are romances. Pride and Prejudice, Crazy Rich Asians, When Dimple Met Rishi, Yeh Jawanni Hai Deewani … If it involves extended eye contact, an eventual kiss, and hand holding, sign me up.

But a love story of my own is a fantasy for a future Zahra. Once with time to date and dream. Present-Zahra is only eighteen, graduated from high school less than a week ago, and has plenty on her plate already, thank-you-very-much. 

Too bad I can’t get that through my mother’s stubborn skull.

Goodreads Synopsis: 

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.

First, I need to gush about this book’s gorgeous cover. It’s just so eye-catching and pretty! Whoever designed the cover really knocked it out of the park. I would definitely buy this book based solely on its cover. Now let’s talk about the story between the covers. I love YA books, they are full of big emotions, and I enjoy being a part of the character’s coming-of-age journey in the stories. The Love Match is a charming and fast read. It’s so easy to get lost in its pages; before you know it, you finish the book in one sitting. The overall story is sweet and adorable and will have you laughing. One of the things that stood out to me with this book was its dedication. Priyanka dedicated this book “To any brown girl who has ever felt unwelcome in the pages of her favourite book. You deserve love, magic, and wonder.” It reminded me that there hasn’t always been a lot of diversity in romance books, and I am so glad that Priyanka was able to write this book which celebrates the Bangladeshi Muslim community. It was great learning about a culture I don’t know much about. I just soaked up all the Bollywood-style drama that happened in this book. It was just freaking fabulous. 

My favourite thing about this book was the dynamic between Zahra and her family and friends. There was just the right amount of humour and heart in these relationships. I adored the witty and fun banter between Zahra, Dalia, and Dani (her two best friends). These two are such a hoot. I loved how they bamboozled their father (Zahra’s boss) into getting him to do what they wanted or to save Zahra from getting fired. It was just so much fun to watch. Zahra’s chaotic family life was entertaining. Zahra’s family has been struggling financially since her father passed away, and they all live in this tiny apartment. Every family member has this larger-than-life personality, which can make a living in such tight quarters difficult. My heart went out to Zahra, who has to deal with many family responsibilities, and it prevents her from enjoying her teenage years. There was also this struggle between the “old” Bangladeshi customs and beliefs and this more modern American lifestyle. There were a lot of tough and serious topics in this book, such as arranged marriage, LGBTQ, schooling, and family responsibilities. I thought Priyanka did a great job at thoughtfully discussing these topics. 

I am not a fan of fake dating, and love triangle tropes, which meant the romance in this book was not the most enjoyable thing for me. If you love those tropes, I think you will thoroughly enjoy the romance in this book. There are a lot of moving parts in this love story. First, you have Zahra and Harun, who find themselves thrown together by their meddling parents, who are already planning their marriage. To get their parents off their backs, they pretended to date until the end of the summer. While that’s all happening, Zahra meets Nayim at work, who just seems to get her and those two start secretly dating. The Bangladeshi culture was woven beautifully into this love story, from the dialogue to how the dates were set up, even to how the break-ups went down; everything was just vibrant and exciting. 

The Love Match was a fun, easy breezy romance that I will read again and again. 

Thank you, Simon and Schuster Canada, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.