Thank you so much to Penguin Random House Canada for asking me to be a part of this blog tour. I really enjoyed The Matchmaker’s List by Sonya Lalli and was so happy that it was set in Toronto, Canada! I don’t live in Toronto, but I try to visit as often as possible, and it was really awesome to read about places in a book that I’ve actually been to! I also enjoy the book as a whole (but I’ll go more into that in the full review below)!

Title: The Matchmaker’s List
Author: Sonya Lalli
Type: Fiction
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Chick Lit
Publisher: Berkley Books (Penguin Random House)
Published: February 5, 2019

A physical copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

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.

As I mentioned in the intro, I was super excited about this book taking place in Toronto. I was also very excited to read an adult romance, because it had been a while since I picked one up. And after reading The Matchmaker’s List, I have to say that it definitely didn’t disappoint. Neighbourhoods in Toronto were mentioned a lot, and I was super excited to have been to a lot of places that were used as settings. I also have to say that this was a romance novel, but that it also wasn’t cliche. I actually had no idea who Raina would end up with (if anyone at all), and it kept me on the edge of my seat.

From the first chapter, I was pretty hooked, and I kept making up excuses to sit down with this book and read more about Raina and her adventures. Some parts frustrated me quite a bit, but when encountering this sort of thing in books I like to remind myself that if character choices upset me, it just means that they are portrayed as very human (because humans aren’t perfect and make mistakes). Reading about Raina and her friends and family was also entertaining and quite educational (due to cultural aspects). I also found myself missing Raina and everyone when I finished this book! I definitely recommend The Matchmaker’s List if contemporary romance is your thing!

If you live in Toronto, or plan on visiting, you can visit all of the important spots from The Matchmaker’s List using the graphic below! I can’t wait to go see some of these places.

Sonya Lalli is a Canadian writer of Indian heritage. She studied law in her hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and at Columbia University in New York City. She completed an MA in Creative Writing and Publishing at City University London in 2015, and currently works as a journalist at a legal magazine in London. She has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and loves travel, yoga, piano, reading and cocktail bartending.

THANK YOU FOR READING MY BOOK REVIEW! HAVE YOU READ THIS BOOK? WHAT DID YOU THINK? AND IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT YET, DO YOU WANT TO, OR NOT? HOW COME? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!