What a sweet romantic comedy! It had me laughing at times, and was overall enjoyable. Would recommend

After reading this book, I think I've officially decided that I'm just not really into the "meddling family" type trope. Overall, I didn't really like the flow of this specific storyline and found it hard to convince myself to pick it up and continue reading.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and I think that the complicated intersections of family, community, and identity are well done. I thought the chapter-endings that included edits to the list were a fun touch, and I was really rooting for the main character and her eventual love interest. Lalli does a good job drawing multi-faceted portraits of her characters in a way that makes you really feel for them.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this book and to be an early reader via NetGalley! However, I will not be writing a review for this title at this time, as my reading preferences have since changed somewhat. In the event that I decide to review the book in the future, I will make sure to purchase a copy for myself or borrow it from a library. Once again, thank you so much for providing me with early access to this title. I truly appreciate it. Please feel free to contact me with any follow-up questions or concerns.

I had a lot of issues with this book. For a book written by a person of Indian descent, it sure seemed to make fun of Indian traditions and customs. And the character pretends to be gay to get out of being set up? Eesh.

I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this title. Unfortunately, this title archived before I was able to download it.

I was really excited about this book, but I did not finish it. The dates just got too boring and there wasn't enough real story to tie the dates together and make me interested in continuing reading.

Sadly, this one did not work for me. Going into it, I was expecting a more straightforward romance, and I think this leans more women's fiction. I'm a fan of women's fiction, but I think my expectations hindered me getting into the story.

It took me about a week to read about 180 pages, and it was just not grabbing my attention. I have read some other reviews from people who had an issue with the heroine letting people believe she was gay in order to get out being setup by her grandmother. I put the book down before I got to that point, so I can't speak to that.

At the end of the day, unfortunately, this was a DNF for me.

This multi-cultural romance was cute but I barely remembered it when I was finished it. I wish I could relate more to the characters or it’s storyline but I could not.

Thank you very much for allowing me the opportunity to read this book! I appreciate the kindness. <3

I will not be posting a review on goodreads because I was unable to enjoy this book and do not feel comfortable leaving a negative review.

Raina Anand:, a single, rising star investment analyst who lives in Toronto and is trying to please her traditional grandmother. Nani, Nani is desperate to see her granddaughter get married and start a family. As Raina nears her thirtieth birthday, she declares that she’s done waiting and is now ready to meet the eligible men on her grandmother’s list, which represents everything her culture tells her she ought to want but that she doesn’t have the stomach to live with. When the pressure gets too strong, she hides behind Nani’s false assumption that Raina might be gay. At first, Raina’s lies buy her some time but not enough to avoid a fight with her best friend, a rift in their conservative community, and a romantic catastrophe with Mr. Right. This title was a delightful, multicultural romantic comedy full of life lessons about family, honesty, and acceptance.

I was hoping for a fun, light, romantic comedy with The Matchmaker's List, but unfortunately I was disappointed by this debut novel. Raina Anand is raised by her Nani, her maternal grandmother, and terrified of not meeting Nani's expectations. Raina Anand isn’t exactly happy that she’s 29 and still single but Nani is scandalized. After getting over a heart wrenching break up, Raina finally agrees to let her nani set her up with a long list of eligible Indian bachelors, none of whom Raina actually likes. As her best friend, Shay, plans a wedding (that, in a terrible coincidence, is happening on Raina’s 30th birthday), the pressure is on for Raina to find a nice man—any nice man—and settle down. After a string of disastrous dates, Raina can’t let go of the one who got away, a dashing charmer named Dev who broke her heart with his inability to commit. Now that Dev’s back in the picture, but just as noncommittal as ever, Raina finds herself unable to stomach the endless list of bachelors. Eager to ease the pressure of being the perfect Indian granddaughter, Raina lets her Nani believe she’s a lesbian. Raina finds temporary relief, but her little white lie threatens most of her relationships.

The Matchmaker's List is more of a drama than a romantic comedy. The author does a great job in exploring Raina's conflicting views of her culture and family. She wants to be her own person, but Nani's influence and the fear of being like her lost single mother quarantines Raina to her comfort zone. Even as she feels stifled by their expectations and pressure, she loves the strength of her community and how they always support one another through hard times. Raina’s desire to both please her family and stand up for herself is deeply relatable and it was the strongest aspect of the book. I loved watching Raina's character grow and soon realizes that she has never made a decision based on her own individual desires and dreams. Raina's self realization is what kept me reading. I also loved her relationship with Nani who I adored and loved. The romance unfortunately is a big let down. We are told of the romantic tension between Raina and an unexpected love interest, but I wanted it to be shown. I also did not buy her relationship with Dev which developed too quickly and ended abruptly for me. I would have also loved a more developed and nuisanced relationship with Raina and her mother, which was hinted at in the book. Overall a pleasant look at identity and culture, but short on the romance.

WHAT DID I THINK OF THE MATCHMAKER’S LIST BY SONYA LALLI?
The Matchmaker’s List by Sonya Lalli is actually a pretty okay read. I mean, I enjoyed the audiobook that I listened to. Granted, I came into it knowing about a few issues people had with the content. So, this book is about a young Indian-Canadian woman named Raina who is not yet married much to her Nani’s dismay. So, her Nani gives her this list of eligible young Indian men to go on dates with and hopefully end up marrying. Only, Raina is still stuck on this guy Dev who she dated but who wasn’t exactly the best for her. So, while she’s kind of fed up with all the dates which end up a bit disastrous she tells her Nani a lie. This lie is that she’s gay. That’s where the issues people had come in. How I took it — and yes you need all the salt grains for my thoughts because they are not right or wrong — is that yeah, she screwed up huge. Her lie was NOT played for laughs. She ends up feeling really guilty over it. She knows it is a messed up thing to lie about. There are ramifications for doing that. I don’t get the sense that Raina’s choice to do this in The Matchmaker’s List was to be a dick to people who are gay or to trivialize sexuality.

I do also kind of think this is an adult book, aimed at grown ups, not children or teenagers. So, I feel like adults do tend to have some critical thinking skills and hopefully should be able to use those skills to discover that the book isn’t exactly condoning Raina’s behavior. But then again, maybe I am wrong in my personal interpretation of the book (I do have a lot of privilege so that does impact my views). So, mileage may vary. I liked it, but yes, I came at this book from the experience of an old married lady.

HOW’S THE NARRATION?
The audiobook of The Matchmaker’s List by Sonya Lalli is narrated by Soneela Nankani. SHE IS AN EXCELLENT NARRATOR. I mean, I really liked how she portrayed the story and the characters with her voice. She was fabulous to listen to and actually my attention did not wander at all. The audiobook is 10 hours and 40 minutes and I 100% recommend you listen to it.

I was NOT okay with the overall premise of this book being that the main character lied about being gay and then continued to lie about it even to the point of having a teen come out to her about his own sexuality.

The beginning of Matchmaker sucked me right in, but unfortunately it just kept pushing me away after that. Reina is a hard character to like because for a successful 29 year old she's still behaving rather childishly. It was one thing to not be able to make up her mind on if she WAS a "traditional" Indian woman or not, but it was really hard to read how she kept desperately obsessing over an ex from years ago, and that was before the flashbacks and his reappearance showed how dismissive and manipulative he was. Her characterization was only made worse when she pretended to be a lesbian, which was harmful for so many reasons, including lying to someone who was brave enough to come out to her, rather than stand up to her family.

All in all I did like the book in a beginning but what killed it for me was a main character who was very dislikable, and not in a good or purposeful way.

I'm not going to use my standard review format for this one. I rarely, if ever, fail to finish a book. I was pretty excited, this book looked cute and funny! The heroine has decided to get married by thirty (ie within the year) and has agreed to consider the men on her grandmother's list. The need to get married is largely in an attempt to make her grandmother happy.
Unfortunately, I was feeling listless one night and was flipping around in the book and came across something I found pretty upsetting.
In the part I came too, the heroine is getting ready for her best friend's wedding there is a scene where the mother of the bride disapproves of the heroine because she had earlier in the story (apparently) come out as a lesbian. The logical conclusion is that she decided she didn't want to get married because of a deadline but thought it would be easier to give the excuse that she can't marry any of the approved men because is actually lesbian.
So all the women are there half ready for the ceremony and the mother of the bride says that the heroine is ruining the wedding with her controversial ways. The bride defends her friend and so the heroine "comes out" as straight. Everyone is relieved but they all learn a lesson about how it shouldn't have mattered. It is remarked how there is the start of change in this traditional society. A gay character, who had apparently been helped by having another person in that age range and community also not follow the expected path only makes a snide comment. 
Everyone learns a lesson about acceptance, the heroine gets a second chance with the good guy whom she didn't appreciate the first time.

As a queer person, I have some feelings about this. It is never ok to take on the identity of a less advantaged group. For a cishet woman to claim the identity of a lesbian for her convenience or to teach people a lesson is just not ok! I found it completely inappropriate and off-putting. After reading that I felt icky about a book that I had enjoyed the first part of. I also felt (and still feel) the need to put it out there because being blindsided by something like that in a book could be very painful. I might give this author another shot, I don't know. I mean maybe I missed a piece that would've made it less objectionable but I'm not what if anything there is that could've done so. Being a lesbian isn't something convenient or something you can shrug on and off like a coat. It's an identity fraught with emotional hardships, trials, and tribulations. It is not something to be taken by others for entertainment value. So yeah, this is my first DNF in ages but I'm ok with that because it felt like such a kick in the gut. Reader beware, this cute looking rom-com is hiding pretty big issues.

Just the first line of the blurb sold me on reading The Matchmaker's List. Being set up by one's grandmother in hopes that one of those dates sticks, thereby leading to a happily ever after? There's so much that could happen here.


Raina is loyal to the grandmother (aka Nani) who has raised her and will do anything to make her happy including get married to a suitable Indian boy. The problem is that Raina's heart is not exactly in it. She was so close to being with "the one" but life and career demands took them both in different directions. It still doesn't stop her from holding out hope that there could be a second chance for them, slim as that may be. In the meantime, it couldn't hurt to go those dates with the various men her Nani keeps pulling out of the woodwork. It gets to be too much eventually and Raina takes advantage of a minor misunderstanding and uses it to to throw her grandmother off course. This solution, as temporary and harmless as it may be initially, has far-reaching repercussions that Raina must ultimately own up to. Basically, she's a hot mess and isn't ready to face herself or her actions.


The Matchmaker's List starts out humorously enough. I dug Raina's deadpan humour and quick quips at first. I wanted to hang out with her. But then the story plateaus slightly before taking a nosedive when Raina hits her rock bottom. The comedy was missing during the middle of the story. By midway she relinquishes control of her life, of herself, to appease her Nani. She was completely stuck and had given up. As much as I liked Raina, she was also kind of dull by this point, and it came across distinctly that even she was just as bored and fed up with herself.


Kudos to Sonya Lalli here for writing Raina and her emotions in such a way that I felt her joy at the best parts but also that I was sinking along with her when things were at their lowest. The Matchmaker's List brings the laughs and struggles of family and friends, and the excruciating heartache of letting go of one idea of love before falling in love for real.


~ Bel

Raina Anand lives in Toronto and was raised in a traditional Indian home by her grandmother, Nani. She is turning thirty and Nani is getting concerned that her granddaughter isn't married. Romance hasn't been on Raina’s agenda since she failed at her most recent long term relationship.

Nani is on a mission and provides Raina with lists of suitable single Indian men for a potential husband. Raina makes a light effort to make her grandmother happy but finds no suitor to her liking. They live in a tight-knit community and Raina begins to feel judged by her failures. This pressure builds further when she is asked to be the maid of honor at her best friend’s wedding.

”The Matchmaker’s List” is about a woman trying to balance a modern lifestyle with traditional values. This debut novel by Sonya Lalli has the core themes of romance, friendship and the pursuit of happiness.

The Matchmaker’s List is described as a romantic comedy, but I think it is so much more than that – I’d put it firmly into women’s fiction, as this is not all light and fluffy, and nearly all of the characters are flawed. I sat down with a hot cup of coffee to read this book, and was basically glued to my comfy chair for the next 5 hours, coffee long gone cold. Even with a chunk of the book that niggled at me and made me quite uncomfortable, I still loved it.

Sonya Lalli touches on so many themes – the fear of disappointing our parents (or grandparents, in this case), and the complexities of cultural expectations. The conversations between Raina and her best friend regarding arranged marriages in particular were thought provoking.

For the first 2/3 of the novel, I’m glued – and then comes the a plot device that has me torn.

When things come to a head (especially once she discovers where Nani is getting her new list of bachelors) and Raina finally shares her frustration with her grandmother, Nani reads more into her behavior and basically offers her a way out of the blind-date merry go round she’s been on. (I really don’t want to give any spoilers here.) While she never agrees with Nani’s assumption, she doesn’t deny it, either, and that lapse creates a situation that grows out of control. (“Train wreck” is an apt description.) It’s the perfect example of how one lie (or sin of omission) can grow to monstrous proportions and hurt so many people.

Ultimately, however, it’s a plot device that reflects the discrimination in their culture and community, and how the families deal with it. Was it the best way to do it, and can I forgive her for it? (Probably not, but yes, uneasily.)
I do believe The Matchmaker’s List will create some interesting and opinionated discussion at your next book club meeting!

Despite the angst-producing twist, I really did enjoy the book and I was indeed glued until I hit the very last page. This was definitely a book that twisted me up emotionally, and I absolutely adored Nani – she was a delight, even as she too was flawed. The Matchmaker’s List gets a solid four stars from me.