I wanted so badly to like this book. I'm giving it 3 stars because it is an extremely original plot and I loved the twists in it. Other than that though, it wasn't very enjoyable for me. I had to force myself to finish it (I hate forcing myself but I didn't want to DNF 2 books in a row)
It went along at a snail's pace (in my opinion) and I kept losing focus because I was getting bored.

This book had an interesting concept, but there were almost too many plot points for this book to completely succeed. In addition, there were some very dark plot points that I felt weren't explored well and were pretty dark for a YA novel. The big dark plot point was Charlie being made a cupid. James is her Match, but since she was turned into a cupid, she will have to live a celibate, lonely, immortal life, until Lila saves the day in the last couple of pages. That was brushed over for Charlie being a 17 year old. In addition, another student basically attempts suicide because of a match gone wrong and Lila is told that he is alive, but with serious injuries and then the student is never mentioned again. I'm not sure the subject matter is fully explored for it being a YA novel and there were no content warnings for the suicide attempt.
It was a cute idea and concept, but there are some serious plot issues that need to be edited and fixed.

I am writing this having just finished reading Cupid’s Match. I stayed up far too late to finish it. The story revolves around a mortal teen who has been “matched” with the actual original Cupid.

As a fan of mythology, the world building here is fantastic! Palphreyman’s take on mythological monsters and gods is truly interesting. I am especially intrigued by the way she’s interpreted cupids as a species, and not just one figure. I also love her take on Sirens. Sirens have always been my favorite and Palphreyman made them modern while keeping them truly haunting.

As for her main characters, Cupid and Cal have a fun dynamic and the chemistry between Cupid, Lila, and Cal sizzles on every page.

For fan’s of mythology (and literature fans in general really) there is so much to enjoy here. There are so many easter eggs and references to spot along the journey.

Give this book a read! You’ll love it! It’s the perfect mix of the fantastic and the realistic and a great escape from reality! I truly adored it!

Fun way of bringing mythology into a contemporary setting

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, though I think it could use some editing and it could be a bit shorter, though not a lot. Aside from that, I really enjoyed the story. The premise of having a Cupid Matchmaking Corporation that employs thousands of Cupid’s to make sure people cross paths with their match is pretty cool. Then to have the heroine be matched with the original Cupid who was banished is a great plot especially considering that there is a rule that says Cupid’s cannot be matched. The one thing I didn’t like is how long it took Cupid and Cal to tell the heroine, Lila why it was such a bad thing to break that rule.

Cal is the management agent from the Cupid Matchmaking Corp. that meets with Lila to let her know she matched with Cupid. They generally don’t tell humans about themselves, but in this case they had to warn her because Cupid knows he Matched someone and was starting school in her town for senior year to try to find her. It is certainly an interesting take on finding love. Also Lila has a boyfriend so she is not too worried about Cupid. After that Cal also shows up at her school as a student to watch and help her out.

The story reads at first almost like a high school romance but fairly quickly turns into more of a fantasy adventure. It ends up filled with some cameos from mythology which is awesome. Here is a fun quote:

I sigh with relief and take another sip of water. “Sorry I shot you.”

Cupid’s face cracks into a grin and he waves a dismissive hand. “Nah, don’t worry about it,” he says. “It was quite invigorating. I saw my whole life flash before my eyes, and I’m quite an interesting guy. It was like watching a movie.”

Overall I thought is was very good. I really liked the ending. The last few words were pretty spicy. Sounds like quite an HEA.

I like to read new authors and always hope to discover new favorites. This one is not a favorite but I did like the premise of the book. There is certainly potential. However, there were some things that irked me (must he be named 'Cupid' in real life? The name was grating on my nerves after a while) and the book had no substantial ending for me. This is a Wattpad-book that has been rewritten for release and I do think it is a very cute read!

I requested and received an ARC via Netgalley for which I thank the author and publisher and this is my honest and voluntary review.

This is so much more then a high school romance! The Roman mythology twist was so awesome!! When lila keeps receiving emails from the cupid's match making service that she's been matched she goes to straighten out the misunderstanding,she already has a boyfriend and never signed up to begin with. But once she arrives and speaks to Cal not only does she find out that Cupid's are real but Cupid himself is her match,and her world will never be the same. I loved bad boy cupid he is handsome and very devil may care and cal his brother was awesome as well. Their Was a good amount of action and the storyline was good as well. Also their were other mythological creatures which was a nice touch. And what good tale doesn't have a great villian or villianess in this case it's cal's and cupid's own mommy dearest the demented and very evil Venus goddess of love,who's anything but loving. Over all a very entertaining read. Until next time luv's💖💋
Thank you Netgallery for the read!

Edit: 3,5 stars

I expected this book to be filled with clichés but that was not all that it was.
There were Cupids and star crossed lovers, two things I like very much and that made me enjoy the book even more!

The protagonist, Lila has been matched with the original Cupid, Cupid but the match must be stopped from being made or else sever consequences would befall them all.
It seems everyone opposes them and they themselves attempt to fight it too - there is always a thrill about what will happen next since they have no allies except Cal, and there are too many things in motion that Lila and we, the readers do not know about.

The book kept me turning the pages and wanting to know what was next.
The characters were also developed and as we got to know them and understand them, we felt empathetic to each of their fates.

The plot was not too fast-paced but fast enough to keep me interested and I really like the book.

The only problem was that I felt the romance between Lila and Cupid suddenly shot up from not at all to 100%. If there had been a little more focus on their relationship and its development, I would have enjoyed the book even more than I already did!

Overall, it was an easy read and I really enjoyed the book!

✨ REVIEW ✨
3.5/5 🦄
Cupid’s Match

*Movie announcer voice* In a world, where cupids run a matchmaking service, one high school girl...is repeatedly solicited by letters, emails, and various spam about her match?
As far-fetched as it seems, that is what happens to Lila. Which is how she ends up learning that her one true match is none other than...*spoiler alert if you really didn’t pay attention to the title!* CUPID! Yes, that Cupid, son of Venus. Unfortunately, cupids can’t be matched. It’s against company policy. *cue battle between forces of good and evil* In the end, it’s Lila’s life on the line, and the question of whether she and Cupid will complete their match.

Overall the concept is pretty darn cute! I was expecting more of a Cupid and Psyche retelling which this is not, but it has its sweet moments and lots of popular mythology for those who dabble in classics. This is definitely a YA/early teen book—I’d say an age range of 12-16 year olds would most appreciate this story.

The things I liked are the overall concept and the last 15% of the book, where a lot of the action is. The use of popular myths was fun if brief. I had a lot more issues with this book than things I liked. The characterizations were very shallow, so I expected more of a plot driven book...which was also not what happened. What I think happened with this book is that it was short and someone tried to stretch it out into a fuller novel without taking the time to really invest in the writing process. There are obvious signs of the author trying to delay to create anticipation but all it did was make the book feel loooooonnnngggg. The relationships were all shallowly developed, which is basically antithetical to Romance, even if it is YA. When we start getting cool mythological figures that would actually be worth spending time on, they are off before we get much of anything. It seems as though the beginning and end were written at the same pace and the middle was sort of lengthened and patched together haphazardly until it reached typical YA novel length. This book has all the makings for a great YA romance but fell short in execution. Another good, not great read in my book.

I received a free ebook from netgalley for my honest review.
This review was posted to Goodreads. An abbreviated review was posted to Instagram and reposted to Facebook.

I will give this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars. The writing wasn’t terrible! It had an easy flow to it that kept my attention.I loved the concept of the plot. It was new(ish) and really fun to explore. Even though there were some cliches, (i.e. forbidden love) I still really enjoyed the different plot twists that I did not expect. However, I felt like the characters were not fully developed, to be honest, I can’t picture any of them in my head....
Full review on my blog!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review
this author is new to me and the truth is that I liked this book, the story, the plot, everything
If you want a light reading, entertaining, I recommend it

The whole concept of this book was awesome! So inventive and I loved it! Fantastic job! This was well written, beautiful cover art, imaginative, and perfect teen love story! I loved how light it was and I know the teens I work with are going to love this! Hard not to have a crush on Cupid!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This book was not it for me. It was way too rushed and I think the love interest was laughable with how little chemistry they actually had. Very let down and will not be picking up the sequel.

Lila has been receiving annoying letters from Cupid's Matchmaking Service all summer, although she's never signed up for any matchmaking. In fact, she is very happy with her boyfriend. But when she attempts to ask them to stop, she finds herself in a very unexpected situation... what exactly does it mean to be Cupid's Match?

This book definitely had potential and I really did like the idea, but the execution could have been better. It felt very repetitive, and if I never hear cupid or Cupid again, it may be too soon. I really would have liked to see Cupid go by a different name. I don't think it would be unreasonable for a god to be incognito, even if Lila knew who he was. He could have gone under cover in the mortal world as something like Cooper and it would have seemed more natural, especially when calling every matchmaker a cupid and seeing the name constantly. Unfortunately, this really distracted me from the story.

Overall, some aspects of the story felt very rushed, especially near the end. And while unanswered questions usually leave you wanting more, I honestly don't even know what questions to ask. There was just too much left unrevealed, I would almost compare it to a daytime soap opera. It feels as though you'd have to read 12 more books just to figure out something that should have been given to the reader in the first.

Relationship spoilers ahead:
The relationship between Cal and Lila was more believable than between Cupid and Lila. But I admit that I asked myself "what was the point" when I got to the end. It almost seemed as if this is going to continue as a love triangle, but I don't know that I was invested enough to make me want to continue if it is.

I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

I knew I wanted to read this story because...hello, a love story involving the actually Cupid?! Yes please! What a great idea! I have to say...I REALLY enjoyed this book! There are twists, action, romance and tons of humor. I really liked the main female character, a girl who has lots of spunk! If you are looking for a lighthearted, quick read that will make you smile...this is it!!

A very nice book by Lauren Palphreyman. I’ve never read a book by this author before so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the story and the characters.

I was given an Advanced Readers Copy over NetGalley is exchange for an honest review.

The thing that I LOVED was the plot of this book, it was action packed and held my attention the whole time. I love the idea of bringing Mythology into real world 'situations'. I love the cupids, how well the arrows and everything was explained and shown to you.

The ONLY thing that caused this book to fall a little flat of me was the main character Lila. I didn't care for her as a character, I didn't really think she was fully developed and she just came across as a 'I'm not like the others girls because I don't wear dresses and like converses'. Cupid was also just your regular run of the mill bad boy, breaks the rules and all the lady's love him.

DNF at chapter 5. It sounded a lot more interesting than it is and could’ve been a lot better. The writing was subpar and too similar to the draft on Wattpad - I don’t know if anything even changed? I can’t lie, there are other books on Wattpad that are amazingly written, which could’ve gotten published instead.

Cupid's Match by Lauren Palphreyman is such adorable book. I have to say this book got me hooked from the first chapter. Who wouldn't want to me matched with cupid even if it might cause the end of the world. Great characters you'll fall in love with and a story so good you can't put down.

Cupid's Match is about a girl, Lila, finding out she's matched with the original cupid, and all the trouble that came with it. It's a fun book filled with romance, friendship, betrayal and a start to a possible love triangle. And the best part, the book is so light that you will easily read it in one sitting.
With cliffhangers at the end of every chapter, it's hard to put the book down. I can say that this is one of my favorite reads this year.

Wattpad books has a tendency to publish romance books and I'm here for it. This one was no exception, and I liked it well enough.

The concept really called to me ! A matchmaking agency creating soulmates and Cupid being real ? Count me in !

So... We have Lila, high-schooler who finds herself accidentaly matched with Cupid himself, who just wants to live her life in peace, with her boyfriend James. Poor girl obviously doesn't get to do that, and is forced to join forces with Cal, an employee of the matchmaking service, and Cupid to prevent the original matchmaker to come back and destroy the world.

The beginning of the books was a little rough and I think we could get a little more information about what's going on and the world building in general, but I hopped in the story pretty quickly anyway. I still found myself hooked within 20 pages, even if things are a little bit rushed.

Honestly I feel so bad for Lila ! She didn't ask for any of the things happening to her and she keeps being taken from one place to another like a doll because of something she has nothing to do with. She's just told that she was matched with Cupid and would she please stay away from him, and then everything comes tumbling down and she has to become involved in a great scheme with mythical characters.

As for Cupid, I thought he was a bit too insipid for me. He's the main character and a divinity of love ! Give him more substance, more attractiveness, more character ! He's just running around doing his thing and telling Lila everything will be okay. I just wanted to yell at him to chill and be more divine. He was just so normal...

The only one with a little common sense was Cal, who works for the matchmaking agency and that keeps trying to fix Lila's and Cupid's mistakes throughout the whole book. I think he and Crystal (another agent of the agency) might be my favorite characters here. Sidekicks really grasp my attention lately for some reason, and those two were amazing ones !

All this being said, the plot, even though a little basic, was interesting, and the book is fast-paced. I never got bored, and no matter Lila's and Cupid's flaws, I still rooted for them and liked them well enough. Lovebirds always make me happy !

Another thing is while the focus of the book is supposed to be love, there's a whole lot of action at all times and it kept me entertained at all times. It's not just romance where the two main characters will keep flirting and doing lovey-dovey stuff. I probably would have read it even if it was more romance-y, but all the action was a really good surprise. I hadn't known there would be so much, and I'm not disappointed.

I thought this would be a good summer read, but it's actually a good every season read. A good action book with a love baseline is enjoyable any time. Bonus points if you like Greek/Roman mythology, as some characters of it can be found here and there through your reading.


Thank you Netgalley and Wattpad books for providing me with an e-arc !