Love Match is the story of an American journalist who journeys to an island unknown to most of the world to write an expose on harems in the modern day. What she didn’t expect was to find a charming prince who destroyed all of her ideas for this article. Readers be warned, this is a cute as heck love story - however, it is an insta-love story. And if that isn’t for you, I understand. With that being said, once I got past the insta-love section in the beginning, I really did enjoy so much of this story. It has a lot to offer. Because the beginning was not for me, the book is receiving 3 stars. But again, I really did enjoy most of it. Love Match really is worth a read. Here’s why:

What I loved:
- the overall romance (post insta-love) was great in my opinion. I was rooting for these characters
- the cultural challenges. Everything about the cultural divide between America and Birin Island were so fascinating. I want to know so much more about Birin.
- YES to talking about the problems with America
- modern day harems vs harems of the old world. I love getting to look into the history and modernization of women in the court of kings

What I didn’t love so much (besides the insta-love):
- I felt really thrown into the story without enough background. Once you get past it, everything’s fine
- it is pretty predictable, as romances tend to be. But the general “plot twist” was foreshadowed and obvious very early on
- I think the journalism role was a little clumsy and I don’t love Serena as a main character

Again, definitely worth a read if you’re interested in cultural clashing, misguided intentions, and just wanting a cute romance to read quickly.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and BHC Press for sending me and advanced ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Love Match comes out on June 3, 2021!

I'm so grateful to NetGalley and BHC Press for the opportunity to read an ARC of Love Match. Unfortunately, this book and I were not a love match.

First, the basics: this book is a contemporary romance set on the fictional Birin Island, told in third person dual POV, past tense, and it is an open door romance. I really liked the concept behind the plot and was excited to dig in.

Unfortunately, this book is a bit too insta-love for me. The story takes place over a very short amount of time, and there's not a lot of emotional buildup or foundation for the couple--their main draw is sexual attraction, and even that happens startlingly fast. The heroine is a quintessential wacky American who says whatever's in her head and didn't do much research before putting herself in the situation at hand. She even has recognizable cliche clumsiness on top of it all.

Also, while this book does succeed at creating good chemistry during sexual scenes, I disliked the way those scenes sort of zoomed past necessary actions (for example, no mention of pants being removed) which was confusing, and there was no mention of a condom, which is a bit of a deal breaker for me in an open door book.

However, I think plenty of other readers will enjoy this book! It felt a bit like reading a cheesy Netflix romcom (this is NOT an insult, those movies are well-loved!) so people who enjoy that kind of content will probably have a great time with this book.

After a few horror books and intense reads this book was the perfect palette cleanser for me. I think my rating is reflecting my need for a simple, quick, fun story that I could escape into. The cover is a little misleading (I thought it was set in India). Keep in mind this is your typical formulated fairy tale - on a fictional island. I enjoyed Serena and found her likeable/genuine/confident. I did wish she was a little more diverse (she is described as a skinny/long model type). My favorite part was probably the secret cave scene.
If you are looking for a deeply descriptive complex storyline this is not it. But if you are looking to escape into a quick fun sexy rom/com this is a great choice.

I admittedly was drawn in by the cover of Love Match, and admittedly swayed by the plot. The novel tells the story of Serena McAllister who learns of her fiance's betrayal and in her desperation for something to hold on to, decides to join a harem in the hopes of writing a strong enough piece to secure her a staff position. She travels to Birin Island where she meets Prince Shailemon Sharma, or Shai - and the rest, as they say, is history.

While an overall enjoyable read, I found the characters a little too stereotypical and not well-fleshed out. The overall pacing and flow of the novel felt a bit choppy and disorganized as well, and while social media is certainly in many of our lives today, this medium felt a little overused in the novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and BHC Press for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The story opens with Serena McAllister arriving on Birin Island to become a part of Prince Shailemon Sharma's coterie, a modern-day harem. Serena is a journalist and plans to uncover what's really going on at the coterie in hopes of landing a promotion at work, taking the coveted spot away from her rival. Meanwhile, the prince is dealing with his own conflicts, with the recent death of his father, the King, and the assumption that Shailemon will ascend to the throne. However, as sparks begin to fly between Serena and Prince Shailemon, our main characters must decide what's really worth it when love is on the line.

I requested this book because it felt a bit quirky and it did not disappoint. I don't care much if a romance is predictable or believable - it's fiction! What matters more is my pull to the characters, and how immersed I find myself in the story. I flew through this and I loved it. Even though it maybe felt a bit fast in terms of how quickly feelings developed, the characters addressed that, so even when it was a bit much, I was still able to enjoy it. I read this in less than 24 hours, and it was perfect for spring break. This would make a great beach read!

It was a cute, quick romance but probably better off marketed as a new adult romance.

As a reader of adult romance, the characters and scenarios they found themselves in felt very young and, at times, immature. The heroine is said to be a seasoned journalist working on a hard-hitting feature for a newspaper that involved the police treatment of prostitutes. Yet, she cannot act with any form of professionalism during her time at the coteries. Journalistic standards and ethics do not apply here. I think the author may have been going for a Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality kind of vibe, but it just didn't come through.

Possibly one of the reasons for that is that I was too busy being confused about the whole reason that the coteries existed and why they would accept a random American into it. And if you're not sure that Serena is from America, don't worry; you get hit over the head with it so many times in the first few chapters. It felt like the author relied on pushing the heroine's Americaness to create a feeling of being in an "exotic" world.

So a cute book, but I'm probably not the best market for it. Gorgeous cover, though.

I made the mistake of requesting this book before checking the identity of the author. I take issue with a white author writing a story in which a white character criticizes another culture, in this case harems. Even with the research the author may have put in, it feels more like using another country's culture to write a "unique" romance plot vs actually examining harems and the culture within which they exist. I say this as someone who read a fantastic fantasy book by a native author that addressed harems. It can be done well; that was not the case here unfortunately.

I had high hopes for this one, but unfortunately it fell so flat. I wasn’t a fan of the insta-love between Serena and Shia and found Serena to be incredibly annoying. It was hard to feel she was a journalist. Overall I started skimming this one early on. This one was not for me

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

So when I saw this book on Netgalley, I wad really excited. The cover gave me the impression of a cute romance that I would devour in one sitting, but unfortunately that was not the case.

This is just my personal taste, of course, but I wasn't the biggest fan of the writing style. I just felt like there were part of the book that were slightly too wordy for my preference. It actually took me a while to actually finish this book, because I was struggling with the writing at times.

However, I do think the plot was interesting, if slightly underdeveloped. It felt to me that there were aspects of the story that had too much explanation, while others didn't have enough.

Also, the insta-love thing isn't really my cup of tea and I thought it made the story slightly less believable. Again, all of this is simply my own opinions and preferences.

If you are looking for a fun and quick moving romance about an American woman finding love in a tropical place, then this is the story for you. I really wanted to love this book but I found the story so unbelievable and the characters' reactions to what what happening illogical. The story is of a young journalist, Serena, who goes undercover in to a modern day harem to write a piece about the treatment of women in these places. She is on a tropical island in the Pacific, brought into a palace, and lives along side the other women in the group who spend their days relaxing on the beach and shopping while sometimes taking drugs to relax even more. There is no background check or NDA for her to sign before she arrives. She is brought into the situation just by applying for this lavish position normally reserved with the daughters of other world leaders. The Prince only ever uses the women as dinner dates with foreign leaders, and most have never even met him. He has only been back a short time and was previously a successful businessman in London until he was called home when his father passed away. Though he is a successful and wealthy businessman he comes across as being sheltered and inexperienced with female behavior. There is a little drama between Serena and one of the other ladies in the palace, but otherwise everyone is very accommodating to her and keeping her happy. #Netgalley

I’d happily suggest this one but I’ll say it’s a touch long. I felt like it was a few chapters long and the point was still made. Serena was relatable, humble, provocative. The story feels like you’re also in Birin Island in the paradise McKinney crafts with words so well-written I almost packed a bag. Instead I’ll suggest this one to friends but warn them they might stay up all night.

This story starts off on a sad note with the main character having been betrayed, but things quickly pick up as she finds herself in a rivalry that leads her off in some very interesting directions! The setting is evocative and richly imagined, so much so that I could feel almost as though I had seen it myself! The pace keeps things moving along rather quickly and I only wished that the story had been longer so I would have had more time to savor it! While the main idea about Serena joining a modern-day harem sounds very wild and risque, things take a more wholesome turn later in the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and BHC Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Selena just found out her fiancé was cheating on her. So she decides to fly halfway around the world to join a coterie on Birin Island. There, she meets the gorgeous hunk, Prince Shailemon and of course, it’s love at first sight.

I desperately wanted to love this one. I thought the cover was great and I enjoy a good royalty falls for commoner trope. But this wasn’t it, fam. I didn’t realize I liked slow burn as much as I did until I realized how fast this love story happened. It was almost comically fast. Actually, a lot of things seemed to happen too fast for me and without enough explanation. It’s well-written enough, though I could live without some parts of it. I actually stopped and laughed when 5’7” was considered tall for a woman and Selena said she “wasn’t used to men towering over her”. I mean, sure 5’7” is a little above average but it’s not freakishly tall. There were a few other comments like this.

The one thing that sort of saved this one is the steamier bits. They were pretty good and there were a fair amount of them. But honestly, this one really just didn’t do it for me. Which is a shame, because I adore that cover and the premise. It had a lot of potential for me!

2/5 stars

The cover of this book was what drew me in. Unfortunately, I couldn't get into this story and ended up not finishing it.

While the writing itself is strong in Love Match is strong, the story felt a little directionless at times. The cover, which is what made me request this book, was a bit of a misnomer, as the story takes place, not in India, which the cover suggests, but on a fictitious tropical island. The inclusion of a joining a harem in this day and age without a critical eye felt problematic, and the stumbling upon a prince felt cliché. But again, on a sentence level, the writing is strong; the narrative just needed some shaping.

I am reviewing this book that I received free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I first saw this book on Netgalley, I thought the cover is cute and sounds like a cute, chick-lit romance. However, from the very beginning, this book felt disjointed and rushed. There was no slow build of the main character and about her life and why she was going to this other country. No, she was just there all of a sudden meeting this prince and the dialogue was just so cheesy. The romance was really not romance but just steamy, rushed attraction. There were a few repeated expressions the two main characters each said in the beginning and overused expressions really bother me. The main character is supposed to be there to research harems and how they objectify women but yet she has no problem objectifying the prince with some of the dialogue she used. She is also supposed to have trust issues with men due to her father abandoning her at a young age and the whole ex-fiance cheating on her but yet again, she has no problem with this prince throwing himself at her when they have just barely interacted in one of the scenes and making out with her in a public hallway at his palace. I would much rather she have slapped him. The book was very rushed and characters under-developed. All this to say, I did not enjoy this book and it wasn't what I thought it would be. If you want a quick, steamy read you can read in a day, then this would be for you.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3901185228

I received this book for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

this book was beautifully written and I'm so glad that I got it I love anything cultural especially India seems to fascinate me. The setting was beautiful and the characters very intense.

This was a cute story that was easy to read and went by fast. While I do think some of it was rushed, I really liked the banter between Serena, who reminded me of an American version of Bridget Jones, and Shai.

I loved this book so much! It was the first book I have read by this author and I can't wait to read more! The characters and their story stick with you long after you finish the book.

I loved this book! It was so flowing and such a wonderful story. All the characters develop along with the story line. It keeps you in the story and keeps you reading.