WoW this writing was amazing! But not what I was expecting!
Very interesting story!
For a young woman who just wants to get her first kiss out of the way, a rugby player seems like the perfect mismatch. But a kiss is never just a kiss. . . .

This was such a beautiful story about love, family, guilt, finding acceptance, and forgiveness. It was told in alternating POVs between Soraya in the present and her mother in the past. It followed her mother's journey from meeting her husband, getting married, and having children until present day. The back story about her mother's marriage was very interesting and heartbreaking. I loved seeing things from her perspective as it related to Soraya's upbringing and all the different family dynamics going on. I loved Soraya and Magnus' love story the most. He was supportive, loving and respectful of her and I just really loved his character. I admired the transformation Soraya went through during her struggles and that she came out on other side more confident and unwilling to let other people make decisions for her. Some of the book was a little slow for me and I was left wanting more of the romance between Soraya and Magnus especially towards the end. This definitely reads more as women's fiction than romance.


Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

Review will be posted on July 28th.

Beautiful dynamic and journey. I was surprised how much I liked this story. I always enjoy learning about different upbringings in different cultures and family dynamics. It was well-written and enjoyable. I think this is a great story for anyone who loves stories about people from different backgrounds coming together...and their journeys to get there.

thank you Netgalley for the advance copy.

I did enjoy how strong Soraya's character was, this book gave great insight into the family dynamic of an immigrated Irian Muslim family. I loved to watch her confidence bloom from her internal dialogue to the external. She was no longer afraid to say what she needed to say to the people in her life that needed to hear it the most. She is a strong and empowering character that I love to see in romance and coming-of-age novels. But unfortunately after reading, I was left wanting more. I was really interested to see how the author tackled these topics like religion, addiction, and abuse but I felt there was a lack of depth in some of the characters. A lot of the ending in id about Soraya learning that she and Magnum are not that different but I felt like I missed the part where Magnum went into detail about her troubles at home. When a chapter with Soraya and Magnum ended, I was always sad that the next didn't continue their conversation. Everything moved so fast that I felt like I was missing the key points about the characters. While the chapters about Soraya's mother were interesting, I felt like I was getting too much background to the point where I was trying to understand why we were getting so much without it relating back to Soraya's relationship or her and her mom's relationship. I was left with loose ends that were tied up but I felt like I completely missed where all it happened, or maybe just wasn't given enough detail.

This was a very touching book. It focuses on a college graduate's journey to discovering herself and overcoming her Muslim guilt. The main character was realistically written. I could relate to her journey as a young Muslim woman who was not strongly religious and knew that many aspects of her upbringing was sexist. However, she still struggled with doing exactly what she wanted to do because of possible and eventually actual disapproval by her family. I enjoyed the parallel POVs with Soraya and her mother Neda. It was interesting to learn about Neda's journey from Iran to England . Neda's perspective allowed me to see her as a victim of her circumstances instead of a passive mother. I liked that this book had a strong focus on family and included her Soraya's family in her journey of self-discovery along with her

This book took me by surprise. I think it took a while to adjust to because I was expecting it to be a very cute rom-com type book. This is actually a very serious book about a lot of heavy topics. However, after I got used to the change I thought it was very intriguing and had a lot of nuance. I haven't read a contemporary book with a Persian main character before, so I liked seeing inside of her world.

I enjoyed the premise of this book and that it explored some of the nuances of Islam. I was a bit misled by the blurb and found myself expecting a cute rom-com, not a family drama full of triggers. That being said it was well-written and enjoyable, though I wish there was more of a distinction between what was Islam and what was culture in terms of some of the restrictions.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*

This book was so enjoyable! I loved the writing the relationship and everything about it! The pacing was very thought out and the writing was super digestible in the sense that it made this such and amazing quick romance! Cannot wait for more by this author!

Every once in a while a book falls into your hands at the exact time you are meant to read it. The Mismatch could not have come at a more perfect time for me, and I loved it immensely.

Soraya is a recent graduate living in London with no job and no idea what comes next. All she knows is that she really wants to get her first kiss out of the way. As a Muslim who grew up in a strict family, Soraya has lived a sheltered and tense life. Her father struggles with addiction, her mother with remaining in a loveless marriage, and Soraya feels the pressures of her home life constantly. So when she connects with Magnus, a jock rugby player from her university who seems interested in paying her a little attention, Soraya comes up with a plan. She decides to experiment with her sexuality and feelings in a non-committal. way. At least, Soraya doesn't expect to fall for Magnus.

It is so important to drop all expectations when approaching this book. From the outside looks like your run-of-the-mill romance book that might already be in pre-production at Hallmark. However, I did not expect a beautiful story of immigration, addiction, family love and loss, and first heartbreak. Soraya's story is a unique and fresh take on the coming of age novel and one that I deeply connected with. It was easy to fall in love with each character and want the best for them. In flashbacks to Neda's - Soraya's mother - life in Iran and her relationship with Soraya's father, it becomes a self-love story that spans decades and generations. In lieu of a physical copy (which I can be guilty of highlighting) I found myself handwriting my favorite quotes out to save for later.

I would whole-heartedly recommend this book to fans of Normal People, Bridget Jones's Diary, and The Beauty of Your Face.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Netgalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a great read! Definitely more to it than your cute romcom. Loved the narration, chapters alternating between a daughter and her mother, and pacing!

This was another book that had so much more to it than I expected! The plot sounds pretty straightforward: Soraya has just graduated from college and has yet to even kiss a boy. Determined to rectify that situation, she sets her sights on Magnus, the popular, confident rugby player who is known to be quite the ladies’ man.

BUT THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO IT. Jafari tackles many intense issues throughout her book: parents with addictions, familial violence, the double standards set for men and women in religion, infidelity, the struggles of being an immigrant, Soraya’s identity issues— balancing her Muslim faith with following her heart and the guilt that follows when she feels she’s not being a good Muslim, what it means to be an Iranian immigrant in London.

I really loved how the chapters alternated between Soraya and her mother, Neda— both of their stories were equally compelling and it added so much more to the story to hear Neda’s backstory and thought processes. It was a little slow at the beginning, and it felt a little bogged down by repetition or Soraya’a internal dialogue, but about a quarter of the way through, it really started to pick up and that momentum was carried through until the end!

I liked the fact that this author covered mental health issues and the diasporic struggle with belonging when the people who are the reason that you belong somewhere else as well (your parents) are also waging that constant battle. It can be hard to navigate patriarchal familial ideas and I think the author did a good job demonstrating how those can shape the lives of the women that live under them, spanning generations. The romance in this book was not well done and it would have been better had that not been the center of the book.

I definitely enjoyed this book, especially the first 90%! I thought it was really interesting to read about Soraya's struggle of finding balance in her life while staying a "good Muslim." I especially appreciated the nuances in the book of her experience of being Muslim in the UK. My favorite part of this book was the alternating timelines, and Neda grew to be my favorite character in this book!

Overall, this book is a solid 3 stars. A lot of the book is 3.5, but the ending, especially between Soraya and Mason, felt very abrupt.

My Thoughts…

Before we get started I do have some trigger warnings…

BOOK TRIGGER WARNINGS:
-Alcohol and drug abuse/addiction
-Physical and mental abuse and manipulation

This is one of those books that has a cute back cover description but had so much emotion and depth within its pages. Does this story have a romance? Yes. Is this book only about a romance? No. A romance is a part of the story but I feel like 70-80% of the book is actually about family.

Throughout this book, we flip back and forth between two perspectives. In the current (well 2014) time we follow Soraya as she graduates from university and starts to figure out who she wants to be and what she wants to do in life. We also get to follow Neda, Soraya’s mother, at the same age back in the late ’70s, right before the Persian revolution.

Being able to see both women as they face the trials and tribulations of their early 20’s was amazing. So many times we relate to and understand one person but never see, or learn, the hurdles and challenges their parents had to overcome when they were the same age. This story would not have been the same had we only had Soraya’s perspective on her family, we were able to see and feel so much more by also having Neda’s perspective.

Within these pages is a story about family and how other’s actions can deeply affect and shape how others see and experience the world around them. We explore how family, good or bad, can shape your ideas about what a relationship is. I feel like a lot of people joke about how we bring baggage into new relationships but never really explore the effect their own families have on their ability to connect and trust within non-family relationships.

I read most of this book in one sitting… I felt so invested in both Soraya and Neda’s stories that I needed to see what all unfolded. From the blurb, I thought I was getting a sweet fun contemporary romance, instead, I got a book that had me analyzing my upbringing to seeing how my past still affects how I see and feel about, others.

This book is such an important read, as it deeply discusses family relationships. We get to see how hard it was and still is, to be Persian and Muslim in England. If you’re ready to explore this great book (when it releases) I suggest grabbing a comfy spot, a warm blanket, and a box of tissues!

On the surface level, The Mismatch appears to be your average romance involving a woman and a man who are very different yet fell in love despite some conflict arising. However, reading the first chapter quickly broke down my preconceptions about this novel. It’s difficult for me to really determine if I loved or hated this book, and I think this is mainly because there are many parts I loved and many I hated. My conclusion is that this was an important story for the author to share, despite it being fictional.

The Mismatch was a story about women finding themselves as individuals. The author sets up the story with two main POV’s set during different time frames. Neda and her daughter Soraya may be different in some aspects, but they faced many of the same challenges despite the age gap. I’ll be dividing the rest of my review by these two characters.

NEDA

Neda is a bright young woman who lived in Tehran. Choosing to practice her religion and wear a hijab during a time of Westernization in Iran, she immediately stands out. Catching the eye of the dashing Hossein, they decide to marry and shortly after move to England for her continued education. Here’s where things start to get rough for Neda. While she thrives in earning her Masters and PhD, her husband falters and is unable to cope with his role in a new country. Hossein ultimately turns to drugs which affects their entire family greatly. Neda finds herself acting as full-time mother and breadwinner at the same time.

We don’t get as many chapters from Neda’s POV as we do Soraya, but they all add information and depth to the story as well as context for Soraya’s current position. Readers get to understand a little more of Iranian culture and religion. Neda has a strength to her yet sometimes appears weak. I felt frustrated at times, but it’s important to realize that real change doesn’t occur overnight. Her relationship development to Hossein is drastic, and by the end I was cheering for her.

SORAYA

“Oh, God, I’m going to do it,” she said, before mock-heaving, at which Priya cackled loudly. “I’m going to ask Magnus Evans out.”

Much of the focus of the book was on Soraya. Raised in a traditional Iranian household in England set her apart from most of her classmates. We see her struggle with regards to her familial relationships, religion, and as an individual. Soraya’s mom Neda was loving, but this did not offset her father’s abuse and drug addiction along with shaky relationships with her siblings. The author does an amazing job of developing these relationships and over the span of a year, we see how drastically they change.

Her parents immigrated from Iran in order for her mother to continue her education. As such, her mother continued to practice her faith. Not wanting to impose heavily on her children, Neda gave them the choice to respond to Islam on whatever level they wanted. Like her sister, Soraya did not choose to wear a hijab and was non practicing. However, readers learn that Soraya really struggles with her identity as a non practicing Muslim. This affects many aspects of her life, most specifically interactions with the opposite sex. Deciding that she needs some relationship practice, she sets her sights on Magnus, the quintessential British bloke. What starts off as a practice companion quickly becomes a relationship that has her falling in love. This relationship has Soraya questioning her identity as a Muslim and shifts her relationship with her family.

The entire book charts the development of Soraya as she navigates the post-grad world while juggling family issues, a new relationship, and her desire for fulfillment. It was heartbreaking yet beautiful, and I thought the ending was hopeful.

*****Netgalley ARC provided in exchange for an honest review****

Soroya is a Muslim woman of Iranian descent that has just completed school and is trying to figure out her next steps when she finds Magnus, a jock with whom she wholely believes she has nothing in common with.

This story is told from two perspectives, Neda, who is Soroya's mother, and then Soroya. I really enjoyed the way that we were able to gain both Soroya and her mother's perspectives on life and see what led to various decisions that they were forced to make.

As a 26-year-old, I can easily relate to finding yourself after college, and for that reason, I really enjoyed this book. I Also liked the glimpse it gave into another culture readers get throughout the book and highly recommend giving this a read!

THE MISMATCH is a cross-generational story about love and family, faith and struggle. I enjoyed Saraya's story - her friends Oliver and Priya were fun and lovely - and her love story with Magnus was compelling, believable, and heart-warming. I was more drawn to Saraya's mother's story, however. Neda's story about 1970s Tehran, about her family and her marriage, life as a young student, wife and mother, was fascinating.

The first two parts of this book really captured my attention, but the last part fell a bit flat. Saraya and Magnus' resolution seemed over-simplified and unrealistic. Aspects of their relationship and their pasts seemed glossed over, which I found hard to believe. Neda's backstory kept me interested and ended up being the highlight for me.

Overall, a very enjoyable read and a great opportunity to learn more about struggles with faith, cultural shifts in Terhan, and a fun escape read.

I kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The mismatch referred to in the title is between Soraya, a British girl of Iranian parentage, and Magnus, a white university classmate with whom she forms a shaky and tumultuous relationship. However, the story is filled with other mismatches: the one between Soraya's mother Neda and her father Hossein, the one (in her parents' eyes) between her disowned older sister, Laleh and her white Anglo boyfriend Matthew, and the one that Soraya struggles with most of all, the mismatch between the truth of who she is and who her family and others around her perceive her to be. Soraya feels mismatched with her parents and extended conservative Muslim family in Iran, and also with the largely white British world of university and young professional London.
The story is told in a dual timeline structure with alternating chapters from the point of view of Soraya in twenty-first century Brighton and London and her mother Neda in 1970's Iran and later Liverpool. As the story unfolds, the parents' marriage disintegrates under the weight of the struggle to establish a life in a foreign land and Hossein's growing opium addiction and abusiveness towards his wife and daughters.. The effect of these hidden problems on Soraya and her siblings is profound, and Soraya is suffocating under the pressure of all the secrets she must keep from Magnus on the one hand and her parents on the other. The theme of the immigrants' feelings of displacement, of never truly belonging either to their former country or their new one, is thoughtfully and believably developed throughout the novel, as is the struggle of the younger generation of British Muslim women who long for the freedom of their white friends, yet want to honor their heritage. The inequality of Muslim men and women is also movingly explored in the relationships between Soraya's parents and their children. This is a well-written and engaging story with strong characters and a storyline that is both gripping and thought-provoking.

The book was full of deep, insightful, and heartbreaking prose. I cared deeply for the characters, but at the same time felt a full awareness of their flaws. It was such a well-balanced peace.

I really loved this book, it fed both my need for romance and my mind as I gained insight into a culture I knew very little about . It was entertaining, thought provoking and relatable,
This book follows the main character Soraya as she struggles through the transition from college life to the real world, as well as beginning to prioritize dating, which is something that has always been frowned upon in her strict Muslim family. Soraya connects with another outgoing college student Magnus, who is the quintessential popular college athlete. She goes into their relationship thinking it will be good practice for when she dates a guy who she actually imagines a future with, because she can’t be considering something serious with this white, atheist, athlete who she assumes she has nothing in common with .... even if it turns out he understands more than she thinks.
I picked up this book because of the romance but ended up getting so much more, the story looks at the complicated role relationships play, not only in Soraya’s family, but in Iranian culture where there are strict expectations about what it means to be a woman and a wife. On top of the family drama the reader follows Soraya’s journey as she tries to find her role in the world and her family, deciding which values and roles to keep and which to reinvent for herself . There was so much packed into this book that I couldn’t stop reading and soaking it all in.
* I received this book as an ARC for a review