Perhaps it was just bad timing. But having just read a rom com with a similar premise of match making… my heart just couldn’t connect with this storyline and it just fell short. I tried the audio version as well hoping it would give me the boost I needed. But sadly once again I just kept comparing this book with the one I had recently read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing

Charming but fuzzy in a way that made it hard to keep my focus. Maybe it's because I'm a sci fi lover but I wanted a detailed magic system and that's obviously not what this book is about. Ultimately I forgot about it for long stretches, but enjoyed coming back to it.

After reading Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune, I was very taken with Roselle Lim’s writing and characterizations. Her delightful portrayal of her Asian American backdrop and characters brought a gentle story into vivid life. I spotted this latest release set in Toronto, Canada with another Asian heroine needing to find her way and I confidently settled in for a comfy coze.

Sophie has recently returned from Matchmaker training in Shanghai and is setting up in her own lovely place within a condo complex in Toronto. She has confidence in her ability to be a successful matchmaker and establish herself right up until her own mother sabotages her chances at an easy acquisition of clients by telling a whole social gathering her daughter is a liar and a fraud- she didn’t finish her training.
Her mother wants her living at home under her thumb, taking the bank job for steady, but boring existence, and never forgetting that mother knows best and Sophie needs to apologize and show respect.
Fortunately, Sophie’s one bid for independence and self-satisfaction in her work brought her into contact with a quirky group of seniors in her building who are called the Old Ducks. Most wouldn’t notice or would consider them too high maintenance, but Sophie’s big matchmaking heart sees hurting, lonely people who need her brand of help and she dives in to fun results.
Somewhere along the way, Sophie starts to find herself, a bit of romance, and the importance of found family.

Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club was light and quirky in general, but has some strong undercurrents of more. Her parents were toxic, to put it bluntly, and, because of the Asian culture, Sophie comes from, to defer and show respect for parents and elders, she has been trapped and her esteem is in tatters. She broke free long enough to get trained and learn to love her calling of matchmaking only to have her mother’s hooks back into her when she returns and it is a tug o’ war who will be in charge of Sophie’s life. Her mother was a particular over the top shrew of a character and I was waiting for the big money moment when Sophie would finally give her back some of her own.

While there is a bit of a romance for Sophie and I was cheering for her to step away from fear and doubt for the chance (she had been taught that matchmakers never got their own romance and her mother definitely didn’t give her what was needed to do well at a relationship), this is not a romance. This is the story of Sophie finding herself and finding the Old Ducks.

The Old Ducks were an impressive cast of seniors. They were a hoot and scrappy for their age even while they needed a different brand of stirring up. Sophie taught them that their old dreams of love and companionship could still be fulfilled. And, as they opened up and let her help work on their relationships, more of their lives grew colorful and exciting. The interactions with this group and Sophie was the best part.

Magical Realism fills the book with Sophie’s gift of seeing the potential connections or state of a person’s contentment with their romantic relationship situation as represented by red ribbons dangling from people that are only visible to Sophie.

All in all, it was a fun and poignant story that left me warmed and satisfied. It got frivolous at times, but this balanced with the serious elements, too. Those who want their chick lit or women’s fic flavored with humor and diversity should give Sophie a Go.

Sophie Go's Lonely Hearts Club is a very heartfelt novel about love, grief, acceptance, and discovering who you are. Sophie Go returns home to Toronto after completing Matchmaker school in Shanghai. While at a party where Sophie hoping to begin establishing her business, her overbearing mother shows up and announces to all that she never received her certification. After the fiasco and in need of clients, she discovers a secret club in her condo complex and decides to start helping the group of Old Ducks.

The story is heartwarming and gut-wrenching at the same time. I loved watching Sophie do what she loves and helping this group of elderly men find love. The gut-wrenching part was learning about the relationship with her parents, and how utterly heartbreaking watching her mother treat her the way she does.

At times, I felt the story moved a bit too slowly, but overall it was a good read.
3.5/5 stars

Thank you Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC!

Sophie returns to Toronto after training to be a matchmaker in Shanghai. As she meets the older people in her building, she realizes they could benefit from her matchmaking. One group of older men who call themselves the Old Ducks, become an integral part of Sophie’s life. The book has many heartwarming moments, while at the same time disturbing when focusing in on Sophie’s very dysfunctional relationship with her parents. I recommend this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I love this book so much. Roselle Lim has successfully made me wish for a group of elderly Asian men to take me in as their own. SOPHIE GO is a wonderful celebration of love in all forms!

This book is in one word; sweet!
I have to admit that I wasn't bowled over with it, it's a sweet if silly fun book but it's not what I thought it would be. I had original thought this was going to be a feel-good romance, but the romance aspect was more of a second thought to te overall story which is a shame.
I didn't love it but I did enjoy it enough to commit to finishing and if I get the chance to read this author again I think I would.
I liked the story, and the fantasy elements were a surprise but I really liked them but for me it was far too sweet.

A super fun book, if somewhat predictable. But you know what? I'm not even mad about it. Roselle Lim is welcome to write anything she wants. We definitely need more voices like hers in the booksphere.

This was such a fun book! It's the story of Sophie Go, a young woman who is an Asian matchmaker. There's a lot of romance, a lot of food talk, some family drama and a few secrets. The author takes her time with each character and we get to know all of the main characters well.

Besides being a quick fun read, the whole matchmaking thing was really interesting. I loved the answers from the various clients in response to Sophie's "three questions." I laughed with the characters, cried with them, were angry along with them.

The title of the book is a Beatles reference. Sophie is a big Beatles fan and there are quite a few mentions of songs throughout the book. I felt like this was a little gimmicky and it became a crutch in the book. I'd say this is what stopped it being a 5* book for me. Deduct a half-star for it.

I would love to see this made into a film, if they did it right. Because Sophie is a heroine, and the world should be cheering her on, all the way to the end.

Such a charming and heartwarming story! The “Old Ducks” are the best side characters with all their different personalities and quirks. I wouldn’t call this one a romance. It’s more of a story of Sophie finding herself and connecting with people. Sophie is an only child and her parents are horrible to her – they are rude and take advantage of her. So not only do the “Old Duck’s” need Sophie to find them love, but Sophie needs them. She develops a develops a relationship with each of them and they become her adoptive family. It’s a poignant story of loneliness and love filled with a touch of magical realism.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club is a whimsical and heartwarming story about overcoming loneliness and finding your place in this world. While it does contain a bit of romance, it is secondary to the main character’s journey to become who she was meant to be.

Sophie is a Chinese Canadian woman who has recently returned home to Toronto after studying to become a matchmaker in Shanghai. She is trying to establish herself as a professional matchmaker in her community but is carrying around a secret – due to circumstances beyond her control, she didn’t actually graduate from the matchmaker program. When Sophie attends a community event in hope of introducing herself and handing out her card to drum up business, her mother of all people outs Sophie as a fraud and seriously impairs her ability to secure clients. Sophie fears that all hope of becoming a matchmaker is lost until she stumbles upon a secret group called the Old Ducks. This group of elderly gentlemen has all but given up on love and have formed this group so they won’t be alone. After talking to Sophie, the Old Ducks agree to be her first clients.

Sophie’s growing bond with these Old Ducks are what really made this book a special read for me. One of the author’s biggest strengths is her ability to write vibrant and realistic characters and that strength really shines through in this book with Sophie and with the Old Ducks. As she gets to know each one of them, she becomes so invested in finding them a perfect match. I loved Sophie for her big heart and was touched by how much she wanted these men to find love again. On the flip side, I also adored the old men for the same reason because as they each got to know her, they began to treat her like family and became invested in her success and in her happiness. I loved this for Sophie, especially since her own family was not only lacking in support but her mother actually bordered on being verbally abusive.

While the characters are definitely the highlight of this story, I also loved the touch of magical realism the author gives us with respect to the matchmaking. As a matchmaker, Sophie is able to see red threads attached to people’s hearts. Matchmakers like Sophie read the movement of those threads in order to gauge whether or not her potential matches are meant to be together or not. I just loved this added touch of whimsy.

Lastly, I cannot leave off without mentioning the author’s ability to write the most delicious descriptions of food. Lim’s books always make me so hungry and this book was no exception, especially because Sophie has a major sweet tooth and is always looking for delicious sweet treats to satisfy her cravings.

Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club is an all around delight. Highly recommend to fans of women’s fiction, found families, and the healing power of friendship and love.

Described by the author herself as a “love letter to both Toronto and her grandparents,” Roselle Lim managed to exceed my expectations, with Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club being her best work so far! As a fellow Torontonian, I loved that I was able to recognize many of the locations in the book.

Of all the Roselle Lim heroines, Sophie is my favourite! I loved how sweet and earnest she was, and I could definitely relate to both in her desire to be loved and accepted for her true self as well as her sweet tooth. It broke my heart every time I saw her give in to her parents’ manipulations, as she has been struggling with this toxicity on her own for most of her life. If there’s a prize for the most toxic mother, Sophie’s mom may have already won that. Fortunately, Sophie is able to slowly break away from the generational trauma and her unsupportive biological family and gain a healthier environment with the help of her new “found family,” a group of senior men known as the “Old Ducks” as well as the connections she makes through her persistent efforts to continue with matchmaking. The “Old Ducks” were, without a doubt, the beating heart, and soul of Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club. As someone who barely got to know any of her grandparents, these old men won me over quickly. I loved how each had their own story and unique personality that was emphasized through the nickname Sophie assigned to them. It was also heartwarming how each of the men was able to provide Sophie with something different that aided her on her journey. While I loved all the “Old Ducks”, “Mr. Regret” and his culinary delights have a special place in my heart.

I liked that Roselle chose to go with a first-person narrator for Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club. Hearing her story in her own voice not only helped you to understand Sophie’s choices and actions, but it made me feel closer to the character, as she’s someone who’s so used to holding back her voice because of her mother. Also, having read Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop, I was already familiar with how Roselle writes her matchmakers but I will never get over how she beautifully she describes the matchmakers’ ability. It kind of makes me wish I had this kind of ability in real life. I can definitely see how a Sophie and anyone who was able to see these threads of fate and physical manifestations of romantic connections would want to play a role in bringing couples together.

Having read every book that Roselle Lim has written so far, I can unquestionably say that Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club is my favourite book of hers. The story was just so well executed, and I loved how both the “Old Ducks” and Sophie’s stories played out. Finally, I loved how one of the main takeaways from this book was that there is no age limit when it comes to finding love, just as there shouldn’t be any pressure to do so. Even though I was warned ahead of time, Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club had me finishing an entire box of Kleenex! But it was so worth it for this heartfelt and magical story about quietly making a life of your own and just how powerful and meaningful intergenerational friendships can be.

Trigger warnings: Death, toxic parents

This was an interesting story. I loved Sophie's interactions with all of the Old Ducks. I enjoyed their different personalities, how she saw and catalogued them, and her techniques to find them matches. She was determined, smart, and quite innocent, despite her lower self-esteem due to her family. There was witty banter, smiles, giggles, and some tears as this story progressed. I was glad that she got her own HEA with Mr. Particular. I felt it started a bit slow, a little confusing, but once I got used to the story telling, it moved along quickly.

I received a copy through Netgalley, and this is my unsolicited review.

Par for the course, Ms Lim delivers a captivating romance.

I really felt for this poor girl. Sophie is suffering from a very serious case of imposter syndrome brought on by an absolute horror of a mother. Sophie can’t see what a really lovely person she is, and that in actuality her talents for matchmaking are considerable. I feel that even though her matchmaking is solid her real strength lies in her ability to connect with the people she meets. Meeting the Old Ducks and helping them to find love also makes a difference in her own life and career.

Ms Lim write with such charm and kindness. I really am fond of her books. I think Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop holds a special place in my heart, but this new novel is just as darling. Both are #cozyromance books, which until recently I was completely unaware of as a sub-genre. It is sweet, full of love and care, and of course food!! I enjoy the authors skill with describing food and the only thing keeping me from completely overloading on candy while reading this book is my desire to keep my blood sugar down. Believe me I was not able to display as much self-control with the Vanessa Yu book. I am a sucker for pastry. *sigh*

If you are looking for a light read, full of enchantment and sweetness this is the book for you

After getting expelled from matchmaking school and being publicly called a fraud, Sophie Go is on her own to establish herself as a legitimate matchmaker, building trust and expanding her client base. Though her parents are unsupportive, she finds a start with a group of septuagenarian bachelors who never found love.

My favorite part of this book is the found family aspect. It’s fun to see the “Old Ducks,” as they call themselves, become more like Uncles as Sophie helps them each find love. Food also plays a large role in the book, which I always enjoy.

However, the parental relationship and the financial woes subplot often felt too extreme and distracting, and I’m still recovering from the third act shocker. Despite being heavily descriptive and full of many side stories, I wanted more development of Sophie, especially with her own romantic relationship.

Overall, this is a sweet tale about endearing characters finding love, though certain parts and subplots take away from this.

I tried with this one, I really did. I just couldn't get into the story. It might have been that Sophie's parents were too close to mine. It might have been that it was set in Scarborough near where I grew up. It might have been that I just couldn't believe that other Chinese families would celebrate having a matchmaker around that much, but that MY family would totally be like Sophie's and consider it a disaster were I to be one. Basically, it was too close to my life and I had to DNF.

This book had me smiling throughout with Sophie and her relationships with the Old Ducks. The way she develops relationships with each of them is wonderful. It makes up for her toxic relationship with her parents.

This book is a ringing endorsement for the sentiment that family isn’t always blood.

A young woman trying to salvage her career takes on a seemingly impossible task: finding soulmates for senior citizens. As she gets to know her clients, she learns to take a chance on love for herself. Author Roselle Lim returns with another frothy story that doesn’t delve deep enough into many scenarios in Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club.

Sophie Go is home from Shanghai and ready to launch her career. After spending three years in matchmaking school, she knows she can bring couples together and help them on their way to lifelong commitment and happiness. It’s her job, after all.

She comes back to Toronto and takes the first big leap as an adult: moving out of her childhood home into her own apartment. Even though it’s in a much nicer building that she’d normally be able to afford, Sophie has her savings and a list of matchmaking leads from her best friend. She knows if she hits the ground running, she’ll be making matches and getting paid in no time. Everything will be fine. And she doesn’t have to hyperventilate every time her parents call her for money.

Because they do. A lot. Sophie’s mother is demanding and unyielding. She tells Sophie point blank that being a dutiful daughter means supporting her family. Translation: pay for her father’s acupuncture appointments, her mother’s birthday dinner in a Michelin-starred restaurant, and a whole list of things. It’s all Sophie can do to keep up with it all.

Now, though, she has matchmaking. Something she’s done for herself. Until everyone finds out at her first society party that she got kicked out of matchmaking school. Gossip starts spreading through Toronto’s Chinese community that Sophie is bad news.

When she runs across a group of elderly Chinese gentlemen in her building who call themselves the Old Ducks, Sophie realizes they might be the key to putting her life back on track. If she can find successful matches for the Old Ducks, that means she can match anyone.

As Sophie gets to know the Old Ducks, she learns the true meaning of parental figures and friendship. She finds both in abundance in these men who present her with their problems and their heartaches all at the same time. Along the way, as others start trusting her again with their love lives, Sophie realizes she has just as much a right to love as anyone. No matter what her overbearing, toxic mother says.

Author Roselle Lim offers readers a look once again into Chinese culture and how it interacts—and sometimes clashes—with Western sensibilities. The lighthearted tone of the book in some of its most serious parts might put readers off, however. Sophie’s parents have absolutely no redeeming qualities; from start to finish, they gaslight and guilt Sophie into their idea of what a dutiful daughter should look like.

Asian and Asian Western readers may understand Sophie’s sense of obligation to her family, yet it doesn’t always land because of how self-aware Sophie is about her parents. Had she not understood the full extent of her mother’s destructive behavior, Sophie would have come across as a more sympathetic character. Instead, readers might wonder how someone who can so accurately pinpoint the problem doesn’t have the guts to pursue a solution, especially as she gains increasing security in herself in other ways, professional and personal, throughout the book.

Another issue with the novel is the Old Ducks. While the narrative tries to distinguish between the seven men, at times they feel interchangeable with the exception of Sophie’s nicknames for them. They have individual character traits, yes, but they’re all older gentlemen looking for love.

Given the legacy of honor and tradition many Asian cultures foster, it’s surprising so many of the Old Ducks are willing to overlook Sophie’s “failure” at matchmaking school and jump into the venture with her. It’s clear Lim gave Sophie the Old Ducks to balance the negative adults in her life with more positive influences, and Sophie gets that in spades. Even if they’re hard to distinguish from one another at times, there’s no doubt these men adore Sophie and want only what’s best for her.

The twist at the end seems engineered to give Sophie a chance to face her parents as well as to reiterate the idea that family doesn’t necessarily mean blood. The book also doesn’t quite dig deep enough into the beauty of the Chinese culture. For those who want a surface-level look at matchmaking and its place in modern society, this is an easy one to read.

I adored the magic of this book in the threads that Sophie can see between those she matchmakes. I loved the clients she finds and how she gets them together.

But I did not like her mother which you aren't supposed to. I get that some parents are strict and harsh and sometimes it's cultural but usually it's for a well meaning reason. This woman was gaslighting, demeaning, selfish, cruel and demoralizing with no chance of redemption. Some people play the victim as they victimize all of those around them. And her father was an enabler. I think I got anxiety whenever her mom popped up just cause she wasn't defending herself and just taking it trying to be the good daughter. But nothing she did was enough and she couldn't give enough. She just wanted to be loved.

But in her matchmaking she made a community and a found family to replace the one she didn't have.

The sweet romances and these chances at love so late in life are my favorite. It's never too late to try something new, to learn new hobbies, to fall in love for the first or last time.

Thank you berkleyromance and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

Roselle Lim did a fantastic job of mixing heartbreaking topics alongside a novel that was heartwarming. Adding in the amazing ability to describe food that made me wishing I was eating alongside it, I am now digging into Lim's backlist wondering what I have missed.