A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was super super interesting and much more mystery/thriller than I was expecting going into it. Unfortunately I did predict who the “bad guy” was, but the way it got there and all the little twists were actually insane. There were definitely a few loose ends left at the end, but that also may just be leaving room for another book in this world.

Thank you to Bantam and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

In this--first adult novel by author Aisha Speed--we follow a high-end matchmaker who stumbles into murder and mayhem. This sounds like a cozy-set up, right? It sounds like it. But yet . . . it's not, really. It's sort of a murder/mystery but with a sort of "cozy" set up. I felt like the novel didn't straddle the genres nor merge them, which left me feeling like I was often outside of the narration.

I did like the protagonist's (Nura's) background being a central part of the story--her family is Pakistani and the matchmaking business caters (mostly) to the Desi culture. That was interesting and unique. As for Nura--she seemed hopelessly narcissistic to me. (When she noted that her career running an exclusive matchmaking service was so much more invasive and central to her life than the career of her bestie, who is an emergency care (I think) doctor, I sort of gave up on her. I also felt like the disparate subplots didn't all tie in well together plus the culprit behind the mayhem was a bit weak.

All in all, it was okay but just missed the mark for me in a couple of ways. I think this author has potential, though, as an adult story teller so I'll be willing to try whatever she writes next.

The Matchmaker is a great cross between a cozy mystery and a mystery/thriller. I loved the premise and the cultural element of the story itself. It was thrilling to follow a society matchmaker while the weddings of her "matches" were targeted. The story then got surprisingly darker, which I enjoyed (I thought this would be a cozy mystery based on the beginning). I also enjoyed the romance that weaved throughout. Great book!

Nura’s matchmaking business, which she inherited from her aunt, is thriving. Nura has a great group of trusted employees, her word of mouth is great - there are really two main problems - the first is that she is still single and in love with her best friend, the second is that someone is trying to sabotage her business. Weddings are getting ruined and a bride and groom is even kidnapped. Nura has to investigate who is trying to ruin her, an possibly kill her as well.

This was a cute fast read that I’m glad I picked up between some heavy ones. The story sucked me right in with a fun plot and a mystery. Throughout the book there were a few twists and I enjoyed watching the multiple mysteries unfold. I didn’t know what to expect when I picked this one up but I was pleasantly surprised. Did everything wrap up a bit too neatly into a bow at the end, yes? Was I ok with it, yes.

Thank you to Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC to review

Dnf @ 40%

Not in the right mental headspace to be reading about missing cats

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review

The Matchmaker is a fun romance/mystery that will keep you guessing! The main characters were enjoyable to read and root for while the mystery element was a light-hearted whodunit!

The Matchmaker was a great read! Fast paced, with a multi genre touch. You’ve got some romance, some mystery, some suspense. The story follows Nura, a prolific matchmaker. She’s at the height of her success, when suddenly someone starts stalking her and sabotaging her business. Causing her to lose many clients through insane chaos lol Nura is barley hanging on by a string while she’s trying to save her company, find the person responsible for her attempted downfall, navigating uncovered fsmily severets, AND navigating her feelings for a life long pal, Azur. What a whirlwind!

When a high-profile matchmaker finds herself in the middle of a scandal after one of her matches implodes in public, she learns that someone is out for revenge. She’ll have to work with her best guy friend and her team to figure out what’s going on before there’s further threat to her life…or her reputation. Young adult author Aisha Saeed debuts with a romantic thriller that mostly hits all the right marks in her newest book The Matchmaker.

Nura Khan has taken her khaala’s matchmaking business to the next level. Although her aunt learned everything she knew from her own mother, Nura has brought the entire venture into the 21st century with the Piyar (Love) app. The clients who Nura and her team have matched successfully can’t sing enough of their praises, and Nura gets invited to some of the most upscale weddings in Atlanta this side of the Mississippi.

Even with such a forward-thinking outlook, though, some things don’t change. Like the flak Nura gets from all the well-meaning aunties in town about why such a successful matchmaker is still single past 30. Nura’s not opposed to love in the least; she just doesn’t have time for it. Piyar is truly her first love.

To silence all the wagging tongues, Nura has enlisted her childhood guy friend, Azar, to be her plus-one to every event. It doesn’t hurt that Azar is a successful doctor and smoking hot. One look at him, and all the aunties grin at Nura with approval. So does Nura, although she won’t let Azar know it. They had a near-kiss ages ago that still makes Nura blush with embarrassment, and she doesn’t want to do anything to hurt their friendship again.

Someone is clearly out to hurt her, though. At one of the weddings of a match she oversaw, the engaged couple have a major falling out and Nura gets blamed for not doing her due diligence in vetting. Nura is blindsided. She always vets everyone; the strict code of rules she set for Piyar when she took over the business makes sure that every little dark corner of a person’s life gets illuminated. Nura is furious that someone would mess with that and her reputation.

Her team reassures her it has to be a one-off—a disgruntled ex-client who was either rejected by them or didn’t find the love of their life and wants Nura to pay for it—but then another couple matched by Piyar goes missing completely. Suddenly, the situation goes from harassment to harrowing. Someone wants to hurt Nura where it counts the most, and she has no idea who, what, or why.

News spreads like wildfire on social media, and Piyar starts to take some hits from bad press. A reputed journalist shows up and offers to help, but Nura doesn’t want to have anything to do with him. She’s scrambling as it is to manage the business and help with her khaala who’s health is now slowly failing. She doesn’t need to sit around answering questions about her process in matchmaking; she needs to get the saboteur to leave her alone. Except that person, whoever they are, has other ideas, and those ideas involve taking Nura down for good.
Author Aisha Saeed melds South Asian and American cultures with ease, clearly writing from a place of confidence in the lived duality of the desi population in the U.S. Her previous books have provided a great springboard to jump into the world of adult fiction. As a protagonist, Nura is well-rounded and three-dimensional. Readers will have no trouble seeing their close South Asian friends in her.

Saeed weaves the romance threads into the book fairly seamlessly; it’s during the thriller moments that the stitches start to show. Some of the plot twists of the thriller feel off in their pacing; it’s possible Saeed chose the wrong moments for those reveals and might have done better to move them a little later in the book to keep tension mounting. Occasionally, the book feels a little confused about whether it wants to focus more on the romance or the thriller; at times, the genre plot points take turns instead of building on one another to form the strong foundation of the book.

Still, Saeed does a good job of keeping readers guessing about the identity of the person sabotaging Nura. Also, despite the minor hiccups with the book’s pacing, it’s clear Saeed has potential to write fine romance thrillers. Readers will certainly have something to look forward to if she decides to do so again.

Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine & Netgalley for this e-arc.

The Matchmaker revolves around Nura, who is typically driven, focused, and operates a successful matchmaking firm. The idea was intriguing: a thriller-mystery is sparked by scrutiny, the possibility of bad news, and some strange events. In addition, there are themes of romance, self-discovery, and family history. I liked the plot, the characters, and their development. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

The Matchmaker
Written by: Aisha Saeed
Pub Day: April 8, 2025

How did you find your partner? Was a meet-cute? A blind date? Did you ever consider using a Matchmaker? In our culture it is common to be introduced to potential partners from within the community.

I really enjoyed reading The Matchmaker. The story kept me turning pages until the very end!

Nura Khan is a single 30 year old 3rd generation matchmaker. With an impeccable record she is in high demand! But with all the good, sometimes not all goes well with the prospective clients. Even with demanding clients, she's never faced the type of situation that puts lives in danger.
With her BFF, Azar, who attends weddings as her devastating handsome finance, by her side, she's willing to do whatever it takes to find the person responsible.

Thank you to @randomhouse and @netgalley for the e-arc!

Nura Khan, 31, has taken over a very successful matchmaker business from her aunt. It is called the Piyar Matchmaking Company. Most of their clients are extremely wealthy and, thus, they are vetted very carefully by Nura’s staff.

Nura’s good friend and a man she secretly loves, Azur, acts as her plus-one for many of the weddings and other events she needs to attend.

Nura is quite concerned for her aunt’s health as the woman is in the early stages of dementia. She is the one who owned the business first and then passed it on to Nura.

But an unnamed angry man calls Nura and threatens to destroy her company as he calls her a fraud. She doesn’t know who he is but suspects he must be someone who failed the company’s vetting process. However, this threat increases when a wedding is totally destroyed before it happens by a lie by some unknown person who managed to enter a party leaving despicable notes. As the threats and attacks increase, Nura finds herself in very afraid and doesn’t know who is behind the attacks on her business and on her physically.

This is the author’s debut novel and is touted as a romance novel and a mystery novel. I found it to be somewhat unclear as I know very little about the Indian culture. However, I’m sure someone of that culture would be delighted to read this book.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Nura runs a high-end matchmaking services. For a whole lot of money she helps prepare you for a relationship with life coaches, etc and she has a pretty high success rate. Then some of her weddings are being sabotaged and she needs to find out who is trying to ruin her. The main characters are Nura, her PI - Genevieve, tech guy - Borzu and her assistant and friend Darcy. Nura took over the business from an aunt who raised her and this is her whole life. The only friends she really seems to have are Darcy and Azar. This is a mystery and a little bit of romance. I wish there was more about Nura's aunt and cousin and the ending seemed to wrap up pretty quick but all in all I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Ballantine for providing me with a digital copy.

Yet another book I struggled with. This book couldn’t really make its mind up what it wanted to be. Is it a thriller? Is it a rom-com? Is it a women’s fiction? When you add to that, the person behind it all was ridiculously easy to figure out……..well it just had me rushing along to the end. The plot had such potential I thought, but it became muddled when everything extra was added in.
Overall I think if you’re looking for a cozy mystery read with a side of itty bitty romance and some desi culture, this may be a good read for you.
For me 2.5 stars in all.
I received an ARC of this title, all opinions are my own.

Nura took over her Khala’s matchmaking business in Atlanta. She’s honored their culture’s traditions and matchmaking standards, but Nura has brought her own personalization to the business with an app. The agency is thriving. She’s got an amazing team- Genevieve, Borzu, and Darcy by her side along with her bestie/built in plus 1- Azar.

Everything’s great but it really isn’t. And then there are those nefarious emails and a podcast gaining traction, threatening Nura and the agency. There’s family history and drama that begins to erupt. And there’s unrequited love to boot.

This is a fast paced story that will keep you on your toes, guessing, and trying to read between all the lines. It was so fun and didn’t want the ride to end. I can’t wait to dive into more from

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thanks to @ and @ for this # - pub date was 4/8/25. Go grab it!
2025bookchallengebook31of100

The Matchmaker centers around Nura, who is normally driven, focused, and runs a successful matchmaking agency. The premise was interesting - scrutiny, potential for negative press, and some odd happenings start triggering a thriller-mystery. Along the way, there are also themes family history, self-discovery, and romance.

It starts slower and then ramps up - with a lot going on at once. You really have no idea who to trust!

Thank you to Netgalley and to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an ARC.

I went into this expecting a sweet little romance, but wow—it took a sharp left turn into murder mystery, and I did not see it coming. Nura has taken over her family’s elite matchmaking business, and everything seems like it’s going smoothly… until two weddings are sabotaged and she starts getting stalked and threatened. The setup had so much potential, but the book never really finds its footing between the romance and the mystery. Just when I’d start to get into the swoony moments, things would suddenly shift to suspense—and then back again—so neither side really had time to fully develop. It kind of left me feeling like I never got the best of either story.

This book is modern Desi dating perfection (as viewed by a white woman)! I loved the setup to this novel… an expensive matchmaking company that also has a popular dating app? Then we add in the traditions (and modern updates) to Desi culture, while having such a perfect balance of authenticity without overexplaining to those of us who are white (or non-Desi). I loved the family culture and dynamics from Nura and the family she built for herself at work, all while being a total boss. I love that it didn’t shy away from the pressure she put on herself, but showed how complex and human she was. Her best friend since childhood and his own dynamics were a total plus. AND THEN we also have a mystery to solve?! It was tense but also fun to try to figure it out and I didn’t until it was literally written out for me! It was such a good payoff! This story isn’t too much of any one genre, it’s the perfect blend of mystery, multiculturalism, and romance. I love that it didn’t need the spice to make the romance authentic either. Absolutely adore this novel! 5⭐️, 0.5🌶

Nura has taken over her family's elite matchmaking business, but things take a dark turn when two weddings are mysteriously sabotaged and she becomes the target of stalking and threats. What started as a seemingly sweet romance quickly veers into murder mystery territory, catching me completely off guard. The book struggles to balance both genres, never fully committing to either, which left each feeling a bit underdeveloped. Just as I’d settle into the romantic storyline or the suspenseful plot, it would abruptly shift gears again.

I was excited to dive into this contemporary mystery romance, especially with all the vivid details of the weddings.

Atlanta matchmaker Nura Khan has built a thriving business and a stellar reputation despite being single herself. Luckily, her childhood best friend Azar is willing to play the role of her fake fiancé to keep up appearances. But when a string of her clients’ weddings start falling apart in disturbing ways, what once felt like harmless matchmaking turns into something far more sinister. With her business and her safety on the line, Nura must uncover who’s behind the sabotage, all while navigating the very real feelings she might have for Azar.

I would say that the romance in this book is the sub-plot compared to the disasters going on and trying to figure out who is trying to sabotage Nura’s company. This was a quick, fast paced read with a lot of things going on that lead you to think the plot is going one way, and the you're hit with a plot twist. Very entertaining, and I didn't see the ending coming!

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam for this eARC!