The Rules of Arrangement

I came for the cover and stayed for the absolutely delightful, funny, heartwarming and daring story!

It makes my heart full, reading such a delicious, feminist (more-than-just-a-) romance featuring people of color. The Rules of Arrangement is a story of Zoya, a plus-size Indian girl who, at the age of 26, is already past the age of an ideal wedding according to the society. When her aunties are ready to match her with a suitor, Zoya receives a job offer in New York that she doesn't want to pass on. This is when she needs to decide if she will follow her own heart or stay obedient to her family - whom she nonetheless loves to pieces.

But what's more, this novel is also focused on the struggles of a darker skinned, plus-size woman in the world of modern dating which is hypercritical of bodies like hers. Zoya is honestly just perfect and a character and the reader can tell she loves herself unconditionally, but the pressures she faces on a daily basis would inevitably get to anyone.

This book was so much fun - sprinkled with humor yet very clever and profound, memorable and powerful. Zoya is a character I would want to become best friends forever in a heartbeat.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

GENRE: women fiction( with some side romance plot)
TROPES & THEMES: arranged marriage, workplace romance, family dynamics, society expectations
TRIGGER WARNINGS: fatphobia, misogyny, cancer, microaggressions
RATING: 1,5 ⭐
RELEASE DATE: July 13th, 2021

This book is set in Mumbai, India, where our main protagonist, 26-year-old Zoya, deals with her family bent on arranging a marriage for her. She, on the other hand, is focused on her marketing career and working hard to secure a promotion that will allow her to work in New York. While marriage is on the horizon with one man, Zoya gets close to another. There are a plethora of side characters from family members, friends to work colleagues.

In the end, this was more about Zoya's personal journey than the romance. Sure, we have a romantic interest and somewhat a happy for now situation. However, I would categorize this as more of a women's fiction book than contemporary romance.

What really bothers me was the fatphobia and judgemental way the majority of characters displayed in the dialogue and the heroine in her inner monologue. She is shamed for being overweight by her family members, other side characters, and cousin. But she also shames them. Is that her coping mechanism when dealing with harsh comments? Absolutely. But she also is shaming her cousin for being skinny. There is a paragraph dedicated to her cousin "finally eating food". Okay, we can all agree that this is something that happens in real life. But did the author went anywhere with this narrative? In my opinion, no. It wasn't resolved in any positive way. Dialogue is filled with microaggressions.

The premise of the book was the reason I requested this book. Breaking the social and cultural norms is an interesting storyline. How one deals in situations when they are faced with wanting different things from the life their parents and family want is universal and understandable. However, the execution of the story is very poorly done. Zoya with all her imperfections was supposed to be a character I should relate to. But I found her to be a very hard person to root for.

I liked how the story ended and I liked the character of her aunt. In my eyes, she had the best growth and complexity out of all other characters. Also what a beautiful cover.

Would I recommend this book and to whom?
Probably. But it is not a book for everyone, for sure. It is very rare for me to say to other readers not to read a book. Maybe in this case I would just advise that you rather expect a social commentary fiction novel more than anything else. But keep in mind there are a lot of problematic comments and stereotypes that will upset some readers.

*ARC received through NetGalley for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the copy of the book.