Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Love Match

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim

22 reviews

hobbithopeful's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The Book

Taslim’s debut novel is perfect for fans of rom coms, strong female characters, and diverse reads. The story follows Zahra, a hard-working Bangladeshi American teen who is feeling left behind in life. Her friends are going off to college in the Fall, and she is unable to join them because of her family’s’ financial troubles. She has since resigned herself to work at Chai Ho (a local café) for the foreseeable future. The Love Match follows the difficulty of trying to decide between love, or monetary security, with the added factor of family being heavily affected by the decision. Finances aren’t the only burden in Zahra’s life, her overbearing mother concocts what she believes is the perfect solution to all their problems- ARRANGED MARRIAGE. Her mother is convinced it will regain their family’s former glory days of being akin to royalty in Bangladesh, as well as solve all their money woes. (Zahra of course, disagrees) It is only a stroke of luck that rich and robotic Harun Emon has no interest at all in their families meddling, and agrees to join forces with her to ruin their families’ schemes. What started off as a seemingly simple plan soon gets complicated when a new hire at Chai Ho, Nayim Aktar, sweeps Zahra off her feet with his charismatic personality, and wanderlust spirit. Lines between what is real and what is fake begin to blur very quickly, and Zahra must decide how many sacrifices she will make for a chance at love. Full of twists and turns, this novel will keep you guessing what will become of Zahra’s heart- and more importantly her future. I laughed, I cried, I commiserated with Zahra’s money struggles, but most importantly I loved this book! Taslim writes excellent character growth, and perfectly captured the tenuous relationship between well intending mothers and teenage daughters, as well as what it feels like to be adrift in life. My favorite parts of this book were the diversity, queer representation, and the supportive female friendships. (Quite frankly, every book could use more of those) I just know that if Taslim’s next book is even half as good as this one, I will be the first person in line to buy it!
The Cover

Y'all know one of my number one pet peeves about covers is how basic or unoriginal they are. But I love this cover! The way Zahra is in the middle smirking at the the viewer sipping a cup of Chai, seemingly oblivious (Or seeming unsure?) to the way the two boys are trying to get her attention. The clothing of the characters on the front perfectly encapsulates their personalities and conveys their motivations. Nayim, the one who has captured her heart is in motion and playing a guitar to woo her, while Harun stands shyly with one hand caught on her sari. (Do you notice the rose hidden down by his side?) The cover font sweeps across the top while the authors name sits perfectly at the bottom. This was a very well designed cover and I cannot express my joy that a book this great got the cover it deserves. The art is by Fahmida Azim, and the design by Sarah Creech

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lettuce_read's review

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5.0

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brewsandbooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book was so cute!!!! The story was so nice between her and her mother. You felt that both their hearts were always in the right place, and the tension of finding yourself when you have limits placed in you by the outside world. I loved that this was a grounded look at college, where it even discussed a community college as a step between a four year university. It was incredibly helpful and I loved letting young adults see a character like Zahra.

That said, sometimes with the romance we are told things instead of shown. That's a small nit, it's just sometimes a plot line felt contrived because it wasn't as grounded. Also, I really liked the discussion of sometimes foregoing college and college was later reinforced with the plot, which made me sad. One other small thing was it was about 40 pages too long. I felt the ending plots dragged a bit

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imstephtacular's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

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helenareadsbooks's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

In Priyanka Taslim's The Love Match, Zahra Khan works long hours to save up for college. Her family is struggling financially and her Amma thinks that a suitable match for Zahra is just what their family needs, so she arranges a marriage for her daughter. Zahra is uninterested and luckily, so is her suitor, Harun. Zahra and Harun agree to fake date to please their parents and get them off their backs, which also leaves Zahra available to get to know Nayim, the boy she actually has feelings for. But life is more complicated than Zahra realizes, and she goes through an emotional journey to understanding love, happiness, and her family.

The Love Match is charming and funny, and I was enamoured by the writing early on. I respect Zahra as a character and appreciate how much she cares for her family. As the oldest daughter, she feels responsible for them and wants to help her Amma whenever she can. The book shows all the complexities involved in situations where parents want the best for their kids, and children want to make their parents proud. But these complexities often involve feeling burdened by responsibility and guilty for wanting to follow your heart and your dreams. Through Zahra, Harun, and Nayim, The Love Match explores different aspects of this type of familial situation and, I think, realistic feelings that a lot of South Asian children have.

There are so many great characters in this book and I loved getting to know them. Zahra’s friends are the best and her siblings are lovable. While romance is a large part of the book, I love that a lot of time was spent with her friends and family. The Love Match is also full of Bangladeshi culture and pride, which adds to the joy of the book.

I loved the romance and thought Harun and Nayim were interesting characters, and I enjoyed how they brought out different sides of Zahra’s personality. I love who Zahra ultimately ends up with and was rooting for them the entire time. However, I didn’t enjoy a major event that happens near the end of the book, which lessened my enjoyment of the ending. I didn’t mind the drama, but I wish it had been dealt with differently. While the book ended with my desired outcome, I don’t love the final obstacle in the story Zahra had to overcome for it to happen.

Overall, The Love Match is a joyful and nuanced YA book that’s full of love in every form. The book kept me smiling and kept me on my toes. Pick it up if you enjoy reading about complex family dynamics, beautiful friendships, and YA romance.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for providing me with an eARC.

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thevioletfoxbookshop's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The Love Match is a fast-paced, light-hearted, YA romance about a young, Desi Muslim woman named Zahra who lives in a Bangladeshi diaspora community. There's fake dating, a love triangle, and the reminder that sometimes, love comes in the most unexpected ways. It's so much more than a romance though. It's an ode to Bangladeshi culture. It's a story about being true to yourself and having the courage to follow your dreams without losing sight of your roots. It's about finding balance between being independent and relying on your loved ones, living in a modern world with traditional values, and accepting the love that others have to give even when it doesn't come in the form you had hoped.

I loved being immersed in Bangladeshi culture. The author's descriptions of the tight-knit community, mouthwatering flavors, and colorful clothes, make the perfect backdrop for a romance. The reader is also given a peek at the "Auntie network," daily prayers, holidays, and courtship traditions that may not be familiar to some western readers. As a "gringora," I did find myself Googling quite a bit and I'm so grateful this book gave me the opportunity to learn so much! It was a privilege to be allowed to venture into Zahra's world.

I also adored Zahra, who somehow finds a balance between being an independent, feminist pursuing her goals while simultaneously taking care of her family, upholding her culture's traditions, and staying true to those beliefs. She was witty, resourceful, smart, compassionate, and driven. The male leads and secondary characters shine just as brightly too! Priyanka Taslim's characters are all so well-written, so human, and so lovable.

The Love Match was an absolute joy to read. I cried tears of joy, tears of anger, heartbreak, and then joy again. Absolutely heartwarming! The Love Match is a 5 star read. My only complaint is that it's over. I never wanted it to end. I hope to see more from Priyanka Taslim in the future!

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theoceanrose's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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duaazahra's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A huge thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada for proving me with an ARC of The Love Match! When I tell you every part of this book was perfect, I mean it. Everything from the beautiful, intersectional South Asian representation to the storyline to the way everything was written — I loved every second.

The Love Match follows Zahra, a Bengali-American teenager who’s just graduated high school. Unlike her friends, Zahra isn’t heading to university — she’s taking the year off to work so she can afford to go the following year. She’s caught between so much — grieving the loss of her father, trying to help take care of her family, watching her friends move on with their lives while she feels stuck in hers. In traditional South Asian fashion, her mom tries to set her up with a boy to marry. Zahra and Harun both have no interest in being set up and couldn’t be more different from each other — so they create a plan. They pretend to “date,” to get their parents off their back and make a bad impression to convince their parents they’re not a good match. But as they continue, they realize that being around each other isn’t as bad as they once thought. The Love Match is a beautiful story about love, friendship, family, and the beauty in growing up and learning to believe in yourself.

My sweet Zahra. Taslim does the perfect job of capturing the 21st century South Asian Muslim girl experience — and how they’re all unique in their own way. In Zahra, I see a lot of my own experiences — struggling between the rules her family’s culture has set out for her vs what she wants, struggling to balance her faith and her identity, and caught in the stage where life moves incredible quickly and not wanting to be left behind. She’s written in a way that you feel so connected to her — my heart broke when Zahra’s broke, I smiled like an idiot when Zahra was with Harun, and I spent the book wishing I could be Zahra’s older sister and guide her through everything.

Zahra and Harun — adorable. Chefs kiss. Side characters including a queer Brown girl, a hijabi, an auntie network, and adorable siblings? Perfection.

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words_with_wendy's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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katiemack's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Before reading this, I had no idea about the gaps in my knowledge of Bangladesh and its culture, but the cultural framing Priyanka Taslim puts into her book is effective; I felt like I learned a lot, and Zahra is such a compelling protagonist that I couldn't put the book down. Her struggles with familial devotion, compromising her life plans, and trying to make time for her best friends are relatable to me as an adult and will definitely resonate with younger readers too. The romance is also dramatic and angsty in a way that works well with the narrative--while Zahra makes some cringe-worthy decisions, the climax of her romance with her chosen suitor is satisfying. (I wish we had gotten to see more of their relationship at the end, though!)

If you're a fan of South Asian Cinema (Bolly-, Tolly-, Dhallywood, etc.), you'll love this.

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