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samstillreading's review against another edition
2.0
Playing with Matches had a good premise, but like main character Sasha’s boyfriend, it blew it. What starts out as a story about a young woman starting a new job as a matchmaker turns into a commentary about age differences, breakups and breaking the rules. It was fun until it wasn’t, making it hard to categorise – romance? New York City young woman story? Coming of age? There are a lot of parts to this story and not all of them meshed well.
Sasha hides a secret in her family – her mother was a mail order bride. I didn’t really feel the weight of this secret, as it only got dragged out when Sasha needed a job or to demonstrate the class differences between her and her boyfriend’s family. But it helps her get a job at dating agency Bliss and Sasha throws herself into the role, stalking a variety of dating apps to try to find her clients’ one true love. There are fun clients, there are awkward and demanding clients. There are good looking potential matches, and Sasha has a crush on Adam. Then Sasha’s life starts to get messy then her boyfriend cheats on her. She breaks her agency’s cardinal rule – don’t date the matches and throws herself into a relationship with Adam. Her best friend is telling her to slow down, but Sasha’s not ready to listen. A series of poor choices later and the inevitable eventually happens, Sasha’s back to square one. It’s an odd ending for what started out as a light, fun read.
I can’t say that I really warmed to Sasha’s character. (I didn’t even really remember her name for most of the book, perhaps because the book is told in the first person). She seems like a very young 22, and unwilling to stop and check the potential impacts of her actions. (Sure, it’s unfair that she has to be on date standby while she’s a bridesmaid, but couldn’t she have organised a colleague to help?) She ignores multiple warning signs from friends and family yet expects things to turn out okay with little to no intervention. With Adam, Sasha drops best friend Caroline to spend all her time with him but expects Caroline to be there when it turns pear shaped (in a very spectacular fashion). Caroline seemed much more quirky and individual (a budding screenwriter who works random jobs and finds the most random men). As for Adam, he was nice enough. He’s established and comfortable in his career and life, but I suspect that there was some ego stroking at landing a woman barely out of her twenties. It was just awkward at times.
Orenstein does have a good style of writing that’s easy to read and there are some unique parts to this story. Perhaps fewer subplots could have made this debut novel shine brighter for me.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
Sasha hides a secret in her family – her mother was a mail order bride. I didn’t really feel the weight of this secret, as it only got dragged out when Sasha needed a job or to demonstrate the class differences between her and her boyfriend’s family. But it helps her get a job at dating agency Bliss and Sasha throws herself into the role, stalking a variety of dating apps to try to find her clients’ one true love. There are fun clients, there are awkward and demanding clients. There are good looking potential matches, and Sasha has a crush on Adam. Then Sasha’s life starts to get messy then her boyfriend cheats on her. She breaks her agency’s cardinal rule – don’t date the matches and throws herself into a relationship with Adam. Her best friend is telling her to slow down, but Sasha’s not ready to listen. A series of poor choices later and the inevitable eventually happens, Sasha’s back to square one. It’s an odd ending for what started out as a light, fun read.
I can’t say that I really warmed to Sasha’s character. (I didn’t even really remember her name for most of the book, perhaps because the book is told in the first person). She seems like a very young 22, and unwilling to stop and check the potential impacts of her actions. (Sure, it’s unfair that she has to be on date standby while she’s a bridesmaid, but couldn’t she have organised a colleague to help?) She ignores multiple warning signs from friends and family yet expects things to turn out okay with little to no intervention. With Adam, Sasha drops best friend Caroline to spend all her time with him but expects Caroline to be there when it turns pear shaped (in a very spectacular fashion). Caroline seemed much more quirky and individual (a budding screenwriter who works random jobs and finds the most random men). As for Adam, he was nice enough. He’s established and comfortable in his career and life, but I suspect that there was some ego stroking at landing a woman barely out of her twenties. It was just awkward at times.
Orenstein does have a good style of writing that’s easy to read and there are some unique parts to this story. Perhaps fewer subplots could have made this debut novel shine brighter for me.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
tippyloohoo's review against another edition
4.0
The only thing that kept this from being a 5 star book was the completely unsatisfying ending.
cassandralovesfeta's review against another edition
3.0
Decent. Nice little beach read with a twist of an ending.
amym84's review against another edition
Playing with Matches is about Sasha, newly graduated from college and just landing her first job, not as a journalist for the magazine she interned at, but as a matchmaker. Desperate to be employed, Sasha pulls out a somewhat kept family secret in that her mother was a mail-order bride. You can probably guess how this ended up, yep Sasha parents are now divorced, but this makes her the perfect candidate for matchmaking right? (She says sarcastically).
Anyway, I just couldn't bring myself to finish this book. From the moment Sasha gets her job at the matchmaking service, I just couldn't help but read this sense of entitlement in her character. The way she's so smug about having a boyfriend, yet kind of trashes her best friend / roommate who uses apps like Tinder to get dates that never seem to work out. How Sasha works so hard for the money she earns, yet it's ok for her roommate (and again best friend) to pay for extra things because she gets money from her mom and dad monthly.
These are only the things I noticed within the part of the story I actually read, mind you. I could sense that Sasha would be in for a rude awakening, not only based upon the book blurb, but because otherwise I don't know what the whole point of the premise would be.
Reading through other reviews, I had yet to find one that voiced the same opinion as me, so I'm obviously in the minority here. If there weren't so many other books to read out there, I'd probably try sticking with this one, but there are plenty of books I'd rather be reading.
Because I didn't finish I will not be giving a star rating, to be fair.
Anyway, I just couldn't bring myself to finish this book. From the moment Sasha gets her job at the matchmaking service, I just couldn't help but read this sense of entitlement in her character. The way she's so smug about having a boyfriend, yet kind of trashes her best friend / roommate who uses apps like Tinder to get dates that never seem to work out. How Sasha works so hard for the money she earns, yet it's ok for her roommate (and again best friend) to pay for extra things because she gets money from her mom and dad monthly.
These are only the things I noticed within the part of the story I actually read, mind you. I could sense that Sasha would be in for a rude awakening, not only based upon the book blurb, but because otherwise I don't know what the whole point of the premise would be.
Reading through other reviews, I had yet to find one that voiced the same opinion as me, so I'm obviously in the minority here. If there weren't so many other books to read out there, I'd probably try sticking with this one, but there are plenty of books I'd rather be reading.
Because I didn't finish I will not be giving a star rating, to be fair.
hmccurdy's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
kathhill's review against another edition
1.0
I should have listened to the other reviews. I thought really cute cover and interesting concept. Then I actually read the book. The main character is unlikable 95% of book and I didn't feel like she grew from what happened. The plot felt very all over the place and I would have liked to see Sasha get more in the job of match making.
nikki1211's review
4.0
I was looking for a quick read to breeze through the weekend, and Playing with Matches did not disappoint. Fun and fresh, it makes a perfect vacation read; or, if you need something light to break up those ugly cry drama reads – well then, why not pick up this one? It is available for purchase on Tuesday, June 26th!
Sasha Goldberg has the life other’s are envious of – which is why they hire matchmakers, right? – a successful, handsome boyfriend in the dating abyss of what is New York City. She lands her first job as a matchmaker learning the inner workings of the single scene and is more thankful for Jonathan every day – until she isn’t.
Her head and heart are not aligned and she gets into a predicament that while keeping her mind off serious things (like her life), it can get her into hot water at work. Will Sasha figure it out? What is “it” that she needs to figure out anyhow? Have a read and find out!
Playing with Matches is author Hannah Orenstein’s debut novel.
I received an arc of this book from NetGalley for my honest review.
To read my reviews visit: www.saturdaynitereader.com