Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Mismatch

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Mismatch by Sara Jafari

6 reviews

30something_reads's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

4.0

Despite this being classified as a Romance, the actual romance felt more like a catalyst for the dynamic family story that revolves around Soraya, her siblings, and their Iranian immigrant parents. And while yes, it does technically meet the genre parameters, the romantic plot between Soraya and Magnus felt far less impactful (or important) than the multigenerational story of her family.

This is further emphasized by the POVs we get - a present day POV from Soraya as she's navigating her relationship with Magnus/her interactions with family and a past POV from her mother as we put together the story of her marriage and their immigration to Britain.

So overall, I would not fully recommend this strictly based on the romance, but I would absolutely recommend if you're interested in a multigenerational story that tackles the challenges of growing up in the Iranian diaspora with a splash of romance on the side.

CWs: anxiety, depression, physical abuse, threats of violence, infidelity, racism

Content Warnings

lennie_reads's review against another edition

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challenging 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? Yes

4.5

Thanks to Netgalley & Random House UK, Cornerstone, Arrow for my ARC.

This book hurt my heart.
It hurt for both Soraya and her mum, Neda, as well as Soraya's siblings and Magnus.

Whilst romance is a part of this book, there is a Lot more to it than that.

The book is a dual pov and also a dual timeline. We have Soraya in 2014 fresh out of university and Neda, her mother, at around the same age in 1970's Iran.

This book was a lot heavier than I expected and features struggles around identity, societal expectations, cultural differences, religious expectations, being a person of colour growing up in britian, living as an immigrant in Britain, sexism, harassment, domestic abuse, drug addiction and more.

Even though it was heartbreaking I really appreciated the dual timelines and seeing how Soraya's parents came to be the way they were.

I'm a white woman who doesn't come from a strict religious background so I can't speak to the authenticity of the representation but it was a harrowing tale nonetheless. All I know is I just wanted to hug Soraya and Neda.

Content Warnings