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andrea_author's review against another edition
4.0
This is a heartwarming friends-to-lovers, opposites attract romance. Amar has been in love with Divya forever, but her laidback style drives him crazy once they start working together. These two have to learn to trust and compromise in order to make their professional and personal relationships work.
CW: The heroine has a history of cancer.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
CW: The heroine has a history of cancer.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
asha_reads's review against another edition
4.0
Matched by Masala by Mona Shroff is a heartwarming romance that follows chef Amar Virani and pastry chef Divya Shah, whose longstanding friendship takes a passionate turn when they share an impetuous kiss. As they navigate their emotions while working together in Divya's food truck, both must confront their pasts and step outside their comfort zones to embrace love and take a chance on each other.
Matched by Masala is the second book in the Once Upon a Wedding series. I haven’t read of the other books in the series, but I was told it can be read as a stand alone. This contemporary romance novel touches upon heavy subjects like the death of parents, grief, cancer, child loss, and car accident, making it an emotionally impactful read. The author’s writing style was beautiful. I was captivated by the well-developed characters along with the slow burn romance they shared. The author’s inclusion of dogs in the storyline added a delightful touch which brought the main characters closer together and revealing different sides of their personalities. Despite some intense scenes, the book also offered sweet and tender moments which provided a perfect balance. Overall, I enjoyed reading Matched by Masala and highly recommend picking this up!
Matched by Masala is the second book in the Once Upon a Wedding series. I haven’t read of the other books in the series, but I was told it can be read as a stand alone. This contemporary romance novel touches upon heavy subjects like the death of parents, grief, cancer, child loss, and car accident, making it an emotionally impactful read. The author’s writing style was beautiful. I was captivated by the well-developed characters along with the slow burn romance they shared. The author’s inclusion of dogs in the storyline added a delightful touch which brought the main characters closer together and revealing different sides of their personalities. Despite some intense scenes, the book also offered sweet and tender moments which provided a perfect balance. Overall, I enjoyed reading Matched by Masala and highly recommend picking this up!
scoutmomskf's review against another edition
5.0
A terrific friends-to-lovers story complicated by being best-friend's-brother/sister's-best-friend, too. Divya and Amar have been friends since they were kids and had crushes on each other in high school but never said anything because of Anita. Now they are all grown up but still holding out on each other.
Divya is a talented pastry chef. She also tends to be impulsive and adventurous. She survived a bout of cancer in high school and now lives each day like it could be her last, worried that cancer could return. She's never met a challenge that she's turned away from.
Amar is also a talented chef. He was fired from his last job because he took a chance on improving the head chef's dish. He now runs his catering business out of the kitchen of his family home. That kitchen is falling apart, but he won't renovate it for fear of losing the memories he associates with it, including some guilt and regret. Amar is organized and methodical in his work and his life.
I enjoyed watching the relationship develop between Divya and Amar. When Divya buys an old school bus and turns it into a food truck, she invites Amar to join her in forming a catering business. There are conflicts as Divya's "anything goes" approach clashes with Amar's more conventional methods. I loved the cooking scenes as they learned the art of compromise and cooperation. I loved how they poked at each other, but never in a mean way. They quickly become an in-demand duo, and their teamwork is impressive. I loved how they were there for each other during crises and how they encouraged each other to follow their dreams.
When Amar's sister, Anita, forces the issue of the kitchen renovation, Divya invites Amar to stay with her across the street and share her kitchen. Now that they are working and living together, the constant proximity makes it impossible to ignore the sparks between them. Complicating matters is the drink-induced kiss they shared several months earlier that neither can forget. Besides the whole sister thing, Amar hesitates to get involved with Divya because of baggage from his past trauma. Just as she seems to break through his walls, trouble from her past rears its ugly head. The emotional ending had me in tears, while the epilogue made it all worth it.
Besides the romance of the story, I loved the culinary theme. I'm not familiar with Indian food and found myself googling almost everything. My mouth watered throughout the book, and I look forward to trying some of these dishes in the future. I also enjoyed the family theme. Besides the characters' closeness to their immediate families, I enjoyed the intertwined connections with those whom Amar and Divya cooked for. I also liked seeing Anita and Nikhil from [b:The Five-Day Reunion|59771116|The Five-Day Reunion|Mona Shroff|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1638921530l/59771116._SY75_.jpg|92243229] again.
#netgalley
Divya is a talented pastry chef. She also tends to be impulsive and adventurous. She survived a bout of cancer in high school and now lives each day like it could be her last, worried that cancer could return. She's never met a challenge that she's turned away from.
Amar is also a talented chef. He was fired from his last job because he took a chance on improving the head chef's dish. He now runs his catering business out of the kitchen of his family home. That kitchen is falling apart, but he won't renovate it for fear of losing the memories he associates with it, including some guilt and regret. Amar is organized and methodical in his work and his life.
I enjoyed watching the relationship develop between Divya and Amar. When Divya buys an old school bus and turns it into a food truck, she invites Amar to join her in forming a catering business. There are conflicts as Divya's "anything goes" approach clashes with Amar's more conventional methods. I loved the cooking scenes as they learned the art of compromise and cooperation. I loved how they poked at each other, but never in a mean way. They quickly become an in-demand duo, and their teamwork is impressive. I loved how they were there for each other during crises and how they encouraged each other to follow their dreams.
When Amar's sister, Anita, forces the issue of the kitchen renovation, Divya invites Amar to stay with her across the street and share her kitchen. Now that they are working and living together, the constant proximity makes it impossible to ignore the sparks between them. Complicating matters is the drink-induced kiss they shared several months earlier that neither can forget. Besides the whole sister thing, Amar hesitates to get involved with Divya because of baggage from his past trauma. Just as she seems to break through his walls, trouble from her past rears its ugly head. The emotional ending had me in tears, while the epilogue made it all worth it.
Besides the romance of the story, I loved the culinary theme. I'm not familiar with Indian food and found myself googling almost everything. My mouth watered throughout the book, and I look forward to trying some of these dishes in the future. I also enjoyed the family theme. Besides the characters' closeness to their immediate families, I enjoyed the intertwined connections with those whom Amar and Divya cooked for. I also liked seeing Anita and Nikhil from [b:The Five-Day Reunion|59771116|The Five-Day Reunion|Mona Shroff|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1638921530l/59771116._SY75_.jpg|92243229] again.
#netgalley
rooseokwan's review against another edition
2.0
Divya was the character I couldn't like no matter what she did. She did not redeem herself at all, despite her annoyingness and changing plans without asking others. That part of communication did not become better at all, and throughout the book it just made me not like it. I think they both needed therapy even the sister too.
heat:
heat:
hannahsutherland's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This is a cute, fast paced book that doesn't ask too much from the reader.
The main characters were definitely flawed. I did end up feeling that Amar had more character development than Divya.
The main characters were definitely flawed. I did end up feeling that Amar had more character development than Divya.
lateresita27's review
emotional
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? No
4.0
onthesamepage's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Tropes: friends to lovers
Steam level: 🌶
Picking up a Harlequin romance reminded me why I used to devour these when I was younger. They're usually really quick reads, and even if the quality of the writing isn't always the best, I'm usually entertained by them. That was the case with this one as well.
I am happy to see more diversity in both the authors and the characters compared to 20 years ago. I really loved all the descriptions of Indian food and culture that we got. Both characters had some kind of baggage that leads them to initially refuse a relationship, and then to the third act breakup, none of which was very surprising or difficult to believe.
I did have trouble sympathizing with some of Divya's actions. She has a very forceful personality, and never seems to think about Amar's point of view when it comes to making decisions that impact them both. She feels she knows what's best for him, his future, and his business, and he basically doesn't get much of a say in the matter. It's a character trait that makes my skin crawl with how much I dislike it, regardless of whether the other party is accepting of the situation or not.
Steam level: 🌶
Picking up a Harlequin romance reminded me why I used to devour these when I was younger. They're usually really quick reads, and even if the quality of the writing isn't always the best, I'm usually entertained by them. That was the case with this one as well.
I am happy to see more diversity in both the authors and the characters compared to 20 years ago. I really loved all the descriptions of Indian food and culture that we got. Both characters had some kind of baggage that leads them to initially refuse a relationship, and then to the third act breakup, none of which was very surprising or difficult to believe.
I did have trouble sympathizing with some of Divya's actions. She has a very forceful personality, and never seems to think about Amar's point of view when it comes to making decisions that impact them both. She feels she knows what's best for him, his future, and his business, and he basically doesn't get much of a say in the matter. It's a character trait that makes my skin crawl with how much I dislike it, regardless of whether the other party is accepting of the situation or not.
cakt1991's review
emotional
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Harlequin REALLY needs to stop with including sensitive issues in their books, especially if they aren’t going to bother including content warnings. I like Mona Shroff, the first in this series was good. But the betrayal of going into a book promising a fun, if tension-filled best friend’s sibling dynamic, then get the bombshell that the heroine is a cancer survivor who is dealing with another health scare?! When I said I wanted high stakes for my romance couples, I didn’t mean literal illness!
Harlequin REALLY needs to stop with including sensitive issues in their books, especially if they aren’t going to bother including content warnings. I like Mona Shroff, the first in this series was good. But the betrayal of going into a book promising a fun, if tension-filled best friend’s sibling dynamic, then get the bombshell that the heroine is a cancer survivor who is dealing with another health scare?! When I said I wanted high stakes for my romance couples, I didn’t mean literal illness!