A review by ermw0
The Mismatch by Sara Jafari

adventurous emotional funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This was a sweet, if at times challenging, contemporary romance. I did enjoy the perspective and time switches between Neda and Soraya. This does read more as a family drama than a romance, so know that going in. I loved Soraya as a character, I really felt and identified with her post-grad struggle and her insecurities. Her romance with Magnus felt sweet and real, but their climatic conflict felt so random and unresolved that by the end the romance felt like an afterthought to the other family drama that is resolved.

What I didn't like was how this book handled the abuse Soraya, Neda, and her family suffered. Soraya's father moves to England and eventually becomes a methadone addict. He becomes physically abusive towards Neda and neglectful in their home. As Soraya becomes older, Neda uses her as a personal therapist to vent about her poor situation but does nothing to protect Soraya from physical abuse and explains it way with "that's our culture, be a good Muslim." In the end, the father moves back to Iran and Neda is somewhat redeemed, but I felt so bad for Soraya because her pain and situation was never fully healed or forgiven! The book ends with a focus on Neda's reunion with her daughter and their family healing, but Soraya's abuse isn't given the proper atonement. This whole section felt wrong, but maybe that was the point. I am happy Neda was free of her abuse, but I feel it skipped over her cultural reasoning behind why it was OK and why it was OK to continue for so long to her and her children. I felt for Soraya. Even before and after I felt like she wasn't really seen or appreciated by her family. 


There was also a scene where Soraya asks Magnus "what do you think of feminism" as a test of whether he's a good guy or not and this whole scene was so cringy and took me out of this. The scene addresses her silly question but overall I felt that scene was a bit ridiculous.