✨The Arrangement - Sonya Lalli (although I think it might be called The Matchmakers List in some other countries?) ✨⁣
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Oh I loved this book so much! It’s got a little bit of everything, dating, drama, family issues and love, lots of love!⁣
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This is not a run of the mill romcom, it’s funny and sweet and you will root for the lead character Raina from the start to the finish. ⁣
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I would describe it as a coming of age novel but for a 30 year 😂. It really is such a wonderful story. Here is a little from the blurb... ⁣
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“When you're approaching thirty it's normal (if not incredibly annoying) for your family to ask when you'll tie the knot and settle down. But for Raina there's a whole community waiting for someone to make her a wife - and a loving grandmother, Nani, ready to play matchmaker with a comprehensive list of potential husbands.⁣
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Eager not to disappoint her family, Raina goes along with the plan but when the love of her life returns - ex-boyfriend Dev - she's forced to confront her true feelings. Now her 'clock is ticking', it's time for Raina to decide what she actually wants.” ⁣
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I loved Sonya’s writing so much and I can’t wait to read her new book soon too!⁣
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Copy from NetGalley✨

It took me a long time to get around to this, however, i absolutely loved it. The characters were really funny and on many levels wish they were your friends.
There were plot twists and turns which i didn't expect. All in all a great book

I really liked this book by Sonya. Full review on my blog (please follow link below).
http://indianfictionforyou.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/the-arrangement-sonya-lalli.html

A fabulous read I enjoyed immensely. Having met Sonya through a colleague and receiving her book through NetGalley I've been looking forward to settling down with it for an age. It's a clever, hilarious and entirely realistic plot - believe it or not - which I loved. I have a grandmother and aunties just like those in the books! I can't wait to read more by Sonya and I hope her writing career climbs ever higher, she deserves it!

Still halfway through the book... review to come!
But so far the writing is very catchy... want to see what happens with Raina....
Good work Ms Lalli! :)
Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for my ARC!

A real book for a vacation,to read it under the sun! A funny story about love with well written characters!

I picked this book up because stories about modern Asian women/ second generation expats is totally my catnip.

Raina is nearly 30 and unmarried. Her grandmother (Nani) is trying desperately to find her a husband. But Raina doesn't want to meet a nice Indian boy because she's still in love with her ex... who is still stringing her along. There's a lot going on in Raina's life - apart from things with her ex, she's not sure she loves her job anymore, her best friend Shay is having an epic Indian wedding and Raina herself is questioning why she made the choices she made.

Raina makes a seemingly small choice to lie to her Nani about something and this escalates, rippling out and affecting more and more people until she can't come clean without hurting a lot of them.

There's a lot of lovely description about the wider 'family' created by the other members of the diaspora. Turns out adopted Aunties in Canada feel just as much right to interfere are Aunties anywhere else. The wedding brings out the most extreme opinions in people anyway.

I loved Nani's character. She is sweet and acerbic and complex (I especially like the flashbacks to Raina's childhood where you get a glimpse of who Raina's mother is like she is).

This is an interesting novel about how we live up to the expectations of other people and whether or not that's a bad thing. It's warm, funny in places, and entertaining.

I received a copy of this via Netgalley in return for a fair review. Thank you Orion and Netgalley.

A light-hearted romantic comedy, reminiscent of Bend It Like Beckham at its humorous portrayal of women from a distinct cultural and social background, and the mind field that’s dating in your late 20’s.

As well as moving away from my usual fair of fantasy/sci-fi, I’m trying to embrace more literature based on cultural diversity. I loved the concept for this. There’s so much I don’t know about the world of arranged marriages, and the cultural and familial background that surrounds it. This was a great little insight into the world, without getting too heavy, and the subject matter is handled sensitively and humorously.
I liked Raina, she was an intelligent strong character who knows her own mind, and I loved her relationship with her grandmother, Nani. I think Nani may actually have been my favourite character – full of all the sass I’d expect from a strong matriarch. Raina’s struggles with the various dates she’s set up with by Nani are also equal parts cringe-y and hilarious.

Raina’s relationship with Dev was also good. It didn’t pander too much to the stereotypical ‘romance’ seen in these kinds of books, and actually had some depth and complexity to it. At times I felt this depth may have been to the detrement of the cultural references however, as I felt they were sometimes side-lined for the romance and character development. This has nothing to do with the book in itself, but more of a personal preference, as I’m not normally a great lover of romantic books, and all the characters themselves were well rounded.

That said, I’m really glad I picked this up, and it’s certainly piqued my interest in broadening my cultural knowledge.