i really enjoyed this! the love triangle was very well written, there was no clear winner to root for until right near the end. i think it was my first time reading a book with a desi background (i buy my books secondhand and scotland does not have much diversity in reading), so i am delighted that simonteen offered this as a free read! i do know a few desi families, and this book reminded me of them

18%: yes i was just thinking that. you are definitely behaving pretty ditzy

19%: you’re absolutely right, on the cover page i can see that harun totally looks like he’s from CW

NO NOT THE BREATH LINE

GIRL 💀

43%: nayim is so in love with zahra

44%: NOOO the auntie network is so onto them!!

47%: urmm…no

sounds about right by indian standards

49%: 😂 why does every kid like cocomelon

58%: resna is so cool for that, i love when little kids are protective

59%: NO too far zahra!!

63%: bro wrote a song for her 🥹

65%: dammit

not the cliche dude confession

88%: imagine if nayim

is actually nasrin shah’s kid. he won’t be, but that would be a twist

89%: 😱😱😱

This is a delightful Bangladeshi diaspora YA romantic comedy.  I learned a great deal about Bangladeshi culture and beliefs and language.  The characters were written in-depth, and not one dimensional.  I appreciated the inclusion of a lgtbq+ character. There was enough serious content to make the book meaningful, but the overall effect was still light and fun.

The Love Match follows Zahra, a recent high school graduate who finds herself postponing college so she can work full-time and support her family, who have struggled since her father's death two years earlier. Zahra longs to study writing someday, but worries about sharing her dreams with her practical Bangladeshi mother. When her mother ambushes her with an arranged meeting with Harun, the son of a wealthy family, Zahra is incensed. But Harun is equally uninterested in their courtship, so he and Zahra concoct a plan to fake date and keep their parents off their back. This allows Zahra to pursue the guy she's actually interested in, a coworker named Nayim who's a poor aspiring musician (aka not a good marriage prospect).  Although at first everything seems to be working out great, Zahra soon becomes conflicted as she gets to know Harun better during their fake dates, and finds out how little she really knows about Nayim.

Although I overall enjoyed The Love Match, I think being an adult rather than a teenager, and also coming from a Western background, kept me from fully buying into the premise/embracing the plot. I understand that early engagements/marriages are not uncommon for Bangladeshi young people, but I struggled with how seriously all of the characters (Zahra, her love interests, and side couple Dani and Ximena) took their relationships given that they were all only eighteen years old.

Zahra and Harun exchanging "I love you's" after a month of knowing each other, some of that spent disliking each other, felt very fast. I also didn't buy that a) Dani and Ximena had been together since middle school, and b) neither would see an issue with Ximena trying to get Dani to come to Haiti with her instead of starting college. I was fully on Mr. Tahir's side there, it seemed irresponsible on both of their parts, especially given that, again, they are eighteen.

I fully acknowledge that there is probably some cultural context that I am missing, and I am coming to this from a Western viewpoint, but I think that the book might have worked better for me if the characters had just graduated from college, rather than high school. A lot of the plot points could have been the same or similar - Zahra could have had to go part-time, and not be graduating on time, or she could be delaying entry into a MFA program - but I would have bought the characters being ready to make such serious commitments more if they were twenty-two.

(My other gripe is a more personal one - how does Zahra find a college professor who is willing to read her amateur novel? My college creative writing professors were dismissive of anything we'd written in high school and wanted us to start with short stories at least until grad school, but I digress.)

Despite my struggles to suspend my disbelief re: the age of the characters, it was a fun read that I'm sure lots of YA romance fans would enjoy. Zahra's friends and family were great side characters, and I really liked how the author explored the interpersonal dynamics and Zahra's sense of obligation to her family. As an outsider, I enjoyed the representation of Bangladeshi culture, and as a crafter I loved that her mother had a tailoring/sewing business :) A very clean read as well, if that is something you are concerned about. 

the first half was an easy 5 star, the second lost me a little bit. the friendship between

zahra and harun

(definitely my favourite thing about the book) was SO much more fun to read about than their romance, which was too cheesy for my liking. they did have chemistry though, and i liked how their relationship unraveled through the book.

i also really, really enjoyed the cultural aspects of this! i don't think i've read a book by and about bangladeshi people before, and i'm very glad i did :)

This book has all of the elements necessary for a great romance; fantastic characters, interesting premise, good setting. And a large dash of Bangladeshi culture! Zahra is trying hard to have everything, working to save money to go to college, helping to support her family. Just when two boys enter her life and love throws a wrench into all her plans.

On the one hand she has her momo's choice for her: Harun. A kind of aloof, devishly handsome boy from a good family. On the other hand, there's Nayim, the new boy at Chai Ho, inspiring her to follow her dreams. As you'd expect, rom-com elements follow, and it's just an overall joy to read. 

Outside of Zahra, the side characters are just as fleshed out and have their own things to contribute to the plot. Definitely a great romance to add to your summer TBR!