#the love match

[tomoleary]

Elizabeth Shippen Green (1871–1954) "Miguel’s, kneeling still, put it to her lip" Watercolor frontispiece "The Spanish Jade" by Maurice Hewlett (Harper's September 1906) Source

Elizabeth Shippen Green (1871–1954) "Giséle" watercolor and charcoal drawing "The Dream" by Justus Miles Forman (Harper's October 1908) Source

Elizabeth Shippen Green (1871–1954) "Life was made for love and cheer" watercolor and charcoal "The Red Rose” (Harper's September 1904) Source

Elizabeth Shippen Green (1871–1954) "He knew that he was not dreaming” Watercolor "The Love Match" by Justus Miles Forman (Harper's August 1907) Source

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The Love Match (1955) David Paltenghi

June 1st 2025

[shazleen]

My favourite book covers that I've worked on :)

[elizmanderson]

2022 wrap-up, part 2

click here for part 1 | click here for part 3

aaaaaaand we're back for more of a look at this year. today's topic is reading, which is considerably less sparkling than writing for the reasons below.

top reads in 2022

woof I did so little reading in 2022. I really thought I'd do more once grad school was done, but by then I was doing amm and working on book things for my debut, so it just kinda. didn't happen. I read 14 new books, and 4 of them didn't happen until I was at my parents' house for the holidays.

so maybe it doesn't mean a ton since I read so little, but here are my top reads this year, in no particular order:

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh

as you know if you followed me when I actually read this book: obsessed. I wrote so many posts like OH MY GOD THIS BOOK until ofmd distracted me. I read this book twice in one month, in one sitting each time, and posted nonstop bullshit on twitter about it, too. super short, excellent forest vibes, folkloric, gay, what's not to love

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

cozy fantasy, sapphic, not too long, exactly what I need from my fiction, and broke a reading slump that lasted most of my year thank god (no literally I read Silver in the Wood twice in march and then kinda cycled between books without finishing any of them until I read this in probably october)

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, Sangu Mandanna

new comfort read, ahoy! again a cozy fantasy, chock full of found family, so goddamn SOFT and again exactly what I need from my fiction, made me cry but mostly in a good way

The Mutantsitters Club by SJ Whitby

finally, a standalone in the Cute Mutants universe!! all the things you know & love about SJ's works, but softer, sweeter, and bite-sized, which is exactly what I need in my old age and also bc I'm a coward who hasn't even finished the original series yet bc I'm so scared of the many ways SJ might break my heart

the Brown Sisters trilogy by Talia Hibbert (reread)

obviously fantastic bc I reread at least one of them every year and this year went for all three. heartwarming & heartbreaking and digs into various mental health issues as well as neurodivergence (implicitly with Dani Brown, explicitly with Eve Brown) and chronic illness (Chloe Brown)

upcoming books I'm looking forward to

The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim

YA contemporary, debut author

Bianca Torre Is Afraid of Everything by Justine Pucella Winans

YA mystery, debut author

Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell

cottagecore fantasy romance

The Ashfire King by Chelsea Abdullah

epic fantasy, sequel to The Stardust Thief

[richincolor]

Title: The Love Match Author: Priyanka Taslim Genres: Contemporary, Romance Pages: 386 Publisher: Salaam Reads Review Copy: Purchased Availability: Available now

Summary: Zahra Khan is basically Bangladeshi royalty, but being a princess doesn’t pay the bills in Paterson, New Jersey. While Zahra’s plans for financial security this summer involve working long hours at Chai Ho and saving up for college writing courses, Amma is convinced that all Zahra needs is a “good match,” Jane Austen style.

Enter Harun Emon, who’s wealthy, devastatingly handsome, and…aloof. As soon as Zahra meets him, she knows it’s a bad match. It’s nothing like the connection she has with Nayim Aktar, the new dishwasher at the tea shop, who just gets Zahra in a way no one has before. So, when Zahra finds out that Harun is just as uninterested in this match as she is, they decide to slowly sabotage their parents’ plans. And for once in Zahra’s life, she can have her rossomalai and eat it too: “dating” Harun and keeping Amma happy while catching real feelings for Nayim.

But life—and boys—can be more complicated than Zahra realizes. With her feelings all mixed up, Zahra discovers that sometimes being a good Bengali kid can be a royal pain.

Review: [THE LOVE MATCH is a fairly lighthearted book, so most of these content warnings are not explored in depth: grief regarding the death of a parent, homophobia (off page), discussions of colorism and sexism, fat phobia, and past bullying/racism.]

Priyanka Taslim’s THE LOVE MATCH was a wonderful way for me to start 2023. While the summary focuses on the budding love triangle between Zahra, Harun, and Nayim, Taslim’s debut novel is just as much about the love one can have for family, community, and yourself.

I think THE LOVE MATCH really captures that space of uncertainty after high school, made even murkier for Zahra because her family’s financial situation means she has to defer her college acceptance and work to help her widowed mother support their family. The relationship between Zahra and her mother provides a consistent undercurrent of tension throughout the book, and there were a couple of scenes between them where they discussed Zahra’s parents’ marriage that I really loved. Zahra’s mother’s thoughts about making sure Zahra had a “good match” gave the book a lot of depth.

One of the strengths of THE LOVE MATCH is how firmly rooted it is in Zahra’s Bangladeshi diaspora community. From the tea shop to the Auntie Network to Zahra’s friends, this was a rich world populated with different values and desires. I really enjoyed Zahra’s friendships with Dalia, Dani, and Ximena, especially when things became complicated between them in different ways as they all tried to figure out what their own desires and ambitions were. (Zahra’s writing subplot will have a special place in my heart.)

I can be a bit picky about my love triangles, but I was generally pleased with how this one played out. Zahra’s two potential love interests were on surprisingly equal footing for most of the book. While I don’t want to go into too much detail for spoiler reasons, I appreciated that Zahra ultimately made her decisions regarding Harun and Nayim based on what she felt was best for her, rather than too heavily weighting what others thought was best for her or what they thought she should value. In that, THE LOVE MATCH hit many of the highlights of the great coming-of-age novels.

Recommendation: Get it soon if you’re a fan of contemporary romances. THE LOVE MATCH is a strong debut, and author Priyanka Taslim did a great job of having Zahra navigate family and community expectations while trying to figure out what it is she truly wanted for her life. THE LOVE MATCH has a compelling love triangle, but even more, it really feels like “a love letter from [Priyanka Taslim] to the city and culture [she] grew up in.” I’m looking forward to Taslim’s next book.

Extras: Are You Ready for ‘A Love Match’ With Priyanka Taslim

Q&A: Priyanka Taslim, Author of ‘The Love Match’

Exclusive Interview: Priyanka Taslim Talks The Love Match

[desdasiwrites]

— Priyanka Taslim, The Love Match

[inthebedroomwiththeereader]

Review -- The Love Match by Lily Maxton

From the book blurb:

To her family, Olivia Middleton is a problem of the most vexing sort. With her eldest two sisters married off, Olivia is now the target of her mother's matrimonial scheming. Shy and somewhat plain, Olivia prefers the thrill of a gothic novel to the hunt for a husband. And as far as her family is concerned, something must be done... But Olivia has no interest in the men paraded before her.  Only the charming and infuriating Mr. William Cross (a rake in the making, and certainly not a suitable husband) holds the slightest fascination for her... After watching his father die of a broken heart, William has sworn never to wed for a love match. Yet he's intrigued by the bookish Olivia. And though he tried, staying away from her turns out to be impossible. But a scandalous liaison lands them both on the marriage block, William is shocked when Olivia refuses to wed for anything less than love - propriety be damned. Now William must do the unthinkable... learn to love his reluctant fiancee.

My take on the story:

Our heroine Olivia is a stand-offish wallflower interested in very little beyond wiling away her time reading.  She assumes that—unlike her older sisters—she’ll eventually become a spinster, a label that does not concern her in the least.  Which is unfortunate, as  she is also cursed with a title-hungry mother wanting nothing more than to marry off her remaining daughter. 

In contrast, our hero William is genial, flirtatious, and is very nearly a rake.  Despite his having zero interest in marriage, he has developed something of a fixation on Olivia and cannot seem to understand why she is unimpressed with his charm.  This is an issue which creates a rather large problem with Olivia’s mother, as he also has no title to speak of.

This regency novella is quite short, and as such, a very quick read.  Regardless, the main characters are well fleshed out, and the book as a whole is entertaining, sweet, and fairly amusing.  This is the third novella in a series featuring three sisters.  I had not read the others, but I am definitely adding them to my to-be-read list.

My rating:  4/5 stars

For the sake of full disclosure it must be stated that I received this book, free of charge, from Netgalley.

The Love Match by Lily Maxton on Goodreads