Feature book: The Matchmaker

The Matchmaker by Saman Shad
Subgenre: contemporary romance
Release date: 31 Jan 2023
Publisher: Penguin Australia
Format: ebook and print
Length: 320 pages
RRP: $9.99 (ebook); $32.99 (print)
The first thing I need to note is the wonderful cover on this book.
The second thing is I enjoyed a story that gave me a glimpse into other cultures in Australia.
The Desi community survives and thrives on community and matchmaking. Saima Khan is one such person. She is a matchmaker but not your typical Desi matchmaker. She has made many matches and yet remains single herself, and as she explains it, the matchmaking has to have her total focus. She believes in matching the couples for the commonalities and not just because of wealth or status. She does get criticised for this but is more than happy to stand by her processes and skills.
After one such wedding, Saima jumps in an Uber, which isn’t an Uber, just a guy trying to bolster courage to go into the wedding, and contemplating the harsh words he’d said to his girlfriend telling her she wouldn’t be coming to the wedding with him.
Kahlid or Kal finds life more comfortable in the white culture and thinks he has lost much of his cultural background. He dates white girls, and his girlfriend—ex-girlfriend, is white, he works the mainstream culture—overwork, long hours. He finds a book about third culture kids and has somewhat of an epiphany.
Saima is tasked with finding a wife for Kal by his parents. But she has to make it look like he asked for it. That is a tough ask. In the process Kal dates a couple of women to make Saima happy as he gets to know her. And he likes what he sees in Saima. And he wants her. Saima wants him too but wants to keep her eye on the outcome—her standing in the community. They try the ‘let’s date without telling anybody routine’ but it all comes apart when Kal finds Saima at his parents place. And the secret is out. Then they need to figure out what they really want.
What I really did like was being able to peek behind the curtain and see the Desi community. See the community spirit. See the celebration. Hearing about the food. Seeing the family connections. There is also the struggle that second and third generations face connecting with their family culture.
This is obviously a sweet story, but it was an enjoyable read with all the family connections and Desi culture. Loved it.
reviewed by Heather
A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher.