Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.

First of all, I have to start this review by advising that this book is not as funny or a romantic comedy as the book description would have you believe. I thought it would be more chick-lit fun, and though there were some humorous moments, I wouldn’t classify this as a comedy or a chick-lit story, but rather a contemporary romance or women’s fiction. This isn’t a bad thing, but if you are looking for a rom com, you may feel disappointed.

Secondly, I really enjoy matchmaking and online dating tropes. In this case, the main character, Sasha, isn’t looking for a date, she’s the matchmaker and newly employed at an up and coming online dating agency called Bliss. She utilizes Tinder to troll for prospective dates for her clients. Don’t spend a lot of time pondering any ethical or moral integrity violations Sasha may be committing by poaching another dating service’s clients, who her company refers to as recruits. Just suspend your disbelief on this issue.

In spite of that moral dilemma, I thought the initiative Sasha takes to find matches for her clients was inventive and interesting. Can you imagine someone swipes right on your profile and then proceeds to tell you that they are a matchmaker and have a client that they think would be a good fit and there’s no cost to you, so win-win!

The most interesting part of this story was that all of Bliss’s clients and recruits are off-limits to the matchmakers. I think the recruits being part of that policy is a bit extreme, especially if they are not actively dating one of Bliss’s clients, but I don’t make the rules and Sasha doesn’t seem to care about the rules after her boyfriend betrays her and one of the recruits she had been talking to gets a whole lot more interesting.

I really liked Sasha and admired her spirit and willingness to take on a job that really isn’t what she was intending to do with her journalism degree, but a girl’s got to eat, right? I also liked tagging along with Sasha on her matchmaking duties and enjoyed some of the lengths she went to secure dates for her clients. The supporting characters add a lot of interesting moments too.

My Final Verdict: Overall, this book is a story that is more about a woman’s willingness to rise above the struggles life hands us, keeping her eye on the goal and finding herself and her place in the world. I highly recommend this book to readers who like to root for the underdog to win, even if it’s not the win you thought they would get.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

It’s cute and at times clever, but ultimately I am not the target demographic for this romance/coming of age novel about navigating life, career, frienships and romance in NYC. It was certainly engaging enough for me to enjoy it and to see it thru to the end. I have some other e-books by this author that I will read but my guess is that I will still not be the target demo.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an e-copy of the ARC (sorry it took so long for me to get around to actually reading it).

Such a cute and fun read! Perfect distraction in life right now. Really enjoyable characters and story and hard to put down!

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

What drew me to this book was the cover and description, however it felt more like a coming-of-age contemporary novel than a romance, so I felt a bit misled by the description. And while I liked the witty banter and the drama, I think I would have enjoyed this book more if I was in the same age / life stage as the MC. Also, it wrapped up too quickly. It needed an epilogue or a sequel to truly feel complete.

This was a lot of fun! I loved watching Sasha's litany of dates, and her UES world was gorgeously crafted.

My rating is only 3 stars because I had such high expectations. On the surface it seemed like everything I was looking for but it left a lot to be desired in the rom-com department.

Playing with Matches is Sasha's story of graduating from college, and like typical writers, not finding a job in her field, so she takes a position as a Bliss matchmaker. Sasha, twenty two and happily committed to her boyfriend of two years, Jonathan, can't believe that women ten years older than her are taking her dating advice, but she is surprisingly successful at matching couples. Jonathan and Sasha's relationship hits a snag and they breakup. Sasha begins to date one of her recruits, which is completely against company policy. Sasha knows she shouldn't be dating Adam, but what harm can it do? When Jonathan shows up back in her life unexpectedly, she is full of confusion and has some hard decisions to make.

Why I haven't read this sooner? I've had the ebook for quite some time, just never started it. After I read Love at First Like by the same author, I couldn't wait to start it. I'm in love with her honest writing, creative and hilarious situations, and endearing characters. I didn't love the ending and had different ideas about how it should end, but realize it was perfect for this book.

I didn't realize this book had been published almost a year before downloading. I feel it's too late to review and make any difference.

Star rating based on average review.

I like Orenstein's books pretty well; I think she does a good job describing women's lives in the 21st century, with a good balance of lightness and seriousness. This book just made me anxious for the whole enterprise, though!

I am sorry for not reviewing fully but I don’t have the time to read this at the moment. I believe that it wouldn't benefit you as a publisher or your book if I only skimmed it and wrote a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for not fully reviewing!

I really thought I would love this book, but that prediction overshot the mark.

Sasha is kind of fun, although she brings out my worst fears regarding her generation (she’s 22). She can’t quite pull it together, and you start to doubt that she ever will. To get a job as a matchmaker, a profession for which she is sorely ill-suited, she uses her family folklore. Hannah Orenstein frames it as a “dark secret,” but it’s far less satisfying.

In fact, not much is satisfying about Sasha. She trolls Tinder and hangs out in coffee shops to help her find matches for her clients, which doesn’t sound nearly as captivating as her friends seem to think it is. Orenstein keeps reminding you how young Sasha is, as if that’s her excuse. Yeah, she’s 22. She has a lot of life lessons to learn. But she has an NYU education, and she isn’t stupid (despite her occasionally silly behavior). She’s someone who dearly needs to grow up, if for no other reason than she (and everyone else around her) can stop using the “Sasha is so young!” excuse.

Jonathan, the boyfriend, “betrays” her. I don’t want to give anything away–and I’m not saying Jonathan behaves all that fabulously–but, well, I can’t say I thought he made a big mistake. I kept trying to see what he (and the matchmaking client dude) found so alluring about her, and I came up blank every time.

Which brings me to the ending. I actually liked it. It’s the one smart move Sasha makes, and it shows you that she might just crack this whole maturity thing after all.

This is one of those books that you can read with half of your attention and not really miss anything. If you need something to read poolside or at the beach, it’s not a bad choice.

This book was such a fun story of love, heartbreak, learning to get back up, and learning to stick up for yourself. It was a quick and enjoyable read.

I wanted to like this book so badly but alas, it fell short for me.
Sasha is a compelling character with an even more intriguing new job as a matchmaker for New York City's elite. She has so much going for her but cannot seem to look past what is going poorly in her life. While I appreciate that this book was meant to be a light rom-com, it never went beyond Sasha complaining about how badly her life is going. The ending was abrupt (no spoilers I promise) but at least there is potential that she will continue growing as a person. After all, she is only 22.
My favorite cringe-y line was when she "wanted to pull a Sylvia Plath, but didn't know how to turn on the oven."
Thank you Netgalley for letting me preview this book.

This was a fun, fast paced book with a couple of little twists to it that I really enjoyed. I liked the characters and was ready to sit down and have a cup of coffee and a bagel with Sasha, a young journalism graduate who has taken a job as a professional matchmaker. I wanted a little bit more from the ending, but was satisfied with what I got. Maybe there will be a sequel. I would read it!

If you're looking for a light and fluffy read, then you'll enjoy Playing with Matches.

We meet Sasha, who when she can't find work in her chosen degree (Journalism) she becomes a matchmaker to the rich. Part of being a matchmaker is coaching her clients along....but can a woman who is both young and inexperienced in the ways of love - and was recently dumped by her boyfriend do a good job of helping her clients?

And what happens if she (oops) falls in love with a client?

This is a fun and light read - perfect for a day at the pool or a long flight. And definitely a shift from the thrillers and mysteries I tend to prefer. That said, it wasn't one of my favorite books of the year so far ;-)

Thank you to Touchstone and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a cute, fun book. Very light Chick-Lit read that I truly enjoyed!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

"Playing With Matches" was very light, very interesting and very conversational. I love when books take place in New York and really bring the city to life. The detail that goes into the locations can only be written by a true New Yorker and just as it did in Sex and the City, Manhattan is a background character in this modern-day love story.

Sometimes with a book as light-hearted and fun as this, you can predict the plot but I was truly shocked by the few plot twists that Orenstein threw my way. It made the story and Sasha's character development much more interesting and intriguing.

I thought the writing was really well and the plot was paced perfectly; not too fast or slow. It was the kind of book I could see myself writing and I really liked that about this.

"Playing With Matches" was a really good book for pretty much anyone and I highly recommend picking it up. It's something light, fun, and definitely worth the read!

Sasha is such a modern girl who is so relatable to anyone who’s been single in this digital age. I love her thoughts and this book is such a fun read. I love the passion and romance in this book.