Loved reading A Match Made in Mehendi for the stereotypes it breaks: from converging the family's legacy and one's life aspiration to creating a relationship that demolishes the high school hierarchy, this young adult contemporary romance pleasantly surprises with accurate yet fresh desi representation while setting up a friends-to-lovers trope in the background.

🔅american-indian MC
🔅ya contemporary
🔅stereotypes broken
🔅desi references
🔅cute friends-to-lovers
🔅tech meets tradition
🔅artist female MC
🔅handsome, desi love interest
🔅diverse side characters
🔅anonymous match-making app for school
🔅vicholi family legacy
🔅unexpected teenage relationships stem
🔅quotes from the family's match-making guide
🔅typical mean girl bully
🔅gay best friend
🔅fast-paced, quick read

[Review has gone up on Goodreads too and will be posted on the blog in December 2019. An interview with the author had gone up in September 2019.]

A Match Made in Mehendi by Nandini Bajpai is a fun read that also tackles issues of bullying. The main character, Simi, is one that is both quirky and relatable. It is a perfect book for your back-to-school TBR.

❀ UNIQUE THEME

The concept of a matchmaking family is one that I have never come across. There are quite a few books that have a matchmaking theme, but this one kicks it up a notch. The women in the family seem to have a gift that Simi is determined to evade. Although, with the help of her best friend and brother, they develop a really cool app that combines technology, art, and matchmaking.

❀ ENJOYABLE MAIN CHARACTER

As the app gains popularity within Simi’s school, a well-known bully causes all sorts of issues for Simi and her friend. I really enjoyed reading about how Simi deals with the problem and relies on her family and friends for help. Her character shows quite a bit of growth and she is easy to root for.

If you are looking for a contemporary novel that will pull at your heartstrings, A Match Made in Mehendi is one book to pick up this fall. The characters are enjoyable and the concept is fresh. I am looking forward to reading more of Bajpai’s works.

Happy Tuesday (A.K.A new book release day)!

I have been reading up a storm lately and I am trying to keep up with the posts and reviews that come with all that reading. There are so many good books coming out right now and this fall season in general that I feel like the content is coming faster than I can consume it! However, I do not have a problem with it because I know one day in the future there will be a month when I do not buy any books because nothing is hitting my interest and I will have these backlogged books to read or some new favorites from this fall to read again. This book definitely falls under the new favorites category and I have already ordered myself a physical copy! I was super fortunate to receive an ebook ARC copy from the publisher and I literally read this book in two days because I just loved it so much! (I still think about Simi and the gang and it's been four days since I finished this book).

SPOILERS AHEAD

Simi a girl about to start her sophomore year of high school comes from a long line of matchmakers. Now Simi knows that her mother and aunt (who currently run the family matchmaking business) want her to become a matchmaker but Simi does not feel that it is for her. See, Simi is an artist, she loves doing Mehendi and just making art in general, she is even taking an advanced art class where she will create a portfolio this year. However, this school year Simi and her best friend Noah have decided they are going to be themselves at school and make their mark. So when Simi's older brother creates an app meant to be used with the family matchmaking business Simi gets the idea to use the app for the students at her school. She and her best friend Noah decide that they will use this app the match people at the school with one another (they add some enhancements to the app with the help of Simi's brother). However, once the app is out people start to go wild for it and soon they figure out that Simi, Noah and her brother created the app. Now the school's mean girl Amanda Taylor is after Simi for matching her crush with someone else! Will Simi keep the app up? Will she find love herself? Will she become a matchmaker?

I really enjoyed this story! Like I already said this is one of my new fall favorites and I have ordered a copy. I thought Simi and her story was adorable and I loved every second of it. I was so involved with each character and I wanted to know everything about each of them even the minor characters like Simi's cousins. I was truly sad that I read through this book so fast because I wanted there to be more story about Simi and her family and friends. I am seriously hoping there will be more to come someday from maybe any of these characters. I am giving this book five stars on Goodreads! (P.S. This book made me really want to get some Mehendi, hopefully I can soon)!


*I was given an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Match  Made in Mehendi is a story about family, friendship, and standing up against bullies. At the same time, A Match in Mehendi is about balancing technology and tradition, fear and desire, dreams and expectations. Simi's family are professional matchmakers, as a way to facilitate matches and join communities. But Simi would rather be an artist, drawn to a world full of exploration and color, not the sparks between people. Is there a way to balance her seemingly natural talent for matchmaking, with her own dreams?