Firstly, a massive thank you to Sarah Hardy and Jeevani Charika for having me on this blog tour.

I absolutely adored this book. Admittedly, it wasn't a shock considering I've loved both of the other books I've read by Jeevani.

In this, we follow Chaya and Gimhana two Sri Lankan's living in London with very traditional parents. They've both become pretty successful in their respective fields. Both have hidden huge secrets. Chaya is still in love with her University boyfriend and first love Noah who her parents would most definitely not approve of. Then Gimhana is firmly in the closet. I hadn't realised that there was still such a stigma around being gay in Sri Lanka. Granted for the most part this book is set between the nineties and 2015ish.

As a result, neither of them want to get married but their parents are determined to find them a suitable match each.
With all Jeevani's books, I'm struck by the delicacy with which she negotiates difficult topics and the diversity of the topics she covers. Chaya suffers from anxiety and constantly throughout the book a message of getting treatment and medication as they can help and they aren't bad things is enforced. Gim is stuck in the closet despite being comfortable with himself due to both his traditional parents and 'old school' law firm. The views are never condoned but the position Gim is in explains his need to remain closeted. There's talk of sibling rivalry, grief, alcohol abuse and I think even dementia.

I had a feeling I knew how their two stories were going to intersect when I started reading and honestly I adored it. There's an ease about the two of them together and the phrase platonic soulmates comes to mind. They balance each other so well, offer help when necessary but they aren't perfect. Which makes them real. I felt like I knew both of them by the end of this book, as though I'd been for a coffee with them. That's when you know it's a good book.

And the ending. Oh, the ending. You know the happy squee you do when something just ends so perfectly.

A sweet story, about a marriage of convenience in the Sri Lankan community. Set in the UK, Sri Lanka and Canada, this is a well told story, with likeable characters, that explores what it means to be either a career woman or a gay man with a Sri Lankan heritage. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, with it's ups and downs, and alright it had a sweet ending, but the main characters deserved that.

Gim and Chaya were both interesting characters in their own way.
It was a great story. It was nice to see more Asians authors writing about the queer community.

Really enjoyed this novel.Learning about other cultures people lives and relationships really draw me in.A book full of emotions and romance and yes many difficulties,#netgalley#herabooks

"A Convenient Marriage" was a quick read and I liked the relationship between Chaya and Gim. My main problem with the novel was its depiction of mental health and how the main conflict for Chaya was only partially resolved by the end of the novel in favor of a rushed happy ending for everyone involved.

I love LGBT romances and am a fan of arranged marriage storylines, but something here just didn't click with me. I struggled through the story quite a bit.

I've never read a book based on Sri Lankan culture, so finding out more about that was really interesting. It tackles a lot of interesting subjects, such as homophobia and mental health issues, superbly.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book.*

I don't usually read or particularly enjoy "romance" novels a lot as I want something more going on. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this romance that does things a little different. First of all both protagonists are from Sri Lanka and live in the UK, pursuing high profile careers. She's trying to become a professor of biochemistry and he's a high profile lawyer in a conservative firm. They're both lonely and both their parents are pressuring them to marry. She's heartbroken and suffers from extreme panic attacks, he's a closeted gay without any friends. A convenient marriage might just solve most of their problems...

I liked the setting, Sri Lanka, Oxford, and London and I grew to like both main characters. What I enjoyed most of all was the mixture of postcolonial and queer issues mixed together with a certain level of drama expected from the romance genre. It was entertaining, light, and I rooted for a happy end for both of them.

4 Stars

This was everything you want to see on a book now a days...even though it keeps you on the edge of your seat because you never know what is going to happen but man it was good.

Chaya has a very traditional Sri Lankan family and even though she has left their home and country to study aboard, they still expect her to settle down into marriage with a Sri Lankan boy. But what they don't know is that she turned away her one true love, Noah because she doesn't want to disappoint them. At the end she will do whatever it is that makes them happen even if her heart is broken forever.

Gimhana has been hiding his sexuality from his family since ever. It's not that hard because he has been living half a world away from them. But now it's getting harder to find an excuse of not getting married, as his parents expect him to marry a sri Lankan girl as it is tradition. He is torn of what to do, until an opportunity presents itself.

When Chaya and Gimhana meet, they both find the perfect solution to their problems. A marriage of convenience. He can hid his sexuality, she can live the life she has been living until now, married to her job and keep her heart away as it will never love anyone besides Noah. So, they both go on with their plan. And things go so well but everything comes crumbling down.

Loved learning about Sri Lankan culture, and every time they were eating I wanted to be there eating with them too lol. Chaya also suffers from anxiety and it was not sugar coated in this book, Chaya had full on anxiety attacks and the world needs to know more about them and more about mental health. Thumbs up Jeevani Charika. Gimhana was everything you wanted in a friend, he was always there for Chaya and the was the perfect "husband", loved his sexuality was done in this book and how is relationships was shown, Another thumbs up.

Ah, I really loved reading this book, I was rooting for Chaya and for Gimhana even when their "marriage" was all over the place. Each of their personality will steal your heart and you will fall for both of them.

Totally recommend...5 out of 5 stars.

I got an ARC from NetGalley.

Rating: 5 Stars

We’ve all been told we should look beyond appearance and physical attraction when considering a long-term partner. It’s universally understood that it’s the common values and companionship that hold strong once physical traits begin to fade with time. In her intriguing new read, Charika uses this idea to illustrate whether deciding on a partner based on the qualities of a friendship, could lead to a successful marriage.

Though her characters, Gimhana and Chaya, are both of Sri Lankan descent, their fear of disappointing their traditional parents with their romantic preferences is relatable cross-culturally. Gim who is a closeted homosexual male and Chaya who can’t seem to overcome her past relationship with a Caucasian, put on a facade of loving each other to please their parents. But, is it a facade? Is there anything missing from their marriage beyond physical attraction – which presumably isn’t important anyway? Can they be life partners and satisfy each other’s emotional needs?

A Convenient Marriage had me contemplating some very deep ideas. I wondered what love is if it’s not physical attraction. In an age where people don’t necessarily rely on a partner for stability, it opened my eyes to differences in the intent of marriage.

In the end, I concluded that love and marriage can take any shape, but it needs to be based on a mutual understanding of the relationship in order for it to survive and that understanding can change over time. This book forced me to think about relationships in an unconventional way and really appreciate our differences in expressing love.

Wow! What can I say about this book? I was utterly taken in from the initial couple of chapters and it just got better and better. Having always enjoyed reading fiction and none-fiction about different cultures I had very high hopes and was not disappointed.
This book is the modern-day fairytale and completely realistic and believable. I don't want to give too much away but like the classic fairytale, there is a happy ending.
True love never dies and this story is the classic example of this. You can easily fall in love and get swept up by the characters and their lives. You can relate to them and grow with them.
If you enjoy a good story and love a happy ending then this is for you. It's not the conventional love story but we all know what happens in that book. This story will warm your heart and pull at your emotional strings. It's definitely worth a read.

This novel gave great cultural insight but unfortunately I didn't truly connect with the characters. I'm glad I read it, but doubt that I will give it a re-read.

I almost DNFed this book. It starts off so slow and is pretty repetitive. The writing could at times be clunky. That being said, A Convenient Marriage had a great storyline. It was a great story to discuss arranged marriage (something I am not very knowledgeable in) and prejudices in the Sri Lankan culture. Readers should know that this book is definitely not a romance. It is about two friends deciding to do an arranged marriage in order to get their families off their backs and hide their "discretions". It is a great story about figuring out how to be true to yourself.

What happens when a couple who married as a matter of convenience fall in love with other people. What would you do.

This is was this book is trying to work out.

I didn’t really warm to this book. I don’t know why.

Thank you to both NetGalley and the publishers

This one unfortunately ended up being a DNF for me. While the premise and the opportunity to read something outside of my typical reading comfort zone was enticing, I ultimately just couldn't get into this one and only made it about 50% through.

The pros:
-I actually enjoyed the characters from what I did read. They were relatable and mostly likeable. I did find myself rooting for their success and happiness.
-The mention of mental illness. I still think people tend to shy away from adding mental illness to a story, unless the entire novel literally revolves around it, so it was nice to read that the main character (Chaya) dealt with this issue.

The cons:
-While I don't care for using synonyms for the word "said" (i.e he proclaimed, she gabbed, they exclaimed) for the sake of using different words, I wish this author had thrown some variety in there. She never used anything other than "said" so it started to become incredibly repetitive and distracting at times.
-I've never been a fan of the whole girl-is-still-falling-apart-over-a-boy-ten-years-later trope. I understand that breaking up with your first love can be devastating, but there's no reason why Chaya should have been has depressed as she was over a boy (Noah) literally ten years later (especially when said boy was happily married, with children, and not giving a damn about his first love). Maybe you find out later in the book that Noah has actually been pining for Chaya this whole time just as much as she was pining for him, who knows. Either way, it's played out and honestly kind of annoying.
-When Chaya showed hesitancy to date Noah because of her Sri Lankan background, Noah should have just backed up. There's nothing romantic about a guy not respecting a girl's boundaries.
-Although I liked that the topic of mental illness was mentioned, there was a moment that I wasn't particularly found of where the two main characters were discussing antidepressants and Chaya shot down the idea of taking them because she was worried they would "ruin her brain." There's already a huge stigma around taking medication for mental health, so it's never beneficial to add to that stigma with comments like that.

All in all, I'm disappointed that this one didn't work out, but I'm still glad that books like this are being written so others can read the point of view of characters from different cultures.

I took a relatively long time reading this book, but I liked it very much. I knew nothing about the Sri Lankan culture and I enjoyed learning about it a little. I felt sad for the two main protagonist having family and tradition dictate and initially destroy their lives, but the road to the end conclusion was enjoyable. I will certainly remember the author's name and will try her other books.

5☆ A Compelling and Powerful Romance

A compelling and heartfelt romance and was poignant and thought provoking.

I don't want to go into any detail about the plot as I think this is a Story you need to discover for yourself, the blurb is very intriguing and gives just enough away.

The story is told by the two main characters Chaya and Gimhana and set in two time periods past and present. I really enjoyed how this book was written, both Chaya and Gimhana have such emotional and powerful stories to tell that having their past stories only enriched the journey leading up to the future. It flowed seamlessly.

There are some sensitive subjects which some readers might find difficult to read, but Charika Has written them with the right amount of sensitivity to still make a powerful impact.

The Characters are Endearing, strong and very relatable and real.
The plot is powerful, poignant, current, and opened my eyes to the pressure of arranged marriage, family demands and traditions and hiding your sexual identity to fit in and be accepted.

A Convenient Marriage is a highly Compelling, Powerful and Poignant Read that I couldn't put down!
It's a story of fitting in, finding oneself, trying to please everyone, racism, discovering your sexuality, the trials and tribulations of culture, traditions, family, and Finding love where you least expect it.
A Convenient Marriage is a Story that touched my heart and I highly recommend.

Thank you to Sarah at Book On The Bright Side Tours for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.


Thank you to Sarah at Book On The Bright Side Tours and Hera books for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

a fake marriage between a Sri Lankan woman and Sri Lankan gay man, who are best friends? Yes Please

The story swing from past to present, from 1994 to 2005, to 2012 and 2013. Chaya is in the 1994 a young Sri Lankan woman, with a scholarship for Oxford, away from her family and culture for the first time. Gimhana is from Sri Lanka too, a closeted gay man, afraid to come out, not only because he fears his family's disappointment, but because he was bullied and hurt. Years later Chaya and Gimhana encounter each other, both pressured by their family to marry (because having 30 years old it's considered being old in that community, above all for a woman).Slowly they become friends, after seeing each other at a party in Sri Lanka, in London, where both of them are workaholic and where Gimhana struggle to advance in a law firm with "traditional" values (seeing withouth a girlfriends was frown upon) and where Chaya struggle too, with her anxiety and panic attacks. They build a strong friendship, helping and understanding each other and decide to get married to free themselves from their families ' desires. They make a deal. No affair, No children. Discretion. Be there for each other. Stop drinking for Gimhuna, seeking help for Chaya.

Emotional and thought provoking read.

I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of this book. I started reading it one day and couldn't put it down. It's such a gorgeous story! I loved Chaya and Gimhana and their separate struggles. As well as them together as a couple. This author sensitively deals with Chaya's struggles with her mental health, and not making it the sole focus of who Chaya is. Not many books cover a character/heroine with mental health issues, especially who has a rich life.

This book was a strong and extremely well done novel. While I wouldn’t necessarily consider it a romance in the classic sense I became extremely invested in the characters and was rooting for them throughout the novel. The author does a great job of showing the Sri Lankan culture and how it can repress or affect those who don’t fit in.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. There’s not one thing I’d change. It’s a very chick lit story but fab!! Charika has created characters that make you fall in love with; and that you root for throughout the story. This book addresses such relevant issues that we face in societies today!! Very well written! No spoilers but I would highly recommend this as an example that love conquers all!!