Cover: Gives fun rom-com vibes. May pick up at a book store depending on my mood. Would for sure pick it up from a Little Free Library.

What I liked most about this book: This book was part mystery, part thriller, with a dash of romance. I thought this was the most unique book I have read in a while, it had me guessing, smiling and saying aweee all at the same time. I also loved the Indian culture and some of the wedding ceremonies

What I liked least about this book: The book was a little slower then I like.

Rating: 4 Stars

Neither a good romance nor a good mystery. An over the top villain and a cartoonish final confrontation.

Nura Khan is the best matchmaker in town, and everyone knows it. She's taken the family business and made it bloom. She doesn't just help her clients find love, she helps them become the type of people who can sustain love, then matches them with their perfect partners. It's not a service for everyone, and she turns down a lot of clients. Sometimes, they're not so happy about it.

When strange and dangerous things begin to happen surrounding her and her business, and disgruntled potential clients begin coming out of the woodwork, Nura and her closest friends must work to piece together who could be behind the attacks.

Did I mention she's also in love with her fake fiancé slash best friend in the world?

The Matchmaker is a fast-paced thriller surrounded by and fueled by the darker side of romance, the part where things don't always work out the way you plan. Sometimes the pursuit of love brings out the worst in people instead of the best.

The stakes rise quickly in this book. It is one incident after another and is immediately clear that someone is out to get Nura and her company. It gets quite intense and follows a thriller arc closely. I was personally hoping for a little more romance because that's what I'm the biggest sucker for, but it is a pretty solid storyline. True feelings are always revealed when one, or both parties are in mortal peril.

Overall I enjoyed the book, but it didn't draw me in as much as I like to be. While I was interested in the story, I wasn't held in a grip with emotion for these characters. For me it was a solid three stars.

Note:: I received an early copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

In THE MATCHMAKER, written by Aisha Saeed, Nura Kahn runs Piyar’s Matchmaking Agency, not to be confused with promoting arranged marriages. The agency offers a matchmaking app and a more expensive personalized matchmaking experience. The complaints made by dissatisfied customers is causing problems for the agency. I read on to see what happens.

This is a cozy with the addition of romance. I think the premise is good, and I like the inclusion of client testimonials at the beginning of the book. As I read on, however, I quickly lose interest in the plot. Thank you, Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine and NetGalley, for the chance to read and review an advance reader copy of THE MATCHMAKER.

This book is full of drama: family drama, wedding drama, romance, mystery, sabotage... yet I still though it was just okay.

I think I might have enjoyed this more if it was a Netflix movie where I can just watch in the background while I did something else. This probably is because I used to watch Millionaire Matchmaker many years ago on Bravo tv...

I did have a problem with:
1. Nura brushing off Azar when he made a comment about Darcy possibly cultural appropriating.
2. Nura never allowing Azar to speak when he tries to explain himself. Which was what led to their fallout in college. It was frustrating that if she just let him speak then a lot of problems could have been avoided. I do understand that she was scared and was trying to avoid any pain.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy for review.

Nura Khan is a matchmaker in Atlanta. Some people try to demean her as someone who does arranged marriages, but her VIP program is much more than that. She also has an app that can be used by less affluent folks. Her rich clientele, however, are used to getting what they want when they want it, so she’s used to having disgruntled folks she turns away for various reasons. But when weddings start imploding, and the comments online get increasingly angry in nature, it seems Nura’s very life might be on the line.

Even though there are a lot of twists in this novel, which also has a background romance in addition to the mystery, for some reason I found this boring. Maybe because even though it’s written in first person, I never really felt pulled into the story and there really isn’t a character arc. Too much telling instead of showing maybe? I’m having a hard time putting my finger on why this didn’t work for me.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES APRIL 8, 2025.

The Matchmaker is a fun, cozy mystery. I enjoyed the characters and while the plot was fairly predictable, it was well-written and kept me hooked. If you are looking for a palate cleanser between darker thrillers or want a little romance (no spice) in your mysteries, this book is a great option.

What I Liked: No plot holes, fully developed characters, and a fast-paced story.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy!

Despite what the media says, Nura does not do arranged marriages. Her highly modern matchmaking service helps her clients become their best selves before pairing them off. The time- and labor-intensive process does lead to a high number of rejected applicants, one of whom seems intent on destroying Nura's life. That the only explanation for the sudden spurt of ruined engagements and creepy online and in-person attacks on Nura herself. Luckily, she has a loyal staff on her side, not to mention Azar, the best friend she pines for. Wavers between romance, suspense, and family drama. Thanks, Netgalley.

Nura Khan’s exclusive matchmaking business is suddenly experiencing unexplainable difficulties. As her best laid plans continue to implode and endanger her business she begins to investigate. But that is not her only problem. Her best friend who has played at being her “fiancé” at events wants to pursue his own love life. Why does this bother her so much. This is a fun read.

I enjoyed this more than I was expecting! I do think that sometimes genre crossings do not work, and this book did have a bit of an identity crisis, romance and mystery combine usually have to be done in such a perfect manner for it to work for me, so there were some misses with this. I think the writer is very talented and I did overall enjoy this!

I think this book is trying to mix genres (romance, general fiction and mystery) but the result didn’t quite work for me. The story isn’t particularly romantic and the main character is rather dull.

I ultimately did like the mystery, but it was pretty clear who the villain was and their behavior at the end was quite broad and over the top.

Not my favorite but enjoyable enough.

Matchmaking, elaborate weddings, attempted murder. A bit of everything in this fun read that kept me guessing until the very end.

This title is a fun mix of mystery and matchmaking, murders and mayhem, along with some family drama and romance. A fun, light read.

Nura is a matchmaker who has just taken over the family business, and her wealthy clients are all raving about her services. She has a great team at work who all have her back. She even gets to attend weddings with her best friend since childhood, Azar, who is handsome, a doctor, and her pretend fiancée. However, she soon starts getting threats and there are attempts to ruin her client's weddings. Things turn scary quickly and she has to figure out how to stop it before somebody, or her business reputation, gets hurt.

This was such a cute book! I was not expecting a romance/mystery/thriller mashup, but it was such a fun ride! Just when I thought things were all revealed, something else would happen that I wasn't expecting. This book also contains a super sweet romance that I enjoyed, despite the fact it involved my least favorite trope - the miscommunication one. It did not hit me as annoying as I often find this and that was a huge plus. I liked the characters so much, and there was so much else happening in the book to capture my attention. I loved how the family relationships were portrayed, sweet Lilah is adorable and reminds me of my own daughter (who I can't turn my back on for a minute either!). Such an interesting premise too, I loved exploring the matchmaking business and the Desi wedding culture. The FMC had a great personality and was written so well, I wanted to be her friend in real life and could relate to her on so many levels!

Overall, a great read with a fast pace. I really enjoyed this book, and recommend it to all cozy mystery fans who enjoy light romance. I feel it's heavier on the mystery side and the romance aspect takes a bit of a backseat. I would definitely read more writing from Aisha Saeed! I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley for my opinions.

4.5 stars rounded up

This book starts off as a slightly slow burn. It’s based off modern day match making through a team of people. Although there is romance throughout the book it’s also a thriller alongside it. I feel like the twist is really good in this story and something I did not see coming. This story keeps you on the edge of your seat.

This book had an engaging mystery along with the romance but I thought the balance would be more romance than thriller and the balance was the other way. Perfectly fine! Just not what I expected. I’m not the perfect audience

3/5 stars

I enjoyed this book but was a little thrown by the back and forth between genres. I liked the author's writing though. There was some great dialogue and interesting characters. I pushed through because I wanted to find out what happens. I would still recommend this book but only to a select few of my friends.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bantam for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and offered voluntarily.

This debut novel is a cozy mystery about a matchmaker in Atlanta. It explores relationships between partners, friends, and family. Nur is a highly successful matchmaker who struggles with her relationship with her sister and her feelings toward her best friend. Someone is trying to sabotage her business, but ruining her weddings and kidnapping her clients. She sets out to solve the mystery with the help of her colleagues, friends, and personal PI. This book felt like a combination of Netflix's Indian Matchmaking and Rich Crazy Asians. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys light reads or cozy mysteries. It was a fast-paced, quick read. 3.5/5 Stars!

Nura Khan is a third generation matchmaker whos both in person and on line matchmaking business is quite successful, until someone starts to sabotage her business. At first it seems to be someone with a grudge against one of her brides, but soon it seems evident that the grudge is with Nura herself.

Despite the more rom commy cover, The Matchmaker is a mystery with a little bit of romance. I enjoyed learning about Desi culture in regards to marriage traditions, and there is some family drama here as well for those who like stories about family dynamics. I did need to look up several Desi terms that were scattered throughout the text, but I enjoy learning new things. The characters were well drawn out and I did not see where the mystery was going initially, although the romance angle was obvious from the start. I think this one would work for anyone looking for a light mystery with a romance element.

Thank you to net galley and Random house Ballantine for an e galley in return for an honest review.

Aisha Saeed's The Matchmaker is a fast-paced, lighthearted read with a few unexpected twists that keep things interesting. The story follows Nura Khan, a third-generation matchmaker running a high-end agency in Atlanta. Nura's job involves more than just playing cupid; it’s about managing the complex dynamics of wealthy clients, their cultural expectations, and the misconceptions surrounding matchmaking as arranged marriages. While the book paints a vivid picture of glamorous weddings and the behind-the-scenes work of matchmaking, things take a darker turn when Nura becomes the target of some very dangerous sabotage. It’s a blend of mystery, family drama, and romance, though the romance side of things doesn’t quite take center stage as you'd expect.

However, the book does suffer from a bit of an overload of subplots that pull in different directions, making it hard to focus on any one thing. There’s a lot of drama around Nura’s personal life, her agency’s clients, and a major family secret, and at times it feels like these threads overwhelm the main mystery. The big reveal about Nura's family history, which is key to understanding the sabotage, felt a bit forced and honestly frustrating—had certain information not been kept from Nura, a lot of the chaos might've been avoided.