REVIEW: The Matchmaker's List by Sonya Lalli

**I received an ARC from the publisher. These are my honest opinions, and in no way was I compensated for this review.**

The Matchmaker's List by Sonya Lalli

Release Date: January 22, 2019

My Rating: 3.75 stars

Summary: One devoted modern girl + a meddlesome, traditional grandmother = a heartwarming multicultural romantic comedy about finding love where you least expect it

Raina Anand may have finally given in to family pressure and agreed to let her grandmother play matchmaker, but that doesn't mean she has to like it--or that she has to play by the rules. Nani always took Raina's side when she tried to push past the traditional expectations of their tight-knit Indian-immigrant community, but now she's ambushing Raina with a list of suitable bachelors. Is it too much to ask for a little space? Besides, what Nani doesn't know won't hurt her...

As Raina's life spirals into a parade of Nani-approved bachelors and disastrous blind dates, she must find a way out of this modern-day arranged-marriage trap without shattering her beloved grandmother's dreams.

MINI-REVIEWS: The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

I'll be honest, this is part-review, mostly confessional, because I have a lot of feelings and memories after marathon-reading all 6 books in 6 days. And then Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy the next day. I am so tired. So tired.

Now, I've never read all 6 books back-to-back before. I first read the series in 2011, after City of Fallen Angels came out, and I probably reread them before book 5, but by the time the last book released, I was pretty much off the series so. It was certainly very different reading them now, all at once and as I'm older. I'll expand on this more later, but when I first read the series, I was head-over-heels in love with the books, and honestly . . . I think I was dragged back in. Yes, all of this is problematic (this was mostly a nostalgic and guilty reread), but I can't help but love being back in this world again.

I also live-tweeted my reread, so I'll include some of the better tweets here. Profanity ahead, because some of all of this was so ridiculous, I couldn't help it. Also many, many spoilers ahead, for all of the series in the Shadowhunter universe. And, in case you're wondering, I use the original covers to fully express the embarrassment this series brings me. The new covers are too good.

LIST: a book for every mood

for every sad mood:

for when you're feeling sad and want to laugh:

feel-good contemporaries with distracting plots:

• Royals by Rachel Hawkins
• Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson
• Save the Date by Morgan Matson
• Trouble is a Friend of Mine by Stephanie Tromly
• I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo

low fantasies with a whole lot of jokes:

• The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee
• Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
• In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan

for when you're feeling down and need something cute and fluffy:

cute YA contemporaries:

• To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
• When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
• From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon
• The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee
• I See London, I See France by Sarah Mlynowski
• Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch
• The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo

steamy adult romances:

• Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren
• Dating You / Hating You by Christina Lauren
• The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

for when you're feeling melancholy and need some hope:

tales of low points and healing:

• Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta (cw: depression)
• Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
• The Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta (tw: rape)
• Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore (tw: mentions of rape)
• Solitaire by Alice Oseman (cw: depression, suicide)
• Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno (tw: rape)
• The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan (tw: depression, suicide)
• Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi
• Final Draft by Riley Redgate
• We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
• Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman (tw: rape)
• The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
• Saints & Misfits by S.K. Ali (tw: attempted rape, sexual assault)
• Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman (tw: parental abuse, emotional abuse, child abuse)

cloudy mindsets and happy endings:

• Cloudwish by Fiona Wood
• First & Then by Emma Mills
• Places No One Knows by Brenna Yovanoff
• American Panda by Gloria Chao
• I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
• You Know Me Well by Nina Lacour and David Levithan

for when you're feeling angsty and still want more angst in your life (but with some happiness mixed in):

• The Lynburn Legacy by Sarah Rees Brennan
• Summer Skin by Kirsty Eagar
• To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
• The Only Thing Worse than Me Is You by Lily Anderson
• This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills
• Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills
• Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
• Noteworthy by Riley Redgate
• Curseworkers series by Holly Black

for every happy mood:

for when you're feeling DRAMATIC and you want some exuberance:

contemporary novels filled with *insert Skam gif* dramaaaa

• Royals by Rachel Hawkins
• Prince in Disguise by Stephanie Kate Strohm
• Not Now, Not Ever by Lily Anderson
• Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
• The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall
• Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
• Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett
• Blood for Blood by Catherine Doyle

lush fantasies/sci-fi with breathtaking prose:

• For a Muse of Fire by Heidi Heilig
• Wild Beauty by Anna-Marie McLemore
• Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao
• The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
• A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi
• Rebel Seoul by Axie Oh
• A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna
• Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan (tw: sexual abuse, violence)
• Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
• The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco
• Want by Cindy Pon

for when you're feeling a spin-around-the-room, bask-in-the-warmth kinda mood and you want to smile/laugh even more:

adorable YA contemporaries:

• To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
• When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
• From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon
• The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee
• The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo
• This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills
• Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills
• Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno (tw: rape)
• Cloudwish by Fiona Wood

bonus!!

for when you're feeling angry:

books with angry protagonists (features uh some hero-to-villain/antihero stories):

• The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee
• The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco
• The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang (so many tw's, pls google them before reading)
• Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton

stories with facing injustice and handling it like a pro and/or with just kicking ass:

• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• Dear Martin by Nic Stone
• The Lines We Cross by Randa Abdel-Fattah (cw: racism, anti-immigration)
• Lucy and Linh by Alice Pung (cw: racism, racial slurs, bullying)
• Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin
• Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee
• Heroine's Complex by Sarah Kuhn
• Jade City by Fonda Lee (tw: violence)

for when you're feeling nostalgic:

(I personally think that sometimes, you just gotta give into the nostalgia and read those books you maybe read 10 years ago and haven't really touched since then. if you're feeling low, it honestly helps tbh)
books you might have read a billion years ago but haven't touched since then:

• Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
• Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan
• Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling (I know...problematic, but HP is a world that I personally return to for a feel-good read. just don't forget all of its flaws)
• The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare (I always reread this when I'm feeling like reliving the cringeyness bc honestly, it's hilarious and a great pick-me-up)
• The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare (this one...sometimes I just like reliving the pain)
• Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
• Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
• Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter
• Heist Society by Ally Carter
• Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

for when you're in a book slump:

books that you physically can't put down (i.e. books I read in 1-2 sittings):

fantasy/sci-fi:

• A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna
• Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan (tw: sexual abuse, violence)
• Rebel Seoul by Axie Oh
• To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
• In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan
• Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf
• Jade City by Fonda Lee (tw: violence)

contemporary:

• This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills
• Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills
• Royals by Rachel Hawkins
• When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
• From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon
• The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo
• I See London, I See France by Sarah Mlynowski
• Summer Skin by Kirsty Eagar
• Dating You / Hating You by Christina Lauren