Do I appreciate the message that The Marriage Clock tried to convey? Yes. Do I believe that its ending was the best way to close Leila’s story? Not at all.

Exploring themes of identity, South Asian culture, and how our perceptions of reality are shaped by media, The Marriage Clock makes for an entertaining read with abundant potential that was, unfortunately, not maximized.

Recommended.

Trigger/Content warnings:

Spoiler

Colorism (challenged), fatphobia (not challenged)

The more I listened to this audiobook, the more my interest declined. It was completely depleted when this book described any Asian person or anything Asian-related as “exotic,” which, believe it or not, happened several times.

It’s a no from me.

Whoever called this a “cookie-cutter” and “extra-tropey” fantasy is sorely mistaken, I’d say. I wouldn’t call this book unpredictable, but it is definitely a compelling page-turner.

Review to follow.

4 stars

I cried three times. That’s all you need to know. For now.

I received a digital ARC from the publisher (via Netgalley's wish-for-it feature) in exchange for an honest review. This does not, however, shape or change my opinion of this book.

Be right back, off to read Empire of Gold because I NEED to know what happens next.

I have lots of mixed feelings with this one. Part of me is like, “Oh wow, this is really complex and mature!” and the other part of me is like, “Ugh. Americans and their entitlement.”

Here are my initial thoughts: