Is anyone else obsessed with the new Netflix show Indian Matchmaker? I love getting to know the couples and the clever, gentle humor that pokes fun at some of the ultra picky requirements of the match candidates. Watching the show puts me in the mood to read romance novels by authors of Indian and Pakistani descent. If you’re in the same mood, you can find these books at your library!
Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin (2019; 351 pages). Also available on e-book via Overdrive. This modern-day retelling of Pride & Prejudice is set in a close-knit Toronto Muslim community. Ayesha has just started a teaching position to pay the bills until her career as a poet takes off. When she meets handsome and judgmental Khalid, she’s instantly attracted, but when her cousin announces her surprise engagement to Khalid, Ayesha is torn between how she feels about him and the unsettling gossip she hears about his family.
A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev (2014; 294 pages). Also available on e-book via Overdrive and downloadable audiobook via Overdrive. Mili was married at the age of 4, as was the custom in her village, and has waited for her husband ever since. He never came and she went to America to study, determined to make herself the perfect bride for him. Samir is on a mission to save his brother from the child marriage their grandfather was supposed to annul and never did. When Mili and Samir meet, she crashes her bike and breaks her wrist. With no one there to take care of her, Samir stays to help her and the two start to get to know each other, each keeping secrets from each other. This is a tender, sweet slow-burn romance with amazing descriptions of culture and food.
The Marriage Game by Sara Desai (2020; 338 pages). After her life falls apart, Layla Patel returns home where her well-meaning father offers her office space to start a new business and signs her up on a dating site to meet a man… without her knowledge. CEO Sam Mehta rents office space above the Patel family restaurant and when a communication error results in him sharing office space with Layla, he’s introduced to her crazy family life. When the battle for the office turns into a battle of hearts, Layla and Sam will have to figure out what they mean to each other.
The Matchmaker’s List by Sonya Lalli (2019; 329 pages). 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. 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.
The Trouble with Hating You by Sajni Patel (2020; 336 pages). Liya Thakkar is a successful biochemical engineer, takeout enthusiast, and happily single woman. The moment she realizes her parents’ latest dinner party is a setup with the man they want her to marry, she’s out the back door in a flash. Imagine her surprise when the same guy shows up at her office a week later — the new lawyer hired to save her struggling company.
Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal (2019, 352 pages). Also available on e-book via Overdrive. Here’s another Muslim retelling of Pride & Prejudice, this one set in modern day Pakistan. Alys Binat has sworn never to marry until a chance encounter with one Mr. Darsee at a wedding makes her reconsider.
