Author: Zara Raheem
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Published: July 23, 2019
Book Description: Named a Must-Read Book of the Summer by POPSUGAR, Bustle, Book Riot and more! In Zara Raheem’s fresh, funny, smart debut, a young Muslim-American woman is given three months to find the right husband or else her traditional Indian parents will find one for her–a novel with a universal story that everyone can relate to about the challenges of falling in love. To Leila Abid’s traditional Indian parents, finding a husband in their South Asian-Muslim American community is as easy as match, meet, marry. But for Leila, a marriage of arrangement clashes with her lifelong dreams of a Bollywood romance which has her convinced that real love happens before marriage, not the other way around. Finding the right husband was always part of her life-plan, but after 26 years of singledom, even Leila is starting to get nervous. And to make matters worse, her parents are panicking, the neighbors are talking, and she’s wondering, are her expectations just too high? So Leila decides it’s time to stop dreaming and start dating. She makes a deal wither parents: they’ll give her three months, until their 30th wedding anniversary, to find a husband on her own terms. But if she fails, they’ll take over and arrange her marriage for her. With the stakes set, Leila succumbs to the impossible mission of satisfying her parents’ expectations, while also fulfilling her own western ideals of love. But after a series of speed dates, the sparks don’t fly! And now, with the marriage clock ticking, and her 3-month deadline looming in the horizon, Leila must face the consequences of what might happen if she doesn’t find “The one…”
Rating: 4 stars
Review: The Marriage Clock was such a delightful book to read. This seems to be the year of arranged marriage books. But I found this one different from books like Unmarriageable and Ayesha at Last.
Leila is an American born Muslim. Her parents want her to find marriage, they just have different opinions on how to get there. Leila wants love before marriage, her parents believe love comes after marriage. Leila’s parents give her 3 months to find love, before they intercede on her behalf. What ensues is many comical moments, but more importantly a road to self discovery for Leila.
This is great summer read and I highly recommend. This will hit on a lot of tropes for those who love “summer reads”. I think you will find there is some meat to this story, but how the author gets there is fun ride.
Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow Paperbacks for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book, for an honest opinion.
Obsessed Bookaholic 