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    The Marriage Clock: A Novel
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    The Marriage Clock: A Novel
    Unavailable
    The Marriage Clock: A Novel
    Ebook346 pages4 hours

    The Marriage Clock: A Novel

    By Zara Raheem

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

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    About this ebook

    Named one of Pop Sugar's Best Books to Put in your Beachbag this summer and one of the best books of July.

    A Booktrib "Romance to get you in the swing for Wedding Season" of 2019

    A Book Riot "Five New Diverse Romantic Comedies"

    Bustle's "21 new summer novels to spice up your summer reading"

    To Leila Abid’s traditional Indian parents, finding a husband is as easy as match, meet, marry. Yes, she wants to marry, 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?

    But for Leila, a marriage of arrangement clashes with her lifelong dreams of a Bollywood romance, where real love happens before marriage, not the other way around. So she decides it’s time to stop dreaming and start dating.

    It’s an impossible mission of satisfying her parents’ expectations, while also fulfilling her own western ideals of love. But after a series of speed dates, blind dates, online dates and even ambush dates, the sparks just don’t fly! 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…”

    Editor's Note

    Cultures collide…

    Two cultures collide in this witty romcom. The traditional Indian parents of American-born Leila are looking to set their 26-year-old daughter up with a fine husband, but she’s looking for love before marriage. So she makes a deal: She has three months to fall in love with a suitable match before her parents can arrange her marriage. Can she find The One while speed dating?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJul 23, 2019
    ISBN9780062877932
    Author

    Zara Raheem

    Zara Raheem received her MFA from California State University, Long Beach. She is the recipient of the James I. Murashige Jr. Memorial award in fiction and was selected as one of 2019’s Harriet Williams Emerging Writers. She resides in Southern California where she teaches English and creative writing. The Marriage Clock is her first novel.

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    Reviews for The Marriage Clock

    4/5

    30 ratings3 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Real, refreshing... & heart-achingly honest. This book surprised me in the way that it isn’t your typical romance or off-beat one - it just is what it is. The perils & struggles of ‘finding Love’ with a ticking clock looming over your head. Portrays and doesn’t shy away from the messiness of being an adult woman and not feeling completely free to choose a partner for yourself, whether or not that choice might also involve you not officially partnering up etc. I am glad the author kept it real and didn’t exaggerate anything. I definitely cried in moments coz I could relate to Leila. Her troubles might seem inconsequential etc. but it is very real. Feeling like you are disappointing your parents by choosing not to get married or ah, taking your time with the process. It can weigh so heavy on your heart that you are nothing - without being married, without children, without that life. It feels invalidating at times. I am so glad I stumbled upon this book and chose to read it. While my choices and autonomy/agency remains intact in my mid-30s, I still feel the stigma of all this every now & then. It is something shared across the multitude of Indian communities.
    • 3/5
      So I was slightly disappointed with the direction the ending took. I feel like I was misled throughout the story. There were some lol moments and it kept me captivated to see where it was heading. But once I got to the end I was completely and utterly devastated. Sigh!
    • 3/5
      2.5? its disappointing.

      The heroine Leila is an immature selfish, 26 yr old who has all these umpteen requirements in her prospective groom. Each and every one of these are based on Bollywood heroes. She also believes in falling in love Bollywood style with song and dance sequence. Oh! Come on haven't you figured out the difference between reality and make belief? To top her immaturity up we have all these double standards she adheres to :
      1. She wants a perfect packaged guy so that it's easy to get him approved by her parents .What?? All.l Bollywood inspires us to fight till our last breath for our true love.
      2. Shes so against arranged marriage- umpteen movies showcasing love after marriage. Rab Ne Banadi jodi? Hello?
      3. She wants someone who doesn't stick with gender stereotypes...so why does she hate it when Mahmud talks of splitting the tab?
      The double standards adopted by her is unacceptable.

      I didn't like Zeeshan dropping Tanvi. Her HEA was imminent and some optimism is needed. Its a romance. Even Leila, why didn't she reconnect with Zain or Mahmud? Hisham was a great character- disappointed there too. For.all the Bollywood these guys hae devoured, they haven't emulated any of its maxims.

      This book had so much potential but its fallen flat on its face.

      Recommended: meh ?

      1 person found this helpful