This was the first of Roselle Lim’s books that I’ve read (I also have Natalie Tan sitting in my TBR), and even more exciting, I won this as part of a Goodreads giveaway.

I liked it - but did not love. But that being said, there are many things to love about this book.

Sophie Go was kicked out of matchmaking school in Shanghai, and has returned to her hometown of Toronto to work as a matchmaker. But when she’s exposed, she scrambles to find work and ends up matchmaking 7 septuagenarians who live in her building. What follows is a sweet tale of found family, a dash of romance, and complicated mother-daughter relationship dynamics.

There is also magical realism in that Sophie can see ‘red threads’ on people and therefore can see if they are matches for one another. I loved this concept.

I loved reading about Sophie’s friendship with the Old Ducks - it was just so genuine and sweet. The Old Ducks are never referred to by their actual names, just by nicknames that Sophie gives them. And the food! A the food really makes me hungry. I also enjoyed the prose - it flowed and really gave that magical, heartwarming feeling. Lastly, a minor point but I liked that the Old Ducks were matched with women/men close to their age.

Some things I related to - as an Asian-American who grew up in Asia and having a traditional family, I understood the family dynamics between Sophie and her mom. Although, while I’ve known some mothers who do behave similarly (including mine), Sophie’s seemed like a cartoonish evil villain with no redeeming qualities. She was just 100% an awful person who cared more about herself than her only daughter. I think this relationship could have been more realistically written and not so exaggerating.

I didn’t love the romance between Sophie and Mr. Particular. Didn’t feel any chemistry between them and seemed like the love story was added as an afterthought. Not all stories need a romance and I felt this would have been better off as a found family and self-discovery story. There was also a third act twist that while very sad, seemed too convenient and like it was just put there to help move the plot along. And despite relating to Sophie, I didn’t connect with her or the other characters as deeply as I wanted.

I would definitely check out Ms. Lim’s other books though! ( )

This was the first of Roselle Lim’s books that I’ve read (I also have Natalie Tan sitting in my TBR), and even more exciting, I won this as part of a Goodreads giveaway.

I liked it - but did not love. But that being said, there are many things to love about this book.

Sophie Go was kicked out of matchmaking school in Shanghai, and has returned to her hometown of Toronto to work as a matchmaker. But when she’s exposed, she scrambles to find work and ends up matchmaking 7 septuagenarians who live in her building. What follows is a sweet tale of found family, a dash of romance, and complicated mother-daughter relationship dynamics.

There is also magical realism in that Sophie can see ‘red threads’ on people and therefore can see if they are matches for one another. I loved this concept.

I loved reading about Sophie’s friendship with the Old Ducks - it was just so genuine and sweet. The Old Ducks are never referred to by their actual names, just by nicknames that Sophie gives them. And the food! A the food really makes me hungry. I also enjoyed the prose - it flowed and really gave that magical, heartwarming feeling. Lastly, a minor point but I liked that the Old Ducks were matched with women/men close to their age.

Some things I related to - as an Asian-American who grew up in Asia and having a traditional family, I understood the family dynamics between Sophie and her mom. Although, while I’ve known some mothers who do behave similarly (including mine), Sophie’s seemed like a cartoonish evil villain with no redeeming qualities. She was just 100% an awful person who cared more about herself than her only daughter. I think this relationship could have been more realistically written and not so exaggerating.

I didn’t love the romance between Sophie and Mr. Particular. Didn’t feel any chemistry between them and seemed like the love story was added as an afterthought. Not all stories need a romance and I felt this would have been better off as a found family and self-discovery story. There was also a third act twist that while very sad, seemed too convenient and like it was just put there to help move the plot along. And despite relating to Sophie, I didn’t connect with her or the other characters as deeply as I wanted.

I would definitely check out Ms. Lim’s other books though! ( )

I love this story! LOVED this one! I love Roselle Lim and all her books. If you haven't read any of her books, then you should check her out.
This is so full of heart and swoon-worthy romance. It's such an emotional read, and I related to a lot in this story with the family issues and how the main character, Sophie, is trying to find herself and establish herself and her independence in her life. Sophie decides on a career in matchmaking and moves to Toronto after being in Shanghai for 3 years. She isn't a fully accredited matchmaker because she didn't quite graduate and is trying to find clients and build up her clientele. She discovers a secret club in her condo complex called the Old Ducks, which is made up of seven septuagenarian Chinese bachelors, and gets them to hire her. She is able to find and help the 7 bachelors with love and in the process finds and works through a lot for herself and meets a swoon-worthy guy.
This is fantastic and I highly recommend it. If you haven't read it, then go check it out. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for letting me read and review this amazing story. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )

After training as a matchmaker in Shanghai, Sophie returns to her home city of Toronto to take up the vacated matchmaker position there. Slight problem: she technically didn't graduate from matchmaking school, so unless she secures accreditation within six months, she'll lose her ability to see the red threads that indicate connections between people. Another problem is her parents, who don't support her in her career and assume that she will fail and shame them. Sophie is determined to make a success of things, but when her mother reveals her tenuous status to a roomful of prospective clients, Sophie has to get creative. Enter the Old Ducks: seven older bachelors who have all but given up on romance. If Sophie can convince them to use her services, she might get the testimonials she needs to gain accreditation -- but not all of them are on board with her plans...

I thought this was a cute premise, with the matchmaking angle and the Old Ducks. The author does a good job of delineating characters; I found it easy to keep track of this group of loveable curmudgeons. Going in, I didn't expect that touch of magical realism with Sophie actually being able to see the red threads and the connections between people, so that felt a bit like cheating to me. If I'd gone in expecting it, my reaction might have been different, so that's on me for not paying attention to the summary. My main issue with this book, though, is the writing. It feels extremely clunky in places, with lots of explain-y chunks and repetitive descriptions of how awful Sophie's parents are. I also thought from something Sophie said at the beginning that matchmakers were not allowed to experience love/romance themselves, but by the end of the book that's clearly not the case (hope that's not too much of a spoiler for anyone), so that caused me some confusion. Lots of readers seem to have really enjoyed this book, but it wasn't really one for me. ( )

Sophie has just returned to her hometown of Toronto after attending matchmaking school - a gift she was born with - and is ready to start her career. However, her overbearing mother and her lack of an actual diploma threatens to keep her dream from coming true, and she's worried that she won't be able to get her client list up and running and prosperous enough to keep her new apartment before she runs out of savings. Her saving grace may just be the Old Ducks Club - a group of older single men living in her building and who have bonded over their lack of SOs. Can she convince them all to let her be their matchmaker and can she successfully match them all before time runs out?

Adorable, this one. Fun and cozy, with lots of great characters. ( )