Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
YA author Goo (The Way You Make Me Feel) makes her adult romance debut with this enjoyable contemporary. Workaholic matchmaker Cassia Park shares a remarkable gift with all the female members of her family: they can read clients' faces to see the love connections they've made in past lives and thus determine who will be their "fated" match in this one. Cassia has been searching for her own fated, Daniel Nam, for 10 years with no luck. On the eve of her 40th birthday, she decides to forget her troubles through an uncharacteristically impulsive weekend fling with 28-year-old landscape architect Ellis--only to later discover that Daniel is Ellis's boss. Cassia is torn between the security of stability with 42-year-old Daniel and the excitement of spontaneity with carefree Ellis. Though readers will be able to predict the resolution of the love triangle from a mile away, and some may be turned off by Cassia's cheating on one leg of the triangle with the other, fans of Celine Song's films will especially enjoy Goo's exploration of complicated relationships. Add in a touch of magical realism, vivid prose, and well-rounded characters, and this makes for a diverting romp. (Feb.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
YA author Goo's (Throwback) adult debut is certain to steal readers' hearts. As a matchmaker (like generations of her matriarchs before her), Cassia Park takes the concept of soulmates very seriously as she steers people to their fated partners. However, she has almost given up on finding her own soulmate. Then she meets Ellis, a younger man to whom she feels an instant pull. They have a fling that feels like it could develop into something more, but then Ellis introduces her to Daniel, his boss, who Cassia discovers is fated to be her soulmate. With the help of her family, Cassia navigates imperfect love and finds that the answers are not as clear as she always believed they'd be. Now attracted to two very different men, she learns that love is messier and more chaotic when she has to make her own choice. When it comes to deciding between Daniel and Ellis, Cassia has to pick adventure or safety. VERDICT A must-buy title that's perfect for book groups, with themes of love, generational ties, and harmony.--Brittany Burchett
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A matchmaker must choose between following fate's wishes or choosing her own path. Cassia Park is in the business of love. As a matchmaker for One & Only, she helps love stories come true every day. But One & Only isn't a regular matchmaking service, and that's because the Park women have been able to read faces (and see past lives) for hundreds of years, from their roots in Korea to their current lives in Los Angeles. Their matches have an unprecedented 100% success rate because of their magical (and very secret) abilities. Cassia, however, has been waiting to meet the one she calls her "fated" for 10 years, and all she has to go on is his name--Daniel Nam. Cassia is eager to start a family, but as her 40th birthday approaches, she's beginning to panic that she may never find Daniel. When a bike accident meet-cute introduces her to 28-year-old Ellis Yang-Cohen, she has a weekend fling that she knows won't amount to anything--after all, Ellis is way too young for her and he isn't her fated. But their connection is immediately strong, and they keep bumping into each other. Then she meets his boss, whose name is (surprise!) Daniel Nam. Torn between the man she loved in a past life and the man she's drawn to in this one, Cassia must learn how to follow her heart and decide her own future. In her adult debut, Goo creates a delightfully dramatic love story that will keep readers on their toes. Ellis and Daniel are both good people and solid matches for Cassia, which makes her inability to decide between them feel sufficiently agonizing. Cassia's close-knit family includes a wonderful bunch of elderly relatives who add to both the humor and the heartache. A perfect blend of steamy angst and family drama makes for a love triangle that's impossible to put down. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
