Book Review: The Singles Table (Marriage Game #3) by Sara Desai

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 322 pages
Author: Sara Desai
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: November 16th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Opposites attract in this romantic comedy about a free-spirited lawyer who is determined to find the perfect match for the grumpy bachelor at her friend’s wedding

After a devastating break-up, celebrity-obsessed lawyer Zara Patel is determined never to open her heart again. She puts her energy into building her career and helping her friends find romance through the wedding season. She’s never faced a guest at the singles table she couldn’t match, until she crosses paths with the sinfully sexy Jay Donovan.

Former military security specialist Jay has no time for love. His life is about working hard, staying focused, and winning at all costs. When charismatic Zara crashes into his life, he’s thrown into close contact with exactly the kind of chaos he wants to avoid. Worse, they’re stuck together for the entire wedding season.

So they make a deal. She’ll find his special someone if he introduces her to his celebrity clients. But when their arrangement brings them together in ways they never expected, they realize that the perfect match might just be their own.

NOT MY FAV.

Things I did love about this read was how quickly I flew through it. The audio narrator does an amazing job and I read it in a day. Definitely would recommend this series on audio!

I enjoyed Jay and Zara together. I wish their relationship didn’t have the friends with benefits vibes though. Plenty of angst. And you could truthfully feel the chemistry between them. I loved the plot with the multiple weddings, lawyers, security aspects and more. It was a fun combination that led to plenty of hijinks and forced proximity moments that I adore.

The steam was too much for me personally. There’s 4 (maybe more?) open door scenes I had to skip over and they started to feel more there for spice than actually moving the book forward. This is just my take, so read away if you’re all for the spice!

I thought the ending was pretty sweet and it did wrap up some necessary ties between the larger plot and the couple. I didn’t love how the conflict was handled, or I guess dragged out, but it wasn’t too glaring of an issue for me.

The second book in this series is still my favorite, but I never felt like I was hate reading this one. Just wasn’t for me (which might mean it’s for you!).

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: multiple open door scenes
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: PTSD, panic attack

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: January 2022

It was a great month! Almost all of my five star reads were rereads, but I had a loooot of four stars too. I kept busy with many audio books. Can’t wait for February!

Favorites: All of my rereads, Jade Legacy, Romancing Her Rival, Reminders of Him, Summerhaven

Least Favorites: Digging Up Love, The Witch of Willow Hall

  • [ARC] The Suite Spot (Beck Sisters #2) by Trish Doller
  • For the Wolf (Wilderwood #1) by Hannah F. Whitten
  • [ARC] I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
  • Jade Legacy (Green Bone Saga #3) by Fonda Lee
  • [ARC] A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft
  • Compared (The Sweet Rom”Com” #1) by Kortney Keisel
  • [Reread] A Court of Mist and Fury (ACOTAR #2) by Sarah J. Maas
  • A Love Unexpected (Under Kansas Skies #1) by Leah Brunner
  • [ARC] Love from Scratch by Kaitlyn Hill
  • The Singles Table (Marriage Game #3) by Sara Desai
  • [Novella] Romancing Her Rival (Promise of Forever After #2) by Joanna Barker
  • [ARC] Running Wild (The Simple Wild #3) by K.A. Tucker
  • Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
  • A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw
  • [Reread] House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1) by Sarah J. Maas
  • If For Any Reason (Nantucket Love Story #1) by Courtney Walsh
  • Digging Up Love (Taste of Love #1) by Chandra Blumberg
  • Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover
  • Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon
  • [ARC] The Buy-In (Graham Brothers #1) by Emma St.Clair
  • The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox
  • [Reread] The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata
  • The North Wind (The Four Winds #1) by Alexandria Warwick
  • [Reread] The Winner’s Curse (The Winner’s Trilogy #1) by Marie Rutkoski
  • [Reread] The Winner’s Crime (The Winner’s Trilogy #2) by Marie Rutkoski
  • In the Waves of Tristwick (Cornish Romance #4) by Deborah M. Hathaway
  • [Reread] The Winner’s Kiss (The Winner’s Trilogy #3) by Marie Rutkoski
  • [Reread] The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas
  • [ARC] This Vicious Grace (The Last Finestra #1) by Emily Thiede
  • A Love Uncontainable (Under Kansas Skies #2) by Leah Brunner
  • [ARC] Summerhaven by Tiffany Odekirk
  • A Psalm of Storms and Silence (A Song of Wraiths and Ruin #2) by Roseanne A. Brown

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