Narrated by Soneela Nankani
Zara Patel lives life to the fullest – she has turned her obsession over celebrities into a career as a lawyer, hoping to meet all her favorites when she finally lands a job as legal counsel to the stars. She is also challenging all her aunties in the match-making arena, making successful matches during the wedding season, for everyone but herself. Now she has the most challenging match of all to make – find workaholic Jay Dayal his own special someone in exchange for him introducing her to his celebrity clients.
Jay was raised an only child by his single mother. His father was never part of his life, and his mother’s family disowned her when she had him out of wedlock. His main goal in life is to take care of his mother the way she took care of him – and when his mother, who is a cancer survivor, asks him to find his own special someone, he knows he must at least try. His military training led him to start his own security business which is expanding, and he needs investors to open new offices worldwide. And investors expect a serious, hard-working businessman.
This sets up the opposites-attract trope of The Singles Table, book 3 in the Marriage Game series, referencing the table where those attending a wedding without a plus-one are seated. Zara is always seated there and takes her match-making skills to the limit, engaging all of those at the table of every wedding with her wit and crazy stories. Zara’s and Jay’s meet-cute happens during a pre-wedding party at a paintball field, where serious, military Jay is totally decked out in camo and expensive toys and Zara is dressed, per the bride’s wishes, in an outlandish bridesmaid dress purchased in a second-hand store. Jay came to win – Zara came to have fun! Someone may have been shot in the rear – just saying.
Author Desai has written a truly laugh-out-loud romantic comedy – along the way to their HEA, Zara becomes involved with actors in zombie movies whose titles are so ridiculously long, by the end, I found myself doubling over when the narrator started just the first few words of a title. Even with this level of hilarity, though, Desai creates real characters with real-life, relatable issues; her portrayal of the Desi American community was engaging and felt genuine. Zara has never gotten over her own parents’ divorce when she was younger, and she coped at the time by pretending it hadn’t happened. She loves her entire extended family with the same fierceness she brings to everything – but she can’t see having a family of her own. Jay is similarly damaged by his own family disowning them, and he secretly longs for what he sees Zara has – a large, loving, extended family with aunties and uncles and cousins, imperfect, messy, wonderful. But he’s convinced all of that stands in the way of his career success, which he feels he needs to keep his mother safe. Meanwhile, his mother is out living life her way – with a new biker boyfriend!
The narration by Soneela Nankani is truly the cherry on the top of this fun romp. She has the experience of a long list of audiobooks, of which romance is only a small part. Her voice acting is top notch – her differentiation between characters very seamless and easy. She’s obviously comfortable with several vocal tones and accents, without making anyone sound cartoony or over the top. Her Zara is at once breathless with excitement and grounded with intellect; her Jay voice is appropriately more serious but still shows his growing admiration for and attraction to the crazy that is Zara. Nankani is excellent at intimate scenes and just as good with the wacky wedding antics. I did a short deep-dive into her career and was pretty much gobsmacked by her incredible bio. Who knew that, in addition to well over 250 audiobooks, she’s got a background in economics and arts management (full disclosure: arts/nonprofit management is my profession as well!) and is now a consultant in the field of EDI/Equity, Diversity and Inclusion! I’m so impressed! She’s a busy woman – kudos to her for following her passions while also delivering romance fans some terrific audiobooks.
The combination of a fun rom-com with great narration make The Singles Table a big recommendation from me.
Melinda
Buy The Singles Table by Sara Desai on Amazon
