Name: Sophie Go's Lonely Hearts Club
ISBN: 9780593335611

Roselle Lim

A new heartfelt novel about the power of loneliness and the strength of love that overcomes it by critically acclaimed author Roselle Lim. Newly minted professional matchmaker Sophie Go has returned to Toronto, her hometown, after spending three years in Shanghai. Her job is made quite difficult, however, when she is revealed as a fraud--she never actually graduated from matchmaking school. In a competitive market like Toronto, no one wants to take a chance on an inexperienced and unaccredited matchmaker, and soon Sophie becomes an outcast. In dire search of clients, Sophie stumbles upon a secret club within her condo complex: the Old Ducks, seven septuagenarian Chinese bachelors who never found love. Somehow, she convinces them to hire her, but her matchmaking skills are put to the test as she learns the depths of loneliness, heartbreak, and love by attempting to make the hardest matches of her life.

Sophie Go's Lonely Hearts Club

This to me is a bit of generous rating. What you should know about this book is that it’s more women’s fiction than romance. The FMC has a more consistent relationship with her candy than with the love interest in this book. Like it didn’t even truly begin until 70% in and you don’t even learn his name until the last page. So if you want a magical realism that solely focuses on the FMC with a supportive cast that call them the ducks who are looking for live again later in life than this book is for you. It wasn’t for me because the subject of it wasn’t what I wanted and that’s okay but there is someone I’m sure who may enjoy this book. 

Priscilla Stanfield

2.75/5⭐️

This to me is a bit of generous rating. What you should know about this book is that it’s more women’s fiction than romance. The FMC has a more consistent relationship with her candy than with the love interest in this book. Like it didn’t even truly begin until 70% in and you don’t even learn his name until the last page. So if you want a magical realism that solely focuses on the FMC with a supportive cast that call them the ducks who are looking for live again later in life than this book is for you. It wasn’t for me because the subject of it wasn’t what I wanted and that’s okay but there is someone I’m sure who may enjoy this book. 

Sarah Sammis

** spoiler alert **
           Sophie Go's best option for making a name for herself is the Old Ducks Club, a group of elderly bachelor men. She can see their red threads and overheard them talking about wanting more from life. On a dare, she offers to match one of them for free.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2022/comm...

Colleen

4.5 Stars
 
*An endearing story about a young woman finding herself while finding love matches for others*


After a couple of bleak reads, I needed something lighter. Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club was my first pick. Roselle Lim is great at crafting light Magical Realism stories full of heart and mouth-watering food. Fortunately, Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club continues Lim’s streak of romantic stories that excellently balance light, cozy magic with realistic life hurdles in a way that resonates with me. I truly appreciate that. While I reach for lighter reads often enough, they usually end up in the middle meh area of being enjoyable enough but not particularly memorable or impactful. Lim’s debut novel, Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune, found me at just the right time and spoke to my heart. The second book, Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop, was enjoyable although it wasn’t quite as emotional for me. Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club was almost as good as the first book and ensures that I will be impatiently waiting for whatever Lim comes out with next.
 
The three books mentioned are all standalones but they feel closely related with common threads of Magical Realism mixed with Romance, Asian culture, and a love affair with food. In Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club, the titular character has just returned to her hometown to start her matchmaking business. With the magical ability to see people’s heart threads, she is excellent at matching people. But when her toxic mother sabotages her, her career gets off to a rough start. In order to build a good reputation, Sophie agrees to take on the seven septuagenarian Chinese bachelors living in her building. What follows is a heartwarming journey of friendship, found family, and self-discovery.
 

  "There is an ancient Chinese belief that an invisible, unbreakable red thread connects all those who are destined to be together. This magical cord may stretch or tangle, but never break."

This story starts off deceptively cutesy. With all the quirky characters, focus on love, and general wholesome Hallmark vibes, you might think be lulled into thinking this is overly fluffy and insubstantial. But stick with it. It will suckerpunk you with the feels by the end.
 

  “‘Yes. I feel so responsible.’…
‘It’s normal. I think it’s easier to blame yourself than to feel powerless.’”

I’ve always loved how well Magical Realism goes with food. And Lim is amazingly good at describing food in a way that literally makes my mouth water and my stomach grumble. I’m not exaggerating in the least! All of her books thus far have had a foodie element. And whatever food she describes, I desperately want to eat. Whether it’s traditional Asian cuisine, pancakes, or the many desserts described, I wanted them all. In fact, I’m getting hungry all over again just writing about it.
 
The one thing I did not like about Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club were the codenames. Sophie gives nicknames to all of her clients to protect their anonymity. And since this is a first person narrative from her perspective, those characters are only ever referred to by those codenames – even in her internal monologues. Maybe some of them made it easier to distinguish the seven “old ducks,” but it still made it hard to connect at times. You are literally never told 2/3 of the character names in this book. That was particularly off-putting for the love interest. I couldn’t get invested in a relationship where I didn’t know the guy’s name. Fortunately, that romance ended up being more of a sideplot and not the main point of the story. So while the story is very much about love, I wouldn’t necessarily call it Romance. 

If you are looking for a light yet poignant story full of diverse characters, found family, multigenerational friendship, and the joy of self-discovery, then check out Sophie Go’s Lonely Hearts Club. 


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 5 Stars
Writing Style: 5 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 5 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 4 Stars

RECOMMENDATIONS
If you like this, try:
Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune 
Midnight at the Blackbird Café

A new heartfelt novel about the power of loneliness and the strength of love that overcomes it by critically acclaimed author Roselle Lim. Newly minted professional matchmaker Sophie Go has returned to Toronto, her hometown, after spending three years in Shanghai. Her job is made quite difficult, however, when she is revealed as a fraud—she never actually graduated from matchmaking school. In a competitive market like Toronto, no one wants to take a chance on an inexperienced and unaccredited matchmaker, and soon Sophie becomes an outcast. In dire search of clients, Sophie stumbles upon a secret club within her condo complex: the Old Ducks, seven septuagenarian Chinese bachelors who never found love. Somehow, she convinces them to hire her, but her matchmaking skills are put to the test as she learns the depths of loneliness, heartbreak, and love by attempting to make the hardest matches of her life.

Anna Ureta

I don't know what it is about this book...

If I had to say one thing about this book is that it was NICE. 
Like NICE with a SMILEY FACE at the end. 

It was not what I expected at all - honestly I had very low expectations for it and picked it up because it was based in Toronto, but I was genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed the story. 
There were times were it tugged at the heart strings and the content was very emotional being an Asian born Canadian and maybe a Chinese born Canadian may relate to this better but a lot of the emotions, expectations and feelings were all there. 

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this story. 

Definitely recommending it to people who want a NICE read (not so much #torontorepresent since it was just like... hey let me mention this thing, and this thing - also one of the dim sum restaurants mentioned in the book... I found it and apparently the reviews are very awful and I'm afraid to step inside....)

caly

i haven’t smiled this much in my entire life i hated her mom so much i wanted to throw my kindle but the rest of the time i was absolutely giddy