"Different but good anthology"

Romancing Rose by Cathy Yardley. To quiet her grandma, Rose agrees to visit the Au Co Vietnamese Cultural Center to learn about that half of her heritage. Paul Duong is her escort, but the only part of her ancestry she wants to study is her handsome tutor.

Dragon for Dinner by Katherine Greyle. Su Ling Chen's mother dreams that her daughter will soon meet and marry the dragon. To shut mom up, Su Ling accosts Mitch Kurtz to pretend to be her date. As passion flames between them she is disappointed that he is her niece's schoolteacher not the dragon.

The Spice Bazaar by Sabeeha Johnson. Matchmaker Showla Aunty informs Nalini Gupta that she has found the latter's perfect match, Dilip Joshi. However, Dilip's friend Lokesh Mehta arrives to greet Nalini, but fails to correct her as to his identity. They are attracted to one another, but Dilip is the chosen one.

Love.com by Karen Harbaugh. Mrs. Miyazaki wants to add another gem to her crown as the "Blind Date Empress" by finding a husband for her single daughter Amy. When Amy and Kyle Nakagawa meet, sparks fly. As their attraction begins to turn to love, the interfering matchmaking of her mother and his father causes a wedge that breaks up the relationship unless Amy realizes how they met does not matter to the heart.

This quartet of matchmaking Asian-American romances is a fresh anthology that the audience will appreciate for its insight into the varying cultures and a strong cast pulling off charming, intelligent, and delightful winning matches.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted March 25, 2003

PLAYING WITH MATCHES...is the first Asian romance anthology by four Asian writers spinning tales of modern day matchmaking in Asian communities in the U.S. Matchmaking goes awry in Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese communities to bring true and everlasting love. Katherine Greyle, Karen Harbaugh, Sabeeha Johnson and Cathy Yardley present happy endings while explaining cultural loyalties, pressures and demands.

Summary

Sabeeha Johnson's story, THE SPICE BAZAAR, is about Nalini, a marketing executive born in the U.S.A. of Indian parents. She chooses to have a match made for her after dating blonds and realizing she wants a husband who shares her traditions and values in raising a family. She goes to THE SPICE BAZAAR, an Indian grocery store/restaurant to meet the Indian accountant the matchmaker and her parents have selected for her, as they said, to balance her whimsical, freewheeling spirit, with a quiet, deliberate personality. When she meets Lokesh, sparks fly. She doesn't know that he's not the accountant. And he's reluctant to 'fess up for more reasons than the fact he's fallen instantly in love with her.