The Mismatch

Utterly gorgeous! A smart, modern romance . . . I adored it

Abbie Greaves

An entertaining, heart-warming coming-of-age tale about first love, clashing cultures and finding your place in the world

CultureFly

A refreshing and engaging coming-of-age story centring a complex, relatable British-Iranian woman straddling two worlds and her search for identity, sense of self, and love, juxtaposed against her mother's own experiences navigating the societal expectations and familial pressures placed on young women in 1970s Iran. Sara Jafari is a compelling new voice in contemporary fiction.

Lauren Ho, author of Last Tang Standing

The Mismatch transported me back to that feeling of first love and first heartbreak. Enlightening, poignant and romantic - I loved it

Sophie Cousens, author of This Time Next Year

I loved [The Mismatch] - original, thought-provoking and gripping. I was hooked from the beginning and couldn't put it down.

Libby Page

Wonderful vibrant characters and [a] wickedly dry sense of humour. Absolutely loved it

Kirsty Capes, debut author of Careless

Enlightening, profound and deeply moving . . . a powerful love and life story of past and present Iranian experiences in the UK, and about finding a place in the world. Beautiful writing and complex, fascinating characters

Helly Acton, author of The Shelf

Contemporary, bold and fresh and captures [the] weirdness of not knowing what you want

Huma Qureshi, author of How We Met

A compelling read . . . the family dynamics are so brilliantly charted

Zeba Talkhani, author of My Past is a Foreign Country

I absolutely devoured [it] . . . Soraya and Neda's stories were so gorgeously told

Beth Reekles, author of The Kissing Booth

Heartbreaking and compelling

Haleh Agar, author of Out of Touch

Half romance, half tender coming-of-age alternating between Soraya's story and her mother Neda's marriage in the aftermath of Iran's Islamic Revolution, Jafari's novel probes into the nature of repressed desire, and the ways in which cultural context moulds sexuality in unspoken ways

The Skinny

An entertaining, heartening coming-of-age tale about first love, clashing cultures and finding your place in the world. The Mismatch is also an exploration of identity, expectations and children suffering from the faults of their parents. Jafari balances these varying elements of her novel with a deft hand, ensuring readers feel a whole spectrum of emotions whether they're following Soraya's journey or Neda's. Soraya is a wonderfully written character; she's torn between the strict rules and rigid beliefs she's been brought up by, but she's also a typical young woman living in contemporary Britain. Relevant, enlightening and refreshing in its portrayal of complex family dynamics, Sara Jafari's debut is a rewarding read that packs a lot into its pages

CultureFly

A bright new voice on the horizon

Eastern Eye