Flawed but Full of Adventure

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Cupid’s Match is about, well, Cupid’s Match. Cupid is a character that actually exists in this book. Cupids are also a fantasy race in this book. Cupids are made from certain types of arrows, and after this happens a cupid must devote their immortal lives to matching humans for love. The catch is that cupids cannot be matched or something terrible will happen for the cupids and all of humankind. This book is about what happens when the original cupid, Cupid himself, is matched with a seventeen-year-old human. Be prepared because all cupids have a name that begins with “C” which makes character development even more difficult. For example, Charlie and Charles are not the same characters, so good luck keeping them all straight.

I have one question, “Where were the parents?” I’m not usually bothered by outlandish plot devices because after all I am reading fiction. I guess maybe since I am a mother myself I am always really bothered by books about children and teens that seem to totally disregard any parents. At one point, the main character even mentions that she has wanted to travel solo internationally for the past two summers. The problem is that she’s 17. This major plot flaw could have been remedied by just making her a few years older, into adulthood.

On the same subject as unbelievability, I found it annoying that there were all of these fantastical characters and an entire army of Cupids, yet no humans every questioned this even though these mythological beasts were not known by humans. Lila’s dad did not even question why a boy (The Cupid unbeknownst to him) was picking up his daughter for a dance in an Astion Martin. So if these plot holes bother you, this book might not be for you.

Cupid’s Match read a lot like Twilight. It is a young adult paranormal romance with forbidden love. Whereas there are no sexual scenes because of the age it is written for, the reader can still feel the tension. One of the things about the romance that bothered me was that there sort of seemed to be a love triangle. I couldn’t tell if the love triangle was real or if the author just cannot build a relationship between Lila and a male character without some kind of romantic angst. Cupid’s Match is the first book in a series, so I am hoping this love triangle finds resolution in the next book.

I did not dislike this book because of the apparent negatives that I discussed above. I quite enjoyed the action and the characters. I think the author could have sacrificed some of the buildup to the climax for a little more character development and world building. Some of the situations that the main characters found themselves in seemed a little pointless to the actual development of the story, so I would have loved to see more elaboration on these mythological characters and their world. I am sure that this book is not mythologically accurate, so do not read this if you are looking for that. Do read this book if you like a sweet young adult fantasy.