A Convenient Marriage

A Convenient Marriage is not a book about marriage. It's a book about friendship, accepting yourself, letting go of family's expectations and lastly, about love.

This book was different from all others because it brought attention to two very important stigmas: mental health and homosexuality, all in the context of conservative Sri Lankan families.

The protagonists are Chaya and Gimhana, both workaholics and excellent in what they do but not so much when it comes to love. Chaya still suffers from letting go her first love because it was considered unsuitable by her family and her culture while Gimhana is a gay man who works in a very conservative company and therefore can't come out and have to keep appearances in order to succeed in his field. Their families are both pushing them to get married, so since they get along great and none of them wants to settle down, they arrange a fake marriage. All seems to work out until they fall in love.

When I talked about it with some friends, they highlighted that I'm picky and that's totally true. If you look at my Goodreads, you'll mostly see positive reviews because I don't usually finish books that don't really resonate with me.
When I started reading A Convenient Marriage I wasn't so convinced about it. The characters seemed bland and the writing seemed basic but I didn't give up on it because I was intrigued by the plot and the fact that the protagonists were Sri Lankan.

So I kept on reading and then I found myself hooked. The writing style improved and the characters became more well-rounded and relatable. When I wasn't reading, I couldn't wait to get back into the story, to see if Chaya was making progress with her mental health and Gimhana was accepting himself a bit more.

Seeing a strong and successful woman dealing with anxiety was so important for me because it reminded me that I'm not alone and everyone deals with something different, even if they seem perfectly fine from the outside.

I found myself rooting for Chaya and Gimhana and their respective love interests because I could deeply understand them and they deserved love, despite the mistakes they made in the past.
I adored the ending, I was grinning so hard reading the last pages that I kept on smiling even after I finished the book.

To sum up, despite a weak start, I really connected with the characters, I both loved the original plot and setting. It was definitely an enjoyable and quick read and I recommended it to my friends.