Power of the Matchmaker Author: Various Authors
Series: Power of the Matchmaker #0.5
Genres: Speculative Romance
Format: eBook
Pages: 60
Date: November 3, 2015
Publisher: Mirror Press
A prequel novella to the POWER OF THE MATCHMAKER Series
Mystical… Beautiful… Romantic…
Read the matchmaker’s story to find out where it all starts.
Mae Li has been in love with Chen Zhu for years, and he with her. But when the matchmaker arrives at the Zhu family home, she recommends another village girl for Chen.
Heartbroken, Mae Li watches as Chen does his duty by marrying another. Mae flees her village with the clothes on her back and her only possession—a pearl embedded comb, given to her as a goodbye gift from Chen Zhu.
Upon Mae’s arrival in Shanghai, she quickly learns that she’ll starve within days unless she sells her prized comb or joins a courtesan house. She goes to the Huangpu River and promises the River God that she’ll always be selfless if he will save her from becoming a prostitute… Her wish is granted when Ms. Tan, the matchmaker of Shanghai, finds Mae. But Mae must completely change her future and her name if she is to become the next matchmaker.
Watch for a new novel coming once a month in 2016 from 12 best-selling authors:
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Broken Things to Mend by Karey White (Jan 2016)
Not Always Happenstance by Rachael Anderson (Feb 2016)
If We Were a Movie by Kelly Oram (March 2016)
Love is Come by Heather B. Moore (April 2016)
Four Chambers by Julie Wright (May 2016)
O’er the River Liffey by Heidi Ashworth (June 2016)
Chasing Fireflies by Taylor Dean (July 2016)
Between Earth and Heaven by Michele Paige Holmes (Aug 2016)
How I Met Your Brother by Janette Rallison (Sept 2016)
To Move the World by Regina Sirois (Oct 2016)
King of the Friend Zone by Sheralyn Pratt (Nov 2016)
The Reformer by Jaima Fixsen (Dec 2016)
[bctt tweet=”Prequel to the POWER OF THE MATCHMAKER Series.Mystical. Beautiful. Romantic.”]
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What a sad situation. It’s hard to imagine giving a matchmaker the power to choose who you will marry. What I loved about this short story is that Mae wasn’t about to stay and watch her love live his life with someone else. Her perseverance and self-preservation were strengths that helped her push forward. I thought the ending was fitting since this is the introduction to a series of stories where Mae will influence couple so their path to true love, written by many of my favorite authors. I’m looking forward to reading more!
This was a short prequel novella to introduce the Matchmaker series (which will be one book each month in 2016). I’m so excited for this series and loved being introduced to the story of Mae (“Miss Pearl”) and her background. Admittedly, her story was a little bittersweet — I am very much a happy ending kind of girl and so even though I know that Mae will be instrumental in those happy endings for others, I was still a little sad for her own story. I loved all the cultural details in this story (although I was a little unsure as to the exact time period). I’m looking forward to seeing Mae travel around the world and across time to use her matchmaking powers!
Mae Li and Chen Zhu are in love, but are not free to marry. They must wait for the matchmaker. When the matchmaker chooses different people for each of them, Mae Li wants to run away with Chen Zhu. He chooses to honor his family and marry the girl chosen for him. Mae Li cannot do the same and flees the city. In Shanghai, she struggles until Ms. Tan, the matchmaker of Shanghai, finds her.
I am so grateful to live in the time and place I do! I can’t even imagine being told whom I was going to marry, especially if I was in love with someone else. My heart went out to Mae Li. I was so glad Ms. Tan found her. Ms. Tan is a special lady. She would be wonderful to know! She truly cares about people.
This is a prequel to the Power of the Matchmaker series. There will be one novel a month in 2016. This was a great way to start the series, and I love having this background information. I am really looking forward to reading all of the books!
I was given a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Rounding up from 3.5.
I’d already read two of the books in this series (without realizing that they were part of a series at much less the same series) and found the matchmaker part of the stories confusing. After reading this prequel it all makes so much more sense. The Matchmaker’s story is a sad tale but sets up everything for the rest of the series. Definitely want to read this one before the others. After this one, I don’t think the order matters.