Book Review: The Match by Sarah Adams
[ID: A yellow book with an illustration of a blonde woman in a pink dress with a golden service dog. A little girl holding the hand of a blonde man is reaching towards the dog. The book is sitting on a gray wooden floor with a crumpled lace drape at the bottom. Purple daises surround the left side with a blue ribbon and a black dog paw extends to the right side of the book.]
“This book is for all the four-legged superheroes of the world, saving lives, giving love and independence to those who need it!””
I’ve been dying to read THE MATCH from the moment I heard it was romance between service dog trainer with epilepsy and a single dad whose daughter also had epilepsy. As a disabled woman with her own service dog (you can see her paw in this photo - the world’s most perfect model), I needed this book in my life!
I was a little worried about the disability representation as the author is able-bodied and does not have a service dog. However, from my limited perspective (I don’t have epilepsy), it seemed respectful and fairly well done. I think the author really captured the magic of service dogs and the indescribable bond between a service dog and their human. (I cried. Twice.)
If anything, I did notice a lack of depth regarding the realities of life with a service dog that I believe a disabled author would’ve been able to portray more accurately. For example, one plot involves Evie purposefully not bringing a bag to an event. In reality, that would never happen because she would’ve had to have somewhere to store a water bowl, dog treats, and poop bags for her pup. 🤷♀️ [shrug emoji]
This kind of sloppiness aside, I did get plenty of warm fuzzies from this story. It makes my heart grow three sizes to see a disabled woman loved, cherished, and respected by the man of her dreams. I loved the little family that Evie and Jake created. However, there were some elements of gender stereotypes, bad jokes, and try-hard moments that kept me from loving it 100%.
I think I can compare it to someone else’s signature ice cream sundae. Yes, it’s sweet and tasty but it’s not MY recipe. If I was the one in charge, I’d drop a few ingredients. I enjoyed it a lot but if you happen to know of an own voices service dog romance please let me know! Maybe that would be closer to my perfect sundae…