The Marriage Code

A Novel

By: Brooke Burroughs

Narrated by: Soneela Nankani, Vikas Adam

Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

In Brooke Burroughs’s endearing debut novel set in vibrant India, enemies turned allies encounter obstacles in an unexpected multicultural romance only to discover that in the end, love is love.

Emma has always lived her life according to a plan. But after turning down her boyfriend’s proposal, everything starts to crumble. In an effort to save the one thing she cares about - her job - she must recruit her colleague, Rishi, to be on her development team...only she may or may not have received the position he was promised. (She did.)

Rishi cannot believe that he got passed over for promotion. To make matters worse, his new boss wants to send the team to his home city of Bangalore, India, where not only is he confronted by his childhood nemesis but his parents are expecting him to get married. So when Emma sweetens the deal by offering to write an algorithm to find him the perfect bride, he reluctantly accepts.

Neither of them expect her marriage code to work so well - or to fall for one another - which leads Emma and Rishi to wonder if leaving fate up to formulas is really an equation for lasting love.

©2021 Brooke Burroughs (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Immersive performances by Soneela Nankani and Vikas Adam add dimension to the characters in this light story about a work rivalry that turns romantic.” - AudioFile Magazine

“Two engaging leads, plenty of family drama, and the vibrant backdrop of India blend in a slow-burn romance that is as much for seasoned readers as it is for those who are new to the genre. Burroughs is an author to watch.” - Library Journal

“Brooke Burroughs’s The Marriage Code has it all: an enemies-to-lovers plot, a heroine in a STEM field, and an Emily in Paris-style relocation subplot that finds the book’s central characters moving to Bangalore.” - POPSUGAR

captured me from start to finish

One of the best books ever written. I learned about love, life and travel. I am already looked forward to reading Brooke Burroughs next novel.

Slow Start

It started a bit slow. I really didn't like the main characters at first, but it got better.

Narrators are amazing

This is the second book that I listened to with Soneela Nankani and Vijay Adam as narrators. They are amazing actors and really help bring the story to life.

interesting and delightful

Pro: The story and actors really brought this story to life. Story was predictable ROMCOM, but enjoyable nonetheless

Con: The actors rotate reading between chapters and it becomes a little confusing at first.

Summary: Glad to have heard this story. Audible version made it much more enjoyable.

Loved this book!

I laughed and cried and absolutely loved this story. (And I can't tell you how bad I want to order some Indian food right now!) The descriptions of life in Bangalore and of the characters' experiences and emotions were so vivid, you really get pulled in. I also thoroughly enjoyed the narration. Both the female and male narrators did a great job with the voices and pacing. I would highly recommend this book!

Amazing story

I loved this story. It's not my normal type of read, but it is so robust and heart felt that I can't help but love it.

A substantial story “experience” in dual narration.

This really impressed me and moved me. I bought The Marriage Code during a sale, thinking it would at least have great narration, and it does! In fact , I discovered even more of Vikas Adam’s talent as I had never heard him perform the accent specific to this setting’s region of India (I’m assuming).
This has the qualities of an enemies (and maybe) to lovers plot line with all the grace of Mary Stewart’s capacity to create and imbue a story with richness of sense and place. I can find long contemporary romances suspect in that so many times it has meant gratuitous drama and melodrama, but in this case everything felt organic and authentic.
I struggled some with how unlikable the main characters could be early on, but that lent to a stronger sense of growth and humanity as the story developed.I also accepted at a certain point that sometimes the discomfort came from familiarity owing to my own humanity. ; )
Related to this book, I read and reread Sajni Patel. Sandhya Menon, Lillie Vale, Sara Desai. Jasmine Guillory, Alexis Daria, Michelle Quash and Talia Hubert.

Overall enjoyable romance

Probably more like 3.5 stars for the story. I flip-flopped a lot with this book. At first I really liked it but then I started to feel more ambivalent to it but then it turned around again and I ended up really enjoying it. There were a few things about it that I didn’t care for. I felt like the relationship between Emma and Rishi went from friendship to serious attraction out of nowhere. They didn’t seem to ease into their feelings; it felt like all of a sudden they were fantasizing about one another. However, after they started their relationship their feelings for one another seemed to grow more realistically. That said, without giving any spoilers, there was a decision that Emma made towards the end that I wasn’t happy with. I felt like there should have been a different way to handle the situation. While I didn’t love the book, I did end up enjoying it. And the audio was wonderfully narrated by both readers.

Good, but...

There was a lot I really loved about this book. I enjoyed hearing about the food and culture.

I was disappointed that the spicy scenes were behind closed doors.

The narration was incredible. I'll definitely be looking out for these narrators again.

Cute but long

This was a great story and I loved the culture clash and love overcoming even if it was super difficult. It was a tad long, and I think if a little was cut I would have enjoyed it even more.