Review of Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker by Marla Martenson

May 21, 2022 0 Comments

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be the chief matchmaker for a high-class dating service in Beverly Hills? In this candid and witty memoir, Marla Martenson takes you on a humorous journey through the ups and downs of her life working for such a place, as she struggles with the often unreasonable demands of her wealthy clientele.

“Honestly, I had no idea how shallow, picky, selfish and authoritative some customers can be. After six years of feedback, demands and expectations, they still surprise me from time to time,” says Martenson. But what can you do when your clients pay $40,000 or more to find the right woman?

The author begins by showing us what a typical day is like for her, responding to annoying emails and trying to understand the often unbelievable and unreasonable requests of her clients as they continually find fault with her precious and perfect Barbie doll dates.

After this initial glimpse into his ‘normal day’, Martenson goes back in time to recount how he got started, working in restaurants and waiting on rude celebrities like Joan Collins, who once barked at him for forgetting a fork. “For all my work, she left me a $2 tip on a $120 bill. The woman was clearly typecast as Alexis, right?” says the author.

She also talks about her dreams of becoming an actress, her marriage, divorce and remarriage to the perfect guy, the death of her father, and finally taking charge of her life. Eventually, it all fell into place and she started making good money doing commercials and landing small movie roles and print modeling jobs. She even got a couple of lines in the Mel Gibson movie, What Women Want. Then, finally, how she got started as a recruiter for the dating service, in search of what she calls “a new supply of goddesses” and her life as an author, a calling she never suspected she had.

The book is full of interesting anecdotes about Martenson’s work in Hollywood with the stars. The writing is simple, direct, witty and honest. This is the perfect fun read for the beach. I like the author’s satirical bent on the beauty and mystery of dating and relationships, as well as the superficiality of Hollywood and the pressure on women to look good. The book, although a light read, makes you think about society and the role of women and men in it, and explores interesting gender issues.

Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker
By Marla Martenson
Bettie Young Books (April 15, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0984308105
ISBN-13: 978-0984308101
Paperback, 272 pages
Memory

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