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Release date: April 15, 2010 | ISBN-10: 9780984308101 | ISBN-13: 978-0984308101 | Edition: Large type edition
In Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker, Marla takes her readers for a hilarious romp through her days as an L.A. matchmaker and her daily struggles to keep her self-esteem from imploding in a town where looks are everything and money talks. From juggling the demands her out-of-touch clients to trying her best to meet the capricious demands of an insensitive boss to the ups and downs of her own marriage to a Latin husband who doesn't think that she is 'domestic' enough, Marla writes with charm and self-effacement about the universal struggles that all women face in their lives. Readers will laugh, cringe, and cry as they journey with her through outrageous stories about the indignities of dating in Los Angeles, dealing with overblown egos, vicariously hobnobbing with celebrities, and navigating the wannabe-land of Beverly Hills. In a city where perfection is almost a prerequisite, even Marla can't help but run for the Botox every once in a while.
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Sharper than a Louboutin stiletto -- --Nadine Haobsh, Confessions of a Beauty Addict
A fun, wry, and truly eye-opening look into real-life world of matchmaking --Joanne Rendell, author, The Professors' Wives' Club
A witty, smart read for anyone who's ever wondered what the other half is really thinking. --Lisa Daily, DAYTIME TV
Review
A fun, wry, and truly eye-opening look into real-life world of matchmaking.—Joanne Rendell, The Professors' Wives' Club
Imagine this: a professional matchmaker giving us a witty,often hilarious, insight into the fascinating underbellies of dating and making it in Beverly Hills. Priceless.—F. G. Gerson, 21 Steps to Happiness
Sharper than a Louboutin stiletto,Martenson's book delivers!—Nadine Haobsh, Beauty Confidential and Confessions of a Beauty Addict
I absolutely love this book! A witty, smart read for anyone who's ever wondered what the other half is really thinking.—Lisa Daily, DAYTIME TV dating coach
In her latest book, Hearts on the Line, Marla's day might begin with an email like this: Marla, I hope you don't plan on charging me for the last two setups--Penny and Lydia. Let me make it crystal clear for you, even 5 pounds overweight is a deal killer.... I won't waste any more time on another date with a plump gal. Clarence Penny and Lydia are both under 110 pounds--including implants. Marla facetiously refers to the dating service as the Double D--which doesn't stand for dream date--and often finds herself introducing SHBRs (short fat bald rich guys) to GDGDs (gosh darn gold-diggers) and, despite the odds, countless couples find that Marla has linked their hearts. The exasperating clients stand out, but many are terrific people, and you'll follow their dating stories with interest, as Marla struggles to work for a boss who requires her to cross ethical lines, pushing Marla to her limits. A tiny spark is all it takes, and Marla goes from being vice-president of a multi-city enterprise to being unemployed--which takes her career in matchmaking to a whole new level, all while staying true to her most authentic self.
"Marla is a gifted writer who can take everyday situations and those even ridiculously insane and weave humor through them to share with her readers." ~Autumn Blues Reviews
Marla was born in Tacoma, Washington, the "City of Destiny." Growing up she had a natural flair for acting and a deep interest in reading and writing poetry and short stories. At the age of sixteen, Marla was living in Iran with her family, learning to speak French and Persian, when the revolution forced their return to Washington State. At the age of 19 the pursuit of an acting career drew her to Hollywood and a stint in television commercials and print modeling.
Restless and eager for new challenges, in the early nineties it was on to Chicago, where she discovered that she could use her personal dating experiences to help others. She subsequently turned this talent into a career as a matchmaker back in Los Angeles, where, since 2001, her skills have led many couples to matrimony. Marla found an outlet for her love of writing in two relationship advice books Excuse Me, Your Soul Mate Is Waiting and Good date, Bad Date, and in 2010 her memoir, Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker was published.
Marla's work inspires people and gives them hope that they can find their soul mates. She found and married her own, musician and composer Adolfo Jon Alexi, in Mexico City in 2002. A world traveler and culture nut, Marla describes herself as having a French flair, a Persian heart, Italian fire, and Mexican taste buds!
Diary Of A Beverly Hills Matchmaker details Marla Martenson's experiences when she was a matchmaker for some of the richest men in the world. The cost of her services ranged between $20,000 and $50,000. The agency's price was dependent on how unreasonable the man's demands were. To quote Marla: "If a guy looks like Danny DeVito and he wants to date someone who looks like Heidi Klum that's going to cost him a little extra." And you will not believe how many Danny DeVito types expect to date Heidi Klum lookalikes! In fact the demands of some of her clients are so unreasonable I frequently had to remind myself that this book was nonfiction! Men who want a super-model-gorgeous woman (they call them 10-pluses) who are 20 years younger than them, ivy league educated and want to play the role of a 1950s housewife. How many ivy league educated women do you know who want to play that role? Or how about the guy who decided to ditch on of his matches because although she was beautiful and perfect in almost every way he didn't like the way her nipples looked. Apparently her areolas were too big. And then there's the female client who appears to be willing to sleep with any man who buys her a $1000+ handbag. Not all of the clients at the dating service are this dysfunctional but almost all of them are...shall we say, eccentric? Marla on the other hand is this totally normal, likable and perhaps most importantly, relatable person and watching her navigate her way through a sea of egos and excessive materialism is sort of surreal. And lets not forget the decent people who happen into her matchmaking service.... Reading their emails (and this book is filled with the real emails of her clients) as they delicately try to tell Marla that the man or woman they went on their last date with was insane is more than a little amusing. Considering how specific some of these people's checklists are it's amazing that Marla is able to make any matches at all. But she does. Again and again she finds a way to bring people who were clearly made for one another together.
It's sort of the Nanny Diaries of the dating world. The book is definitely an entertaining and enlightening read.Read more ›
Have you ever wondered what it's like to be the head matchmaker of a high-class Beverly Hills dating service? In this her candid and witty memoir, Marla Martenson takes you on a humorous ride 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.
"I honestly had no idea how shallow, picky, selfish, and entitled some clients could be. After six years of feedback, demands, and expectations, I'm still thrown for a loop now and then," says Martenson. But what can you do when her clients pay $40,000 and up to find the right woman?
The author starts off by showing us what a regular day for her is like, answering annoying emails and trying to understand her clients' often incredible and unreasonable requests, as they continually find faults with their gorgeous, perfect Barbie-doll dates.
After this initial glimpse into her 'regular day,' Martenson goes back in time to recount how she got started, working at restaurant jobs and waiting on rude celebrities such as Joan Collins, who once barked at her for forgetting a fork. "For all my work, she left me a $2 tip on a $120 tab. 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, her father's death and, finally, taking charge of her life. Eventually all fell into place and she started earning good money making commercials and getting small parts in films and print modeling work. She even got a couple of lines in the Mel Gibson film, What Women Want.... Then, finally, how she got started as a recruiter for the dating service, on the lookout for what she calls "a fresh 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, straight forward, witty and honest. This is the perfect fun, beach read. I like the author's satiric slant on beauty and the mystery of dating and relationships, as well as the shallowness of Hollywood and the pressure put on women to look good. The book, though a light read, makes you think about society and the role of women and men in it, and explores interesting issues of gender.
Martenson is the author of two best selling relationship books: Excuse Me, Your Soul Mate Is Waiting and Good Date, Bad Date.Read more ›
I loved Diary of a Beverly Hills Matchmaker. As a matchmaker myself, I honestly couldn't stop nodding my head and scoffing in agreement with many, many parts of Marla's descriptions of her professional life.
Her struggles with balancing both matchmaking and her personal life were extremely relate-able, regardless if one is or isn't in the business of love. You feel her struggle in coping with femininity, expected gender roles, and the "masculine" energy one would need to tackle unbearable (or unrelenting) clients.
I just read this book in it's entirety although I have no idea why I wasted so many hours of my vacation to do so. It's autobiographical so I apologize to Ms. Martenson, but I found her "character" to be one of the most sickly and whiny people I have ever come across. I too live in LA and have experienced many of the scenarios described in the book which is why I continued to read it, but my recommendation to any of you reading this review is DON'T waste your time. If you want to read an entertaining book about matchmaking, try "Matchbook: The Diary of a Modern-Day Matchmaker" by Samantha Daniels. I read it last year on vacation and it was a much more enjoyable read!
At first I thought this book was going to be more like a diary with dates and page entries. It wasn't exactly like that but it was diary like because she included very personal details about her life. The stories she tells about some of the men and women she tried to match up were pretty funny. Some of those guys were so ridiculous and expected to much. Some of the women were a little crazy. What I enjoyed the most were her own stories about her relationship with Adolfo. They are such a beautiful couple that even their arguments didn't seem so bad they were actually a little funny. It is a fun book to read.
