

“My stomach churns as I type in ‘Muslim Marriage Websites’ on my laptop and I’m not sure if it’s out of excitement or shame.”
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Number of Pages: 480 pages
Date of Publication: 7 July 2022
Publisher: Zaffre
My Review Summary: A gripping rom com with an abrupt ending.
📖PLOT SUMMARY📖
Last week I turned 29. Along with the usual homemade Victoria sponge, helium balloon and Selfridges gift vouchers, my Mum’s birthday present to me was the threat that if I’m not engaged by my 30th birthday, she’s sending me off to the Motherland to find a fresh-from-the-Desh husband
When Zara’s Mum puts together the most archaic of arranged marriage resources (not exactly the romcom-worthy love story she had envisioned for herself), she is soon exhausted by her family’s failed attempts to set her up with every vaguely suitable Abdul, Ahmed and Farook that they can find. Zara decides to take matters into her own hands. How hard can it be to find a husband at twenty-nine?
With just a year to go, time is of the essence, so Zara joins a dating app and signs up for speed dating.
She meets Hamza, a kind British Egyptian who shares her values and would make a good husband. Zara knows that not all marriages are based on love (or lust) at first sight but struggles with the lack of spark. Particularly when she can’t stop thinking of someone else . . .
As her next birthday looms, and family pressure intensifies, Zara knows she must make a decision, but will she make the right one?
💭THOUGHTS💭
I was taken in by the cover and the blurb and was pleased to be accepted onto the Tour. I have read a few rom coms now so my expectations were in line with those. It actually exceeded my expectations until the unexpected ending.
The writing was compelling. I just wanted to keep going. It was light and I really felt like I was there alongside the character. The style was chatty, revealing what the main character was thinking before she acted which I enjoyed. The fact that it was all from the main character’s point of view made it more tense as you didn’t know what the other parties were thinking. You could really appreciate the main character’s nerves and questions.
The book was split into the four seasons with then fairly long chapters. I barely noticed the length of them though as I was so engrossed in the story. The story had a good pace to it helped by the splitting up into seasons.
The characters were excellent. I loved the main character and her family members. It really gave me an insight into another culture. It highlighted the concerns that some people have and the pressure that families feel to get things just right. It was an emotional rollercoaster of a story and one that affected all the family members. Even though it was all from the main character’s point of view you could still feel the anguish and the pressure that the other family members were feeling.
Lastly the settings. These were secondary to the narration and the characters. There was the trip to Dubai which was lightly described and some of the restaurants that they went to which was nice. All in all there was enough detail to give the story a grounding without taking anything away from what the character was thinking or feeling.
Overall I loved this book. I just wish that it gave me more closure.


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