Reviews with content warning for Islamophobia - Hana Khan Carries On

I loved that this was set in Scarborough. It's such a great part of Toronto. Also, the book managed to surprise me even when I thought I knew all of its secrets! Less light than most romance, since it dives pretty deep into islamophobia and white supremacist hate groups, but a great read nonetheless.

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trinielf's review against another edition

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hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I took a bit to get into this one in the start and I definitely feel like this is more women's fiction than romance. We do get a HEA for Aydin and Hana but I felt like the focus was more on Hana's journey. There was alot going on with her and her job, and family that the romance didn't feel like the main focus but it made for an intriguing story still.

We got a You've Got Mail angle to this and we know early on Hana and Aydin have already met online before they ever realize their rivals in real life. I think the author played that out well but I wanted them to just find out alreadyyyyyy and see how they would react lol.

At first I really did not like Aydin, which I figured was the obvious reaction. He came off as a total jerk in the beginning and I suppose that made sense considering he had basically come into the neighbourhood with his new restaurant to put Hana's family restaurant out of business. But he grew on me eventually.

I really liked how Hana was not this perfect character. She was multi faceted, made mistakes and we see her growth very clearly. In fact a lot of the character's flaws were fully on display and it just made them feel more authentic as people.

I loved how Hana eventually sticks up for herself at work because her boss was getting on my last nerve! Still gonna side eye Thomas though, that boy needed to grovel a whole lot more >.> But anyhoo, I'm looking forward to more books from this author. It's my second book by her and if you haven't read Ayesha at Last yet I highly rec it!

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fromjuliereads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

**Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for an advanced copy of this book**
I really enjoyed this book! This is such a unique, fun, and enticing retelling of You've Got Mail.

I adored the characters. Kawkab Khala is by far the best character in this book - she is such a feminist badass and when we get to hear her whole story, it is such a defining moment in the book! Closely followed by Rashid, who is such a fun character and honestly you just want to know more about him. He continually steals scenes with his witty lines and subtle hints at his parents jobs...! So much fun. I also really liked Aydin and Zulfa, and basically all of Hana's family. Uzma Jalaluddin writes family dynamics to incredibly well. I liked Hana's character, but some of the actions that she took just read far younger than the age she is written as. I struggled a couple of times with her character. BUT the portrayal of amazing woman in this book was so well done and I absolutely loved it.
Also, side note, I LOVED the scenes and conversations with the DJ that Hana had. He was such a great addition to the cast of characters.

This book deals with so many serious topics, but is somehow still a light and fast paced read. It touches on very difficult scenes and experiences but not in an overwhelming way. The microaggressions and the explicit Islamophobia were difficult to read. It's a reminder that people are experiencing these things every single day. I would highly recommend looking to own voices reviewers for speaking on this piece.

I loved the kind of competition and animosity that starts out between Aydin and Hana. It's so well done for how people would react in these situations. However, this is where I struggled with Hana's actions.

Kathleen Kelly would NEVER had spread malicious rumours, and it honestly made Hana seem so incredibly childish... I really struggled with her character and decisions that she would immediately decide to go after the other person maliciously instead of trying to help or even speak to her family - specifically her mom.

There were so many fantastic scenes between them. And the few twists - I actually didn't see them coming! They were so wonderfully done.
I really loved this novel. I think I still liked Ayesha at Last more - although I loved the little mention and that the Imam was central to this story as well - but Jalaluddin does retellings so well! I cannot wait to see what she delivers next.

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lettuce_read's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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forlorn_traveller's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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fatimak's review against another edition

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fast-paced

3.5

This book combined so many things I love reading about: food, radio/podcasts and the Muslim experience.

Overall, my thoughts on this book were mixed – on the one hand, I thought the Muslim representation was really well done (which is the thing I’m always the most hesitant about when reading books with Muslim characters, as unfortunately more often and not they play into stereotypes and end up disappointing). I also really liked the main character, Hana, who is a part-time intern at a radio station, a part-time podcaster and also works part time at her family’s halal Indian food restaurant. Hana is driven, not afraid to stand up for her beliefs and witty (her sense of humour was one of the highlights of this book for me; her banter with some of the other characters was brilliant). The rest of the cast of characters were varied and interesting, and I thought the author did a brilliant job of showcasing different relationships, such as the strong, individual relationships Hana has with each of her family members and friends, as well as the wide variety of healthy, happy Muslim couples depicted throughout this book (the bar is so low with Muslim representation that this felt like a pleasant surprise to come across). A short aside: on the topic of the characters in this book, this feels like such a minor and insignificant point to make, but I found it really weird how Hana almost always refers to her friend as “Beautiful Yusuf” – was that just me?!

However, where this book fell short for me was in the execution of the various “plot twists” throughout this book. First is the plotline of the mysterious identity of Hana’s internet friend, StanleyP. I really enjoyed the portrayal of internet friendships in this book. Hana and Stanley have such a strong connection and I think many people these days can relate to the experience of getting to know someone online, sharing so much with them and feeling so close and yet not knowing some very basic things about them. In this case, Hana and Stanley do not know any personal details, such as real names, jobs, and where they live, about each other but as their relationship grows stronger, they start to wonder about each other’s identity. All of this, I thought, was tackled really well – except for the fact that pretty much from the very first chapter it’s very predictable who Stanley is going to end up being, which becomes more and more obvious as the book progresses. I started to get quite frustrated at the way the author kept stringing this “mystery” along and Hana remained completely oblivious until the reveal, which we don’t get until the very end of the book and is severely underwhelming. I really wish Stanley had been somebody more unexpected, or even that some red herrings had been thrown in to make us suspect it was somebody else.

The other main issue I had with the book is the same as the issue I had with the author’s debut book, Ayesha At Last. The author seems to favour big, dramatic scenes at the end of the book, which personally I’m not a fan of. Honestly, the last 20% of the book felt like it went from 0 to 100 really quickly, with completely overdramatic revelations and a few good-old info dumps knocking off at least half a star from my rating. I imagine, though, that some readers will enjoy those kinds of scenes and so by all means don’t let this put you off reading this book. Personally, I would prefer if the author didn’t overdo it with the dramatic endings, but overall, I did enjoy this book and the way it touched on so many important and relevant topics and tackled them well, from the struggles of second generation immigrants to standing up for your values and beliefs to experiencing Islamophobic attacks. I feel like there was a lot of improvement in this book compared to the author’s debut novel, so I’m excited to read any future work of theirs and see how they continue to grow as a writer and the stories they decide to share.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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linesiunderline's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I went into this book with high expectations because I was delighted by the author’s debut, Ayesha at Last.

While it took me a little longer to fall for Hana Khan Carries On, in the end I can say this book is entirely a worthy sophomore outing for Uzma Jalaluddin. Read it. Read her first book. They are wonderful.

Best bits
• The family dynamic - as in Ayesha at Last, you can feel the realism of the relationships in this book.
• TORONTO! It’s always fun when the city you call home comes to life on the page. We’ve got the CN Tower, a Jay’s game, Tim’s, Kawartha Dairy ice cream, vibrant local neighborhoods.
• Mouthwatering food mentions - so many!
• The structure that interspersed clips from Hana’s podcast was clever, and brought us deeper into the heart of her character.
• Adept, unflinching exploration of hard realities around micro aggressions and anti-Muslim hate crimes.

Howevers
• I saw the central twist coming very early on, but I think we were supposed to? And it didn’t really interfere with my enjoyment.
• I think more could have been made of the romance, given this is classified as romance. I do love that Hana is fully developed in her own right, and that takes work and time on the page to accomplish. I wouldn’t want that to be sacrificed. She isn’t waiting for a guy, or even looking for one. I remember Ayesha at Last was very PG too, but I felt like there was more simmering in the central relationship there. I wanted more of that simmering feeling in this book too. There were moments, but more would have added to the romantic tension.

Hana Khan has settled it for me: Uzma Jalaluddin is an autobuy author for me. You’re in for a treat if you haven’t read her books yet!

(Thank you to Harper Collins and Netgalley for the copy of this in exchange for an honest review).

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kayo32's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I absolutely loved this. Which is why it's now 2:30am and I've just read it all in one go. Rip my sleep schedule.

This book does a wonderful job of being hilarious and serious in all the right places. The characters were really well formed and felt so realistic. The pacing was absolutely brilliant and kept you engaged right the way through. And the romance was so much fun.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and Uzma Jalaluddin for a free e-ARC of the book in return for an honest review.

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