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jcrawford31's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Sexual content
100_pages_hr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
The meet cute in this book was such a fun start and I really enjoyed watching Nadim and Reena get to know each other. I love books with strong friendships.
This book is full of secrets and that made it a little hard for me to love it.
I didn't realistic at first that this was teach a book 2 so I'm looking forward to going back and reading the first one.
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Mental illness and Sexual content
Minor: Eating disorder
rrubin97's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Minor: Sexual content
booksandprosecco's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Eating disorder
emfass's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
There were some things I did like about this book, but ultimately I struggled with a lot of it. There was a moment 75% of the way through where Reena, the heroine, is having a reckoning with herself about needing to face her issues. She's taking stock of her life and the things she's dealt with. As her issues were being listed, I noticed that most of these things had taken place off page, or before the book had started, which made me feel a bit...left behind? I found I didn't care as much as I wished I did in this moment of her story. I think this connects into my main struggle with the book: there was a lot of pulling into Reena's mind in the middle of a scene or conversation so that we as the reader could get context/background for what was going on, but it led to me feeling detached from the scene we were currently in, especially when it would go on for a couple paragraphs or pages. Additionally, my number one complaint that arises when a book doesn't really grab me applies here: too much telling, not enough showing.
I was incredibly wary when we met Nadim, especially because of how much he was flirting with Reena after she'd made it clear (I thought) that she wasn't interested, or certainly before she was showing him any mutual interest. With that said, I thought consent representation was pretty great when it came up throughout the rest of the book.
I didn't love the myriad subplots, though I mostly found them hard to track in the moment of revelation when they all came together at the end. In trying to follow the reveals, my brain got tired, and in emerging from the other side, I'm not sure how well they served the story as opposed to just diffusing focus.
Lastly, I am always bummed by fade-to-black steamy scenes. I'm happy for them to exist that way for those readers that want them, but I want to be present for all the moments of the main characters getting to know each other and building intimacy.
Moderate: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness
Minor: Sexual content
thespinystacks's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Reena, our main character takes us on a light cultural journey through the eyes of a Muslim daughter, toeing the line between being her own modern woman while still wanting to make her parents proud.
I loved that this wasn’t a lesson in Islam, but would weave Muslim culture through the story giving the reader the opportunity to go and research elements of the religion that they don’t know / understand. It is assumed that the reader will have some base level of knowledge, and that’s how it should be in my opinion.
This is a solid rom-com that will have you craving bread and rich dips.
Minor: Sexual content
linesiunderline's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Unfortunately for me, the overall execution did not meet expectations.
Best bits
- Ah the food, so many descriptions of mouth-watering yummy things. This was a real strength.
- I enjoyed the glimpse into Reena’s Indian Muslim family. The author brought this community to life.
Howevers
- Way too many things happening - so many plot threads that they couldn’t possibly be developed or attended to in a satisfying way.
- Something about the writing felt flat, more telling than showing.
- I am by no means a widely read romance reader, but I didn’t find the sex scenes to be confidently written, there was an awkwardness to them.
- Considering Nadim was pretty critical to the success of the story, I found him to be underdeveloped.
I am interested to read more Own Voices reviews of this title since some of the reviews I’ve read find the way that some characters’ relationship with alcohol is represented throughout the book to be problematic. A head’s up.
Moderate: Eating disorder, Infidelity, and Sexual content
decklededgess's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
bro this book was wild lmao. a wild foot fetish appears. i loved it either way though it was pretty funny and the romance was super adorable.
Moderate: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Islamophobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Biphobia, Body shaming, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
qace90's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This is a great blending of family and friendship and romance, as well as finding your own path and finding love along the way. Really enjoyed this! Full review closer to release.
Full review:
This book is so wonderful!
Reena is unhappy at her finance job and finds her family to be overly meddling, especially when she learns her father has arranged her engagement with Nadim as part of a business agreement. But when she happens to meet him as her new neighbor, and he’s already smitten with the fresh-baked bread smells always coming from her apartment, she’s unwillingly attracted to him. When she loses her job and runs into Nadim at the local bar, they drunkenly submit a video to a cooking contest and find themselves faking their engagement in order to win prestigious baking course.
This was really fun and sweet, full of wonderful friendship and complicated familial relationships. I loved seeing the development between Reena and Saira, her younger sister, especially and how even a tense sibling bond can change with effort and time. I also loved how central food was and how much love was included in the meals Reena and Nadim made. I appreciated how they wanted to stay true to their roots as East African-Indian Muslims and refused to dilute or colonize their food.
I will admit I almost set this book aside because I was feeling bored and there’s more fatmisia than I’m wholly comfortable with, but I’m glad I stuck it out because the ending especially was super sweet. This has such a sweet romance and I think it played wonderfully with the fake dating trope. Definitely recommend if you’re interested in a romance where friendship and food are central, and family is complicated but still loving in their imperfect ways.
Moderate: Eating disorder and Mental illness
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Sexual content