Reviews

As a fellow queer desi, I absolutely loved the representation in this story. Some of the storylines and relationships were really strong, and I liked the depiction of a Bengali family and community. Ultimately, though, it fell a little flat for me. The romance felt very generic and didn't really land. The writing and characterization were mostly fine, but not strong enough to properly handle the darker elements of the plot. As a result, the heavy moments felt a little sensational and didn't carry the weight that they should have. I'm glad this book exists, and I know it would have made a huge difference to me when I was a teenager - but as an adult, it was just okay.

nabiis's review

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5.0

do you know how hard it is to read a book while crying the whole time??? this was just i have no words. but i do want to say that this book was needed and i hope everyone reads it.

jennda's review against another edition

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emotional fast-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? No

3.5

chachos's review

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challenging emotional hopeful sad tense

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

ameserole's review

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3.0

Honestly, this was a random book that I picked on my hoopla. Mostly because it was an audio but in the end, it kind of worked out. Definitely liked it and will probably look into more books by this author.

The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali kind of reminded me of another book - the name is on the tip of my tongue but for the love of coffee - I can't remember the title! AH HA - thank you google search - [b:When Dimple Met Rishi|28458598|When Dimple Met Rishi (Dimple and Rishi, #1)|Sandhya Menon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1475687488l/28458598._SX50_.jpg|48593860].

No clue why, but for some reason I was just getting that vibe. I, of course, just went with it because I was enjoying the book and the characters. Plus a lot of my work friends are from Bengali so I was a little more intrigued by this book. I even asked questions about their lives back home and Rukhsana's life definitely fit theirs to the T.

I honestly felt bad for her. She has found love and it shouldn't matter if it's with a girl or a boy. I do, however, get that within their culture arranged marriages are a thing. So when her family sent her off to sort of get married - it didn't surprise me one bit.

That being said, I honestly didn't like her mother or the girlfriend. Rukhsana deserves a lot better because these two sucked. They annoyed me so much that I just felt bad, again, for this girl. She needs to surround herself by better people.

Overall, love is love guys.

psinghjagpal3's review

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4.0

Being Indo-Caribbean and also having an ancestral background to India, and having friends that are South Asian made me cringe while reading this book. First off, Sabina Khan thank you so much for writing this. Thank you for taking about issues in the South Asian community. Thank you for shedding light on these issues, on exposing the stories that are happening.

While this story had a mediocre ending (dont want to give it away but I was insanely happy with the ending) some stories are not like that. I love the progressiveness of Sabina Khans writing.

I love meeting Rukhsana and I love the descriptions of everything.
If you want to hear about the bengali community, about a love story between two women from different backgrounds, read, this, book.

Enjoy!

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