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30something_reads's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
4.0
Despite this being classified as a Romance, the actual romance felt more like a catalyst for the dynamic family story that revolves around Soraya, her siblings, and their Iranian immigrant parents. And while yes, it does technically meet the genre parameters, the romantic plot between Soraya and Magnus felt far less impactful (or important) than the multigenerational story of her family.
This is further emphasized by the POVs we get - a present day POV from Soraya as she's navigating her relationship with Magnus/her interactions with family and a past POV from her mother as we put together the story of her marriage and their immigration to Britain.
So overall, I would not fully recommend this strictly based on the romance, but I would absolutely recommend if you're interested in a multigenerational story that tackles the challenges of growing up in the Iranian diaspora with a splash of romance on the side.
CWs: anxiety, depression, physical abuse, threats of violence, infidelity, racism
This is further emphasized by the POVs we get - a present day POV from Soraya as she's navigating her relationship with Magnus/her interactions with family and a past POV from her mother as we put together the story of her marriage and their immigration to Britain.
So overall, I would not fully recommend this strictly based on the romance, but I would absolutely recommend if you're interested in a multigenerational story that tackles the challenges of growing up in the Iranian diaspora with a splash of romance on the side.
CWs: anxiety, depression, physical abuse, threats of violence, infidelity, racism
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse and Sexism
Moderate: Infidelity, Drug use, and Mental illness
Minor: Domestic abuse, Racism, and Violence
chailady's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, and Infidelity
alfalky's review
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Islamophobia, Physical abuse, Bullying, Racism, Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, and Drug abuse
lennie_reads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
4.5
Thanks to Netgalley & Random House UK, Cornerstone, Arrow for my ARC.
This book hurt my heart.
It hurt for both Soraya and her mum, Neda, as well as Soraya's siblings and Magnus.
Whilst romance is a part of this book, there is a Lot more to it than that.
The book is a dual pov and also a dual timeline. We have Soraya in 2014 fresh out of university and Neda, her mother, at around the same age in 1970's Iran.
This book was a lot heavier than I expected and features struggles around identity, societal expectations, cultural differences, religious expectations, being a person of colour growing up in britian, living as an immigrant in Britain, sexism, harassment, domestic abuse, drug addiction and more.
Even though it was heartbreaking I really appreciated the dual timelines and seeing how Soraya's parents came to be the way they were.
I'm a white woman who doesn't come from a strict religious background so I can't speak to the authenticity of the representation but it was a harrowing tale nonetheless. All I know is I just wanted to hug Soraya and Neda.
This book hurt my heart.
It hurt for both Soraya and her mum, Neda, as well as Soraya's siblings and Magnus.
Whilst romance is a part of this book, there is a Lot more to it than that.
The book is a dual pov and also a dual timeline. We have Soraya in 2014 fresh out of university and Neda, her mother, at around the same age in 1970's Iran.
This book was a lot heavier than I expected and features struggles around identity, societal expectations, cultural differences, religious expectations, being a person of colour growing up in britian, living as an immigrant in Britain, sexism, harassment, domestic abuse, drug addiction and more.
Even though it was heartbreaking I really appreciated the dual timelines and seeing how Soraya's parents came to be the way they were.
I'm a white woman who doesn't come from a strict religious background so I can't speak to the authenticity of the representation but it was a harrowing tale nonetheless. All I know is I just wanted to hug Soraya and Neda.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Violence, and Racism
Moderate: Islamophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, and Self harm
lyla_wicks's review against another edition
reflective
slow-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
3.25
though this book was marketed as a romance, it is definitely more of a coming of age story, and although i still found this quite interesting to read about, i wish we saw more of the romance, and i wasn’t too invested in the mum’s plot line. despite this, i really loved the writing and came to really like the characters
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Islamophobia, Domestic abuse, Addiction, and Drug use
pagesintranslation's review
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Addiction
isobelk_18's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Drug abuse
tayking's review
reflective
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Violence, and Physical abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
aargot1's review
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault
greisreads's review
emotional
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a story that felt close to home as I read it. It follows the perspectives of Neda and her daughter Soraya throughout two different times. It is about family, and struggling to find your own identity while trying to please your immigrant parents and maintain your roots, while trying to blend in with your peers. How isolating of an experience that can be when the people around you can't relate to what you're going through, especially when you're a WOC and you find yourself in predominantly white spaces. It's the resentment and anger you feel for your parents while simultaneously understanding why they are the way that they are.
Soraya is a character that I see much of myself in and that I suspect a lot of young women will as well. She's graduated university, she has no idea what she's doing with her life, she can't for the life of her find a job related to what she's got a degree in, she keeps her feelings bottled up and hides her true self from her family, and she feels a seething rage that she desperately tries to hide. The anger she feels towards her father for his sedentary lifestyle and the way he tries to control them all. The anger she feels towards the sexism in her culture and how she can only bite her tongue and ignore it because she can't change it. The anger she feels at her mother because she will not leave her father and puts them all through this existence. The constant anxiety she feels of doing what she wants and makes her happy and worrying that she is disappointing her parents and being a bad Muslim. The joy and jealousy she feels for her friends who seem as if they're making strides towards their dreams while she remains stagnant.
Neda is a character that brings to mind my own mom. She is a deeply religious woman who finds comfort in her practice and uses it as a coping mechanism throughout her life. But she is also a deeply unlikeable, judgemental, and condescending woman. Jafari has done a great job of getting you to empathize with her and understand the complexity of her circumstances even as she makes this woman....an asshole. Neda is an extremely intelligent, successful, and resilient woman, and you feel for her and the husband she's found herself shackled to that she has to mother. And at the same time, it makes you think of so many women you know in your own life stuck in the same position.
Her anger is your anger throughout the book. But you also get annoyed with her. Because while Islam has brought her comfort and control in her life, she fails to grasp that it's not the solution to the problem of every person in her life and so she comes across as patronizing when her solution always involves being more pious. She judges the people around her because they do not practice as she practices and constantly thinks about how they should be. It's a constant balance of feeling sorry for her because she must carry every burden on her shoulder and it's what makes her this way, and wanting to roll your eyes.
Even Hossein, in the end, as much as you hate him, when you see him discussing how deeply he hates his life and hates himself, you can't help but feel pity for him. And these contradicting feelings are portrayed so well in the character's themselves. He doesn't deserve our pity because he is an awful man, but you can't help it when you see how broken he is. Magnus is a character that I also really liked for the most part. But I suspect that's because I have a thing for brawny rugby players. But anyway. There are a few moments where he's kind of a shit person but I also realize that I have unrealistic moral standards when it comes to people so that's on me. But it was so annoying when he failed to grasp why Soraya was so frustrated with him because he has literally zero standards when it comes to friends.
He associates himself with some of the grossest people they went to uni with whom, are implied, to be sleazy people who say and do questionable things. He brushes their antics off as a joke or not serious when they're actually deeply reflective of their deeper thoughts and feelings. And it's at total odds from how he is with Soraya, so it's kind of like why do you even hang out with these people? What does this say about you as a person that you are willing to tolerate this low level behaviour from your social group? But ultimately, I think this makes him a more realistic character.
Ultimately, this book was, in an indirect way, about the relationship between mother's and daughters. About trying to understand your mother even while you're angry at her. About the way your mother's trauma is passed onto you and influences your life. About your mother healing and acknowledging the way that she has influenced you.
I absolutely cannot recommend this enough and I'll definitely be reading again in the future (and getting my hands on my own copy of this).
CW: domestic abuse, addiction, drug use.
Soraya is a character that I see much of myself in and that I suspect a lot of young women will as well. She's graduated university, she has no idea what she's doing with her life, she can't for the life of her find a job related to what she's got a degree in, she keeps her feelings bottled up and hides her true self from her family, and she feels a seething rage that she desperately tries to hide. The anger she feels towards her father for his sedentary lifestyle and the way he tries to control them all. The anger she feels towards the sexism in her culture and how she can only bite her tongue and ignore it because she can't change it. The anger she feels at her mother because she will not leave her father and puts them all through this existence. The constant anxiety she feels of doing what she wants and makes her happy and worrying that she is disappointing her parents and being a bad Muslim. The joy and jealousy she feels for her friends who seem as if they're making strides towards their dreams while she remains stagnant.
Neda is a character that brings to mind my own mom. She is a deeply religious woman who finds comfort in her practice and uses it as a coping mechanism throughout her life. But she is also a deeply unlikeable, judgemental, and condescending woman. Jafari has done a great job of getting you to empathize with her and understand the complexity of her circumstances even as she makes this woman....an asshole. Neda is an extremely intelligent, successful, and resilient woman, and you feel for her and the husband she's found herself shackled to that she has to mother. And at the same time, it makes you think of so many women you know in your own life stuck in the same position.
Her anger is your anger throughout the book. But you also get annoyed with her. Because while Islam has brought her comfort and control in her life, she fails to grasp that it's not the solution to the problem of every person in her life and so she comes across as patronizing when her solution always involves being more pious. She judges the people around her because they do not practice as she practices and constantly thinks about how they should be. It's a constant balance of feeling sorry for her because she must carry every burden on her shoulder and it's what makes her this way, and wanting to roll your eyes.
Even Hossein, in the end, as much as you hate him, when you see him discussing how deeply he hates his life and hates himself, you can't help but feel pity for him. And these contradicting feelings are portrayed so well in the character's themselves. He doesn't deserve our pity because he is an awful man, but you can't help it when you see how broken he is. Magnus is a character that I also really liked for the most part. But I suspect that's because I have a thing for brawny rugby players. But anyway. There are a few moments where he's kind of a shit person but I also realize that I have unrealistic moral standards when it comes to people so that's on me. But it was so annoying when he failed to grasp why Soraya was so frustrated with him because he has literally zero standards when it comes to friends.
He associates himself with some of the grossest people they went to uni with whom, are implied, to be sleazy people who say and do questionable things. He brushes their antics off as a joke or not serious when they're actually deeply reflective of their deeper thoughts and feelings. And it's at total odds from how he is with Soraya, so it's kind of like why do you even hang out with these people? What does this say about you as a person that you are willing to tolerate this low level behaviour from your social group? But ultimately, I think this makes him a more realistic character.
Ultimately, this book was, in an indirect way, about the relationship between mother's and daughters. About trying to understand your mother even while you're angry at her. About the way your mother's trauma is passed onto you and influences your life. About your mother healing and acknowledging the way that she has influenced you.
I absolutely cannot recommend this enough and I'll definitely be reading again in the future (and getting my hands on my own copy of this).
CW: domestic abuse, addiction, drug use.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, and Drug use