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30something_reads's review against another edition
4.0
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
Graphic: Physical abuse and Sexism
Moderate: Infidelity, Drug use, and Mental illness
Minor: Domestic abuse, Racism, and Violence
kfrey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Infidelity and Physical abuse
Moderate: Drug use
Minor: Racism
alfalky's review
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Islamophobia, Physical abuse, Bullying, Racism, Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, and Drug abuse
lennie_reads'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
4.5
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.
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
- 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
Graphic: Racism, Islamophobia, Domestic abuse, Addiction, and Drug use
hopelessromanticbookworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
When I started reading this book I found it boring, I wasn’t really clicking to the storyline even though I found some characters interesting.
I liked how this book is representing Muslims and their belief, so I felt this book was more of an educational kind of story than a romance.
I understood the barriers that the main character was having and how her belief was affecting her way of life, as well as all the pressures from home. But to be honest, I felt like it was really repetitive and the romance just felt flat for me.
I understand that this is what some/all Muslims go through day to day, and it was a great insight of their culture etc but I just don’t think it worked as a romance for me.
I understand that POC get racially abused by their colour or religion or anything in every day life and was shared within this book and I can understand how hurtful that can be. But when reading this book not only did I feel attacked by the sexism on where women should be (eg. The kitchen), there was multiple times that referenced “white people” when it comes to sex, relationships etc and that the family (especially the women) shouldn’t do certain things because “white people” do that and it’s bad and dirty etc.
And me being a white British women I just felt uncomfortable and a little hurt on the references.
Overall there will be people who love it, but for me it just wasn’t a book I enjoyed. And as mentioned the only thing I liked about it was the educational aspect of Muslims, their beliefs & their way of life x
Moderate: Racism, Addiction, and Sexism
Minor: Religious bigotry
jamesflint's review
2.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Misogyny
Minor: Racism
theshivaniyadav's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Infidelity, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Pregnancy
Minor: Racial slurs and Racism
gaiadances's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Islamophobia, and Racism
frantic_vampire's review
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Islamophobia, and Racism
Minor: Alcoholism