Reviews

I really enjoyed this heart-warming romance. I especially appreciated all the Shakespeare references. FEAAF is infused so much love of culture. It brought me back to eid celebrations in my country and the joy of sharing that with friends and family. Tiwa is so cute, and Said is nothing short of a cinnamon role. And let's not forget everyone's favourite ginger cat! 😊

grandcapitalr's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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? Yes

3.0

katharineisobelbailey's review against another edition

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3.0

This was a cute YA romance with endearing characters. I enjoyed the narrative structure of the book, in which we are shown glimpses of Said and Tiwa's relationships through chapters of past Eid's whilst trying to figure out what went so wrong in their friendship that they are now enemies in the present day as they have to work together to save the Islamic centre.

However, the main conflict and the resolution of the conflict in this book fell flat for me - it relies heavily on the characters miscommunication, which I don't generally enjoy, and the reveal at the end of what it was that came between them seemed really underdeveloped and out of nowhere. I also found some of the dialogue felt quite clunky at points.

Overall, a cute read but probably not one I will revisit.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this arc!

clodagh24's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative 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

4.5

kateuzbooks's review against another edition

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4.0

Thank you NetGalley for the E-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so good, not only is the cover absolutely gorgeous but the story of Tiwa and Said rekindling their friendship and working together to save the Islamic centre was just so enjoyable to read about. Tiwa and Said were amazing characters, reading from their POV’s felt so genuine and I really liked that took a while for open up to one another instead of them just making up instantly. I do wish that the conflict with Said’s sister was developed a bit, it felt like that situation worked itself out too quickly. But overall, this was such a stunning story written by two incredible authors!

bookishspicy's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? No

3.75

“It seems I can’t help liking his smile. Everyone has their weaknesses, I guess, and Said’s smile is mine.”

⚜

This was a beautiful, comforting read about two friends falling in love, a shared custody of an orange cat named Ladoo and a whole lot of forgiveness.

This book was so easy to read, I loved every second of it. All the characters were so loveable and understandable (everyone except the mayor). I loved the sister-like bond between Niwa and Safiyah. The way the town was portrayed was beautiful with all its murals, especially now with Saids mural.

Niwa and Said’s banter made me smile many times. I loved watching them rebuild their friendship while trying to save their towns Islamic centre. The scene in the restaurant together was adorable.

As someone who isn’t familiar with Islamic traditions, I felt it was all explained fairly well for me to understand, although I did sometimes have to look up things like the clothes or food.

The romance was very slow, Niwa and Said only started becoming friends about halfway through the book. I didn’t think we got enough thoughts from them about their hidden love for each other, there's a few times they catch each other's eye, or they get butterflies, but we never get much of their thoughts until the love confession at the end.

I wish we had more about how Tiwa and Said grieved for the loss of their mentor, I felt like it was forgotten about after the funeral at the very beginning. She was very important to both characters, so this part of the story didn’t feel right. I also thought that Timi (Tiwa’s younger brother) wasn’t spoken about enough considering he died only 2 years ago.

I felt that forgiveness was far too easily given at the end of the book, for something that had ruined a very good friendship. I wish there had been more explanation and a little more conflict before it was resolved.

Thank you so much to @NetGalley and @UsborneYA for the eARC of Four Eids and a Funeral by @dibs_j and @Faridahlikestea

Content Warnings

zluvsreading's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

If an “infinity stars” rating was here, I would put it at that.

Gosh, where do I even start???? I know I say this with almost every book, but

THIS.

WAS.

AMAZING.

This deserves an infinity rating from me. I truly cannot believe such a great book is (almost) out in the world for everyone to read and enjoy. I can’t believe such talented writers exist and that they are simply not praised for such an amazing thing being published. (What are words, you understand what I mean)

When I read the dedication, I was immediately enamored and knew I was going to love this.

I adored the writing style this was written with. The “acts” and how it’s sometimes narrated made me laugh so hard. (Not in a haha what a joke, but in a genuine aw I love that haha) It felt very Shakespearean (I have never read a word of Shakespeare in my life) and I just cannot help but love it. It was very easy to fly through, and that I did. I started it last night and read through half of it before finishing it this morning.

These characters are great, I connected with them in so many different ways, although I myself am not Muslim. I think that just goes to show the authors’ talent. It was very great to see more of that Muslim culture, especially around Eid and all the celebrations and traditions that go into it. Religion can be a very divisive topic, but I felt very happy reading about it in this novel. I would definitely read it again and again and recommend it to anyone and everyone, no matter what religion you practice. However, I think if you are Muslim, you will enjoy seeing yourself in this just that much more.

Tiwa was very funny, I adored her. Her with Ladoo was amazing. It’s interesting to see her in the flashbacks vs. present time and it just goes to show how much time can change you and how when certain things happen around you, it shapes you in a huge way.

The way grief was written in this packed a punch. My heart feels so heavy for her whole family. The way she deals with the hostility and racism from others just because she is Black and Muslim made me want to give her a hug so badly. Tiwa deserves the world and I will fight anyone who doesn’t think so. Her and Said? I have words! I HAVE WORDS!!! I loved her sister/friendship bond with Safiyah. They are almost like polar opposites, but they mesh together really well. It was funny to see how Tiwa set herself up to becoming a future lawyer with everything that went down in this (no spoilers!).

Said was so sassy, I loved him. His sense of humor and goofiness that came out around certain people (wink wink) was just so fun to read about. I liked that he pursued his art passion and we got to read about how he really gets swept up into it and feel the love he has for art. His friendship with Julian was interesting to see, in contrast to his (former) friendship with Tiwa that we see a little bit of in the flashbacks. Julian was a huge goofball, I couldn’t take him serious. (Except for THAT part). But alas, no spoilers! Find out for yourself!

Said and Tiwas friendship was very complicated and delicate, but I liked to see how they navigated it as older teens as opposed to when they were just kids, in a way, when they had a fall out. I’ve always said all great relationships have to start with a friendship and this book holds firmly to that belief. It’s more of a childhood best friends to enemies (ish) to friends to lovers. Maybe just skip some friends parts? It’s very complicated to explain but when y’all read it, y’all will understand. Remember, this is a love story.

DAMN this book has one of my favorite microtropes ever, that’s also very heartbreaking but saying it would essentially spoil one of the main plot lines so I will refrain. But, feel free to ask me after the book comes out or if you have read it, so we can discuss. Hehe.

I love to see all the representation in this!! We have the main characters of course, Tiwa and Said who are both Muslim. Tiwa is Nigerian and Said is Bangladeshi. We have lesbian rep from Saf and Ishra. There’s all kinds of South Asian Rep in general that I think we get from the Muslim community in New Crosshaven in general. It doesn’t go into detail about any particular person in the community but it is mentioned, which I liked! Julian is Puerto Rican which we find out later in the book.

Overall, I think this book is for anyone and everyone. You can find yourself in the pages and quickly block out the world in this immersive writing. I’d recommend it to anyone and everyone. I have to preorder now, even though I have a physical arc, I need more.

Content Warnings

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