Reviews

Ayesha At Last by Uzma Jalaluddin

onegalonelife27's review against another edition

emotional funny 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? It's complicated

4.5

 This is a wonderful twist on Pride and Prejudice!

The plot navigates between Ayesha, a young woman putting her dreams aside in order to do what’s right for the family-such as paying back the debt she feels she owes her uncle after he helped her family move from India to Canada when she was little-leading her to care for and be pushed around by her cousin Hafsa. And Khalid, who’s own family troubles have led him to turn to religion, bringing his strict beliefs everywhere and onto everyone, earning him some ire from his new boss. So when he finds himself roped into joining some male colleagues-and that’s a stretch of the word-into a lounge he thinks she’s not a good Muslim to which she responds with some smackdown poetry. However when Hafsa volunteers, and then consequently bails, to help out at their local mosque leaving Ayesha to take her place and finding herself working with Khalid. Which leads to some great internal exploration for both characters, seeing how they really connect to their families, and truly getting their own happily ever after. 

There’s also a few cuts to other points of view, such as Claire-Ayesha’s best friend and Khalid’s coworkers who wants to help them both while navigating her own love life, Khalid’s mother who is so sure she knows what’s best for everyone especially her son, Ayesha’s grandmother who I’d hire to be a PI any day of the week, adding to some of the great tension to the plot. 

Not really sure if the whole “double identity” thing had to go on as long-felt a good call from Hasfa’s parents to the Iman could really helped this part out. Like the Iman just assumes Ayesha is Hafsa and never lets her speak during introductions and Ayesha decides to go along with it to get some more spite for Khalid. Like did Hafsa's parents not tell him to expect two women? 

And UGH-Hasidim boss is definitely the worst-all the trigger warnings for her. Makes my skin crawl whenever she’s around. She does get some good karma thrown at her which made me sigh in relief. Also the sweet karma for the Wickham character-whoo! I also found myself feeling sympathetic towards characters I didn’t expect and wanting good things for them too. 

Also didn’t realize this came after Much Ado about Nada or would be related, but a few characters’ lines and names clued me in. So guess I should pay attention to book release dates.

Overall, a great story for those who want a good retelling of the classic Pride and Prejudice! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Islamophobia, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Misogyny

Minor: Abortion and Fatphobia

kaulhilo's review against another edition

2.0

“ayesha shook her head. sometimes there were no words, only sunshine on your heart. Alhamdulilah.”

i liked this so much! the characters felt so close to my heart, from the get-go, and this book was like a balm during hard times. i didn’t really like the writing style; it felt oddly juvenile at times, and the story sequence was strange, in that it felt like multiple haywire things were going on at the same time and could’ve been written together more evenly. which was a slight letdown, because this book, in odds with that, had so much going on for it.
there’s sadly not a lot of (good) muslim romance books out there, so it’s always heartwarming and sort of like a homecoming to find one that you can understand and love. for that reason alone, ayesha at last meant a lot to me and is a book i will hopefully be revisiting again soon.

nikolinaza's review against another edition

4.0

Baca ini jadi inget film-film Bollywood dengan segala drama keluarga yang meski nggak sekejam di film Korea, tapi tetap bikin hati panas. Terlebih kalau udah digosipkan sama para bibi yang cerewet

thisbookisbananas's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring lighthearted tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I love Pride and Prejudice. It’s the only classic I’ve re-read multiple times. Ayesha at Last is a Pride and Prejudice retelling that has been handled so smartly. Uzma Jalaluddin kept important plot beats of the original work in and punched the storyline up with issues and topics that make sense in a Southeast Asian and Muslim background. With all of the references to Bollywood movies, it makes sense that this book was drenched in delicious drama. I was so happy for it and the beautiful happily ever after! All in all a great read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Toxic friendship, and Racism

carakupferman's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted 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

such a spot on pride and prejudice retelling and a beautifully rendered depiction of the indian-canadian muslim community, highly recommend!!

kelskiiz's review against another edition

funny lighthearted 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

4.0

i liked our mcs a lot; they were both adorable and funny, and neither of them annoyed me (although certain side characters absolutely did). there was some shenaniganery and some hijinks, but considering the identity porn premise, no irritating misunderstandings. 

aforeman's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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

eshatto's review against another edition

hopeful informative 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? No

4.0

thereticentseer's review against another edition

4.0

A 3.5 read rounded to 4 stars, and my first read for 2024! This was such a cute, fluffy read with all the right Muslim rep I've been looking for! I never had the time to finish Pride and Prejudice, but this must be a sign to do it now lol

luxshisreads's review against another edition

4.0

they were so cute <3