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A review by popthebutterfly
Love from Mecca to Medina by S.K. Ali
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Love From Mecca to Medina
Author: S.K. Ali
Book Series: Love From A to Z Book 2
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: American Muslim MC (Pakistani/West Indian descent), Canadian Muslim convert MC with Multiple Sclerosis (Chinese/Finish descent), other Muslim and Muslim convert characters, Jewish character
Recommended For...: young adult readers, new adult readers, contemporary, romance, Muslim
Publication Date: October 18, 2022
Genre: YA Contemporary/NA Contemporary Romance
Age Relevance: 16+ (romance, war, Islamaphobia, homelessness, alcohol consumption, illness, white supremacy, religion, sexual content, vomit gore)
Explanation of Above: There is a lot of romance in this book between our two MCs and some very vague sexual content mentioned. The romance is mostly hand holding, love affirmations, and stolen kisses. There is one fade to black scene and the characters have had their Nikah ceremony. There is some Islamaphobia and white supremacy mentioned and shown in the book. There are scenes and mentions of homelessness. There is alcohol consumption mentioned (not by the main characters). The Muslim religion and a Muslim pilgrimage is mentioned and shown throughout the book. There is also some vomiting shown and mentioned in the book.
Publisher: Salaam Reads/Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 352
Synopsis: Adam and Zayneb. Perfectly matched. Painfully apart.
Adam is in Doha, Qatar, making a map of the Hijra, a historic migration from Mecca to Medina, and worried about where his next paycheck will come from. Zayneb is in Chicago, where school and extracurricular stresses are piling on top of a terrible frenemy situation, making her miserable.
Then a marvel occurs: Adam and Zayneb get the chance to spend Thanksgiving week on the Umrah, a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, in Saudi Arabia. Adam is thrilled; it’s the reboot he needs and an opportunity to pray for a hijra in real life: to migrate to Zayneb in Chicago. Zayneb balks at the trip at first, having envisioned another kind of vacation, but then decides a spiritual reset is calling her name too. And they can’t wait to see each other—surely, this is just what they both need.
But the trip is nothing like what they expect, from the appearance of Adam’s former love interest in their traveling group to the anxiety gripping Zayneb when she’s supposed to be “spiritual.” As one wedge after another drives them apart while they make their way through rites in the holy city, Adam and Zayneb start to wonder: was their meeting just an oddity after all? Or can their love transcend everything else like the greatest marvels of the world?
Review: I really loved this sequel! I thought it was better than the original and I loved seeing how in love Adam and Zayneb were. I loved seeing what happens after the first book and how Zayneb is navigating law school and homelessness while they both deal with a long distance marriage also while Adam struggles with unemployment. The book focuses on their unexpected decision to do the pilgrimage from Mecca to Medina and how their love ebbs and flows along the way. The book did much better with the character development and the world building remained immaculate. I also thought the pacing was much better written in this one, I thought this read was super informative and I learned so much from it, and overall I loved it so much. I was also very impressed with how the author cut out all of the HP references that were plaguing the other book and I thought the book was better for it.
The only complaint I have with the book is that I did think that the ending was a bit too scrunched up, like it didn’t have time to fully work out naturally.
Verdict: It was great! Highly recommend!
Book: Love From Mecca to Medina
Author: S.K. Ali
Book Series: Love From A to Z Book 2
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: American Muslim MC (Pakistani/West Indian descent), Canadian Muslim convert MC with Multiple Sclerosis (Chinese/Finish descent), other Muslim and Muslim convert characters, Jewish character
Recommended For...: young adult readers, new adult readers, contemporary, romance, Muslim
Publication Date: October 18, 2022
Genre: YA Contemporary/NA Contemporary Romance
Age Relevance: 16+ (romance, war, Islamaphobia, homelessness, alcohol consumption, illness, white supremacy, religion, sexual content, vomit gore)
Explanation of Above: There is a lot of romance in this book between our two MCs and some very vague sexual content mentioned. The romance is mostly hand holding, love affirmations, and stolen kisses. There is one fade to black scene and the characters have had their Nikah ceremony. There is some Islamaphobia and white supremacy mentioned and shown in the book. There are scenes and mentions of homelessness. There is alcohol consumption mentioned (not by the main characters). The Muslim religion and a Muslim pilgrimage is mentioned and shown throughout the book. There is also some vomiting shown and mentioned in the book.
Publisher: Salaam Reads/Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 352
Synopsis: Adam and Zayneb. Perfectly matched. Painfully apart.
Adam is in Doha, Qatar, making a map of the Hijra, a historic migration from Mecca to Medina, and worried about where his next paycheck will come from. Zayneb is in Chicago, where school and extracurricular stresses are piling on top of a terrible frenemy situation, making her miserable.
Then a marvel occurs: Adam and Zayneb get the chance to spend Thanksgiving week on the Umrah, a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, in Saudi Arabia. Adam is thrilled; it’s the reboot he needs and an opportunity to pray for a hijra in real life: to migrate to Zayneb in Chicago. Zayneb balks at the trip at first, having envisioned another kind of vacation, but then decides a spiritual reset is calling her name too. And they can’t wait to see each other—surely, this is just what they both need.
But the trip is nothing like what they expect, from the appearance of Adam’s former love interest in their traveling group to the anxiety gripping Zayneb when she’s supposed to be “spiritual.” As one wedge after another drives them apart while they make their way through rites in the holy city, Adam and Zayneb start to wonder: was their meeting just an oddity after all? Or can their love transcend everything else like the greatest marvels of the world?
Review: I really loved this sequel! I thought it was better than the original and I loved seeing how in love Adam and Zayneb were. I loved seeing what happens after the first book and how Zayneb is navigating law school and homelessness while they both deal with a long distance marriage also while Adam struggles with unemployment. The book focuses on their unexpected decision to do the pilgrimage from Mecca to Medina and how their love ebbs and flows along the way. The book did much better with the character development and the world building remained immaculate. I also thought the pacing was much better written in this one, I thought this read was super informative and I learned so much from it, and overall I loved it so much. I was also very impressed with how the author cut out all of the HP references that were plaguing the other book and I thought the book was better for it.
The only complaint I have with the book is that I did think that the ending was a bit too scrunched up, like it didn’t have time to fully work out naturally.
Verdict: It was great! Highly recommend!