Scan barcode
A review by unawake0442
Maya's Laws of Love by Alina Khawaja
lighthearted
relaxing
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? Yes
2.0
A big thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my unbiased opinions.
I absolutely love seeing a love story told with Pakistani Muslim culture at the forefront. And I really liked that we saw how central it was to Maya as a person and to her story.
That said, I wanted to love this book so much, but it really didn’t work for me. The writing didn’t feel polished enough, and it could have used more editing. While I loved the desi rep, it sometimes felt like the book was preoccupied with over-explaining details. At first, I thought maybe this was to make sure details are clear for anyone unfamiliar, but it does that for everything like walking the reader through what Maya has to pack and her getting dressed. There were so many times I wondered why something was left in when it didn’t add anything to the scene or the story. I finally lost it when the book explained what a rest stop was.
Beyond that, I hated the main character. I never found her charming, she just seemed so annoying to me. I don’t know why she keeps talking to strangers who are just going about their day because she’s bored and lonely. She also seems so rude ignoring her family and fiancé, crossing people’s boundaries, and taking up Sarfaraz’s armrest when he’s in the middle seat and is entitled to it! I know these are small pet peeves I would likely overlook if I could actually connect with her, but she just got under my skin the whole time. She felt very immature and not in her late 20s to the point it was concerning.
The story itself was fine. I liked the mini journey Maya and Sarfaraz take, but the whole thing spirals out of proportion. I don’t think either main character seems sympathetic in how the love story unfolds, too. But I might have gotten past some of that if the writing wasn’t so bad. It needed about 100 pages chopped and I think that would have worked better.
I would love to see what’s next for Alina Khawaja and how her writing grows from here. Even though Maya’s Laws of Love didn’t work for me, this is only her debut so I’m excited to see more from her.
#MayasLawsOfLove #NetGalley
I absolutely love seeing a love story told with Pakistani Muslim culture at the forefront. And I really liked that we saw how central it was to Maya as a person and to her story.
That said, I wanted to love this book so much, but it really didn’t work for me. The writing didn’t feel polished enough, and it could have used more editing. While I loved the desi rep, it sometimes felt like the book was preoccupied with over-explaining details. At first, I thought maybe this was to make sure details are clear for anyone unfamiliar, but it does that for everything like walking the reader through what Maya has to pack and her getting dressed. There were so many times I wondered why something was left in when it didn’t add anything to the scene or the story. I finally lost it when the book explained what a rest stop was.
Beyond that, I hated the main character. I never found her charming, she just seemed so annoying to me. I don’t know why she keeps talking to strangers who are just going about their day because she’s bored and lonely. She also seems so rude ignoring her family and fiancé, crossing people’s boundaries, and taking up Sarfaraz’s armrest when he’s in the middle seat and is entitled to it! I know these are small pet peeves I would likely overlook if I could actually connect with her, but she just got under my skin the whole time. She felt very immature and not in her late 20s to the point it was concerning.
The story itself was fine. I liked the mini journey Maya and Sarfaraz take, but the whole thing spirals out of proportion. I don’t think either main character seems sympathetic in how the love story unfolds, too. But I might have gotten past some of that if the writing wasn’t so bad. It needed about 100 pages chopped and I think that would have worked better.
I would love to see what’s next for Alina Khawaja and how her writing grows from here. Even though Maya’s Laws of Love didn’t work for me, this is only her debut so I’m excited to see more from her.
#MayasLawsOfLove #NetGalley