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A review by mari98
Maya's Laws of Love by Alina Khawaja
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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? It's complicated
5.0
If you could believe I cried in public transport (okay, in a tuk tuk) while reading this book, then you've got to believe that I loved this book.
28 year old Maya Mirza is gearing up for her big I-Dos but her mind is all over the place. She's trying to convince herself that this is what will make everyone happy, but she is caught thinking of her idea of love and soulmates. While taking her flight to attend her wedding, she comes across an insufferable (according to her, at least) man who she becomes unlikely friends with when their flight takes a detour. In an unknown land for the first time, away from her family's protection, this brown Muslim girl needs to make bold choices to get back home safely.
What intrigued me was the premise of arranged marriage to finding her true match. As a brown Muslim girl myself, I can sympathise with Maya about the sheer frustration that comes along with finding a good rishta and the whole arranged marriage shenanigan. We all crave for endings like Maya's one (without the cheating, that was a little difficult to read) and this stuck with me:
"Well, while I don’t want to be alone, I also don’t want to be defined by my relation to someone else. But sometimes it feels like people don’t know the difference.”
It took a lot of soul searching to realize we've been trained to get married young thanks to society, but even though we sometimes grow up wanting that companionship with someone, we now do not want that to define who we are. It's not about people who complete you, but compliment you.
Before I go off on my tangent, I'd just like to say that I really took Maya's words to heart. I love her character arc (I really didn't want that HEA ending, but I ain't complaining) even if Maya didn't end up with anyone at the end, I'd be happy. But hey, romance sells and I'm all for it!
Lovers of all things romcom and fans of classic Bollywood movies like DDLJ would eat this up!
28 year old Maya Mirza is gearing up for her big I-Dos but her mind is all over the place. She's trying to convince herself that this is what will make everyone happy, but she is caught thinking of her idea of love and soulmates. While taking her flight to attend her wedding, she comes across an insufferable (according to her, at least) man who she becomes unlikely friends with when their flight takes a detour. In an unknown land for the first time, away from her family's protection, this brown Muslim girl needs to make bold choices to get back home safely.
What intrigued me was the premise of arranged marriage to finding her true match. As a brown Muslim girl myself, I can sympathise with Maya about the sheer frustration that comes along with finding a good rishta and the whole arranged marriage shenanigan. We all crave for endings like Maya's one (without the cheating, that was a little difficult to read) and this stuck with me:
"Well, while I don’t want to be alone, I also don’t want to be defined by my relation to someone else. But sometimes it feels like people don’t know the difference.”
It took a lot of soul searching to realize we've been trained to get married young thanks to society, but even though we sometimes grow up wanting that companionship with someone, we now do not want that to define who we are. It's not about people who complete you, but compliment you.
Before I go off on my tangent, I'd just like to say that I really took Maya's words to heart. I love her character arc (I really didn't want that HEA ending, but I ain't complaining) even if Maya didn't end up with anyone at the end, I'd be happy. But hey, romance sells and I'm all for it!
Lovers of all things romcom and fans of classic Bollywood movies like DDLJ would eat this up!