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A review by tagoreketabkhane31
Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron
4.0
What a fantastic read, and a truly unique contemporary romance novel from an #OwnVoice author, Farah Heron. When I first heard about this book, I was intrigued about the concept (while fake engagements have been done before, I got the sense that this would be different). Don't get me wrong - part of me was initially turned off by the un-practicing nature of both MCs (and really, most of the Muslim cast in this story) but I quickly realized that this was a specific sub-sect of Muslims, Shi'a Ismaili by NRIs from Tanzania (Ismailis, a sub-sect of Shi'a Islam, are known for their more secular and non-orthodoxy on many Islamic practices such as drinking, pre-marital sex, drug consumption, etc.) and once that was quickly contextualized (and I really did appreciate that Heron went out of her way to ensure that readers understood the various parts of the identities that made up both Reena and Nadim), the story was beautifully written, and I appreciated that Heron went out of her way for this #OwnVoices story to be so unique, so NRI, so East African and I quickly became engrossed in the story.
Reena is a very unique MC heroine - it's not that she is quirky, or that she is "different from other girls" - rather, its that even among her unique family, Reena is different and she sees that. Couple that with the meddling Indian parents, a dose of sibling rivalry, and a male MC who embodies both the good and bad of what brown men are known for (and some surprising things that they are not known for...), Heron did an excellent job crafting a unique and well executed story. And even though this is her second book (Chai Factor takes place before this book, and while in the same "universe", you don't need to have read that book to understand and enjoy this one), Accidentally Engaged is for sure the book that brings her notice for how well executed this #OwnVoice story shapes up to be. Finally, I really did appreciate that Heron went further and ensured that this book was not made for simply a white female audience. While romance is a female dominated genre, and indeed, specifically catered towards white women, Heron crafts an unapologetically Ismaili Muslim, Indian/East African/NRI Diaspora novel that is both familiar and unique, and that for me, is the main stand out for this book.
Of course, there were some things that I felt the book could have improved on. While the blurb does mention Muslim, I wished that the presentation had gone out of its way to showcase the Ismaili Muslim nature of the story. It was very present in the storyline, from how the Manji family interacted with the community (and also via social media), and I felt that was a missed opportunity to highlight this minority Islamic sect. Second, some of the actions of the Manji family seemed a bit exaggerated, almost as if to show that for their parents who wanted "good Muslim children" that they were not, and part of me wasn't sure if all of the "haram" that they did and caused were for the shock value, or to show "assimilation" in Canada. Finally, the aversion to pork being the golden line that the characters would not cross seemed silly to me as the rubicon on their Muslim identity.
Read this book for the #OwnVoice representation, a unique romance story line, real characters, and great food.
Reena is a very unique MC heroine - it's not that she is quirky, or that she is "different from other girls" - rather, its that even among her unique family, Reena is different and she sees that. Couple that with the meddling Indian parents, a dose of sibling rivalry, and a male MC who embodies both the good and bad of what brown men are known for (and some surprising things that they are not known for...), Heron did an excellent job crafting a unique and well executed story. And even though this is her second book (Chai Factor takes place before this book, and while in the same "universe", you don't need to have read that book to understand and enjoy this one), Accidentally Engaged is for sure the book that brings her notice for how well executed this #OwnVoice story shapes up to be. Finally, I really did appreciate that Heron went further and ensured that this book was not made for simply a white female audience. While romance is a female dominated genre, and indeed, specifically catered towards white women, Heron crafts an unapologetically Ismaili Muslim, Indian/East African/NRI Diaspora novel that is both familiar and unique, and that for me, is the main stand out for this book.
Of course, there were some things that I felt the book could have improved on. While the blurb does mention Muslim, I wished that the presentation had gone out of its way to showcase the Ismaili Muslim nature of the story. It was very present in the storyline, from how the Manji family interacted with the community (and also via social media), and I felt that was a missed opportunity to highlight this minority Islamic sect. Second, some of the actions of the Manji family seemed a bit exaggerated, almost as if to show that for their parents who wanted "good Muslim children" that they were not, and part of me wasn't sure if all of the "haram" that they did and caused were for the shock value, or to show "assimilation" in Canada. Finally, the aversion to pork being the golden line that the characters would not cross seemed silly to me as the rubicon on their Muslim identity.
Read this book for the #OwnVoice representation, a unique romance story line, real characters, and great food.