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robinlovesreading 's review for:
Ayesha at Last
by Uzma Jalaluddin
Ayesha Shamsi is a modern Muslim and is quite talented as a poet and has the opportunity to share her poetry. However, she works as a substitute teacher. She longs to get married but is not keen on the process involved with her family and her faith. However, Ayesha is behaving quite conscientiously. When she and her family arrived in in Canada, from India, her uncle helped in tremendous ways, something that she makes her feel deeply indebted. She hopes her job as a teacher will allow her to begin to pay her uncle back. Meanwhile, Ayesha cannot get away from her family, because her cousin Hafsa is front and center in her life. Hafsa is presented as having far more to offer than Ayesha and has been receiving numerous marriage proposals.
Khalid Mirza is a conservative and devout Muslim man. He is doing his best to follow the rules of his culture and tradition in his manner of dress and style and by allowing his mother to arrange marriage for him. When Khalid meets Ayesha, she affects him so much that he forgets to breathe, However, she is nowhere near as traditional as Khalid, so therefore, he finds her unacceptable and never once wants to trust the feelings he cannot help but to have for her.
While Ayesha is indeed drawn to Khalid, there are indeed obstacles that would prevent her from ever considering anything further with him. For one thing, there is much gossip about Khalid and his family, so bad, in fact, that Ayesha wants to be as far away from him as possible. She also knows that his mother has other plans for Khalid. Beyond that, Ayesha has very good reasons never to trust her heart.
Ayesha at Last is a multi-layered story. The stories intertwine quite well. The reader will be able to see things like Ayesha and her relationship with her cousin. Then there Khalid's mother and how she strives to orchestrate everything in his life. Meanwhile, he is facing huge adversity on his job. The fact that his boss shows remarkable aversion to him simply because of his religion and appearance was nothing less than despicable.
This debut novel was absolutely incredible! I can barely believe that Uzma Jalaluddin could write such an amazing book. So many scenes in this book are permanently imprinted in my brain. I learned about the culture and how, in today's society, things such as planned marriages still exist here in the United States. All I wanted was for Ayesha and Khalid to find love. For the author to write a book with so many conflicts and the resolutions that occurred, well, it was done expertly.
What an amazing book! If this is what this extraordinary author has to offer her readers, no doubt I will be first in line for any book she dares to pen. So, if you cannot tell already, I highly recommend this read. If one is overly concerned about the fact that this involves a situation where faith is often mentioned, they need not worry. What they will get is a book with real people, in real situations, with even some humor, oh, and beautiful poetry, finding their way to love just like any other romance novel one would read. Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not mention that this is a modern-day Pride and Prejudice retelling.
Many thanks to HarperCollins and to Edelweiss for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.
Khalid Mirza is a conservative and devout Muslim man. He is doing his best to follow the rules of his culture and tradition in his manner of dress and style and by allowing his mother to arrange marriage for him. When Khalid meets Ayesha, she affects him so much that he forgets to breathe, However, she is nowhere near as traditional as Khalid, so therefore, he finds her unacceptable and never once wants to trust the feelings he cannot help but to have for her.
While Ayesha is indeed drawn to Khalid, there are indeed obstacles that would prevent her from ever considering anything further with him. For one thing, there is much gossip about Khalid and his family, so bad, in fact, that Ayesha wants to be as far away from him as possible. She also knows that his mother has other plans for Khalid. Beyond that, Ayesha has very good reasons never to trust her heart.
Ayesha at Last is a multi-layered story. The stories intertwine quite well. The reader will be able to see things like Ayesha and her relationship with her cousin. Then there Khalid's mother and how she strives to orchestrate everything in his life. Meanwhile, he is facing huge adversity on his job. The fact that his boss shows remarkable aversion to him simply because of his religion and appearance was nothing less than despicable.
This debut novel was absolutely incredible! I can barely believe that Uzma Jalaluddin could write such an amazing book. So many scenes in this book are permanently imprinted in my brain. I learned about the culture and how, in today's society, things such as planned marriages still exist here in the United States. All I wanted was for Ayesha and Khalid to find love. For the author to write a book with so many conflicts and the resolutions that occurred, well, it was done expertly.
What an amazing book! If this is what this extraordinary author has to offer her readers, no doubt I will be first in line for any book she dares to pen. So, if you cannot tell already, I highly recommend this read. If one is overly concerned about the fact that this involves a situation where faith is often mentioned, they need not worry. What they will get is a book with real people, in real situations, with even some humor, oh, and beautiful poetry, finding their way to love just like any other romance novel one would read. Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not mention that this is a modern-day Pride and Prejudice retelling.
Many thanks to HarperCollins and to Edelweiss for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.