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A review by aforestofbooks
If I Loved You Less by Aamna Qureshi
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sighhhhhhhh
I really thought I would like this. I loved the little of Humaira we saw in When a Brown Girl Flees, and when this book was announced I got so excited to see more of the side characters.
I've never read Emma, but I did watch the movie that came out a few years ago. I knew Emma as a character would be annoying, but I wanted to give a halal Muslim romance a chance–there's so few of these books as it is, and I really wanted to read another one that would make me feel as happy as Love From A to Z did.
I think my main issue with this book was the writing style. The dialogue didn't always fit the time and setting. The characters spoke like they were literally in Emma which didn't make much sense to me, and took me out of the story so many times when they used words I would never hear in conversation.
I also don't know how likeable the characters were, which makes sense because Emma-retelling, but I don't know if Humaira grew on me as a character. Rizwan was awful, mainly because he pouts waay too much. And Farad was okay, but I did eventually get annoyed with him too.
I read this book faster than I normally would have, despite wanting to dnf like 25% of the way in, only because Gretal told me it gets better, and I can't say if it really did. The moments between Humaira and Fawad started to annoy me because there was so much sexual tension, yet Humaira was entirely clueless or in denial for most of it. I always say I'm not a romantic, yet I do enjoy romantic subplots in some of the books I've read over the years. But for some reason, this didn't work for me. It was a bit too much: the constant staring into each other's eyes, standing so close to each other while arguing, Fawad constantly noticing her lips. It was still mostly a "halal" romance, but it didn't work for me the way I wanted it to.
That being said, I do think most people would enjoy this book. I've never seen Bridgerton, but this book is what I would imagine modern day Bridgerton to be like featuring Muslim characters.
3/5 stars
I really thought I would like this. I loved the little of Humaira we saw in When a Brown Girl Flees, and when this book was announced I got so excited to see more of the side characters.
I've never read Emma, but I did watch the movie that came out a few years ago. I knew Emma as a character would be annoying, but I wanted to give a halal Muslim romance a chance–there's so few of these books as it is, and I really wanted to read another one that would make me feel as happy as Love From A to Z did.
I think my main issue with this book was the writing style. The dialogue didn't always fit the time and setting. The characters spoke like they were literally in Emma which didn't make much sense to me, and took me out of the story so many times when they used words I would never hear in conversation.
I also don't know how likeable the characters were, which makes sense because Emma-retelling, but I don't know if Humaira grew on me as a character. Rizwan was awful, mainly because he pouts waay too much. And Farad was okay, but I did eventually get annoyed with him too.
I read this book faster than I normally would have, despite wanting to dnf like 25% of the way in, only because Gretal told me it gets better, and I can't say if it really did. The moments between Humaira and Fawad started to annoy me because there was so much sexual tension, yet Humaira was entirely clueless or in denial for most of it. I always say I'm not a romantic, yet I do enjoy romantic subplots in some of the books I've read over the years. But for some reason, this didn't work for me. It was a bit too much: the constant staring into each other's eyes, standing so close to each other while arguing, Fawad constantly noticing her lips. It was still mostly a "halal" romance, but it didn't work for me the way I wanted it to.
That being said, I do think most people would enjoy this book. I've never seen Bridgerton, but this book is what I would imagine modern day Bridgerton to be like featuring Muslim characters.
3/5 stars