anysa's reviews
31 reviews

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is a two part book where we meet Takako, the niece of the bookstore owner Satoru in part 1, and his wife, who left him in part 2 

It was so lovely meeting Takako throughout the first part seeing her figure out her new life at the bookstore and develop her relationship with her uncle and the customers. I loved reading and listening to this story so much.


In the second half of the book, we find out more about the wife that left Satoru, and honestly, I really disliked her at first, and I still don't absolutely love her as muchas the other characters, but I do understand her somewhat.

I'd recommend this book if you want a relaxing story that's gonna frustrate you in a good way, I would recommend listening to it as an audiobook it truly adds to the vibe of this book.

Yours, Yasmin by Safa Khader

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.75

Yasmin and Omer's relationship was so sweet and healing, especially since they shared similar traumas.

I unfortunately couldn't get into the story as fast as I hoped bc of 3rd person writing style, I did like how Safa used the shades of the sky to portrait the setting of the scenes. 

I also loved the incorporation of mental health sooo much. My personal favorite was Omer definitely! 


I'd definitely recommend this book if just want a sweet romance to relax with!

Mother Country by Etaf Rum

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is such a beautiful short story about a mother and daughter and the unfortunate reality of living in an abusive household.

Etaf wrote this so believable, I truly felt the characters pain. 

Please pick this up. It's so worth it!

Rifqa by Mohammed El-Kurd

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

I genuinely loved how anger and inspiration are truly the undertones of this book! 

I unfortunately didn't understand some poems that made this read a bit choppy for me. But that's easily forgivable since the poems I did understand truly taught me the thought process of a Palestinian in exile. 

I'd honestly recommend everyone to read this book. It's such an important read!

Squire by Nadia Shammas

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This story was such a beautiful ride, Aiza was such an enjoyable character who's brave, witty, and inspiring. 

A lot of the story reminded me of what's happening in Palestine, like the hate towards the Ornu and the unwavering loyalty the Knights had for their nation, It felt a bit surreal.

I loved the animation, too. Sara Alfageeh truly outdid herself! 


I definitely recommend this grafic novel!

Something More by Jackie Khalilieh

informative lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

For a debut novel, this is genuinely an amazing story! 

The way she talks about autism was both healing and educational. But my love for Jessie is uncanny because of how adorable and relatable she was. 

The confrontation of children in diaspora pared with the racism was a little too familiar, unfortunately, but I loved the incorporation of it in the story. 

So, in conclusion, I need more of Jessie because I'm so obsessed with her, so please keep writing about her! 🙏😫🤍

For anyone wondering, I'm obviously team Griffin! 🧛‍♂️❤️

Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

dark informative reflective medium-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? No

5.0

A friend of mine asked me if I wanted to read it with them, and I immediately said yes, even though I didn't really know what the book was about. 

But I'm so happy I went into it blind because it hit me even more. The writing was so beautiful and poetic it I couldn't put it down. 

The way Shibli talks about the reality for the Palestinians in the occupation is moving yet still beautiful in a way. 

My only complaint is that the book was only 100 pages, and I need an entire novel

The Four Seasons Crown by B.B. Salem

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

I genuinely didn't expect to love this more than the Fear and Fire  duology, but she knocked it out of the park!


Her writing style has improved so much so you feel the emotion weight even more, her way around trauma and trust issues from Xavier is so accurately described. 


But don't get me started on how fast I read this! I never finished any book in a day, but I had to even though I never wanted it to end.


The romance between Vivian and Xavier was so sweet and healing, I so badly want to read more of them together. 


Lastly, I loved how magical the Winter Court felt. It made my winter loving self so happy and excited to read more about the other Court's.

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse: The Animated Story by Charlie Mackesy

emotional hopeful inspiring relaxing sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was such a beautiful story, I genuinely needed to hear the message.

Love from Mecca to Medina by S.K. Ali

emotional hopeful inspiring relaxing sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I initially thought this was going to be a cute fluffy romance book.

And boy, I was wrong in the best way possible. Adam and Zaynab got married but had to go long distance because she had uni in the US, and he worked in Doha. 

This book touches on Islamophobia, the struggles in marriage, and your relationship with Allah in such a beautiful and hopeful way. 

The only thing I didn't like was how badly Adam and Zaynab communicated, but it was still needed for the story, so I can look past it. 

So, in conclusion, I loved this story sooo much because it also made me realize stuff as a muslim, and I will silently pray that S. K. Al  will come out with a 3rd book 🙏