This book fell a little flat for me. I love that you are able to see Palestinan joy, especially with what is going on in the world right now. I just did not really care for the plot as it was so dry. So I did have to DNF at around 45%.

I did enjoy the courting dynamics as it was similar to other Muslim romance books that I have read!

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperVia for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this book more, but it fell a bit flat for me.

What I liked: I loved getting POV from Samira, who is a Palestinian who lives in Australia, especially with everything going on right now. It was nice to read a book about Palestinian-Muslim joy. Though there is a bit of a love triangle, I think as the book progresses it’s easy to see who she will end up with. Samira is finding her way in the world of what and who she wants, and it was nice to slowly see her go through this self-discovery. The characters I enjoyed the most were Samira, Menem, and Sahar. I loved Menem, and I wish there were more moments between him and Samira.

What I didn’t like: The main issue I had with this book was the tone of the book was so cut and dry, almost monotone. I think if it was more nuanced, it would’ve given more depth to the characters and their relationships between each other. So many of the characters in this book were absolutely insufferable. I found myself wanting to skip over almost every scene with Lara and Hakeem (which was the majority of the book). I was constantly waiting for Samira to set appropriate boundaries in how she was spoken to by Lara. I just did not like her a friend for Samira. I know we weren’t supposed to like Zarah, but she was more bearable than most other characters.

I really love the voice and writing style in this novel. For me, the plot was all over the place and I just couldn't figure out what the point was of all this drama. The book isn't a romance—it's more chick lit than anything else. The love story (if you can call it that) isn't central. The focus is on Samira's journey. But it's not so much a journey as it is a bunch of unrelated stuff happening. The book is entertaining but ultimately not for me. DNF at 40%.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Courting Samira was a nice surprise, something I requested on a whim due to a vaguely interesting premise, and was even more eager to read once I found out it was about a Palestinian protagonist, given my effort to seek out more books (both fiction and nonfiction) about Palestine and the Palestinian people due to current events.
Samira herself is a relatable protagonist. While I’m not Muslim myself, I appreciate that Amal Awad didn’t feel the pressure to cater to non-Muslim readers by making Samira more “edgy,” and showing how she reckons with and even chafes at the expectations of her culture, while still respecting them and trying to find her place within society, with finding the right spouse being one of the ways she does this.
While I’ve read a number of books at this point about the expectations placed on Muslim women to marry well, I like the way this book approached it, both imitating and subverting the classic courtship narrative, as seen in classic novels like the works of Jane Austen. Austen is even referenced several times by Samira as she navigates her courtship journey, disentangling both her messy feelings for an old friend and a new possible romantic interest. It doesn’t follow the “expected” contemporary Western romance novel structure, but it by no means relegates the romance to a subplot either, as while she does have some personal growth to do, the question of who Samira will end up with is the main point of the book.
Both love interests are also pretty well-rounded, and it’s easy to see why Samira is initially conflicted, due to both having their good points. But it’s increasingly obvious who her match is as the book goes on, and I felt they would work well together as life partners.
This was a charming read, and I’m interested in possibly reading more from Amal Awad in the future, if the opportunity presents itself. I’d recommend this book if you’re looking for a multicultural romance that evokes subtle Austen vibes.

This was an incredibly cute story, and I really enjoyed it. I thought Samira was a great protagonist and I really sympathized with everything she had on her “emotional” plate.

At times I felt like the love triangle was a bit contrived because so little attention was given to one of the love interests. I was stressing that the outcome wouldn’t be what I’d hoped, because it was hard to tell where Samira’s heart was at times. Fortunately Samira is able to stand up for herself and what she wants by the end of the book, and I love that for her.

(I have a little bit of beef with her cousin—the one who’s supposedly her best friend, NOT the “evil” one—because she’s so unsupportive. It never fully resolved in a way that is satisfying either.)

The courting dynamics were new to me, but I really enjoyed reading about Samira’s experience of dating as a Muslim woman. I thought the love story was very sweet and I enjoyed every second of the courting.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Set in Sydney, Australia, Courting Samira is a charming and frothy romantic comedy about a twenty-seven-year-old Muslim woman who finds herself in an unexpected love triangle—a sparkling ode to meddling best friends, traditional courtship, The Princess Bride, and, of course, the possibility of love

Very fun and cute! I don't read a lot of rom-coms, but this was great.

I was very excited to read this one, as I was excited to read a book by a Palestinian author. Unfortunately, this one fell kind of flat for me. I think it was marketed as a romance to me, which is why I picked it up, but it is more women's fiction I think.

4/5 stars
Thank you Netgalley for the eARC!

This was such a cute romance! I ate it up in one day and I enjoyed it SO much. Romantic comedy? Check. Muslim main characters? Check. Lots and lots and lots of Arabs? Check.

Samira Abd-Alazziz is a 27 year old Palestinian who has has met with many suitors and has found them all lacking in some way. She thinks it’s hopeless and to make matters worse, her cousin gets engaged and forces her to help with pretty much everything.

Love interests. There are two!! One: childhood best friend Hakeem, a sullen, brooding, intellectual guy who’s considered the strict one in Islamic matters. I’m not sure why texting a girl daily doesn’t seem to bother him but anyway, he’s the “strict” one.

Number two: blond beautiful Lebanese guy named Menem. I absolutely loved him. He’s fun and sweet and gorgeous and !! The brother of her hated cousin’s fiancé. This bit was actually so funny!!

The romance was really sweet and I enjoyed the drama throughout. I loved Samira as a character she’s so fun and relatable.

Honestly though if you’re hoping for a halal romance and you’re expecting rules to be followed…drop the expectation. I enjoyed the book!! But I’m not sure why there was so much extra stuff done outside the Islamic way, it seemed really unnecessary and just hinted at the romance failing…and then it didn’t.

I’m trying to be vague and non spoilery but here’s the gist: chatting daily with guys seems to be okay in this one, which threw me off since the MC was a hijabi and raised in an Arab household. The “Islamic way of marriage” is also sometimes shown in a bad light. The resolution didn’t seem to improve Samira in any way, in fact it kind of felt like rewarding bad behavior. I’m not sure how I felt about the ending but overall it was a fun and sweet romance and I won’t dock much points since it aimed to entertain and it definitely did that!!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Samira Abdel-Aziz, an Aussie Palestinian Hijabi, has been juggling supervised arranged dates by her parents while working at a bridal magazine company and dreaming about becoming a photographer. Then enters Menem, the brother of her bridezilla cousin's husband-to-be. As Samira and Menem began to court, her friend begins to push her best friend, Hakeem as a better suitor. Samira denies the existence of the romantic connection with Hakeem. Between the Hakeem/Menem situation and her bridal magazine/photographer job situation, Samira is faced with some major life decision and battles her confusion to pick the paths that are right for her.

The Palestinian Muslim cultural aspects of this story do a good job of depicting some diversity, especially among the women (from more traditional to more modern and in between). Loved the Jane Austen courtship references in comparison to arranged matchmaking.

I felt the pace of the book was slow. The romantic plot point left something to be desired as it didn't feel like there was a depth to the romance. But sometimes that's how it can be perhaps in real life; just not my cup of tea for romance books. Her mixed emotions for Menem/Hakeem isn't conveyed effectively to the reader - I'm reading it, but not feeling it. I didn't feel there was a real spark between the man she ends up but felt there was perhaps a tiny spark, a potential for spark, with the other man who she doesn't not end up with. Who she ended up with was a surprise for me, the way it was written I kept expecting her to be with the other guy - it was frustrating BUT realistic end. I also hoped we would see Samira embrace her passion in her career having spent some time detailing her work and her passion but it wasn't quite satisfactory end for me personally.

I recommend this to anyone looking for a quick light read on realistic romance steeped with pretty realistic cultural aspects of family and expectations etc.


Thank you to author @amalmdawad and publisher @harperviabooks for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. #CourtingSamira #NetGalley #HarperVia

This was good! I liked the main character and her character development a lot. The story line was good and the HEA was kinda swoony.

Courting Samira by Amal Awad was so good! I genuinely enjoyed every bit of it. I related to Samira's character immensely, down to the age and both of us being Muslim. We rarely get stories about Muslim women in their 20s trying to balance the various facets of their identity along with appeasing to or rebelling against cultural norms. It was refreshing and I believe great representation as well. I also loved the drama of it all - from the family dynamics and politics to the romantic love triangle plot - it worked well together. I would love to read more from Amal Awad.

3.5. This was a fun time! I enjoyed the authorial voice of this book and I did laugh quite a few times.

I finished this book within a day and it’s so cute ! I’m not always the biggest fan of love triangle but I really enjoyed this trope without the story. Friendships in the book were needed and I loved the chemistry. Overall the book was sweet, delightful and enjoyable.

This was a really fun and wholesome book, focusing on the career, romance and general life of the MC Samira as she suddenly goes through a whirlwind of changes in her personal and professional life (aka, her life really becomes all the romcoms she watches :D).

💫 I loved her narration so much. The casual sarcasm and earnestness were so relatable.
💫 If you liked Sophie Cousen's "Before I Do", I would recommend you check this book out! The storyline is pretty different, but the character growth of the MC and the overall musings of the love triangle gave me the same wholesome vibes and resolutions!
💫 The hea!! Oh my god I swooned so hard, I even teared up a bit, it was perfect!

TWs - general anxiety, some passive aggressive demeaning comments, mild racism

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

Samira is a 27 year old hijabi trying to figure out what she wants in her career and from the suitors that visit her parents' home. For the most part, her life is very predictable, and takes a turn when her cousin Zarah gets engaged. Between running a ton of errands for the bride to be and trying to advance her career, she winds up in a love triangle and has to chose the path best for her. This book was absolutely adorable. I loved the comparison of Arab-Muslim courtship to Austen novels and the relatable family dynamics. This is a fun, light, read that still takes the time to educate the reader on the dating/courtship customs of another culture. If you want to learn something and get a happy ending- this is your book!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperVia for permitting me to read this work before it’s US release.

It's a cute and heartwarming story. Samira has come to the point in her life where she is supposed to be married, yet all the men she meets to court with don't interest her. When she finally meets a guy, it seems that everyone close to her is kind of pushing her best friend on her, and that part is where I was annoyed.

It's still very cute and the plot to me dragged on a bit. I really enjoyed the book, the story and recommend.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc version of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

🦇 Courting Samira Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

❝ I didn’t want my existence to rest on what everyone else thought about me or wanted for me. I wondered how long I had been this way: not really moving forward but sideways. ❞

❓ #QOTD What trait (personality-wise or physical) is a hard No during first dates? ❓

🦇 As a 27-year-old Muslim girl living at home, Samira Abdel-Aziz is no stranger to arranged matches; first dates under the supervision of both sets of parents. As a fan of rom-coms, Samira knows it's unlike that her very own Palestinian Muslim Westley will come and sweep her off her feet, but a girl can dream. At least, it was dreaming until she meets Menem; gorgeous, charming, sweet...and the brother of her cousin's husband-to-be. Between work at a bridal magazine, helping her borderline Bridezilla cousin with the wedding, and officially courting Menem, it all feels like too much. Can Samira find her personal happily ever...and the truth about herself in the process?

💜 Subhan Allah, a book that finally speaks to the realities of growing up in a moderately traditional Muslim household (let alone a Palestinian one!!). I've read quite a few books featuring Muslim main characters, but this is the first that captured the authenticity. Samira endures arranged matches, the pressures of meeting parental expectations, and the stressors of singledom (as if our stories aren't complete until we're married). All my favorite, delicious Palestinian delicacies are mentioned (Samira, I feel you, wrapping warak dawali / stuffed grape leaves is HARD). I adored the comparison between Jane Austen / regency era England courtships and Samira's courtships to make the concept easy to understand (I've seen a few people tag this with the "arranged marriage" trope, and that's inaccurate). Much of Samira's internal dialogue is witty and fun, making her easy to empathize with. I'm also grateful for the RANGE of female Muslim characters portrayed in this book, from pious to less traditional to a little bit wild (mild by usual standards, trust me). It was also a joy to see a few familiar names (my mother's, brothers, aunt's...to name a few). I hope this story is a glimpse into Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab cultures to those who read it!

🦇 Unfortunately, the pacing really dragged. None of the plot points felt fully fleshed out. Samira's internal dialogue contains too many fleeting or repetitive thoughts to really give the story juice. A lot of the internal conflict she experiences lacks emotional depth. Is she feeling the pressure to meet potential matches because she's getting older (her cousin is getting married, which usually encourages family members to put pressure on the singles)? Does marrying a friend, even for a minute, seem like a good idea because it's easy; because she knows him? Despite her mixed emotions, we don't really feel the tension or stress she's experiencing. There's no real spark of chemistry between the man she's courting (or Samira and her friend) either, which is perhaps the most frustrating. Without that chemistry, the "love triangle" trope falls flat. The subplot of Samira realizing she wants to become a photographer, not a writer, is the only piece of her character that exists outside anything wedding-related, but there's no real payout there. I thought, and hoped, that would be the meat of the story; that Samira would realize she doesn't need to get engaged or married in any rush when she can focus on her own growth instead. The ending feels rushed and unnatural when Samira could have done the unexpected. Despite inching toward 30, Samira also comes off as juvenile (which I've seen some people say "perhaps that has to do with the culture" in reviews, which HURTS).

🦇 Recommended to anyone looking for a light rom-com (with a few dashes of friends-to-lovers potential and meddling besties). Definitely ideal for fans of Bridget Jones's Diary.

✨ The Vibes ✨
☪️ Contemporary Romance
☪️ Muslim & Palestinian MC
☪️ Love Triangle
☪️ Jane Austen / The Princess Bride References
☪️ Arranged Matches (NOT Marriage)

🦇 Major thanks to the author @amalmdawad and publisher @harperviabooks for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. #CourtingSamira #NetGalley #HarperVia

2.5 rounded down.


This is a re-print-this book was originally published in Australia. Be aware that there is a glossary of Arabic words and terms at the end of this book. I read it as an ARC and was not aware of this. Also, if you are an American, be aware that there are a lot of Australian slang terms used that don't show up as definable on the Kindle reader!
That being said, I did see a lot of similarities to Bridget Jone's Diary, but not an exact copy. Close. But not exactly.

I will also say that though this is a religious book, it is not hugely so. I did enjoy learning about the Arabic culture and more about the Muslim faith. I did not like the book for other reasons, and chiefly, it was because of Samira's cousin. What can I say? Sometimes, secondary characters are just as important in how they come off as the main characters are. I also didn't like how Samira treated her workplace; she spent more time on her personal business than actual work.

For people who are supposed to be adults, they spend an awful lot of time acting like teenagers. Perhaps that has to do with the culture.

All in all, this was a fast read but not one that I enjoyed. I found no humor in it, just a lot of angsting and backstabbing.


*ARC supplied by NetGalley.

Three stars feels so lukewarm but overall, this felt "okay". I liked:
*the fun female friendships
*Samira's final decision to do what she's passionate about
*all the book and movie quotes Samira and Hakeem share
*the mention of so many pastries and chocolate and coffee is cute and made me hungry, even if I was a little concerned about Samira's sugar intake and diabetes risk
*it's S.K. Ali book level halal up until the last chapter??
which leads to my unfavorites:
*LI Menem is kinda bland, with no discernible quirks or flaws
*the religious friend spouts Quran and hadith and isn't much fun. The wild friend is wild.
*the whole Hakeem plotline felt almost pointless

certainly not a bad read, just not much to love.

This book is not worth your time - I couldn't finish it because I liked NONE of the characters. Samira's best friends are rude to her and not forthcoming with their feelings. Samira is not forthcoming with her feelings about the two men (not to mention lack of likeable characteristics about either one) which leaves the reader extremely confused as to who's side we are supposed to be on. The premise is very interesting and I was excited to get into it but all of the characters are duds. Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the ARC