I think that I genuinely would have like this book a little more, but it really read like a YA book. To be transparent that’s not at all a bad thing. I do enjoy YA, even if I’m no longer an adult. But sometimes i do find that I can’t get behind a book or even enjoy it if I don’t really connect with the characters or story. I think that it just wasn’t for me.

I don't necessarily think that this is a bad book, I just don't think it was the book for me. I got through 40% until I gave up and DNF.

The good:
- In theory, it's an interesting concept! I'm all about characters proving that they are more than what people perceive them to be. I especially love spite as the motor for change. Give me the angst! The self doubt!
- The potential for angst and romance! At least to the place that I got to, there's a building love-triangle of sorts, and I'll always appreciate a good push/pull of angst between the characters. Triangles are a great way to consolidate character development and to make it clear to the reader where characters stand in relation to one another.

The not-s0-good:
- This is obviously a contemporary romance, so we aren't expecting any fighting or war or crazy world-building. That said, I don't think it's too much to ask for some action. The exposition of a story needs to build understanding in the readers, to introduce the characters, relationships, to paint the picture of context. SO much of this book was laying the "foundation," that I found myself unable to pick the book up again. There weren't many stakes, even 40% into the book, and that made it hard for me, as a reader, to stay invested in the characters and their struggles.

Overall:
This book is really bland for me. I don't really love it because of how...ordinary it is. The writing isn't standout beautiful and the concept is interesting, though in my opinion the execution sort of ruined it.

Would I recommend this book?:
No, I wouldn't recommend this book. I feel so bad saying so, but it's the truth. There are a lot of better romances out there *in my opinion*, ones that have better stakes or better and more three-dimensional characters. I don't think you're missing out on much if you decide to pass on this one.

A romantic comedy with a serious side and a male lead? Here for all of it. Sign me up for book two or anything else Masood is going to do.

Denyal loves cooking and cracking jokes. School is a bore but he’s got good looks. He’s mildly in love with his best friend’s twin sister, but she’s a richer breed of Desi and he’s not sure she likes him anyway. She’s the first side of the triangle. Then there’s Bisma whose parents need to find her a suitable husband but for them it seems nearly impossible because there is a sex tape of Bisma with a white boy from school and the family is shamed. But Danyal and Bisma get along well and Danyal finds her father’s treatment of her deplorable. Both girls want to help Danyal in this Renaissance Man competition he was selected to be in but with varied results- who will he align with and fall for?

Character is strong, so is the writing. And what’s not to love about the cover too? Multiple copies will be purchased! There's a sweetness that makes it feel like the most precious summer beach read but potent conversation about generational conflict and heritage that makes it an every season read. One that gives me warm and fuzzies for multiple reasons whenever I'll think about it.

I have had such a hard time rating this. I noticed many flaws while reading but I won't lie and say I didn't enjoy it. I think it came down to I loved many of the ideas that the author was going for but wasn't completely sold on the execution.

A big portion of this novel deals with Danyal learning about the dark side of Winston Churchill's history (namely the Bengal Famine) and deciding whether he should paint Churchill in a positive light and appease his history teacher, or discuss the truth and risk his grade and thus upset his family. I thought this was a really interesting conflict and I loved how it related to what was going on in Danyal's personal life.

The romance in this book is so sweet, albeit it does a back seat to the other conflicts going on. I didn't mind this, and I liked how slow and subtle it developed. Bisma and Danyal were so supportive of each other and brought out the best in the other. I also liked how Danyal's long-time crush, Kaval, who is very pretty and comes from a rich family, fit into the story. I love when books deconstruct the fantasies and idealizations that come with infatuation, and I thought the story had a really good message about how compromises can only go so far until a relationship becomes toxic.

I also surprisingly liked the messiness of Danyal's friend group and the struggle that comes with trying to maintain friendships when people have grown and changed. It was very realistic but not discouraging, which I appreciated.

The flaws I have with the book mainly stem from the writing style, which I thought was pretty hit or miss. It was funny a lot of times and there were definitely scenes where I found myself smiling. However, sometimes things that were supposed to be jovial just came across as weirdly cruel, and some of the explanations for Islamic/cultural practices were trying to be funny but just didn't land for me. Perhaps this is a me problem but the dialogue also often lacked notes on intonation which made what could have been fun encounters monotonous or awkward.

I was annoyed at some of the seemingly random philosophical moments we would get from side characters that we barely knew, like the head chef of the restaurant Danyal works at. Even some moments between the main characters felt out of place, and those took me out of the story.

For the most part I liked Danyal's characterization but sometimes I think the author went a little heavy-handed with trying to show how not smart he was. I was under the impression that he was just not book smart but could excel at things he was passionate about like cooking, but he wouldn't know common words or phrases like "progress" or "break a leg" which felt a little inconsistent. (I also didn't like how many times people called him stupid in one way or another, it felt so unnecessarily cruel at times).

I was a little annoyed with the characterization of Sohrab, Danyal's friend, because it fell into this stereotype of practicing Muslims not being able to have fun and judging others. For example, at one point he questions why anyone would read for fun instead reading to learn and educate, but I mean,
you can choose to read religious texts in your free time but still understand why some people don't? The story does actually give him a little more depth later on into understanding why he acts the way he does, but it was still a little upsetting to see this stereotype.

A fun and sweet romantic comedy that hits the spot! Danyal is a delight to read and I loved that we got to see a diverse love story. More books like this, please!

I stayed up late last night to finish this book because I just couldn’t put it down! I’m giving this book 4.5/5 stars because although I loved it, it started out a bit slow for me. Once I got into the story though, I really enjoyed it.

Danyal is such a lovable character, and I liked that Bisma spoke her mind. Their relationship was so cute and awkward, so I loved it! Also, there were some parts that made me laugh a lot, which is always a plus for me.

This story is also very relevant to what’s going on in the world right now. I liked how the author was able to incorporate history that isn’t discussed very often and should be made known. It was also interesting to learn more about Islam even if the characters didn’t exactly practice it completely.

There were a few characters that were hard to deal with because of how harsh they were. I felt that almost everyone in Danyal’s life was cruel to him and didn’t actually care about him as a person.

Overall, this book was definitely worth reading and I would recommend it to everyone because of the relevance of the topics discussed in it.

i loved the concept. i really did. but this just wasn't for me.

maybe i'll read it later once it's officially out.

Wow, wow, wow! There are not enough good things I can say about this book.

YA/new adult love stories sometimes lean so much into the cutesy and cheesy that while enjoyable, are just ok. More Than Just a Pretty Face did not have that problem! The main characters, Danyal and Bisma are incredibly lovable. They have great chemistry and they give good banter. They feel real feelings and deal with real, complex problems. So while this book takes place in a high school setting, it is so much more than your everyday high school drama. I also loved that it was unique to other arranged marriage stories in that it had a modern twist.

I loved the representation of Pakistani culture and Muslim religion and the important conversations about whitewashing history. Based on some reviews, the representation may not have always been accurate? It felt respectful and was written by a Pakistani immigrant but as I am neither Pakistani nor Muslim, and do not know much about the culture, I cannot speak to that aspect.

I could not put it down, and I completely fell in love with Danyal and Bisma. Thank you NetGalley, author, and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I think this book could have been good but it's written very childish. I didn't like any of the characters and the plot was boring.

YA Fiction novel MORE THAN JUST A PRETTY FACE is the best Muslim-authored book of 2020.

At first, this WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI meets THE CHAI FACTOR romance catches the eye because it is written by the rare male Muslim fiction author. It holds the attention because of its savage (yet accurate) trolling of the Desi community: "uncles-in-training" who are the "sworn Guardians of the Hymen" and can be found at "dawats that still suck despite awesome food."

Characterization is not as strong as the
overall theme of acceptance in the novel: the two inconsistent main characters - 19-year old chef Danyal and his damsel-in-distress romantic interest Bisma- dim the pages while put- together 'mean girl' Kaval shines.
.
MORE THAN JUST A PRETTY FACE dives into an emerging genre within Muslim-authored fiction, it explores the individual trauma from community judgment, rather than the hardships from external Islamophobic factors.

Like Thor's mom tells him in Avengers Endgame, "everyone fails at who they're 'supposed' to be," because each person is more than just a pretty face.

Danyal's determination to pursue dishonored Bisma and his chef passion, despite his father's and community's disapproval, shows that it is vital to stop pressing expectations on others- a lesson that is lost on the Desi community. Beyond its laugh out loud humor and sweet romance, Masood's stark novel contains a depth and lasting impression that has not yet been seen in YA fiction.

Thank you very much for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book deserves the Michelin star of books.

What a beautifully written tale! A tale that the YA shelves definitely needs!

Masood writes a generous spectrum of Muslim characters from the very serious, intense, and devoted to the more relaxed characters (e.g. Sohrab vs. Intezar). Moreover, I like how he portrays and includes this dynamic interpretation of what it means to be Muslim not just in the friend group but within families as well (e.g. Sohrab vs. Kaval).

Personally, I liked Intezar's character because I felt I related to him the most. He didn't fit in with the non-Muslims because he was Muslim, but he didn't fit in with the Muslims either because he wasn't considered Muslim enough, or a good Muslim. I especially liked how Masood expressed this through the simple decision of picking a lunch table. The MSA would have made space, but they would have also judged them. I felt the same way at both my high school and university, and often still do when socializing in a setting where there are others from my faith.

Finally, I normally do not read historical reads, however, Masood embeds history into this story artfully.

There were many relatable, moments in this book for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Stay tuned for quotes of these moments on rukhsandbooks.tumblr.com.

Looking forward to Masood's next book.

Highly recommend this to fans of Sandhya Menon.

Thank you Netgalley and Little Brown Books for Young Readers for this ARC.

Danyal...what a character. Charming, self-assured, yet not fitting the mold of what his society or parents want. I think many students could identify with that, and also with the idea that being intelligent doesn't always result in academic success. I enjoyed learning about colonial British history, as well as some facets of Islam, during this read, and felt enlightened by Danyal, as was likely the author's intent.

This is a great and much needed book for right now. It speaks to so many things that are happening in our society like racism and whitewashing of history.
I loved the slow burning romance. I liked how the relationship between Danyal and Bisma developed.

This book is beautifully written and carries so much weight. This book hits on the topics of high school and wanting to make your parents proud without giving up your own dreams.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Reads like Mike Gayle but for teens. Really enjoyed this one, with a flip from the usual teen romance in that it was from the teen guy’s perspective. Narrator was funny, self-deprecating, and sympathetic.

Rating: 3.75
I started this book thinking it was going to be a run YA romance, boy did it surprise me! It was so much deeper than I expected. Syed Masood really focused on the Indian culture and how arranged marriages are still prevalent today. Not only that but he used the main character's nomination in a school competition to speak of colonialism, how the Indians were treated by the British, and how many of those principles are still alive today. Masood used his book to bring up many points about how 'the mind-set of supremacy based on race and nationality' from decades ago, is still alive today and he does it in a simple uplifting way that doesn't make the reader feel shamed but shows the growth in the main character, Danyal and left me feeling inspired.

Things I liked:
- How Danyal didn't let traditions, shame or familial and societal expectations rule his decisions - he went after the girl he wanted despite his family's desires and fought for what he wanted for his future
- Danyal's connection to cooking, how it calms him
- The introspective of cultural and societal pressures for academic success, future career and marriage.
- Danyal's confidence, not the surface confidence that he begins the story with but how he really grows in his confidence to speak out to others.

Things I didn't like:
- I was annoyed by how much people were making fun of Danyal for being an idiot. Danyal was not book smart and though I see how this was an important piece of the plot, it was hammered in a little too hard.

There were so many parts of this book I loved, from the romance to the religious aspects.

In this swoony, sweet, honest, and hilarious YA romance you are introduced to Danyal Jilani. A high school student who is over high school and ready to be a chef. But when he gets chosen as the history Renaissance Man he asks for Bisma’s help. Bisma and Danyal met under awkward circumstances but as their friendship grows so does Danyal’s attraction.

There is no better time to read this book than right now. It speaks about so many things that are happening in our society right now. It dives in colonialism, racism, and the whitewashing of history. Danyal leaves about how history is written by “winners” and how Winston Churchill was a huge jerk. Don’t get me wrong the romance was perfect and so sweet. The slow burn of this relationship really causes the reader to feel invested.

Without writing my own thesis, this is a YA romance that must be read. It’s beautifully written and cares weight with every word. I never knew much about Indian culture or the Muslim religion. That is until I watched Hasan Minhaj’s comedy special Homecoming King. This book is mildly reminiscent of that, it speaks about high school and wanting to make your parents proud without giving up your own dreams.

I received this arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. But I will be buying it when it’s released in August.

In More than Just a Pretty Face, Danyal Jilani is seen as "just a pretty face," but not much going on elsewhere. His parents are disappointed with his lack of academic ambition, and see his goals of becoming a chef not worthwhile. When he is selected to compete in the Renaissance Man academic competition at his school, he is not confident. But when he begins to seek help from a rishta candidate who was uninterested, he begins to gain confidence in himself and maybe a little more.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. I did not know what I was getting into when I started, but I was definitely ALL IN by the time I finished. I felt so bad for Bisma and I loved Danyal and how he did not allow her past to jade his judgement of her. Her little sister is also amazing. The growth between Danyal and his father throughout the book was also very sweet and relatable for people who grew up with strict parents and high expectations. As a teacher, I loved seeing Danyal begin his research and become passionate about it as he learned more. Wow. I can't say enough how much I enjoyed this.

Pakistani American Danyal Jilani is in his senior year at high school and is coasting through life on charm and good looks. He has little interest in school and wants to become a chef, much to the displeasure of his parents and his crush, Kaval, who want him to go to college and pursue an appropriate career. But then Danyal’s life is upturned: he meets Bishma as a potential match for an arranged marriage and he is surprisingly selected by his cranky History teacher to be a candidate in his school’s annual Renaissance Man competition giving him a chance to shine academically in front of his parents and Kaval.

But when Danyal, with Bishma’s guidance, starts to research his History teacher’s beloved Winston Churchill, he discovers that there are many skeletons in Churchill’s colonial closet, including his role in the Bengal Famine in which 3 million people starved to death. Should he tell this story or should he follow his parents’ and Kaval’s instructions to toe the line?

Though this is a breezy romantic novel, it does tackle some serious topics, including colonialism, slut shaming and gender equity. All of the major characters are Muslim South Asian Americans and the cultural and religious customs as well as the demands and rewards of that community are central to the novel. As Danyal, guided by Bishma, prepares his essay and presentation for the tournament, he begins to see that only by making himself proud can he hope to inspire that in others.

Thanks to Little, Brown and Netgalley for the digital review copy.

Wow. What an amazing read. I loved the characters and the writing really surprised me.I highly recommend this one.

This book was a much-needed interruption to my daily life of selfish thoughts and meaningless concourses. I feel it's only appropriate to quote Mean Girls when describing this book, "...[This book] punched me in the face...It was awesome."

I'm going to start with the negative since this time, it's all wrapped in positives. I often found myself thinking this book was boring yet intriguing. Even odder, there was never a middle ground. I was never mildly interested; only bored or intrigued. This is what contributes to the less than a five-star review. However, my intrigue outweighed my boredom and I finished the book with a smile.

We experience this book through the eyes of Danyal, a good-looking, confident young man who lacks in the intelligence department. So when he's asked to participate in an academic competition, things get interesting. Danyal has a very distinct and consistent voice throughout the book. We learn that he's confident about his looks and flirting with girls, but insecure in his inability to differentiate helium from hydrogen. He is insanely committed to his goal of becoming a chef but fickle in his exact obedience to his religion.

These are a few of the things that make him the best possible narrator through which to experience this story. There were some heavy topics discussed throughout the book, but when presented through Danyal's playful and teenager-y voice, it lessened the blow. Or maybe made it feel more important and attainable.

Along with Danyal, we get to meet some other characters who have left a smile on my face. First on my list is Mr. Tippett, Danyal's history teacher and Renaissance Man sponsor. He and Danyal have a hate/really hate relationship that is both entertaining and insightful. Mr. Tippett is always pushing Danyal to do more and become a better student to which Danyal always protests. I love Mr. Tippett.

Then we have the chef that runs the restaurant Danyal works at, Chef Brodeur. Similar to Mr. Tippett, she is always pushing Danyal to become a better chef and person, but she does so in a way that is both humorous and scary. She is a woman to be feared in the absolute best way. I think I learned almost as much from her as Danyal and his speech. I love Chef Brodeur.

Lastly, we have Bisma. Without giving too much away, I just have to say that I love the dynamic between Bisma and Danyal. It just works. I love Bisma.

These people all work with Danyal in his attempt to portray what he feels and learns about Winston Churchhill and perception vs. truth. My head nearly fell off with all the wisdom that was bestowed upon me as I read this book that I have to wonder what kind of knowledge Masood spits out on the daily. But seriously, the message this book communicates is enlightening, thought-provoking, and much needed in our world today. There were many times as I read this book that I had to stop and just think about what I read. I don't get enough of that in my contemporary romance novels.

Overall, this was a great book on change, love, and speaking up about what you know to be right. There is the perfect amount of romance mixed with the plea to think and act differently than you did before you read this book. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to receive a chastening, and who is willing to put up with some boring bits to get to the good stuff.