I absolutely loved this book. I will say, I am not a huge fan of Ya books. Actually this was my first ever. But, it kept me super engaged. The author did a great job, there was a good message about judgement, living up to our parents expectations, and finding your place in the world. I may not have agreed with the way that the parents treated their children but the author did a good job explaining the culture and how things are done. I’d highly recommend this book. I was able to read this from NetGalley and received an advance reader copy.

Until I started writing this review, I wasn't sure if this book was a 3 star or 4 star book for me. I enjoyed reading it, but I definitely found some flaws in it. I liked Danyal as a narrator; he was charming and funny. He definitely grew as a person during the book, starting to learn more about who he was and what he stood for. However, some of the other characters in the story felt a little stereotypical and not as dynamic.

This book was touted as an #ownvoices representation of a Muslim American teenager. I can't speak to the representation from the perspective as a member of this community; I have seen both positive and negative reactions. Reading as someone from a different religious tradition, I don't think this book represents someone extremely devoted to their religion but someone trying to balance their personal beliefs with their desire to honor their traditions, so I would keep that in mind as that may not be apparent from the description.

I think my favorite part of this book was the commentary Danyal provided about race and oppression. For someone who is made fun of and picked on for most of the book for not being very book smart, he is quite wise at times and speaks very eloquently on the topic. I also liked all the descriptions of Danyal's cooking. I didn't necessarily like, however, the treatment of the character of Sohrab, who was more religious than his friends. I get that the characters thought he was overbearing but instead of identifying that as the problem, most of the characters seemed to identify his flaw as being religious, which disappointed me.

I would also like to address the character of Bisma. I liked her a lot; I liked how she was kind of 'nerdy' but still seen as attractive and fun. I do think, though, that those who have specific content warnings make sure they are aware that Bisma's past involves a crime committed against her as a minor (other reviewers have gone into more detail on this). I liked how the book tried to focus on the fact that this did not affect who she was now, even though some people thought so. I know the book was trying to condemn the people who thought she was a bad person for being a victim, but sometimes the terms used by these characters spilled over into the speech of other characters, which I didn't like as it seemed a little insensitive.

Amazing. Astounding. Exceptional. This is fantastic! When I first started reading, I lumped Danyal into the class clown/somewhat-slacker category, but when he defended Bisma - essentially a stranger - in a fraught, awkward situation where he pretty much stood against his culture and tradition - EVERYTHING changed for me. I had to read that section a second time because I was captivated by Danyal and he defied the box I was trying to put him in. It challenged me to notice his moral compass, his intuition about people, and his comfort in his own skin (in most cases). I was sold in that moment on this book, and more importantly on this character.

Danyal is bright, but not in traditional ways. He's thoughtful, taking time to process, to put pieces together. And the things he works through for the Renaissance Man contest - and the conclusions he comes to - are timely and thought-provoking and awesome. I can't stop gushing about this book. I was ready to read it again the minute I turned the last page. Do NOT miss this one!
(Language, TW: Shaming over sexual behavior)

I thought this book was really cute and I really liked the characters in it but I didn’t like the way that the students were bullying Him. I that I felt like it was a little excessive. 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

I hovered of 3 or 4 stars. I liked so many things about this book. I enjoyed reading about a culture I am not a part of, I liked learning about parts of history I do not know about. I love Danyal and Bisma. the romance was great and I liked the conversations about applying nuance to topics that tend to have a black and white talking points.
The romance itself comes off as a light fluff romance but in some points it seams to serious to be considered light.
I did not like how every other character but one called the MC stupid. I really did not like Kaval, she seemed like an over simplified character in a book that is trying to say there is more than face value.

Would recommend if you are looking for a romance that deals with some heavier topics, or if you are interested in why Winston Churchill was not such a cool dude.
Would not recommend if you are looking for a fluffy romance.

3.5 stars
This one is a bit tricky for me to rate because I really enjoyed the story but also had a few issues with it. I would recommend checking out an own voices review because I cannot speak on the representation of this book. The one problem I had was the constant mention of how dumb/shallow/not smart our MC is. I mean it got the point across but I wish it could have done it without having every character (including himself) call him out. I loved seeing a character who wanted to be a chef. It gave me Emoni vibes from With the Fire on High especially the cooking scenes. I like how we were able to see how other characters react to a career as a chef and how if that’s your passion you should go for it. Another interesting aspect I enjoyed was reading about an arranged marriage. I haven’t read a book with that type of plot before so it was fun to see how that played a part. I also learned quite a bit from this book in the sense of Winston Churchill and India. Overall, I think it was an enjoyable story about the handsome class clown if you can look past him being called dumb all of the time. And if you did enjoy this one I think you’d like Never Have I Ever on Netflix.

I devoured this book in the space of a couple of hours.

There's something about #ownvoices books that feels like coming home. When a book is so steeped in the person that you, it feels like a comfort blanket, and that's just what this book was.

"Hotter than my grandmother's homemade, weapons-grade, unripe mango achar"

As soon as this description popped in the book, barely a page in, I was in love.

Masood creates sweet characters that you can't help but love.

Danyal Jilani is the main POV character, hopelessly in love with Kaval, his best friend's twin and far beyond his reach when it comes to an arranged marriage. He's awful at school, cares only about becoming a chef much to his parents' chagrin, and finds himself nominated to take part in a prestigious, school-wide academic contest called the Renaissance Man.

Bisma Akram is one of the girls his parents are trying to arrange his marriage to. As far as they're concerned, she's far too good for him. There's no logical reason that her parents are encouraging the match, but as long as they are, Danyal's parents push him to jump on the opportunity. Instead, he finds in her a heartbreaking and infuriating personal history, an understanding friend, and perhaps the only person he knows who has faith in his ability to perform well in the Renaissance Man contest - including himself.

Bisma is smart and witty, a nerdy, bookish microbiology student who finds in Danyal one of the only people she knows who isn't cruel when he finds out her history, the one person willing to stand up against the abuse she faces on a daily basis. What starts as an unwilling meeting for a potential arranged marriage becomes a developing friendship between two opposites who shouldn't work.

At the same time, the minor characters are just as compelling. Intezar, Sohrab, Suri, Kaval, Danyal's parents - even Bisma's father. Not all of them are likable - I challenge you not to want to strangle Bsma's father or roll your eyes at Kaval - but all of them are a developed character in Masood's mind, with their own motivations and ambitions, and it shows.

This book is steeped in Desi culture in a way that is stunning. The small touches are everywhere - the one that stands out to me is when Danyal tells a teacher he's Pakistani-American, not Indian-American, and she waves it aside as 'being the same thing.'

The food is the food of my childhood and present life - Pakistani and Indian foods are, in many ways, woven together tight. Masood describes each dish lovingly, lavishly, in a way that transports a reader right to the smell and taste of each food item.

At the same time, the attitudes of many of the characters - from the parents concerned over arranged marriages, the younger generation either rebelling or finding links to their past, the interactions between parents and children - all are familiar. While making it familiar, however, Masood also makes it different - Bisma's storyline is the perfect example. There's so many ways that it could have gone wrong, but it's dealt with in a respectful way that focuses on her present far more than her past.

Side notes:
• Absolutely loved Bisma's relationship with her younger sister, Suri. It toes the line of concern for each other and general sibling banter very well
• The friendship between Danyal, Intezar, and Sohrab is well crafted and a great reflection of male friendships
• The relationship between Danyal and his father is amusingly and convincingly confusing

Then there's the Churchill storyline.

There's so much I could say, but honestly the book does most of it for me. That said, there's something gratifying about seeing a book lay bare the real facts of history, not just the sanitised ones. The Bengal Famine is still part of the living memories of many Desi people - my grandparents were born around the time, and have told me stories of what their parents and grandparents went through. The sanitisation of Churchill's role in it is deeply unsettling and offensive, and it was great to see Masood jab at it.

The links between Churchill's actions and today's treatment of of brown people in brown countries - especially Pakistan and Afghanistan - by Western countries is well linked in the book as well. Masood doesn't shy away from making the political point that in many ways, Chruchill's views are alive and well today, and it makes the book more effective. Most realistic is Mr. Jilani's immediate reaction to Churchill's name and Sohrab's view of current American drone strikes and direct military action in Pakistan and Afghanistan, because of how they ring true. at the same time, Masood weaves in what could have been heavy theory seamlessly into the story.

Where this book fails is in a couple of places:
• I'm not too keen on how the book portrays Kaval as self-obsessed. it was especially disquieting when the first critique of her personality from Danyal's mom is essentially 'she likes expensive things so she's not for you.' It only got worse as the book went on - as a character, she's meant to be someone you roll your eyes at and dislike, but there's an uncomfortable link drawn between her being conventionally gorgeous and her being far too self-obsessed and stuck up. I just think there's room for a character to be the wrong love interest for someone without being a caricature of gold-digger who tries to change the man she is with to suit her desires.
• The ending is very rushed. There's a lot that's kind of skipped? Like we somehow went from Bisma's past being revealed to Danyal's parents and her not being a suitable option any more to them being engaged and his dad accepting it easily? There's no development - it's like we're missing 50-100 pages of story at the ending.
• I'm an #OwnVoices Desi reviewer, not a Muslim reviewer. However, many Muslim reviewers have had issues with the depiction of religion in the book and I encourage you to check their opinions out for more.

Overall, 3.5/5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars - would eat the daavat again and again and again.

*I received a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and Hear Out Voices Blog Tours for the copy.

First of all, I cannot say anything about the representation in this book! The characters in this book are Muslim.

I really feel mediocre about this book.. There was nothing really wrong with it, but there was also no part that really grabbed me?!
We read the book from Danyal’s perspective, which I really liked, since we don’t often get YA contemporaries from a male perspective! But I was not a huge fan of Danyal, he was just really stupid about this one girl in the beginning of the book. Also he kept saying that he was stupid or not very bright, on the one I guess this it is realistic that people say this, but it also was a bit annoying..<br>I don’t think there was any character in this book that I really loved?! None that I hated either, they were all just okay!? Well, actually, I did like Bisma’s younger sister, but she only had a very small role to play haha!<br>The romance was really cute and develops relatively slowly, which I enjoyed!

Once again I want to mention that I’m not Muslim, so I can’t say anything about the representation. But in this book the ‘rules’ that they have to follow were mentioned so often. I mean it is good that they are mentioned once or twice, since of course not everyone is aware of them (me included), but they reminded us so often, that it was a bit overdone. And I feel like they were not always following the rules they were supposed to follow, and I’m not really sure how realistic that is?!

In this book Danyal gets chosen to represent his history class at the Renaissance Man, which is an academic competition, I really liked this aspect of the book! He has to write some kind of thesis for this, and often when this happens in books, it happens in the background and is not mentioned often. But in this book we really saw the process of him researching and learning, and I actually felt like I learned from this as well!
I guess I recommend this one if you want a quick romcom novel!

Near the end of this novel, the main character, Danyal, says something that really resonates with my beliefs: “ . . . by punishing people for what we judge to be sins, by hurting them, we all become sinners. The only thing we have to do with other people is to be careful with their hearts. That’s all.”

A whole lot of judging happens in the story. Danyal has been judged by almost everyone around him to be an idiot because he doesn’t do well at school. His best friends, Sohrab and Zar, judge each other because one is a more observant Muslim and the other is more secular. Bisma, the girl Danyal befriends and eventually falls for, slept with a boy who videotaped it, and she is judged as no longer pure because she isn’t a virgin. Most of the book consists of Danyal refusing to judge others for their choices, except when those choices cause harm.

Then judgment may be necessary, especially when people in positions of power use it to harm others. Danyal is selected by his eccentric history teacher to participate his school’s Renaissance Man contest, which involves writing a paper and making a presentation in front of the entire school. It comes with a $5,000 prize, which is great, but a) Danyal isn’t a good student, and b) he must write about his teacher’s hero, Winston Churchill. Danyal’s passion is food, and his goal is to be a chef, so it’s not surprising that his imagination is captured by the fact that Churchill’s decisions led to the deaths of millions from famine in Bengal during World War II. The speech he gives about Churchill, assumptions about cultural and racial superiority, and inequality is one of the highlights of the novel.

The book has other pluses, including amusing descriptions of desi culture (Danyal’s family is from Pakistan) and lots of references to food that left me feeling very hungry. Most of all, I appreciated the story’s message about the value of a pure heart. Book smarts aren’t everything, which Danyal amply demonstrates.

That said, I do think the author overplays Danyal’s lack of knowledge. For example, Danyal didn’t know what a Hufflepuff was. He might never have read a book in his life, but a kid his age has never seen a Harry Potter film? Really? Also, sometimes the characters are stereotypical, particularly Danyal’s observant Muslim friend, who could have been a lot more nuanced. Some of the scenes and dialogue are awkward, which is probably to be expected from a debut novel.

Overall, I enjoyed this, though, and I’ll be interested to see what the author writes next.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

This was a great read. I’ve been looking forward to this book for over a year and while it wasn’t mind blowing it didn’t disappoint in the slightest.

This romcom features an American-Pakistani Muslim boy(a rarity in upper ya and lower na) who isn’t perfect but for the most part a practicing Muslim. He’s in love with one of his best friends twin sister but his crush and everyone around him have a very different life for him.

What I liked about him was he didn’t fit the stereotype of the model minority. He wasn’t the smartest kid and according to his dad, a constant disappointment. He just seemed like a prime example of a gen z; wanting to reach for a passion than practicality. I actually liked that about him because it made him seem flawed and human. Overachievers exist but they’re hard to relate to. I liked that he wasn’t perfect. He was also charming and a good cook. Who doesn’t love that combination?

His “official” love interest(not his crush) was also not perfect. Her family dynamic was frustrating and sad but not uncommon(in any culture to be honest) and she’d made mistakes that made it hard for her to be married. As much as I kept hoping she’d consider a life outside of arranged marriage (not because it’s wrong, but because she was constantly being judged for her mistakes and that’s not good for her mental health)I know how important marriage is to religion, especially Islam. I felt sorry for her so many times because she was young and couldn’t take back her choices.

I liked how their friendship wasn’t intense. The hero kept looking for someone who made him feel head over heels but started to realize love was more than liking someone’s physical appearance.

Because they’re very true to their values, they’re very good at not being in situations that would cause people to talk(a girl and guy being alone together). I’m not Muslim so I hope this makes someone feel seen, but I would’ve liked to hear more about the hero’s less conservative friend.

I think the only thing I didn’t love about the book was how his two best friends were. I wasn’t sure why his conservative friend had to be so...intense. It made it seem like to be devout and conservative, that there wasn’t more to life. I just don’t want people to think all devout religious teens aren’t fun too. It came to the point where both his homeboys didn’t get along to the point they weren’t friends because he was so judgmental. His conservative friend made amazing points on how the media shapes the perception of Muslims. I just wish he could have those opinions and like video games, sports, or comic books too.

There was so much focus on him, it overshadowed his less conservative friend. This friend did a lot of things considered haram in Islam, so I would’ve liked to know him better to understand what lead him to all these things, especially since both his friends were pretty much on the straight path.
It also has some interesting history on the Indian countries that evolved from colonialism. It showed a different side to Churchill(someone I know next to nothing about) and how it hurt millions of South Asians.
It has some hilarious moments and some good incite on Pakistani culture. It couldn't have been anything less than a five for me.

The book focuses on the main character Danyal Jilani, a “slacker” of sorts (not really though, we’re all good at different things and some people are good at things that aren’t school and there’s nothing wrong with that) that repeated a year of school and is thereby still stuck in high school.

Danyal doesn’t care though, as long as Kaval Sabswari aka his crush aka his best friend Sohrab’s twin sister still likes him.

Unfortunately for Danyal, his efforts to woo her don’t get very far before his mom and dad set him up with Bisma Akram, a suitable girl for him that’s his age. Bisma is nice and all, but to Danyal, she’s a little “plain” compared to his ever growing crush on Kaval.

However, when Kaval says she wants Danyal to actually try harder in everything, he decides to catch her attention in another way – Bisma.

Danyal
Honestly, he’s a really loveable character and what I would call a self-aware “loveable idiot”.

Bisma
Bisma’s suffered so much!! Her dad is a piece of shit!! Despite everything, she’s a generally sweet and happy person and also extremely smart (she goes to Berkeley!) She even helps Danyal with his school project extensively.

SPOILERS BELOW
Basically, she had sex with a white guy who recorded the whole thing and uploaded it online with a title along the lines of “Muslim girls like dick too” or something similar. The video spread to the point where her family found out and they were forced to move. Her dad is a dick and hates her for it and even tries to dissuade Danyal from being with Bisma by giving him the drive with the video. He’s shit.
END OF SPOILERS

religion

I don’t want to discuss this too much and get a bunch of hate but I saw some reviews on Goodreads followed with one star ratings that criticized how culture and religion are intertwined and would sometimes contract each other.

I disagree. The author is South Asian and for many of us, culture and religion are one and the same. Where culture ends and where religion begins is not a clearly defined line. It especially upset me to see these reviews because while the reviewers were Muslim, Middle-Eastern Islamic practices and traditions are really different from South Asian Islam.

I also saw another review saying how the religious characters are always shown as the annoying ones in books and I do agree to an extent but the religious character in question in the novel is Sohrab, Danyal’s best friend. Danyal’s just upset because Sohrab has completely changed and it’s impossible to talk about anything with him anymore. Imagine being friends with me and one day I decide to steer every single conversation back to like, Elmo or something idk.

other general things i liked and more reasons for you to read this book

Suraiya – Bisma’s little sister! She’s adorable and gives Danyal really great advice and is honestly a better friend to him than most people would be to someone they just met. She wants Bisma to be happy with him and wants him to be good to Bisma, but she also really seems to care about him as a friend.

The sideplot of the story is Danyal competing in something called Renaissance Man where they have to write about Churchill, who is constantly being praised by Tipett, Danyal’s teacher. But Churchill was not a good person and so he’s stuck between wanting to impress his teacher and wanting to stop the whitewashing of history in any possible way he can.

a last disclaimer i need to add because some of y’all are way too quick to criticize ownvoices readers
While I am aware some of the themes in this book are similar to the same things I’ve criticized in the novel When Dimple Met Rishi, this is written differently.

My main criticism of WDMR was Dimple and her entire personality, always wearing grey kurti tops and being incredibly toxic as a person. I’m aware that I brought up my grievances with the fact that Dimple and Rishi were “set up” together as TEENAGERS but the primary reason I didn’t like it there is because Dimple literally had no idea about it. In Menon’s other book, There’s Something About Sweetie, this concept of getting arranged with a life partner is brought up again but I had no qualms about it in that book because both characters were consenting to it beforehand. Here’s the link to that post if you want to read more about it.

Overall, really great read. 5/5.

DNF @ 20%

While I love the cooking aspects, the characters are not realistic at all. Also, there are some weird attempts at humour that are fairly offensive and the writing is quite juvenile.

This was one of the sweetest stories I have ever read! More than a romance filled with all the feels of what it’s like to have a first love, and all the emotions and challenges that come along with it. We meet some really likable characters and other well.. questionable.
It’s a boy meets girl, boy falls for girl.. and the adventure to make her feel the same in return. All Danyal wants is his long time crush Kaval to notice him in a new light, more than friendship, and he’s determined to make it happen.
But his journey brings unexpected truths, and a new friend, that becomes possibly more.
This story, is a tribute to many wonderful things: first love, family, life lessons, friendships, and memories you’ll only remember later down the road as the best times of your life.
What a wonderful read, unexpected smiles, giddiness, sadness at moments, and a strong feeling of love all around.
One to keep, and reread over and over again.

More than just a pretty face

5 stars


I loved this book. It made me feel the full range of emotions and it made me think. That’s all it takes from me to give all the stars. Danyel is a senior in high school. He doesn’t do well in school. He wants to be a chef and marry his best friends sister. She is a beautiful girl. Danyel’a mother doesn’t think she is the one and neither do his friends. Danyel’s parents have arranged for him to start meeting girls and their families so his marriage can be arranged. Bismal has a past and her parents don’t think any of the boys will agree to marry her but they keep trying. It’s breaking her spirit. Danyel is chosen to represent his class on a renaissance man competition. His teacher has given up on him. Everyone has. Bismal begins to help him and open his eyes to the world, to love and religion. Danyel begins to help her remember what being happy is again. I would recommend this to everyone.

Thank you for the chance to review!

I ended up really enjoying this book. I dont know much about the culture but thankfully it was very easy to get into and I learned a lot too.

I ended up loving Danyal and his personality. The way he stood up for Desi was amazing and hearing about her story was powerful.

Id recommend others to read it!!

3.5

This book introduced me more to the Muslim culture and the idea of arranged marriages. I liked how it was from a male perspective because I feel like many YAs are from a female perspective. You could feel the growth in Danyal's character throughout the book. As a history person, I also appreciated the history lesson in Winston Churchill and India. A breakout book for a new author.

I picked up More Than Just a Pretty Face for the blog tour thinking that it will be a perfect, simple and fun summer read! However, I was proved partially wrong as this book was not your typical YA summer romance story. More Than Just a Pretty Face deals with so many important issues in a very realistic yet subtle way. As an #ownvoices novel, I really think it did a great job at voicing the necessary.

The plot was really well planned. I mean, I could hardly notice any flaws because it was so effortlessly smooth! No unnecessary dragging on one theme or one scene, no plot holes and a perfect pacing! It was quite unique as well.
The characters were quite well defined and each played a very important part in making the story more interesting. Danyal’s character did sometimes feel a bit immature but as the story took it’s pace I realized it was done for a reason about which I won’t go into much detail. Overall, All the characters did a really good job at making the story look more relatable and emotionally attracting.

The writing style was very easy going and simple. It was quite intriguing.

***3 Stars***

I was really looking forward to reading this baby. The description was the hook and I was quite interested in reading about romance from the male POV that was written by a male. Add on to that I’m always interested in learning about different cultures, religions etc etc and how it affects everyone’s lives. So, going in, I was ready for an adventure, and it was one when it came to family dynamics, religion and the social norms of the society. I thought the slow burn romance between Danyal and Bisma was all kinds of sweet and totally fell in love with Bisma and her sister Suri. But I found that I didn’t care for many of the secondary characters. I understand having high expectations, but how many of the adults ~ and even some of the teens ~ treated Danyal rubbed me the wrong way, especially when it came to his family. I know that Danyal didn’t necessarily help his own situation, but even I have a line and it got crossed ~ and do not even get me started on Bisma’s family ~ that would end up being a dissertation.

So this book has me in that weird middle ground, where I did enjoy it overall and found quite a few things fascinating and eye opening when it comes to a culture I’m not well versed in, but it also left me with a bit of an icky taste in mouth at the same time.


~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley & voluntarily reviewed ~

Initial Thoughts

I was super excited when Hear Our Voices Tours contacted me about reviewing this book. I had applied for it in NetGalley already and knew this was a book I wanted to read.

Some Things I Liked

Own Voices. I loved that about this book. Many of the themes in the book felt super close to home. Danyal’s dad thinking that he wasn’t really good for much since he wasn’t smart enough to be a doctor or engineer. The idea of women just being there to sit home and cook and look pretty. Oh yeah, those are ideas that I’m familiar with and strongly disagree with. I loved that this book challenged those ideas. I am half Indian and have been told many similar things that Danyal had so I really identified with him.
A different POV than the contemporary books I’ve read. That’s another thing that I really liked. I don’t normally read contemporary books from non-female POVs so this was a breath of fresh air. I liked that Danyal was kind and friendly and in many ways, challenged archaic gender roles.
Food as a theme. I worked in a restaurant all through college and I loved the way the author described food as an experience of love.
Difficult themes. This book goes into some themes that are not all flowers and unicorns. For example, Danyal has a friend who is deeply religious, in almost an obsessive way. His beliefs often caused friction between their friends who didn’t always see eye to eye. Similarly, Danyal struggles with his project about Winston Churchill, who is often regarded as a “hero”. I loved the way the author worked in lesser known history and religion into the story in an enlightening and refreshing way.

Series Value

I’d love to read a follow up novel about Danyal in the future, living life. But, I think his story is complete. I would also enjoy reading a spin-off about any of the side characters we met. I think this group of characters has tons of potential.

Lastly, I’d like to read more from Syed M. Masood. I really enjoyed the writing style here and would gladly read more.

Final Thoughts

I loved this book. I read it all in one day and couldn’t put it down. Once again, I found this is a contemporary novel that high school age Monica could have really used. I’m so glad to see positive messages like those found in this novel are being spread in literature today.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Recommendations for Further Reading

The Perfect Escape by Suzanne Park – if you liked the themes of cultural pressure and living up to parental expectations, try this own voices story.
The Marriage Game by Sara Desai – if you’re looking for a book with similar representation but want something with older characters, try this 2020 release.

I’ll be honest... I Couldn’t really get into it. I’m sorry. I tried. It just didn’t suck me in. Best of luck and thanks for letting me check it out.