Thanks NetGalley for the preview!

This book was cute. Overall a little redundant and the twists were pretty unexpected. I am rating this low because the ending was awful!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I could not engage enough with the characters to get through more than 10% of the book, and I'm not sure why: the situation of Muslim teens forming alliance for their engaged older siblings was compelling, and I really enjoy details of life beyond my own experience, and novels layered with trauma and real world problems. I set it aside and may get back to it at some point.

An enemies to lovers story where there was actually a good reason for the enmity! However, I found Kiran to be really annoying and judgmental which detracted from my enjoyment of the story (and the mystery within.)

I tried my best to read this - tried both the physical and audiobook, but really, it just didn't grip me the way I expected it to. I do plan on trying again, but probably not any time soon.

Thanks NetGalley for a copy to review. I don’t know why I put off reading this for so long. I love reading Desi romance books and this did not disappoint. Second chance romance trope along with siblings of them together. This was definitely a fun read.

It All Comes Back to You is a super cute story with really likable characters. It's a sort of enemies to lovers romance which is a trope I am a big fan of. I really enjoyed the main characters and I would recommend this novel to romance lovers. Great book!

Why I Recommend It All Comes Back to You.

1. The Rep: As a Pakistani Muslim, I always look forward to books written by Pakistani Muslims with Pakistani Muslim characters. I was hooked from the cover to the synopsis and the plot itself. The way the culture was portrayed as well as Islam was beautiful! I resonated with Kiran’s struggle in not knowing Urdu, her struggle with not feeling like a real Pakistani. I also felt connected to Deen in regards to his struggle with Islam and not knowing how to reestablish his relationship with Allah.
2. The Writing Style: Rishi did a wonderful job switching back and forth between Kiran and Deen’s point of view. Each character was fleshed out and both point of views read differently, and by that I mean each character had a distinctive voice. The text messages from 3 years ago and discord chats were fun to read as well.
3. The Messiness: I never thought that I would ever say this but I actually I enjoyed all the messiness. Yes everything that Kiran did was stupid and crossed the line many times, I but understood why she did everything. The same can be said for Deen. I think it just goes to show that Rishi had a good grasp on the characters and storyline.
4. The Character Development: I absolutely loved the character development! Throughout the book both Kiran and Deen really go through it, with being back in contact with each other (especially after ending off on bad terms), their siblings getting married, and having to work through their own trauma. Whilst It All Comes Back to You doesn’t focus that much on the romance it’s biggest strength is the character development. I know the ending won’t necessarily be what people will expect, but I think it works and is the best outcome.
5. The Relationships: I adored all the relationships! I know the selling point is Kiran and Deen, but the other relationships the characters had were great as well. Deen’s relationship with Faisal was a bit strained, but I could feel the love they both had for each other. Kiran’s relationship with her father and Amira was so wholesome and I looked forward to their interactions. Kiran and Asher were really fun to read about. Deen and Vinny was pretty good as well. And of course Amira and Faisal were so cute!

I personally, found this read to be quite harmful. This book tackles Muslim representation in such a dangerous way, by highlighting negative connotations towards Islam through characters that are keen on rebelling against everything. Unnecessarily.

A lot of drama and tons, just tons, of miscommunication. I loved the details and the writing was good, I just found the relationship(s) very over the top and all the problems extremely easy to solve—so easy they should not have happened in the first place!

This was one of my highly anticipated books of 2021 and it sure lived up to all its expectations and more!

There were so many things I enjoyed about this book including the realistic characters, the way in which the tone of the book reminded me of my own teenage years, and the ability to capture South Asian culture and traditions.

I found Kiran’s character to hold many of my own values and mannerisms especially her stubbornness and willingness to fight for what she believed in. Her relationship with Amira is something I loved reading about though I wish there was more of it included. Similarly, I found Deen very charming and high school me would have 11/10 swooned over a guy like him if he were to really exist. The banter between Kiran and Deen exuberated off the page and always put a smile on my face.

Of course with that being said, there were definitely moments of miscommunication that could have been solved if these characters would have just talked, but some how in this book it didn’t bother me too much.

Also, as I mentioned, the vibrant diction and descriptions of anything and everything South Asian whether it was the wedding, the food, the clothing, the dance, etc. made me feel right at home. I myself am not Muslim, but I am South Asian, so that’s the only representation I can speak towards as an FYI.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to everyone who wants a fun, swoon worthy book surrounding a chaotic wedding and with a great South Asian cast of characters.

Characters: 7/10
Atmosphere: 8/10
Writing Style: 7/10
Plot: 7/10
Intrigue: 8/10
Logic: 6/10
Enjoyment: 7/10

Rating: 7.1 or 4 stars

4 stars!

This was enjoyable, however, I wasn't a fan of the main character. She was quite rude at times. Luckily, I did appreciate the book's authenticity and snarky writing.

I tried finishing this book and could not get into it. I did not write a Goodreads review because I try not to put out negative reviews for books that are still trying to gain traction.

I was expecting a fun rom-com when I read It All Comes Back to You, but found a deep story about grief, loss, recovery, and family. Sisters Kiran and Amira are still working through their grief after their mother's death from ALS when Amira announces that she is in love with someone and may be moving to California with him. Blindsided and angry, Kiran wants her family to stay together and is determined to find something wrong with Faisal, Amira's new love - especially when she learns that Faisal's younger brother, Deen, is Kiran's ex-boyfriend who ghosted her three years ago when her mother was dying. After figuring out that Faisal has a secret in his past, she takes it upon herself to find out what that secret is and break up Amira and Faisal, all while convincing herself that this is for Amira's good. Kiran is one of the least likable characters I've ever read, and Deen, Amira, and Faisal just feel like backdrop for Kiran's rage and revenge story. A good story with characters I wish I'd been more invested in.

I loved this distinct novel which gave me a deep insight into a culture that I was previously unfamiliar with.

I'm so excited to share my thought on It All Comes Back to You by Farah Naz Rishi. Desi YA contemporary, gorgeous cover, and an almost full cast of Muslim characters. This book is just *chefkiss

✨𝟏𝟓 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤
- The COVER! I won't deny that it was love at the first sight
- Ah! RPG chat room! Love it already 😃
- Why does reading about sisters always make me envy? hahaha
- This is the kind of "sisterhood drama" that I will never experience lol
- Ohhh DANG. I didn't see it coming 😆
- Sweatpant in graduation! LOL. Love her quirkiness
- Well, well, I am not a big fan of your "I know better" attitude girl
- Knowing what really happens when the characters are still on the blind side is what makes reading romance so fun
- What kind I say, I like Deen *giggles
- Not sure if she digs into this because she care or because she doesn't want to be left out
- OMG!! She is just .... OH GOD!! What was she thinking!
- Never ever I felt a story so relatable like this
- Hmm... It's deeper than I thought :(
- What a great coming of age story <3

After her science fiction debut novel I Hope You Get This Message, Farah Naz Rishi switches genres in her sophomore novel, It All Comes Back to You. While It All Comes Back to You is a contemporary young adult romance, the book is not necessarily lighthearted. Rishi is not afraid to delve into the messy emotions of grieving and feelings of betrayal while still managing to deliver witty banter in the vein of an enemies-to-lovers romance. . .

Even though Pakistani authors writing in English have really started to branch out into other genres in the recent decade — moving away from literary fiction into the world-building of science fiction — the creative characters of fantasy, or even the haunted tales of horror and young adult (YA) fiction, still remain a pretty undeveloped area.

Very few authors from the country are creating stories centred solely on the lives and trials of teenagers, which makes It All Comes Back to You, the second book by Pakistani American writer Farah Naz Rishi, a rare occurrence.

Written from the point of view of two teenagers caught up in the impending wedding of their siblings, Rishi’s work subscribes to all the prerequisites of a YA novel. While it is generally agreed that the themes available in the young adult universe are expansive and can include those found in adult fiction, there is a commonly accepted focus on subject matters which relate to friendship, first loves, relationships and, most importantly, the concept of one’s own identity.

Rishi’s work has the added benefit of not only tackling all of these basics in a deft manner, but her protagonists also happen to be Muslim, which means that the complications of being a young person from a religious minority growing up in an American society are also questions that the author tackles.

To this aspect of the story, Rishi clearly brings her own lived experience, which lends the novel an air of authenticity. Kiran and Deen, the protagonists of the tale, are both teenagers living in New Jersey with their families, and it is a New Jersey drawn really well, with regular mentions not only of streets and shops, but also that nostalgic smell of the inside of a mosque, or the local shopping centre where desis go to buy things they can only find in the Subcontinent.

Because the story revolves around the wedding of Kiran’s sister with Deen’s brother, the author also has a lot of fun mentioning all the various traditions that are part of a typical South Asian wedding, such as the groom’s shoe being held hostage in exchange for money. These things make it obvious that the author has deep familiarity with the culture, which makes the reading experience much more enjoyable.

Unlike the author’s first novel, I Hope You Get this Message, which featured Muslim characters in name only, It All Comes Back to You focuses at a much greater level on religion also, and on what it means to belong to a Muslim family. Characters routinely quote Quranic ayats in normal conversations, the masjid is a place of importance, and Faisal, Deen’s elder brother who is clearly cast as a character worth admiring, is regular in his prayers and avoids alcohol.

This is a strange, albeit wonderful, change from tales where anyone religious is shown as uptight and in need of an intervention in order to break them away from the supposed shackles unfairly imposed on them by their faith.

However, this doesn’t mean that the author doesn’t show her characters engaging in behaviour that most would deem un-Islamic. Kiran’s mother, no longer alive, plays a significant part in the narrative because of her love for dance, which is represented in Kiran’s own desire to be a dancer. Deen regularly parties and drinks with his friends, and both teenagers swear sometimes.

Instead of showing a make-believe world where teenagers strictly adhere to prescribed teachings, Rishi’s characters tend to be more flawed and thus feel more believable. By creating sympathetic, flawed characters who sometimes act in selfish, horrifying ways, Rishi manages to show how being a teenager is a tumultuous period in one’s life, full of revelations about ourselves and those we love.

A main aspect of this turbulence is, of course, the romance, which is a major part of the narrative. Kiran and Deen’s relationship, full of chemistry and snark, already has a built-in reason for sparks catching, given that the two are shown as having been in a sweet relationship three years before our story starts — right before Deen ghosts Kiran without giving her a reason for why he vanishes.

This, coupled with Kiran’s immediate distrust of Deen’s elder brother Faisal, leads her to question her sister’s decision to marry Faisal without knowing him in detail. The plot keeps thickening from here onwards, with secrets and betrayals coming to the surface as the story progresses. Rishi keeps the romance at the forefront, bringing it back into the narrative as Kiran and Deen slowly rediscover buried feelings as they prepare for their siblings’ weddings.

The book, in a true nod to the world of young adult literature, also focuses on the relationships that teenagers have in a more platonic sense, such as the love between siblings, or the camaraderie between friends.

Kiran’s obvious affection for her sister, or Deen’s side-plot regarding his roommate at college, all serve to show how multifaceted a person’s interiority can be, with moments of selfishness, frustration, or guilt balanced out with grace, humour and an ability to ask for forgiveness. Both Kiran and Deen are ultimately protagonists that one can root for, even as they take decisions that seem obviously primed to lead to disaster.

Like a majority of YA novels that feature immigrants in the plot, this book also looks at a number of heavy topics, such as addiction, bullying and the death of a parent and how they relate to the immigrant experience. The trauma caused by all of these problems plays a significant part in making the characters who they are, affecting not just their present but their future plans as well, with Kiran planning to become a doctor in memory of her mother.

The tale also doesn’t shy away from shining a light on the unrealistic expectations immigrants can have from their children, or the way creating an idealised image of a good life can affect a child, as shown through Deen’s parents and their inability to understand why their children are suffering.

All in all, it feels like, out of the multiple books coming out these days which tackle the desi experience abroad, this one comes the closest to treating its subject matter with the respect and excitement it deserves. All the details mentioned even casually in the story serve only to highlight how well the author understands the culture she is talking about, which increases the enjoyment involved in reading this book tenfold.

This is also visible in the cover of the book, where the attention to detail shows that it was clearly illustrated by someone who was given a pretty thorough art brief. Even the beauty spot on Deen’s face is visible in the picture; it is a stroke of subtle genius and shows how meticulously the book was treated from an editorial perspective.

A truly enjoyable read, and one can only look forward to what the author will produce next.

Cover Story: Mistaken Identity

Don’t get me wrong — this cover designed by David DeWitt and illustrated by Zahra Fatimah is absolute PERFECTION. Deen looks smug, Kiran looks annoyed, they’re at a wedding, and the phones in their hands are important for a reason. But I have an extremely Old Person Problem of constantly mixing up the title with that of a Celine Dion classic. (And then further continuing down this song word association spiral leads me to an S Club 7 less-classic.)

Also, this bright, beautiful cover made me think this book would be much more rom-com-y than it actually is. (Not that bright and beautiful things always have to be happy and light, but I’ve just been conditioned to assume so.) And I might have to start keeping track of the book taglines that are “All’s fair in love and [something]”, because there have been A LOT.

The Deal:

Kiran Noorani and Deen Malik have no reason to be in each other’s lives anymore — not since he brutally ghosted her three years ago. Except now Kiran’s older sister has fallen in love… with Deen’s older brother. Like, put-a-ring-on-it LOVE. As dutiful younger siblings, Kiran and Deen are helping the lovebirds plan the perfect wedding — if they can stand being in the same room as each other, that is.

BFF Charm: Big Sister x 2

BFF Charm Big Sister with Clarissa from Clarissa Explains It All's face
Kiran’s pain is understandable: ghosting is an awful way to get dumped, especially right when she needed support due to her mother’s ultimately fatal ALS diagnosis. It’s no wonder that she’s wary of anyone and anything in Deen’s proximity, and even more so when it concerns her sister.

Likewise, Deen is just as protective of his brother, even at the sake of any other relationship in his life. They’ve always been a team, and no one else in the world knows what it’s like to live with the optics-obsessed parents that they have.

I get where Kiran and Deen are both coming from, but in looking out for their older siblings, they’re each capable of going to some extreme measures — way more extreme than “Who among us?” lapses in judgement. Their hearts are in the right place, which is why I wouldn’t write them off completely, but WOW, we would need to have quite the heart-to-heart to discuss and unpack ALLLLL of that.

Swoonworthy Scale: 6

There’s a fine line between love and hate, as well as the same letters in hate and HEAT. The rift between Kiran and Deen might be growing increasingly insurmountable, but it’s obvious that their story is nowhere near finished.

Talky Talk: She Says, He Says, She and He Said

The chapters alternate between Kiran and Deen’s perspectives, with the occasional text convo from when they were dating. There are also chat transcripts between two anonymous players of an online role-playing game, who — you guessed it — are actually Kiran and Deen. Underneath all the baggage, they still get each other, and they’re able to be real in a way they never could if they knew who was on the other side. Dramatic irony abound!

Bonus Factor: You’ve Got Mail

Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelly sit on a bench at the farmer's market
It might be pure coincidence that Kiran and Deen are unknowingly in an online situationship and that Deen’s handle is literally Fox(x). But at least Deen’s less of an asshole than Joe* (and would also have better reason for being one, since he’s barely a college sophomore while Joe Fox is a grown-ass millionaire who doesn’t pay nearly enough taxes).

* Lol am I about to start another FYA Civil War?

Bonus Factor: Desi Wedding

The hands of an Indian couple during their wedding ceremony
The actual wedding has all the lavish spectacle — esp. with Deen and Faizal’s parents footing the bill — while the mehndi beforehand is a much more lowkey affair. These rich traditions provide ample opportunities for the two families to get to know each other — as well as warring exes with ulterior motives to (figuratively) THROW DOWN.

Bonus Factor: Faith

An open Quran with colourful and ornate pages, on top of a red rug with gold floral patterns
I’m not particularly religious, but I appreciate reading about the impact it has on other people’s lives, like casually citing passages from the Quran or eye-rolling at gossip about harami-pastrami relationships. (That brilliant turn of phrase is all Kiran’s.)

Factor: Secrets

Someone whispering in a person's ear
So why did Deen disappear all those years ago? It’s a secret that he’s desperate to keep in the past — which means the reader only gets agonizing bits and pieces of the mystery before it’s unravelled. Sometimes the hype in these situations is so overblown, but it’s justified here. (Although the secret is more of the tragic variety than fun and juicy.)

Relationship Status: More Than Meets the Eye

I rarely reread a book’s profile blurb before going on the actual date, so I definitely wasn’t expecting it to make me think so much about redemption and morality in an enemies-to-lovers wedding book. It was a JOURNEY and my thoughts keep wandering back to our time together, so it really must be true — *puts on CSI sunglasses* — it all comes back to you.

FOUR REASONS TO READ THIS BOOK ASAP!

1. South Asian Muslim protagonists and desi wedding!
This was probably my favourite thing about this book (can you tell I am starved of SA representation?). The characters are all majorly Pakistani-Americans and I can literally count the non-South Asian characters on one hand. We love to see it.

Everything about the wedding, from the preparation to the actual functions and ceremonies, brought back so many memories. There hasn’t been a wedding in my family in 6 or 7 years now, and this book made me miss the fun and chaos of it so much!

2. Stupid teen protagonists
Both of our protagonists, Kiran and Deen, are messy. They make multiple bad decisions, some that cause HUGE damages. They are insecure, they don’t talk to their elders and think that they are the only ones who can right all the wrongs, they make mistakes, they are called out on their mistakes, and they eventually learn. All in all, very realistic teenager behaviour. Like I said before, you will get frustrated at them, but you will also understand them and their motivations. It is not possibly to 100% dislike or hate them. The characterisation is that good.

3. Best friends online, can’t-stand-each-other offline
Kiran and Deen had a messy breakup three years ago and do not get along. At all. But what they don’t know is that the other is their online gamer friend they have been chatting with for years. I don’t know why, but I really love this trope.

4. A+ sibling relationships
Whether you like this book or not, you cannot disagree that Kiran and Deen really loved their elder siblings and vice versa. We can clearly see how much they care for each other and that makes this book so much sweeter to read. An interesting detail about this book is that even though Kiran and Deen both are the younger siblings, they take charge and protect* their elder siblings most of the time.

* – this might not always have the desired result and might actually ruin things further, but eh, it’s the thought that counts.