DNF at 35%

While I didn't necessarily have any problems with this book to make me not want to finish it, it just was not able to hold my attention for any amount of time. If I didn't make the executive decision to DNF, it would've taken me months to read. I think that the premise is very interesting, and I might be willing to give this book another chance in the future, but for right now I am putting it on the very back burner.

Family relationships can be messy and romantic love can be even more so. You can see where this is going. Kiran and Deen already had a bumpy history and with their siblings marriage looming, there is a lot of potential for all kinds of missteps. Like many romances, their story has some amusing miscommunications and misunderstandings, but some of them are painful too.

I read this novel all in one big gulp. The story is compelling with a few interesting twists along with a few predictable aspects of a YA romance. There is a lot more than just the romantic relationship though. The young people in the story are also trying to work out who they are and what they want to devote their time to and what to study. Kiran is passionate about dancing, but also wants to pursue medicine and Deen seems to be lost as he bumbles through his college courses.

They are learning about themselves, but are also learning about the people around them. The siblings love each other fiercely, but are still learning how to communicate with each other. Deen and Kiran also both have friendships that need some attention. The parents are part of the story, but the two families have a sharp contrast. Love plays out in vastly different ways.

There is no doubt that Kiran loves her family members and is very protective, but how she lives this out can be pretty cringeworthy and sometimes downright awful. That was the most difficult–and sometimes hard to believe–part of Kiran’s story. A few times her plotting and actions felt like they were over the top. In one instance, what she attempts to do to make Faisal look bad is downright reprehensible. Slightly spoilery bit here so scroll past the asterisks if you don’t want too much information.

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That particular scene was very troubling for me especially given how Kiran was trying to lead Faisal into going against his religious beliefs.

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Full disclosure: I am not Muslim, but I couldn’t and wouldn’t want to ignore that aspect of the story. The author shows a few ways that Muslims may live out their faith. Some have wandered from their faith a bit and others are holding on more tightly. In one relationship, the people involved are often taking their religion into consideration as they make decisions regarding that relationship. With another pair, while religion is a part of their lives, it doesn’t seem to be a large factor in the choices they make around dating or other aspects of their lives. As with any religion, there are many ways to live it out and no one story will be able to encompass those many ways.

Recommendation: Get it soon if you’re looking for a romance or contemporary tale that will not always follow the path you would expect. There are many complications along the way, but there are also some humorous moments and plenty of room for character growth.

It All Comes Back to You, by Farah Naz Rishi, drew me in right off the bat with its beautiful, eye catching cover. With a description that sounded fun, and some clearly excellent rep ready and waiting, I was very excited to jump into this one.

Unfortunately, the writing was a little dull, leaving me rarely interested in actually picking the book back up. In addition, the main characters were hard to root for. Yes, they are teenagers, yes, they are flawed, but at the end of the day, I wasn't excited to see where they ended up -- I just wanted them to go away. With a slightly overly complicated setup, this book simply didn't live up to my anticipation of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quill Tree Books for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for a E-Arc copy**
I enjoyed this, I loved experiencing the culture and family. Farah Naz Rishi does an absolutely amazing job of making you feel the anger and stress of her characters. The thing that keeps me from rating it higher is that it felt so angry at times it hurt the romance. There wasn’t enough “couple” time between Deen and Kiran to balance out the angst.

It All Comes Back To You is a messy tale of secrets and second chances. Kiran Noorani and Deen Malik had secretly dated three years ago and were just starting to trust and fall in love when Deen ghosted Kiran. There had been a sudden incident that he was unable to disclose and in order to protect his family, he moved away with them. That was the last time they had seen each other until now as their older siblings are dating and falling in love.

Alot has happened in the three years sine Kiran and Deen last saw each other. And when they come face to face, it is explosive. Neither of them wants their secret past revealed and are determined to protect their siblings. Deen is excited that his older brother has found a girl that makes him so happy. In contrast, Kiran is concerned for her sister and thinks that the romance is moving too fast and that there are many red flags. Thus begins the push-pull dynamic between the two characters are they fight to protect their siblings.

The push pull dynamic is rooted in conflict. Deen wants to protect his brother and keep their secret in the past. Kiran wants whatever secrets are there to be revealed in order to protect her sister. Protecting her sister was a promise that was made to her mother as she was dying. She comes up with a plan to force any secrets to come out. She doesn't anticipate the push back from Deen nor the attraction that is still present. The walls that she built after he left her were strong but were they strong enough to within the attraction?

These opposing forces are the energy moves the story forward. They are forces filled with mistakes, grudges, grief, and so many unsaid feelings. The unsaid feelings bueyed the connection between the two characters bother in person as well as online in an unknown chat friendship. I did not fully feel the connection between Deen and Kiran and that made it difficult to believe in the tension. It forced a disconnect with her mas a reader which was honestly hard to resolve.

Both Deen and Kiran are mess characters whose walls cannot fully protect them from their vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities help push forward their character arcs and themes. Themes included familial responsibilities, goals and visions, faith and religion, and grief and burden. These characters are flawed and feel authentically written. Even though I didn't necessarily believe in the chemistry in their chemistry I still felt their pain, joy, and anguish. I felt their connection to their siblings and how they only wanted what was best for them.

It All Comes Back To You is a diverse read featuring Muslim Pakistani characters. These characters are beautiful and messy and have the flair for the dramatic. It is a coming of age story that will make the reader smile, laugh, and cringe with the characters. It is a story that is full of heart and set up for the possibility of second chances and will be enjoyable for any audience who enjoys YA coming of age stories.

So I’ve always hated Insta Love in stories… but maybe I didn’t know the truth about it until I saw the cover of It All Comes Back To You and fell in love with the artwork. Don’t get it wrong, the story itself is Friends to Lovers to Enemies to Friends-ish. And I loved every second of it.

Farah Naz Rishi has written a book I think many people will relate to. When your family member meets a new person, who you don’t know and don’t trust… you definitely are wary of where it’s going. Which is exactly what happens when Kiran’s sister Amira meets Faisal. They have only known each other for 3 months, but their relationship is moving so fast. And when she finds out whose brother he is, her distrust meter hits the max level.

Deen only wants his brother to be happy, even if it is with his ex’s sister. Faisal has risked his life for him, so he can make sure his brother’s happily ever after goes off without a hitch. But Kiran learns they have a secret and she’ll stop at nothing to find out what it is.

Full of mystery, hi-jinks, and Pakistani traditions, It All Comes Back to You is written in dual perspective, so you don’t miss a second of the fun! And can we please just gawk at the cover together? It is INCREDIBLE!!!

It All Comes Back To You was a strange book. I went in expecting a cutesy romcom with characters with a couple of skeletons in their closets, but boy oh boy, was I in for a ride. I think I’ve mentioned on Twitter before that nowadays I rate a book five stars based on vibes and vibes alone. This book kept me up till 5 am. Vibe check *ticks*.

A few chapters into the book I realized this wasn’t a cutesy romcom but a romantic drama superimposed over a family drama, which are all ingredients I love a lot. But obviously it all boiled down to execution.

It All Comes Back To You begins with a question: who would we be if we could just be ourselves around each other, free from all the baggage life yeets our way so frequently? And can we circle back to being that true version of ourselves despite everything life does to us? If so, how?

The how is the journey this book takes us on.

This book took me by surprise. I read very little summary before I dig into some books because I like surprises. Thus, the amount of emotion and drama (not a bad thing; I like drama in my books) in the plot of this story caught me off guard. Reading through the entire book, I was completely absorbed in Kiran and Deen’s investment in Amira and Faisal’s (their siblings) pending wedding. Deen will do anything to make sure they get through the events leading up to, and through, their wedding day, and Kiran will try anything to break them up. Both are reacting to a past event affecting their future circumstance, with Deen dealing with guilt and Kiran dealing with grief. I laughed out loud when Kiran gets her drink from Starbucks one day and the barista wrote “Karen” on her cup because, in the denial stages of her grief while in the midst of trying to sabotage her sister’s wedding, she is pretty demanding of the Maliks’s secrets.

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.

I wanted to love this. Overall, it was fine, but I REALLY hated Kiran as a character. She was immensely frustrating. Also, I was expecting a romance and it didn’t focus on that aspect at all, so that was a little disappointing. Not a bad book, just not for me.

a solid 3 star book filled with lots of culture and diversity and a great, though small, glance at spirituality in one’s life.

the book follows deen and kiran, two teens who used to date secretly and are finally remeeting as their older siblings fall in love and start to plan a wedding. deen’s past is catching up to him but insists on giving his brother, faisal, the happily ever after he deserves while kiran tries to save her sister, amira, from what might be the biggest mistake of her life. what unfolds is eye opening for the two younger siblings.

i appreciated the diversity and asian representation on the pages of this book. it makes my heart soar! although i didn’t love kiran or deen as characters, i realize it’s because they’re just young and trying to save people they love. it’s admirable but ultimately is trouble even if with the best intentions. it was hard especially to be behind kiran. despite this, this book is a nice coming of age book that i can see more young adults relating to and loving more than i did.

thank you netgalley for the ARC!

It All Comes Back to You by Farah Naz Rishi is a heartfelt coming of age story. True to life and dramatic at times, it portrays flawed teens learning from their errors,
I am a sucker for exes trope and this is a delicious rom com about two exes that are forcibly reunited.

A moving portrait of grief and second chances, It All Comes Back to You shows what happens when you try too hard to hold onto the past or make things perfect. Fans of enemies to lovers/friends to lovers will dig this book.

Read my full review for Culturess here: https://culturess.com/2021/09/23/it-all-comes-back-to-you-book/

It All Comes Back To You was a fun, action packed desi rom com that lived up to all the expectations I had. Kiran is a strong, stubborn woman and Deen is a messy and complicated, but on the whole, a movable character and following their journey through this book was a delight.

There’s always a mystery and unease as to what had happened three years ago, and as Kiran and Deen interact again due to their elder siblings getting married, things get real and complex very soon. There are a lot of unexplained things and unresolved feelings as well as Kiran’s reluctance to her sister getting married as she had met Faizal just three months ago while Deen is very supportive and wants to do anything to make sure the marriage goes through and his brother is happy.

Kiran also thinks that things are fishy and tries to investigate to find out what had happened three years ago and what the rumours were abou,t while Deen tries his best to make sure she doesn’t uncover the past since he wants it to remain there and not affect his brother now. There is a sense of foreboding and secrecy about the events until the very end of the book and I loved how the anticipation was built and didn’t disappoint me either.

Both the characters are strong willed and have their own opinions on what should happen and I loved watching them butt heads as they tried to achieve their respective goals. Through the book, their relationship slowly progresses as we get to learn more about their past as well as see how their current relationship is developing and you can’t help but agree with how they’re both right on their own parts and they just fit together!

I also adored seeing how the characters develop, recognise what mistakes they’d made, both in the past and current scenarios, and by the end of the book actively tried to fix things and deal with everything they’re going through. To be honest, I think this book is more of a coming of age one than a romcom since barely any romance takes place in the present day while there is definitely a lot of rgowth in the characters.

Lastly, I enjoyed how their online friendship played out. It’s just so fun to see this trope but I feel it’s always a bit too on the nose and it was this time as well, but I enjoyed it never the less.

Overall, I highly recommend this fast paced book if you’re looking for a book about messy teenagers with immaculate desi vibes.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you so much to TBR and Beyond and Farah Naz Rishi for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Let me tell you something: Farah Naz Rishi has range. I previously read her novel I Hope You Get This Message which was a kind of end-of-the-world sci-fi novel and really enjoyed it. It All Comes Back to You is a contemporary (with romance vibes), and it has become clear to me that I thoroughly enjoy her writing style, regardless of genre. It is easy to read and somehow relaxing, even when you’re reading things that are frustrating.

Writing this review is going to be difficult for me, because I have such conflicted feelings about the plot/characters of this novel. It relies solely on the miscommunication/lack of communication trope, which is something I despise, but I was actually totally okay with it in the beginning. The story has a strong emphasis on sibling protectiveness, and I can admire that, especially when so many YA novels have dysfunctional family relationships between siblings. You often don’t think clearly when it comes to family, so the initial premise made sense to me.

The thing that I had the most trouble with, and the reason I had to rate this three stars, was that I thoroughly disliked Kiran. Without her self-righteousness, almost every problem in this book would have been solved quickly and efficiently. She does completely deplorable things in this book, and I felt like the severity of how terrible she was being was completely downplayed. Even the blurb seems to place the plot-blame on Deen when Kiran was 100% the real issue. The more I read, the less I wanted her to have a happy ending. While I could understand her motivation for wanting to do what she did, her actions were indefensible for me. Instead of having a civilized talk to work things out, she decides that the way to go about things is to lie, cheat, and manipulate. I really wanted her to have more character growth than she got.

Deen, on the other hand, was the perfect foil to Kiran’s character. They both have a strong devotion to protecting their siblings, but they show it in contrasting ways–and Deen’s way was less destructive overall (though very self-destructive). While Kiran is constantly stirring up trouble because she refuses to acknowledge her sister’s autonomy, Deen is just trying to do his best to ensure that he brother is happy. Deen was the main reason I continued with the book despite not liking Kiran. Every time I got to his chapters, it was a much-needed break from Kiran. Deen was far from perfect, but he was much more personable and relatable.

Other things I really liked about It All Comes Back to You were the amazing side characters (I loved Amira and Vinny), as well as the completely adorable flash back texts. They were almost nauseating with how cute they were. I imagine they were the reason this book gets marketed as YA romance when it’s really a YA contemporary. Past Kira and Past Deen were the most charming couple before their relationship fell apart. The present-time anonymous messaging component also added a layer of cuteness to the story, but it was definitely not to the same extent as the text messages from the past.

As I said previously, I very much enjoy Farah Naz Rishi’s writing style. I’d recommend trying this book out (and/or I Hope You Get This Message) if it sounds even vaguely interesting to you, because I think she’s someone who will appeal to a wide range of people. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for her next book.

This book gave me big-time Pride and Prejudice vibes. The hate between Kiran and Deen was palpable, and I wonder how Faisal and Amira couldn't see that. Kiran was the only person who could rile Deen and crack his friendly, go-to mask. Up to a point, their behavior made sense to me, and then the lies, deception, and hate snowballed and hit them where it mattered the most at a crucial time. 
I loved their text exchanges. Kiran and Deen's online persona was more funny and relaxed than their actual selves. They would listen before jumping to judgments or conclusions, and Cambria was their common ground where they could be friends without asking or knowing about their real lives.
What I really appreciate the most in this book is the genuine Desi rep and the sibling relationships. Their desi-ness was not in my face but sneaked into the story at the right intervals, keeping it fun, dramatic, and mellow.
Kiran's idea of family meant to look out for her sister and dad constantly. It was a promise she made to her mother, and she wanted to keep it. She went too far to protect her sister and failed to see that she was wrong. Deen was also worried about keeping his brother's secret, but if he had sat down and spoken to Kiran, things would have turned out differently between them. Both Deen and Kiran should have confronted each other, but they took their sweet time plotting and going to lengths to save their siblings. 
Like many bloggers pointed out in their reviews, this book is more a YA Contemporary than a Romance novel. If this was a YA Contemporary book, I'd have rated it 4 stars because it showed so much promise on personal growth. But since it is marketed as a YA Romance, I had to take two stars for the miscommunication between the four main characters and the focus on siblings relationship overshadowing the romance between Deen and Kiran.
Packed with humor, smooth writing, and showing great signs for character development, It All Comes Back to You is a YA Desi book that highlights real-life problems that make loving and letting go of the past hard for the main characters. If you're in the mood for something light, dramatic, lots of witty banter, and a slice of desi life and intrusive aunts, then this is your book.

It All Come Back To You is a beautifully written, vibrant story about to exes who's siblings are getting married. What you can expect is a lot of banter, desi wedding vibes and family drama! To start with, I really loved the author's writing. The language of the story is so engaging and gripping, I couldn't keep the book down once I started. I especially enjoyed the inclusion of desi words, language and culture which really had me day-dreaming.

Apart from the writing, I think the strongest point in this book were the characters. Each and every main and side characters were well fleshed out and I just immediately liked them. Don't get me wrong, these aren't likable characters. In fact, most of them are incredibly messy and make multiple mistakes that made me bang my head and scream at my screen. They're jagged at the edges but that's what attracted me to them. I absolutely love reading messy teens making mistakes.

I have to say though, despite all those positives the plot felt a bit stretched. I honestly think the story could have been wrapped up a bit earlier and things got dragged out. Also... the miscommunication trope was a huge part of the story. I normally hate this trope to death but I found it was still okay in this book. There's a marketing problem as well wherein this book was pitched as a lighthearted rom-com but there's not a lot of romance here, we just get a lot of banter and anger from the protagonists.

But overall I found this to be an enjoyable read, filled with desi vibes and lots of characters to coo over.

Wow this was such a fun contemporary read! It's cute, entertaining, inspiring, and even suspenseful at some points!

Characters:

Kiran: Kiran is a character I have mixed feelings about. I felt bad for Faizal and I didn’t really like how Kiran was trying to deliberately ruin the wedding. I get that she wants to protect her sister, but it still felt wrong. That was the main thing that bothered me but then again it’s a huge part of the plot and the character development so I wouldn’t necessarily change it.

Though I didn’t always like Kiran’s characters when she’s talking about dance, there’s this whole other side of her, which I liked.

Deen: I actually really liked Deen's characters and his character growth. He kind of puts on this confident and maybe a bit jerky(is that word??) mask, but once you really get to know who he is, you realize that he's thoughtful and charming and funny. He's went through a lot in terms of his brother and with guilt and his parent's expectations, but he ended up growing and changing through that.

Plot

At some points, I felt like I liked Kiran and Deen’s conversations in Cambria more than their real-life conversations since their enemies, but there was also some good banter. I remember one scene in particular when Kiran was staring at Deen and she was like “Oh I’m only looking at you cause that ugly vein isn’t sticking out.” and he was like "Excuse me, my veins are beautiful”. Anyways their real-life moments were nice too, especially the dance scenes.


Themes and Writing

The writing was pretty light, just like contemporaries usually are, but it also talked about some difficult things the characters were going through. Kiran’s grief after her mother’s death was especially well shown, and though it wasn’t the main focus, it was realistic.

The descriptions were good, but what really stood out to me writing-wise, were the descriptions of the dance scenes and the conversations-both online and in real life.

The descriptions of the desi wedding were well done and the aunty characters were relatable. I just love this representation and cover soooo much, not just as someone who can relate, but as a reader who wants more diversity in books!!

Overall, this was a really fun and great contemporary read that I'd definitely recommend!

Before I even get into the details, can I just appreciate how amazing it felt to be closely represented in a story I loved this much. I loved seeing the Indian culture and environment in a story, and being able to relate with all the joy and intimacy of it.
Also, there are a couple sentences in Hindi there, and I won't lie that a felt a little smug because I could understand both the languages that were used. The diversity, the wide of diaspora characters, and a positive Muslim and South Asian representation was truly refreshing.

The main characters, Deen and Kiran, are really well-rounded and complex. They are as flawed and messy as they come, but the author still has a way of endearing you to them.

Even though at some point, you don't agree with the choices they make, you still understand their reasons.

I was a little miffed by the side characters, Faisal and ......, the siblings of the MCs, as I didn't they were as well rounded as the others, but surprisingly when it came to the parents of the MCs, the author made did them so perfectly. They came through as actual humans with real back stories.

"But when Amira laughs, I swear I can feel a warmth in my broken, a sort of pulling-back-together."

As far as the tone of the book goes, I think there was a bit of a misstep, because it was marketed as a "fun, light rom-com" when it clearly had a lot more dimensions to it. I mean, sure the first half was quite funny with the pranks and banter, but the parts that stuck out the most were the heavier, tenser moments of the book. The story talks about grief, loss, drug abuse and mental health, and devotes a lot more time with these rather than the lighter side. Which I don't mean to say is a bad thing, but if you go into it looking for a light, breezy read, you might be a little disappointed.



"Love isn't a feeling; it's the act of planting a seed and putting in the time and care it needs to grow."

Another thing was the clear lack of chemistry between the MCs. They are obviously just teenagers, so their weren't going to be any wedding bells for them anytime soon, but the book never violated the PG-13 line. Again, not a problem ofcourse. Just something to be noted.
This book is not really a romance, but more of a coming-of-age story. It's the journey of Kiran and Deen as they grow and learn to think of others when they make their decisions, they mature and becoming better versions of themselves.

thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book for this honest review!

It All Comes Back to You is an amazing coming-of-age story featuring two realistically messy teenagers! Kiran and Deen felt so real, and you can feel hoe much they care about their siblings, even when it causes them to make some terrible decisions. i also loved the desi rep, and seeing all the references to certain foods or events was so nice. while this wasn't a romcom like i'd initially thought, i still loved it, and would definitely recommend!