Second chance romance, family feuds, workplace romance, South Asian life- this has it all. Sana is 33, a hijabi, and she's finally agreed to an arranged marriage because she wants to be part of the guardianship plan for her neurodiverse younger brother. Only problem is that she can't get her childhood love out of her head- a love who left town after his uncle bankrupted her father. And then, then, guess who turns up at her work? Daniel's grown up into an attorney, the attorney assigned to work with her. But she's just met and has agreed to continue to see Adam, whose wealthy family is appealing to her own. What will she do? You know it, don't you? This is terrific for the representation of Muslim life and families. It's a little less so for some details (I was confused about what exactly Sana did for work and there's an offhand comment about her being in law school- on line?). That said, this one made me hungry (there's lot of food) and made me smile. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

I have always been fascinated by arranged marriages and enamored with the strong faith and commitment to beliefs that seem to exist within the Muslim community so I was extremely eager to read this book.

Sana comes from a strict Muslim family with a mother who is set to arrange her marriage. This old time custom is at odds with modern Sana; however, she is desperate to find a partner so she can assume guardianship of her 17 year old autistic brother. The only problem is that the age of 33, she still pines for her teen crush.

I enjoyed watching the struggle Sana experienced as she was pulled between familial expectations and her heart. This was a solid debut and I will definitely look for more by this author.

Sana's family is ready to arrange her marriage but Sana's heart belongs to another. This book was sweet with its references to Jane Austen. I appreciated both Sana and Daniel's loyalty to their family but was happy to see love win in the end. This was a feel good romcom with great Autistic and Islamic representation.

Sana Saeed is torn between the traditions of her parents and what she wants from life. What she wants is to be able to take care of her younger brother, Zia, but her mother has put a condition on that guardianship: find and marry a man, and quick. So Sana agrees to consider an arranged marriage, which she hasn't done since her heart was broken years ago. But when David--the man who broke her heart--barges into her work life, confusing feelings ensue.

I can relate to the tension between desperately wanting a romantic spark, but also wanting the safety that a more considered match can bring. Was it just my cultural lens that made me frustrated that her mom was being manipulative by using her love for her brother to get her to marry? I did appreciate the second-chance romance story with Austen feels (think: Persuasion vibes), as well as the flashbacks being integrated into the narrative rather than being set apart by spaces or punctuation. In short, it was super angsty, things left unsaid, misunderstandings, fears, and traumas. Sana and David are emotionally all over the place as they sort through minor and major incidents in their lives, and it keeps the reader glued to the page until the very end.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for giving me an arc of this title in exchange for this honest review.

For some reasonthe netgalley app wouldnt let me read this book, despite the fact that it was a few hours away from expiring? Because of this I was unable to finish the book unfortunately and will provide an full review once I get the chance to finish it. What I read of it was enjoyable and seemed very promising though.

So well written. I haven’t read many books that include characters of different races. Not by choice, but I just haven’t found one to be very interesting. But this book had me hooked from the start!

I thought this was a sweet second-chance, childhood-friends-to-lovers romance!! I loved the South Asian Desi representation -- I'd love to hear from ownvoices reviewers too though! The standouts for me were the familial dynamics, and the connection the FMC had with her best friend.

There is an instance in the very beginning of the story where Sana goes to grab a manager at McDonalds because there are a group of racist kids harassing her and her younger brother (17 years old), Zia. While he is left alone, the love interest stumbles upon Zia and describes him as such: "He's a teenager but looks like he could be on the autism spectrum. He's covered his ears to shut out the noise and is rocking back and forth. Some asshat teenagers across the dining area are taunting him. He looks like he's about to cry. He looks like he's all alone. Who'd walk off and leave a defenseless kid by himself?" I do wish this was caught in some round of editing because the idea of someone "looking autistic" just doesn't sit right with me. There are indeed so many experiences of autistic people and I felt this scene painted the love interest as the "hero" who "saves" the "defenseless autistic kid".

cw: Islamophobia, hate crime, terminal illness, death of parent, cancer, death, infertility, toxic relationship, ableism

This was so much fun to read! It felt like I was watching a soap opera the whole time, wondering if the love interests would confess their love for one another!

This book had everything, family drama, childhood fiends to lovers, and representation!

I really loved watching the love between Sana and Daniel become more and more inevitable the deeper we got into the story. I also loved how much they cared for their family and would do anything for their happiness.

I also enjoyed the muslim & autism rep. that was mentioned throughout the novel so beautifully and wholesome.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a sweet, second chance romcom. These childhood friends and sweethearts drifted apart when their families experienced a huge falling out, leading to a permanent rift and one of them moving to the other side of the country. Reunited on a work project years later, their chemistry is still there, but the trust isn't. While their years-long family, feud continue to keep them apart, or will they finally find their way back to each other. Or will Sana move forward with an arranged marriage that her family has chosen for her?

Set in a tight knit Desi community and in an environmental conservation company, Sana and Daniel are working together to protect the local community, this is a story about family, community and friendship.

Actual rating: 3.5, rounded up to 4.

Thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was sold on the premise of star-crossed friends-to-lovers. The plot is loosely based on “Persuasion”, and I love that - Sana Saeed and Shahri Khalil, now Daniel, grew up together and became the closest of friends as their families entered into business together. Then Shari’s uncle made bad choices that left Sana’s family in dire straits, especially after Sana’s father passed away, and the Khalils fled.

Following her traditional Muslim mother’s wishes, Sana agrees to an arranged marriage so she can be secure future guardianship of her younger brother, Zia. Even though her promised fiance, Adam, is great on paper, Sana doesn’t feel the all-consuming love she wishes for - and that she once felt for Shahri. Until he shows up in her life again, as her boss.

There were many things about this book that were very sweet. Sana and Daniel pining for each other, Sana’s love of her brother, Daniel’s relationship with his adoptive mother and brother.

This book was overflowing with Pakistani and Muslim culture, from words to food to traditions, which I really enjoyed. I’ve seen discourse about how some people wish there were translations in books that include other languages so they don’t have to Google every few seconds. My approach to this is that I’m not here for a lesson and I’m not expected to Google everything - I can get a sense of the meaning of most things from context. I’m being invited into someone’s world, and I appreciate the author sharing it with me. I think this romance will make many East Asian readers feel seen, while also hopefully make others feel as glad about getting a welcoming taste of the culture as I did.

In terms of the romance, I was very frustrated with Sana and Daniel constantly going hot and cold on each other. There were a few times where I was left hanging, like there was something missing from the scene - where did this character go, why did nobody reply, when did they talk about this? There was a lot of miscommunication, which I wasn't a fan of, but I enjoyed the tension of the reasons why they didn't think they could be together.

All in all, the romance aspect was a bit lacking for me, only saved by the knowledge that these two people had been best friends at a time, and therefore building on a previous relationship.

I’m also not a fan of incredibly meddling families when that’s not problematized and boundaries aren’t set at some point, so I struggled with Sana’s family. I know that this is a strong aspect of many cultures, mine included, but that doesn’t mean we’re supposed to sit back and take it.

tl;dr: If you’re looking for a diverse friends-to-lovers romance with no smut, plenty of tension and a HEA, you might want to give this a chance.

A heartwarming, funny and inspiring read. Plenty of drama and lots of Bollywood vibes. This was my first read with a Muslim Hijabi MC and I learned a lot.
A well written story with great characters.

I really loved this book! It’s a heartwarming story that deals with topics such as grief, broken trust, family expectations, and family feuds. And the yearning!!!! I loveddddd it!

There was a really great side story dealing with the two main characters’ work. I do wish the resolution had been discussed more in depth- it was such a huge part of the plot and then it was just briefly mentioned at the end. This didn’t affect my star rating but I was a bit disappointed.

I will definitely be reading more work by this author- this was a beautiful debut novel.

This was an emotional rollercoaster! I loved the Muslim South Asian rep and the fierce love between siblings. The leading lady is strong, passionate and had to make some very tough decisions. The ending was very satisfying. I'm looking forward to more books by the author!

Thank you for letting me read this arc!!


The beginning of the book is good and shows a good understanding of what she is going through—I do love the representation and the way she struggles to find the balance.

The story felt hard to stay focused on throughout the middle of it.

This is one I really wanted to like. I loved all of the Muslim representation. But the over all story was boring to me. And I couldn’t connect with the characters.

I really enjoyed this and all the characters. The two leads were well drawn and written as was their world.

Even though I thought this would likely end in a predictable way, I still wasn’t sure till the end. Should Sana please her traditional Muslim mother and accept an arranged marriage to what seems to be the perfect man for her and for her family? Or will the sudden appearance of her best friend and teenage love lead her in a different direction, with all the rebellion needed to not follow her family’s wishes? Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a preview copy.

3* Irritating, but perhaps true to culture (I'm vaguely Asian and lived something similar).

This is quite a long-winded and at times annoying read, because the heroine in question isn't a malleable teen or YA, but a 30-something American, yet she allows her family to control her in far too many ways. Yes, it's partly a cultural thing, but hey, even Bollywood has moved with the times with what they call NRIs, and yet Sana Saeed hasn't.

The romance, well, there really isn't one, but there are annoying flashbacks to SS's childhood and her family's falling out with the male lead's family (I have already forgotten his name, he was that unremarkable) and how they came together again wasn't really believable. I think, and I might be confusing this novel with another at this point, that the most interesting part was when they kayaked to get a polluted water sample for a case.

What really got to me, at age 54 in 2023, is that SS's mother behaved like my father did in 1985, when in backwards Mauritius, 17yo me had a boyfriend. Yes, I got the emotional blackmail, the 'you're killing me', etc. simply because of an innocent teen romance. That that still exists in 'our' culture is deplorable, but that SS fell for it and fell into line, was equally so. She had no backbone whatsoever.

This book didn't work for me, but it was worth a read.

ARC courtesy of Alcove Press and NetGalley, for my reading pleasure.

Get ready to be swept off your feet by this amazing book which will give you the vibes of a Bollywood movie/Pakistani drama with non-stop plot twists 😉.
It has:
Arranged Marriage
Childhood Friends/Enemies/Lovers
Childhood Crush
Slow Burn Romance
Second Chance Romance
It has always been you
Co-workers
Families Feud

Sana Saeed is a Muslim hijabi woman from a Desi family living in New York City. She is 33 years old and constantly pushed by her mother to get married and accept one of the suitors or else she will take Zia's(Sana Brother) guardianship from here. Zia is autistic and Sana cares deeply about him and she will do anything for him. So when a handsome acceptable man proposes Sana is left with no choice but to accept even though she doesn't love him he is a good caring man and her family loves him. However, when her childhood crush and best friend Shahri aka Daniel Malik comes back into the picture after 18 years and starts working with her in the same firm on the same case things get complicated and Sana is torn apart between her heart and mind.

This is my first book about a Muslim hijabi heroine and I loved it so much. The author portrayed the characters beautifully recognizing our traditions and Islamic habits and conditions.  While also focusing on the hate crimes towards Muslims and how it affects them.
I felt deeply connected with the story coz I'm also a Muslim hijabi woman and I understood Sana's life, complications, and duties.
Daniel was everything a girl could ask for and I loved his personality a lot.
All in all the novel was perfect and worth every minute.
Thank you so much for the publisher for sending me an ARC of #TheMissArrangementOfSanaSaeed in exchange for my honest review @netgalley.

Xoxo💋

Absolutely gorgeous book!


"Thank you so much netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advanced review copy if this book💗 "I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”