If you're looking for a cute and fun romcom that is clean, with lots of cultural influence thrown in, this is a good debut to pick up. I found it to be really fun though some of the pacing throughout the story didn't feel completely smooth. There were certainly some things that happened that weren't entirely believable, but it was still a cute read and a fun time. I think with some real work on pacing this could have been a super quick read for me and besides that the writing style was easy to read and consume. For a debut I felt like this is a great start and would look forward to seeing what else the author had in the future.

Wow! What a debut novel by Alina Khawaja!

Maya's Laws of Love is a quick-moving, witty/banter filled romantic comedy book that will keep you on your toes of someone who is cursed in life and in love. Alina informs the reader at the beginning of her book that this Desi romance is specific to her experience and her direct impact within Canadian-Pakistani culture. This is important to remember for non-Muslim readers as this book represents just a portion of a vast religion and culture.

In Maya's Laws of Love, the reader enjoys a sense of wanderlust; while, also dealing with the reality of anxiety and continuous runs of bad luck. Maya and Sarfaraz don't start out as "enemies" per se but they definitely don't get along. Which, is hard for them when they're stranded together for 11 days through Switzerland, Islamabad, and a smaller village on the way to Karachi. They travel together and learn what it means to have someone in your corner, something neither of them had for this meet cute.

Maya and Sarfaraz face danger, vulnerability, becoming creative in ways their religion/culture would NOT support, and even pretend to be fake engaged. You have grumpy/sunshine and one bed tropes to keep you occupied till Maya is reunited with her fiance, who just so happens to be Sarfaraz's half brother no one told her about.

Alina writes a powerful debut novel filled with love, wanderlust, friendship, building trust, sticking up for yourself, finding yourself, dealing with trauma, and so much more! There's a lot packed in but it is SO worth the read.

Lastly, two other things I enjoyed were the short chapters -- they just kept me hooked, and the epilogue. In a lot of romance epilogues we see down the road of our couple - maybe a baby, etc. Alina opens the epilogue with Maya returning to therapy to share about all she learned once she found love and found herself. The epilogue solidifies Maya's journey to healthy living, mental fortitude, and coping skills that benefit her and those around her. This was so unique, so powerful, and I hope I see more epilogues like this in the future.

Well done book. 5 stars. 0 chili peppers. 5 angsty bell peppers for our close-door romance readers :)
Make sure to check this book out!

I loved this forced proximity, forbidden romance, opposites attract romance that centers two Pakistani-Canadian Muslim leads.

Maya is cursed. She will forever be unlucky in love, so she's (1) created Maya's Laws (based on Murphy's Law) to dictate her choices and (2) has agreed to an arranged marriage with a man she likes ok, but does not love. On her way to the wedding, in Pakistan, everything that can go wrong with travel does and she increasingly relies on her grumpy seat mate Sarfaraz. Despite her unluckiness, Maya is a firm believer in love and soul mates; grumpy Sarfaraz who is a divorce attorney does not believe in such things. But as they spend time together stranded in a foreign country, Maya starts to feel things for him that she's never felt before and that she certainly doesn't feel for her intended. Can Maya finally be lucky in love?

I loved the interspersing of Maya & Sarfaraz's religion and Pakistani heritage in the ways they interacted with each other and those they meet in their journey. This is a no-spice romance because of their religion, but it didn't feel judgy in ANY way for those who make different choices. This was true as well in the nuanced conversations about arranged vs. love matches. I also absolutely felt the growing love between Sarfaraz and Maya throughout their adventures and I am an absolute softie for a "he's a grump for everyone but her". Both Maya and Sarfaraz have complicated family situations and I loved the way in which they both grew from their hard pasts as well. It did start off a bit slowly, but once Maya was en route to Pakistan in picked up quickly. If you're looking for a new South Asian author to add to your TBR, I very much recommend Khawaja!

Anyone who has ever found that the “course of true love never did run smooth” is certain to want to read this book. It is a story that will make readers hope for Maya’s happiness. She has certainly had a difficult time finding her one and then facing dilemmas. For example, should she go through with her arranged marriage? Is a divorce lawyer a good marriage prospect? How many things can go wrong on the way to Pakistan? The pages just turn quickly in this book making it a perfect pick for when a pick me up kind of book is what is needed.

Mirza is convinced she is cursed to have bad luck for the rest of her life, especially in love. She lives her life by a set of 'laws' that explain her bad luck.

She is about to be married and is on route to her destination wedding in Pakistan, but it is a disaster from the start. Her seatmate ends up being a grumpy lawyer, that as mishap after mishap happens ends up being her travel companion through a grounded flight, an unexpected stop in Switzerland, a bus breakdown, and more. They get very close over the tumultuous journey, and Maya starts to doubt who is the right guy for her.

I think this book was so well executed. I loved reading a book about a culture that is different to my own. The love story was so well paced, and you could feel as the characters fell in love over the length of the novel. The main characters grew over time and it all felt so organic. There was such a good balance of romance, serious topics, humour, culture, and growth.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC read.

Maya is trying to cope with the fact that she is to marry her arranged fiancé in Pakistan. She tries to talk herself into the idea of falling in love with him until the trip overseas puts a dent in her plans after meeting a divorce lawyer during her travels.

•Enemies to Lovers and Forced Proximity

A beautiful, feel good #ownvoices romance debut featuring a Canadian Pakistani teacher who finds herself agreeing to marry a man she barely knows in order to please her mother. I loved this grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract, travel romance that sees Maya questioning everything she thought she knew about life and love when she ends up falling for a complete stranger when she least expected. Great on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Farah Heron and Uzma Jalaluddin. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review! I'm excited to read more from this new Canadian author!!

Steam level: kissing only

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC, in return these are my honest thoughts.

I started off really liking this story, I found the character of Maya endearing. I loved how she loved kdramas and still believed in love despite what she had experienced. She was a little imature, but lots of girls are still in their early twenties.

The character of Sarfaraz was cynical and divorce lawyer, but I thought he was Maya’s perfect match. The balanced each other out well. I really was rooting for their romance. I normally hate cheating tropes, but the arranged
marriage made me understanding of why it happened.

I really liked this book, but then the reveal happened and honestly it just ruined the story for me. It felt like it was an unnecessary reveal just to create more drama.

I was checked out of the story aftet that. I think if you took that part out it would have made the story better.

Hard to get into at first but in the end very sweet. Maya is about to get married to her arranged fiance of three years. She is ok with the idea of eventually loving her fiance after they get married until she makes an instant connection with someone else and realizes what is possible.

With a lot of travel mishaps on her way to Pakistan, she comes to realize her motives to get married are independence from what she sees as an overbearing culture more than a desire to get married. I appreciated the exploration of self-discovery, culture, and family expectations.

🌶️- Acknowledges the existence of sex but in my opinion very clean.

Read if you like:
•Vacation flings
•Impossible Love
•Sunny vs grumpy
•Forbidden Love
•Enemies to Lovers
•Forced Proximity

“No one is incapable of love, but we all have the ability to sabotage our own happiness, even if we don’t realize it.”

I really enjoyed this book. It was an sweet, adorable heartwarming romance. I love the desi representation in this book and how the author went about explaining the culture in her story. I always enjoy reading books that have desi culture but I enjoyed this book even more because I felt I could relate to the FMC Maya as a desi woman. This story reminded me of all the classic Bollywood movies I adore so much.

Thank you NetGalley and Alina Khawaja for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a cute story. It even had a meet cute. Well, not really cute at first but as time goes on (for them) it turns into a funny story. Anyways, this book was deeply cultural. It's not my place to say if it's a great representation for muslim or desi people since I'm neither, but I can attest that it painted their culture in a beautiful picture. The pacing of this book was a little oft for me. It felt a little all over the place, and I don't even mean the plot itself. I wished we could've seen more of Maya in a finally fulfilled, happy, and loving relationship. We only got a snippet of it in the epilogue. I want more of them.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I feel like this book was the perfect setup for me to like, but for some reason, I just didn't jive with the writing style of it. I don't know.

Thank you so much Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was very intrigued by the premise of this book, but I did not love the writing style and ended up dnf'ing at 9%. We (as the reader) are being told everything instead of being shown what happens leading the reading experience to feel rather clunky. I wanted to continue reading but did not feel engaged enough to do so.

I will say that I absolutely loved the author's note and the care that she put into representing a Pakistani Muslim,

I enjoyed the take on the author's on story telling. As the chapters continue, the story continues to get better. I always enjoy romance stories where I learn something about other cultures. This was my first with strong heritage weaved into the tale. This story was given to me by NetGalley for my honest opinions.

A cute rom-com and an incredible debut from the author.

Read this if you like:

💞 Forced proximity
🛏 One bed tropes
✨️ Forbidden romances

I've seen many conflicting opinions about this book, so let me start by saying I am not Muslim and my opinion is not based on cultural accuracy.

That said, Maya's Laws of Love was, for me, an incredible read. The story is sweet, funny at times, full of clichés and chaotic but so adorable and relatable.

Maya is a hot mess, ready to settle into an arranged marriage only to gain more independence from her Pakistani mum. Sarfaraz comes off as grumpy at first but it doesn't take much for him to fall for Maya... who is his brother's fiancée.

The banter and adventures between the protagonists can keep you turning pages, and overall, this is an amazing debut perfect for those who don't want higher heat levels than kissing only.

Thank you, Alina Khawaja, Harlequin Books, and NetGalley for early access to a copy.

This review was originally published on Instagram on March 25, 2024.

This had the makings of a very cute rom-com. Maya's life is Murphy's Law: anything that can go wrong will go wrong, especially with her love life. On the way to her arranged marriage, she almost misses her flight and ends up next to a grumpy seatmate. Then, to make matters worse, the plane gets grounded due to bad weather. While Maya tries to make the best of things, everything gets worse, from getting sick from her lunch to being robbed.

This story takes some whacky and sometimes unbelievable turns. While it was exciting and gripping in the beginning, it lost me in the middle, particularly when she and Sarfaraz get into a fight, and he says some pretty hurtful things. In fact, even as their storyline progresses, he continues to say some crass things that tend to get overlooked. I almost felt like the author wanted us to feel like he could be brutally honest with her by Maya gets that from literally everyone else in her life, I would have loved for him to be more tender and attuned to her needs.

Ultimately, it was cute, but the romance didn't seem to hold up for me the way I would have liked. I think the characters could have been more developed, and the plot could have been a little less absurd at times.

i don't even know where to begin with this book ... it was so good and i loved every moment of it. the drama and plot twists were so unexpected. i seriously ate every bit of this book up.

maya's laws of love was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 and it did not let me down!! i LOVE love, and i am so so happy that maya and safaraz got their happy ending. i was rooting for them the whole story!!!

thank you to much to HTP and netgalley for the arc. reading and reviewing this book was a dream come true.

Maya Mirza's father walked out when she was a young girl. She comes from a Muslim family, so her mother gets shamed for her failed marriage. Maya's view on love and relationships in general are skewed, so she makes up her own laws about love and believes that she's been cursed with bad luck. On a trip to Pakistan, where her arranged marriage takes place, she gets taken on a journey that she never expected.

It took me a while to get through this. As someone who's not Muslim, I didn't understand a large chunk of what was going on in the first couple of chapters. And I don't feel like it was explained at all for those who don't know much about the religion/culture. Because of that, I couldn't connect with this book or the characters at all. I also noticed a few instances in the book that, even with my little knowledge, I'm fairly certain goes against their beliefs.

Towards the middle of the book, I started to really enjoy it and seeing the relationship develop between Maya and Sarfaraz. That's where it started to pick up for me.

Obviously, I already knew what was going to happen at the end. It's fairly obvious. But I felt like it was a little too corny.

This novel started off very weak. The writing was choppy, and the author forgets that some readers may not be familiar with desi culture (although the representation is wonderful). As you approach the climax, the writing becomes more fluid and the overall plot strengthens. However, the denouement returns to the same weakness as before. I would’ve liked if we could’ve gotten to know Maya and Sarfaraz better too. Their personalities felt very surface level besides understanding their main motives.

I loved this book!!l

I thought the development of the relationship between the two characters was believable and sweet. Their families were wonderfully developed as well! I also loved the references to the Korean drama Crash Landing on You. :)

I loved learning more about Pakistani/Muslim culture and relationships through the book, while recognizing this is just one story and isn’t representative of all Muslim relationships, it is a sweet story! I recommend reading the author’s note to make sure this is the right book for you.