Don’t let the cheesy seeming cover and plot summary fool you; this is a romance, yeah kinda technically, but it’s really about falling in love with yourself, beating burnout, embracing yourself in your 30s, trusting the process. Reminds me of The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella a bit (I love a book about burnout).

"Writing Mr. Right" has such an interesting premise but I don't think it was executed well. There was nothing that really grabbed me despite some magical aspects it had going on. I do like the slight commentary it has on the publishing industry. Being a writer is a hard job, and we do get a glimpse on how that can affect an aspiring author.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

Vibes: Romcom
Characters: quirky, quirky, quirky.
Writing: Very easy to follow
I love books that have great cultural representation and this book had just that.
I also felt like Ziya was me in the sense that I focus on work instead of developing close friendships.
Overall, I enjoyed the story and would recommend it to others to read!

This is a great story. The concept is really interesting. I loved the world building and attention to detail that the author put into their story. The characters are so realistic and quirky. I loved getting to know them and watching them grow and change. The plot was a very interesting and intense one. I loved the different layers that the author deftly wove together to make such a compelling story.

Imagine this— you’re a writer whose story keeps getting rejected from agents, so you’ve decided to give up writing. You make a wish on some apparently magical candles and when you wake up the next morning there’s a man in your kitchen.
Flash forward— he’s evidently your writing muse come to life. His goal? Get you to start writing again. Not his goal? Have you fall in love with him. But alas.
I loved the magical realism element of this story— I thought it made it really unique. It’s interesting to think she technically fell in love with herself— not just learning to love herself— but that’s an interesting quirk to the story I think. It’s kind of like a wholesome djinn who not only helps you with your writing but also feel more confident taking up space and interacting with peers. He really changed the FMC’s life for the better. I also love that a part of her motivation for writing was so that others like her, POC, feel represented when they read and see themselves in books.

Thank you Harlequin Audio for the listen!

(2.75 stars)
The premise of Writing Mr. Right sounded so good, right up my alley with a strong dose of magical realism. Unfortunately, it just didn’t grab me as much as I had hoped it would.

Ziya Khan is turning 30. She’s an aspiring novelist but her manuscripts keep getting rejected and she’s feeling frustrated and despondent about it. She does really like her day job as a legal secretary, so that’s a saving grace for her. The story is told by Ziya, so we only get her point of view.

On her birthday, her best friend and roommate gets her a cake with some candles that the bakery said were magic. And they were! When Ziya makes a wish … well, that’s the premise of the book. Her writing muse comes to life in the form of a handsome young man, Aashiq. He inspires Ziya in a lot of different ways, from getting her to go out for a run or a walk, to eat healthier, and much more in connection with her writing. I just didn’t buy their eventual romance and the final outcome. It stretched my credulity a bit too much.

I really appreciated the Muslim representation in this story. Ziya’s family are Pakistani New Yorkers, very much at home in the city but still respecting their culture. I highlighted one quote that spoke to me:
“‘The whole reason I started writing seriously is because I wanted to combat those stereotypes, to show different kinds of stories… Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like anyone wants those stories. It’s like they think the only Muslim stories that have value are the ones where we’re suffering or we have to teach the reader something. We’re more than our pain, and we shouldn’t have to teach people why we matter.’”
I don’t know about you, but I think this statement is just as perfect if you substitute “Jewish stories” for “Muslim stories.” So much truth!

I bounced between the ebook and the audiobook, but mostly listened to the audiobook, which was well narrated by Mayuri Bhandari.

Thank you to MIRA and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book and to Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

In this fun new rom-com about aspiring writer and current legal secretary Ziya Khan, readers meet her at a low point when writer’s block and rejection letters are flooding in. Unable to get started on her writing career and JD, Ziya chooses to give up writing on her thirtieth birthday, but the next day her writing muse has literally come to life. Aashiq’s job is to inspire Ziya to keep writing no matter what, so he pushes her out of her comfort zone and shows her how to live and love. As they spend time together, something else seems to spark between Aashiq and Ziya, but once Ziya rediscovers her love of writing, Aashiq will disappear, and she must choose between her art and her heart. Packed with incredible details and relatable feelings and struggles, readers will understand Ziya’s plight and love seeing her come back to life in this heartwarming and emotional new novel. The characters are the absolute stars of the book, and Aashiq and Ziya’s relationship is well-written, developed, and fun to follow as it evolves. Entertaining, emotional, and deeply enjoyable, readers will love this brilliant new modern romance novel, its heartwarming storyline, and its fantastic characters.

This book is sweet and so much fun. The FMC is an aspiring writer who has lost her lifetime love of writing after too many rejections from publishers. Enter the MMC who just wants to inspire her to write again and enjoy life’s little and big moments. The pure sweetness of him just captured my heart. There are some serious undertones that are balanced with a good bit of humor. The FMC Mom and Dad are amazing and are the kind of parents that are encouraging, supportive and funny. The whimsy that this book has is soft and sweet. Overall I really enjoyed the vibe of the book and would suggest it to those who like humor with their deep personal growth stories.

Writing Mr. Right was honestly such a cute story.

I truly loved Ziya. She was extremely passionate about her work, but like anyone who faces rejection after rejection attempting to make their dreams come true, she fell down on her luck.
While I know many authors go through doubts about their writing, wondering if they are any good or if what they are doing is worth it, this felt like a lived experience vs a forced one—if that makes any sense...

The aspect of Aashiq being a manifestation of Ziya come to life, was honestly adorable. I loved that despite him being her internal muse, he wasn't all knowing about Ziya nor her thoughts. It give the book a little bit more magic.

Her falling in love with someone that she created in her head wasn't at all weird to me. It was more of a double meaning. Ziya not only fell in love with Aashiq, but she fell in love with herself. Learning to slow down, smell the roses, and do things that were good FOR her, not because she HAD to do these things.

I think that author Alina Khawaja, not only wrote a book spotlighting and further expanding on the importance of representation, she also made me think. Think about what I am doing in my own personal life, and how I can manifest personal changes that are better for me.

I was originally provided the ARC from Netgalley courtesy of HTP Hive/HTP Hive

This book is pure magic for anyone who’s ever dreamed of being seen and cheered on by their own muse. Ziya’s journey from burnt-out and doubting to bold, inspired, and in love is funny, warm, and a little bit whimsical. Aashiq is the ultimate dream muse: part cheerleader, part chaos, part swoony romance hero. Their love story made me laugh, tear up, and root so hard for Ziya’s second chance at both art and heart. It’s a hug for anyone chasing a creative dream. Tender, clever, and enchanting the perfect rom-com escape!

DNF at 50%.

I tried to push through and finish, but Ziya wasn't very likable from the start and there were aspects of Aashiq that didn't really make sense to me. At no point did I feel like I have to see where this goes and I stopped caring how the story ends.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute, pleasant book with a really fun magical realism twist. I enjoyed it a lot!

☕ Writing Mr. Right

💋Rate: 5 Stars!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

🥰Praise: This is a wonderful idea from this beautiful author! Can you imagine being an author and your own muse or inspiration become a human form?! Read this book and see for yourself! Ziya and Aashiq have my book loving heart! 💘 To sum up this book for everyday occasions! Our beautiful character Ziya has given up on writing! However! Aashiq, her inspirational Muse in human form, decides to make an appearance and tell her how to live life again and teach her how to be happy about life and everything in it! Not to spoil it! It is a book you want to reread because you feel valued as a writer and a reader! This book was emotional, magical, and romantic! Lessons are learned and writing hearts are mended! And love is found!

💕Extra: Wishes come true this book is definitely for all to view!💖

📚Bravo!

Writing Mr. Right was a sweet, imaginative romantic comedy that follows Ziya, a legal secretary by day and a struggling author at night. After a devastating publisher rejection on her birthday, she hastily deletes all of her works and vows to stop writing. She makes a birthday wish to be happy and then ends her night. The next morning, she wakes up to find a compkete stranger in her home. Aashiq claims to be her muse and is here to inspire her to write again. Ziya starts by thinking he is crazy but soon realizes that he really is who he says. Aashiq begins to slowly inspire Ziya to not only improve her writing but to embrace life, make friends, and even fall in love.

The concept of this book was what really hooked me. The thought of a muse come to life sounded like a fun concept. Ziya's character starts off feeling very lost. She has been juggling a full time job as well as being a writer. She has clear motivations and desires to enhance the literary world by creating Pakistani characters that people could relate to. Ziya is an imperfect character and is very closed off. She focuses so much of her time and energy on her careers that she doesn't take time to make friends or truly live her life. Aashiq opens her eyes to the simple joys and connections that you can make by taking time to be in the moment. His golden retriever energy and enthusiasm for life slowly make her appreciate taking time to live her life and go after what she wants.

The story is sweet with magic, tension, angst, and romantic moments. The story is quick and the writing is very easy to read. The author reflects a lot of Ziya's own character and growth into her writing. I enjoyed the mirror of Ziya's story with the story unfolding. Also, Ziya's growth throughout was very endearing. She used to be someone closed off except for to those really close to her and she grows into someone who is truly present in her life. The only thing I didn't really like about the book are the moments with the candles and the wish were a little silly and felt a little out of place. Overall, the story was cute and a sweet romantic comedy.

I liked this story about a woman trying to find her calling and get her writing muse back. I was surprised by the love story, but it was sweet.

This was OK. I appreciated the representation of the FMC, but I didn't enjoy her as a person. She was very "woe is me", and I just couldn't relate to that.

I feel like I’ve read this book before. At the very least, I’ve read books very similar to this. WRITING MR. RIGHT was perfectly fine; a lighthearted romance with a magical realism twist.

Ziya Khan is a legal secretary by day and aspiring novelist waiting for her big break. Unfortunately, her small town romance keeps getting rejections all saying the same thing - neither the plot nor characters stand out among other books in the same genre. On the cusp of her thirtieth birthday, Ziya decides to abandon her dream of being an author. The magical candles on her cake have other ideas. Enter Aashiq, Ziya’s creative muse come to life to help her once again find her writing mojo. Aashiq is handsome, charismatic, and temporary leaving Ziya to choose between her creative passion or passion of another kind. So, yeah.

What stood out for me in this novel are the cultural elements introduced by the author. Ziya Khan is a Pakistani character who struggles because she doesn’t see her culture represented in popular romance; thus causing her to write characters who don’t feel authentic. Family pressures and expectations complicate Ziya’s perception of herself and her success, or lack thereof.

Alina Khawaja is a fresh voice in the romance genre. I would be interested in seeing what she publishes next as I think her writing style shows promise. I hope she continues to write from a perspective familiar to her because she’s right. Popular romance needs broader representation across the cultural spectrum.

Thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin Audio, and Harlequin Tradd Publishing for the advance copies. All opinions are my own.

OKAY STOP 🛑✨ this premise is so freaking cute I can’t stand it. Muse-turned-boyfriend?? Writer struggles?? South Asian rep?? Literal magic realism romance vibes?? 💖📝 YESSS.

WRITING MR. RIGHT by Alina Khawaja is basically what you get if you mix a rom-com, a desi coming-of-age vibe, a dash of magic, and a massive dose of writer feels into one ridiculously charming read. 📖💘

Ziya Khan is that girl: late twenties, hustling 9-5 as a legal secretary while secretly pouring her heart into diverse, meaningful stories no publisher seems to want. It’s so real it HURTS. The rejection, the creative burnout, the ‘am I even good enough??’ crisis that hits like a truck—Khawaja absolutely nails that emotional landscape.

Enter Aashiq. Literally. Like—POOF—he’s standing in her kitchen, gorgeous, thoughtful, annoyingly perfect. Why? Because he’s her muse made flesh and blood, here to drag her out of her funk, force her to live boldly, and reignite her writing. Cue karaoke nights, standing up to her toxic boss, and seriously spicy tension that had me screaming into my pillow.

But this isn’t just a fluffy romance (though it’s got the banter and feels, don’t worry). It’s about believing in your own voice, facing your fears, and realizing that love—real love—means letting yourself be seen. And the heartbreak?? When Aashiq starts fading because his ‘job’ is done?? Pain. The good, cathartic, I-love-suffering-for-fiction kind of pain.

I adored the South Asian cultural details—Ziya’s family, food, humor. It felt so authentic and alive. Plus, it’s just so refreshing to see desi rep in the rom-com space that doesn’t rely on stale clichés.

If you want something cozy but meaningful, magical but grounded, with characters you’ll want to adopt and banter that slaps—pick this up immediately.

Content warnings? A bit of heartbreak, some career stress, mild language—but mostly it’s a comfort read with real emotional depth.

Verdict: Writing Mr. Right is the literary hug your inner artist needs. And if your muse looked like Aashiq?? You’d be writing bestsellers too. 😂💖

This was a super cute and sweet romance. I enjoyed Ziya's journey through rediscovering her love for writing and being more sure of herself in the world. Unfortunately it was a tad too cheesy for me to fully love it. The romance was more Hallmark-esque than I prefer and the writing exercises felt far too on the nose and educational for the reader rather than really helping the character.

4.5⭐️ Such a cute concept! It reminded me of a 1950s movie where a muse decided to live on earth. Don’t ask me the name because it will take a bit of digging to find it. But it gave me that same feeling while being a story of its own.

Have you ever wondered if a muse could come help you over the hump of life and a block of inspiration. Ziya didn’t but boy did she get one. Her muse, Aashiq, has made himself known by eating chocolate syrup from her fridge. Maybe she just needs to go back to sleep and he’ll be gone. Nope, if Aashiq wants them to others can see him. Now he will follow her to work encouraging her to try again with her novel. But what happens when Ziya starts to fall for him. Will he be able to stay or once his goal is complete will he go back into her head.

Thank you @netgalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Alina Khawaja for the advanced reader copy.