I absolutely loved this book. It was such a good plot of the book I haven't read anything like it. I loved how sweet the mmc was. He was so adorable and clueless. I binged this book in one day it was amazing I didnt want to put it down.

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.

I received a copy of this audiobook from netGalley for a honest review.

I loved this look at an author starting from nothing to write a book! She has given up but her Muse just won't let her. It's funny and sweet and completely enjoyable. I wasn't sure how this story was going to end but the HEA did happen! I will read more by this author.

What a fun storyline. This was a first for me and I enjoyed the magic realism she ties in. The characters worked well together and developed well through the book.

Legal secretary by day, aspiring novelist by night, Ziya Khan pours herself into writing stories featuring the kinds of diverse characters she loves. In exchange, she’s got a growing pile of rejection letters. When yet another “thanks but no thanks” arrives on the eve of her thirtieth birthday, Ziya decides to throw her novel and her dreams in the trash. End of story.

Except that when Ziya wakes up, there’s a flesh-and-blood version of her muse standing in her kitchen. His name is Aashiq, and it’s his job to inspire Ziya to write again. From singing karaoke to standing up for herself at work, he’s pushing Ziya out of the sidelines and into the world, showing her how to live and love fully.

Even more impossibly, something starts to blossom between them. But as Ziya rediscovers the joy of writing, Aashiq starts to disappear. His job is almost done. And it seems soon Ziya will have to choose: her art…or her heart?

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.

The wide range of ratings on this book, IMHO, is likely due to people judging a book by its cover, title and blurb. If you just want a cookie-cutter Hallmark/Harlequin/romantasy rom-com…step away from this book!!! Because….this book also makes you…think.
Le gasp!!! I know, right?
What really struck me, after having finished the second chapter, was that this book peels back the curtain on the writing/publishing process in a VERY personal and real way. Books are a dime a dozen detailing authors’ lives in a very superficial manner; this story lets you into an author’s head and heart. It’s a vulnerable project, baring your thoughts to the world to praise or pan. Kudos to all who have the courage to do so.
And those very personal elements make this story about an author, who doesn’t fall into stereotypical defaults for romances, an unusual, engaging and FRESH story about diversity, representation, persistence, and, of course, LOVE. I hope you’ll give it a try.

P.S. The audiobook is excellent!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author, Alina Khawaja, for this free ARC/audiobook. The opinions stated here are wholly my own.

Writing Mr. Right is a fun, flirty escape that blends romance with just the right amount of real-life mess. The main character’s journey through love, self-discovery, and creative ambition felt refreshingly modern and honest.

Alina Khawaja’s writing is sharp and full of heart — I laughed, I swooned, and I rooted for every awkward, heartfelt moment. A feel-good read perfect for rom-com lovers who enjoy strong women, swoony men, and happily-ever-afters with a twist.

So this book was a bit of a struggle for me for the first 2/3 of the book. It felt a little preachy on the how to take of yourself stuff and the burn was way too slow for me. The last 1/3 of the book was much better. I loved the ending and in the end the character development.
The narrator did a great job (though she kept saying li-berry instead of library) which makes me twitch but otherwise she was wonderful.

SPOILER ALERT **********************
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for providing me with an advance copy of the audiobook version of Writing Mr. Right by Alina Khawaja, Narrated by Mayuri Bhandari.
It was blurbed as a romance novel but was equally fictional self help book to the point it displaced the romance part for much of the novel. It was still an enjoyable read once you accepted that was what was going on.
The muse worked hard to push the FMC to better self care on many levels so that she would connect more easily to her creativity and desire to write.
The muse also worked to support her confidence in other aspects of her life, including her work life.
Also on the plus side was Muslim cultural representation, and a positive representation of the role of lawyers in society. The narrator’s work was good.

I found it odd that the FMC didn’t consider any prolonged focus on the muse’s preferred experiences until what she understood as the last moments of his potential life.
I also found it odd that she had never been in love before at age 30.
And I found it a bit weird for her to marry a part of herself. The muse would always be a part of her. Why not just allow it to reintegrate into your psyche after getting your life on a better track and the love of writing reignited? But I guess that the author just wanted to try for some sort of close to standard HEA ending.

Anyway, I hope this review helps you to choose whether this book is for you, and I thank NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the opportunity to read it earlier.

Writing Mr Right Honest ARC Review:

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Romantic comedy where a struggling writer’s muse comes to life after she makes a wish on her birthday. Filled with magical realism and new connections, this romantic comedy is a fun read.

When Ziya’s muse comes to life, she is able to connect more with others, enjoy being protected when siblings become difficult and see life differently.

It was nice to see this story develop as Ziya became reacquainted with her love of writing and discovered herself in the process. Aashiq is an entertaining MMC. His contributions with each conversation and new connection made the story more enjoyable to read.

Is a romantic relationship possible with someone who arrived due to a birthday wish? Will Aashiq disappear when Ziya’s writing makes progress?

This story was sweet, filled with hope and enjoyable to read. If you like whimsical, upbeat romantic comedies, this is definitely one to add to your TBR!

Thank you so much Net Gelley and Harlequin for sharing this ARC with me.

⭐️Reflective
⭐️Sentimental
⭐️Hopeful
⭐️Romantic Comedy with a bit of Magical realism

I always love the idea of a book character come to life, and in this case, it's not her character who comes to life, but her writing inspiration itself—he's a physical manifestation of her muse, which felt like a very fresh take on an already exciting premise. And let me tell you, this book DELIVERED. It was everything I wanted it to be. I'm not sure why I was surprised Aashiq had golden retriever energy, considering he's her literal writing muse, but I absolutely adored him. He was so excited about everything, and so so sweet, and I adored him right from the very beginning. I also loved Ziya—she's driven, but not finding the successes she's chasing, and having a hard time speaking up for herself at work. They make the perfect team and I am OBSESSED with their dynamic.
I also loved Mayuri Bhandari's narration, it was absolutely phenomenal.

I appreciated Ziya's deep desire to write the books she wanted to see, with the representation that mattered to her, and I loved the frank acknowledgement that in general, brown people don't get to see ourselves in happy books—it's so often issue books that deal with trauma and pain. I'm not Pakistani or Muslim, but so much of Ziya's drive to publish felt very familiar and relatable, and I loved that she got to publish a book about a Muslim Pakistani woman where her religion and ethnicity are not conflicts—within a book about a Muslim Pakistani woman where her religion and ethnicity are not conflicts. I might not have seen myself specifically in this book, but I saw a desire that I can absolutely relate to, and representation that I know will mean a lot to a lot of people.

I absolutely adored Writing Mr. Right, and I'm very excited to read more from Alina Khawaja.

This book kind of fell flat for me. I liked the concept but it just felt very cringy and hard to read sometimes

I am rating it 4 stars because their goodbye made me feel things and somehow I found myself rooting for them.

However, I have to say that because this book was a little too meta for me. Then again, maybe the issue was that I was under the impression that it was one of her characters coming to life and not her muse. The whole "you are part of me" also didn't work for me and he was a little too chipper/no boundaries for me.

I did like how much Ziya grew as a character and came out of her shell as well as where she ended up at the end.

What I loved: the narration and Ziya’s drive to become a writer and bring more diversity to publishing. When Ziya talked about how her first book has a white blonde woman as the main character that was so real. Growing up without characters and dolls that looked like you made it so hard to see yourself in those ways. I loved Ziya and her family and friends.

What I didn’t love: Aashiq felt so innocent and naive, the romance made me feel really weird. It felt like Ziya was his mother or older sibling. The writing style also isn’t my personal favorite. It felt like Ziya was a friend talking to me about their life, but I prefer when a book makes me feel like I’m watching a character’s life and story unfold. A smaller complaint is that I’m disappointed Ziya hypes up Emily Henry versus other authors who are WoC. I feel like Ziya would really look up to authors like Kennedy Ryan.

Overall, this was a good listen.

This book was super cute! It was lighthearted, fun and adorable. I really enjoyed the story about a writer and their struggles, but also the cute story of her and her muse. This was an easy read (listen) and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves lighthearted stories.

I enjoyed this book! I loved the diverse representation and the magical realism. It was reminiscent of Ashley Poston's work and one of her books was actually mentioned in the book.

The beginning slightly annoyed me because, in my opinion, she could have self-published if no one wanted to publish her book. We do find out later on she wanted her book to be easily available in hard copies for people to buy and that's probably why she didn't want to do that.

This was wonderfully written and was such a reflective book. It makes you challenge all the societal norms and impossible standards we hold ourselves to.

The romance aspect was sweet and I loved the character development throughout the book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ALC, I would read from this author in the future.

I really wish I liked this more. I'm always looking for Muslim rep, and I was really hopeful with this, but as a romance it just didn't work for me. There was zero chemistry between Ziya and Aashiq, and he was so overly wide-eyed and naive that it came off as a little creepy--I think I would have had an easier time with it if it were a Hot Frosty style movie, rather than a book. There were also a handful of writing quirks that I just don't care for, which isn't an overall quality thing, but did affect my personal good time.

It's not a bad book, just not one I loved.

Writing Mr. Right is another cute Pakistani romance from Alina Khawaja! The premise of this book was super interesting: an aspiring writer's muse manifests into a physical man. It was heartwarming to see Ziya and Aashiq slow catch feelings for each other. Their romance was very sweet and gentle, and I loved how supportive Ziya's friends and family were about their relationship as well! It was very apparent how Aashiq improved Ziya's career and personal life for the better. Mayuri Bhandari also did an excellent job of narrating Ziya's inner monologue as well.

I think where this book fell short for me was the logistics of Aashiq's origin. There were so many questions I had about how the logistics of this type of magic worked, one of them being if Aashiq and Ziya date, doesn't that mean that she's dating herself? 😭 I feel like these aspects of the plot took me out of the story, but otherwise it was a sweet romance read.

This was a cute magical realism read! The audiobook was super easy to listen to. I really enjoyed the narrator and thought the pace was good. I loved how the main character was an aspiring author and went through the difficulties of opening up to others about their writing. This book had a lot of character growth, which I always look for in a good book. I also enjoyed the development of the romance. Overall, this was a cute and quick read that I would recommend to anyone looking for a magical realism book.

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.