I'm so glad I found a book that tackles this topic of socio-cultural differences.
Love Comes Later is a refreshing romance. You just need to read it.

A beautiful book dealing with loss and the complexities of moving on. Explores arranged marriages well and the characters are relatable

Love Comes Later is a beautiful tale about an arranged marriage where they have to find each other and hopefully fall in love.

This is a wonderfully written story. I felt immersed in a culture & world I am unfamiliar with. The love story was well written.

Honestly it didn't interest me after going a few pages into the book. So didn't finish it either.

I was not looking for an insight into Qatari lifestyle when I selected this book, but given the fact that I was automatically approved when I requested to read it on NetGalley, made me look forward to something.

I was taken right into the thick of things with Abdulla, the protagonist, getting the shocking news of his wife's death. He does not tell the families involved that she was pregnant at the time and proceeds to withdraw into his guilt by keeping himself busy with work and not saying his prayers like he used to. His family give him time to grieve, but after three years, the men decide that it is time to have him remarry. He is engaged to Hind, his dead wife's cousin, a strong lady with aspirations of her own, who insists that she would only be married after completing her Masters. Abdulla consents only because of this because Fatima (his dead wife) and their unborn child still dwells in his heart and he is certain that the distance and time will enable him sort out his life.

After some time, he travels to the UK, to see his fiancee, but Hind's in Mumbai with Ravi...and such news would be met with repercussions in their community. He stays at the request of Sangita, Hind's Indian friend...whom Abdulla, finds himself at ease. He smiles for the first time with this strange girl, and somewhere at the back of his mind, something tugs at his lifeless heart.

I loved the fusion of the places and lifestyle of Qatar in this book. I have never been to Qatar, but well, the designer labels and love for franchises just sold me!
On the writing style: I liked it, because each character embodies an agenda which they wish to achieve, and the elders seem to have this finality in their decisions which I found interesting.
On character progression: the characters evolve, for Abdulla slowly weaves himself out of his guilt with the help of his family, Luluwa and finally Sangita. I loved that Sangita could stand up to Abdulla and challenge his resolve...it made their connection stronger.

However, the ending was as swift as it was unexpected. The author is currently working on a sequel which would be out sometime in June or sooner than that (I hope it's sooner than that) and I would love to read it, just because I am still left hanging.

The style of writing for me was not exceptional but story although relatable was predictable. I would have loved to see more complex characters.

This book is a fascinating insight into Muslim life rarely seen outside of the family!

It was interesting to understand a little more about Muslim culture and how the young struggle with whats is culturally required of them and balancing that with contemporary society

The author helped to bring Qatar alive through the eyes of Abdulla and Hind and painted it as a beautiful rich landscape with deep cultural ties to the past not just the vast wealth that gets portrayed in mass media

The story starts with a bang it doesn't lull you in with a build up of the scenes and characters! It starts with Abdulla's first wife dying in a car accident and builds around his journey through grief with the added pressure from family to marry again. The author weaves Hind's presence in the story neatly to allow the reader to seamlessly pick up her story like she was part of the book right from the start

The author tries to show how Western culture influences on a daily basis with mention of state of the art phones and summer shopping trips to Harrods which I don't think adds much to the tone of the story but I understand why she puts it in as it does create a depth and questions about the meshing of cultures

Hind gets the taste of freedom that she so desperately wanted and the author manages the internal conflict that creates with great skill. It really kept me turning the pages throughout her stay in England!

Overall I found it a great tale of turmoil and romance and the ending makes this story scream out for a sequel!