Gain Your Copy Ayesha At Last Crafted By Uzma Jalaluddin Offered As Paper Copy

romance novel of the year!
RTC, Im not going to lie: If you had not told me this was a Pride amp Prejudice retelling and instead I was operating under the dreamy assumption that this was an enemiestolovers literary fictiony romance set in a largely Muslim neighborhood in Canada, this review might be a different story.


But only slightly, Three is still, by definition, a positive rating,

But this didnt feel very Pride amp Prejudicey at all,

There was fun stuff in spite of that heartbreaking fact, like how I really like both our main characters even though I, uh, didnt love their romance, and the fact that this made me realize I really, really, reallyreallyreally need to read more books with Muslim representation.


But then theres also The Villains Are So Flat shoutout to Sheila and Tarek and Character Arcs Dont Exist So Our LydiaType Annoying Cousin Character Simply Does Two SpurOfTheMoments And We Call It A Day.


Which I guess means that even the few parts that did line up with the Pride amp Prejudice storyline didnt do it for me.


I am a bitter shell of a person,

Bottom line: In spite of this reviews moroseness, this book isnt bad! Just not what I was told it would be.




give me pride and prejudice retellings or give me death

thanks to the publisher for the arc sorry it's been a year and a half The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


./stars

Full review sitelinkhere

When I saw that this book was a Pride and Prejudice retelling featuring two Muslim characters living in Canada I knew I had to read it.
I'm always up for a nice retelling with some good representation,
This novel did not feel like a debut at all, the author Uzma Jalaluddin really did a good job, I was quite impressed.

I must say I struggled a bit in the first third of the book, I think it was due to the two main characters not interacting very much with each other and also to some of Khalid's behaviours.
To be honest in the beginning I totally agreed with Ayesha, he was too judgemental and I did not like the way he took one look at Ayesha and assumed everything about her life.
I'm happy to say he redeemed himself and understood that sometimes it's not really nice to assume and to judge people without knowing the full picture.
I liked how Ayesha and Khalid's story was dealt with, they did not fall madly in love straightaway, just like Elizabeth and Darcy.
The little moments they shared were really cute and sweet, When he gave her the leatherbound notebook to write her poetry in I became tearyeyed.

The author also included a lot of things that Muslim people have to go through, such as discrimination in the work place.
Sheila was the real rotten apple in there and we knew it from day one, I'm just glad Khalid stood up for himself with the help of his friends,
Overall it was a nice book with good representation, The pride and prejudice elements were there, but there was also much more included that you would not expect and that will surprise you in the most wonderful way! Through a myriad of Pride and Prejudice adaptations, it would be easy to think youve seen it all.
I am a total sucker for the story, because it is so timeless and Ive always found the way two independent characters come together to make my heart swell.
Uzma Jalaluddins novel Ayesha at Last features two Muslim leads living in Toronto and feeling the pull between culture, family, religion, love, and passion.
I found Ayesha at Last to be an entirely fresh take on the story, and one that completely delighted me from page one until the very last!

About the Book

Ayesha and Khalid have different ideas of what it means to interpret their faith and duty to their families, and they are constantly battling over those differences.


Ayesha is teaching high school and writing poetry when she can, Shes never appreciated the tradition of rishtas, where the families negotiate a union while she awkwardly avoids making too much eye contact with a man whom she could end up engaged to without even a solo conversation.


Khalid and his mother recently moved to Ayeshas neighborhood, He works in technology but finds himself the target of his new boss, who shames his conservative religious views and dress.
But when Khalid sees Ayesha one morning in her purple hijab, he cant help but feel a spark of something.
Love But Khalid believes strongly in arranged marriageshe will let his mother choose for him,

When Ayeshas cousin Hafsa asks her to fill in for her at a conference planning team at the mosque, Ayesha and Khalid find themselves forced to work together despite their differences.
And then things only get more complicated from there, They clash, they butt heads, but perhaps there is something more between them, . How can it ever work though when Khalid is committed to marrying the woman his mother chooses for him

Reflection

There is very little in the way of physical romance, and understandably so.
But the romantic tension is some of the strongest Ive felt, founded upon two people who are so committed to their beliefs, that they struggle to acknowledge what they truly desire.


There is a levity to this book, despite what might be perceived as weighty themes, I found myself laughing at witty oneliners, and I adored the banter between Ayesha, Khalid, and the surrounding characters, Khalids best friend, for instance, is a riot though troubled, His storyline was surprisingly deep, and a lovely addition to this book,

This book was much more than a retelling of Pride and Prejudice, It has many other storylines that are fresh and inviting, I was talking to a friend about the book, and while describing it I found myself very interested in the evolution of a community steeped in tradition but also stocked with multiple generations whose interpretation and practice of those traditions is in a state of evolution.
Even within a single generation we see everyone from modern Ayesha to traditional Khalid to friends of theirs who showcase all different ways of balancing their faith and their lives.


There is also a really great moment of cultural learning between Ayesha and her best friend nonMuslim around rishtas.
I wont spoil it, but it is such a fun scene and a beautiful way to think about how much we all still have to learn from each others cultures and traditions.
That there is still room for the beauty of rituals in the modern world, just in a new way,

I cant recommend this book enough!

Thank you to Berkley for my copy, Opinions are my own. This was publicized heavily as "Pride and Prejudice with Muslim characters," which gave me some misgivings, but I've been on the lookout for fiction with Muslims that doesn't tokenize them, or doubleteam Muslims with terrorism, so I went for it despite being somewhat tired of PampP cashins.


Glad I did, Jalaluddin actually does a better job than most of the recent crop of Austen cashins by touching the basic plot points as well as the tonesomewhat satiric romance, observation of people with occasional flashes of insight, and also of parody.


I think this could have been a terrific novel without the Austen substrate, though I suspect it wouldn't have had nearly the publicity push it got.
As it was, the changes Jalaluddin made helped shape an engaging story once we met all the recognizable character types: for example, the Darcycharacter, Khalid, has an older sister with a Past, rather than a younger.
The Wickham character is a lot more sinister in intent than the Wickham of Austen's story, Ayesha has no sistersthe Lydia character is her cousin, and Ayesha gets into a jam by pretending to be her cousin for plot reasons.


I really appreciated the fact that these Muslim characters are living their lives, not being tokens or villainsthey come from all over the world as Muslims do and their identity as Muslim ranges from deeply devout to assimilated in all but who they hang out with.


Along the way they do collide with prejudice but the author keeps the pacing brisk, and the tone sparkling, as Austen did in her own book.
Khalid/Darcy is unlikeable at first in his own prejudice, but as we get to know and understand him, his character takes on appeal, especially as he works to understand and improve himself.


Ayesha/Lizzie is a lot of fun, her cousin alternately annoying and a crackup, as Lydia is, The various aunties and hovering mothers determined to wrest their kids into marriage are entertaining, but drawn with a sympathetic touch.


I really enjoyed it,

Copy courtesy of NetGalley The premise and characters alone in this made it so groundbreaking and fun to read.
I like that this book explored Islam from both a traditional perspective and a modern one, and how those two interact.
The representation in this, the wide cast of brown characters, and the way it's focused from Pride amp Prejudice were really done nicely.
I liked how snarky and headstrong Ayesha was, and she was modeled after Elizabeth Bennet so well,

The biggest downfall of this book was the pacing, It was so incredibly difficult to pick up because I was never sucked in, The plot isn't bad at all, so I think it's a writing style issue for me, It was quite longwinded and the third person narration of this came off a bit dry, I was so uninvested that I ended up skimming the last bits of it just for the scenes that would solve the main action, which I liked, but there definitely seemed to be a lot of filler.


I'm torn with this book, I wouldn't necessarily call it a romance because there's so many rotating parts, but if you want to read a PampP retelling with a diverse cast, this might be for you.
More like a.now I have had time to think about it,

Where do I even start with this one

The author tried to do so much at once that she failed miserably at everything, except Ayesha's delightful grandparents.
This book had the potential to be great, as it tackled some prevalent and important issues but the execution was a mess.


Let me start with the things I liked:

Ayesha's grandparents
Clara

That's it.


The issues I had with the book:

, How Khalid was portrayed as socially awkward just because he was following his faith and firm in his belief, You can follow your faith and still be normal person with interpersonal skills, I know, shocking right!

The fact that by the end of the book Khalid changed the way he looked and dressed to pacify an Islamaphobe.
What made it worse is that the author changed Khalid's appearance under the guise of some ridiculous revenge plan to get back at his employer.
Its amazimg that when Khalid cut his beard off and wore 'normal' clothing, he was suddenly approachable and had become this social butterfly.


Are we not tired of the whole Muslims bending over backwards to appease white people trope yet

.
I was happy when I thought this book would explore the issue with forced marriages in certain cultures FM has nothing to do with Islam may I also add but it wasnt explored to it's full potential at all.
In fact it was barely touched, We didn't get to see Zareena confront her mother or any development in their relationship at all, This gives me the impression that Zareena's story was thrown in there just for the sake of it as it added no real value to the story.


. How did Farzana go from a protective and overbearing mother to an evil, conniving woman in the space of a few chapters There was no rational reasoning for her character to go in this direction and it felt false and unbelievable.
There was no redemption or positive development for her character by the end either, Not that there always needs to be redemption but we literally got nothing, No development whatsoever. The author just played right into the stereotype of the evil mother inlaw,

. The whole Tarik/Hafsa saga was just so ridiculous and immature, What was the point! How did the author manage to get Hafsa from being a girl following cultural norms with arranged marriage to running off with a guy she met a few fimes and taking nude pictures for him, which then end up on a porn site I can't even comprehend the thought process behind this.
It was almost as though the author threw this storyline in there for the shock factor but it fell very flat and was extremely unbelievable.


. Most characters were unlikeable and really judgemental

which made it difficult to connect or relate to any of them, It was basically a bitch fest,

. Almost every important story that could have made the book great was brushed over or just never explored at all.


Ayesha's father's death
Why Farzana was the way she was
The reasoning behind Hafsa's entitled behaviour
Zareena'a experience in Pakistan, her abortion, her relationship with her family etc
Tarik's story
Amir's journey with alcoholism
and so much more.
. .

There is a lot more I could say about the issues with this book but honestly I just want to forget that I read it.


I will say this though, can authors who are trying to write a book with good Muslim rep STOP creating a distinction between 'moderate' Muslim what even is that characters, who are lenient in certain matters and 'extreme' Muslims who are only deemed so because they choose to follow the religion closely.
It does more harm than good,

Fin. i meant to write this a very long time ago and then i forgot oops hehe

MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD

this book honestly had great potential.
judging by the synopsis alone, it basically sounded like the greatest book that would ever grace my life,

when i picked it up, i became instantly invested in the story but somewhere along the way, between the teeny tiny font and the excessively long sentences, my emotional attachment slowly withered away to nothing

muslim rep/stereotypes
i thought this had a strong start, it showed muslims in their daily life, where the majority of their problems revolved around ridiculous family politics !!finally!! and not so much about their race or their colour of skin which was included too, but to a very BELIEVABLE amount
i liked how khalid's character was standing up for himself and his beliefs from the very start that was so :' to see
i loved the close knit family ties and the many different family dynamics we got to see
i liked how the mosque was given page time and it was shown how the community came together for events and programs
but here's where my cons come in
going back to khalid and his way of dressing, a couple characters kept saying how HE was so judgemental and yet they were CONSTANTLY judging his style of dress his anklelength robe and the fact that he grew his beard like hypocrisy much
and his whole development was the fact that he changed both those things to appease the people in his life and i was just baffled why THAT part of him had to be erased.
what happened to selfacceptance
khalid's mother started off being the stereotypical, involved indian mother and quickly morphed into this witch of a character that was out to ruin ayesha's life
she played into a lot of stereotypes the evil, controlling, possessive mother and opened manyyyy cans of worms that i never felt were properly addressed literally, her and her daughter's relationship

the romance
in my opinion, as a 'halal' romance, i think it was done quite well
the scene where they were making roti with the grandmother hfkjdahfkjah
there were scenes where they were with each other and you got to see the internal dilemma they were battling out due to the situation the name switch they got themselves into
and i just WISH it stopped there because that was HONESTLY enough for a lighthearted romance novel
but no, we had to get trashman tarek involved
did tarek's character even need to exist the only answer is no

trying to do too much
the biggest flaw i found with this book was that it was trying to do EVERYTHING in the world and then some.
it tackled racism in the workplace, halal and,,not so halal relationships, arranged marriages, family disownment, alcoholism, theft, faking identity, selfrighteousness amp sleazy dudes, daddy issues, masjid politics etc.
etc.
and i just felt it didnt need to do all that
if it stuck to telling a romance story, between two people who would never guess themselves to be compatible, then i would have been concise and enjoyable and not this disaster that ended up happening
and for a book that really went long and hard on explanations and internal dialogue, the ending wrapped up much too quickly to be even remotely realistic

the writing
it's very much 'dayinthelife' sort of writing and while i appreciated that most of the time, the book felt HUGE
it felt drawn out and exaggerated and i really really thought it had so much potential to be something amazing but a lot was lost within the excessive descriptions and the unrealistic drama
listen, jane austen knew what she was doing when she wrote pride amp prejudice and i think that if the author stayed closer to that narrative, the story would have been so much more enjoyable
why cant we just have a cute muslim love story between brown kids without all the excess trash in between


idk where this fits in, but there were some character inaccuracies i noticed while reading i cant remember more than this example : but there were moments when khalid was talking like ath century philosopher and then the next minute hes speaking slang and i was just,,,bro are you okay
i know it's supposed to tie into his character, like the socially awkward guy who's trying to fit in, but still, that's a wild jump to make in one conversation


and yet, the book was funny.
it made me laugh out loud, it had it's charming moments, it had it's cute moments,
but i wish khalid's character development wasn't him giving up who he was for the girl he liked, i wish ayesha would stop having these extreme opinions of everyone while telling them they were too judgemental, i wish tarek didn't exist, i wish the book focused on the romance instead of trying to do a million things, i wish a lot of things


this review is a disaster and so am i, but what else is new.