Tag: Uzma Jalaluddin

This Chick Read: Much Ado About Nada by Uzma Jalaluddin

Nada Syed’s life has not gone as she’d thought, still living at home with her family in the Golden Crescent neighborhood of Toronto, her start-up company Ask-Apa launched with a fizzle due to a shady business partner, and her best friend Haleema is getting married. Meeting Haleema’s fiancé Zayn for the first time at his family’s convention is off to a rocky start when she runs into his brother Baz and her past comes back to haunt her. She and Baz have a past and despite the years since she’s seen him Nada’s strong feelings remain, both the good and the bad.

Much Ado About Nada is a clever re-telling of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing but set in a world and culture that is very different than the original script. Nada lives in a Muslim community and the cultural differences between her own life and the original characters while living centuries apart actually had some similarities about a woman’s role in a family and their community. I was again fascinated by this peek into a world that is so different than my own middle class caucasian life. There were also a lot of similarities between our heroine, Nada, and the regrets any woman might feel for the choices she made earlier in her life. So, I relished the differences in culture and the vibrant colors and food choices, but also found it easy to identify with Nada and care for the portrayal of this young woman trying to find her place in life.

As with Jane Austen re-telling’s, Shakespeare always seems to have a laundry list of objections, misunderstandings, and miscommunications. Much Ado About Nada held true to that formula, there was drama aplenty! There was also gentle humor, loving familial relationships, and the love of a good man. The last took a little while to get to, our heroine having to find herself and navigate the pitfalls she left in her past but the conclusion was oh so satisfying and left this reader with a good feeling when I reached the end of the story. Much Ado About Nada was wonderfully told and engaged the reader with an ease and experience. You’d never realize this is only this author’s second novel!

❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase this book!* Much Ado About Nada

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin

Hana Khan works in her mother’s restaurant Three Sisters Biryani Poutine while she pursues her dream of being a broadcaster telling her stories on the radio. When another halal restaurant opens in the Golden Crescent Hana’s eyes are opened to how her mothers restaurant is struggling. Will it survive against the new competition? When her cousin and Aunt coming visiting from India her world expands outward from the comfort of what’s familiar. Family secrets are revealed and the Golden Crescent is threatened by hate crimes both turning Hana’s life upside down.

It was so hard to give a brief synopsis where I didn’t give away any of this novels fabulous secrets, please don’t let my lackluster paragraph above keep you from picking up this novel. Hana’s struggle between who she is as a young Muslim woman and who she wants to be, a broadcaster who tells stories of her world from her own unique perspective, is challenged by radio managers who are trying to tell her story for her. I loved how this part of the story was handled because it really told the struggle that she felt in a way that I a middle aged white woman could feel.

Hana’s love interest is the very handsome young owner of the competitive restaurant. I found it a little hard to identify with him at first but as his story moved forward I understood him more and grew to like him. However this book really revolves around Hana and this romance was not the most important part of the story. It did end up being kind of a sweet one though.

Hana was fascinating. She was the dutiful daughter, the strong independent woman, and a Muslim woman. With Aydin she showed a different character. First as antagonist, then as surly friend, then as young woman in love. There were so many aspects to this character I never got bored. In fact I sped through this novel. Her world was both beautiful and scary. How Hana reacted to all of these changes didn’t change the core person she was and that was the person I was most interested in reading about.

If you are trying to widen your world view pick up this novel. Also pick up this authors previous novel Ayesha at Last, which was also a very good story. Each separate story line in this novel could have stood on its own and together created a really well fleshed out character and novel. I enjoyed this one very much! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher for my honest review and it was honest.

Click this link to purchase!* Hana Khan Carries On

Copyright 2021 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

This Chick Read: Ayesha At Last by Uzma Jalaluddin

“Because while it is a truth universally acknowledge that a single Muslim man must be in want of a wife, there’s an even greater truth: To his Indian mother, his own inclinations are of secondary importance.”

Ayesha Shamsi lives with her boisterous Muslim family. Ayesha is in her late twenties and just started a teaching job and has almost given up on her dream of being a spoken word poet. Khalid is a conservative Muslim, dressing and living life according to his faith. When Ayesha and Khalid meet, she thinks he’s arrogant and judgmental and he thinks she’s beautiful and outrageous. As they get to know each other their opinions change, but when suddenly it’s announced he’s been arranged to marry her cousin Hafsa, both Ayesha and Khalid realize some truths about themselves and each other.

I LOVED Ayesha at Last. I was hesitant to read it because of the comparison to Pride and Prejudice and I’ve read some of those that were so poorly done. Ayesha at Last was very loosely based upon Jane Austen’s novel, and it was the differences that stood out. Yes, Khalid was handsome and arrogant, as was Darcy in the original novel, but he was also honorable, decent, and most importantly head over heels for Ayesha. A fact that the author didn’t try to hide at all. Unlike Pride and Prejudice, reading from Khalid’s perspective made all the difference for me. His faith was fascinating and his character growth in seeing beyond and outside of his faith made me swoon (and I don’t swoon!).

I also really liked Ayesha (thank goodness!)! She too was quick to judge and was also true to her faith, although she had a dream of reading and writing poetry- and having it heard. As a woman living in a culture that lacks certain freedom’s for women, speaking words she has written, and expressing that emotion was HUGE for this character. The fact that Khalid see’s her in a “lounge” the first time they meet, and she recites a poem, and thinks he’s judged her for it makes his acceptance and admiration more impactful. As they get to know each other and fall in love the veil is lifted and their belief’s about each other are revealed and explored.

Ayesha at Last has to be the book that’s surprised me the most this year. I was given a free copy at a convention and had put it aside because of my disappointment in some other Pride and Prejudice re-makes. I wish I’d picked it up sooner because I’d have liked to shout my feelings to the world and helped this author sell some copies. Just in case it’s not too late to put this one on your radar, or maybe it is on your radar but you haven’t picked it up to read yet, in this reviewer’s opinion PLEASE do! I hope you’ll like it as much as I have, it was a real game changer for me! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Opinions from around the Blogosphere

“Rereading Ayesha At Last has made me love the story even more. I appreciated once again the characters that Jalaluddin has created; and smiled, unreservedly, at the subtle references made to Pride and Prejudice. The story is humorous, prods at social norms, and has become one of my favourite rom-coms.” Colline’s Blog

“Uzma Jalaluddin’s Ayesha at Last pays homage to Pride and Prejudice without feeling confined by certain aspects. The characters’ struggles feel more relevant in a modern setting and Jalaluddin’s infuses just enough humor and romance to make this a must for P&P fans.” A Kernal of Nonsense

Click this link to purchase!* Ayesha At Last

Copyright 2019 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate

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