This is How You Fall in Love by Anika Hussain is a heart-warming and engaging novel that explores the complexities of friendship and love. The story centres around Adnan and Zara, who have been best friends for as long as they can remember. Their families are also close, often spending time together during dinners, holidays, and important events.

When Adnan falls for a new girl named Cami, he finds himself in a difficult situation as they must keep their relationship a secret from her overprotective family, which leads Adnan and Zara to enter into a classic fake dating scenario. As they navigate this new dynamic, they begin to question the nature of their relationship and whether their feelings for each other go beyond friendship.

One of the things that sets this book apart is its self-awareness. The author employs various romantic tropes but does so in a way that subverts readers' expectations and challenges traditional notions of love. The friendship between Zara and Sadie, who are both obsessed with romantic comedies, is particularly endearing.

Another standout feature of the book is the way it incorporates niche interests, such as Zara's love for playing Pokémon Go. These details make the characters feel more relatable and add depth to the story.

Despite the challenges that Adnan and Cami's relationship creates, the novel ultimately explores the power of honesty and the importance of communication in any relationship. The characters are well-developed, and their struggles feel genuine and relatable.

Overall, This is How You Fall in Love is a delightful read that will appeal to anyone who enjoys a heart-warming romance with a twist. I highly recommend it to fans of the genre, and I give it a solid 5 stars.

Enjoyed this book. Didn't love some of the characters, BUT I did really like the ending. Nice take on the fake dating trope. Would recommend

Just so sweet! Excessively cute and endearing, with great writing and exciting characters.
I read it in a single setting and am excited to read more of Anika Hussain's work.

I enjoyed this romcom aimed at the YA market. I loved the way the different cultures were a huge part of the book and the characters were all excellently portrayed. I would recommend this book and will definitely look out for more by the author.

Aw this is a really lovely YA romcom that I'd definitely recommend to fans of the genre.
Zara and Adnan are young, Desi friends whose family and friends have always thought they belong together. Certainly the chemistry between them, at times, had me agreeing then at others, I felt, like Zara, that they were just truly best friends.
Cami, while undoubtedly has issues, was really quite unlikeable as a character.
I really liked the bond Sadie and Zara had, especially when they talked about romance novels and movies.
It ended in a really nice way too. The documentary interview and realisation of how love can present in so many ways, the Discord chat...
A fun story, really well written.

Anika Hussain, thankyou for such an amazing and unique story about love I've just finished reading and my heart feels so full and although I was rooting for the alphabet couple I'm glad things work we d out the way they did as I felt more truthful to the teenage experience but just life in general. How you managed to make me fall for yahya and then hate him and then feel sorry for him I will never know you're a mastermind with your words and I no longer hate cami I just want to give her a big hug. A wonderful debut and I can't wait to read more in the future (maybe a sequel🤞🤞)

Zara is a big romance fan and reading and discussing films with her friends, but she and her best friend Adnan are getting heat from their parents who are desperate for them to get together. Then suddenly they have to pretend to to protect Adnan's new girlfriend from family issues. As Zara and Adnan grow closer, is there a point at which they should try to give love an actual chance?

There's a lot to like about this book, though written for a much younger reader than me (once again I find 17 year olds more fun to read about than millennials). I like the South Asian representation and the fact that neither set of parents is stereotyped - Zara's parents are second generation British and had a hard time themselves and are trying not to do that. Yes, there is a South Asian diabetes thread but then that does educate. Terms for clothes and food and other cultural things are used and not explained, which I always like. The friendship group is mixed and multicultural, which is nice, too.

I found the detailed Pokemon Go thread, which formed a lot of one part of the plot, a bit much, kind of old-fashioned where the rest of the book didn't seem to be trying to be, and it was annoying that Zara didn't have enough oomph to stand up for herself a bit more. Adnan's girlfriend Cami's arc was a bit melodramatic in the end, and it was a shame that girls ended up pitted against each other.

There is a nice message at the end about the love of friends being the most important kind of love, and I'd definitely recommend this to a teenage or tweenage reader, especially one looking for representation of themselves in books or who could do with some diverse reading.

Another romance book based on Asian culture and background. Another disappointment. Why are we not moving on from the back story of parents moving to UK with nothing in their pockets for better future. Specially with this book where MC are so young. There was potential for so much.
Also MCs being in sixth form means they are so young, 17 maybe 18, and saying things like I’m happy for my friend but also jealous because I have not found my one yet…. At 17??? And why every brown parent have to have diabetes? It was awfully predictable and lazy writing.

Believable characters with mostly believable romance and relationships. Although a little cliché at times, the story is fun and easy to follow. A real easy read.

I loved this take on a friends to lovers/fake relationship YA romance. Extra points for the usually underrepresented ethnic minorities as main characters and what felt like the celebration of Desi culture

I absolutely loved all the characters and how they all had a purpose to the story. I loved Zara and her family dynamics, her love for others and her love of rom-coms!

We follow Zara’s POV as she gets entangled in a lie, finding herself faking a relationship with her childhood best friend. But will true love blossom between them?

Overall, an easy read that I can easily see translated to the big screen!

Thanks to @netgalley & the publishers for the ARC

3.5 stars

What I really enjoyed about this book was that it felt very fresh - it was a new take on the fake dating trope and that was really fun to see. You expect this book to follow the typical storylines of a YA romance, but it mixes it up by the end and that was so refreshing!

However, the characters annoyed the HELL out of me. Every single one of them. Especially Adnan and Cami, who, despite asking Zara to do this massive favour for them so they could be together in secret, had the audacity to be mad at her for not doing that quite right. There were parts where I was pretty confused about - like, why couldn't they just hang out without Zara there, especially somewhere not in public? I didn't quite understand all of that. It felt like Cami and Zara were just being pitted against each other for drama's sake and I think it would've been a better message for that not to happen.

I did really enjoy the family aspect in this book, and the way Zara navigates her relationship with her parents; it was really sweet and lovely, and I wish we'd had even more scenes with her parents in. I also really loved the representation of Desi culture - while I can't comment on the accuracy of the book as I am not South Asian myself, it did feel really authentic and I loved reading about it.

My biggest gripe with the book, aside from the ridiculousness of some of the side characters, is the sheer amount of pop culture references. It felt like there was one on every page, and they are ALREADY aging the book. This book is coming out, what, SEVEN years after the craze of Pokemon Go, and yet it plays a big part in this plot? Literally nobody I know, and especially no teenagers I know, are playing Pokemon Go that seriously, if at all, anymore. There were also a few references to a certain celebrity couple who Adnan and Zara kept being compared to.... but we now know that that celebrity couple have split up and there was abuse involved..... Just please stop including pop culture references in your books, authors, please, I am literally begging you.

Ooo this book pissed me off so many times… I really wanted to drag EVERYONE
Zara just like me with her delusions about her book boyfriends. Curry’s caught me off guard, it made the book a lil too real for me and I’m just not used to it.

Why is she dog earing her books😭😭

Did not like it one bit when when she was having to prioritize his relationship over her own needs.
I wish Zara spoke up for herself more, she would set up expectations for herself based on what she thought others needed and that did not sit well with my spirit. She kept going for the sake of everyone else for far too long.

I am so glad they didn’t end up together… like was Adnan a mess and Zara too. They were NEVER compatible as a couple.

I also need Sadie and cami to come outside so we can talk

Ooo and that ending was so nasty I wanted a lil more.

This was not the book for me sadly, the premise is unique and explores a unique perspective on the fake dating trope, and having to deal with very strict parents, I do think the premise is interesting but it wasn't executed well for me. From the writing and dialogue I felt this was meant for a younger audience, possibly preteen, as it just felt very immature and cringey in parts, the characters also were not very likeable bordering on annoying. However I do think this would work well for a younger audience and I think the overall story is a really good idea this just did not work for me and maybe needed more work on the writing style. I do hate giving bad reviews however, I think there is an audience out there for this and lots of people will like it.

this book encompassed everything necessary for a cute young/first love rom-com. Zara, the MC, is a lovely, wholehearted and sweet character who I instantly liked and felt I could relate to. Her relationship to Adnan, her boy best-friend, was unbelievably cute and i thoroughly enjoyed reading their story. The plot was more complicated than I had anticipated but I am here for it! life is messy and this was an avid description of messy love, and life, can be. I really felt the story come to life, which made me enjoy the story more as all the sub-plots were equally interesting! the ending was well-written and I felt that Zara had been on a journey (excuse the cliche!) and had come to appreciate her family and friends, and all the ways they loved her.

‘the most important thing I learned throughout it all: I did find love; it just wasn’t in the form I was looking for….
most of all, I fell in love with myself. I embraced that I am who I am, no excuses, and I realised that I don’t need to cater to what everyone else wants for me. I can still be loved by those around me while doing what I want’.

overall, I thought it was super cute and I loved it! thank you net galley for allowing me to read this book, in exchange for an honest review.

‘𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗’𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚏𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚗 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎.’

🍷🍷🍷.75

🌶️ / 5

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Review:
A huge thank you to the author and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this fabulous book for an honest review.

I was looking for a quick binge worthy romcom that would warm my insides and melt my heart, and TIHYFIL definitely didn’t disappoint! Full of heartwarming and witty banter to make you laugh I thoroughly enjoyed my binge fest of this fantastic book.

I loved that our 2 main characters are both Desi and that I got to see glimpses into their culture. The fact nerd of me really enjoyed looking up the different dishes and I’ve even convinced my mum to make one for dinner! I adored the fact that Zara is a romcom addict and absolutely binges every romance she can get her hands on; I also loved that she has like a romcom movie club as well🥹

I love the fake dating trope but I’m not sure I’ve read one where they’re covering up a secret relationship? And that twist made it so enjoyable and refreshing to read! However I hated how Adnan started to completely disregard Z’s feelings and put his girlfriend and his feelings first; even though Z was doing them a favour. Although a fair bit of drama entails the pace is relatively slow, it makes for a nice easy read.

For lovers of:
- Desi MC
- Fake dating
- Secret relationship
- MC who read

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

2.5 stars

Fake dating trope with a twist. It was ok, I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either.

I'd say this book it's more about friendship than about romance, whish is great if that is what you are looking for.

Zara and Adnan have been best friends for ever but their families and friends have always assumed that they will get together one day. When Adnan asks Zara to pretend to be his girlfriend to cover up a secret relationship, Zara reluctantly agrees, because the idea makes her family so happy. But she has watched too many romcoms not to know how fake dating usually turns out...

I really enjoyed this charming, heartfelt YA romance and the subverted romcom tropes keep me guessing. Zara is a great protagonist, though I think I loved her family even more than her! I'll definitely be recommending this one in the school library - perfect for fans of 'Never Have I Ever'.

3.5
This is how vou fall in Love follows Zara who ends up fake-dating her best friend Adan in order to help him cover up his actual relationship with Cami who has EXTREMELY strict parents when it comes to dating.
This was a cute contemporary YA romance. Zara as a MC is very likeable however Adan (to put it politely) was an asshole.
Overall I did enjoy this read however some side plots fell flat for me such as the gossip Instagram page which could have made for a fun side plot. The whiplash from Cami and Zara's friendship from being bff's to rivals was unnecessary (why do we put girls against each other over a boy) & Despite this when I got into the book I flew through it! I would definitely read more from the author.
*I received this as a copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review*

This went in a completely different direction than I expected and I love it for it. I feel like it was interesting hearing bits about a different culture and I liked the way there was pages of messages separate from the normal pages. Glad to see a good male and female friendship with the way it played out although I would've liked some insight into what Adnan was thinking/feeling throughout; I know it was in Zaras POV but would have been interesting. At first I felt like I wasn't going to like it because it seemed clichè but the characters and plot started to develop better quickly and was different to typical romance books. I felt myself start to connect with Zara and imagine myself going through her situation and I am happy about the way she left it for herself in the end. The characters learnt alot throughout the book and even though there were some low points for them they ended up better than in the beginning. I loved the descriptions of the dates and the way they interacted within them as well as the fact that the author kept it mild with a few kisses and references being the only intimate parts; in this story it made more sense to do this and felt more slow burn romancy and is an example of sweet romantic scenes without needing it. I like the way the last chapter ends because it mimics the documentary and makes the book feel like it was that part but also because it insinuates that more happens away from/after and you can imagine different scenarios; part of me doesn't like that part because I feel like I always need to know what actually happened but it is good at shocking you and making you feel like you need more.Sweet , romantic and funny.

This is How You Fall in Love by Anika Hussain is a romance following a girl, Zara, with her many adventures. We follow Zara through all her friendships. relationship with her parents, a fake relationship with Adnan, the start of a relationship with her true love Yahya and her short-lasting real relationship with Adnan. Then comes the heartbreak where Zara's world goes upside down leaving her depressed. Ultimately this is an exciting adventure following love and loneliness.

I liked this book because it was unlike many other books I have read where the relationships do not work or with so many relationships. This book takes you on a true action-packed adventure full of drama making this a rather gripping book which was hard to put down. At first, I wasn't really into the story but with some perseverance, it became a great read. There is nothing I can really say I did not like about this book. It was an interesting book which definitely took me on an emotional rollercoaster whilst we were following Zara through both the highs and the lows.

Altogether, I rate this book 4 stars because this is a good book which I enjoyed reading. The reader felt engaged and involved with Zara's adventures and it was a great read. I would like to thank both NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK for providing me with an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book in return for an honest book review.