So wanted to like this book, but then I got to the 'past' section and seeing Nada being such a despicable bully totally killed any sympathy and/or rooting I could be doing for her. Forgiveness is something, but Baz would be better off without someone as flimsy and so much 'It's their fault, never mine!' Not a good one, unfortunately

This was a really enjoyable read, a lot of tension and chemistry between the two leading characters and a lot of fun.

If you're a Muslim reader, and you get to that one point in the book that makes you go, "wait, WHAT?!", trust the author and keep reading.

Persuasion is one of my favourite Austen novels, and one of the few instances where I appreciated and rooted for a second chance romance. That's a lot to live up to, but Nada and Baz delivered. The yearning and the angst were all there. I also really liked that we got to see both of them at different stages of their lives, because it showcased their growth and gave us a lot of context for how their relationship developed. Neither of them dealt with things particularly well the first time around, which makes sense considering their age and relative maturity. While we don't get to see any changes in Baz, since the book is from Nada's perspective, we do see the impact it has had on her. In the flashbacks, Nada is a spitfire, but in the present day, she's much more timid and reserved—until she runs into Baz, and regains some of the energy she used to have. She has a lot of baggage to deal with, but she does so admirably, and I really appreciated her entire journey.

I will say that I wanted to see more of Baz and Nada's interactions, especially with regard to rekindling their romance, and their journey towards forgiving each other. I feel like a lot of it happened behind the scenes so to speak, which made this feel a little bit more general fiction than romance, in my opinion.

As usual, the author really focuses on what it means to be a practicing Muslim with a SE Asian heritage. She normalizes things like families living within the same house instead of the children moving out at a certain age, but also acknowledges the very real challenges young Muslims, who are born in diaspora, face when it comes to the clashing of their parents' ideals and culture with their own. I continue to be impressed by the way she handles these themes.

A great contemporary take on the classic persuasion book. Well executed. And enjoyable.i liked it. And enjoyed reading it.

3.5 stars

I think that this book just needed a little extra polishing, and it would've been really wonderful. My biggest issue was the timeline - there's lots of flashbacks interspersed with present day and it was a struggle to understand the emotional impact of the events in present day when we had absolutely no idea of what had happened in the past until about 70% of the way through.

I did love the immersion in Muslim culture and religion though, and I loved the connections between the original Persuasion and this book, it was a really fresh and fun retelling which was lovely to see, although it is a very loose retelling. There was a lot of pining which of course is a NECESSITY of the second chance romance, but I do wish that we had known more of what had happened between Baz and Nada sooner, so that there was more depth to the present day. I did enjoy the addition of the convention, but I think that having half of the book set over this one weekend, and then the rest is spread out over weeks, meant that the pacing felt very off.

Sadly I don't think that this was Uzma Jalaluddin's best book, but I will be looking out for more from this author!

Much Ado About Nada by Uzma Jalaluddin is a second chance romance about hidden secrets, longing and fighting for love despite all the setbacks of being in a Southeast Asian household. This book is full of surprise and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

I picked up this book and I honestly really didn't know what to expect but there was a part that totally caught me off guard. It was so surprising and I'm still reeling about it to this day.

I am not really familiar with the premise of Persuasion but it was very interesting. Second chance romance is still one of my favourite tropes and this one, definitely exceeded my expectation.

All in all, I've always been a huge fan of this author's works and this book is really good too. So, I totally recommend you to pick up this book.

There definitely is Much Ado About Nada! Absolutely fell in love with the main characters and the ups and downs they went through to get that HEA! The second chance love featured heavily and really like the way the story panned out so we didn’t find out til half way through the whole story! Also loved finding out more about the Muslim culture and especially the matchmaking/marriage arranging side of things.

This reworking of Persuasion is well done and clever, the writing is good and the book is very readable. But for me it doesn't have that extra spark that makes it a page turner or a must read. It needs that something extra that makes it stand out for me to put it into someone else's hands.

Nada Syed is 29, living with her parents and in a rut. She invented a niche app but her idea was stolen by a business partner and she's not over it. She also has a BIG secret.
Nada's best friend Haleema thinks the best way for Nada to reset is to attend Toronto's biggest Muslim convention. But which parts of Nada's past will this uncover?

This is a second chance love story which is unlike Uzma Jalaluddin's other books (Ayesha At Last and Hana Khan Carries On). These characters are older, but there are throwbacks - Ayesha is mentioned, in passing, for example, which is a nice touch, but absolutely doesn't mean you need to have read the other books at all.
The chapters skip through three different time periods back and forth so important to pay attention!

Things I enjoyed in particular (in no order) :
* the book is set in Toronto and the mentions of the Aga Khan, Tim Hortons and even St George's Street (a block from my old house) threw me back right to the city, which I loved!
* I really enjoyed reading about Muslim dating and wedding traditions, especially with reference to second generation immigrants and the balance of traditional culture meeting modern convenience. I loved reading about the community, how it seems close knit and how people know each other (from their parents knowing each other to having gone to camp or Mosque classes together, or just through the grapevine). The author's pride in her culture and celebration of Muslim identity shines through in her writing. LOVE.
* the disability rep, in this case, Ataxis. I didn't know the name of this so this led me to a Google deep dive, which can only be a good thing. Do I wish it could have been a main character instead of a side character? Sure. But rep is rep, we will take it - I've noticed it just recently being included in books and it's so important to include, educate and inform.
* Nada as a main character - she's a former bully and it's clear she regrets her actions. At the same time, though, she repeats them in the present. It's nice (if that's the right word) to have a grey character; people are complex and not one dimensional and I appreciated this being addressed here.

I really enjoyed this and looking forward to reading more from Uzma Jalaluddin.

Oh my god, if there is something that I love, it is a retelling. This was such an enjoyable read and was susceptible a relatable read for me. Second chances really hit it for me.

**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

Uzma Jalaluddin’s book are such a fun time and I think this one is my favourite book by her to date.

Much Ado About Nada has us returning to the Golden Crescent neighbourhood, this time following Nada, a single woman in her late 20s who is dragged to a Muslim conference by one of her friends for a “girl’s weekend” before said friend’s wedding. However, attending the conference has her stumbling upon aspects from her past that she has been sternly avoiding. One being the root cause to the failure of her entrepreneurial project “Ask Apa” and the other being Baz, the brother-in-law to be of her friend whom Nada has a secret history with..

I haven’t read Austen’s Persuasion, which this is said to be a loose retelling of or Much Ado About Nothing so I can’t really say much on that side of things but I enjoyed this book so much, I genuinely couldn’t put it down.

A big thing that I love about Jalaluddin’s storytelling is just how welcoming and homely it feels. You can expect a slice of life narrative with honest Muslim and desi rep, wholesome familial relationships and friendships, humour and of course a dash of drama. Whenever I pick up one of her books I just immediately feel a part of the community within the story and thus don’t want it to end.

Nada isn’t the most likeable of characters and we see her develop a lot over the course of the story. The key themes of this book are around self-love and self-growth and allowing yourself the time to accept your past shortcomings and go through both. Which brings me to another thing that I really appreciate about Jalaluddin’s books and that is how despite how messy her protagonists are, that part of their character doesn’t involve compromising their religion.

That being said there is a moment in this book that seems like a massive red flag when you initially get to it but the timeline of the story has a part to play here so fellow Muslim readers when you get to it you’ll know it and just trust me and continue reading.

Now coming back to the romance side of things, cringy song lyrics aside the romance was really sweet. I’ve come to realise that second chance romance, in particular contexts that this book definitely fits into, may be a favourite trope of mine. The dual timeline was perfect for unravelling and piecing together Nada and Baz’s history and what actually happened. I won’t give much more away but the yearning and mystery behind everything was so absorbing.

Nada’s development wasn’t solely related to romance in the book though and I really enjoyed the other parts of the plot and moments with supporting characters too. I particularly loved to see how supportive her family was of her endeavours which isn’t always the case when it comes to daughters in desi families.

Though the ending wrapped up a bit fast this was overall a wonderfully wholesome and genuine story and as ever I can’t wait to pick up whatever Jalaluddin writes next!
Final Rating - 4.5/5 Stars

I enjoyed this book. I think Jalaluddin has a very distinct authorial voice and reading this has made me interested in her other works.

Having loved two previous books by Uzma Jalaluddin (Ayesha At Last and Hana Khan Carries On), I was thrilled to be invited to review Much Ado About Nada.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Nada is definitely an interesting character. At times, I almost disliked her (especially at age 11). And yet, I always felt a connection and empathy towards her. And then I came round to really liking her again! But she definitely feels like a very real person to me - as do all the characters. I loved the fact that the story covers her starting to move on from the past and fight for what she wants out of life. Uzma Jalaluddin has a way of making me root for her characters!

Overall, this was a heartwarming second chance romance, with great character development. I highly recommend it - and all of Uzma Jalaluddin’s books. The richly drawn characters and wonderful storylines are there every time.

I was given a copy of this book, my opinions are my own.

I adored this book and felt so sad to have finished it so quickly. I would have been more than happy for it to go on and on. Truly something special. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for a review.

I havent read Persuasion, which this is a retelling of. But that didn't stop me enjoying this.
I loved seeing Nada grow as a person as the book progresses.
We see parts of her past, regarding her complicated relationship with Baz. All these moments playing a role in why she is how she is today. But by the end she's taken control of her life. Taking the steps she needs to move past things.
While finally being honest about her feelings for Baz.

This was such an interesting read! I found myself so engrossed in the story, the characters had such incredible arcs, and I can't wait to follow this author's journey!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Much Ado about Nothing' by Uzma Jalaluddin.

'Much Ado about Nada' is a book that needed to simmer in my mind because I enjoyed it a lot but I didn't know what my heart wanted to rate it. I feel like it's a book I could reread and reread forever so I would definitely like to read it again in the future and potentially read future books by Jalaluddin.

I have a somewhat mixed track record with Uzma Jalaluddin, and I wasn’t originally planning to request this for review – but the publisher reached out to me, and once they’d offered, I wasn’t going to say no! But having proceeded to devour the book within 24 hours, and then sit on my feelings for over a fortnight, I’m still pretty conflicted about this book.

The first thing to say is that it’s barely a Persuasion retelling. In typical Uzma Jalaluddin fashion, it’s an extremely loose reimagining – I can see where she’s taken inspiration from Austen, but if I wasn’t looking for the connections, I probably wouldn’t have realised it was a retelling at all. Beyond being a second chance romance, the plot beats aren’t the same at all, and Nada is certainly nothing like Anne Elliot!

I do appreciate Jalaluddin’s ability to write complex heroines, but my main feeling about Nada was just that she was messy, which is a main character type that I personally tend not to do so well with. While I did relate to some of her feelings, particularly around trying to navigate her two cultures, I mostly found her pretty unlikeable and annoying. She makes some pretty huge mistakes, both in the past and present timelines, and she just felt very immature and self-absorbed!

I also wasn’t entirely sold on the romance. While I enjoyed some of Baz and Nada’s banter, especially in the flashbacks to their original relationship, there wasn’t really much depth to their relationship beyond that. In the original Persuasion, we’re led to believe that Anne and Wentworth could have been happy if they had got married when they first wanted to. But Baz and Nada were completely wrong for each other at 21 – without spoiling anything, I was truly floored by some of the stupid decisions they made, and I absolutely cannot believe that they would have had a successful relationship if they’d stayed together at that point! And they never really discuss their relationship deeply in the present timeline either, so even though they’re both (supposedly) wiser and more mature, that doesn’t feel like enough to fix all their issues.

(That said, the overall discussion around getting married young – particularly in the context of South Asian Muslims – hit me hard and made me feel a LOT of things, so I have to give credit to the writing, even if I didn’t love the characters!)

In terms of the wider story, I always appreciate the way Uzma Jalaluddin manages to capture such a wide spectrum of ways of being Muslim (right down to her willingness to embrace the more uncommon Muslim names – among others, this book had a Bazlur Rahman, Owais, Narjis, Waqas, Firdous...) There was also zero Islamophobia or racism in this book (although a lot of Nada’s struggles have to do with navigating her South Asian-Canadian identity, it’s internal conflict rather than bigotry), which made a nice change!

However, your mileage may vary on whether you consider it halal. I would echo the reviews that say you need to stick with it at the moment where it seems to be not halal in a major way, because that does get cleared up (again, trying to avoid spoilers!) – but still, the milder moments may also stretch the boundaries of what different people consider appropriate.

So overall… I didn’t love this? But I do think a lot of that was down to personal taste, and if you like books about messy, twenty-something women who are allowed to make mistakes, it’s definitely engaging and propulsive!

(Also, this is totally irrelevant to my feelings on the book itself, but I cannot get over how misleading this title is! Every time I think about this book I'm bemused all over again that it's not a retelling of Much Ado About Nothing!)

I really struggled reading this book; the characters, the story and the writing just didn't work for me at all.

The first third of the book was set at a Muslim convention which just seemed to endlessly drag on. I found Nada to be unlikeable and the bullying aspect didn't sit right with me at all. For a 28 year old, she seemed to be quite immature. The fact that she thought of her best friend's fiance as, "Sex on legs" was weird. I actually didn't like any of the characters.

Two-thirds of the way through, the story took a turn and went into a completely different dimension. This plot twist helped pick up the pace of the book and also piqued my interest. However, I just didn't feel the chemistry between Nada and Baz. Their story just seemed rushed and just plain odd. I'm unsure as to why Nada didn't meet Baz's parents - the story was all very one-sided as they really didn't need to rush into what they rushed into. It took a while for Nada's character development but Baz completely lacked depth in character.

The writing was a let down. it was repetitive and I think Uzma Jalaluddin packed too much into this book - there was a lot going on and I don't think it really worked. The timelines were all over the place. Having previously read Hana Khan Carries On, I found this book to be a let-down.

Thanks so much to Uzma Jalaluddin, Atlantic Books and NetGalley for the eARC, all opinions expressed are my own!

Nada is in her late twenties, with constant pressure to settle down, she comes face to face with Baz (her best friends fiancé’s brother). However, their shared past threatens to surface and potentially ruin the relationships of their loved ones.

I loved the Muslim representation in this story, Jalaluddin does a fantastic job in showcasing the pressures faced by Muslim women whilst also sprinkling in the challenges Nada faces as a young entrepreneur. This ‘Persuasion’ retelling is highly addictive, the plot is wonderfully executed and seeing the shared past between Nada and Baz unravel had me on the edge of my seat. The tension between the two is excellent and the hostile interactions a merely a cover for a much deeper connection that I wasn’t expecting at all. The writing is excellent, I truly cannot praise this book enough.

Jalaluddin is known for her strong female characters and Nada is no different, coming to terms with the loss and betrayal from her business idea whilst also seeking justice. Whilst I struggled with the depiction of Nada’s early interactions with Baz, her character as an adult was absolutely fantastic. I absolutely adored the relationship between Baz and Nada and was truly heartbroken to know that they were separated for so long! The ending was truly a heartwarming finale!