I LOVED THIS SO MUCH! 5/5 stars. Thank you netgalley Uk for the e-ARC.

This perfect rating of a rom com shocks me more than it will shock anyone else because honestly my expectations were middle going into this. Not high but not low.

It just scratched that need for a good halal romance book perfectly.

I won’t lie, the first 2-3 chapters were hard for me to get through because the MC is an unhinged crazy hijabi spoiled nepo baby, emphasis on spoiled nepo baby. As a pakistani (hijabi) who comes from a classic immigrant lower class background, I CANNOT relate to the MC at all. This girl went on and on about designer shit that I couldn’t fathom. But it’s okay because she was also a nepo spoiled baby who was VERYYY endearing & loveable with her big heart even though many times I wanted to throttle or slap across the face & her arc is AMAZING! She has MANY flaws but it honestly made her grow on me very quickly because she gets called out for these flaws and she does listen!!

I especially LOVE LOVE LOVED how the MMC (my new fictional crush) called her out on her bullshit yet also accepted her with her flaws. this dude would not let a single one of her wrong doings slide by unignored & I'm so glad for it be it shows how they both grow TOGETHER as people!

Also the jealously scenes of Fawad had me giggling, kicking my feet, screaming - he was SO HOT I WAS SOOO FOR IT! The angst had me in a chokehold.

The tension was amazing & there were some close call parts that had me like :O but don’t worry! that halal line stayed firm tho no matter what!!! I will read anything aamna qureshi writes next!! Her romance is a new fav of mine now!

I don't usually read romance but I really enjoyed this book! Can't say I completely related to the main character—we are very different people—but it was refreshing experiencing a story through the lenses of someone I wouldn't have normally. The romance stayed halal (we need more actually halal romances in stories. Its so important for people to see positive representations of Muslims) and HAD ME INVESTED. Even if you haven't read Emma (which inspired the book) you will be able to enjoy IILYL. I recommend this book for anyone wanting to dip their toes into the romance world.

This ARC was my first read of 2024 and it is an automatic five-star read! But it’s honestly no surprise to me, because this is book is by Aamna Qureshi and I expected no less. As a huge fan of The Marghazar Trials, I knew this Muslim Pakistani Emma retelling would be incredibly romantic and magical. And that was exactly the case. I loved following Humaira, even through all her faults, and watching her navigate her matchmaking shenanigans while also having amazing chemistry with her neighbor Fawad, and the brown daughter guilt of taking care of your parents as you get older. The way grief is portrayed in this book was also beautifully written, and there are honestly so many layers to this story that I enjoyed. I cried multiple times reading this novel, both from the sad/touching moments, but also to the beautiful love confessions written on the page. I can't wait for Austen fans to pick up this novel! I would rate this book a solid 5 stars.

Thanks so much to Aamna Qureshi, Harper Collins One More Chapter and NetGalley for the eARC, all opinions expressed are my own!

Firstly, let’s talk about the south Asian and Muslim representation here, it’s exactly what I wanted to see and I’m so glad I get to read more stories of character with experiences that align with mine. The story is rich in culture although the relentless references to designers and materialistic items (whilst I understand they somewhat added to the story) quickly became tedious.

Despite this, I loved the tension between Fawad and Humaira, excellently executed and had me utterly obsessed at how oblivious Humaira was in regards to Fawad’s feelings. The writing is slightly distracting but reminiscent of what you would expect from an Austen retelling.

I really enjoyed this story!