I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Release date: June 13, 2023
Rating: 5/5
Uzma Jalaluddin made my dreams come true with this Muslim retelling of my favourite Austen book 🫶🏽 I’m a simple gal–you say Persuasion retelling and I am running to read it 🏃🏽♀️ This is also a formal plea for more Persuasion retellings, please and thank you.
Six years ago, Nada’s love life and dreams were destroyed in one fell swoop. She has been living like an empty shell ever since. After six years of heartbreak and regret, Nada and Baz are reunited at a weekend conference, where they are forced to interact because her best friend is marrying his brother.
I have a lot of respect for authors who have written or want to write a Persuasion retelling because 1) second chance romance is a difficult trope to execute and 2) second chance romance à la Persuasion is even harder to write, especially in a contemporary setting. Jalaluddin’s Persuasion retelling is fresh, nuanced, and relatable. I love the way she borrows elements of the classic and gives them a Muslim twist. As a reader, it was a lot of fun to draw parallels between Persuasion and Much Ado About Nada.
Persuasion is all about the yearning and the regret of a long-lost love and oh man, Nada and Baz tortured me so much with their angst and pining. The author nailed that Persuasion type of angst and pining. “Half agony, half hope” perfectly encapsulates Nada and Baz’s relationship. For me, the torture was amplified at the halfway mark (iykyk). There is an unexpected trope that turns up; although in hindsight, I really should have seen it coming 😂 I went through a rollercoaster of emotions with Nada and Baz. I literally could not stop reading until these two had their HEA. I inhaled this book in less than 24 hours 💀
Second chance romance is tricky to get right. Every reader has their own little pet peeves and requirements when it comes to this trope, and I am including myself here. I feel like it’s easy to get bogged down by the logistics and the details of who was right, who was wrong, and who gave good advice, who gave bad advice. I think, overall, it’s clear that everyone in this book made mistakes. The characters are so complex and nuanced that it’s hard to place 100% of the blame on one person only. What is clear to me is that Nada and Baz were very young at the time. What is also clear to me is that immaturity, impulsiveness, and a lack of wisdom played a huge role in pushing them apart.
In addition, there is a lot happening with the side characters, who are as nuanced as Baz and Nada. There are multiple stories and conflicts, but they are all weaved into the main storyline in a seamless way. Somehow, the author managed to put everything together cohesively. Even the flashbacks were included in a cohesive way. I honestly did not feel confused or lost, even at the beginning when all the characters were introduced. I was always on track with all the characters, with the present storyline, and with the flashbacks.
I was so invested in this book that I stressed out over how everything would get resolved 😂 I’m overall satisfied with how everything came together in the end, but I’m also GREEDY because I’m obsessed with Baz and Nada 😩 There are certain things that I wish hadn’t happened off page because I’m so greedy for anything related to Baz and Nada LOL. I finished the book almost a week ago and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. I can’t remember the last time I felt such a wide range of emotions while reading a book. I feel obliged to note that I’m very biased because this is a Muslim retelling of my favourite Austen book. It’s hard to be objective 😂 The fact that a Muslim version of Persuasion actually exists makes the world a better place for me 🫶🏽
A note for Muslim readers: Something happens that might lead you to question everything. Stick with it and continue reading because it will all make sense. I won’t go too deep into it because I don’t want to ruin your reading experience. I want you to experience the story the way I did, and hopefully you will love it the way I do.
P.S. It’s fun, but also kind of weird to read about the places that I’ve been to. The commentary about Robarts library made me laugh so hard 😂
Romance Library 