This book was on the New York Public Library end of the year list of recommended romances, and I'm really glad I picked it up! It's a modern day retelling of Pride and Prejudice, but what really drew me to it is the specific setting - it takes place in a Southeast Asian, Muslim immigrant community in Canada in/near Toronto, and it centers around the matchmaking and arranged marriages common there. I really loved the depictions of the families and how interconnected they all are, and how complicated a relationship the characters had with white Canadians, and the appeal and drawbacks of integration, and how complex every choice became. Ayesha is a wonderful modern-day Elizabeth, working so hard to create the right life for her, not for others, and Khalid is a really fascinating take on a contemporary Darcy--a man attempting to live his life by rigid rules, only to discover that some things are more flexible than others. My main critique of the book is that there were times when I wished the story didn't need to adhere quite so strictly to the plot points of Pride and Prejudice--toward the end, some of the events of the novel felt less natural and more like they had to be included. Overall thought I enjoyed it quite a lot.
Grade: B
Grade: B
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