Hello people. I finished reading this book right before midnight on the 14th of September, and I'm sitting here with my cardamom chai latte (which is really good btw) to try and write a review that encompasses all my thoughts and feelings.

(BEWARE SPOILERS)

I did take a quick look at other reviews and saw that some people were concerned about the title and the idea of a contemporary romance taking place in such a Holy City. I'll admit, I went into this book expecting more "romance" than we got. I thought it would be full of cute little scenes of Zayneb and Adam performing Umrah together, with maybe Adam's MS being the main conflict/issue. Instead, the one word I would use to describe this book is STRESSFUL.

We start off with POVs from Adam and Zayneb and realize that they're both hiding a lot from each other. There's a lot of miscommunication and later on, jealousy, thrown in, both of which I'm not a huge fan of when it comes to contemporary romance. That being said, I really wanted to give this book the benefit of the doubt because the characters and author aren't white and I thought it would bring something different to the story. Unfortunately, it made for a rather frustrating read. While I didn't want this book to be "in-your-face-romance" in Mecca and Medina, it made for a rather stressful trip (for Adam and Zayneb) but also the reader. Watching both characters so close, yet so distant from each other, Zayneb ignoring Adam, Adam being clueless...It was just hard to watch, and you kind of want to shake all the characters and tell them to just stop and communicate for one second. 

One thing that did stand out to me in this book was the writing style. I know other people who aren't a huge fan of SK Ali's writing, but this book was the first time that I started to notice a little of what they meant. The writing is beautiful and poetic at times, but sometimes it's a little confusing trying to understand what the character is thinking about, and other times it felt a little juvenile and millennial. I was not expecting the words "hanky-panky" to be used so many times. And was even shocked at one point when Adam uses the word "sexting". Some of the romance (mainly words of expression and love) was also a little cringey, especially considering that Adam and Zayneb aren't 17/18 anymore. I'm not sure if Adam's nickname being Squish and Zayneb's being Zayby were really my thing either. And another thing...the TikTok kid that went to Umrah with them...If anything, the small amount of romance we do get in Mecca/Medina was nothing compared to this guy filming tiktoks during Umrah. I mean, it's not like he's filming dance videos, but it did feel slightly off to be creating entertainment content while on a religious pilgrimage, even if it was to educate people on how Muslims perform Umrah and the hijrah from Mecca to Medina. 

I don't want people to go into this expecting the worst, because there were A LOT of good things too.

To start off with...UMRAH. I never ever expected to read about Muslim characters going to Umrah in a book during my lifetime. So I actually cried a lot. I cried when they were on the plane headed to Jeddah, when they landed, when they first saw Mecca from the bus window, when they first saw the Kabbah. The Talbiyah that's recited multiple times. When they arrived in Medina and saw the Prophet's Masjid. Just everything made me want to cry and wish I could be in Mecca and Medina right now. It was beautiful to see this captured in a book. The stories that are recounted about the early days of Islam too were just so nice to see.

Another thing I loved was the chronic illness rep. I 100% understood Adam's change of plans for his vacation with Zayneb, though I wish things had been better handled between the two of them so both could be happy and Zayneb didn't feel obligated to do Umrah for Adam instead of herself. Having a chronic illness is hard because it's so unpredictable. Adam was feeling good, his meds were working, and he had the energy to consider going for Umrah. And like his father said, there was no way to predict if this time next year Adam would be in the same position. So it made sense for Adam to want to go, especially considering the project he was also working on and how stuck he felt. Wanting to go to a religious site to make dua and ask for help and guidance is a thing so many Muslims can probably relate to. And I understand the pressure Adam felt to try and do what he can while he is able to. And I know Zayneb understood this too, but I wish there could have been better accommodations for them to actually be able to spend time together outside of Umrah.

I'm going to break off and talk about Sarina for a second. She really made me angry. At first, I thought she was just trying to be nice and helpful, but she purposely kept pushing Zayneb aside in order to try and "care" for Adam. The scene where she tries to force him to get a wheelchair to do tawaf even though Adam said he felt good and had his cane, but she kept refusing to listen to him. She wouldn't even let Zayneb be included in the conversation despite knowing that they're married and Zayneb could walk beside him while doing tawaf. She was obsessed, and I think Zayneb was right to feel hurt and upset at Adam for not noticing. Adam is a very clueless cinnamon-roll type character, and I honestly think he didn't notice these things and then once Sarina offered him a job opportunity, let a lot of this slide as a result. The pictures Sarina took and posted of them together during Umrah really did it for me. And I hate how none of this is challenged by anyone else. All we get is Zayneb apologizing to Sarina for being rude. I wish Sheikh Murtaza had said something to Sarina, especially considering that she plans and goes on these Umrah trips with lots of people, yet she's trying to break up a couple because she has feelings for the guy.

I did think we were going to see more of Adam and his MS. And while he does use an electronic wheelchair for Sa'i, I was hoping to see more. Though at the same time, I'm really glad the whole Umrah group was so nice and welcoming to Adam. I think it helped that most of the group were younger individuals too, but no one was annoyed that Adam was "slowing them down" or needed accommodations etc. Besides for Sarina making assumptions on what Adam needed, the rest of really great. 

Going back to the miscommunication...I feel like the end was tied up too easily in a way that didn't make sense. Adam and Zayneb seem to introspect independently before eventually realizing the mistakes they've made. And while we do get a phone call with apologies, I think it would have been nice to see them actually sit down and talk about everything openly. Adam sort of realizes what Sarina was up to and how that made Zayneb feel and Zayneb realizes that her stress from everything going on at school had travelled with her to Umrah and made her hypersensitive to everything around her, leading her to lash out. Though I do think she was justified, and her emotional and physical exhaustion as a result made sense. I just wish when they do meet up in Medina, instead of them going off to hang out with everyone else, they could have just sat that the Prophet's Masjid and talked it all out right there. As the reader, we see that they both get where they went wrong, but after so much miscommunication and the fact that this whole book they were together, but not really speaking to each other, I just wanted more Adam and Zayneb moments. 

One last thing I wanted to highlight was Adam's fear of not being able to work because of his MS. This is such a real fear for those of us who have chronic illnesses and disabilities. And I did like how we got to see a flashback to a scene with Zayneb and her brother and how Adam feels like he needs to be able to provide for Zayneb in order to be a good husband who her parents will accept into the family. I also really felt for Adam during his flashbacks to when his mom died and how angry he felt at not being able to see her and having to squash his anger and hold himself together because of his dad and sister. The one line where he says he was "the easy child" really got to me because I feel that so much. How hard it was for him to ask for help from his dad because he didn't want to be seen as incapable. I love Adam's dad though, and I also loved the character growth we see with Adam when he realizes that he can ask for help and that doesn't mean he isn't capable enough to take care of himself or Zayneb. There's nothing wrong with asking for help, especially in Adam's case when it's given willingly and with so much love in return.

Zayneb also goes through some character growth by the end, and I'm glad things seemed to work out eventually. We also get a glimpse into Janna and Layth's life which was a nice touch, though I don't know if things felt too perfect with everyone happy and ending up together. 

OH and before I end things off. I love love love the commentary we get on how much Saudi Arabia sucks. Adam noticing how Medina feels more like the way it should, with the Masjid the centre and not surrounded by tall buildings and hotels was such a mood. And Zayneb and Mila talking about how migrants are treated was good to see because Saudi Arabia is pretty problematic and I honestly don't like the country as a whole, especially considering how they treat Shias. One thing I did find weird was that Sausun's family's house had servers (who I'm assuming are migrant workers) and it felt wrong in many ways. 

Overall, this book left me with a lot of mixed feelings. While aspects of this book (ie. the Umrah itself and the chronic illness rep) were great, other things I did find annoying, and the writing style just didn't work as well for me this time around. Love from A to Z is still one of my all-time favourite books, but I think this sequel just didn't live up to my expectations. 

Rating: 3.75/5 stars