I just love Jane Austen. And I probably always will.

I struggled with giving this four stars or five. Four stars because there are things I just need to know that I don’t have the answers to, but instead the book ended and there were no more pages. I devoured this book, it was a roller coaster, and when I finished I just wanted a few words with Celeste Ng, mainly, ‘how dare you???’ But ultimately I decided that to give this four stars because of that would have been petty because this is an amazing read. The characters, the layers, the plot. All of it.

This was a quick and fun read, only about 220 ish pages. I really liked the plot and the characters. The story was great and I really like the pace it was being told at. But the end seemed really sped up and abrupt, and I wish it had the same pace as the beginning of the book, even if it would have made it longer! Actually maybe more so, because it would have made the book longer!

The message that there’s no one way to be Muslim is beautiful. There were a few poems I didn’t really care for but that seems to be the case for any anthology. My favorite pieces were the ones that explored how being Muslim and Black or Muslim and queer intersect. Overall this anthology is a great way to start thinking about those experiences and those different parts of people’s’ identities and what it might mean for them.

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I tried three recipes from different sections of this book. You can read my full review and see the recipes I tried here: https://www.jasbeingjas.com/post/brunch-the-sunday-way
3 Stars because the recipes I tried were nice but overall, most of the recipes seemed too time consuming. I'm pretty comfortable in the kitchen but making three different components to one meal seems like a lot of effort. And I don't want to spend half my Sunday making breakfast when I could be resting. I would reserve these recipes for a special occasion.

I love Tan and I loved reading this book. I read it in his voice and it was a great way to not be sad considering I already finished Season 5 of Queer Eye and who knows when we'll get Season 6! I love that he tries to keep it light and fun even when he's talking about things that are not at all fun, like racism. This was a quick read and I really enjoyed it! There are so few books by South Asian men, a lot of South Asian representation is just the same old tropes of women in arranged marriages. So I will always love Tan for writing this and putting it out there because there are so many other South Asian experiences that deserve to be heard!

In the beginning of this book Jonathan wonders if people will love him even when they see all these other parts of him. Parts that he was ashamed or is still working through the shame. To be honest, I think in the end you love him even more. You really appreciate everything he’s been through and how much he’s worked to overcome it all.

This book was difficult to read because it basically took my heart and tossed it into a wood chipper. There was so much pain and sadness. Even more sad when you remember it’s semi autobiographical. But it’s a really good book. And it’s really well written. I can’t believe this is a debut novel. The alternating POV was well done. The pace of the story was great. It hurt to read but, I would absolutely recommend it. Content warning: abuse, assault, suicide.

I felt so many emotions reading this book, and there were so many things I loved. I loved the story, the pace, the characters. The relationship between Nishat and Priti made me miss my own sister so much. I didn’t realize how much I needed to read one character call the other a gadha in my life, until it happened and I just couldn’t help but smile. Would highly recommend.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was fairly short and a really easy ready. I started and finished over the weekend. The book has different elements, like grief, spirituality, and mystery. While the mystery around Sam's death keeps you wanting to know what happens, and the twist at the end was unexpected, I think it's primarily a book about dealing with loss. I loved reading about not just how Bean was dealing with it, but how each member of the family was dealing with their grief and seeing a family that was falling apart start to find their way back to each other. The reference to Inuit beliefs are frequent throughout the book but this isn't because any of the characters are Inuit, but because Bean's brother Sam has been obsessed with Inuit culture since he was a little kid, it drives a lot of his environmentally conscious choices, and it's something Bean keeps going back to, to try and understand Sam's death.