Ayesha at Last Kindle Edition

I was so happy to stumble across this book. It was the perfect summer read for this Muslim convert. I'm not familiar with the Pakistani rishti culture--so it was enlightening as well. I loved the fact that it took place in the Greater Toronto area...and all of the truth regarding the Islamic community issues. Khalid and Ayesha were a perfect pair. I disagree with the "Pride and Prejudice" comparison. I can see it, but it's a bit of a stretch IMHO. It seems that every romantic book is attributed to P&P. Can't it simply just be a good, fun novel?? Hoping to see more from this author. This white girl will think twice before ordering butter chicken, again. Haha!

I would give this a 3.5 rating . It was fun, but not perfect, not in any way slyly witty like Jane Austen. For us non-Muslims, mixing the modern world with the old customs seems confusing, but I don't disagree with them. Ayesha's and Khalid's chastity is refreshing and admirable. I followed the story with great interest and was glad that she did not have them modernize and compromise their principles.One question, did I miss it? Zareena said she had fallen in love with her husband, but she was here in Toronto, heavily pregnant, without her husband. By the end of the story, he had not come. What is going on here? Why is she in Canada? What is their happily ever after story? Why did he sound like an angry creep when Khalid called him? Why had Zareena never mentioned her brother to her husband? Why the secretive hoarding of money, as if she was running away? Why was this story never finished? Help! I wouldn't mind seeing this done as a movie, though! How spectacular Hafsa's wedding would be!!

#Ownvoices chaste, sweet romance between desi "fundy" esque man and hijab-wearing but more modern woman: both active in their Islamic faith.The blurb says its a modern Pride & Prejudice, but only insofar as Khalid stubbornly inhabits a traditional orientation towards dress and arranged marriages inside his faith and Ayesha does have some prejudice to overcome both towards Khalid and her more flyaway, younger cousin.The main problem besides pride on both sides, is that Ayesha pretends to be her younger, richer cousin (who coincidentally is meeting a series of young men before committing to an arranged marriage) Hafsa at a Mosque meeting to plan a modern conference for young folks where she meets Khalid. This mistaken identity causes confusion and hurt feelings later on, as it tends to do.From a romance perspective, the attraction between the two main characters never sparked for me, but from a sociological perspective, it was super fascinating for Christian background me to read the thoughts of Khalid as he becomes more and more attracted to Ayesha despite her outspokenness, and to see standards of beauty when hair, for instance, is concealed under hijab.The text is sprinkled with words like "rishta" (or arranged proposal process) that were always quite understandable within context, but due to the multi-lingual/ethnic background of the Islamic community in Toronto depicted here I didn't know if that was a Arabic term or India-language term.There was also (for a food obsessed person like me) a pleasing amount of reference to food culture such as Aunties grilling both Hafsa and Ayesha about their ability to fry samosa or Khalid indicating he thought Butter Chicken was boring and not suitable for a wedding banquet.While not my preferred level of steam or sparky romance, this was such a sweet little romance with insight into a minority culture I think the USA desperately needs right now for perspective. I would read more by this author.

I loved this smartly written, literary, creative retelling of Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice.

As a child of Indian-Pakistani immigrants, I ABSOLUTELY loved reading this book!!! Growing up I have never encountered a book that I could relate to 100% until I found this book! I loved how the author, Uzma Jalauddin, related family dynamics with modern times, and how religion and one's cultures plays large factors in your life. I loved reading every aspect of this book, from the gossipy aunties, to incorporating values and respect for your family, as well as the "no-touching" policy portrayed in the workplace, which still today people do not understand the meaning behind it, and of course the warmth of a well done chai. So anyone considering to read this book, I highly recommend it, with a large warm mug of chai (the recipe is included towards the back of the book) and enjoy every aspect of the book itself!!!

OMG! I read this book in less than a week! That’s got to be a record for me. There were parts that I could totally relate to and others that I couldn’t. Either way, It was so good that I couldn’t put it down. I’ve also been shouting it from the mountain tops and telling everyone I know about it! I promise you won’t be disappointed!

If you've ever wondered what it's like to date as a Muslim in the 21st century, this is a great book to read. If you appreciate a good romance that could happen to you and or your friends, this is a great book to read. If you are looking for an evergreen book that you can read during the summer on the beach, by the fire during winter or for a day when you just want to feel happy, this is the book to read. I am so happy and grateful that this book was published. I found a review on Laineygossip and the rest was history. I find the characters so relatable and so human. I think this story deserves to be made into a movie at the theatres. I pray that the author is inspired to write more great love stories like this.

This was a nice read, and in the first few chapters I found myself grinning as somethings reminded me of stories I’ve heard from friends, and in all honesty, what some of my older relatives have said to me about working versus getting married. I liked the fact that there wasn’t a judgemental tone in the depictions of what can, sometimes, occur within South Asian families, rather it was depicted with wry amusement and showed that whilst others (family/community etc), can have expectations, choice usually exists.The two main characters are - performance poet and teacher Ayesha Shamsi and e-commerce manager Khalid Mirza. Ayesha is positioned as a progressive Muslim and Khalid as somewhat more conservative, which is meant to be reflected by his mode of dress – this was for me, a tad problematic, particularly as at the end he sheds his clothing for suit/Western male clothes – the symbolism was a little sticky.I loved Ayesha’s outspokenness when it came to the views some of the ‘aunties’ shared with her – seriously had me grinning, but I do wish when it came to Khalid, she had been a little less judgmental.I also feel there are too many strands to the story at present, less may have allowed for more depth and richness when it came to character development and interactions. The villains of the story were somewhat overdone. I think there would have been a subtle sneakiness to at least one of them if they existed outside of the pages of the book. Ok you could say most people didn’t realise the true nature of Tarek until near the end but even then, he came of looking like the good guy to the community – until they found/find out about his dissemination of pornography/raunchy imagery.Also, as far as my knowledge goes , I thought the thawb dominated/originated in the Middle East and that this form of dress for Muslim men within and from South Asia was not and is not prolific – I’m just thinking of my friends and family, and the videos family have sent from South Asia, and I rarely see men wearing it (although it’s become a little more common for Friday prayers at the mosque). Yet the author positions Khalid (whose family originated from India) as wearing it in an attempt to stick to his family’s roots.I also think that as a character more could have been done with Khalid’s mother – there was potential for a riveting character there but it didn't manifest.I did want the writing to be lyrical and more fluid. Plus, I did feel that the end was a tad quick, and the book did for me ran out of steam to a degree in the second half.Overall, I didn’t find myself emotionally invested in the story and the characters, although I did like the book, it’s an easy read. I’ve heard that this was meant to be a retelling/twist on the classic Pride and Prejudice tale, didn’t really feel that.Some themes in this book: Islamophobia, workplace discrimination, living in two worlds/cultures, arranged marriages, family obligations, deceit, revenge and romance.98p on Amazon 9th April 2019

This book wasn't to my usual taste but I thought I'd give it a go. It was good but I didn't enjoy the jokes on Khalid being a fanatic by Amir.I thought it went too far on either being non Islamic or too Islamic with the men. There was no middle ground so, in that way, it reinforced stereotypes about Muslim males.

This was a beautifully written book. I really enjoyed all the characters especially khalid, his relationship with his mother is one I have seen before. I loved how he was finally able to see that he needed to be happy himself and what his mother wanted was not always want what was best for him. I loved Nani and nanas characters they were supportive yet not pushy let Ayesha masks her Owen decisions. I also thought Hafsas character was very realistic to some young girls today (just wanting money and things). Overlay 5 stars for an awesome book am waiting for the next one.

Really didn’t enjoy this book and am wondering why I finished it - hoping it would get better?? Didn’t find it the least bit funny or heartwarming but rather stupid and boring. The writing itself was nothing to write home about. I can’t recommend this at all.

I really enjoyed this version of pride and prejudice.It took a while to get into at first, the islamic explanations were a bit awkward. Eventually you do get into it and the story is exciting.It would have been nice for there to have been young male Muslim characters that weren't on either extreme, but had a good balance