Reviews

Much Ado about Nada by Uzma Jalaluddin

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sabbyu's review against another edition

5.0

Loved every moment of this book and cannot express how much I loved it. The story moves along at a pleasant pace with flashbacks in between. Nada is a likable character because she’s so real. There are moments where I adore her and moments where I’m completely frustrated with her. I felt like I saw her grow over the course of the novel. Although I’m familiar with the plot of Persuasion and probably could’ve assumed the plot of this story, I still found myself gasping aloud at all twists and turns. Uzma Jalaluddin delivers again with another lovely story centering a South Asian Muslim woman.

feelinalittlebookish's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Loved this book. Nada and Baz are just *perfection*

jess_always_reading's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

This was a great story! The majority of the present day parts take place over a weekend or so with the rest happening as tantalizing flashbacks that slowly reveal the character's backstories. As a Torontonian myself it was also really cool to read a book so anchored in our city and in the Muslim community. Jalaluddin doesn't shy away from depicting character flaws and balancing both the wonderful and the challenging aspects of growing up in a tight-knit immigrant community.

A beatiful story of being true to yourself and your community, of breaking patterns, and of the different types of love.

10/10 would recommend.

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thisbookisbananas's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

There were so many great things about this book. Cringy delicious drama, commentary on purity culture in Muslim communities,the emotional experiences and the pining! I love Uzma’s writing style.
I respect why the author chose a dual timeline to tell this second chance romance.However, the dual timeline just wasn’t for me. The author took such a long time to reveal the past relationship, that the romance didn’t really show up until the last quarter of the book. Because I enjoy her writing style, I will gladly pick up another book by this author.

Content Warnings