ccceylinn_'s review against another edition
4.0
4⭐ - really enjoyed this one. Zayneb sometimes acted a little childish, but at the end she made up for it. Sad that there won't be another book about Zayneb & Adam.
louiselidand's review
1.75
1.75
tror bara inte detta är för mig, båda är muppiga o har så mycket miscommunication o deras problem skulle lösas i början av boken om de bara pratade
adam, u stupid stpud bald boy
zayneb, u need to learn to COMMUNICATE UR PROBLEMS TO UR HUSBAND bc he so stupid he blind
sarina u annoying
adams dad is the man! u see it
mila var cool, sausan var förvirrande, cold yet cool
hela resan, fattade inte riktigt allt, tror innebörden var lite above my gradeschool knowledge
im on team zayneb tho
nue det över, louise sluta läsa böcker som sååå inte har nåt du kan relatera med överhuvudtaget... dock kan relatera med zayneds sätt att tänka ibland, mer övertänka tbh
tror bara inte detta är för mig, båda är muppiga o har så mycket miscommunication o deras problem skulle lösas i början av boken om de bara pratade
adam, u stupid stpud bald boy
zayneb, u need to learn to COMMUNICATE UR PROBLEMS TO UR HUSBAND bc he so stupid he blind
sarina u annoying
adams dad is the man! u see it
mila var cool, sausan var förvirrande, cold yet cool
hela resan, fattade inte riktigt allt, tror innebörden var lite above my gradeschool knowledge
im on team zayneb tho
nue det över, louise sluta läsa böcker som sååå inte har nåt du kan relatera med överhuvudtaget... dock kan relatera med zayneds sätt att tänka ibland, mer övertänka tbh
popthebutterfly's review against another edition
5.0
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Love From Mecca to Medina
Author: S.K. Ali
Book Series: Love From A to Z Book 2
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: American Muslim MC (Pakistani/West Indian descent), Canadian Muslim convert MC with Multiple Sclerosis (Chinese/Finish descent), other Muslim and Muslim convert characters, Jewish character
Recommended For...: young adult readers, new adult readers, contemporary, romance, Muslim
Publication Date: October 18, 2022
Genre: YA Contemporary/NA Contemporary Romance
Age Relevance: 16+ (romance, war, Islamaphobia, homelessness, alcohol consumption, illness, white supremacy, religion, sexual content, vomit gore)
Explanation of Above: There is a lot of romance in this book between our two MCs and some very vague sexual content mentioned. The romance is mostly hand holding, love affirmations, and stolen kisses. There is one fade to black scene and the characters have had their Nikah ceremony. There is some Islamaphobia and white supremacy mentioned and shown in the book. There are scenes and mentions of homelessness. There is alcohol consumption mentioned (not by the main characters). The Muslim religion and a Muslim pilgrimage is mentioned and shown throughout the book. There is also some vomiting shown and mentioned in the book.
Publisher: Salaam Reads/Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 352
Synopsis: Adam and Zayneb. Perfectly matched. Painfully apart.
Adam is in Doha, Qatar, making a map of the Hijra, a historic migration from Mecca to Medina, and worried about where his next paycheck will come from. Zayneb is in Chicago, where school and extracurricular stresses are piling on top of a terrible frenemy situation, making her miserable.
Then a marvel occurs: Adam and Zayneb get the chance to spend Thanksgiving week on the Umrah, a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, in Saudi Arabia. Adam is thrilled; it’s the reboot he needs and an opportunity to pray for a hijra in real life: to migrate to Zayneb in Chicago. Zayneb balks at the trip at first, having envisioned another kind of vacation, but then decides a spiritual reset is calling her name too. And they can’t wait to see each other—surely, this is just what they both need.
But the trip is nothing like what they expect, from the appearance of Adam’s former love interest in their traveling group to the anxiety gripping Zayneb when she’s supposed to be “spiritual.” As one wedge after another drives them apart while they make their way through rites in the holy city, Adam and Zayneb start to wonder: was their meeting just an oddity after all? Or can their love transcend everything else like the greatest marvels of the world?
Review: I really loved this sequel! I thought it was better than the original and I loved seeing how in love Adam and Zayneb were. I loved seeing what happens after the first book and how Zayneb is navigating law school and homelessness while they both deal with a long distance marriage also while Adam struggles with unemployment. The book focuses on their unexpected decision to do the pilgrimage from Mecca to Medina and how their love ebbs and flows along the way. The book did much better with the character development and the world building remained immaculate. I also thought the pacing was much better written in this one, I thought this read was super informative and I learned so much from it, and overall I loved it so much. I was also very impressed with how the author cut out all of the HP references that were plaguing the other book and I thought the book was better for it.
The only complaint I have with the book is that I did think that the ending was a bit too scrunched up, like it didn’t have time to fully work out naturally.
Verdict: It was great! Highly recommend!
Book: Love From Mecca to Medina
Author: S.K. Ali
Book Series: Love From A to Z Book 2
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: American Muslim MC (Pakistani/West Indian descent), Canadian Muslim convert MC with Multiple Sclerosis (Chinese/Finish descent), other Muslim and Muslim convert characters, Jewish character
Recommended For...: young adult readers, new adult readers, contemporary, romance, Muslim
Publication Date: October 18, 2022
Genre: YA Contemporary/NA Contemporary Romance
Age Relevance: 16+ (romance, war, Islamaphobia, homelessness, alcohol consumption, illness, white supremacy, religion, sexual content, vomit gore)
Explanation of Above: There is a lot of romance in this book between our two MCs and some very vague sexual content mentioned. The romance is mostly hand holding, love affirmations, and stolen kisses. There is one fade to black scene and the characters have had their Nikah ceremony. There is some Islamaphobia and white supremacy mentioned and shown in the book. There are scenes and mentions of homelessness. There is alcohol consumption mentioned (not by the main characters). The Muslim religion and a Muslim pilgrimage is mentioned and shown throughout the book. There is also some vomiting shown and mentioned in the book.
Publisher: Salaam Reads/Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 352
Synopsis: Adam and Zayneb. Perfectly matched. Painfully apart.
Adam is in Doha, Qatar, making a map of the Hijra, a historic migration from Mecca to Medina, and worried about where his next paycheck will come from. Zayneb is in Chicago, where school and extracurricular stresses are piling on top of a terrible frenemy situation, making her miserable.
Then a marvel occurs: Adam and Zayneb get the chance to spend Thanksgiving week on the Umrah, a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, in Saudi Arabia. Adam is thrilled; it’s the reboot he needs and an opportunity to pray for a hijra in real life: to migrate to Zayneb in Chicago. Zayneb balks at the trip at first, having envisioned another kind of vacation, but then decides a spiritual reset is calling her name too. And they can’t wait to see each other—surely, this is just what they both need.
But the trip is nothing like what they expect, from the appearance of Adam’s former love interest in their traveling group to the anxiety gripping Zayneb when she’s supposed to be “spiritual.” As one wedge after another drives them apart while they make their way through rites in the holy city, Adam and Zayneb start to wonder: was their meeting just an oddity after all? Or can their love transcend everything else like the greatest marvels of the world?
Review: I really loved this sequel! I thought it was better than the original and I loved seeing how in love Adam and Zayneb were. I loved seeing what happens after the first book and how Zayneb is navigating law school and homelessness while they both deal with a long distance marriage also while Adam struggles with unemployment. The book focuses on their unexpected decision to do the pilgrimage from Mecca to Medina and how their love ebbs and flows along the way. The book did much better with the character development and the world building remained immaculate. I also thought the pacing was much better written in this one, I thought this read was super informative and I learned so much from it, and overall I loved it so much. I was also very impressed with how the author cut out all of the HP references that were plaguing the other book and I thought the book was better for it.
The only complaint I have with the book is that I did think that the ending was a bit too scrunched up, like it didn’t have time to fully work out naturally.
Verdict: It was great! Highly recommend!
saralynnburnett's review against another edition
4.0
Adam and Zayneb must find their way back to each other in this romantic sequel to Love from A to Z. It was a sweet read but I can't say I loved it as much as the first. I think I'm more into the falling into love bits of romance than the driving each other crazy via miscommunications once you're together and then having to sort it all out.
The best part of this book for me was how much I learned. The vast majority of it takes place during an Umrah trip to Mecca & Medina. I've got a lot of Muslims in my life so it was eye opening since I'd only ever learned about Hajj. The descriptions of the Great Mosque of Mecca, the huge clocktower hotel there and all of that definitely sent me down a few rabbit holes on the internet. Some fascinating information there, down to the special type of marble used for the floor that is naturally cool.
The best part of this book for me was how much I learned. The vast majority of it takes place during an Umrah trip to Mecca & Medina. I've got a lot of Muslims in my life so it was eye opening since I'd only ever learned about Hajj. The descriptions of the Great Mosque of Mecca, the huge clocktower hotel there and all of that definitely sent me down a few rabbit holes on the internet. Some fascinating information there, down to the special type of marble used for the floor that is naturally cool.
ericajoanne's review
4.0
1. The narration by the cat (Bertha Fatima) was a bit weird. It felt like it didn’t quite fit in with the rest of the story. It was an interesting plot device to book end the story, but it didn’t really work for me.
2. I had times where I liked and disliked the characters, and it went along with their feelings for each other and how they were feeling about themselves. We’ll written in this aspect.
3. This is probably Muslim fiction at it best (I hope it becomes a bigger genre like Christian fiction). Religion plays a huge role in the characters lives, and the author showed many different aspects of it and the ways different characters expressed their religion. If I were muslim, I would feel very represented and seen in this story.
4. I wish Adam’s MS had been incorporated into Adam’s characterization better. It felt surface level, only coming up to further the plot or cause a complication.
5. I will definitely be reading S.K. Ali’s next book. Ultimately her writing is fresh and I am always learning something new from her writing. I had do a bit of additional reading on the pilgrimage from Mecca to Medina, and the Kaaba as I didn’t know anything about it before reading this book.
2. I had times where I liked and disliked the characters, and it went along with their feelings for each other and how they were feeling about themselves. We’ll written in this aspect.
3. This is probably Muslim fiction at it best (I hope it becomes a bigger genre like Christian fiction). Religion plays a huge role in the characters lives, and the author showed many different aspects of it and the ways different characters expressed their religion. If I were muslim, I would feel very represented and seen in this story.
4. I wish Adam’s MS had been incorporated into Adam’s characterization better. It felt surface level, only coming up to further the plot or cause a complication.
5. I will definitely be reading S.K. Ali’s next book. Ultimately her writing is fresh and I am always learning something new from her writing. I had do a bit of additional reading on the pilgrimage from Mecca to Medina, and the Kaaba as I didn’t know anything about it before reading this book.
girlreading's review
4.0
A deeply moving and candid love letter to Islam and love, both for others and yourself.
This was gorgeous, memorable and filled with life, love, faith, passion, struggled and honesty. S.K. Ali has perfected the art of writing incredible, multi layered characters and relationships, whilst also transporting her readers to the exact place she wants them to be. I was fully invested in this story from the beginning until the end and I can’t wait to read more from S.K. Ali in the future.
TW: discussion of antisemitism and Islamophobia
This was gorgeous, memorable and filled with life, love, faith, passion, struggled and honesty. S.K. Ali has perfected the art of writing incredible, multi layered characters and relationships, whilst also transporting her readers to the exact place she wants them to be. I was fully invested in this story from the beginning until the end and I can’t wait to read more from S.K. Ali in the future.
TW: discussion of antisemitism and Islamophobia
minniexo's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
nezzaaa's review
3.0
reasons i loved it:
- it was (sometimes) very cute
- great Muslim representation
- I love how the characters have their faults and strengths (?)
- I liked the umrah/makkah/madinah descriptions
reasons I did not like it
- THERE WERE MORE PROBLEMS THAN SOLUTIONS IN THIS BOOK
- I realised I HATE miscommunication storylines and that was basically the whole book
- Zayneb GOT ON MY NERVES she was so annoying sometimes, and she baaarely redeemed herself
- not enough Adam and Zayneb actually liking each other/being together
- guys literally just go to therapy please
- it was (sometimes) very cute
- great Muslim representation
- I love how the characters have their faults and strengths (?)
- I liked the umrah/makkah/madinah descriptions
reasons I did not like it
- THERE WERE MORE PROBLEMS THAN SOLUTIONS IN THIS BOOK
- I realised I HATE miscommunication storylines and that was basically the whole book
- Zayneb GOT ON MY NERVES she was so annoying sometimes, and she baaarely redeemed herself
- not enough Adam and Zayneb actually liking each other/being together
- guys literally just go to therapy please
ensara's review
3.0
the miscommunication is frustrating but the end is so cute and sweet and worth it and it makes me want an adam even more because the patience that man has!!!
zaynab needs to get better communication skills pls that girl was killing me
zaynab needs to get better communication skills pls that girl was killing me