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kelly_e's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Title: Much Ado about Nada
Author: Uzma Jalaluddin
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.00
Pub Date: June 13, 2023
I received a complimentary eARC from HarperCollins Canada via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted
T H R E E • W O R D S
Modern • Unexpected • Uneven
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Nada Syed is stuck. On the cusp of thirty, she’s still living at home with her brothers and parents in the Golden Crescent neighbourhood of Toronto, resolutely ignoring her mother’s unsubtle pleas to get married already. While Nada has a good job as an engineer, it’s a far cry from realizing her start-up dreams for her tech baby, Ask Apa, the app that launched with a whimper instead of a bang because of a double-crossing business partner. Nothing in her life has turned out the way it was supposed to, and Nada feels like a failure. Something needs to change, but the past is holding on too tightly to let her move forward.
Nada’s best friend Haleema is determined to pry her from her shell…and what better place than at the giant annual Muslim conference held downtown, where Nada can finally meet Haleema’s fiancé, Zayn. And did Haleema mention Zayn’s brother Baz will be there?
What Haleema doesn’t know is that Nada and Baz have a past—some of it good, some of it bad and all of it secret. At the conference, that past all comes hurtling at Nada, bringing new complications and a moment of reckoning.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I was granted an ARC of Much Ado about Nada, however, it took me nearly a year to pick it up. I don't think the premise of this novel appealed to me as much as some of this author's other books have, yet I still wanted to give it a try. I have never read Persuasion, so the fact this is a loose retelling didn't really impact my experience.
The writing and flow made this an easy second chance romance read set in both the present and past timelines. Uzma Jalaluddin is fantastic at creating fierce female main characters and she stays the course in this one. Nada is faced with balancing cultural and familial expectations with her own personal hopes and dreams.
When it comes to the romance, it is the past timeline that does the majority of the heavy lifting, and in my opinion this is a downfall of the book. Every time I returned to the present timeline, I was withdrawn from their relationship. To the point, that I don't think I would even classify this as a romance per se.
Much Ado about Nada was enjoyable in the moment, but not necessarily a memorable story.
Certainly not my favourite from this author, yet I appreciate her taking classic stories and putting modern and diverse twists on them. I will continue to pick up the stories that she writes and recommend them to anyone looking for romance with depth.
📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• Persuasion
• the second chance trope
⚠️ CW: bullying, toxic friendship, sexism, misogyny, ableism, mental illness, cursing, hate crime, Islamophobia, pregnancy, injury/injury detail, body shaming, gaslighting, sexual content
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"There's nothing more human than being wrong," she said quietly. "Or being persuaded one way and then regretting your decision. I would argue that learning to live with that regret is the most human thing of all."
Author: Uzma Jalaluddin
Genre: Romance
Rating: 3.00
Pub Date: June 13, 2023
I received a complimentary eARC from HarperCollins Canada via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted
T H R E E • W O R D S
Modern • Unexpected • Uneven
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Nada Syed is stuck. On the cusp of thirty, she’s still living at home with her brothers and parents in the Golden Crescent neighbourhood of Toronto, resolutely ignoring her mother’s unsubtle pleas to get married already. While Nada has a good job as an engineer, it’s a far cry from realizing her start-up dreams for her tech baby, Ask Apa, the app that launched with a whimper instead of a bang because of a double-crossing business partner. Nothing in her life has turned out the way it was supposed to, and Nada feels like a failure. Something needs to change, but the past is holding on too tightly to let her move forward.
Nada’s best friend Haleema is determined to pry her from her shell…and what better place than at the giant annual Muslim conference held downtown, where Nada can finally meet Haleema’s fiancé, Zayn. And did Haleema mention Zayn’s brother Baz will be there?
What Haleema doesn’t know is that Nada and Baz have a past—some of it good, some of it bad and all of it secret. At the conference, that past all comes hurtling at Nada, bringing new complications and a moment of reckoning.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I was granted an ARC of Much Ado about Nada, however, it took me nearly a year to pick it up. I don't think the premise of this novel appealed to me as much as some of this author's other books have, yet I still wanted to give it a try. I have never read Persuasion, so the fact this is a loose retelling didn't really impact my experience.
The writing and flow made this an easy second chance romance read set in both the present and past timelines. Uzma Jalaluddin is fantastic at creating fierce female main characters and she stays the course in this one. Nada is faced with balancing cultural and familial expectations with her own personal hopes and dreams.
When it comes to the romance, it is the past timeline that does the majority of the heavy lifting, and in my opinion this is a downfall of the book. Every time I returned to the present timeline, I was withdrawn from their relationship. To the point, that I don't think I would even classify this as a romance per se.
Much Ado about Nada was enjoyable in the moment, but not necessarily a memorable story.
Certainly not my favourite from this author, yet I appreciate her taking classic stories and putting modern and diverse twists on them. I will continue to pick up the stories that she writes and recommend them to anyone looking for romance with depth.
📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• Persuasion
• the second chance trope
⚠️ CW: bullying, toxic friendship, sexism, misogyny, ableism, mental illness, cursing, hate crime, Islamophobia, pregnancy, injury/injury detail, body shaming, gaslighting, sexual content
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"There's nothing more human than being wrong," she said quietly. "Or being persuaded one way and then regretting your decision. I would argue that learning to live with that regret is the most human thing of all."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Ableism, Cursing, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, and Islamophobia
Minor: Body shaming, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
relin's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
The structure of the book was really neat, flashbacks that were hinted at in the previous chapter in very clear ways that the knowledge in the flashback changes the reading of the conversation. It was fun to see Shakespeare and Muslim culture be intertwined!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Sexism
Moderate: Ableism, Islamophobia, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content and Pregnancy
mysterymom40's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Bullying, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
azrah786's review against another edition
4.5
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
CW: bullying, misogyny, ableism, divorce, depression, minor sexual content, pregnancy
--
Uzma Jalaluddin’s book are such a fun time and I think this one is my favourite book by her to date.
Much Ado About Nada has us returning to the Golden Crescent neighbourhood, this time following Nada, a single woman in her late 20s who is dragged to a Muslim conference by one of her friends for a “girl’s weekend” before said friend’s wedding. However, attending the conference has her stumbling upon aspects from her past that she has been sternly avoiding. One being the root cause to the failure of her entrepreneurial project “Ask Apa” and the other being Baz, the brother-in-law to be of her friend whom Nada has a secret history with..
I haven’t read Austen’s Persuasion, which this is said to be a loose retelling of or Much Ado About Nothing so I can’t really say much on that side of things but I enjoyed this book so much, I genuinely couldn’t put it down.
**I was provided with an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**
CW: bullying, misogyny, ableism, divorce, depression, minor sexual content, pregnancy
--
Uzma Jalaluddin’s book are such a fun time and I think this one is my favourite book by her to date.
Much Ado About Nada has us returning to the Golden Crescent neighbourhood, this time following Nada, a single woman in her late 20s who is dragged to a Muslim conference by one of her friends for a “girl’s weekend” before said friend’s wedding. However, attending the conference has her stumbling upon aspects from her past that she has been sternly avoiding. One being the root cause to the failure of her entrepreneurial project “Ask Apa” and the other being Baz, the brother-in-law to be of her friend whom Nada has a secret history with..
I haven’t read Austen’s Persuasion, which this is said to be a loose retelling of or Much Ado About Nothing so I can’t really say much on that side of things but I enjoyed this book so much, I genuinely couldn’t put it down.
"Sometimes I worry you've allowed your sadness to become the biggest part of you. Whatever happened in the past is why you're afraid to take any chances now."
A big thing that I love about Jalaluddin’s storytelling is just how welcoming and homely it feels. You can expect a slice of life narrative with honest Muslim and desi rep, wholesome familial relationships and friendships, humour and of course a dash of drama. Whenever I pick up one of her books I just immediately feel a part of the community within the story and thus don’t want it to end.
Nada isn’t the most likeable of characters and we see her develop a lot over the course of the story. The key themes of this book are around self-love and self-growth and allowing yourself the time to accept your past shortcomings and go through both. Which brings me to another thing that I really appreciate about Jalaluddin’s books and that is how despite how messy her protagonists are, that part of their character doesn’t involve compromising their religion.
That being said there is a moment in this book that seems like a massive red flag when you initially get to it but the timeline of the story has a part to play here so fellow Muslim readers when you get to it you’ll know it and just trust me and continue reading.
"..it bothered her that people who themselves were stereotyped and looked down upon for their appearance so easily did the same to others."
Now coming back to the romance side of things, cringy song lyrics aside the romance was really sweet. I’ve come to realise that second chance romance, in particular contexts that this book definitely fits into, may be a favourite trope of mine. The dual timeline was perfect for unravelling and piecing together Nada and Baz’s history and what actually happened. I won’t give much more away but the yearning and mystery behind everything was so absorbing.
Nada’s development wasn’t solely related to romance in the book though and I really enjoyed the other parts of the plot and moments with supporting characters too. I particularly loved to see how supportive her family was of her endeavours which isn’t always the case when it comes to daughters in desi families.
Though the ending wrapped up a bit fast this was overall a wonderfully wholesome and genuine story and as ever I can’t wait to pick up whatever Jalaluddin writes next!
Final Rating – 4.5/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying and Misogyny
Minor: Ableism, Sexual content, and Pregnancy
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