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mari1532's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I own an electronic copy of this book but listened to the audiobook through my library with Libby.
Thoughts: I absolutely love Pride and Prejudice in all forms. So an updated and diverse version of the story sounded fantastic. Jalaluddin did not disappoint. She was able to bring in all of the things I love about the original story and update them for modern times. There is witty banter, miscommunication, relatives that make you cringe, and a romance that makes you swoon. I cannot recommend this book enough.
Ayesha is so well-rounded and loveable as a character. The way she struggles to balance family and societal expectations with her desires is the very definition of Elizabeth Bennet. I loved the way that her poetry made appearances throughout the book and how her wit was always on point.
Khalid was also a great rewriting of Mr. Darcy. He was brooding and traditional without going so far that you absolutely could not stand him. Also, the way that Jalaluddin changed the dynamics of Khalid's relationship with his sister was a beautiful nod to the original while also staying true to Jalaluddin's version.
Jalaluddin's writing is so enjoyable and this book keeps all the joys and intrigues of the original Pride and Prejudice. All of the characters are at once recognizable, but fresh. Highly recommend it for Austenites and romance readers alike.
Thoughts: I absolutely love Pride and Prejudice in all forms. So an updated and diverse version of the story sounded fantastic. Jalaluddin did not disappoint. She was able to bring in all of the things I love about the original story and update them for modern times. There is witty banter, miscommunication, relatives that make you cringe, and a romance that makes you swoon. I cannot recommend this book enough.
Ayesha is so well-rounded and loveable as a character. The way she struggles to balance family and societal expectations with her desires is the very definition of Elizabeth Bennet. I loved the way that her poetry made appearances throughout the book and how her wit was always on point.
Khalid was also a great rewriting of Mr. Darcy. He was brooding and traditional without going so far that you absolutely could not stand him. Also, the way that Jalaluddin changed the dynamics of Khalid's relationship with his sister was a beautiful nod to the original while also staying true to Jalaluddin's version.
Jalaluddin's writing is so enjoyable and this book keeps all the joys and intrigues of the original Pride and Prejudice. All of the characters are at once recognizable, but fresh. Highly recommend it for Austenites and romance readers alike.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism
stephbeaudoin20's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
First Review: I absolutely loved this book! I read it in one sitting and could not put it down.
Updated Review:
I love Ayesha at Last. This is the fourth time I've read this book and it won't be my last.
Things I'm here for:
Authentic South Asian Representation
Muslim representation that shows Muslims are not a monolith
Muslim Romance
Ayesha is a strong Muslim woman. She is still learning who she is and what she wants. She is complicated.
Khalil loves deeply. He trusts in his Faith, and learns that Faith has many options.
This is an excellent retelling of Pride and Prejudice. It doesn't follow the story scene for scene, and there is a heavy dose of Shakespeare in there from Nana. You can feel the similarities like a thought in your subconscious. You know this story is timeless.
This is my 22nd book for The Diverse Baseline Challenge, and the first for the prompt of Desi or South Asian Author.
First Review: I absolutely loved this book! I read it in one sitting and could not put it down.
Updated Review:
I love Ayesha at Last. This is the fourth time I've read this book and it won't be my last.
Things I'm here for:
Authentic South Asian Representation
Muslim representation that shows Muslims are not a monolith
Muslim Romance
Ayesha is a strong Muslim woman. She is still learning who she is and what she wants. She is complicated.
Khalil loves deeply. He trusts in his Faith, and learns that Faith has many options.
This is an excellent retelling of Pride and Prejudice. It doesn't follow the story scene for scene, and there is a heavy dose of Shakespeare in there from Nana. You can feel the similarities like a thought in your subconscious. You know this story is timeless.
This is my 22nd book for The Diverse Baseline Challenge, and the first for the prompt of Desi or South Asian Author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Racism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Alcohol
onegalonelife27's review
emotional
funny
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.5
This is a wonderful twist on Pride and Prejudice!
The plot navigates between Ayesha, a young woman putting her dreams aside in order to do what’s right for the family-such as paying back the debt she feels she owes her uncle after he helped her family move from India to Canada when she was little-leading her to care for and be pushed around by her cousin Hafsa. And Khalid, who’s own family troubles have led him to turn to religion, bringing his strict beliefs everywhere and onto everyone, earning him some ire from his new boss. So when he finds himself roped into joining some male colleagues-and that’s a stretch of the word-into a lounge he thinks she’s not a good Muslim to which she responds with some smackdown poetry. However when Hafsa volunteers, and then consequently bails, to help out at their local mosque leaving Ayesha to take her place and finding herself working with Khalid. Which leads to some great internal exploration for both characters, seeing how they really connect to their families, and truly getting their own happily ever after.
There’s also a few cuts to other points of view, such as Claire-Ayesha’s best friend and Khalid’s coworkers who wants to help them both while navigating her own love life, Khalid’s mother who is so sure she knows what’s best for everyone especially her son, Ayesha’s grandmother who I’d hire to be a PI any day of the week, adding to some of the great tension to the plot.
Not really sure if the whole “double identity” thing had to go on as long-felt a good call from Hasfa’s parents to the Iman could really helped this part out. Like the Iman just assumes Ayesha is Hafsa and never lets her speak during introductions and Ayesha decides to go along with it to get some more spite for Khalid. Like did Hafsa's parents not tell him to expect two women?
And UGH-Hasidim boss is definitely the worst-all the trigger warnings for her. Makes my skin crawl whenever she’s around. She does get some good karma thrown at her which made me sigh in relief. Also the sweet karma for the Wickham character-whoo! I also found myself feeling sympathetic towards characters I didn’t expect and wanting good things for them too.
Also didn’t realize this came after Much Ado about Nada or would be related, but a few characters’ lines and names clued me in. So guess I should pay attention to book release dates.
Overall, a great story for those who want a good retelling of the classic Pride and Prejudice!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Islamophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, and Death of parent
Minor: Fatphobia and Abortion
thisbookisbananas's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love Pride and Prejudice. It’s the only classic I’ve re-read multiple times. Ayesha at Last is a Pride and Prejudice retelling that has been handled so smartly. Uzma Jalaluddin kept important plot beats of the original work in and punched the storyline up with issues and topics that make sense in a Southeast Asian and Muslim background. With all of the references to Bollywood movies, it makes sense that this book was drenched in delicious drama. I was so happy for it and the beautiful happily ever after! All in all a great read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Abortion, and Toxic friendship
kaerene's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
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
4.5
Ayesha at Last was so good!!! I got halfway through and didn’t want to finish it because I knew I was going to be sad when I did.
This was such a great Pride and Prejudice retelling as the previous one I read just didn’t hit for me. Every big plot point in the original fit (more or less) with this adaptation. My only gripe with the story was that I thought act two and the ending was a little rushed because the author spent half the book on Ayesha and Khalid’s budding feelings. And that part I loved!! This whole book was a slow burn enemies to lovers and I loved it. And it’s absolutely hilarious too (Masood’s texts 🤣🤣🤣 IYKYK) there were many times while reading that I just had to close the book to laugh my butt off. 10/10 would recommend.
This was such a great Pride and Prejudice retelling as the previous one I read just didn’t hit for me. Every big plot point in the original fit (more or less) with this adaptation. My only gripe with the story was that I thought act two and the ending was a little rushed because the author spent half the book on Ayesha and Khalid’s budding feelings. And that part I loved!! This whole book was a slow burn enemies to lovers and I loved it. And it’s absolutely hilarious too (Masood’s texts 🤣🤣🤣 IYKYK) there were many times while reading that I just had to close the book to laugh my butt off. 10/10 would recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Islamophobia
Moderate: Alcoholism
siobhanward's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
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? No
4.0
Uzma Jalaluddin has quickly become a must-read author for me. She can write anything and I'll read it. I love that her characters tend to be in their mid-late twenties and still figuring things out. Too often authors just don't write that age and either make their protagonists very young, or make them have everything figured out by 30. Her characters are so sweet and unique and I love watching their growth in a book. This one definitely had some wild, over the top moments (Tarek's whole plotline, etc), but I still had a lot of fun with the book. I can't wait to see what's next from Jalaluddin.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, and Islamophobia
kristinj1's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
This is a really interesting story, mainly because it was a world that I really know nothing about and having zero experience with. There were a few things about the writing that I bumped against, but overall I think the story was a really interesting one. Depicting a few people who were set up as villains in the story as just overall bad people without any redeeming qualities. It feels like these were based on real life people and had realistic stories, so feel weird that they already picked it in such a negative way without any mitigating circumstances or stories to be told. That being said, it was still really fascinating look at a Muslim community in Toronto. I think I would probably read the next story in this series, we're there to be one.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
sweetsxrrxw's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.0
one thing about me is that i always end up getting stuck in reading slumps for weeks and end up finishing about 50% of the book in a day or two. this is a terrible thing because i always end up forgetting many details. but, anyways, i guess that doesn't really matter for this review.
i must confess i have never read or watched "pride and prejudice" (even though i'll have to watch the movie soon for a uni assignment, lmao) so i had no idea of how the plot would unfold but i honestly did not mind.
there are so many things i have loved about this story. so when i have recently learnt it's the author's debut novel i was surprised because it is so good. the characters she created are truly complex and i love how you couldn't always hate or love them and how they had their cons and pros (some of them felt kinda flat, though).and i love how most of the characters end up being somehow intertwined. even minor characters had some kind of closure and i really like that.
but let's focus on the main characters: khalid and ayesha. there is this other thing i genuinely loved since the beginning of the story and it's khalid standing out because of the way he dresses. usually, it's always muslim women who go through that but he always says he wants to make his identity clear and i love that so much. don't get me wrong, i like relating to hijabi characters who go through discrimination because that's what i face every day too. but i appreciate how, mostly, none of ayesha's issues were related to that. speaking of ayesha, she is also a great character and you can't help but love her. of course, i haven't always necessarily agreed with every thing she did or said (i might have a couple annotations calling her dumb, lmao) but that's what gives her character more depth.
i also love how, before getting together, they took their time to grow and become better versions of themselves.
and i could go on and talk about every other side character since, as i said, i loved many of them. but that would make this review a reaaally long one, so let's just move on.
there were scenes, paragraphs or quotes that made me giggle but i wouldn't really classify this as a funny story or even a rom-com. i think it has more drama than comedy? but i love that, of course. but then there were some parts which felt really slow :/so slow that i am kinda disappointed that we didn't get to see the main relationship properly unfold and the ending left me wanting for more. maybe a second book wouldn't be a bad idea
let me just finish this review with a quote which really ressonated with me <3
i must confess i have never read or watched "pride and prejudice" (even though i'll have to watch the movie soon for a uni assignment, lmao) so i had no idea of how the plot would unfold but i honestly did not mind.
there are so many things i have loved about this story. so when i have recently learnt it's the author's debut novel i was surprised because it is so good. the characters she created are truly complex and i love how you couldn't always hate or love them and how they had their cons and pros (some of them felt kinda flat, though).and i love how most of the characters end up being somehow intertwined. even minor characters had some kind of closure and i really like that.
but let's focus on the main characters: khalid and ayesha. there is this other thing i genuinely loved since the beginning of the story and it's khalid standing out because of the way he dresses. usually, it's always muslim women who go through that but he always says he wants to make his identity clear and i love that so much. don't get me wrong, i like relating to hijabi characters who go through discrimination because that's what i face every day too. but i appreciate how, mostly, none of ayesha's issues were related to that. speaking of ayesha, she is also a great character and you can't help but love her. of course, i haven't always necessarily agreed with every thing she did or said (i might have a couple annotations calling her dumb, lmao) but that's what gives her character more depth.
and i could go on and talk about every other side character since, as i said, i loved many of them. but that would make this review a reaaally long one, so let's just move on.
there were scenes, paragraphs or quotes that made me giggle but i wouldn't really classify this as a funny story or even a rom-com. i think it has more drama than comedy? but i love that, of course. but then there were some parts which felt really slow :/
let me just finish this review with a quote which really ressonated with me <3
"just remember to pack light. dreams tend to shatter if you're carrying other people's hopes around you."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Islamophobia, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism and Misogyny
Minor: Sexual content, Grief, Abortion, and Pregnancy
stuckinatimeloop's review against another edition
funny
reflective
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
4.0
as a south asian muslim, i loved this book. it was relatable and well written for the most part. the ending was rushed however. the conflict with tarek was introduced too late. and i would have liked to see a bit more of ayesha and khalid being together. an epilogue would have been nice.
i didn't like how sometimes india and pakistan were presented as being backwards and there was one part like this isn't india or pakistan you can do whatever you want. i'm paraphrasing here but the general gist was that over there people don't have much choice in who they marry and how they live their life. and it didn't really sit well with me. but I'll read some more from this author before i can form a valid opinion
i didn't like how sometimes india and pakistan were presented as being backwards and there was one part like this isn't india or pakistan you can do whatever you want. i'm paraphrasing here but the general gist was that over there people don't have much choice in who they marry and how they live their life. and it didn't really sit well with me. but I'll read some more from this author before i can form a valid opinion
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Abortion and Sexual harassment
aformeracceleratedreader's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
3.5
Didn't know this was a Pride and Prejudice retelling of sorts. I don't like Pride and Prejudice but I did enjoy this retelling overall. Didn't love it because the characters are frustrating but I did like the discussion of Islamophobia in Canada (it's a nice change from experiencing it/reading about it from the u.s.).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Islamophobia