Reviews with content warning for Addiction - Love Marriage

To be honest, this was as frustrating to read as it was compulsively readable. 😅 It’s one of those where you want to SHAKE all of the characters for being self-absorbed jerks…but you’re secretly praying for their evolution, growth, and redemption. By the end, I was celebrating little victories, mourning endings (even if they were inevitable), and crossing my fingers for the future. Despite a stray, awkward sentence or two, I think this was very well-done.

Note: TW for abuse (domestic, sexual, emotional). This is called “a riveting social comedy” but it isn’t. Not really. It’s about families, which means that it has its share of tenderness and ribbing but the trauma and struggle, for me, felt a lot more prevalent — even alongside the love. Despite the author’s clear wit, I don’t think this can properly be called a “comedy” without conveying a half-truth about tone.

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rworrall78's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-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

3.75

It took me too long to get into the characters. It was very London. But I did stick with it and I loved the ending, in the last 70 pages I finally found myself really wanting to pick it up and not want to put it down.

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sandysmith's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad medium-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

4.0

Yasmin Ghorami is engaged to fellow doctor Joe Sangster, loving families merging together. Yasmin and her brother Arif brought up by Baba the patriarchal Doctor father and their mum Anisah. Arif and Baba have a strained relationship, which deteriorates when it's found out his girlfriend Lucy is pregnant. Joe has a difficult relationship with his overbearing mother, Harriet, and is in therapy for his secret sex addiction. Secrets, lies, race, class, gender, faith, sexuality, clashing cultures, relationships, and family rifts are at the heart of this book. It is a messy story of strained family dynamics. A great compelling read

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lngoo's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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

3.5

Overall I enjoyed it but some parts felt like it was dragging, and then the ending felt quite abrupt

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bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective slow-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

3.0

I struggled to rate this because, by and large, I did enjoy it. Ali has crafted a family saga for the ages, her characters distinctly drawn, their overlapping stories and struggles compelling. (I recall reading a review that compared it to a Dickens novel, which feels apt!) But I also found it incredibly slow to read -- the pace isn't entirely there, and I don't think the story warrants five hundred pages. Make of that what you will.

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katgent's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-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

4.25

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liblibby's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-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

It’s not the most fast-paced book I’ve ever read by any means—which is just fine. The author put in so much work to make sure that we love these characters which gives us grace for them when they do things that seem destructive.
It’s a beautiful story about all sorts of relationships and the way they can shift and change in our lives.

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