As seen on The Today Show! One of the best summer romance picks!One of Publishers Weekly Best Romance Books of 2019!A modern-day Muslim Pride and Prejudice for a new generation of love.Ayesha Shamsi has a lot going on. Her dreams of being a poet have been set aside for a teaching job so she can pay off her debts to her wealthy uncle. She lives with her boisterous Muslim family and is always being … She lives with her boisterous Muslim family and is always being reminded that her flighty younger cousin, Hafsa, is close to rejecting her one hundredth marriage proposal. Though Ayesha is lonely, she doesn’t want an arranged marriage. Then she meets Khalid, who is just as smart and handsome as he is conservative and judgmental. She is irritatingly attracted to someone who looks down on her choices and who dresses like he belongs in the seventh century.
When a surprise engagement is announced between Khalid and Hafsa, Ayesha is torn between how she feels about the straightforward Khalid and the unsettling new gossip she hears about his family. Looking into the rumors, she finds she has to deal with not only what she discovers about Khalid, but also the truth she realizes about herself.
more
The plot had many twists and turns, but they all fit together in the end. There were a lot of well-drawn characters, and many of them real characters with quirks or horns or halos. A real page turner with an occasional out-loud laugh.
Ayesha at Last is a wonderful book. It lets you step into the Moslem world of Canada where the immigrants face the challenges of honoring their past and living in the present. If you like exploring the world, and living in someone else’s shoes this is a book for you. The author says this is a modern day Pride and Prejudice. As a companion piece, I suggest you read White Teeth by Zaidi Smith to gain more compassion and understanding of what immigrants go through.
As a second generation American, my family left me few stories of their former lives and struggles. My grandfather used to say,” What the heart can’t see, the eyes can’t cry about.” We were tough Scandinavians.
We have a great deal to learn about each other.. This is a delightful and romantic way to do so.
I really liked Khalid. I loved his devotion to his beliefs, faith, and the fact that he didn’t see the need to change his appearance to appease others. He was a very genuine person, if not a bit naive. His interaction with Ayesha were cute and the fact that he didn’t know how to act around her and his growing attraction made for a sweet romance. I could have just read about these two and could have done without the rest. Ayesha and Khalid sort of tip toe around each other, unsure of the other, as they get to know one another was so much fun to read. It was the best part of this book. I also liked Ayesha a lot. She never hesitated to speak her mind. Seeing her interact with her family was the best. I just didn’t care for her over the top cousin Hafsa.
The first half of this book was really good. I liked Khalid and Ayesha. I think the discrimination in the workplace Khalid faced at work was very well done. The struggle Khalid faced about changing his appearance was well done even if I didn’t like how he changed at the end. I liked the family dynamic and that we get to see what its like at the mosque they attend.
The only thing I didn’t like is how much the second half of this book had too much going on. Hafsa was too much drama and I really didn’t like her, not even by the end when she “got her act together.” Tarik’s character was unnecessary and his reasoning for doing what he did was dumb. I wish that things with Khalid’s sister would have truly had an ending and wrapped everything up. Khalid’s overbearing mother was too much and made to look just plain evil. I didn’t like the separation that happens between Ayesha and Khalid and it really just broke my heart and made me a little angry.
All in all I definitely enjoyed this book. Despite the things I didn’t like I couldn’t help enjoying this book the whole way through.
There are not many modern Islamic romance novels out there, so this is one of them that I love so much. Even though the author said it was inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, I somehow thought this novel is so original. I love all the characters, the problem solving, the ending. Love it so much!
So fun to read, thoroughly entertaining!
Delightful and entertaining!
I loved this book! The characters were well formed and interesting. There were even a few twists and turns. I loved the character development and learning more about the Muslim culture. So romantic!
Non-European/Non-Anglo romances are having a moment and I love this trend. I want to mix my reading of Regency and traditional romance historicals with new material and new characters. We’re seeing a surge in popularity of TV shows like Shtisel and You’ll Always be My Maybe on Netflix, films and books like Crazy Rich Asians, and now, Ayesha At Last.
Ayesha at Last is a lovely addition to my booklist. The characters had the sort of problems modern readers can relate to–paying the bills, meeting personal and professional goals, dealing with family, and finding a partner. At the same time, they’re navigating being Muslim in the Western and largely non-Muslim community of Toronto and dealing with the choices involved as immigrants and first generation Canadians.
I don’t believe the book benefited from comparisons to Pride and Prejudice. I would rather have judged it solely on its own merits while I was reading it, not trying to place a template of Darcy over Khalid or Lady de Bourgh over Khalid’s mother or view [redacted] as Wickham.
I also wish we’d seen more of the large ladies with their lingerie company, which could have been a real character developing moment for Khalid. His prejudiced boss was drawn with such broad strokes I expected her to twirl a mustache. Ayesha’s lies caught her in a web of her own devising and I didn’t have much sympathy for her.
But at the end of it all, it was a satisfying and interesting romance. I was tickled by the similarities between certain ethnic and religious communities. You could have tweaked this and plopped it down in Williamsburg or Crown Heights and the issues, characters and concerns would have been pretty much the same. An entertaining summer reading choice!
My first impression of Ayesha wasn’t that positive, she was hiding out in a bathroom writing a poem instead of being in her classroom, teaching. But the more I got to know her, the more she grew on me. In her Canadian community, she’s practically an old maid because she isn’t married (and the aunties aren’t all that impressed that she works, but at least it’s a “respectable” job, for a woman.) Ayesha doesn’t think she will ever get married, unlike her cousin Hafsa who is getting proposals left and right.
Enter Khalid. He is a devout Muslim and he makes no apologies for how he practices his faith. With a long beard and traditional robe, he is often singled out. His new boss, Sheila, isn’t tolerant of him at all, especially since he advised her his religion prohibited him from shaking her hand. She’s made it clear she wants him out, only she has to do it without getting caught that she’s against all Muslims.
So the characters here were great in what they were meant to be. The more I got to know Khalid, the more I liked him. He sticks by his beliefs and does what he thinks is right. Except for my previous issue with Ayesha, I liked her. She too always tried to do what was right. She is unapologetically outspoken, and I loved it when she stood and spoke up. Hafsa I absolutely hated, she was flighty, selfish, and irresponsible. Jalaluddin wrote her to be unlikable very well.
I loved watching things unfold between Ayesha and Khalid. When Khalid started to open up, the book pace and storyline picked up as well, making it hard to put down. I found myself cheering Khalid on whenever he did anything outside of his norm. The story was told in alternating viewpoints from Khalid to Ayesha, and I think the author did this well. Well-written with entertaining characters, Ayesha at Last was a fun read.
Uzma Jalaluddin blazes a brilliant new trail with Ayesha At Last, a captivating romance set in the Muslim community, brimming with humour and heart. You will fall in love with Ayesha and Khalid — an Elizabeth and Darcy for our times.
I have to be honest and say that “Ayesha at Last” wasn’t a story that grabbed my attention and screamed to be read. However, after having been kindly given the book and recommended by a friend, I decided to give it a go.
I’m pleased that I did, as it turned out to be quite a humorous and enjoyable story based on a modern day Muslim Pride and Prejudice. I liked the main character, captivating and outspoken Ayesha, though I didn’t warm to her potential suitor Khalid at all. His boss ‘Sheila the Shark’ who was quite the racist towards him, made for interesting reading to see how he handled the many jibes and hurtful remarks towards himself and his obvious devout faith. The author hasn’t been scared either to make fun at times of the Muslim traditions regarding arranged marriages etc but on a serious note I did learn a lot about the Muslim cultures and I liked how the story embraced both Muslim and non Muslim characters to give a balanced story.
In general the plot is entertaining though I did find my attention diminishing slightly towards the end but it was a fun rom-com, very modern and written well by debut author Uzma Jalaluddin and I can see this doing very well by romantic fiction readers.
3 stars
Wow! Get this book. Read this book. Recommend this book to others.
First off, I have not been able to finish Pride and Prejudice. I know it’s a classic and has been “retold” in countless books, but the original and its characters just grate on my nerves. I’ve never made it past the third chapter despite several attempts. When the author mentioned P&P being one of her ultimate favourites and her debut novel being inspired by it, I was concerned. Was this going to be another torture of a read? Would this book also get dumped onto the small mountain of books that will never take me to their completion? Final verdict: no it would not disappoint! I was pleasantly surprised and very relieved with her retelling set in a Muslim community in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada.
There is a very modern setting, with relevant and timely characters and plotlines. I gained knowledge of some inner-workings of the Muslim community without it being clunky or tiresome. For example, the author describes a character adding this and that to a pot, then seamlessly reveals the character is making chai tea. For the uninitiated to chai, the understanding is there without it feeling lecture-ish boring. To those who know chai, it felt natural. The main characters are three-dimensional and make decisions that are foolish and regretable, just like real people. There are small transformations and growth that feel organic and reasonable while remaining true to the character personalities that have been laid in the foundations. An easy read, with literal Laugh Out Loud moments, and a satisfying ending that doesn’t feel forced or cliche.