By Alina Khawaja
Star rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice rating: 🌶️
Blurb
A bride-to-be convinced she’s cursed in romance finds her luck changing—at exactly the wrong time.
Maya Mirza is so convinced she’s unlucky in love that she’s come up with a list of laws to explain it. Most importantly…
But that’s about to change. Maya’s headed to Pakistan for an arranged marriage with a handsome, successful doctor who ticks all the right boxes. First comes marriage, then comes love—she’s sure of it. Except…
From the start, Maya's journey is riddled with disaster, and the cynical lawyer seated next to her on the plane isn’t helping. When a storm leaves them stranded in Switzerland, she and Sarfaraz become unlikely travel companions through bus breakdowns and missed connections.
And before long, Maya’s wondering whether she’s just experienced the ultimate in misfortune—finally meeting the right man a few days before she marries someone else. And Maya might just be the worst person to keep a secret.
But maybe, if she’s willing to bend some laws, this detour could take her somewhere totally—and wonderfully—unexpected.
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Read if you Like:
☂️ Multicultural romance
☂️ Forced proximity
☂️ Self discovery
☂️ One bed
☂️ Family drama
My Thoughts:
A road trip riddled with bad luck is always fun for comedy and bonding! Readers will love seeing Maya learn what she wants and who will make her happy.
While this story is a romance, it focuses a lot on Maya's self-discovery. I related a lot to her struggle to not give in to the expectations others had for her. It can be easy to want people you love to be happy and let that overshadow what makes you happy.
I really enjoyed the book's exploration of arranged marriage and how it is viewed in different cultural contexts. I found myself agreeing with the book's view of arranged marriage even if it is not something I would ever choose.
This book is funny, has interesting characters, and is well written. I enjoyed learning more about Pakistani culture and what it is like to live in another country and try to maintain cultural identity. I will note that readers who don't like cheating under any circumstances will not enjoy this one. I usually don't enjoy characters developing feelings for someone else in a relationship but in this case, I thought it made sense.
🌶️ - Only kissing.
Thanks to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for my eARC. All opinions are my own.
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