Thoughtful and Deep

Loved this novel, it was very thought out, great character development, realistic and well written. It was not a fast paced storyline but honestly I don’t mind that. It is very insightful and thought provoking, to do that it needs to be slower and methodical. Some lines I had to read twice because of the power behind them.

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Etaf does it again

Etaf has a way of really making you feel like you’re in the characters shoes. Loved it

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If You Wanna Be Depressed & Angry With Men For 11 hrs, Read This Book … 🥺

Wow … Okay, so first of all, I was genuinely excited to read this book … Keyword here: “was” … I WAS excited to read a book about another culture, one I, admittedly, knew almost nothing about. But, my God, this book was hard to get through!! I’m not saying that it was hard to read or anything like that, but for most of the book nothing really happens! And I mean, NOTHING!! I’m serious, found myself falling asleep to the audiobook out of complete BOREDOM!! (If it wasn’t for reading this for a book club meeting this month (needless to say, it wasn’t my choice of book anyway this month), I would have probably given up on the book a long time ago … & I’m not one to give up on books easily, trust me! I also have not read the author’s first novel yet, which I’m told is better than this one … ) Like many reviewers, I also found this book to be very repetitive, as well. I just wanted to slap some sense into Fadi, the husband, & scream, “C’mon! Wake up! This isn’t the 1950’s!! Treat your wife better!! And help out around the house more!!” EVERY TIME he opened his mouth!! 😡😡 It was also VERY predictable, too, like by the middle of the book I knew exactly where it was headed … There WERE a few bright spots in the novel, hence the 2 stars ⭐️⭐️ rating I gave! First, I have a suspicion that the author MIGHT be a Swiftie (which I am too!) As an example, Yara (the MC) & Fadi go to his old HS’s buddy’s house for dinner (that’s another thing that seemed odd: she, Yara, kept mentioning the “community” that they’re a part of, but she, herself, didn’t seem to have any Arab friends, male or female, that were part of this “community” that she kept mentioning) & the whole scene felt a little like the dinner scene in the ‘All Too Well: Short Film’ (Swifties will know what I’m talking about here 😉), as well as some other things that reminded of Taylor’s lyrics! 😁 Also, another bright spot was the food that Yara cooked for her family! My God, it seemed delicious!! 😋 I haven’t eaten a lot of Arabic food, but I SO wanted to try some of her food!! 😋 Another bright spot in the book was Silas!! My God, that man was the SWEETEST!! Too bad he’s gay!! 😅 The romantic in me SO wanted Yara & him to end up together (& bonus: he CAN cook, too)!! 😂🥰 Oh, well, at least Yara had 1 real friendship by the end—& hopefully, more in the future! 😁 One thing I DO kinda wished we got with Silas was HIS POV at some points in the story, his thinking. If I was Yara’s friend & I truly cared about her, I would have told her, “Look, Yara, your husband is gaslighting you. You NEED to leave him. You know that, right?” But instead Silas was like, “Yeah, whatever you wanna do.” It’s like, “No, Silas. Not whatever. This marriage IS unhealthy & you CAN tell her that. You’re her friend, not her therapist.” But I guess that would defeat the point of making Yara come to that realization on her own, but still … it WOULD have been nice to know HIS thinking during all this … Anyway, those were my honest thoughts on the book; didn’t really like it, except for a few moments … 🥹 (Oh, & I should mention that I knew nothing of the author’s “recent political views” on Instagram before reading this book, so this review is based purely off of my thoughts/opinions on her book, nothing else. 😊)

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Beautiful story I want to read more of this book

This was a beautiful story understanding a bit of Palestinian culture and anyone who has immigrated from another culture and suffer many tramas and how to heal from it. It is so well written and lovely to she such strong women characters and resilience.

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How can you not listen?

Listening to this book, I could identify with the main character as a woman, for social pressures, for traditional expectations put on women, the search for identity, the unhealthy marriage… the list continues. As much as I am not Palestinian or even Arab, there are some universal truths that speak to all women, so I could definitely empathize with her story.

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On my best of this year

I will admit that I found this novel as it was recommended to me on another platform. I am OVERJOYED at the fact that I went ahead and picked it up on Audible.

Yara is undergoing some serious changes, and these changes all start when she is put on probation at work for lashing out at a co worker that was honestly very deserving of what they were told.

The novel follows Yara as she tries to consolidate her past, and her present, as she works and makes tough decisions regarding her future. Womanhood, grief, post partum, and the complex relationships that mothers and daughters have are heavy topics that are included in this book.

5 stars, and a must listen for sure.

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Did not enjoy it

Did not enjoy, for way too many reasons to list here. The main reason it was boring and unrealistic.

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Beautiful book

Performance made the book even better. Amazing book about personal growth and overcoming challenges a lot of women feel.

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Incredible

This was such an amazing book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Such an intimate look into this characters life and situation. I loved it.

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Excellent

Rum is such a talented writer. Her words make the people (and foods) feel as though they are in the room with you. Excellent audiobook!

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