Wasn't able to read and give feedback before book was removed from e-reader



Becoming a mother has always been Farah’s dream so when older sister Fatima struggles with a tough pregnancy whilst Farah has trouble conceiving she cant help but be jealous. Until a plan to break a huge cultural taboo in her family, and use a surrogate gives her a renewed hope. But nothing is ever that easy in this warm, witty look at a modern British family.

3.5/5
This was a definite improvement on the first one of the series to me. I had found the first one very fatphobic, which made me quite apprehensive about reading this, but I found this book much kinder to Fatti.
An interesting and funny look at families, what sisterhood means, and the ways we can hurt but also heal one another.
I would like to hear more about Mae in the future, it'd be interesting to hear more from her perspective.

If I am honest I found getting into the story here a little difficult as it was a slow burner but, once I got to around a quarter of the way in I started to get a feel for the characters and the story held me a little more.

It's really lovely the way the story develops to demonstrate the bonds within the Amir family and how they support each other through some difficut times.

I felt some of the characters like Mae and Jay could have a little more of a role in the story though and would have liked to see more of how they added to the family dynamic.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this.

First book by this author and not sure I would be rushing back. I prefer her as a tv personality and if i am not mistaken it is not purely written by her... Ayisha malik should get some of the credit. Not a fan when this happens with books.
As for the story i found ut difficult to get into and was skimming a lot of it. Felt like baby this baby that to me.
Sorry just not to my taste.

This is my first read by this author and as such I have not read book one in the series.
This is the story of the four Amir Sisters Bubblee Mae Fatima and Farah. They’re very close to each other. Farah has trouble conceiving a baby while older sister Fatima struggles with a difficult pregnancy. This increases Farah’s jealousy. Then Surrogacy is put forward as an answer to the problem.
From the start Farah is having difficulty following her husbands car crash. The family are living within the Muslim religion and culture.
The novel is sad in parts with Farah’s husband depressive mental health concerns.
I know the author was on ‘The Great British Bake Off’ although I have never watched that programme. I believe this book was 'ghost written' by Ayisha Malik whose name I cannot see mentioned on the credits.
I felt this book concentrated too much on minor details of family life It felt very intrusive, irritating and claustrophobic as a result for me. However others may see it as a normal busy family involved in each others lives
Having read I think the reader will enjoy this one or not depending on how they can identify with it. It was not to my taste but others may enjoy it and I would recommend it for consideration as such.

I adore Nadiya Hussain as a TV personality, and I'm fast becoming a fan of her books. I enjoyed this and will definitely buy her next one.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read this.

Really enjoyed this book, having read the first one (which is recommended to get the most out of this one). hope Nadiya continues to regale us with tales like this.

it felt unedited and like the author was trying to talk about issues more than tell a story and ended up doing a poor job of both. I understand its a sequel and maybe it would have felt different if I had read the first book. I do feel like stronger editing would make a difference.

I had not read the first book and did not realise this was a sequel until I started reading but that did not hamper my enjoyment of reading this book.
It is a very light read and there were some laugh out loud moments. All the sisters are Muslim and from a Bengali background and the book follows them through the trials and tribulations they go through as tragedy strikes them.
I read this book fairly quickly but didn’t really connect or empathise with any of the sisters and so I give this 3 stars.

I really loved this book. It was sweet, romantic and funny, and a great addition to the Amir Sisters saga.
What I really liked about this book was that even though it is a very positive book, it portrayed the downs of a loving relationship, using a very relatable subject matter – different experiences of pregnancy. Farah and Fatima’s relationship is tested and it is heartbreaking seeing them go through their personal struggles.

The Fall and Rise of the Amir Sisters is the sequel to 2017's The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters. I haven't read the first book, but I think this stands alone and it's fairly easy to get the gist of what has happened previously.

The Amir sisters are all moving on to the next stages in their lives: Fatti is coping with a difficult pregnancy, Mae is off to university, Bubblee is having a career crisis and Farah is struggling with infertility. As events unfold, despite their love for each other, the bonds of sisterhood are stretched.

I love Nadiya and I really wanted to love this book - but it was just ok. Some bits were great - I loved the scene at the hairdressers and the WhatsApp chats. Something just fell a bit flat and as much as I tried to like some of the characters I just didn't. Some of the plot is really well developed and engaging, but sometimes it jumps forward within a chapter as if to just move on to the interesting thing.

This is readable and can see that some people would love it. It's interesting to see a Bengali family portrayed in an everyday way and the struggles and misunderstanding between the generations will resonate with readers.

Thank Nadiya Hussain, HQ and NetGalley for this advanced copy in return for an honest review.

I could not resist reading this heartwarming and comic novel co-authored novel from British Bake Off winner, Nadiya Hussain. This is the second in the Amir sisters series, although it works reasonably well as a standalone, bearing in mind much has happened previously. There are four Amir sisters, Fatima, twins Bubblee and Farah, and the youngest, Mae. As is often the case, this is a family of secrets, for example, Mae is mad about social media and is secretively blogging about her family. Fatima is struggling with a difficult pregnancy and Farah is having problems conceiving, desperate to have a child. This must be such a heartbreaking position to be in and it is barely surprising that Farah is both envious and resentful of her sister. We follow the turbulent family dramas as Farah finds herself in unthinkable cultural territory, of solving her problems through surrogacy. This is an entertaining and humorous look at family, sisterhood, facing heartbreaking problems and coming to terms with who you are. Many thanks to HQ for an ARC.

I had loved watching Nadiya Hussain on Great British Bake Off, cheered and cried when she won. So you can imagine my excitement when I spotted she had written a fiction book (The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters)! I added it (at least mentally) to my to read list, but then I saw the second book was coming, so I ran off and got the first so I could review the second!

In the first book The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters (available on Amazon, and every where you can buy books) looks at all the secrets the sisters, and family, have from one another, and the chaos that it can cause on their lives. Fatima (Fatti) feels out of place, still living at home with her parents in her 30s, wanting more, and coping with her feelings by eating. Farah lives a perfect life, with her successful husband, in a beautiful home, is the dependable one, but then her husband is in an accident, and things start to unravel. Bubblee has never approved of her twin, Farah, marrying Mustafa, and not just because he was their first cousin, but at least she’s left the village, can live her life, and create her art in London, which means success must just be around the corner, right? Mae is the youngest, and obsessed with social media, and blogging about her family. But she blogs about her family anonymously, so no one will ever connect the dots...

In The Fall and rise of the Amir Sisters, Mae is off to university, Bubblee is visiting home, Farah is desperate for a baby, and Fatti is happy, and we know that everything is going to change.

I enjoyed seeing where the characters went, and how things changed, even if my heart did ache for Farah and Mustafa. I thought the way the family interacts with each other is authentic (the scene in the hairdressers, for instance. Who wouldn’t want to hide from that conversation!), and you can see the love they have for each other. The characters are consistent from the first book in to the second, and Nadiya Hussain has put them through an emotional rollercoaster.

I am looking forward to the third book, which I feel must be planned!

The Fall and Rise of the Amir Sisters is out on 24th January 2019, and available on Amazon to pre-order, and everywhere else you can find books!

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and HQ (the publishers) for this book.

Check out my GoodReads profile for more reviews.

I'm torn about how to review this book. On the one hand, it's brilliant to see warm hearted rom com with British-Asian characters whose main conflict isn't their Asian-ness. On the other hand... this is a sequel to The Secret Lives of the Amir Sisters. I haven't read that book, so I think I missed some of the details that might have enhanced the experience.

This book focuses mainly on Farah and Bubblee. Farah desperately wants a child. Bubblee has lost her artistic mojo and is struggling to find her meaning in life. There is only one way Farah can have a baby and that's through ... a surrogate.

The story touches on the lives of all of the sisters and on their mother's life too. It's warm and funny in places. I liked the What'sApp group very much. There's plenty of dramatic moments too (the scene where Farah and Bubblee find Mustafa is incredible). To me, it felt as a little disjointed. This could be because I haven't read the first book in the series.

It's a well written book but I had problems in connecting to the character.
Not my cup of tea even if some parts were lovely.
Many thanks to HQ and Netgalley for this ARC

I am a fan of Nadiya. Since winning the British Bake Off a few years back, she has published some great cookbooks and quickly became a sweetheart of the nation. When I saw she wrote a fiction novel, I got excited and jumped at the opportunity to read it. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the book as much as I hoped.

The book is about 4 sisters and their everyday life with the main plotline centring around Farah who is desperate to have a baby. I am a fan of family dramas and the Amir sisters had good banter and some funny moments, but the whole book felt a bit flat for me. I felt both the story and the characters were lacking in depth. There were some big decisions made in the family, but I had trouble connecting with the main characters and understanding their thinking. Also, I didn't find the main character Farah very likeable, she was even annoying at times. Bublee was perhaps my favourite one from the bunch.
Overall, 3 stars!

A lovely lovely story a story of family love a group of sisters who stick together .An old fashioned family saga with modern day issues,#netgalley #The Falland Riseif The AmirSisters#hqpublishers

Great story about family sticking together through thick and thin, overcoming adversity. Believable characters, heartbreaking plot points with a real feel-good ending.

My review has been posted to my blog & Goodreads.

Review has also been tweeted as usual.

Thank you! :c)