I read this in lockdown and I devoured it. I am always on the lookout for books like this. This book features to brown Muslim characters and I love that representation for me. It is witty. It has good writing and makes beautifully care for the characters.

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to review this book. A quick YA read filled with a cute romance that grows

Thank you to the publisher for my eARC copy of this book. Unfortunately I didn’t love this book and therefore didn’t finish, I just didn’t connect with this one. Not for me, sorry.

Such a cute read! I loved Masood's writing and the characters were so unapologetically themselves! It was so good and one of my favourite contemporaries now!

This was a quick, fun, YA romance that covered some important topics. I enjoyed it being from the POV of a male character and the discussions about arranged marriages, history and being Muslim. The characters were well written and I had fondness towards a lot of them. I really enjoyed this and will be checking out other works by this author.

I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. These opinions are my own.

I enjoyed it so much. I loved the writing style and I also liked the characters. It was just so funny and sweet :-) If you are looking for something to get your mind off things, read this book!

I can't believe I put off reading this book for so long because I loved it so much. I read this book in one day simply because I couldn't put it down.

'More Than Just A Pretty Face' follows Danyal, an aspiring chef, who has always had a crush on Kaval, but when his parents set him up with Bisma for a possible arranged marriage, he begins to fall for her.

I absolutely loved reading from Danyal's perspective and found him to be such a likeable main character and I loved being in his head. I loved his passion for food and how even though his parents and friends told him that it wasn't a career he should strive for, he still continued to follow his dreams. Also all of the food talked about in this book definitely made me hungry. I really loved Bisma and felt like she was treated so unfairly by both her parents and her peers, simply because she made a mistake and lost her virginity to a guy who filmed it and posted it online. This book did a good job at showing how hypercritical the world is when it comes to women and their sexuality, and how women are treated horribly simply because they make a mistake.

I really enjoyed the historical aspect of this too. I liked how the book shone a light on a part of Churchill's history which is not taught in schools and, how even though everyone told him not to write his presentation about the bad side of Churchill, Danyal still did that because he believed it was the right thing to do to speak up on a part of history that is not normally talked about.

I really loved 'More Than Just A Pretty Face' and found myself tearing up a bit at the end because I just wanted Danyal and Bisma to be happy together.

'More Than Just A Pretty Face' is a cute young adult contemporary which touches on a lot of important topics and it is definitely one I'd recommend that you read.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I had to put this book down, however, I am incredibly grateful and appreciate the opportunity. Thank you, Netgalley!

I thought this was a good debut novel for the YA category. The author has definitely created a unique voice, and a lot of people will find representation in this.. It was well written, and the pacing was good. The issues that I had with it were down to personal preference, as I did not like the characters but that is not a reflection of the novel. I cannot comment on the muslim perscepctive, however I have seen a lot of reviews by muslim women who have been angered by the way Islam is presented. I would suggest that the publisher puts books of the sorts through sensitivity readers.

The misogyny and objectification of women present at the very beginning of this novel put me off continuing. As a result, I will not be continuing on with this book.

This was a great book to end my summer contemporary binge with. This was such a cute, fast paced read and I complete fell in love with the romance and the premise of chasing your dreams that we see throughout the book. Along side this it also focuses on important social, political and religious themes. Overall I gave this 3.5 out of 5 stars.

How did I forget to send my review in for this book?
I really enjoyed reading More Than A Pretty Face, it tackled so many different things from racial issues, different religious views, culture, friendship, childish crushes and so much more.

Danyal Jilani was definitely a character that was so fun to read about, I absolutely love his mother and his hilarious best friend. Although I did hate the character he had a “crush” on in the beginning but I’m fully satisfied with the character he ends up with.

At times I forgot that Danyal was still a teenager who was still working through his rebellious phase and he was still understanding how things work. He had a complicated relationship with his father and a very sweet one with his mother. I loved seeing him go through this journey where he learned so much about the people around him and how he grew as a character and supported the girl he loved when so many people judged her, for her reckless past choices.

This book will always have a special place in my heart, it gave me so many different emotions, ranging from full-belly laughs and absolute hatred for a few characters and even a warm feeling in my heart for when Danyal was an absolute sweetheart.

I must admit I found it pretty difficult to get past the first half of this book, but after that the story was sailing and interesting and page gripping.

If you are looking for a fun light hearted young romance which also involves some pretty serious world issues, this is the book for you!

It's a book that addresses very interesting political, social and cultural themes and which should appeal to adult readers. I enjoyed the backstory which deals with colonialism. There is an instructive reflection on how historical narratives are told by the "winners."
The romance was flawless. I appreciated Danyal’s growth. If at first he was attracted to the superficial, over time he will mature and gradually give value to more real aspects. Indeed, the female characters Kaval and Bisma will help him go through that. Nevertheless, I would have liked to know more about Bisma. A story built on the basis of alternating opinions would have been better.The themes related to certain habits of the Indian tradition were related in a funny way and nicely.

What about the religion part? Unfortunately, it was the negative point of my reading. I would enjoy it if the characters were nuanced and complex. But they were not. I was irritated by some situations that were harsh and judgemental. Some subjects were not exploited well, as it should have. Very sad.

Overall, it's a well-written (but not only) romance with a deep and clever plot. But if you are looking for a book with a good representation of Muslim characters, this is not the one.

It was strange, at first, to dive into this book, Danyal was trying a bit too hard to be liked.

Danyal, a self-confident Pakistan-American teenager, who still goes to school and works as a part-time chef in a French restaurant. Danyal struggles to balance religion and "the American Dream", pleasing his parents but also leading a happy life.

I caught a glimpse into different culture, different religion and a different way of life. This I really liked.

The love story between Danyal and Bisma started a bit late, but it was sweet anyway.

More Than Just a Pretty Face is a novel that deserves a great deal of praise. This YA romance incorporates a great deal of culture, I am not an Own Voices reviewer for the commnities explored, but I was filled with joy as I read it.
It was an absolute pleasure to see Danyal and Bisma slowly deepen their bond and grow closer, giving us a very much needed dose of romance. The layered nature of the characters and the community in which they live gave for a enjoyable read not to mention the history I learned as I read.
I would whole-heartedly reccomend this to anyone.

Own-voices South Asian YA, sign me up please! This is a sweet story, though not quite something I would ordinarily seek out, but the author and setting got me. I don’t want to say much, just that I enjoyed it more than I expected!

(Review copy from Netgalley)

I feel very conflicted about this book.
In my mind, this book was a solid 4 star read, it kept my attention throughout and I hardly could put it down.
But, since I couldn't speak for the accuracy of the diversity rep in this one, I went on to goodreads to read reviews from #ownvoices reviewers and the things that I thought were great representation apparently read as the rituals of Muslim religion were trivialized and ridiculed within the pages. What I read as funny (and that is entirely my fault) is actually hurtful representation to Muslim readers and thus, I don't feel comfortable being the spokesperson on how it appealed to me.

That being said, I really enjoyed Masood's writing style - it flowed so easily and the characters really sprang to life and it was written so engagingly that I flew through the book in two quick sittings.
Aside from the religious aspect that I again can't speak about, I was really into the romance. It was so nice to see YA characters actually communicating and talking about issues and not just have these miscommunications. For that alone, this would deserve the full five stars.

More Than Just a Pretty Face by Syed M. Masood is a young adult contemporary, romance about a muslim American boy, Danyal Jilani who lacks confidence and has never been his father's most proud son. He always wanted to be a Chef since the start. We see alot of funny yet sweet comments in this book which made it a pleasant read.

Danyal has always been in love with Kaval, his childhood friend whom he wants to marry someday. But both of them have completely different lifestyle and also a completely different way of looking at life. Well, he is hesitant to say this out loud to Kaval, but even Kaval has always been aware of his feelings.

Well to be honest, I did not like the character of Kaval, I am abit confused with the way her character is portrayed. At one side she says even she loves Danyal, but not the way he is. He wishes to pursue her career as a chef which is not a high paid job but Kaval has always been rich and she wants him to go to college and study further.

Danyal has been selected for or Renaissance Man--a school-wide academic championship--it's the perfect opportunity to show everyone he's smarter than they think. He then meets Bisma, who is smart and good looking. She helps him with the preparation for the same.

But overall the book is so much more than only their lovestory, its about their family differences, building a life and fulfilling his own dreams. The french chef reference was also great. We see alot of references and ideologies of muslim culture here. Overall, I really recommend this book.
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Thank You to NetGalley, Author and the Publisher for providing me the e-copy in exchange of a honest opinion.

loved reading this book and was so grateful to be able to read an advanced copy on netgalley. It explores so much as others tend to in this genre of book, however i do think at times that this was done too much which did distract from parts of the story. the characters were for the most part likeable, however it did suffer at times from having some tropes that other YA books suffer from. overall however, this being said i did like the story and how sweet the relationship in it was.