Sometimes, all you want to read is a fun YA romance so thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Syed M. Masood for providing me with this proof at the perfect time in exchange for an honest review.


It’s been a long time since I read a YA contemporary romance that I had forgotten how easy and quick they are to blast through. I picked up this novel because it sounded cute and I’m trying to be more proactive about reading more diversely. Danyal knows he’s not the best at school, but he is attractive, funny, likeable, and he wants to be a chef anyway. But when he gets chosen for his school’s high profile academic competition, everyone else sees it as a chance for him to prove himself, pull himself into a passing grade, and become a viable suitor for his long time crush. He’s supposed to present a paper on Churchill and everyone knows his teacher loves Churchill. But when Danyal looks more into the history of him, he decides to show Churchill and history in a light that would definitely make sure he fails the class, but he can’t let it go. So he enlists the help of Bisma, a nerdy girl with a past she’d rather forget, and learns that maybe what he wants in love, isn’t what he really needs.

This novel was overall enjoyable, fun and surprisingly had some really deep points about Churchill, history, and the Bengal Famine. I really enjoyed the conversations the characters had about how whitewashed the history we are taught is, and how important it is to see the flaws and speak about them. This was one of the strongest points of the novel for me.

The one aspect I thoroughly enjoyed without much issue was Danyal, he was an easy character to like, though a few of the things he said did have me cringing, he was overall compelling, funny, and endearing. I loved the way he treated Bisma and her past, their relationship actually felt like one built on mutual respect and trust. It was also nice to see their romance grow, and how much they enjoyed each other’s company. I thought it was very believable and organic. Bisma herself was also a character that was easy to like, strong but also when she was ‘weak’ it didn’t make her lesser, it was clearly stated that she was struggling but it didn’t diminish her. All the characters are interesting and honestly probably the strongest thing about this novel was how distinct and individual they all were.

While it was highly enjoyable, the writing was choppy and often jumped from scene to scene before I’d even noticed what was happening. There were some moments where Masood’s writing talents really shone, Danyal Speech at the Renaissance Man, whenever the topic of history came up, and the dialogue (especially between Bimsa and Danyal) were all really easy to read and enjoy. But I don’t think it was as consistent as it could have been, it was just too disjointed. If the novel had been much longer I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed it as much as the style would’ve bugged me too much; I wanted longer scenes between the characters and often felt parts were unfinished because there were such sudden stops even when characters were mid-conversation.

I would like to state that I am in no way knowledgeable enough to comment on the representation of the Muslim faith in this novel in detail. Although I could see certain inconsistencies within the novel. I was concerned that it was the devout religious friend that had to learn to have fun and stop being so morose, instead of everyone compromising and learning from each other to reach a mutual understanding: I feel like this could’ve been handled better so show that being deeply religious doesn’t take away from the rest of your personality. There is much that definitely went over my head because I’m still educating myself, I recommend looking at the own voices reviews of this novel on Goodreads, which is what I have been doing. They explore this factor in more detail, and discusses some things about that rep that I didn’t notice as easily.

Overall this book was fun, it was easy to read and went by fast. It definitely had it’s issues, but as a YA romance it certainly had a relationship I looked forward to reading more about.

I really enjoyed this book. More Than Just a Pretty Face follows nineteen-year-old Danyal who is trying to finish high school and figure out who is he and what he wants to do with his life. However, there are many expectations placed on him by his family, friends and even the girl he is crushing on. When his family arrange for him to meet Bisma in the hope of an arranged marriage, the two become friends.

Straight away, I found Danyal to be such a likeable and relatable character.He wants to please everyone which he soon learns is impossible. There were so many times that I wanted to reach through the screen (I was reading the ebook) and hug him because he keeps being told that he doesn't have many life prospects and its 'a good job he is good looking'. I think overall, Danyal as a character and the journey he goes on in accepting who he is and trying to prove people wrong that he isn't just a 'pretty face' is a strong message and a memorable one. I really liked the relationship between Danyal and Bisma and how he tries to prove people wrong by working on this essay and how this links to the overall plot.

This is a really thought-provoking, sweet romance and this book is so much more than 'just a pretty cover'.

So..... I thought this was going to be a cute read, but instead it just made me very uncomfortable. Almost everyone in the main character's life just kept saying how dumb he is???? What's the point of that? And yeah the ending was quite predictable as well. The romance was cute though and that kept me reading (plus it was a very quick read). I wish I would have loved this, but unfortunately I didn't..

’d like to thank NetGalley and Hodder Books for providing me this E-arc for an honest review.

Introduction To More Than Just A Pretty Face
Readers are introduced to Danyal Jilani, an aspiring chef. Unfortunately, his father doesn’t approve. Along with that, his crush on Kaval isn’t going as expected. Danyal then meets Bisma, a girl who is helping him out with a history school project: the Renaissance Man. Perhaps his long time crush on Kaval might cease to exist.

The Plot
This book was one I had high hopes for and unfortunately, my expectations were not met. I was excited to read about Muslim characters I could relate too given that this is an #ownvoices book. Whilst the storyline was good, the lines between cutlure and religion were mixed and portrayed Islam and being a Pakistani-American as Danyal was in a bad light. Although some beliefs were explained about Islam such as no intimacy before marriage, the characters who were supposed to be Muslim weren’t even following them through! A lot of the time Muslim beliefs were told in a way that suited the author e.g. making disrespectful jokes about religion.

If you’re looking for a book that represents what practicing Muslims would do in this situation, then this isn’t it. However, I would have felt more comfortable and even enjoy this book more if this rom-com portrayed Asian standards more so then educating wrongly about Islam.

Given that, the romance was sweet and I did ship Danyal and Bisma! The relationship progressed with little drama from the two and more so from family or friends. This is rare to me in a YA contemporary so I definitely appreciated it!

I also love that this book explored the flaws of historical leaders like Winston Churchill. It was eyeopening and I didn’t expect to learn something new diving into this book. I found that it was presented meaningfully and was easy to digest and understand.

Characters Of More Than Just A Pretty Face
Danyal and his determination in becoming a chef was admirable. I liked how he cared about his friends sometimes before himself. He’s charming, a little arrogant about his looks and from a glance, fits into the class clown stereotype.

Bisma is a kindhearted girl despite her past. Her love for her little sister and even studying and education is something I appreciated!

Honestly other side characters were not fully developed. I felt that they were one-dimensional but they had so much potential. One character was more religious then the others. Suddenly he has no personality except to preach about how terrible the world we live in is. I can assure you that religious people do have personalities.We do not fit into the stereotype of judging non-religious people.

Conclusion
Overall I would have to rate this a one star. I do recognise that this book shed light onto matters such as double standards and colonialism, however the negatives outweigh the positives for me.

okay, now that i’ve had a good night of sleep and gathered my thoughts, i think it’s time for a review.

More Than Just a Pretty Face is actually a very great story. i was surprised to see how much fun i had while reading it. the book tells the story of danyal who is thrown into this competition against his will, so he seeks the help of bisma, this girl whom he met just recently. it’s very well-written, and the plot was not boring at all.

i absolutely loved all the talk about history and british colonization. i believe this book is a great way to make this very important issue more known amongst teens. i really liked how the author inserted it into his story and used it as a way of developing his character. i also didn’t mind it at all that the story was more about this than the romance as i was expecting, since it was actually really eye-opening.

another thing that i liked was how this story isn’t about being muslim. a lot of the story i read by muslim authors are mainly about how islamophobia and how hard it is to be muslim nowadays, and while i deeply love those ones, More Than Just a Pretty Face is anything but that. it casts muslim characters, yes, but it’s a sappy, cute, fun contemporary, and i believe we deserve those type of stories too.

with that being said, this book could’ve been a four-stars (or even a five-stars) read, if not for three issues i had with it that did hinder my enjoyment. first of all, i wish we’ve gotten more of danyal’s relationship with his father. in the beginning of the book, we see that their relationship is a rocky one, with a father constantly shaming his son for not having interests that are deemed honorable. he’s not okay with danyal wanting to be a chef instead of a doctor or engineer, which is the case of many poc families. i wish this was discussed in the book, rather than forgotten about towards the end.

my second issue is some of the jokes that i found pretty offensive, especially at the beginning of the book. for example, when danyal and bisma meet for the first time, she tells him about how someone she previously slept had taken a video while they were having sex, so now there’s a sex tape going around, and he comments: "so you’re a porn star now?", and i just...yeah. in another scene bisma comments about how danyal is "such a girl" because he has a face routine or something like that. let’s just say i was not having a blast reading that.

and finally, what really bugged me and annoyed me to death while reading this book, was the constant stereotyping of practicing muslims. one of danyal’s friends is seen as less fun and hard to hang out with because lately he spends 99% of his time practicing and when he does hang out, he shoves his beliefs down his freinds’ throats. as a fellow muslim, i know this stereotype is not only present with non-muslims, but also (and especially) among muslims. that’s why i was hoping the characters will start seeing that you can practice and be/have fun (it’s really not rocket science), but unfortunately that didn’t happen. how hard is it to believe that practicing doesn’t steer you away from having fun and living your life to the fullest?

in conclusion, as i said in the beginning, More Than Just a Pretty Face is actually a book i did enjoy. i understand why people loved it and why others didn’t. i would recommend going into it knowing everything i said above and reading other muslim bloggers’ reviews. aside from that, this is a funny and cute story that would warm your heart.

I'm unsure on how to rate this book. I feel like it had so much potential, there were a lot of things I liked but there were also a few aspects I feel conflicted about. I enjoyed the overall plot but certain parts felt a little bit off to me.

More Than Just a Pretty Face managed to educate us on important topics without sounding preachy such as the hypocrisy of praising historical figures like Winston Churchill. The discussion on colonialism especially in regards to the Bengal famine was a very important one.

I loooooved the slow burn romance in this book. The couple's witty dynamics just does things to me, their interaction and dialogues are my favourite things about this book. Honestly so adorable and hilarious.

However, I don't know how to feel about the fact that the author included a very religious character who happens to be quite one-dimensional, judgmental and uptight like that just screams stereotypical to me? Overall, I'm not sure how the Muslim representation was handled in this book, so feel free to correct me and/or educate me more on this.

More Than Just a Pretty Face was a sweet tale of first love, managing parental expectations and navigating the complexities of arranged marriages. I quite enjoyed reading from a male POV, as so often YA books have a female voice. It was also nice that the POV was respectful, as so often young males are portrayed in a negative light.

I enjoyed learning about Danyal's family and his different views of the world around him, although there weren't always particularly PC. His passion for cooking was also a joy to read, and I was hungry on more than one occasion whilst reading about his culinary pursuits. It was really sad that the people around him weren't supportive of his dream when he was clearly so good at it.

I was pretty surprised to get a history lesson throughout the pages. I didn't know much about the topic at hand, so it was great to learn about a new aspect that isn't always mentioned in the history books. It did occasionally get a little boring, as the same points were repeated a couple of times, but it was good to understand none the less.

The romance on offer was adorable, and comes about in a completely different way to a typical YA book, it added an interesting dynamic to the tale. It's not quite a love triangle, but it was lovely to see Danyal realise what he actually wanted from his relationships, and to perhaps learn not to be quite so shallow.

This was certainly a decent read, although it didn't capture my interest as much as I hoped it would. A solid three stars for me.

A cute Own voices read and I enjoyed romance elements with Danyal as well as his renaissance man speech.

But I knew from the words “it’s impossible to make a hijab sexy” I was going to find issue with the writing style. Just didn’t grab me as much as I expected

*ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!*
2.5 stars.
I am so unsure what to rate this, because while I really loved the plot and all the side characters and their own stories, I really struggled with the overall tone of the book and the way it was written. First and foremost- I thought our main character Danyal was really charming, and I loved Bisma too. I was rooting for them throughout the book- and even though Bisma's backstory was upsetting I thought it was done very well. I also really liked that while this was a light hearted and fun romance, it also touched upon some serious issues that I've never seen handled quite so well in a YA book. I love that Danyal's Renaissance Man speech tackled the long history of empires like the UK and the USA exploiting brown bodies and how that is still widely regarded by westerners as a "favour" they were doing to what were apparently undemocratic and undeveloped nations. (It probably struck such a nerve with me because that's basically what I've spent my last 4 years at uni studying). I really did like that the book highlighted the fact that this really isn't ancient history- people like Danyal's grandfather lived through it. Also, as a cynical Brit who hates the blase way our history is taught to us, I always appreciate Churchill being taken down a peg. I can't speak on the Muslim rep obviously, as I don't know much about that culture at all- but I did appreciate how multi-faceted it was. Sohrab was a really interesting character to me, as were the resulting problems and conversations his friends and sister had with him about his strong commitment to religion and how it was taking over his life.
The things I didn't like have nothing to do with plot, and more with the writing of the book. There were some odd quirks that felt John Green-esque to me, and were very repetitive and tiring. One such example- the title was repeated A LOT. The first time it was mentioned, I thought it was funny, but honestly it was said so much, again I guess in an attempt to be quirky or funny, that it made the dialogue feel very clunky. I think that's the best descriptor for these little quirks- clunky, awkward, stilted. Another example is the weird tendency to use character's full names 60% of the time. The MC would flip between calling his parents mum and dad to Aisha Jilani and Ahmed Jilani in every conversation he had with them. It was very distracting. Also, I know our MC is supposed to be a bit slow and not very academic, but there were some things he didn't know that I just couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to accept. When a 19 year old boy doesn't know about the Bengal famine? Fine. When a 19 year old boy doesn't know the expression "Break a leg"? Um, absolutely not. I would have been able to get past it if he had been written as a COMPLETE idiot, but he really wasn't.
While these things seem silly to get hung up on, they really distracted me from the plot. A good book is supposed to enthral its reader into forgetting the outside world, to completely submerge them into the story that is being told. That never happened to me with this book. I constantly was rereading portions and wishing it read a bit smoother. That being said, the development of the characters (especially Danyal, Bisma, and Sohrab) saved this from being an unenjoyable 2 star read. I'm also aware this is only the author's second book, so I would be interested to see what he comes out with next, especially if his writing style develops.
-Read as part of the Asian readathon-

Want a book that makes you laugh out loud on one page and nearly cry with frustration the next? Then More Than Just A Pretty Face is the book for you.

An engaging read which questions social norms while exploring loyalty to our family and friends.

It's well written with strong characters who you empathise with and root for as the story unfolds.

So this book was a bit of a disaster, I'm honestly shocked at how bad the Muslim rep is in this book. I've read reviews from OV reviewers which explain in detail what's wrong with the rep so as a non-muslim I won't go into it that much but everyone was so stereotypical?!
When i read at the very beginning that 'its impossible to make a hijab sexy' I knew we were in for a rough ride but the more and more stereotypical characters just really sent this novel downhill.
The love story might have been cute but it just wasn't for me.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre, I’m more into romance stories and girlie books therefore am extremely pleased and grateful to them for opening up my mind to something totally different.

I enjoyed this very much. 4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

4.5 Stars

Who doesn't love a slow-burn romance with a good lashing of humour mixed in? Not to mention mouth-watering descriptions of food and a much needed call-out of Winston Churchill. All the ingredients of a great story!

More Than Just a Pretty Face is the story of Danyal, who considers his looks and cooking abilities to be his best attributes. He's not the best at school, which is having a negative impact on his marriage prospects. Things start to change when he is introduced to Bisma by his parents, and when his history teacher chooses him to take part in the Renaissance Man competition despite his poor grades.

This was a really sweet story, though it doesn't shy away from the brutal truths about Winston Churchill and his responsibility for the Bengal Famine which took three million lives, nor how to this day people will overlook that part of history, not to mention other similar moments in history as well as awful events happening right now. The question is asked: if it were three million white Europeans Churchill starved, would such a loss be remembered differently? The answer is, of course, almost certainly. I only found out about the Bengal Famine in uni myself, and was shocked it had never come up in my history lessons before then. The way this topic is covered in More Than Just a Pretty Face is brilliantly done; the narrative is never dumbed down for younger audiences, literally delving into psychological critical theory at one point, and through the eyes of Danyal is made entirely accessible. It's also packed with emotion, and the parallels with Danyal's own life are intricately woven in a way that's really compelling.

My review so far makes this sound like a heavy story, when it's really not! Another thing it does really well is balance out its deeper themes with teenage drama and humour (and food, of course). Danyal as a main character just wants to have a good time for the most part, and to make people happy, and this comes across in his narrative voice. His relationship with Bisma is really cute and down-to-earth and not rushed at all, and plenty familial and platonic relationships are explored in this too, so the story as a whole isn't too romance-heavy.

So yeah, if you like books that are light but also tackle heavy topics, which feature cute slow-burn romances and plenty of respect for all the wonderful food of the world, this one's worth checking out!

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. We're in uncertain times right now and it's hard to get stuck into anything knowing the world is crumbling but WOW. This was a feel-good and an enlightening novel at the same time.

It's not often I see a book about a Muslim person written from a boy's perspective and for that I am grateful. We need more representation - not of Muslim girls but also of Muslim boys.

Bisma's story is an interesting one and I wish we got to see more of it but I appreciate it that this wasn't her story - it was Danyal's. His character development was immense and it was incredible to see how he changed in the face of difficult circumstances.

I LOVED the writing. It was effortless and funny in times it probably shouldn't have been - but it worked. I loved how the narrator referred to the parents by their full names rather than the traditional Mum and Dad and I loved how authentic Danyal's thoughts were. YA gets a lot of flack for being too 'old' in its writing but this book balances the thoughts of an older person and a younger one seamlessly.

This is a great feel-good book that you don't want to finish because then it means you don't get to spend time with Danyal.

This book was just WAY TOO CUTE! These are 4 stars completely well deserved now that my heart is filled with love and joy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

More Than Just a Pretty Face follows Danyal Jilani, a high school senior with a dream of becoming a chef. Danyal comes from a very traditional family who are constantly trying to find the right woman for him to marry, and constantly trying to get him to go to college. But Danyal is happy with his choice of going to culinary school and trying to achieve his dream of becoming a chef, no matter what anyone else thinks.

Unexpectedly, Danyal is chosen to represent his History class in the Renaissance Man - a school wide academic competition. And with the pressure of trying to not completely fail his essay and presentation, Danyal accepts the help of Bisma Akram - a microbiology student with a love for comic books and libraries.

Danyal and Bisma's story was just so heartwarming and incredibly cute that I can't help being giddy about them. This book covers teenage romance in a way that will just fill your heart with love and hope that teenage romance can be so much more than what you might be used to.

Not only is Danyal and Bisma's story a love story, it is also a story of family, tradition, heartbreak, and societal expectations. More Than Just a Pretty Face ropes in very serious societal and political issues into the story that give it much more depth and all the more reason to love these characters.

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!

This is the first book I've read where the main characters are Muslims. It's a good insight into the religion and the various ways people follow it.

So this starts with Danyal. He's not the best in school, but, as quite a few people point out, he's got a pretty face. It's not that he's stupid or anything. He just has other interests in life such as cooking, which he is very good at and wants to become a chef. His father doesn't agree with his career choice and they have several tense conversations. His mother, on the other hand, cannot wait to marry him off to someone who would be good for the family.

I've just struggled to write the above description without giving too much away about this story.

I did enjoy this. Danyal, as I mentioned above, may not be the brightest guy but I really grew to like him. He was quick witted and passionate about what he cared about. His Renaissance Man speech showed that perfectly. History was far from his favourite subject but the Bengal famine became something he wanted to let people know about and he did it in a way that didn't judge so much as inform. Very well thought out.

I also quite liked the romance. It was a very slow burn. They spent quite a lot of time together but mostly as friends. The more time they spent together, laughing, studying and cooking, the more the feelings grew and I was willing them to get together properly, family be damned. It took a long time, though, with other factors getting in the way.

This book was a great insight for those of us who aren't Muslim into what the religion is like and the broad range of ways you can follow it. Sohrab was very invested in the religion, Intezar wasn't following it that much, if at all, and Danyal was like a happy medium.

This was enjoyable but, for me, it was a little too focused on the history and Churchill for the Renaissance Man challenge. I know it was a big part of the plot but History for me, like Danyal, bores me. I wanted more of the romance.

Thank you to Hodder Books and Netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was really disappointed when I read this book. I was hoping to see nuanced Muslim rep in this book however that is not what was in this book.

I was really excited about this book, it sounded so cute and while the story between Danyal and Bisma was kinda cute I had some serious issues with the Muslim rep. The story between Danyal and Bisma was nice and there were some good parts especially the discussion on colonialism and whitewashing of history I found that culture and Islamic practices are often confused and mixed together and presented as one and the same which I had issues with as the cultural practices often contradict the Islamic practices. The Islamic practices were also really twisted to suit whatever point the author was making which I found really irritating as it would create more misconceptions about Islam.

How the explanations of aspects of Islam were explained seemed a bit weird at times too. I didn’t understand why some things were written in the way that they were. For example, the way the reasoning for arranged marriages were explained, essentially a halal way to have sex had me doing a double take and that wasn’t the only time I was at a loss for words as to why certain things were worded the way they were.

This was one of many occasions where Islamic practices were twisted and used to make a point rather than actually show what they are. I was pretty angry by the end of the book.

I am also tired of seeing “religious” characters shown as judgemental and just boring one dimensional characters. Danyal’s friend did nothing but haram police the other characters and was shown as judgemental towards his friends choices and that he was the only one that needed to “change” I just wish we could get more complex characters when it comes to someone practicing their faith instead of leaning into stereotypes. In fact basically all side characters were one dimensional stereotypes and I was rolling my eyes constantly.

There was also a scene where Danyal and Bisma kiss on stage in front of family friends and teachers and then Danyal’s mum throws her shoe at him and proceeds to hit him with said shoe. It was written in a light hearted joking way and then later his mum says sorry that she had to do that and it was to keep up appearances. I just could not believe that something that is actual ABUSE and an issue that many children deal with was used as a joke like this. It’s completely unacceptable.

There a couple things I did like seeing in the book. How the legacy of Churchill was discussed in the book and how he may not have been the amazing hero that everyone believes him to be. We get to see that there is more to history than what is written or learnt about. It just depends where you are in the world and what books you read.

There was also some relatable parts of the story, how Danyal was seen as a failure because he wasn’t a studious student and excelled in a parent approved field. The double stands in society that Bisma has to deal with too was so heartbreaking yet so realistic. Girls are always held to a much higher standard in Asian society than boys and girls are always blamed when they are less than perfect. So I really felt for Bisma especially how her dad treated her.

However the small positives were not enough for me to overlook the glaring issues in the book. From the awful stereotypical Muslim rep to the one dimensional characters and a story where trying to show that Danyal is “not like other Muslims” meaning he is “progressive” made me incredibly angry.

I was so disappointed with the Muslim rep in this book especially as it’s ownvoices. I did like some aspects of the story but I just wished the characters had been more complex and had actual nuanced rep rather than stereotypes.

Thank you again Netgalley for this arc !

I'm so glad that I have the chance to read this beautiful books. That give me a lot of vibe of becky albertalli's books. I totally fell in love with the character mainly the transformation of Danyal. I love his sarcastic and funny side and I laugh sooo much while reading the books. I also really love Bisma, she's probably one of those character that I can fell in love with easily.

It was funny, charming, cute - a perfect rom-com for this one. I totally can picture it as a netflix movie in the future along with TATBILB !

Please go read this beautiful book guys ! a pure gem.

I loved this book you guys. I loved it so much. I felt so SEEN in this book and honestly this doesn’t happen a whole lot but this was such an experience™. Syed M. Masood has written a funny, sweet and relatable contemporary novel with a sarcastic, earnest protagonist aka Danyal, well developed secondary characters and an utterly cute and believable romance. I genuinely couldn’t stop reading and smiling the whole time, this book is such a brilliant addition to the Y/A genre AND it’s own voices for Pakistani, Muslim rep.

It’s not often that I read books with a desi male protagonist and I was a tiny bit concerned about if I would be able to connect with the character or the story but my worries couldn’t have been more unfounded. I related to Danyal and resonated with the wider story on so many levels. Danyal’s sarcasm and irreverent wit made him a fun leading character and I loved his journey through the course of the novel and how he really comes into his own.

When we first meet him the only thing he really knows for sure is that he wants to cook, is a failure in the eyes of his parents and has a crush on Kaval, his best friends twin sister. However as the novel progresses and he meets Bisma, he starts to reevaluate who he is and his capability. I also really liked the fact that he grew to understand his dad a lot more too through his research into the Bengal famine and how this generational trauma continued. I think this will serve to educate readers who may not have heard of this moment in history before and the part Churchill had to play in it specifically.

Growing up in an Indian Muslim household, there were a lot of cultural references and other elements I understood and loved to see included. Down to the food references – keema, biryani, khichdi, achar to name just a few, it was just so nice to read. I also appreciated that the not so great sides of the desi community were touched upon and explored. This all felt realistic and was honest without being stereotypical or overly critical, it just felt true, at least in my experience. Stories like Bisma's are not uncommon and there needs to be change within communities to disable the cycle of shame so I'm glad Masood chose to include this storyline.

As well as Danyal being an engaging protagonist, I liked the secondary characters just as much. I think this is because all of the characters felt like people I’ve known or met myself, so they felt familiar and I understood them. Danyal’s lifelong best friends; Intezar and Sohrab were each interesting and provided two different but important perspectives. While Sohrab chooses to adhere to Islam more faithfully, Intezar is less so which causes a bit of friction between the two. Danyal is sort of stuck in the middle but I appreciated that Islam wasn’t vilified and each of the these characters paths and choices were respected, each persons relationship with faith is complex and deeply personal and I feel like the story reflected this. I also loved Suri aka Soraiya, Bisma’s younger sister who provides some relatable younger sibling banter as well as being the ultimate matchmaker and just wants to see her big sister happy.

One of the best things and a central part of the novel is the romance element, and I for one, loved the way this was done. When Danyal and Bisma first meet, it’s under pretty unique circumstances aka an arranged marriage meeting and they don’t expect to see each other again but they end up staying in contact. Bisma is bookish and into superheroes and reads comic books, wears quirky tshirts and wants to be a microbiologist. She’s the exact opposite of Danyal’s long time crush Kaval who he always dreamed he’d end up with but as he comes to some key realisations, he realises he may have been wrong all along. True love might be a girl in a Captain America t-shirt, who knew? Not Danyal! Their relationship and the build up of them falling for each other was so perfect and felt so natural. It never once felt forced or contrived and it had the right balance of humour and sweetness. There were so many lines I highlighted because they were just too cute for words. Seriously guys, go read this book!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I'll definitely be looking out for whatever Syed M. Masood writes next. If More Than Just a Pretty Face is anything to go by, I'm sure it will be brilliant.