It's New Years Eve, and like always Nur and his family have gathered in the living room of their home to watch the fireworks on tv together. He'd always wanted to take everyone to see them in person but it never worked out. But this year, the countdown doesn't just signal the start of a brand new year - but a brand new life for him.

It's the moment he had promised the woman he loved, that he'd spent four years building a life with, that he would finally tell his family about her. But his girlfriend, Yasmina, isn't Pakistani like his family would expect, she's sudanese. He has fallen in love with a Black Woman.

As a second-generation immigrant son in a strict Pakistani household, he's always worked hard to be the child his parents have dreamed of, to live up to their expectations of him and continue their traditions. But he also wants to be the partner Yasmina deserves, and he just doesn't know how to do both.

Good Intentions is a beautiful story about young love that blooms into a meaningful relationship, as we look back at our happy couple as they show how they met one lucky night and grew to the people they are today.

But underneath, there is a story with stunning feminist, anti-racist themes with strong messages about oppression, mental health and the dangers of societal expectations. The storytelling was both charming and striking, balancing sweet, sentimental romance with dark, raw undercurrents that hit deep.

The characters were unbelievable complex and rich - each built up and stripped down in front of us, taking the time to carefully create unique and distinct personalities that deal with sensitive topics without falling on two-dimensional stereotypes to convey them.

Not an easy read, but a bittersweet journey of past and future colliding in unexpected ways

I really enjoyed this. It was an interesting storyline. It was quite sad actually, me being Muslim, to completely understand that racism within our own community does exist and we need to be better!! I do think that the Muslim rep was not the best though. Most of what happens goes against everything in our religion, so that part was hard to read!

Otherwise, I love the cover, I love the story and would read more by the author!!

"All of us are playing this stupid game, telling each other lies. What's the point of it? Why do we hide so much of ourselves to cater to what other people think?"

'Good Intentions' accurately portrays the importance of appearances and the topic of interracial relationships in south Asian culture, and the pressures that come along with that. The story was told in a non-linear narrative, jumping back and forth to different times, which helped to build the story in an interesting way and kept a good pace. But I felt there were sometimes too many time jumps which got confusing.

Whilst I enjoyed the overall story and plot, I felt the characters were undeveloped, bringing my rating down. I never found myself fully rooting for the two main characters, because I feel like both as individual characters and as a couple, they felt pretty one dimensional and lacked enough chemistry to justify some of the events of the novel.

Thanks NetGalley for the eARC.

To start with the positive, I liked the premise of this novel - a modern, contemporary examination of a relationship that has themes of religion, race, family obligations and mental health issues at the heart of it. Nur and Yasmina felt like a real relationship and I was really rooting for them throughout; will Nur's parents accept their relationship when they find out that Yasmina is Black? I enjoyed reading about Nur's culture and learning more about Muslim traditions - all the descriptions of the food his mother made sounded delicious!

Unfortunately, the first half of the novel felt like a constant rehashing of the same chapter - Nur loves Yasmina but can't bring himself to reveal the truth of his relationship to his conservative Muslim parents, or to his younger siblings that still live at home with their parents in Birmingham. It was only in the last three quarters of the book that I felt the story moved forwards and the plot took on any momentum.

My grasp of events was also hampered by the flitting between present day (2019) and at various points in the relationship from 2016 onwards, I would have preferred the story to start at the beginning and then move forwards rather than jumping about. I also found myself getting really annoyed with Nur on several occasions! I know he is struggling with anxiety (and that was written about well and with sensitivity), however for this story I felt the author was using this as a laboured point about how Nur couldn't make decisions - fair enough but it just didn't work to keep my attention as a reader.

Finally, if I had been Yasmina, I would have binned Nur a lot sooner than waiting four years to finally​ be introduced to his parents!

I can see that this book will be popular with some readers but it just didn't do it for me this time.

Oh dear. I found this quite dull really. The protagonist was so self centred he spoiled the whole thing for me. Some of the banter between the characters was witty and realistic but not enough to save the book overall.

A captivating story of Nur and Yasmina both muslim but Yasmina is black.
Nur falls for Yasmina and wants to marry her but he keeps her a secret from his family who want him to marry a muslim girl of their choosing. This tells the story of two people in love but how religion can make it difficult especially where parents are concerned.
Would highly recommend and wouls like to thank NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book.

Nur met Yasmina in his second year at university and 4 years later they are living together while pursuing their careers. Everything about their relationship would be perfect, except Yur has hidden Yasmina, and the fact he is in a relationship, from his family. He is Pakistani and Yasmina is Sudanese. He doesn’t think his parents will accept her so he decides not to tell them. Finally, he has decided it is time but is it too late?

Good Intentions flashes back and forth from the present day to key periods in their relationship, This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

my rating - between ⭐️⭐️⭐️ and ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

This is technically a romance, but it is the story of Nur and Yasmina during their relationship - the book opens with them being in an already 4-year long relationship. Nur is a British Pakistani muslim and Yasmina is a British Sudanese muslim - I loved the explorations of race, religion, and familial vs romantic love. The book gave a lot of insight into culture, tradition, and family ties. Inreally enjoyed reading this.

However … I found Nur and Yasmina - especially Yasmina - hard to warm to. I struggled to root for either of them. I think them having flaws was effective and refreshing to see, however it’s important to root for characters and often I felt disconnected; which could be due to the 3rd person narration. However, I LOVED the side characters - Imran and Rahat 🥺. Every time they were in a scene I got very very happy - they were just so lovable, and I wish I’d felt that way about Nur and Yasmina. I also loved Nur’s siblings - they were such a great addition to the story.

I struggled with the structuring too. It flits back in time and each chapter is a different time period between 2015-19. I would’ve actually preferred this to be told in chronological order, as during the flashbacks I was just constantly wanting to know what was happening in the present day, rather than past events. It just made me feel a little bored, as I was sat waiting to read about the plot of what was currently happening present day.

This showed the more ugly side of love, and had a not overly positive ending, but that added to uniqueness of the narrative. the flaws of the people, especially Nur, weren’t brushed aside - they had consequences, and that was a thing I enjoyed seeing.

Overall, an enlightening read however I would’ve loved to have FELT more for Yasmina and Nur, personally.

This book explores obligation to family and racial prejudice in our society. It shows that prejudice is not just black and white there are numerous shades in between. Can love and family survive all this?
This book shows how complicated relationships can be in this, still bigoted, world.

What a beautiful story this is. The story of Nur and Yasmina, young and in love, and absolutely meant to be together for the rest of their lives. After meeting at uni, they seem to have it all, except Nur is a Muslim Pakistani boy and Yasmina is a Muslim Sudanese girl. And racism is alive and well within BAME communities just as much as it is anywhere else. Because of this, Nur keeps Yasmina a secret from his family for four years, convinced they will refuse to accept her because she is black. I was totally enthralled by this book, and I just had to keep reading. I fell in love completely with the characters, one in particular, Imran, who is gay and has his own struggles with acceptance from his family. When the ending came, my heart broke. What a fantastic book, a book for all ages and definitely one that I will remember for a long time.

Nur met Yasmina in his second year at university and 4 years later they are living together while pursuing their careers. Everything about their relationship would be perfect, except Yur has hidden Yasmina, and the fact he is in a relationship, from his family. He is Pakistani and and Yasmina is Sudanese. He doesn’t think his parents will accept her so he decides not to to tell them. Finally he he has decided it is time, but is it too late?
Good Intentions flashes back and forth from the present day to key periods in their relationship, gradually fleshing out the characters and the decisions they have made. Along the way we are introduced to their families and Nur’s two best friends, particularly Imran who is gay, his story makes an interesting contrast with Nur’s as he keeps his love life secret too.
This novel looks at racism in a very different way, as Nur says:
“He'd never considered the nuances of racism, how insidious it is, how it operates across a spectrum, rearing different heads to different people.”
It was refreshing to read a book totally based out of London, an understanding of the communities that have built up in places like Birmingham is vitally important in understanding the prevalence of insularity in families like Nur’s. I enjoyed Nur as a lead character, his weaknesses and fear were relatable as he struggled to be a modern man while the pull of tradition was too strong for him to resist. I hoped all would work out for Nur and Yasmina, their love felt totally genuine but the ending was bitter yet understandable.
This is a fine debut, thank you to #netgalley and #4thestatebooks for allowing me to review this ARC

Good Intentions takes us through the 4-year relationship between Yasmina and Nur, told from his point of view. In these 4 years, Nur has hidden Yasmina from his family, even though she has asked him to introduce her multiple times.
The story is told in the 'present day' (February 2019) and flashbacks that give us insights into their life as a couple, from the night they met until now. Ultimately, the book is about how much we can hurt those around us even when we don't intend to, when we think we're doing the right thing or "protecting them" but not really giving them a chance. Who are we really protecting?

I really liked this story. It felt honest about the problems that people in interracial relationships can be without sugarcoating them. There's description of anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems that also felt realistic.

The only reason why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is that the first half felt a bit long: I just wanted the book to go back to the present to see what was the aftermath of the revelation, instead of feeling stuck in the past and hoping that the next chapter would go back to the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Good Intentions – we all have them. It doesn’t always seem like that to people around us though, as our lead character, Nur soon discovers in this story. He’s a young Muslim man who’s happily in love with Yasmina, his girlfriend of four years. The thing is, he hasn’t told his family about Yasmina because she’s Black and his family are from Pakistan, and he’s worried about what they will think.

Good Intentions explores themes of race, identity, relationships and how much traditions dictate the lives of the younger generations. It looks at the reasons why Nur has kept his Sudanese girlfriend a secret from his family and addresses an aspect of racism I haven’t read a novel about before: 'He’d never considered the nuances of racism, how insidious it is, how it operates across a spectrum, rearing different heads to different people.'

Despite both Nur and Yasmina being Muslim, he knows that wouldn’t be enough for his family, as Yasmina is Black. So when he finally decides he must tell them about his relationship, how will his family react?

Good Intentions effortlessly conveys the conflict that so many young people go through between being respectful of the tradition and family values they were brought up with, and carving their own place in the world.

The tension and intrigue in this read comes from looking at those nuanced juxtapositions: what happens when you come from a loving and supportive family but realise it’s on their terms, and suddenly those terms look outdated and racist?

As well as being a bit of a different read for me from a theme perspective, it also was from a genre one. I don’t often read novels written by men (not a conscious choice, I’m just drawn to female authors generally), so this love story written with both a male author and male romantic lead felt quite refreshing actually.

Nur was a character you care about, although I did find myself wishing he had a little more courage and then maybe he could have had more say over the outcome of his life.

The fact the story didn’t go the way I expected was a nice surprise. It meant it felt grounded and worked to give authenticity to the themes Good Intentions was exploring.

I am not which readers the author had in mind but perhaps a 77-year-old white male was not high on the list.
If that is is indeed the case then perhaps he would be surprised to find that I found this book to be utterly compelling. It is easy to categorise non-fiction as educational and fiction as entertainment but it is not as simple as that. Fiction books have the power to open minds and to modify thinking and this I believe is such a book. It is a very sad love story set across racial divides in modern-day England but the divides are between a boy of Pakistani heritage but British birth and a girl of Sudanese heritage., both of Muslim faith. There is much to be learned about our modern multi-racial society from the pain and torment suffered by the Pakistani boy who feels unable to tell his parents of his love for a black girl The book also shows what it is to be gay in a Pakistani family.
We can only hope that in future years people may read this book and not recognize the society it portrays.
A brilliant debut novel.

An amazing book with great dialogue, great characters, and real themes to explore. Not only does this story perfectly capture life at university and after university, but also family dynamics, family tensions, dealing with anxiety, and the constant battles a lot of us face. I also think Ali does a great job of capturing the conversations young people of colour have, especially British Muslims. Definitely a book I’ll be recommending to friends and family!

A slow-burning dissection of a romance that may end up on the rocks if Nur, the narrator, does not find the strength and courage to stand up for the woman he loves. Worried that his traditional Muslim family won't approve, he keeps secret that he's dating a black woman, Yasmina, causing himself, Yasmina, and ultimately his family, untold angst.
Starting with this disclosure to his family, then toggling backwards and forwards through the years Nur and Yasmina have been together, the story offers a valid and thought-provoking look at how racism can rear its ugly head, not just between white people and ethnic minorities, but between different ethnic minorities, too. It also addresses the challenging theme of depression.
I'm sorry to say this story left me feeling a bit depressed at Nur's lack of backbone. The wonder isn't that he's kept Yasmina a secret for four years - it's that she has stayed with him longer than four weeks! When even his gay friend Imran finds the courage to confront his family, you do wonder why Nur hasn't stepped up a bit sooner.
White privilege is mentioned throughout the book, and so maybe I don't have the experience to fully understand Nur's dilemma. But I make no apology for not warming to him.
It's shame because Ali is a good writer, and demonstrates through Yasmina, Nur's friends and even his family that he can bring warmth to his characters. But this wasn't the book for me.

Actual rating 3.5⭐️

Give me a love story to read and I’m in book heaven. I have a penchant for characters who fall in love at first sight, for star crossed lovers, and for those who fail to see their soulmate has been right in front of them all along…you get the picture! It’s fair to say the kind of romantic storylines I gravitate towards are generally of the movie style variety, the ones that take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions but where you’re ultimately left feeling love can and does conquer all. Unrealistic quite possibly but who cares? It’s only fiction! So if that’s what you’re in the mood for maybe Good Intentions isn’t for you.

Good Intentions is not your typical love story. Far from being written in a sentimental, hearts and flowers style it’s tone is serious, honest, thoughtful, measured and reflective which is hardly surprising given the issues that affect the small cast of characters. Self harm, anxiety and depression, sexuality, racism, micro aggression, defying family and cultural expectations and traditions in the name of love are all dealt with meaning this piece of fiction is no barrel of laughs. But you can’t help who you fall in love with, right? So when Nur, a young man from a Pakistani family meets fellow student Yasmina, a black Sudanese girl, at Bradford university, and falls hopelessly head over heels in love, he’s caught between pursuing his own version of happiness whilst trying to remain the good, dutiful son. That’s one hell of a dilemma to find himself stuck in but it is the manner in which he handles his conflicting emotions, balancing family life with his personal one that takes precedence, driving the narrative forward.

As a white middle aged woman I can’t pretend to fully comprehend the complexities of the situation Nur and Yasmina find themselves in but I do vaguely remember what it’s like to fall in love with someone from a very different background having been (briefly) married to a Muslim Algerian many years ago. I would probably have been of a similar age to Nur and Yasmina when I married in secret, only informing my very conservative parents after the event, knowing full well they wouldn’t approve so I had every sympathy for Nur as he mentally prepares himself to drop this bombshell on his family. This is the point in Nur and Yasmina’s love story, four years after they first meet that the novel begins. The storyline then weaves back and forth in time, charting the development and progress of their relationship and is set within the context of friends Rahul and Imran’s individual experiences of navigating their own paths to love. All coming from a Pakistani background they face similar difficulties but their approach to managing them widely differ.

I liked the start of this novel. Nur and Yasmina are just like any other lovestruck couple with their flirty banter and I had every reason to believe I’d enjoy following their progress from tentative first steps through to their well established romance despite the assumed opposition to their relationship. The author allows the reader to take up temporary residence inside Nur’s head, privy to his innermost thoughts as he continues to lead two separate lives. In truth I found it an unhappy, uncomfortable and painful place to be knowing only too well that in trying to please everyone he’s bound to end up achieving the exact opposite. Consumed by his love for Yasmina, his guilt at keeping his relationship a secret and his overwhelming fear at coming clean to his parents transforms this conflicted young man with good intentions into someone who as time goes by you lose respect for and even struggle to like. He’s so self absorbed and short sighted that he fails to see that all his relationships are suffering, from his friendships with Rahul and Imran to those with his siblings as well as with his girlfriend, not to mention breaking his parents trust. At times he’s a poor sorry excuse for a friend, boyfriend and son and I rapidly lost patience with him. In Nur’s defence he is young, naive and at a stage in life where he’s finding his feet as an adult and I had to keep reminding myself of that fact but my goodness he does makes life hard going!

From my perspective, there are two major problems with this novel. I didn’t like the fact that very little happens which results in the narrative becoming repetitive and dare I say dull. It requires effort to keep turning the pages mainly because it’s all so incredibly serious and intense. There’s no light and shade whatsoever; it’s bleakly grey all the way through! I can appreciate this novel isn’t intended to be a laugh a minute given the subject matter but with hardly any respite from Nur’s stress, guilt and indecision I found it depressing rather than heart wrenching. Perhaps I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind to handle this more realistic portrayal of romance and I think that’s partly down to being unable to gel with the main character who I feel is developed almost to the exclusion of everyone else. Nur’s voice drowns out the likes of Yasmina and friends Rahul and Imran who have to jostle for attention along with the couple’s respective siblings. In my opinion this is a shame as I enjoyed the insight into Yasmina’s background especially her complex relationship with her younger sister Hawa. I never felt I got the chance to get to grips with Yasmina’s character, having only been afforded a glimpse of one side of her which is another reason why I failed to feel emotionally invested in the couple’s future. I wish Rahul, Nur’s closest friend featured more as he appears to be a far less complicated individual and easier to like. His laid back demeanour is a welcome contrast to Nur’s constant overthinking which if I’m honest drove me insane at times. Both he and Imran prove to be loyal, forgiving supportive friends even though Nur’s behaviour tests the strength of their friendship.

There’s no denying that this is well written but overall this is a novel I didn’t enjoy as much as I’d hoped to. Good Intentions isn’t a book you can pick up wishing to escape from reality for a few hours. Instead the author opens your eyes to the very real challenges some couples face when they fall in love with someone outside their own racial/cultural background. It’s worth reading for this insight alone, encouraging you to think about how other cultures/religions view love and all its complexities. Love can be complicated at the best of times so to realise others face the added pressure of possibly being forced to choose between family and the one they love is saddening and sobering. Ultimately this is a love story without any sugar coating and as you finish reading it you’re left with a bitter aftertaste.

My thanks as always to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this. The author is a fantastic story teller and I liked the character build ups. A great debut and I’m looking forward to watching out for more from Kasim.

I really enjoyed this novel and read it over the course of an evening. Brilliantly conceived, a small tight cast of characters and few locations meant that the characters words, deeds, good intentions and prejudices were front and centre at all times. At some points it felt almost voyeuristic spending page after page with our noses pressed up against the glass of Nur and Yasmina’s flat windows.
I’m not sure why but I identified more with Nur rather than Yasmin’s as most other reviewers seemed to do. I am autistic and I wonder if Nur is also on the spectrum. Certainly his anxiety and ability to compartmentalise is very familiar to me. I can see why he kept putting tell his parents off and off for so long. I’m not sure I’d have done it for four years mind you. Then ending when it came was shocking for me and I had to really make myself open my eyes and see it from someone, anyone’s point of view than Nur’s.
Ali is skilled in character building and the supporting cast, most notably Imran and Rahat were instantly likeable and also good vehicles to help the author and Nur explore the issues of race in Britain today and also within Muslim communities. The weight of familial responsibility in Pakistani families is to this white British girl utterly unfamiliar and overwhelming. When I left for university my parents phoned me on the first evening to tell me they were drinking champagne in their newly emptied ‘nest’!! My family held similar prejudices towards LGBT+ and people of different races but it was never overtly expressed and certainly wouldn’t have lost me my relationship with them.
There is a great deal to mull over since finishing this novel and to me that is one of the hallmarks of a good book.

I really enjoyed this book, especially the unexpected but just (and relieving) ending!
Also, it was incredibly refreshing to have a book covering these themes which is not set in London. More of this please!