This Is How You Fall In Love

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The writing was wonderfully compelling and the characters well developed and full of depth. I particularly loved Zara, our adorable, rom-com loving bookworm and protagonist. She’s such a sweet, compassionate and loyal friend whose commitment to helping the people she cares about is beyond words. I mean she literally embodies the mates before dates mantra—even when doing so hinders her own plans or happiness. However, the characters annoyed the HELL out of me. Every single one of them. Especially Adnan and Cami, who, despite asking Zara to do this massive favour for them so they could be together in secret, had the audacity to be mad at her for not doing that quite right. There were parts where I was pretty confused about - like, why couldn't they just hang out without Zara there, especially somewhere not in public? I didn't quite understand all of that. It felt like Cami and Zara were just being pitted against each other for drama's sake and I think it would've been a better message for that not to happen.

Hussain perfectly captures the very essence of what makes a good teen rom-com; a healthy dose angst, quirky meet cutes, lashings of humour and a host of well meaning but nosey loved ones (friends and family) who may or may not be a little too invested in the protagonist’s relationship. When Zara finds herself in her own potential love story, things get a lot more complicated. Determined to try and keep her side of the bargain, things get very messy.

the most important thing I learned throughout it all: I did find love; it just wasn’t in the form I was looking for….So Zara agrees and the act begins: after all, how different can pretending to be in a relationship w ith your best friend be to just hanging around with them like usual? Turns out, a lot. With fake dating comes fake hand-holding and fake kissing and real feelings... And when a new boy turns up in Zara's life, things get more confusing than ever. The course of true love never did run smooth, but Zara's love story is messier than most. I didn’t manage to care for Cami, one of the main character and the entire reason behind the fake-dating scheme, which made me a bit sad. I had a hard time understanding her and, even by the end of the story, I guess I just maybe, wanted to know a bit more about her. This is How You Fall in Love' by Anika Hussain was a delightful read. Adnan and Zara have been best friends since forever. Their families spend Sunday dinners, holidays to Bangladesh and every other major life event together. When Adnan falls for new girl Cami, he stumbles across a big problem - they need to keep their relationship a secret due to Cami's overprotective family. Enter a classic fake dating scenario which challenges the boundaries of Adnan and Zara's relationship. Is the love they feel for each other actually like siblings or something more?

I did really enjoy the family aspect in this book, and the way Zara navigates her relationship with her parents; it was really sweet and lovely, and I wish we'd had even more scenes with her parents in. I also really loved the representation of Desi culture - while I can't comment on the accuracy of the book as I am not South Asian myself, it did feel really authentic and I loved reading about it. He inches closer to me, his forehead pressed against mine, the warmth of his breath beginning to thaw my heart. ‘I need to know, Zara, do you love him?'” – Yahya, This is How You Fall in Love There is a nice message at the end about the love of friends being the most important kind of love, and I’d definitely recommend this to a teenage or tweenage reader, especially one looking for representation of themselves in books or who could do with some diverse reading.Only promote your work in the promotion categories, which will be clearly labeled by genre. Failing to follow this rule won't make you many friends. Sorry.