It is a truth universally acknowledged that I love retellings of Pride and Prejudice! This was such a unique take on the classic story. I loved the story in Pakistan with all of their culture and values interwoven. So much has changed, but so much has not. Women still fight for equality. Social standards are still part of everything. This version proves that Mr. Darcy could just be anywhere!

Culture versus happiness and true love. It is a story which is told over and over again through so many different filters. All of these tales are good and need to be shared.
It is important to respect the past but it should never dictate the future.

A unique version of Pride and Prejudice told in a current-day modern Pakistan setting. Fun and fascinating as parallels from old fashioned English society are made in comparison with similar values in Pakistani society today.

“They say blood is thicker than water. I say to hell with that. If blood mistreats you, better water. And if friends prove false, no matter, find better or be alone.” A vibrant story that details the discord that can exist in family and culture. A person can become strangled by the expectations of family as well as culture. In this novel the 5 sisters experience different levels of anxiety as they try to fulfill the hopes and dreams for their future. They are expected to meet certain by society, and family as well as try to fit in their own desires. It also looks at the different types of love and how it is influenced by outside sources. It is a very well rounded story with great characters who are funny and witty.

This book was one of the best Pride and Prejudice reimaginings I've read. The story is moved to modern-day Pakistan, which has marriage ideas quite similar to Austen's own time, expect husband hunting is a bit more obvious. It's kind of a meta read because Alys (Elizabeth's equivalent) is a teacher of English literature, and she teaches Pride and Prejudice. Therefore, we get the character's thoughts about Austen as a writer and a bit of humor because she's still oblivious to the love story happening to her. The writing is superb; it's fun and paced well. This novel is very hard to put down, and I recommend all Austen fans, romance readers, and people wanting to read outside their own culture should read it.

I am so here for this retelling of Pride and Prejudice. I tend to love when my favorite classics are updated and retold, and this is no different.

Soniah Kamal set this version in Pakistan of 2000, when marriage was still considered the biggest deal of a woman's life. Well. Every woman except for Alys Binat. She would much rather have her own career, and read, and dream about life outside of her shunned family.

Until she meets Valentine Darsee. He's the best friend of her older sister's love interest. He's completely dismissive of her, of her family. And yet...the love is there.

I will say, this is pretty much an act-for-act retelling, so if those annoy you, you might not enjoy this book as much. But overall, it's absolutely lovely and I adore the fact that it's a diverse, own-voices read.

Overall lovely read, I give Unmarriageable 4 out of 5 proposals.

A unique version of Pride and Prejudice told in a current-day modern Pakistan setting. Fun and fascinating as parallels from old fashioned English society are made in comparison with similar values in Pakistani society today. Depicts many societal constraints and expectations, as Pakistani women are bursting to break those molds and have their own voices heard. Expresses deep family values and struggles with women's roles and prejudices. This book is told with a sense of humor, full of fun, exciting, gossipy and juicy pairings and relationships. Thank you NetGalley for the early reader edition for my review. All opinions are my own.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I liked this book, that is true. I enjoyed the setting and getting a glimpse into Pakistani culture of which I know very little. Unfortunately I found this retelling exactly that, a retelling, I found nothing new or different about this book that cannot be found withing the very pages of Jane Austen's own work. I have read and seen many adaptations of Austen's works that I have very much enjoyed, Unmarriageable is merely okay in my opinion. It was simply too close to the original. I find it sort of ridiculous that a woman teaching P&P wouldn't see the similarities to her own life right down to the names of everyone around her. For fans of Austen it's a nice look at how some things never change but for me it was a tad 0n the lack luster side of things. *I received Unmarriageable through Netgalley for an honest review.*

I loved this book SO much! What a terrific novel. It made me so happy. The characters were awesome and hilarious and it brought me the same joy Pride & Prejudice does. I loved the feminist elements. So delightful!

I really enjoyed Unmarriageable. It updated the classic, Pride and Prejudice, not only in setting, but also culture. By having this classic story set in modern day Pakistan Unmarriageable adds new depth to the story. Not only do is Unmarriageable more expansive than I remember Pride and Prejudice, but it also adds another layer of meaning. Especially as our main character, Alys is considered to be in danger of never finding a husband - as she is an unmarried English teacher above 30. If you like the classic, or just like a book set in modern day Pakistan about family, second chances, and love, then this is for you.

This was a great twist on Pride and Prejudice and I learned something about another culture as well. I absolutely loved this, it was so cute, and I will definitely be recommending it to customers.

Unmarriageable is the modern day retelling of Pride & Prejudice set in Pakistan. Alys, one of five daughters, is perfectly happy being single, until she meets Mr. Darsee at a wedding; will Darsee be able to convince Alys to marry him? Alys's mom's "ambitions for her daughters were fairly typical: groom them into marriageable material and wed them off to no less than princes and presidents."

I really enjoyed this humorous, one-of-a-kind retelling of the classic. In fact, it makes me want to read Pride & Prejudice again, as it's been over 20 years since I've read it, and I'm sure I didn't appreciate it the way I would now.

My favorite quote from the book..."I'll never be lonely, - Alys gave a satisfied sigh - "because I'll always have books."

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy; all opinions are my own.

This is a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice that takes place in modern Pakistan. This book had me captivated from tbe first page. I loved it.

I would like to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts are my own.

I love a Pride and Prejudice re-telling and was so excited to read this retelling set in Pakistan. With that said, I found this book slow to get into at first. Also, it mirrors P&P almost to a T which was great as you knew what to expect but at the same time it felt too much like the original at times. At the end of the day, I did enjoy the story and felt it did a great job showing how P&P is truly a universal story.

As a fan of all things Pride & Prejudice, I was very excited to read Unmarriageable, pitched as Pride & Prejudice set in Pakistan. Unmarriageable was a lovely and nostalgic read.

Almost immediately, we are introduced to the Binats and their family history. I have to say, that to me, they were the highlight of this book. They were such an amusing and complex family with varying personalities. Soniah Kamal does a beautiful job at recapturing the Bennetts from Jane Austen's book but also making them her own with the desi flare to their personalities. Our Elizabeth here is a woman named Alys Binat. She is a teacher at a school trying to push her students into thinking more about themselves and less about what society wants expects from them. She is a fiercely independent and feminist character whose ideals very much resonated with me.

Through Alys' eyes, Kamal does a wonderful job of providing subtle social commentary on topics such as social class and the woman's role in a home, which are rampant issues in many brown cultures. Additionally, she brought Pakistan and Pakistani culture to life. There was something extraordinarily warm about Kamal's writing and it certainly showed in the descriptions of the extravagant marriages, the mouth-watering food, and the traditions. I had a hard time putting down the book for the very reason.

I'm sure you're also wondering what I thought of the Darcy character, Darsee. He remained true to the original Austen character and was an interesting individual. It was sometimes to gauge what he was thinking, but that only made him all the more appealing. I do like a little mystery when it comes to love interests in books. Speaking of love interests, I didn't particularly find the relationship between Alys and Darsee to be mind-blowing, but it's because I felt like they were not the focus of the story. This was very much Alys' book and I personally don't think that enough time was devoted to fleshing out their budding romance.

If I were to classify Unmarriageable it would have to be as a women's fiction as opposed to pure contemporary romance. If you're a fan of Pride & Prejudice and are eager to learn a little bit about a gorgeous culture, I urge you to give this a try.

And I made the same mistake again... This is a book inspired by Pride and Prejudice, telling us how it would be if it happened in Pakistan circa 2000.

So... it's not always that I complain about this but I'm not too into the idea of really copying the whole plot, which is a lot what happens here. What is the problem of going from the same beginning and just letting the characters go where they want to? Surprise me. Please! And that's my main problem here, it was too predictable most of the time. Not as much as a lot of the retellings I've read but still enough to make me feel bored.

The other problem was the rhythm, especially when you already know what's happening, this went too slowly for me. I confess I started skipping much of the description after a point because the book just wouldn't go anywhere.

Now we've put the issues behind, if you're still reading, know that this book had lots of nice things. It felt like I did a homestay with a Pakistani (large) family. The writer isn't some westerner who just did research, she knows what she's talking about and you can see it from the way she writes. It was almost as if she'd been right there with Alys.

From the adaptation, my favorite thing were the name changes. They did take a few giggles from me, they were mostly straight forward, not taking any effort to guess which character from the original it was.

I also loved the progression, how the two come together, how Alys learns and evolves during the story, and how each of the characters ends up.

In all, this was kind of fun but the predictability and long descriptions (though justified but still too long) took most of it for me. I'll surely read more from the author as long as it's not an adaptation of a book I'm familiar with.


Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

Kamal created a charming spinoff of Pride & Prejudice.

I completely found myself smitten with the Binat family. Such a rage of personalities, Alys was my favorite for a plethora of reasons, her intelligence taking the lead along with modern views. You are given an excellent crash course of Pakistan culture as well as Islam.

Kamal intelligently points out the lack of value of females and the strict social norms regarding marriage, motherhood and the biggie - virtue.

Plot dragged a bit, entertaining nonetheless. Kamal effortlessly weaved culture, religion and various personalities forming a clever rendition of Pride & Prejudice.

Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal

Have you read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen? This is a delightful, modern Pakistani version which will endlessly entertain you.

Pinkie Barkat, the mother of five daughters, is out to fulfill her maternal quest of seeing all her girls married. Every man they meet is a potential husband, is he not?

The characters and dialog are spot on to keep you smiling as you you read this humorous tale which offers great insight to the culture, foods and customs of Pakistan. Soniah Jamal puts just the right spin on this story.

As in all great reads, conflicts are resolved, and undesirable characters get their due. Be sure to read the Epilogue for a huge surprise from sister Qitty.

Five stars from this reviewer for Unmarriageable!

As a lover of all things Austen, even though Pride & Prejudice is not my favorite, I knew I had to read this retelling. And while I felt the writing was good, unfortunately, I liked the idea of the book better than the actual story.

I am a huge fan of Pride and Prejudice take-offs. This one is set in modern day Pakistan, and was by far the best one I have ever read. The characters were a wide range between appalling and delightful. I was so engrossed in the story that I could not put it down. If you are a fan of Pride and Prejudice, or just really good fiction, then this is the book for you!