Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin is a delightful and uplifting read that is perfect for fans of contemporary romance and stories about strong, spirited women who navigate the complexities of family, identity, and community, with a dash of humor and a heartwarming exploration of the power of love and belonging.

Uzma Jalaluddin is always a favorite of mine — her eye for detail and her nuanced characters always thread the needle of a complicated cultural relationship. Satisfying, clear, and empathetic.

I had been putting off reading this book for years even though I had an ARC from Netgalley because lately I’ve been finding it harder to read books like this. By that I mean, books that were very “halal” and just for me missing the nuance of being Muslim in North America. This book totally proved me wrong.

Hopefully this isn’t that controversial, but sometimes I feel like “halal” love stories strip away all the chemistry between their main leads. I don’t mean I want them to kiss or have sex, but where’s the tension? Yes, they’re not kissing, but don’t they want to? What this book has shown is you can write a halal love story and still have attraction and chemistry even if they’re not acting on it. I could totally feel that Hana and Aydin had a connection and fell in love with each other in a halal way. I finally felt like there was a middle ground between never touching the other person at all and having full-blown pre-marital sex. Hana and Aydin were able to have small touches like a hand on the face. They were able to comfort each other in difficult times and have their own private conversations. I think this is so much more relatable for the average Muslim, because most people will have a mix of both worlds.

I truly loved all the characters (except for Aydin’s dad of course). They all had such complex stories and desires. I loved that being Muslim wasn’t Hana’s whole personality. She prays and wears hijab, but she still has her own life with her love of radio and podcasting. She definitely made some poor choices in the book, but that’s what drives the plot. I feel like people want to read about these perfect characters that make the right choices all the time, but that’s not real.

The book definitely tries to tackle a lot of different plot points: the rival restaurants, Islamophobia, her best friends’ interfaith relationship, Rashid and Aunty Kawkab’s visit, Aydin’s dead mom, Hana’s radio internship, etc. To me it kept things interesting and didn’t feel like too much. It helped bring clarity to Aydin and Hana’s relationship seeing them go through hardships together. For sure there could have been less and the book could have been shorter then, but I sped through this so I didn’t even really notice the length.

I didn’t think I would enjoy this as much as I did so it looks like I might actually read her next one, Much Ado About Nada. She gives me renewed faith in Muslim love stories even for someone like me who isn’t as practicing.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I love that this book deals with so many different issues while telling a compelling story. I thought Hana's story ARC was well written, she finds her voice and she isn't afraid to use it. The supporting family and friends were all great and I love how they all find their own paths as well. Highly recommend this novel and I look forward to reading more of Uzma Jalaluddin's books in the future.

This cover was very alluring for my browsing patrons, I really appreciate a halal romance every so often and this was a great one!

After seeing many rave reviews, I knew I needed to prioritize this one.

I really enjoyed it! I loved Hana as the main character and learning more about the Muslim culture. Her family dynamic felt so realistic and her entire family were really great supporting characters. I also surprisingly enjoyed her slow burn (no steam) romance with Aydin but it definitely was not the main focus of the story. I feel like the "twist" was pretty obvious but I assume that was the point and it didn't detract from the story for me.

I also thought the discussion and exploration into hate crimes and micro aggressions against the Muslim community was really well done and definitely played a huge role in Hana's decisions she makes throughout the story.

I was so excited to read Hana Khan Carries On after absolutely loving Uzma Jalaluddin’s previous book, Ayesha at Last and it totally lived up to what I was hoping for! Charming, fun, and with amazing characters—contemporary romance fans won’t want to skip this.

Hana Khan is going to be your new favorite leading lady. Smart, savvy, impulsive, and funny, I loved getting to know Hana! A 24-year-intern at a local radio stations, part-time worker at her family’s restaurant, and podcaster, Hana Khan’s life is already full. The restaurant, Three Sisters Biryani Poutine, is struggling to make it, despite the efforts from her family. And Hana’s internship isn’t as perfect as it sounds. She does have her podcast—Ana’s Brown Girl Rambles—to provide an outlet.

When a new restaurant Wholistic Burgers and Grill is slated to open right near her family restaurant claiming to be a modern take on halal, things begin to look even more dire for Hana’s family and their ailing restaurant. This could be the end of their fifteen year run. And to complicate things more, the man in charge of the new restaurant Aydin Shah is using money from his wealthy father to spearhead the venture, further threatening to gentrify the small local neighborhood Hana and her family call home.

Hana confides in a devoted follower of her podcast, StanleyP, about the troubles in her life. Soon, Hana comes up with a plan to help her family’s restaurant survive. But the attraction between Hana and Aydin is becoming harder to ignore. Will the conflict between the restaurants get in the way of the budding romance, or will Hana find a way to find love and save her family?

Though this book is framed as a reimagining of You’ve Got Mail, I think even that description undersells the book. There is so much depth to the characters and the plot itself. A story element about racism and Islamaphobia, for instance, brings an important and timely conversation to light, and highlights the undercurrent of tension about modernizing while still honoring and celebrating your heritage and ethnicity.

While Hana and Aydin are the stars, many of the side characters brought so much fun as well. Particularly Hana’s family members (her cousin is a fantastic addition).

This is a mix of a feel good romance, cultural impact, and the push and pull between generations and how to appreciate what those before you bring. A must-read!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.

This book is a delight that packs a punch. It is full of supporting characters who bring so much personality to the story. I absolutely love Hana's family and how each character has their own arc and their own journey of finding what makes them happy. I will admit I didn't 100% love the love interest until late in the book, but that didn't take away from the story and all of the characters that I loved. I'm so excited to read more from Uzma Jalaluddin!

TW: Islamophobia, racism, hate crimes, racial slurs, religious bigotry, Xenophobia, violence, death of a parent, panic attacks, sexism, grief, emotional abuse, pregnancy. Mentions/off page of: car accident, cancer, suicide attempt, loss of pregnancy

A premise that I absolutely adored and a storyline that I simply couldn’t connect with. Perhaps it had to do with the slow beginning, or the predictability of the novel itself. Although I loved the author’s last book, Ayesha at Last, I just couldn’t connect with this book at all. Perhaps if I had read this one at a different time, I would have fared better.

Thanks to Elisha at Berkley Publishing for the arc.

Really sweet romance! I love this authors writing, and her stories are just delightful. This one was no different! You’ve Got Mail is one of my favorite rom coms and I enjoyed this cultural twist on the classic. The characters were so lovable, and I came out of this one hungry for some really good Indian food! So cute!

Unfortunately I had to DNF it. It was a super slow beginning and I just couldn't get into it. I think the concept is cool and the cover is gorgeous.

This is the second time I've DNF'd one of this author's books, even though I find the descriptions really tempting. In this case, I don't think it's her, it's me; I'm not into the business rivals-to-lovers thing. I will continue to try her books.
Rating four stars to not drag down the average.

I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as Ayesha at Last, but it was still a delightful read. A little predictable, but it was still fun to see it all unfold and the resolution wasn't exactly what I expected. Looking forward to more titles from this author.

Amazing!!! Uzma Jalaluddin is such an amazing Adult Romance writer and gives the Muslim rep we''ve been missing! I will say it took me a while to get through this one, so if you're into constant excitement and a book where you'll be glued to the page, that wasn't really this for me, but by the end I very much appreciated the story of family, chasing your dreams sincerely and unapologetically, as well as love.

I was a huge fan of this author's previous release, Ayesha At Last, so it's safe to say that I was very excited to get my hands on this You've Got Mail-inspired romance. After finishing Hana Khan Carries On, I can confidently say that the follow-up to Ayesha At Last did not disappoint. Uzma Jalaluddin is officially an auto-buy author for me!

I think this one started off with a lot of promise, but ended up trying to do too much.

Our main character Hana has several jobs: she's an intern at a Toronto radio station where she's very much hoping to be brought on full time, she's a podcaster with a deep love of telling stories, and she also does whatever jobs need doing at her family's Halal restaurant in the Golden Crescent neighborhood. Trouble starts brewing when people at the station want to capitalize off of Hana's identity, a friendly commenter on her podcast turns flirty, and a rival restaurant opens in the neighborhood.

I was so invested in this book at the start, but with all the competing storylines, I found it very difficult to get invested in any one avenue, especially the romance element. I think the author needed to choose the radio station/political track or the restaurant/romance track, not both.

It was a decent book and the cover is BREATHTAKING, but it ultimately came up short for me.

I picked this up expecting an easy-to-read lighthearted rom-com, but there's much more going on here.

Hana is a young aspiring podcaster/radio journalist who works in her family's restaurant -- a restaurant whose existence is threatened by the appearance of a young (handsome, of course) businessman and his father who are opening a similar, flashier restaurant nearby. Of course, there's instant chemistry between Hana and the man who threatens to put her family out of business, but the romance is put on the back burner because Hana's too busy trying to destroy him and his family and save her family's restaurant in the process. She's also facing some challenges at her radio internship, where her superiors want her to tell stories about being Muslim -- but not the stories Hana wants to tell. They try to force her into telling stories that reinforce stereotypes and put her community at risk for racial attacks...and then, she's the victim of a racial attack herself, which inspires her to stand up for herself, her culture, and her journalistic aspirations.

It's a modern-day, diverse retelling of "You've Got Mail" (and who doesn't love "You've Got Mail") with heart, wit and of course, some swoonworthy moments.

I reviewed the book for Kirkus Reviews. Thanks so much for the advance review copy. I have included a link to the Kirkus review.

HANA KHAN CARRIES ON by Uzma Jalaluddin is a DELIGHT. That’s it. That’s the review.

Okay, just kidding! I have a lot more to say! I adored Ms. Jalaluddin’s Pride and Prejudice retelling debut last year, AYESHA AT LAST, so I was suitably excited for her sophomore novel. And boy, did it exceed my every expectation!.

A “You’ve Got Mail” reimagining, this book follows our 24-year-old heroine Hana. She is just starting her dream of working in radio as an intern at a popular Toronto radio station while also running an anonymous podcast, and helping out at her family’s halal restaurant.

She has good friends and a wonderful community… until things start to go wrong. Her mom’s restaurant is barely staying afloat, her internship starts to take a left turn, and a hot, but arrogant man shows up as a rival restaurant owner. On top of all that, Hana’s family from India decides to visit and she ends up sleeping on the couch!.

I feel like Hana and I would be friends. I mean, her favorite color is cheetah print! She’s a fabulously loyal friend, sister, and daughter… so loyal it gets in her way sometimes.

My favorite aspect of this book is the way Ms. Jalaluddin invited the reader into Hana’s world. By the end of the book, I felt like I was part of her community. I laughed when Hana’s cousin Rashid was being ridiculous (he’s one of my favorite characters of all time!!), cried when there is a loss, and swooned when Aydin and Hana bantered.

The romance in this book is more of a simmer than a boil, but the romantic moments are all the more poignant for their scarcity.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. It was a rich and emotional read that will leave you smiling.

**I received an ARC of this book in order to provide an honest review**