It was really nice to see Janna mature in this one, especially because while the last book dealt with the important conversations about sexual assault, this one dealt with the anti blackness in the Asian/desi community which I really appreciated. What I really enjoy about SK Ali's books is that story itself is based on a happy occasion but deals with heavy and important topics and gets a conversation started.

While I did find Janna sort of frustrating when it came to her "boy troubles", I did appreciate her growth throughout the book. It's also nice to see a character that's well developed but also so strikingly different from Zayneb from Love From A to Z to show that not every Muslim experience is the same and that there are different levels of faith and how faith and culture influence each other.

I loved getting to know the new characters in this book and revisit old characters and see them all interact! The drama was so fun to read while also giving me the appropriate amount of anger and excitement that book drama tends to give! I was pleasantly surprised by the ending especially because it took a turn that I didn't think it would take. And I'm really glad I got to feel every emotion surrounding a big desi wedding! Would definitely re read and recommend to everyone for some fun drama as well as great openings to important discussions!

I reread my review of Saints and Misfits before diving in to this sequel that can also work as a stand alone, and imagine my absolute delight when all the things I wanted more of: Muhammed and Sarah, the mom, Jeremy, etc., were explored in this wonderful high school and up, 320 page, romantic comedy story.  The romance stays halal and the comedy light, but seamlessly interwoven into a weekend wedding are very serious notions of racism and prejudice within the Muslim community.  The writing is flawless as I tried to tell the summary to my daughter I realized just how many characters there are in the book, yet while reading, I never once was confused about who someone was or how they fit in to the family, it really is quite remarkable how real and personal the characters all become.  In many ways the story is uniquely an American-Muslim (arguably) one with characters that are half this culture, a quarter that, wearing cultural clothes to coordinate with friends, mutli lingual, multi ethnic, and yet all coming together as friends and family.  We, nor are the characters perfect, but that our weakness is explored in fiction so that we all might benefit in reality, is truly remarkable.  I honestly couldn't put it down, and my teen and tween children may or may not have had to figure out their own meals, as I hid in the corner to devour this book in a single day. I regret nothing.

SYNOPSIS:

Janna Yusuf has just graduated high school and has been spending the last few weeks at her father's sprawling house on a lake to help with wedding preparations for her beloved older brother.  What started out with plans to be a small nikkah between Muhammad and Sara, has quickly snowballed into a "wedding" with a few hundred guests and an ever evolving color scheme.  With extended family and friends pouring in over the three days, Janna is anxious to see Nuah and finally tell him that she is ready to return his feelings, reunite with her mom after being apart for weeks, and see who her best friend Tats is bringing as her plus one.  But, Nuah is acting weird, her mom seems to be considering remarrying, and her father is revealing himself to be racist.  There is a lot going on, and in between wedding preparations, possible crushes, family drama, prejudice overtones, and a curious ice cream man, Janna is having an unforgettable weekend.

Janna and Muhammad are close, they are the children of an Indian American non practicing father and an Egyptian American religious mother.  Their parents have been divorced for a while, and their dad and his Greek wife Linda have two little boys and are hosting everyone and the wedding.  The heart of the story is Janna as she thinks she is ready to pursue something halal with Nuah, but is slightly intrigued by Sara's cousin Haytham and very perplexed by her mother's potential future new husband's nephew Layth. Being it is a wedding, and many people are staying at her father's house and many more at the hotel in town with their own families.  Jana is trying to figure stuff out about Nuah while hanging out with Nuah's older pregnant sister.  She is constantly thrown together with Layth as she meets his Uncle Bilal, her mom's college friend that has proposed to her, and who's own daughters are friends of Sarahs.  Yeah, there is a lot of overlap, a lot.  It's like real life. As attractions wax and wane in such a short time, it is the relationship Janna has with her own family and the contentment she must find within herself that ultimately matter most.

WHY I LIKE IT:

I love how authentic the story and its characters are.  I come from a small family, but a very close friend has a huge family, and this just reminded me of going to her family events and finding how interconnected and small the world really is.  I absolutely love Janna, she is Muslim by choice through-and-through and is genuine in her understanding and actions that, while the book is meant for Muslims and nonMuslims, she really sets the standard of how fictitious characters can positively affect their readers.  The only slightly forced thread for me was Janna suddenly loving animals and being ready to head to Peru.  I get that she was crushing, but it seemed a little too over the top for an otherwise very plausible plot.  

The best part of the book, in my opinion is that it isn't all fluff and fun, there are some very real issues that get spotlighted.  Like in Saints and Misfits where Janna is sexually assaulted by a seemingly devout, religious, well liked male, this story addresses racism and prejudice within the Islamic community.  Janna's dad always felt treated as less than by Janna's mom's family for not being Arab.  He flat out warns Janna about her feelings for Nuah because he is Black.  Sarah's Aunt is offended that the mendhi is more Desi than Arab.  The issues aren't just pointed out, they require active acknowledgement and action.  The author's note at the end, even discusses the significance and weight of such views at the end.

FLAGS:

There are mentions of the sexual assault that happened to Janna in the first book.  There is mention of periods, a possible affair, racism, and a character who drove while drunk and killed his son as a result.

TOOLS FOR LEADING THE DISCUSSION:

I don't know that this book would be a great fit for a school book club, but I think a group of high school or college aged girls would thoroughly enjoy reading this and discussing it, and I would totally invite myself to their gathering to do so.

Multicultural realistic fiction. This is the sequel to Saints and Misfits. In the midst of her brother's, wedding, Janna discovers she's ready for a relationship but has trouble sharing that information with the person she likes. Then she realizes something about her dad that places an immediate barrier between them and could impact their entire relationship. And what's going on with Janna's mom... is she blushing under the gaze of that man?! Hopefully, Janna will be able to move in a positive direction with her parents and into a solid relationship for herself.

Happy to read the sequel and I enjoyed it just as much as the first book. Great characters and issues are handled well. Discrimination addressed in a thoughtful way.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy. It has been a long time since I read the prequel "Saints and Misfits," and I don't remember much from it, other than it was a very good book. You don't need to read the prequel to understand what's going on in this book. Any background relationships you need to know about are succinctly explained. However, I thought it was awesome how S.K. Ali snuck in characters from her other novel, but I won't spoil it for you! I will be getting a copy of this for our school library, and it is a perfectly halal romance novel and exceptionally clean. The themes of family, racism, and halal relationships come through very strongly here. Thank you for the perfect ending, twists and turns, and thoughtful discussion points on race and religion.

I loved Saints and Misfits and Misfit in Love is a great sequel. Finding Jana two years later as her brother prepares to get married she is older, wiser, but still insecure. You can feel her progression as a woman, but she still feels grounded and realistic. The struggles of the characters (Sarah's unhappiness with her husband-t0-be's wedding decor happens to be my favorite) are a great combination of lighter problems that provide humor with deeper problems of racism and how you tackle your parents faults.

~ received as an ARC from NetGalley ~

4/5 stars.

I LOVED Saints & Misfits, so I was excited to see a sequel with Janna. While this is promised as a standalone, it definitely makes sense to read Saints & Misfits first. I should have reread it, because I had forgotten a LOT of the plot and characters from the first one, but there is enough detail to make sense of it all.

This book also beautifully tackles racism within the Muslim and Islamic community, along with Antiblackness as a whole. It also details Islamic culture brilliantly, and Janna is a strong hijabi.

I didn't necessarily like the romance element of it, but I was satisfied at the ending with Janna making the choices she did...I also need an update on the ending of the book because I am invested in the story brewing.

Overall, once again was beautifully written and tackles complex subjects.

Just as with “Saints and Misfits,” I learned so so much and I love that about both books. And I enjoy finding out, especially, that there are Muslims of all levels and types of faith - something I don’t think I really understood before. I also really enjoyed the wide array of characters and watching Janna interact with and think about and avoid and get to know each of them.

The only drawback to this title is hard to put into words. I suppose it would be easiest to simply say that Ali’s books are not easy. Meaning, they challenge me and I don’t breeze through them. Rather, I spend lots of time absorbing and thinking about what’s happening in the story and with the characters and I am a little weary, yet smarter, for having read them. 💜📚

Thank you Netgalley for a free cope of this arc.
An interesting story that I enjoyed. I look forward to reading more books by the author in the future.

I’m so happy to return back to Saints&Misfits universe. I already engaged with those lovely characters and I am so curious to read Janna’s own story.

After seeing the cover and reading blurb tells me she finds herself in love square : I screamed yes! I was intrigued more and went blind. But to be honest without reading more about his rivalries, I was a little biased to be at team Nuah before starting to read it because at the first book I felt like a JaNu couple story will be about to come as sequel!

I don’t want to give spoilers but I can only say: I was extremely wrong and to be honest the team I supported was the winner! (At least this was a huge relieving. )

But I have to admit this book is not only about love square centered in heroine’s brother’s wedding. There are so many characters we’ve been already introduced at the first book like Adam and Zeyneb making cameos and it’s so refreshing to see how their stories blended with the other characters’ including Janna’s parents who struggle with deep marriage issues.

It’s too hard to digest the changes for Janna suddenly occur inside her close circle : estrangement of her parents , marriage of her brother Muhammad and her long time admirer Nuah acts weird around her. After she decides to give a chance to take a step into a relationship with him but now he seems like the reluctant one!

And when two newcomers involve into love game: sweet Haytham and annoying Layth: she finds herself more confused than before.

It’s a heartfelt, emotional, lovely , soft, quick read also contains sensitive issues like self discovery, racism, divorce.

I loved the first book of the series and I mostly recommend you to read that one to enjoy more this sequel! It truly warmed my heart as like the first one did.

I’m looking forward to read more books of the series!

Special thanks to Netgalley and Simon&Schuster Children’s Publishing/ Salaam Reads for sharing this impressive digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

Disclaimer: I recieved this copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely LOVED this book! I want to own a physical copy soon even though I already read the ARC. It's SO refreshing to see Muslim protagonists. This is the sequel to Saints and Misfits and S.K.Ali tied things that happened in that book in this one. Readers will get to see the aftermath of what happpened and how Janna is coping. I also loved that this book was filled with romance and tackled so many important topics without making it feel rushed. This book tackles racism within the family and it also deals with a protagonist who has divorce parents. I also loved seeing Adam and Zeyneb again, but I wish Adam talked in this book. Janna describes a conversation and that can be left to the reader's imagination. I also loved that I got to see a different side of Muhammad and Sara. ALSO NUAH IS BACK and there's two more guys who I loved reading about. Honestly, this is just a post where I mostly gush about this book. You need this on your shelf! It really is THE MUSLIM WEDDING EVENT OF THE YEAR! It is perfect for fans of Love from A to Z and Frankly in Love.