Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Sway With Me

Author: Syed M. Masood

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3.5/5

Diversity: Desi Anxiety rep MC who lives with great grandpa and is previously homeschooled. Blended family is shown in a main side character. Most of the main characters in the book are Desi.

Recommended For...: young adult readers, romance, contemporary, dance, alternative and blended family

Publication Date: November 9, 2021

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Recommended Age: 15+ (Sexual innuendos, Language, Arranged marriage, Sexual content, Child abuse, Religion, Religious abuse)

Explanation of CWs: There are sexual innuendos throughout the book. There is some cursing in the book. Arranged marriage is discussed and is a preferred choice by the MC. Slight sexual content is mentioned in the book. Child abuse is discussed and mentioned. A variety of different religions including Muslim, Christianity, etc. is mentioned several times. There is also allusions to religious abuse.

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Pages: 320

Synopsis: Arsalan has learned everything he knows from Nana, his 100-year-old great-grandfather. This includes the fact that when Nana dies, Arsalan will be completely alone in the world, except for his estranged and abusive father. So he turns to Beenish, the step-daughter of a prominent matchmaker, to find him a future life partner. Beenish’s request in return? That Arsalan help her ruin her older sister’s wedding with a spectacular dance she’s been forbidden to perform.

Despite knowing as little about dancing as he does about girls, Arsalan wades into Beenish’s chaotic world to discover friends and family he never expected. And though Arsalan’s old-school manners and Beenish’s take-no-prisoners attitude clash every minute, they find themselves getting closer and closer—literally. All that’s left to realize is that the thing they both really want is each other, if only they can get in step.

Review: For the most part I liked the book. I thought it was an okay read, the characters were well developed and I really liked Beans. I thought the world building was well done as well and the pacing was on point. I also liked the storyline and I really felt for our MC.

However, there were some issues I had with the book. The book contains a lot of literature references, a ton of them to older books, and a lot of them went over my head and I would assume some of them would go over a lot of younger readers’ heads as well. However, there was a very awkward self insert of the author’s first book and how much a main side character liked it and it really put me off of this book at that point considering I had some issues with that other book as well. The MC, however much I liked him, felt really stiff and I don’t see him as one that is really likeable until about the last 1/3 of the book. Finally, but most important, I also saw that there was a lot of shame and hostility towards the Muslim religion. There was some towards Christianity, but I noticed it a lot more towards Muslim. It read like there was some shame in the Muslim religion and, when I read some of the ownvoice reviewers on Goodreads, they had similar sentiments and it’s a huge concern of theirs regarding this book. I’m not advocating that this book is necessarily bad, but I do think that ownvoice reviewers should be heard on this issue especially considering this book is marketed towards them.

Verdict: It was ok.

Sway with me is a YA contemporary featuring a skeptical, awkward protagonist, an abstruse, crotchety (great-)grandpa, a rebellious, prickly love interest, and the most ridiculously extra side characters. It has a similar vibe as David Yoon's Super Fake Love Song and Gayle Forman's We Are Inevitable. Even though the premise is relatively predictable, the directions Masood chose to take the story aren't. He doesn't set out to write likeable characters--there are moments when they're downright exasperating--but it's a refreshing change from the relatively monotonous landscape that makes up YA contemporary. As much I as appreciate the rep, I'm not a huge fan of how preachy the book got at times. I can excuse some philosophizing by writing it off as part of Arsalan and Nana's character building, but Masood takes it a little too far. I also wish the ending were a little more developed. Still, the book manages to be both hopeful and realistic which isn't an easy thing to pull off, so props to Masood.

This book was absolutely AMAZING. I mean, I didn’t go in with any expectations- good or bad, but well, it turned out to be pretty amazing! I can’t hold account for the Muslim rep, since I am not a Muslim, but I thought it was pretty good.

Plot:

To be honest, the plot was special, but not at the same time. Like the breaking the bonds of patriarchy part was pretty amazing, but the romance part wasn’t anything special. It was basically badass girl trying to help/makeover awkward boy. But I loved the entire thing about dancing in the wedding even though it was prohibited. I love how it was developed most of all.
It was honestly so intriguing to see how it would end, that I couldn’t put the book down, it was so freaking amazing!

Characters:

Not gonna lie, I didn’t enjoy reading about Arsalan much. I mean, he was just weird. And I am weird, and I am saying that. He was also honestly a little annoying, like how naive could someone be? Like, had the book not been from his POV, and I would have to read about him as the love interest, I wouldn’t have enjoyed the book as much.

But Beenish, oh my god, I loved her! She was so charismatic, and just a bubble of energy, honestly! I loved Nana too, and I loved to see their relationship grow. It was amazing.

Another side character I enjoyed reading about was Qirat, Beans’ sister. She was so sweet, and mature. Diamond Khan was another side character who grew on me.

I also enjoyed reading about Muslims, since I never really have read Muslim rep in books a lot.

Writing Style:

I was hooked to the book that’s how good the writing style was. It didn’t even take time for me to adjust it. I do wish the introduction would have been a little longer, but then that’s just my opinion, it might suit others.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy. Masood’s books always have me laughing on one page, then tearing up on the next. This hilarious and philosophical novel is the same, with the same amount of can’t-put-it-down-ness. Some reader triggers are domestics abuse and alcohol recovery. I wish the expletives were left out, so I could give this a clean rating. While not a religious book, this will appeal to Muslim youth in America, whether or not they are struggling with Muslim identity, belief, and levels of practicing faith. It’s halal enough (but not completely), so I will still recommend this book for our classroom library.

An absolute & utterly refreshing YA coming of age story about embracing one’s identity without letting the past define who you can become in life. This is a beautiful story about friendship, family, faith and young love.

Pakistani Muslim rom-com desi book!! Ahh tis the wedding season and Arsalan and Beenish! Review will be up on my Bookstagram account close to the publication date (and I’m also a teacher).