This was one of my anticipated reads and unfortunately, it just did not work for me. I found Nur's anxiety to be really stressful and triggering. I thought he really treated Yamina and his family horribly. This book was a disappointment.

GOOD INTENTIONS is the debut novel by Kasim Ali and showcases an interracial relationship between a British Pakistani man, Nur, and a Black woman, Yasmina. Nur hides the relationship from his family which leads to tough discussions about racial prejudices, trust and love.
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I enjoyed the dialogues between the two cultures as we learn about each of their families. This story is told with alternating timelines between now and the past however the past would jump around which was confusing. Some parts of the book seemed a bit repetitive as Nur and Yasmina were having the same fight over and over. It was hard to root for Nur. Not quite a love story. I found the narrator of the audiobook to be good as he kept me engaged to keep listening.
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Thank you to Henry Holt Books and Macmillan Audio for my advance review copy!

A heartbreaking debut about an interracial couple torn apart by the burdens of parental expectations and the heavy cultural pressures working against them. Nur is a British Pakistani man who meets and falls in love with Yasmina, a young Black aspiring journalistst. The two try living for themselves and hiding their relationship from their parents but when years go by, the secrecy ends up taking a toll. Slow to start for me, the story really built up to a suspenseful conclusion as the couple fails to let outside pressures impede on their love. Great on audio narrated by Nathaniel Curtis with a beautiful cover. This was a wonderful look at the challenges of romantic love with someone outside your culture/race. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ALC.

Nur is a young Pakistani Brit who is trying to find his place in the world. He loves his family and his friends but he is not always sure about how he feels about himself. Then one day he meets the girl if his dreams, smart, beautiful, Muslim, but not Pakistani. Through the relationship Nur learns so much about himself but is it enough to maintain this loving yet fragile relationship. Pick up Good Intentions brought to life beautifully in the audiobook by Nathaniel Curtis and find out.

I thoroughly enjoyed Good Intentions. Kasim Ali writes beautifully, I always rooted for Nur even when I wanted to throttle him, his character development was stellar. I loved learning about Pakistani culture, it was a highlight of the book. Ali tackles taboo topics such as race and homosexuality within this community with care. And even though he challenged many of the conventions of this society, he balanced that view with showing its value as well. The only drawback was the fractured timeline, it could often get a bit confusing but once the reader immersed themselves in that timeframe, the story had you hooked. Well done.

An advance copy of this book and audiobook was provided courtesy of NetGalley, McMillan Audio, Henry Holt & Co, and GoodReads for review purposes. Thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to review this book. The publication date is March 8th, 2022 in US, and this is a debut novel by Kasim Ali, a British author.

The story is told by Nur, a young Pakistani British man who has been dating Yasmina, whose family is from Sudan. They met in college and dating for four years. Back home, Nur has a tight knit family with two younger siblings; however, he hasn't been able to tell his family that he is dating a black girl. What I liked about the book was a glimpse into an immigrant family with high expectations for off-springs, and the fact that discrimination happens between two non-white races. As I read on, I remembered being scared to share personal information with others and how others would react when I was younger. Ali delivers intricate nuances of interracial relationship as well as life of Pakistani family in Britain. I really enjoyed learning about different culture, and his descriptions are at times strikingly beautiful.
I did find the subject to be a bit mundane and some sections repetitious. Also, dual timelines in this book felt ineffective for me. I would give it a 3.5 star for a debut novel and look forward to reading future works from this author.

I understand the message and the importance, the themes of acceptance and ethnic divides, but that doesn't change the fact that ultimately this book was pretty dull and hard to get through. The protagonist was hard to root for and the decisions he made didn't make sense. I just wanted to shake him on so many occasions.