Overall Rating: 4 ⭐️

**This is my spoiler-free review of S.K. Ali’s Love from Mecca to Medina**

Disclaimer: This book was provided to me by NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada in exchange for my honest opinion in the form of a review. My thoughts are my own and have not been influenced by any outside parties.

This was an exceptionally charming sequel to S.K. Ali’s Love From A to Z. Right from the get go I knew I was going to adore this book for several reasons:

It opens from the perspective of Adam and Zayneb’s cat, Bertha Fatima Chen-Malik;
The chance to learn more about Muslim traditions and culture as someone who is non-Muslim;
The absolutely charming chaos destined to ensure when Adam and Zayneb get together again!

Additionally, it is always so fun to see how characters interact following their “happy endings” in previous novels wrap up!

The setting of this book was SO COOL. I absolutely adored that it took place in Mecca, and you can feel the reverence of the setting in the writing. Also, the love between Adam and Zayneb is wonderful.

Overall, excellent sequel and I am excited to see what S.K. Ali comes up with next!

Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Overall, I enjoyed this one a bit more than the first book.

Occasionally, I didn’t really connect with the writing style. It felt really cringy and incredibly millennial at times. At other times, I found the author's prose really beautiful, specifically the lessons we learn in regard to the teachings of Allah. It’s clear that the author thoughtfully takes care in portraying Islam and Muslims in this book. In short, I do think there is good Muslim representation in this book. Something that I also liked was how these characters see and describe the world.

What I really enjoyed was how centred the plot was around Islam, and how unapologetic the prose was in regards to Muslims and Islam. However, something that bugged me throughout the novel was that at times, the prose seemed as if it was written for a non-Muslim audience. Specifically, when the characters arrive in Mecca, you have these longwinded explanations of Islamic rituals, prayers, and rites. Thus, even though this novel is focused on Muslims, the reader has a feeling that the author centred on non-Muslims in the writing.

Regarding the actual plot, I was incredibly frustrated with the miscommunication as it bordered on ridiculous and unrealistic at times. The resolution to the miscommunication was executed awkwardly in a few sentences before the dynamic between the characters was randomly seemingly made right again. Speaking of the characters, I found it weird how some of them seemingly just dropped off the face of the planet as the book progresses such as the Sheikh (who additionally originally had a larger presence in the novel).

3.5 stars

first off, I just wanted to start by saying this book was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022, and needless to say, it genuinely truly absolutely positively wholeheartedly exceeded my expectations. it managed to make me laugh, sob AND swoon all in the matter of a few hours.

not only was this sequel extremely realistic, but zayneb & adam were just as relatable as they were in the first book. there was an obvious lack of communication between them at certain times which made complete sense (they’re a fairly new couple who were both dealing with their own issues and didn’t want to burden each other). i literally ran out of blue tabs while annotating simply because there were just so many emotions in the second half of the book

but don’t get me wrong, this novel is also extremely light-hearted as well. the bertha fatima povs?? from now on, I will be rating books based on whether or not a cat pov is included in them. also sasun?? she was gaslight gatekeep girlbossing her way through everything and i was so here for it.

if you loved “love from a to z”, trust me when I say you’ll be obsessed with “love from mecca to medina” (there was a parallel to their meet-cute in the first book which had me sobbing hysterically)

anyways head empty just “I just wanted to look at the same sky as zayneb for more than a vacation, a break, a pause in our lives. I wanted to lie under the same sky forever, with her lying beside me, marvelling.” (i need this quote to be permanently engraved in my brain )

I've been WAITING- quite impatiently, I might add- to return to the lives of Adam and Zayneb for their post-happily-ever-after. When I got a chance to read Love from Mecca to Medina early courtesy of NetGalley, I was beyond elated.
To begin, Adam and Zayneb''s post-happily-ever-after is not all you'd expect it to be. I was emotionally pained so much by all the hardships they endured while apart after getting 'nikah-fied' (legally married in Islam) But then, they get a chance to go to Umrah (a religious pilgrimage), which they both hope will heal them and bring them closer.
To go beyond this would get into dangerously spoilery zone, so for more information please see the description so I don't get in trouble for sharing too much 😅.
I absolutely loved how these chapters were titled and categorized. If you've read 'Love from A-Z', you'd know each chapter was a diary entry with marvels and oddities. As much as I would have loved to see that format again, the curated chapters were very cool and offered further insight into the characters' lives.
I also loved how we! got! to see! Janna! Layth! and! Sausan!! Janna has her own books, which you should totally check out as you impatiently wait till October 18th with me, however I feel like we witness character growth from her in the novel as well. And as always, Sausan is the most awesome. In many ways, this book feels like the culmination of all of their stories, tying them back to Islam, which is the final thing I want to talk about in my review.
I also loved how this book was so unapologetically... Muslim? S.K. Ali did not shy away from including all of the stories, Hadith (quotes from the Prophet Muhammad, Peace Be Upon Him), Quranic verses and subtle details in this book, which is of course set at the site of the holiest site on Earth where Muslims make a pilgrimage to. Not to suddenly become preachy, but if you want to learn more about other religions and cultures AND enjoy romance and a dose of angst, then this is the book for you. Also, if you are Muslim ,this book weaves faith and genuinely good storytelling in a way that'll have you wanting to reread over and over again.
All of this, and a superiorly intelligent cat, strong family bonds, roommate horror stories, an overbearing aunty and the shining backdrop of the City of Light, coming out on October 18th 2022!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

When I found out a sequel to Love from A to Z was coming out I nearly lost my mind!!! Adam and Zayneb are my most favourite Muslim couple ever so to get to read the continuation of their stories just made my whole year. In this sequel, we follow the two on a trip to Umrah as they navigate their own trials and try to figure out how to convey their feelings to one another.

Everything about this was so incredibly wonderful. I love that despite the "happy ending" of marriage, life goes on for our characters and to see it explored in the context of faith makes my heart soar. Genuinely, I have looked all my life for Muslim representation that makes me feel seen. All of S. K. Ali's books have done that for me, including this one. Every unapologetic story from the Qur'an, every "Alhamdulillah," every loving mention of one's faith made me feel so, so full. To see Muslim characters openly believe, to struggle with their faith and trek on, to have traits that make them just like regular people- all of those things. I get emotional thinking about it but it truly means a lot.

I would say my qualms with the book are far and few in between. Sometimes I found the narration to be a little artless, like in middle grade books. I found that mostly in the Bertha Fatima cat POV chapters which I wasn't the biggest fan of but maybe that's just me. There were some sort of cringey moments, I won't lie, and sometimes the writing was giving millennial but coming from someone who cringes at everything, I got through it so it wasn't that bad.

Other than that, I really think this was the perfect sequel to one of my absolute favourite romances. I'm not supposed to write out quotes from the book so I'll refrain but there were a handful of lines I want to keep in my pocket always. I can't wait for this book to be published and for all the fans of the prequel to read about their faves again 💗

Okay, so this is a hard one to write, but the short version is, I absolutely adored it. I loved seeing Adam and Zayneb in love dealing with the ups and downs and ending up more in love than ever.

Also, if you haven’t read the first book, Live from A to Z, you should read that first.

S.K. Ali's newest romance is centered around Adam and Zayneb, the protagonists from her previous novel Love From A to Z. Love From Mecca to Medina follows Adam and Zayneb as they struggle through the trials and tribulations that come with a new, and long-distance, marriage. Coupled with that (pun unintended), they're both facing personal issues and insecurities in themselves and their relationship. When they go on a (sort of reunion-based) Umrah trip and an old face from Adam's past comes into the picture, their marriage begins to seem like a difficult fix.

Moving on, let me wax poetic to you about the things in Love From Mecca to Medina that legitimately ruined me. First of all, getting this ARC is literally an unbelievable honor. I cried when I got the email, so thank you SimonTeen CA for this one :). Secondly, aside from the issue that will be mentioned, S.K. Ali's prose is stunning. I cried at least four times. The overarching message of Allah promising us that with hardship comes ease is perfect. In my life, right now especially, there's so much that I'm learning to accept as the decree of Allah. Watching as Adam and Zayneb learn these lessons alongside me, literally growing up with them from book 1 to now, means so much more to me than I can ever put into words. Wish I could quote some of it right here but I'll leave that for you to discover when you read it :)). I hope S.K. Ali knows how much peace her books give me.

I feel like I should be starting this part of the review with a disclaimer, more for me than anyone else. Love From A to Z is one of my favorite books of all time. Reading it was the first time a book was written with me as the target audience. It was special to read something written purely as a joy for Muslim girls. Zayneb who was my age, Zayneb who looks and dresses like I do, Zayneb who gets a love story in an industry where someone like her is so rare.

However, that unapologetic Islamic nature of book one is missing in this. Love From Mecca to Medina feels different. S.K. Ali's voice feels altered, as if it's not written so much for the Muslim Audience but written with someone else in mind. I think the best way I can explain what I feel is with this quote, said by Toni Morrison:

“I never asked Tolstoy to write for me, a little colored girl in Lorain, Ohio. I never asked Joyce not to mention Catholicism or the world of Dublin. Never. And I don’t know why I should be asked to explain your life to you.”


Love From Mecca to Medina, plainly, reads like a manual on Islam. This is not criticism of S.K. Ali's writing style because I can confirm that the spirituality she brings to this book is stunning, but I'm attempting to explain the detached mentality I had while reading certain chapters. Whiteness is never explained. Whiteness doesn't get paragraphs explaining its culture or its language and Whiteness definitely does not make its readers feel like they're not the target audience for a book written specifically for their demographic. For me it was like there was this subconscious idea that a non-Muslim reader is reading over my shoulder so even though the descriptions and explanations are tedious I should suffer through for them. Through all the descriptions of prayer and umrah and this pilgrimage that means more than anything to me in the world I felt so unbelievable ostracized. I've been for umrah and I've prayed there and I'm Muslim but there were entire scenes I had to gloss over because of the way they were written for a non-Muslim reader. I don't blame the author for this, nor would I discourage anyone from reading it, but I have issues with an industry that allows for the marginalization of a community within their own representation. Centering whiteness in non-white stories by making everyone who isn't white need explanation is so hurtful. Obviously there are ways to circumvent something like this- a glossary would be perfect, actually.

I can't write a review I’m crying too much.

" I just wanted to look at the same sky as Zayneb for more than a vacation, a break, a pause in our lives. I wanted to lie under the same sky forever, with her lying beside me, marveling."


this can’t be the end I refuse your honor.