When Nada's best friend Haleema insists on her attending the big annual Muslim conference in downtown Toronto with her, Nada knows her friend is trying to help her get out of her rut. What she doesn't expect is for multiple pieces of her past -- situations she had set aside because of the devastation they brought her -- to return over the course of the weekend. And the biggest piece she left behind? Her relationship with Baz, Haleema's fiance's brother.

This second-chance romance really brought the drama right from the start. One of the first things revealed about Nada and Baz's past had me doubting that I would like how the story developed, but the author very deftly revealed layer after layer of Nada's past to create sympathy for both characters and to give the reader a solid reason to cheer them on. As with her other books, Jalaluddin presents a variety of Muslim characters with great nuance, showcasing her faith with love and pride but also offering possibilities for where faith, culture, and people can learn and grow.

There's a lot of heartbreak in this book, but there's also a lot of love and support and forgiveness and hope. And honestly, we need more of this!

Thank you, Berkley Romance and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

I can see this being a solid three star read, four or five for the right readers. Well written, moves along. At 4%, we got a pretty large backstory dump. I always prefer more details spread out/pushed back to later in the book for when I'm actually invested in the characters. I stopped at 5%.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.