This was such a sweet and delightful read!

Maya is about to enter an arranged marriage but fate has other plans and on the plane there she ends up sitting next to someone who might just be her love match….

I worried about the reaction of Maya’s family when she found herself and decided to follow her own path but all characters were understanding, kind and sympathetic making this the perfect uplifting romance.

Had to dnf- honestly the main characters voice was too grating and to start the novel with a therapy session was strange…

Some parts felt really cheesy and forced but some parts were really sweet. I had a hard time getting into Maya's Character, as it felt almost childish.

Thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for the ARC

“Sometimes you meet someone and you realize…you were living your whole life staggering around in the darkness and didn't even know it. Not until you met them."

We meet Maya the day before she’s set to fly to Pakistan for her wedding. It’s clear this marriage isn’t a love match but she’s too much of a people pleaser to put her interests first. At the airport she meets Sarfaraz who ends up being her traveling companion when problem (after problem, after problem, after problem) delays the trip.

I enjoyed this story! From the start I was wondering how it would all end up. The traveling and adventure aspect was a lot of fun, the romance was slow and sweet, and I was rooting for Maya throughout.

🛩️Slow burn
🛩️Only one bed
🛩️Pakistani culture and customs
🛩️Meet disaster
🛩️No spice-just kisses
🛩️Prickly MMC, people pleasing FMC

Thank you Netgalley and MIRA for an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This book, which leans heavily into the fake relationship, roadtrip/travel mishaps, and forced proximity tropes, was so much fun!

After a long arranged engagement, Maya, who thinks she's cursed, is traveling to Pakistan for her wedding, and of course she gets stuck next to surly seatmate Sarfaraz for the long flight. Thank goodness she'll never see him again once they safely reach their destination. Except, you guessed it, mishaps and shenanigans subvert all of her expectations, but not nearly as much as Sarfaraz does.

I was briefly concerned that I would struggle with how the author planned to achieve the HEA that every reader knows is coming. And, even though the wrap up is a bit too tidy and convenient, it absolutely worked within the narrative.

If you're tired of reading the same old female protagonist falling for the same old male love interest, then Maya's Laws of Love will be a much needed breath of fresh air. Highly recommended!

I enjoyed this book and I especially liked that it featured a Muslim heroine, which we don't see very often in romance books. I appreciated learning about Pakistani Muslim culture and what their wedding celebrations look like.

I have mixed feelings on ending of the book. I really liked the big revelation. I wasn't expecting it and when it happened, I was really into it. I felt that the conflicts of the book resolved too quickly and easily in the end. I found it hard to believe that Maya found her confidence to stand her ground on a turn of a dime when she had been the obedient daughter all of her life.

With all of that said, I'm still looking forward to future books by this author because I enjoyed the writing.

Steam level: 🔥

Maya's Laws of Love is an incredible debut from Alina Khawaja! This Pakistani romance reminded me so much of my favorite Bollywood films, and I love the themes behind the story. I related to Maya so much, both as a skeptic about love and romance while being a hopeless romantic, as well as the trauma of being the eldest daughter in desi families. I definitely think romance readers--and romance readers alike--will love this debut novel! I would rate this book 4.25 stars rounded up.

This book was so adorable. I continuously continued to say that over and over while reading. I genuinely enjoyed both main characters and loved their romance. I was so happy reading this and it was everything that I wanted from a rom-com read. I would recommend this to any romance reader. Once I am able to form coherent thoughts I will come back to edit this more thoroughly! 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher  for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was cute and chaotic and everything I hoped it would be, save for a few minor imperfections that held me back from a 5 star rating. Maya, on her way to Pakistan for her arranged marriage, was so busy convincing everyone she WAS happy about it, that she forgot it actually mattered if this was true. Her journey of finally realizing she had a right to be happy with her own life was a very satisfying one that took a freaking long time to get to. Maya was conflicting to me because she wanted so badly to be treated as an independent adult, which she was, but she also seemed very immature at times and I kept having to remind myself how old she actually was.
Her “laws of love” at the top of each chapter were cute, but if you took them out of context and, like, put them on a list of laws that she was following or referring to on a daily basis, they would definitely not make much sense. So as a chapter title kind of gimmick, they were cute, but as a rational thing Maya was creating for herself it kind of felt strange to me.
I definitely appreciated that Sarfaraz was an actual super rude grump at the beginning of the book, enough that I thought wow, this guy’s got some work to do to convince me he’s not The Jerk, as Maya dubs him at their first meeting. Luckily he does, and he won me over pretty easily if I’m honest. Faster than he won Maya, that’s for sure. He was grumpy and wanted to be alone, but still put himself out there to help her when needed (even though she’s completely independent and doesn’t need help from ANYONE! EVER! Except that oh yeah I forgot to call my bank now my card’s declined thx so much for paying for my stuff) and he was ready to say yes whenever she coaxed him into something (he was smitten from the get to, let’s be honest).
The climax/3rd act conflict, while it felt a little too easily reconciled, was satisfying, and the whole last third or so of the book I was thinking about how I wish I could watch this as a movie. It definitely has feel-good third act rom-com vibes (think While You Were Sleeping) and I was so down for it.
Overall, this was a really fun and cute romcom and I would recommend it!

This book was so cute! I loved Maya. I loved how her relationship with Sarfaraz bloomed. From him being The Jerk who she got stuck next to on the plane, to him taking care of her when she was sick, and then putting his life on the line to keep her safe. He also took everything that happened to them in stride, but I suppose it helped having someone to watch over, to make him feel less alone.

The curse was fun. I’ve read travel tropes before, where everything that can go wrong does. This one was so much more unique. All the bad things that happened to Maya were really just bringing her right where she needed to be. I loved getting a glimpse of Switzerland, and how Sarfaraz cared enough about what Maya said to look into her favorite show and watch it without her knowing. He was a sweet man who’d gotten the short end of the stick and had his own tragedies.

It was fitting how they came together, and I loved watching it happen. The clean romance aspect made sense in light of their culture and I didn’t feel the need for more steam—the story was well written.

This was a great story that I’m glad I picked up!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Maya believes she's cursed in love so she has decided to enter into an arranged marriage to a handsome doctor, the only problem is on the way to her wedding she gets stranded in Switzerland with a cynical lawyer who is going to have her questioning her marriage choice. Maya has been unlucky in love and thinks she's cursed, and to get her mom to take her seriously she decided to enter into an arranged marriage with a old colleague who is a handsome doctor. On the way to her wedding she is seated next to a cynical lawyer who she can't leave alone and when a storm leaves them stranded in Switzerland, Maya and Safaraz become unlikely travel companions. The more time they spend together the more the chemistry between them grows and the more Maya is questioning who the right guy for her is. Unfortunately this was a miss for me, I really wanted to like this but I just did not like Maya at all. I did not feel the chemistry or romance between her and Safaraz and wasn't all that invested in their relationship. I wish I could like this book but it fell flat for me and the romance wasn't there. If you are interested in an arranged marriage/fall for a different guy romance, give this a go, maybe you'll have a better time with it than I did.

*Thanks Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Forced proximity travelling + grumpy/sunshine, the tropes were done so perfectly in this book 😭 there's a twist thrown in at some point which I absolutely should have guessed BUT I DIDN'T it really came out of nowhere, Alina you're a genius 😂

++ there's a rain scene where the main ship holds a sweater over the MC's head, the way I swooned 😭

I loved how everything was resolved at the end, the pacing of this book + the emotional setup and resolution was so satisfying! There's also a good amount of philosophy/psychology thrown in at the end, it was very well rounded 🥲

TWs - child abandoned by parent (the MC), extended fight between parent and son which leads to them not talking for years, mugging (a gun is used to threaten the characters although no one is physically hurt at the end)

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

I really enjoyed this book and want to say thank you for approving me for this ARC. I love the representation in this book and really related to the FMC. I thought the banter was great as well as the character development! Overall 4.5 stars!

I would love to interview Alina on my podcast, Raise Your Words. Maya’s Laws of Love is an incredible romantic book with Pakistani main characters.

I found myself being able to relate to Maya a LOT. I have a pretty cynical view of the world and felt that regardless of Maya's negativity, she was able to see the silver lining.
Cute book, well written.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. I'm sure a lot of other people would like it way more than I did and there were many cute parts which is why I gave it three stars. However, if it wasn't an ARC, I would have probably just DNF'd it. The beginning half of the book the MMC is insufferable and really doesn't deserve the FMC. The FMC is incredibly kind and sweet and though I'm very much not from a Desi household, I could still relate to a lot of what she was feeling. I really also appreciated how much time the author spent both celebrating and criticizing her, and her character's, experience as a Canadian-Pakistani Muslim. My main problems with the novel are that I don't feel the MMC and FMC had a strong enough bond for me to root for them and that the book felt sometimes excruciatingly slow. The author could have had a cute, well paced book either ending it in the first half during the travel to Pakistan or just the second half in Pakistan, but I think she tried to fit way too much into one novel and it was hard to get through. Overall, I would say to anyone who was interested in this book that they should still try it - they might have a different take on it- but get ready for a really slow burn and to have to wait a while for the MMC to get remotely tolerable. I received an ARC from Netgalley.

review to come. posted review for another book by mistake. anticipating to have this read in the next week

Yes - 100% yes!

What do you do when you believe your love life is cursed & you’ve agreed to an arranged marriage…only to meet the love of your life days before your wedding day??? Do you test your luck and choose love…wedding and history be damned - or pick the safe route & marry a man you don’t have feelings for but is a “safe” bet? This is exactly the predicament Maya finds herself in within the pages of Alina Khawaja’s debut novel, Maya's Laws of Love!

💗 Swoon Worthy
✈️ Travel Adventures
🗺️ Follow Your Heart
💍 Arranged Marriage
📈 Character Growth
❤️‍🩹 Complicated Family Relationships
🇵🇰 Pakistani Author/Rep
🗣️ Banter
☀️ Grumpy/Sunshine

I truly loved this story and cannot wait to see what Alina Khawaja comes up with next!

Thank you Mira Books for the advanced copy!

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC read opportunity!
I enjoyed this cute little novel. I like the humor that was brought through
go out main character and I honestly really enjoyed the representation of the Muslim and Pakistani culture and faith. I don’t see enough representation in most of my reading and I really liked that in this book.
It took me a while to get into this book but once I did, I really enjoyed it.
Some feedback that I have for the author is that some parts of the book felt slow and kind of hard to read. Nothing too bad, but just something to think about. But I really like you’re writing style and would love to read another one of your books later on!

4.25⭐ Maya Mirza is so convinced she’s unlucky in love that she’s come up with a list of laws to explain it. Most importantly - Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. But that’s about to change. Maya’s headed to Pakistan for an arranged marriage with a handsome, successful doctor who ticks all the right boxes. First comes marriage, then comes love—she’s sure of it. Except - When you think you’re lucky, think again.

From the start, Maya's journey is riddled with disaster, and the cynical lawyer seated next to her on the plane isn’t helping. When a storm leaves them stranded in Switzerland, she and Sarfaraz become unlikely travel companions through bus breakdowns and missed connections. Trips are never smooth sailing. And before long, Maya’s wondering whether she’s just experienced the ultimate in misfortune—finally meeting the right man a few days before she marries someone else. And Maya might just be the worst person to keep a secret. If you’re overtired, you’ll always spill your guts.

I loved Maya, her faith, her humor. I like to read books about people who are different from me. Super fun romance. I loved to see more of the Pakistani Muslim culture, especially a woman who didn't feel held back by her religion. Great banter, great characters. Definitely recommended!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!