This is a cute slow-burn romance featuring Pakistani Muslim main characters. It was nice learning about Desi culture, but the author does note that the book is not Halal. That being said it was a fun travel romance where "everything that can go wrong will go wrong"!

Maya Mirza is on her way to Pakistan to get married, a full three years after agreeing to an arranged marriage. She's not in love with the guy, but he's nice and she's convinced that she's unlucky in love so she might as well take what she can get. Her trip has a rocky start with an annoying stranger and a turbulent flight that gets redirected to Switzerland. It's an unexpected respite before arriving at her family's home for the elaborate wedding celebration and the beginning of her questioning what it is she really wants to do with her life, and maybe even if the annoying stranger could possibly be more.

It's a great romance that shows two people slowly getting to know each other in extreme yet appealing circumstances. Both Maya and Sarfaraz are likable characters that make the trip and everything that happens to them an enjoyable little adventure. The supporting cast feels a bit of an afterthought as they're barely present in the story but important to the plot leading to the inevitable HEA.

I will add that a big part of my enjoyment of it is how well Khawaja included the Desi cultural elements in a way that someone unfamiliar with them can understand how they shape the way the characters act. It makes it relatable even when things are completely foreign to this reader.

Delighted thanks to NetGalley and MIRA for the wonderful read!

This book was really great and funny. I really enjoyed it a lot. I love stories of different ethnicities and traditions and when laws and cultures are challenged within a story line and made more modern. Change and challenge can be a good thing.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving this ARC, and this doesn't influence my review. This book was highly relatable as I am Pakistani, and I completely understood the dilemmas the FMC was facing throughout the novel. I recommend others to read this to understand desi culture.

DNF - I found it hard to keep coming back to this to finish. I think it has a good plot but the execution was not appealing to me.

Thank you NetGalley & Harlequin Trading for this eARC.

We open with Maya who is currently attending an appointment with her therapist. Here we learn that Maya is a week away from getting married to Imtiaz via arranged marriage, and also that she’s cursed.

As Maya sets off to Pakistan for her wedding, she begins to experience a series of unfortunate events. Starting with waking up late, running into a rude stranger which cause her to nearly miss her flight, and then having to sit next to said stranger on the plane, oh and then the plane has to do an emergency landing in Switzerland due to an unforeseen storm. Oh, and the stranger on the plane is actually Sarfaraz, in which Maya makes an unlikely travel companion in.

With just a week to go before she gets married, Maya begins to believe she truly does have the worst luck of all, as she starts to realize her blossoming feelings for Safaraz.

This is one of those books I’m so glad I stuck with and saw to the end. I almost DNF’ed this within the first few chapters. The writing felt a little too choppy and there were so many details that were unnecessary. But as soon as the plot started to pick up, I became hooked with the story and couldn’t stop reading.

This is definitely one of those rom coms where the two leads get caught in ridiculous antics. But I find it’s the perfect amount of cheesiness and romance. And the ridiculousness of the plot really leans into Maya’s belief that she’s cursed, so it all works out in my opinion.

The story takes place in the span of the week, so it can be difficult to get some true character development with this timeline. Thankfully, we have another character (Maya’s fiancee) to compare Sarfaraz to. And seeing the way Maya interacts with Sarfaraz as compared to Imtiaz, I really enjoyed those sweet tender moment even more.

A feeling stipulations because I fear my enjoyment of this book was all vibes:

Maya can be pretty insufferable and cringy. So be warned of the severe second-hand embarrassment.

Sarfaraz is literally the bare minimum. He’s truly just nice and considerate which all human beings should be.

The writing is not anything to fawn over with the exception of a few lines towards the end.

With all that in mind, I really enjoyed this. It was more so a fun romance rather than a whirlwind and emotional one.

I ended up putting this book down at about 40% of the way through when I decided I was very much not the target audience. I really enjoyed learning a little bit more about Desi culture, but I could not stand the man that I'm sure ends up being the love interest. He was very rude to the female main character, to the point where I had no interest watching them fall in love. This book might be great for someone else, but it was not for me .

"Being in love is...like walking through a field of sunflowers…It's full of bright colors and
beautiful scenery, and the stalks are so tall it feels like things will go on forever…But sometimes you forget the stalks are clustered together, and you can scratch yourself, and you can trip over roots that burst from the ground. Sometimes it feels like you're stumbling through the field, unaware of which direction you're going in, and you get so scared and frustrated all you want to do is fall to the ground and weep." My chest swells. "But then you remember you have someone holding your hand. Someone who also sees the bright colors and the tall stalks, and who also scratches themselves and trips. And suddenly you're not alone anymore."

Maya’s Laws of Love was a fun and interesting romantic story about how Maya navigates her life through her scientific laws of love. Maya’s dad walked out on her family when she was a little girl and since then she feels like she has been cursed to never find true love again. Gosh, that's harsh just even typing it out.

Feeling like she has to settle for love based on her arranged marriage situation, her feelings get rattled up when she is forced to sit next to Sarfaraz AKA the jerk on her plane ride to Pakistan. Sarfaraz is an uppity tight jerk who has a deep fear of heights (which we never find out more in the story) and finds Maya annoying. I mean I can see how she is given that fact that she calls him a jerk while talking to her mom on the phone and how she demands that he talk to her on the flight AFTER SHE CALLED HIM OUT! 😑 Anywho, they are both deemed to rely on each other when their Pakistani version of Spirit airlines is forced to land in Switzerland.
I did find parts of the story entertaining to read and other parts head scratching. Maya has a strong support system around her, but she is so strong willed at times it’s a bit too much. I did enjoy watching her gain confidence in herself and owning her life choices.

Thank you again to NetGalley and to Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story about Maya Mirza who is so convinced she’s unlucky in love 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 Sarfaraz, the cynical lawyer seated next to her on the plane, comes into her life.

I picked up this book because it was supposed to be a Muslim romantic comedy. At some point, it is but if you read this and you expect to read about a halal romance story, it is not. There is a lot of physical intimacy between the main male and female characters. Hands on her waist, resting her head on his shoulder, traveling together, holding hands, hugs, and everything. The other thing that disturbs me the most is she is sharing the hotel room with him!

If the author wanted to portray this book just as a romance novel, I would be fine, but if she wanted to portray this book as a Muslim romance, that would be a problem.

I would like to begin by saying I myself am not Muslim, but I enjoy reading books set in other cultures and religions as a way to learn about cultures and practices different from my own.

Did I read the entire book? Yes. Did I enjoy it as a general romance? Sort of. Would I classify this as a "Muslim romance"? Absolutely not.

I cannot speak to to accuracy/inaccuracy of the representation, but from what I do know from friends and coworkers, this is NOT an accurate portrayal.

Now to what I can talk about as a woman and a reader. The story follows Maya, a first-grade teacher who is on her way to Pakistan to marry her fiancé (Imtiaz), who she met in college and later reconnected with him when their families received each other's rishtas. Maya is the last to leave for Pakistan because of her job, and is travelling alone from Canada to Pakistan. On the plan she meets the MMC (Sarfaraz), and they get off on the wrong foot, and then are later stuck together when their plane is forced to land in Switzerland for a few days because of a storm. By the way, it is mere days until Maya's wedding. Essentially, the two characters get to know each other while in Switzerland and end up falling in love.

While in Switzerland, Maya get sick and literally throws up all over Sarfaraz. He then invites her to his hotel room so she can get out of the storm. While the gesture is a nice one, WHY WOULD YOU GO INTO THE HOTEL ROOM OF A MAN YOU JUST MET?! As a woman to went on about independence and how she was an adult, I don't know what made her agree to enter, let alone stay multiple nights in, a hotel with a man she just met and did not get a good impression from.

As Maya and Sarfaraz continue their journey to Pakistan - they are both going to the same town/city but no one thought to ask why - they come across various obstacles. Their bus breaks down, they get into an "Uber" and get robbed at gun point, they end up staying with random strangers, AND THEN eventually make it to their final destination. Through all these "adventures", Maya and Sarfaraz make come pretty questionable comments and decisions regarding each other.

The biggest plot twist in the book is that Sarfaraz is actually Imtiaz' half brother, and shows up at house where the family is staying mere minutes after Maya shows up. What makes me even more uncomfortable is that Sarfaraz knew for most of their trip together that Maya was engaged to his half brother and never said anything about it. And then a few pages later - when everyone is sitting to eat together - Maya had an entire inner monologue about how Sarfaraz and Imtiaz look like their father and each other and she cannot believe she did not recognize it earlier.

Reading through the book, there were a significant number of spelling and formatting errors that made it difficult for me to smoothly read the book. This may have just been the formatting of the copy I received, but if not, it is something that can be fixed easily.

While I am a fan of a couple of the tropes and tags that are associated with this book, this storyline made me very uncomfortable and I almost did not finish the book. While I try to find something positive to say about all my arc reads, I unfortunately have nothing positive to say. Even small moments or comments that I enjoyed are overshadowed by the inaccurate portrayal of a culture and unhealthy dynamics of the characters.

I would like to thank the NetGalley for providing me with this ARC edition in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me this arc in exchange for my honest review!

Rating 3 stars

This was a very cute slowburn, I enjoyed the characters for what they were and the storyline, though I felt like something was missing in this book. I can't put my finger on it, but it just felt... a little flat in some points. Still had fun reading!

This was a DNF for me. The storyline wasn't very entertaining and I didn't connect with the FMC at all. I wanted to shake her.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. Review based on final copy. All opinions are my own.
Maya’s Laws of Love is a cute Pakistani-Muslim romcom that caught my eye due to the cute cover and the premise. While I can’t speak to the specifics of the rep, with responses being polarizing from ownvoices reviewers, I did appreciate getting Khawaja’s perspective on certain cultural issues through her characters, including the nuances of arranged marriage beyond the propaganda-like horror stories, not to mention the common “people pleaser” mentality many Pakistani Muslim children grow up with.
Maya’s characterization explores these issues beautifully. She’s chronically unlucky in love, which inspired the titular laws of love, and her belief she’s cursed. It has also motivated her to be fine with going along with the “safe” option of an arranged marriage her parents have arranged for her. But it’s clear that she’s not happy living this way, and an opportunity for true, requited love really changes her worldview.
Sarfaraz is a compelling love interest, if not from the initial “meet-cute,” definitely once they began interacting. I didn’t initially expect the connection between him and her fiancee, but it all made sense in hindsight, including him picking up on it before she did. He’s just a generally solid guy who also loves his family and wants to do right by them, but also wants Maya to choose herself for once instead of caving to what others want.
And speaking of the fiancee, I didn’t know what to think of him at first, but he really came through in the end, being really supportive of Maya and Sarfaraz. I don’t know what Khawaja plans to write next, but I hope she has plans for something involving him!
This was a solid debut, and I’d recommend it to readers looking for a contemporary romcom with nuanced Pakistani-Muslim rep.

I know not every romance novel, YA or Adult with Muslim characters, by Muslim authors is halal, no matter what the claim is, obviously. But I didn't realize how trope-y such a niche within the genre apparently is for Muslim characters falling in love, with some semblance of a religious conscience. In all reality I've only ever read a handful of "romance" novels, the romcom type, so I was surprised to see that this book also relies on weather causing a plane to be diverted, but not causing much stress for those stranded and thus allowing them to have a pocket of time that they must make the best of until they can resume their journey and lives. In this case it is Maya and Sarfraz. Maya is headed to her wedding in Pakistan, Sarfraz is the stranger that she can't avoid each step of the journey. Both are Muslim Canadian with their own baggage and obstacles, but by about chapter three it is pretty clear exactly what is going on, what is going to happen, and there are no real surprises. Maya's laws and her belief that she is cursed, I think are meant to be quirky, but I just found them rather annoying traits in an otherwise fairly likeable character. Her "doomed" love life is more dramatic than grounded in accuracy, and the passages where she reflects on her passed failures and current curse are slow, drawn out, and ultimately stall the story, particularly at the end. The characters pray on occasion and are Muslim, but fear and love of Allah don't dictate anything they do or keep themselves from doing. For an Adult book, the "haramness" is pretty tame and isn't much of a concern, they sleep int he same room, they hold hands, they do share a kiss, and ultimately there is dating, a few non Muslim lesbian and gay couples mentioned, some lying, and some belief in chance, luck, and superstition.. There is some commentary on Pakistani culture, misogyny, divorce, and immigrants, but nothing heavy or particularly insightful. The books stays on the surface, and reads like a 90's chick flick. I read the 310 pages off and on in the car in a single day waiting for my kids and enjoyed it for the most part. I wouldn't be terribly alarmed if a 16 or 17 year old picked it up, but I wouldn't hand it to them. I appreciate the "disclaimer" at the beginning, but SPOILER because the book concludes with them dating, not marrying, I feel like the takeaway does normalize a clearly non halal situation that can't be pushed into gray areas out of illness, necessity, fear, circumstance, or a moment of passion, as it kind of tries to up until the end.

I received a compliment copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are mine.

This is a slow burn and a perfect read for fans of love by chance. The book follows Maya who believes she is unlucky in love so she writes a list of laws to help her cope.
Her list can'thelp her when she heads ro Pakistan for an arranged marriage with a handsome doctor who she doesn’t love because marriage comes first right .However her journey is full of disaster as she is seated next to the worst passenger and they end up being stranded in Switzerland . No law against unexpected love right? Yes right!?

What a fun book. Goodness knows I love when two people get stranded together. This book is full of self discovery, family, drama, and the process of gaining confidence in yourself.

I think many of us understand what it's like to be Maya, to feel the demands of family expectations while trying to find your place in the world.

This was a lovely fun romcom.

A little slow to start but overall a cute story! I appreciated the Muslim/Pakistani representation in the book! I am a sucker for opposites attract and this was done well!

loved this romance and how the characters were able to figure things out and find their way to love. Loved the friends .

I wanted to love this more than I did. The plot was fine, the characters were fine, but something was missing for me.

Love love loved this!! The language barrier got me a few times with the slang and I felt like I was constantly searching the definition of a term, but I loved this book! So cute and an easy read!