A teen struggling with realizing that her "perfect" life isn't so perfect when the wrong guys sees straight through her and the fact that her boyfriend has been distancing himself for her. Anisa is perfect or so she wants everyone to think she is. When the truth is she is a bit snobby and messy and has a praise-obsessed ego. She's determined to make everything go her way yet when a new student begins in her class and sees right through her... she begins to re-evaluate herself. Another issue is that her own boyfriend has been acting distant and suspicious and Anisa has to question whether or not she actually loves him or was going along with the relationship to appease her family. Can she finally stop her facade and embrace her true self and discover her own feelings or is perfection too good to give up? This was a coming of age story about a teen girl who is dealing with striving to be perfect and to make her parents happy while also fighting with herself with trying to keep the true her inside. It's a okay story and Anisa does a bit of growing by the end of the book. Marlow was a sweet love interest who just felt too good for Anisa. Marlow was really caring and he was just so adorable. It's a fun read for YA readers I think and its a fun opposites attracts, help me win back my ex while I also begin to fall for you, mixed in with family drama story.

Release Date: October 8,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books | Quill Tree Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This book really has my heart.

The novel follows Ani who seems perfect - perfect grades, perfect family and a perfect fiancé. Only things start to unravel when news of her parents divorce hits and she finds herself worrying about said fiancé actually dating someone else. And then there's the guy she's been paired up with for class - Marlow - who is the complete opposite of her. These components all make a perfect storm...

This was a really fun and easy read and I really enjoyed the footnotes (though I suspect it will be easier to read the footnotes in a physical copy rather than on the Kindle which can be disruptive). I really enjoyed the way in which the book was written, which was easy despite the fact that the characters are in college.

I would definitely recommend this to any rom-com lover.

to everyone else, anisa shirani is perfect. her makeup, outfits, and personality all stay impeccable. she even has the perfect fiancé-to-be, isaac. behind closed doors, though, she’s a bit of a slob. her designer outfits become tracksuits, and she has hobbies she’d be mortified for anyone to find out about. she has no trouble keeping these two sides of her separate…until her life begins falling apart. her parents are getting a divorce, isaac seems interested in someone else, and she finds herself falling for someone she never would have pictured herself with.

overall, this was a nice story. i liked seeing ani become more comfortable with herself and giving herself grace for not always being perfect. with this, she also became more accepting of others, which was great to see. i also enjoyed her friendship with marlow grow!

something i really didn’t like were the footnotes. i’m sure these would be less disruptive in a physical format, or if there had been far less of them, but they were just a pain in the digital format, which is how i read this book. they also didn’t feel necessary because the contents of the footnotes could have easily been woven into the narrative. i honestly just stopped reading them about 1/3 through, and i don’t feel like i missed out on much.

I had such high hopes for If You're Not the One -- look at that cover!

For some reason, I could not connect with Anisa, the main character. It felt like there was a lot of "tell" in this book (she's the smartest person with a huge Instagram following, but she is also awkward around people in real life) and a large emphasis on her life on campus -- at least for the first two-thirds. I wish we had been able to spend more time with her at home, seeing her with friends and her religious community.

Isaac should have communicated better, but I don't like the way that he was painted as a villain for being interested in someone else. If anything, Ani should have understood what it was like to have to live up to the unrealistic expectations of their parents!

I wonder who the intended audience of this book really is -- it seems like the writing style and main character would appeal to younger readers, but there's also a lot of swearing and references to p0rn...so, I was really confused.

Bumping up my rating an extra star for the confrontation scene at the end that felt a lot like Lady Catherine de Bourgh in Pride and Prejudice.

This was a really cute book that had me swooning. Watching Anisa grow was wonderful, truly the heart of this story. As someone who struggles with keeping my walls too high and letting others in, I found her to be very relatable. There was a line in the acknowledgements about how joyful and optimistic this story is, and that really stuck out to me. This really is a love story that shines so much light on optimism and letting yourself just be in the moment, not freaking out about the future. It will all be handled, it will all be okay.

I was definitely swooning at multiple times during this book. Dare I say I was even kicking my feet and giggling. Marlow and Anisa had such a fun dynamic, I love how playful they were with each other. My favorite part is how genuine Marlow was too. He just wanted Anisa to be happy, even if he was falling in love with her, he still had her happiness as a priority. The college setting being split between two campuses was really cool as well, I've never heard of the joint campus situation they have going on.

The biggest issues I had with the book was that it did take me a little bit to get into the story, and that I thought the ending kinda dragged. It makes sense in context because there were so many subplots to wrap up, but at the same time I wish there was less of a gap between the ending of the main conflict and the ending of the book. At the end of the day, this was a book with so much heart. Having Anisa discover herself, what she actually wants, and grappling with family problems and expectations culminated in a book that was definitely a love story, but is so much more than that at the same time.
Thank you NetGalley and the publishers, HarperCollins, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book works because there are cultural expectations that the characters must work through. So the story line makes sense and helps drive the story. But it goes above that with the several characters hanging on to relationships even when they are not working anymore. It was really insightful, at times hopeful, and at times just sad. But at all times, really meaningful and real.
I appreciated that the author didn't make things to easy. I appreciated the work and the growth of the characters. It made the story more interesting.
Enjoy!

I love the characters in this story. Anisa's character showed real "coming of age" skill when she moved on from outward perfection to honing her inward self. I love that she learned (from Marlow) how healthy relationships should be reciprocal. Parts of the story seemed too outlandish to be practical for me. Isaac was clearly weird from day one, which makes Anisa delusional from day one. Her obsession with the idea of an arranged marriage vs. love marriage seemed trite to the storyline. Her intended betrothed was someone she'd known throughout her life. On another note, I understand that the book is YA but I had a hard time reconciling their true age with their maturity age. It seemed totally irrational to me that a college student made an elementary-aged care package: painted pastel blue and covered with glitter...? Overall, an entertaining read with arguable faults. 3.5 stars rounded up. Thanks netgalley and publisher for this ARC.

Cute! This was a decent ya romance. I liked this one better than It All Comes Back to You. The main character was fine, the love interest was fine (if a little boring) and the ending was great, so what's not to like?

If You’re Not the One by Farah Naz Rishi is a heartfelt exploration of love, identity, and the pressure of societal expectations. The story follows two protagonists navigating the complexities of their feelings for each other amid familial obligations and cultural norms. Rishi’s writing is both witty and poignant, making the characters relatable and their struggles authentic. The book beautifully balances romance and self-discovery, making it a compelling read for anyone seeking a thoughtful, contemporary love story.

“What a waste it would have been to live by the standards of other people for the rest of my life. I could’ve missed out on this.”

Anisa Shirani is on track to have the perfect life. She’s destined to become a successful lawyer, marry Isaac, the son of the neighborhood’s most influential family, and be the perfect eldest daughter for her parents. Putting up a front with a carefully cultivated image is essential if she wants the life of her dreams. However, at home she’s a completely different person, and Anisa refuses to let anyone, even Isaac, see her when she’s not looking her best. But, the perfect life she’s worked so hard for is put in danger as her parents teeter on the verge of divorce and Isaac avoids her to spend time with another girl. When she starts catching feelings for Marlow, the guy she’s begrudgingly let help her win Isaac back, Anisa doesn’t know what to think. Everything is changing, and her once set-in-stone future is now uncertain.

If You’re Not the One was a fun, entertaining romcom that also tackled the heavy weight of a parent’s expectations on a young college student. As a young Pakistani-American woman, Anisa had her life mapped out for her, right down to the man she would one day marry. As the novel progressed however, she learned that she might not want everything that perfect life has to offer her. Anisa found herself paired up with an infuriating guy in her class named Marlow to work on a paper, and I loved the dynamic between them. While he committed himself to helping her reconnect with Isaac, he was also honest about his feelings for her from the start. As they spent more time together, she was able to open up to Marlow and feel content with herself around him. I love when two characters help each other grow, and that was exactly what Marlow and Anisa did for each other. They were perfectly imperfect together. The situation between Isaac and Anisa was quite complicated, but I thought that Rishi handled it beautifully. While Isaac was still at fault for what he put Anisa through, she also acknowledged the pressure he was drowning under to follow his parent’s plans for his future. This book was made for all of the first-born daughters stuck under the weight of external and internal expectations. Sometimes it’s okay if things don’t go to plan because you just might find love where you least expect it.

I LOVED this book. It was a super cute, no-spice college romance. It was giving To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before vibes, especially with the ski trip chapter. Perfect to read in the winter. Farah Naz Rishi did a wonderful job of crafting a sweet friendship-to-lovers storyline with some well-fleshed-out sub-plots of family drama and boy drama. The pacing was on point. I also enjoyed the character growth we saw in Anisa from the start to the end of the book. Marlow was such a sweet MMC! Overall such a cute read and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

Gave 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 :)

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books | Quill Tree Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Anisa has her whole life planned out, or at least, she thought she did. That's until the guy she and her entire family expected her to eventually marry becomes distant. Teamed up with a stranger in class, they decide that he will also be her communication/love coach as Anisa tries to get closer to the guy she feels like she is losing. Marlow is such a cinnamon roll, sometimes to his detriment in the past. He takes Anisa just as she is and hopes for her to get what she wants out of life. She works to overcome her familial and cultural expectations as Marlow tries to move past a bad breakup.

If You're Not the One is a true YA; do not expect spice. Overall, I enjoyed it a ton! There is a ton of humor, but also deeper themes of overcoming familial/cultural expectations, self-doubt, and rumors. I imagine I'll like anything that Farah writes.

Thanks to Harper Collins Children's Books - Quill Tree Books, and NetGalley for an eARC of this book for an honest review.

If You're Not the One is another beautiful YA novel from Farah Naz Rishi! I've enjoyed her previous works so far, and as a fan of their humorous dialogue, relatable second-gen immigrant themes, and swoon-worthy romance, I was super excited to read this book. If you have read Farah's memoir, Sorry for the Inconvenience, some of the themes of this story will seem familiar with you, but this book honestly felt like a warm hug after reading her memoir!

I loved Anisa and Marlow's friendship first and foremost. It was so special seeing Marlow care for Anisa as a friend through all of her hardships with Isaac, her family, and more. It was also very cute seeing their relationship progress into something more. The trope of the extroverted MMC giving dating and relationship advice to the more "inexperienced" FMC will always hit in teen romance, The jealousy and confrontation scenes with Marlow, Anisa, and Isaac were also soooo juicy and I lived for the drama LOL. I was also a huge fan of all the ski trip scenes, and it gave me so many throwbacks to To All The Boys I Loved Before.

Some of my favorite themes in this book definitely include the idea that many brown girls are often an afterthought among men when it comes to beauty standards, dating, and desirability. I found myself relating to Anisa as she often compared herself to her white peers. The exploration of parental expectations and the often unrealistic standards first-gen immigrant parents hold their children too was also very relatable. I really appreciated all of Anisa's thoughts on these topics in her inner monologue and footnotes, as I really could have used this validation as a teenager.

I can't wait to see what incredible stories Farah creates next! I'd rate this book 4.5 stars rounded up.

thank you netgalley for the e-ARC!

i thought this was sweet but i think i'm getting too old to enjoy contemporary ya lmao. i had to stop reading in some parts because it was kind of cringe but overall it's a good book and i liked the footnotes as well.

3.5 ✨

Absolutely gorgeous cover, which is what drew me in immediately to this story. 

This story is a cute young adult coming of age romance involving an interracial couple, with the female lead being Pakistani in an unofficial arranged marriage with another character and the male lead being half black and half Indian. I don't know too much about Muslim culture, so I can't say whether things talked about in the book were accurate, but I enjoyed reading the representation that was given.

I mostly enjoyed this story. The romance was cute, and I loved Marlow. As for Anisa, she definitely had some character growth, but she is very insufferable for about 30-40% of the book. She is a perfectionist who is very judgmental of others and very set in stone about her relationship and how it should work in her mind. I do appreciate that as the story continues, you see her thoughts change on certain subjects and see her letting down her walls and becoming comfortable with her friends and family, but for me it was difficult to keep reading past the beginning because of how insufferable she was. In the end, the writing style for me was good, and the romance was cute, and I can see myself recommending this to younger readers.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘦-𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺.

first of all, some appreciation for the cover, please!! it is so beautiful.

i do however regret to say that this failed to live up to expectations. cute rom-com it was, but it was just okay to me. i felt meh about the whole book really.

DNF
So all of you now I love me my eastern asian girlies! So I was so excited to get this arc since I rarely see books where the mc is muslim, though I was quite disappointed. Anisa is perfect or at least that’s what she’s made herself to be. Perfect grades, perfect boyfriend, and a plan set out for the rest of her life. To me though she is a snotty conceited woman who thinks she’s better than everyone and sure she sort of had character growth and she has worked hard for her grades yet if I had to read about how she put on highlighter on her perfect nose or how perfect her hair was I’d give out. She’s seriously one of the main reasons this book is a dnf because I also understand she’s meant to be this way but I just truly couldn’t stand her even if she was in her ‘true form’.

this book is also just cringy asf so there’s that

Now as a non-muslim I’m not 100% sure if this is all religiously correct though slight spoiler I do know it’s not like halah halah cause there is kissing but the book mentions muslim traditions, praying, and cultural foods which is nice representation. Marlow the mmc is probably one of if not the best part of the book he’s just such a nice and chill dude I would totally hang around. I truly do think there are people who will read this and enjoy it but I was sadly not one, especially since I felt there was so much missing and the book is long the e-book is around 400 pages so I feel like Rishi could’ve expanded or just made the book a whole lot better.

I am a big Farah Naz Rishi fan, so I couldn't wait to read this! I loved both her other YA romances, and this one is no exception. IF YOU'RE NOT THE ONE is a bit more of a traditional story -- smart beautiful incredible academic weapon meets .....boy. This trope could be written a million times, and yet I'd love it all the same. This was such a wonderful exploration of Pakistani culture, and even got rid of the weird Western taboo around arranged marriages. This book was refreshing, fun, and so real!

2.5
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc of this.
it’s always a sad day for me when i have to give a negative rating on an arc review. this book was just missing something for me. the mc and her love interest were to supposed to not like each other but she was blushing at his messages less than 20% of the way through. i honestly don’t have much to say about this one because it felt unwritten/half done. this wasn’t a bad book but i don’t think i would recommend it simply because the main characters weren’t very compelling and the romance wasn’t very believable ( at least to me) so go out and try this for yourself if you are interested.

This book reminded me of "Red White and Royal Blue" in the ways that the characters had so much pressure on them that conflicted with their egos and made them have to work so much harder to understand themselves and be ready for a relationship.