kutubkhana's reviews
365 reviews

this is something collen hoover would write if she was a pakistani sunni

honestly this is no surprise that a novel which uses derogatory words for a muslim minority is loved by the vast nation because what else do pakistani muslims love than degrading other people's beliefs. like yes their beliefs contradicts islam but come there are better ways to write around it and one of them is being sensitive. 

moreover, the male lead had his frontal lobe near full development and realized that there is more to life than nihilism. also if only umera ahmed had him exploring other religions not just islam, it would have made the story a tad interesting. like he met two devotees who were a hypocrites (imama wasn't but i am saying this as salar's perspective) that could have been a solid reason for him to explore other religions. but honestly the way umera ahmed treated ahmedi's beliefs i doubt she would have executed this premises properly. 

additionally, this novel could be the first one where i didn't feel any kind of emotions. i didn't feel bad for the leads nor i felt happy when they reunited. also that was the most underwhelming reunion i have ever read lmao.

miss kuang has a knack for speed running her plots and then adding an emotionally charged ending which have the readers giving it high ratings (im a victim 😓)

[i am too tired to write a full review now]

cute

"but how could you live and have no story to tell"

i had to close my ebook and take rounds around my room because what the fuck?????/pos 

i am very amazed over the fact that nemrah ahmed had a character study shari'a and law as her major and not even once had her question that if her nikkah which happened when she was 1 was legal or not? funny.

this was my first urdu novel and i was very excited to read it. the responses i have heard about this novel were good and my friends also like it (and one relative though now i will be keeping my distance from her). so expectations were high but i believe i placed the podium way high. 

the writing was gibberish. i can't say much over it since i haven't read any urdu novels but i don't have to be a urdu novels junky to know that the writing was bad. however, after chapter 10 the writing became enjoyable (not the story). i am a big fan of 'show not tell' writing technique and nemrah ahmed incorporated this so i was having fun decoding stuffs. 

a good portion of the story was being carried by the mystery around cihan. i am going to be truthful here; i thought this one character who also has sikandar as his surname was in this novel but apparently he is in another novel by a different author. so all the time i was thinking that major ahmed and abdul rehman pasha were him and his identity will be revealed later, i was intrigued by this. halfway through the novel i got to know he is not in this novel. so honestly i did not care about cihan throughout the first half of the book (still didn't care after it).

haya was okayish and very judgmental (conforming to the stereotypes that niqabees are judgemental towards others). i don't wanna comment further over her character because i am afraid she would say some nasty stuff to me too. 

and the romance, where was it? where was the love? the chemistry? the angst? also tell me why haya would become a poet when it came to describing ayse gul but only used the word 'handsome' for her husband 🤔 (🏳️‍🌈❓) also tell me why ayse gul and cihan sikandar had angst but not haya and cihan? or am i reading a lot under the text? 

on the other hand, i HATE cousin marriages and i do not care that it's a norm here. so one star was already reduced from the rating when i read the nikkah passage. 

i am going to end this here because it is becoming very long and i have to leave some thoughts for my blog. overall, i did not have a good experience but i may check her other works. 

8/9/24 = 2.75/5
11/11/14 = 2.25/5

there is something about characters who become monsters but still not leave their true self. 

a gripping start of a story filled with denial and identity crises like themes. this volume promises a good story with a deep dive into some psychological themes which will or may be uncovered in later volumes. 

this volume reminded me why i dislike shonen