Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin

     Ayesha at Last -- loosely based off of Pride and Prejudice -- is a super sweet story about the modern Muslim South Asian community in Canada. It follows twenty-something Ayesha Shamsi -- or Elizabeth Bennet -- who wanted to live life; she had dreams of traveling the world, writing poetry, and maybe even finally finding love on the way. But here she is, still in Toronto, working as a teacher to a bunch of ungrateful middle schoolers. Her beautiful, perfect, younger cousin Hafsa -- whose rather affluent parents pay for everything she could ever desire -- has to choose from the constant stream of marriage proposals coming in, while Ayesha received one rishta that never even came to fruition ages ago. At the moment, marriage is be unimaginable for her; all she's concerned with is helping support her family. 

   Ayesha at Last's Mr. Darcy is Khalid, who is as orthodox and conservative as he is kind and endearing, but no one seems to care enough to get to know him like that. His new boss, Sheila, is just mildly Islamophobic, in that she took one look at him and decided she would do everything within her power to get him fired. His mother is obsessed with finding him a suitable wife, and he's convinced she has the best judgment, so much so that he hasn't even tried to find someone for himself. Khalid's friend Amir goes out, drinks, and is with a new girl every week; Khalid prides himself on staying away from all that. Somehow, Ayesha's scheming best friend has her meet Khalid at one of Ayesha's poetry recitations, and he's automatically taken aback -- and perhaps a little amazed -- by what she has to say. 

    So, needless to say, Ayesha and Khalid are complete, polar opposites. But you already know what's coming: they meet, yet again, at a planning committee for a new convention at the mosque and immediately hate each other, yet again. But by some fluke of nature, Khalid ends up assuming Ayesha -- the serious, studious, unwavering teacher -- is actually Hafsa, the rich, pretty, bratty cousin. And as time goes on, they fall for each other. 

    Khalid apologizes to "Hafsa" for being presumptuous at the poetry recitation; he cooks for her and "Hafsa" even starts asking herself if there's a chance that Khalid could be the man her family is searching for. And, before you know it, they're in love. But then evil, deceitful aunties just have to intercept, and Khalid gets engaged to the ACTUAL Hafsa, the younger cousin. Khalid is over the moon, because he's still unaware the woman he's engaged to isn't his lover; Ayesha is shocked that her man is marrying her cousin. As if that's not enough, the main coordinator of the conference at the mosque -- glamorous, gorgeous Tarek Khan -- catches the eye of Hafsa, who's supposed to be marrying Khalid. 

   I have absolutely no comments on Ayesha's character; she's persistent, funny, and has such an it-is-what-it-is mindset. She doesn't try to alter the present; she takes things as they are; she changes Khalid's life as he knows it. Now, Khalid, on the other hand, has a very satisfying character arc as the story progresses. He was always caring and kind -- all he needed was a little push from Ayesha to show it to the world. 

    Ayesha at Last seems like just a simple love story, but I promise you, it's so much more. This story is romantic, charming, and oh-so genuine, as the characters are flawed and the premise is all too common. The author doesn't try to make Ayesha and Khalid something they're not, which is what I adored so much. I was really reminded of a rom-com while reading this book; there's the signature love triangle, the scheming enemies, the annoying family, and what else can I say? I was left feeling so refreshed after finishing this book, ready to take on the world, Ayesha-style. 

- Simrah