THIS IS HOW YOU FALL IN LOVE, by Anika Hussain, Bloomsbury YA, Feb. 13, 2024, Hardcover, $19.99 (Young Adult, ages 14 and up)
Friendship gets messy when besties enter into a fake relationship in This Is How You Fall in Love, a YA Desi rom-com by Anika Hussain.
Zara loves love in all forms: rom-coms and romance novels and grand sweeping gestures. She’s desperate to have her own great love story-a real one.
Everyone thinks Zara and her best friend, Adnan, obviously belong together. And they do love each other-just not like that. So, when Adnan begs Zara to help cover his new, secret relationship by pretending to be his girlfriend, she doesn’t really hesitate. How difficult can it be? It isn’t the kind of great romance she had in mind, but with fake dating comes fake hand-holding and fake kissing and . . . real feelings?
And when a new, exciting boy arrives in Zara’s life, things get more confusing than ever. Her fake romance might be making everyone around her happy, but should it be real, and can Zara and Adnan really be in love if they both have real feelings for someone else? —Synopsis provided by Bloomsbury YA
This Is How You Fall in Love is a swoony YA read that’s a love letter to romance and rom-coms and the friendship that can build them up and take them down.
The story unfolds from Zara’s point of view. She’s the type of kid you’d like your own kid to be friends with — from a loving family, loyal, an inviting personality. I’m not in love with how she always goes along with Adnan’s plans, but I can see how easy it would be to fall into that trap. Adnan isn’t as fully realized, and he comes across as semi likeable guy who’s got a bit of a selfish streak. All this is to say that their friendship is relatable in its flaws.
Despite This Is How You Fall in Love being her debut novel, author Anika Hussain feels like a seasoned writer. Her writing is comfortable and her pacing sound. Her incorporation of Desi culture and family dynamics is natural and helps make the novel feel whole.
This Is How You Fall in Love is a fast-moving read that is a fun escape.
Copyright © 2024 Cracking the Cover. Unless otherwise noted, all books — digital and physical — have been provided by publishers in exchange for honest and unbiased reviews. All thoughts and opinions are those of the reviewer.
