Series: Jasmine Villa Series #1 (Standalone)
Publication Date: 30 April 2023
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Indian Muslim
3.7 Stars
One Liner: A fast-paced entertainer
Tahzeeb Hasan lives in Jasmine Villa (a small, old house) with her widowed and retired father and two younger sisters (Ana and Athiya). She is working at an NGO and loves her job (and freedom). They may not be rich but are a fairly happy family, dodging the various marriage proposals relatives love to dump on her. But things change when she meets Ayub Ahmed.
Ayub is a successful architect from a ‘well-settled’ aka, rich family with carpeted rooms and luxury cars. He isn’t interested in marriage until he meets Tahzeeb. The duo is smitten with each other and agrees to their wedding. However, the stark differences in their social status and living standards are a cause of concern for Tahzeeb.
When she’s pushed into a world of dressing up and going to parties, Tahzeeb is determined to retain her freedom and identity as an individual. Can the young couple balance their chemistry, love, individuality, and family expectations without losing each other?
The story comes from the third-person POV of Tahzeeb and Ayub, with a couple of chapters from Ana’s POV (also in the third-person).
My Thoughts:
So… before we dive into the review, I recommend you read the official blurb. It uses the word ‘sizzle’ and ‘irresistible romance’. This book is predominantly romance and reads a lot like M&B (Mills & Boon) from the early 90s. It has good steam (2.5 ish), so go in prepared.
The setting, family relationships, dialogues, expressions, emotions, fears, etc., are easy for Indian readers to relate to. These are seen pretty much across the country, irrespective of our religions. The lower-middle-class vs. rich plot is familiar to most readers and easy to follow.
Social and family drama is seamlessly woven into the plot. Yet, it doesn’t go overboard or preachy. In fact, this book is meant for entertainment. It still has enough depth to allow readers to think about themes like love, parental and family expectations, bonding between sisters, finding love in an arranged marriage, life with in-laws, compromise, etc.
I love the bits where we see the difference in perspectives between generations and, of course, social classes. Whether it is the girls being wary of red flags while the father is more than happy to consider only the positive aspects of marriage proposals or the wannabe influencer Maria with all of 800 Instagram followers spending her day making makeup videos and posting photos, the events and reactions are totally relatable.
The writing is easy to follow. There’s a lot of 'tell', which sustains the pace throughout. Events happen one after another, and the time jumps are highlighted at the beginning of the chapter. While it works as an advantage to a great extent, it does affect character development. I also wish the other characters have a wee bit more depth.
For example, we are ‘shown’ the couple’s insta-lust and their sizzling chemistry. However, we are ‘told’ about how their relationship grows beyond desire and lust. Though we know they have a few common tastes, we don’t see what these are or have the time to watch them fall in love. It just happens (a little too quick). I wish this aspect was better balanced to let their relationship have an organic arc.
Tahzeeb and Ayub are cool, but they aren’t compelling. That stops the book at good instead of being a great read. Nevertheless, I’m intrigued by Ana’s character. She seems to have more depth compared to her older sister. In fact, I decided to read her book (Loving You Twice) as soon as I can. There’s something about Ana that allows her to shine even when Tahzeeb is the FMC.
There are a few Hindi words (un-translated) but easy enough to understand. Jungli, nautanki, etc., sound the best in the native language. Of course, I’d have loved it if ginger tea was adrak wali chai. It’s an emotion, like extra strong filter coffee, and a must whenever a person needs to make life-changing decisions.
To summarize, One Way to Love is a delightful entertainer and a typical romance book you can finish in a couple of days (or 3+ hours). It’s breezy but with enough emotions to make you connect to the characters and want to know more about them. If you’re looking for a desi-style contemporary romance, grab this one and enjoy the ride.
Thank you, Blogchatter, author Andaleeb Wajid, and publisher Westland, for a copy of the book. This review is powered by Blogchatter Book Review Program and contains my honest opinion about the book.
You can buy the paperback of One Way to Love on Amazon. Though it is the first book in the series, it can be read as a standalone.
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