~~Thank you to NetGalley and Usborne Publishing for the ARC!~~

I didn't know what to expect from this crossover of authors, but I'm happy to say I liked it well enough.

The thing I liked most about this book was the Muslim rep. Tiwa's dedication to restoring the Islamic Center, Said restoration of his faith, the casual and little things their family and friends do around them to celebrate Eid, it was all very sweet. My favorite scene was when Said and his dad attend jummah (Friday prayer), and Imam Abdullah was talking about the importance of the center and how it brought together a seemingly sparse population of Muslims together before leading prayer. It was such a sweet scene; despite me being nonreligious, I can see how powerful seeing this kind of rep could do for a Muslim teen.

The main characters were cute. I was more invested in Tiwa than Said, but both were easy to follow along. My biggest gripe against them was the true reason their friendship fell apart So, it was Safiyah, Said's sister, who broke their friendship. She was getting bullied at school, and she thought Said would make friends while he was away at school through isolating him from Tiwa. She coordinated with his roommate Julian to intercept the duo's letters to get them to think one ghosted the other. She never confessed, nor did it seem like she was ever going to before Said found Tiwa's letters stacked inside her closet. I get that her intentions were good, but she went about it so horribly. She knew the exact reason why Said and Tiwa weren't friends, and yet she actively encouraged them whenever one of them called the other "the enemy." Like, what the fuck Safiyah? They accepted her flimsy explanation and apology too quickly, completely absolving the massive manipulation she pulled. This reveal also created a huge plot hole, too. Why did Said and Tiwa resort only to physical letters to keep in touch? It was mentioned Tiwa didn't get a phone til after Said left, but they still could have emailed or something. I dunno, there could have been a more substantial reason to why their friendship broke. This is why contemporary enemies-to-lovers rarely ever works; there's almost never a solid reason for it.

All in all, this was a cute read, but I personally found the book's internal logic kinda dumb.

2024 reads: 154/250

i received an advanced listening copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.

when said hossain is brought from his boarding school back to his hometown to attend the funeral of his beloved ms. barnes, he’s forced to face his ex-best friend, tiwa olatunji. despite their differences, they team up to save the town’s islamic center, which the mayor plans to demolish.

i love both faridah àbíké-íyímídé and adiba jaigirdar separately, so i was super excited when i found out they were writing this book together!

i really loved how this book was laid out, with the present being set during a funeral with eid coming up, and the characters’ pasts being explored through other eid celebrations. i loved that there were some serious discussions, such as racism, grief, and family pressure, in addition to this being a romance. i thought these topics were handled well.

narration: this is a dual pov romance, with an additional, third person narration, and the audiobook reflected this with three narrators: farah kidwai, sandra okuboyejo, and shahjehan khan. i thought each narrator did a great job keeping the story engaging, and they really fit their characters! i highly recommend the audiobook.