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A hilarious and heartfelt romcom, told with a light touch, perfect for fans of TO ALL THE BOYS I'VE LOVED BEFORE, EXCUSE ME WHILE I UGLY CRY and HANI AND ISHU'S GUIDE TO FAKE DATING. Hussain perfectly captures the very essence of what makes a good teen rom-com; a healthy dose angst, quirky meet cutes, lashings of humour and a host of well meaning but nosey loved ones (friends and family) who may or may not be a little too invested in the protagonist’s relationship. Anika Hussain’s debut follows two British-Bangladeshi teens, who inadvertently test the bonds of their friendship by deciding to fake date in this brilliantly heartfelt and humour-filled YA rom-com that explores their unconventional path to dating, friendship and romance. Have you ever enjoyed something so much that it felt like you were floating the whole time? Well, that’s how I felt throughout this whole book.overall, i feel this book is a really fun contemporary YA novel that has really relatable and enjoyable/ likeable characters. it’s a great story and i would definitely recommend!

Best friends, fake dating, friends-to-lovers twists and a whopping web of secrets — Anika Hussain’s This is How You Fall in Love has a wonderful Desi girl at its beating heart and reels with romcom entertainment. What I really enjoyed about this book was that it felt very fresh - it was a new take on the fake dating trope and that was really fun to see. You expect this book to follow the typical storylines of a YA romance, but it mixes it up by the end and that was so refreshing! Zara is a big romance fan and reading and discussing films with her friends, but she and her best friend Adnan are getting heat from their parents who are desperate for them to get together. Then suddenly they have to pretend to to protect Adnan’s new girlfriend from family issues. As Zara and Adnan grow closer, is there a point at which they should try to give love an actual chance?

Format

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review! I found the detailed Pokemon Go thread, which formed a lot of one part of the plot, a bit much, kind of old-fashioned where the rest of the book didn’t seem to be trying to be, and it was annoying that Zara didn’t have enough oomph to stand up for herself a bit more. Adnan’s girlfriend Cami’s arc was a bit melodramatic in the end, and it was a shame that girls ended up pitted against each other. So Zara agrees and the act begins: after all, how different can pretending to be in a relationship with your best friend be to just hanging around with them like usual? Turns out, a lot. With fake dating comes fake hand-holding and fake kissing and realfeelings... And when a new boy turns up in Zara's life, things get more confusing than ever.