Hana Khan Carries on – Book Review

From the author of Ayesha At Last comes a sparkling new rom-com for fans of You’ve Got Mail.

Hana Khan’s family-run halal restaurant is on its last legs. So when a flashy competitor gets ready to open nearby, bringing their inevitable closure even closer, she turns to her anonymously-hosted podcast, and her lively and long-lasting relationship with one of her listeners, for advice.

But a hate-motivated attack on their neighbourhood complicates the situation further, as does Hana’s growing attraction for Aydin, the young owner of the rival business. Who might not be a complete stranger after all…

A charmingly refreshing and modern love story, Uzma Jalaluddin’s tale is humorously warm and filled with gorgeous characters you won’t be able to forget. Now in development for film with Mindy Kaling and Amazon Studios.

No. of pages:- 325 pages

Date published:- April 1st 2021

Publisher:- Corvus

Genre:- Literary Fiction

Rating:-

Hana Khan is twenty four years old, Indian-Canadian Muslim girl, interning at a broadcasting firm, runs her own podcast under a false name and her family is running a halal restaurant known as Three Sisters Biriyani Putine. But now, her family run business seems to be failing and on the verge of close down, when a competitor moves into the same neighborhood, opening a Halal restaurant. Aydin Shah is good looking, handsome and rich and Hana has to hate him…but what will happen if she falls for the enemy?

I must say, I really like the whole plot. The story is told mainly from Hana’s perspective. Being the daughter of Indian immigrants AND being a Muslim made Hana face many challenges in life. The story gets more and more complicated when her cousin Rashid along with her aunt Khawkab Kala known as Billi to Hana–Billi’s own tale as a runaway bride, the attack and Islamophobia that Hana and Rashid and Aydin faced (which is realistic) and how the whole community in Golden Crescent acted together and stood against racism was so good and realistic that I actually felt like I was also a part of that community.

The characters in this story are all likable. Besides Hana who I found as a courageous and brave woman, I found Rashid’s character quite funny and likable and I grew towards Khawkab Kala and Aydin. I found out that this book will be made into a movie that I can actually visualize young version Ranveer Singh as Rashid and Madhuri Dixit as Khawkab Kala (Hana and Aydin I am not sure but I think Anushka Sharma would be a perfect choice for Hana).

In fact, movie aside, other than Aydin’s father and the random racist dudes, all the characters in this book are likable and I felt like I was friends with each of these characters.

I must praise the author for addressing the Islamophobia very well, which sadly many Muslims living in western countries still face today. It felt scary and too realistic that these things happen still in this world. I do like how the author, despite the story being a work of fiction made the story as realistic as possible with the events.

Besides those things, I must say, the author’s writing style was truly engaging and since I listened to the audiobook, I would say the narrator did a good job as well. This is the first time I have read from this author and I am looking forward to read more of her books!

Overall, this is a funny, romantic story filled with rivalry and family drama that you will not want to put this book down! Worth five stars!