ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Just a heads up that even though both main characters are Muslim, this is not a halal romance.

I really appreciated the ease of the Muslim representation. There are frequent mentions of praying, or asking Allah for help, in that casual way that Muslims perform these regular acts of worship. It was also really easy to read, with POVs from both main characters. Both of them are compelling people to follow, but the romance felt lackluster to me. When we first meet Said and Tiwa, we find out that they used to be friends but aren't anymore, and of course it takes a while before we find out why. It's not that the reason doesn't make sense, it's how it came about that left me scratching my head. This next part is full on spoilers for the eventual reveal of the origin of their conflict:

this entire premise of their letters not reaching each other falls apart as soon as you try to employ some critical thinking, because a) why are they sending letters instead of emails in the first place? and b) Saf's reasoning makes no sense whatsoever. And the way they just accept Saf's explanation when she finally gives it, and the only thing Said can think to say is "you're both doofuses" when his sister ruined the most important friendship in his life? The entire conflict felt so far-fetched to me.

There was a moment in this book where I thought I'd be getting some very important commentary on racism within Muslim communities. Tiwa is going door to door to gather signatures for a petition, and came in contact with people she recognized from the Islamic center, but who didn't recognize her. Her being Muslim is called into question, and there's an implication that it's because she's Black. But the book falls short of really digging into this topic, which is a shame in my opinion.