Love from Mecca to Medina Hardcover – October 18, 2022

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.Book: Love From Mecca to MedinaAuthor: S.K. AliBook Series: Love From A to Z Book 2Rating: 5/5Diversity: American Muslim MC (Pakistani/West Indian descent), Canadian Muslim convert MC with Multiple Sclerosis (Chinese/Finish descent), other Muslim and Muslim convert characters, Jewish characterRecommended For...: young adult readers, new adult readers, contemporary, romance, MuslimPublication Date: October 18, 2022Genre: YA Contemporary/NA Contemporary RomanceAge Relevance: 16+ (romance, war, Islamaphobia, homelessness, alcohol consumption, illness, white supremacy, religion, sexual content, vomit gore)Explanation of Above: There is a lot of romance in this book between our two MCs and some very vague sexual content mentioned. The romance is mostly hand holding, love affirmations, and stolen kisses. There is one fade to black scene and the characters have had their Nikah ceremony. There is some Islamaphobia and white supremacy mentioned and shown in the book. There are scenes and mentions of homelessness. There is alcohol consumption mentioned (not by the main characters). The Muslim religion and a Muslim pilgrimage is mentioned and shown throughout the book. There is also some vomiting shown and mentioned in the book.Publisher: Salaam Reads/Simon Schuster Books for Young ReadersPages: 352Synopsis: Adam and Zayneb. Perfectly matched. Painfully apart.Adam is in Doha, Qatar, making a map of the Hijra, a historic migration from Mecca to Medina, and worried about where his next paycheck will come from. Zayneb is in Chicago, where school and extracurricular stresses are piling on top of a terrible frenemy situation, making her miserable.Then a marvel occurs: Adam and Zayneb get the chance to spend Thanksgiving week on the Umrah, a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, in Saudi Arabia. Adam is thrilled; it’s the reboot he needs and an opportunity to pray for a hijra in real life: to migrate to Zayneb in Chicago. Zayneb balks at the trip at first, having envisioned another kind of vacation, but then decides a spiritual reset is calling her name too. And they can’t wait to see each other—surely, this is just what they both need.But the trip is nothing like what they expect, from the appearance of Adam’s former love interest in their traveling group to the anxiety gripping Zayneb when she’s supposed to be “spiritual.” As one wedge after another drives them apart while they make their way through rites in the holy city, Adam and Zayneb start to wonder: was their meeting just an oddity after all? Or can their love transcend everything else like the greatest marvels of the world?Review: I really loved this sequel! I thought it was better than the original and I loved seeing how in love Adam and Zayneb were. I loved seeing what happens after the first book and how Zayneb is navigating law school and homelessness while they both deal with a long distance marriage also while Adam struggles with unemployment. The book focuses on their unexpected decision to do the pilgrimage from Mecca to Medina and how their love ebbs and flows along the way. The book did much better with the character development and the world building remained immaculate. I also thought the pacing was much better written in this one, I thought this read was super informative and I learned so much from it, and overall I loved it so much. I was also very impressed with how the author cut out all of the HP references that were plaguing the other book and I thought the book was better for it.The only complaint I have with the book is that I did think that the ending was a bit too scrunched up, like it didn’t have time to fully work out naturally.Verdict: It was great! Highly recommend!

I loved this continuation of Adam and Zayneb’s story. I like how it showed the ups and downs of their journeys (faith, adulthood, relationships) both together and apart. And it was cleverly pulled all together by a cat and a keepsake box.

(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)Love from Mecca to Medina is a story about love, loss, and possibility. In some ways, this sequel has similar themes to Love from A to Z. This world is full of curiousities and miracles, but can lightning strike twice? Can we find our way back to each other when things get hard? Because love is rarely easy and it's one of those things that requires communication, honesty, and work. We have to confront pieces of ourselves we don't want to. To have conversations that scare us.And I deeply appreciated seeing that perspective in Love from Mecca to Medina. There can be lies, things we keep to ourselves, and conversations we don't know where to start. My heart broke for both Adam and Zayneb. For how long distance can bring us closer together and pull us apart. The immense stress Zayneb is in which she doesn't even know how to articulate for fear of breaking down. Or for Adam who has his own struggles and feelings of being adrift.

Loved this book so much. I read it one sitting. This is a love story at its core and also the work of love and the peaks and valleys of happily ever after,

I received the book however one page was tear apart.