More Than Just a Pretty Face - Syed M. Masood

⭐ 9.0/10

(Originally written by Magdalene)

There's something about desi romances that hit the spot for me, and I think it's the fact that there are actually a lot of similarities between Indian and Mennonite culture. We don't have arranged marriages, but the rules and pressure from parents are there, and a high level of chasteness is expected in both.

In this book, Danyal is known for being both very good-looking and also not very bright. He wants to be a chef, which his parents find very embarrassing, and they're stressed about finding him a bride when his future seems so unpromising. They've decided the girl he has a crush on is too good for him, so when he's unwillingly entered into his school's academic competition, he decides he'll win it to prove his worth. And he's going to get help from a girl his parents set him up with who has her own reasons for always getting rejected for arranged marriages.

I loved this book so much. Danyal is a mixture of cocky and insecure, but a genuinely nice guy stuck between what he wants and what his parents expect. You get a lot of super-smart nerds in YA rom-coms, so it was refreshing and interesting to get a main character who just doesn't like school, but doesn't see himself as a deadbeat. His relationship with his parents is complicated, plus he's torn between an ultra-religious friend and one who isn't devote at all. It was mostly fun and cute and funny, but I really appreciated the themes of confidence, shame, and parent-child relationships, plus all the descriptions of food!