Hello and happy Sunday. I am using my brand new computer to write this post, and you don’t know how happy that makes me. I’d had my old one for nine years, and although I’d taken great care of it, as I do with everything I own, it was evident that I needed a new one. I am extremely grateful that I had this opportunity because I know it’ll help me continue to make progress when it comes to my personal projects. One of the mantras I live by is: I always have more than what I need, and in this case it is evident.

Now that we’re done with the sappiness, I can tell you about Fatima Tate Takes the Cake by Kadijah VanBrakle. I’d originally acquired this book via NetGalley, but I suppose my time to download it expired or whatever, so I ended up reading it through Everand. Don’t worry, I didn’t have to pay because I was using a free trial. I will talk more about my experience with NetGalley and Everand in dedicated posts, don’t worry.

Fatima, the main character, is a Black Muslim teenager who loves to bake and would love to go to university and train professionally to become a baker, but who has to conform to her parents’ expectations. They want her to either become a nurse, like her mom, or to work on a field that is profitable and realistic. Right from the start, we are also introduced to Raheem, who is not shy about showing his interest towards Fatima, but is respectful of the rules that come with dating and courting in Islam. I am not a Muslim, so my descriptions might not be as accurate, but I hope I’m doing the story justice.

The premise was cool, and the first half of the story was pretty well crafted. My issue was one I’ve had with other novels, and it is when the author needs to make their readers see that the person they thought was the love interest is not actually good, but they do it so abruptly it is a bit ridiculous. Like, two pages ago you were telling me that this is a great guy, and now he turns out to be possessive, and a liar, and all these things we could have had glimpses of before. That, I think, is what didn’t let me enjoy this book as much. I also felt that, even though having a variety of diverse reads is a must, in my case, I’d already read a similar plot, so I don’t think it brought many original points to enrich my reading experience.