"Cute, complicated and entertaining, this “will they, won’t they?” page-turner sees an endearing British-South-Asian teenager write her own real-life romcom script"
Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2024
Best friends, fake dating, friends-to-lovers twists and a whopping web of secrets — Anika Hussain’s This is How You Fall in Love has a wonderful Desi girl at its beating heart and reels with romcom entertainment.
Though she’s obsessed with romcom novels and movies, Zara has yet to star in her own love story. In the meantime, her life revolves around her beloved Desi family and her best mates - Sadie, who sets about making a documentary film project about love, and Adnan, her best friend since childhood, who everyone thinks would be her ideal leading man, including their parents.
While both Zara and Adnan insist that will never happen — they’re close friends, that’s it — the tide turns when Adnan needs to cover-up his real girlfriend and begs Zara to pretend they’re an item. How hard can it be? Very, as things turn out. First up, there’s a whole lot of practical issues around how they behave towards each other, and around Adnan’s actual girlfriend. Then there’s jealousy, and the problem of Zara falling for someone for real. With a fun meta-fiction vibe (a romcom about romcom with entertaining romcom twists), the besties-to-couple trope is thrust to the fore from the off: “that’s literally how every YA romcom starts. Boy and girl are besties, they get involved in a fake dating scheme and then BAM they get together for real.”
All of which leaves readers expecting that very thing to happen to Zara and Adnan. Cue much confusion and soul-searching realisations on the path to heart-stirring happiness.
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Zara wants someone who takes her by surprise and… Adnan is her best friend and he’s convinced he’s found ‘the one.’ But to stay with his new girl, he has to fool everyone into believing it is Zara…. But what Zara gets is so beautifully unexpected.
‘With Fake Dating comes Real Feelings’
Anika Hussain has delivered a young adult novel with humour, surprise and glee. I loved the feeling of anticipation as I waited for the falling in love to begin already!
What it’s about: Zara wants someone who takes her by surprise… who she feels comfortable with. Adnan is her best friend and he’s convinced he’s found ‘the one.’ No, it’s not Zara. But to stay with his new girl, he has to fool everyone into believing it is Zara….
Zara loves her romcoms, she loves reading about turbulent romances while in the safety of her bedroom. She knows that fake dating leads to the real thing.... Read Full Review
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