The Empire Strikes Back

To begin with, I'm a white atheist woman of Sofia's mum's age who has never had any interest in rom-coms. So probably not the author's target audience. I got Sofia Khan Is Not Obliged free, so gave it a go. I found it very funny and grew fond of the character, although being thoroughly exasperated by her at times. Like Sofia's Mum, I too have adult daughters who are constantly about the house, so I may have felt more sympathy for that character than other readers.
Having enjoyed that book so much (to my great surprise) I felt I owed the author some money so bought this, the second part.
To begin with I was worried The Other Half Of Happiness would be more of the same, but less so. I almost gave up on it at the beginning. But, like the best second parts, it went darker and became something substantial in a different way.
I loved it. Particularly the ending, which I was worried about (as a mother) but needn't have been.
xxx to Sofia's wonderful Mother, who she finally begins to get at the end.
The narration by Rita Sharma was excellent, if mildly irritating at times, much like Sofia.

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Not like the first one

I read the "Sofia Khan is not obliged" and I immediately got the second book expecting something as funny and lighthearted as the first book.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. This is quite different and in places, I did want to skip sections.
It ends in a way that more books should be expected, and to be honest I will probably still listen to them

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Better than the first one!

I was entertained by Sofia Khan's first outing. Loved the character, didn't love the storyline. Having heard Ayeisha Malik speak brilliantly, I'd been a bit disappointed. This for me, was a Much better book. Getting her happily ever after (at the end of book one) left Sofia ultimately far less fulfilled than she imagined, and this book feels more holistic in its look at relationships, our linking them to out self-esteem, and a bit more honest in its recognition of the less conscious comparing we do with our friends or loved ones, whose lives merely appear more perfect than ours. I found the ending of the first book really problematic and I loved that this one confronted the stereotypes it engaged. The secondary love story was ludicrously predictable, but the story took such an unpredictable turn that it was quite forgivable. Also found the unconventional happy ending deeply satisfying. Just need the single Black character to have a proper redemption arc and it will be perfect. Loved the meta subplot about the struggles of writing second books. Looking forward to book 3, and you should too if you're down for strong women, immigrants, multiple countries, love, friendship, nuanced characters and great storytelling. Incredible narration too handling a number of different accents superbly!

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LOVED THIS

I Thoroughly enjoyed both of Sofia Khans books.
The stories are So good and I love the Asian references, really made me giggle.

I look forward to more stories :)

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1 person found this helpful