First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

• Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
• Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
• Finally… reveal the book!

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Here are the rules:
This is a single-person podcast.
Not a variety show.
No interviews.
Not a comedy hour.

I’m also not going to tell you my name or any specific biographical details, except the following: I’m a South Asian Muslim woman in my twenties. I was born and live in the city of Toronto. And I love radio. Really love it.

I also love the free form of podcasts.

by Uzma Jalaluddin
ASIN/ISBN: 9781443461474
Publication: April 13, 2021

From the author of Ayesha at Last comes a sparkling new rom-com for fans of “You’ve Got Mail”.

Hana Khan’s family-run halal restaurant is on its last legs. So when a flashy competitor gets ready to open nearby, bringing their inevitable closure even closer, she turns to her anonymously-hosted podcast, and her lively and long-lasting relationship with one of her listeners, for advice.

But a hate-motivated attack on their neighbourhood complicates the situation further, as does Hana’s growing attraction for Aydin, the young owner of the rival business. Who might not be a complete stranger after all…

A charmingly refreshing and modern love story, Uzma Jalaluddin’s tale is humorously warm and filled with gorgeous characters you won’t be able to forget. Now in development for film with Mindy Kaling and Amazon Studios. (Goodreads)

This one comes highly recommended from fellow blogger Amani @Amani’s Reviews. I’ve read Jalaluddin’s Ayesha at Last and enjoyed it so I am looking forward to finally beginning this one soon. Have you read it? Is this on your TBR?