Courting Samira: A Novel

by Amal Awad, Randa Sayed (Read by)

Overview

Set in Sydney, Australia, Courting Samira is a charming, big-hearted rom-com about a twenty-seven-year-old Palestinian woman who finds herself in an unexpected love triangle—a sparkling ode to meddling best friends, traditional courtship, The Princess Bride, and, of course, the possibility of love.

“Come for the drool-worthy mentions of kanafeh and baklava; stay for the wit and relatable family politics. A must-read for anyone looking for a romantic comedy that’s heavy on the comedy, with a heavy sprinkling of sweet, clean romance.” —Sara Sharaf Beg, author of Salaam, With Love

“A wry, endearing Bridget Jones set in Sydney’s Muslim community.” —BookPage

Coming from a moderately traditional Muslim family, twenty-seven-year-old Samira Abdel-Aziz has endured her fair share of arranged matches—first dates she calls “doorknock appeals,” where she and her possible suitors eat snacks in her living room in the company of both sets of parents. Her general rule: no shoes with tassels, no cheesy leather jackets, no mustaches. A girl has to have some standards, right? The truth is, Samira is already experiencing enough wedding drama as an assistant at Bridal Bazaar magazine and as a gofer for her soon-to-be-married cousin and nemesis Zahra. She’s not sure she needs to add any of her own.

When she meets the charismatic Menem at a work retreat, Samira finds herself intrigued. But her best friend Lara insists Menem isn’t right for her, and now her childhood friend Hakeem has begun behaving oddly. Adding to the confusion, Samira is seeking a promotion at work, yet isn’t sure it’s the job of her dreams. Suddenly, her life is full of drama and complications, and she realizes that part of growing up is making difficult choices about what—and whom—she really wants.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798212699716
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	11/07/2023
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.70(h) x (d)

About the Author

Amal Awad is a journalist, author, and screenwriter. She has written for Elle, The Guardian, and other publications and held senior editorial roles at a number of trade media publications. She has spoken at schools, universities, and writers’ festivals around Australia, and she facilitates workshops on diversity, multiculturalism, women’s issues, and pop culture. Amal is the author of seven books, including three novels: Courting Samira, This is How You Get Better, and The Things We See in the Light, and the nonfiction books: The Incidental Muslim, Beyond Veiled Clichés, Fridays With My Folks, and In My Past Life I was Cleopatra. Courting Samira is the first of her books to be published in America.

Editorial Reviews

09/11/2023

With this sweet contemporary, Awad (Bitter and Sweet) introduces 27-year-old magazine editor Samira Abdel-Aziz, a Palestinian Muslim living with her parents in Sydney, Australia. For Samira, dating is a family endeavor, requiring the approval of her parents and her suitor’s parents, as well as back-and-forth negotiations between the families with the understanding that marriage is the goal. After a string of lackluster arranged matches, she meets handsome, charming Menem by chance at a team-building retreat with her office. They run into each other again when it turns out that Menem’s brother is marrying Samira’s bridezilla cousin, and she learns that he is Lebanese, Muslim, single, and interested in her. They decide to keep the fact that they’ve already met each other quiet and clandestinely work to get their parents to set them up. All is going well, until another suitor, her childhood friend Hakeem, makes a play for Samira’s heart and she reluctantly finds herself at the center of a love triangle. Awad brings a great deal of nuance, specificity, and heart to her depiction of Muslim culture, especially the differences between Samira’s Palestinian and Menem’s Lebanese backgrounds. Readers will have no trouble rooting for Samira to find true love. Agent: Katy McEwen, Pantera Press. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Awad brings a great deal of nuance, specificity, and heart to her depiction of Muslim culture. . . . Readers will have no trouble rooting for Samira to find true love.” — Publishers Weekly

“Awad's charming, funny novel . . . is rich with details of Muslim culture (religious practices as well as familial "Arab guilt") and references to Austen and The Princess Bride. Readers will root for Samira as she tackles workplace drama, friendship issues, and romantic angst.” — Booklist

"A much-needed romantic comedy . . . Awad enchants in this fun, romantic ride.” — Shondaland

“Samira is witty and funny, sensitive and sweet, a lover of movies and books. Her chatty narration makes her pleasant to spend time with, and she’s refreshingly secure in her relationship to her family and culture. . . . A winning heroine.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Absolutely hilarious! Bridget Jones meets Jane Austen in Sydney's Muslim community.” — Anita Heiss, author of Manhattan Dreaming

“Come for the drool-worthy mentions of kanafeh and baklava; stay for the wit and relatable family politics. A must read for anyone looking for a romantic comedy that’s heavy on the comedy, with a heavy sprinkling of sweet, clean romance.” — Sara Sharaf Beg, author of Salaam, With Love

“A fun read, with lots of heart.” — K. J. Charles, author of The Secret Lives of Country Gentleman

“I wanted to stay in Samira's universe forever, with the charming Menem, the brooding Hakeem, and even mean girl Zahra. I especially wanted to linger with Samira, whose sassy, brave, and richly cultured perspective makes her a heroine for a new generation. What a fun, flirty, and deeply heartfelt novel!”  — Susan Muaddi Darraj, American Book Award winning author of Behind You Is the Sea, A Curious Land, and the Farah Rocks series

“Funny, relatable, and warm, Courting Samira has an endearing cast of characters.” — Anna Daniels, author of Girl In Between

“A big-hearted rom-com set in the suburbs of Sydney and colorfully populated with a sprawling, fun-loving, often eccentric Arab community who are fond of lively music, banquet-style feasts, and strict rules about the mingling of their unmarried sons and daughters.” — Shelf Awareness

“A charming, relatable story about growing up and trying to figure out what you want.” — The Skimm

“A wry, endearing Bridget Jones set in Sydney’s Muslim community. . . . Awad warmly displays the formal propriety of Arab Muslim courtship while still highlighting the humor of it all, along with an amused appreciation of its parallels to the Regency world of Jane Austen.” — BookPage

From the Publisher

2023-09-09
A young Muslim woman looks for love the traditional way in her hometown of Sydney.

Twenty-seven-year-old Samira Abdel-Aziz is tired of “door-knock appeals”—the Muslim courtship ritual in which she and her family entertain a suitor and his family to see if there’s a connection. So far, for Samira, there hasn’t been. She’s also unhappy at her job as an editorial assistant at Bridal Bazaar magazine. On an outdoor team-building excursion, she meets Menem, a handsome blond man who happens to be Muslim as well. The two hit it off and are soon texting and “accidentally” running into each other at the coffee shop near their respective workplaces—this being a loophole to the classic rules of courtship. Her childhood friend Hakeem tells her she’s too trusting. Her cousin Lara insists that Hakeem is in love with Samira himself, though he hasn’t bothered with his own door-knock. On top of this, Samira is expected to help with her loathed cousin Zahra’s wedding preparations. Samira is witty and funny, sensitive and sweet, a lover of movies and books. Her chatty narration makes her pleasant to spend time with, and she’s refreshingly secure in her relationship to her family and culture. But there are some missed opportunities to deepen the story. Oblique references to “The Boy” imply that Samira has had her heart broken before, but the backstory is never given. The name “Menem” is remarked upon as unusual more than once, but readers never get to hear the reason behind it, which might have given the character more specificity. As Zahra’s wedding preparations ramp up, Samira’s feelings for Menem deepen and she gets more and more (often condescending) noise from those around her. How will she follow her heart?

A tad slow to develop but with a winning heroine.

Kirkus Reviews