Finding Mr Perfectly Fine: 'I loved it. Utterly charming' Jenny Colgan, the freshest and funniest romcom of 2022

Reviews

Nargis Jahan-Uddin

As a Muslim hijab-wearer, I can understand how this may be misconstrued, that it feeds into the mainstream narrative that the hijab is ‘ugly’. Also, as an honorary North Londoner, I absolutely LOVED reading about my old haunts, recognising many of the landmarks Tasneem writes about; the tube journeys, the vibe. But it's also laced with some wonderful details of Bengali life and the particular problems for a British-born girl from a Bengali family. Zara is a stylish, modern NON-HIJABI girl (feel like I need to emphasise this as I kept imagining it was Tas and was gasping in shock at some of Zara’s antics only to be vehemently reminded, Zara is NOT Tasneem).

Maggie Butt

I’ve just finished reading my childhood friend’s debut novel, and now have to recommend it to everyone I know. Much of it felt very familiar, and it was a wonderful experience to be able to recognise a lot of the north London haunts in the book (Tarshish anyone? Being a woman from a Bengali Asian background myself I could definitely relate to some of the stereotypes and pre conceived notions and challenges that different characters experienced in the novel. Can Zara find what she is truly in search of?

CAKEFACEMAKEUP

I don’t think I ever have until this novel. ). When I finished the book though, my final words were: “This had better not be the final ending! It is so important and validating to find characters in a novel that look, talk, think like me, share experiences that I have had, even speak the language at home that I do.

Faatima

I literally bought twelve copies to give away as gifts! Though it is a light-hearted read, it has unexpected dark turns that will have you crying and then screaming in frustration, whilst simultaneously rooting for protagonist Zara!

Aleya A

A rom-com with a delicious pinch of spice. Allahmdulliah!