Ayesha at Last

I've been reading several retellings lately, and I've learned that what I like in a retelling is for it to be faithful to the spirit of the original but bring something new to the story. This book definitely accomplishes both. Ayesha at Last is a Pride and Prejudice retelling set in a Muslim Indian-Canadian community in Toronto. This turns out to be a great setting for a P&P story, particularly within a culture of matchmaking by parents. The Darcy character, Khalid, is very observant of his faith, disapproves of the behavior of people around him, and is committed to marrying the woman his mother chooses for him. The Elizabeth character, Ayesha, is trying to find her own way while being supportive of her family and thinks she isn't interested in love at all. The story follows the beats of P&P in creative ways. As I find to be common in many romances, the dialogue was stilted at times and the pacing was off, but in general, I enjoyed this book, and it's one of my favorite retellings.