Memory Lane

by I. Farah

Memory Lane follows the intertwined lives of Ruqayyah and Yaqub. Despite familial pressures, these two strangers decide to get married after a fateful encounter. Slowly the rose-coloured glasses of romance come off as the realities of married life set in. A tragic event puts their love through the ultimate test, and Ruqayyah and Yaqub must reevaluate their marriage, by confronting the cracks in their relationship. Will a trip down memory lane be enough for Ruqayyah and Yaqub to overcome the scars of hardship and start their love anew?

Genres: Romance

191 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 23, 2026

About the author

I. Farah is a Somali Canadian author known for crafting emotionally rich stories that explore the nuances of contemporary romance. Drawing inspiration from her experiences as a young Muslim woman growing up in Canada, Farah creates grounded, relatable characters whose journeys resonate with readers from diverse backgrounds. Her background in STEM also informs her storytelling, adding realism, curiosity, and ambition to the worlds she builds.

Her writing weaves together themes of identity, love, and family, balancing heartfelt emotion with moments of humor and cultural reflection. Her novels Memory Lane, The Dig Up, Beyond the Sidelines, and Complicated Codes celebrate the beauty found in life’s unexpected turns and the resilience required to navigate them.

When she isn’t writing, Farah can usually be found café hopping, experimenting with new recipes with varying degrees of success, or hunting for the next mug to add to her growing collection, always with coffee strong enough to fuel her next daydream in hand. She continues to inspire readers with her distinctive voice and her unwavering belief in hope, healing, and hard-earned happy endings.

Find more of I. Farah's work on her social media pages:
Instagram: @i.farah_author

TikTok: @authori.farah

Reviews

[UgbadM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful 💕 read. I literally sobbed reading this one. Such a sweet book, watching them come back together after everything they went through, was so emotional.

Tropes:
Love at first sight
Struggled love
Marriage in Crisis
Groveling MMC

Memory Lane is an amazing halal romance, that touches on multiple topics including young marriages, financial struggles, trauma recovery, with a heavy Islamic focus.

Perfect for a cosy weekend read.

[Masooma Shah · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this book was i believe on Kindle Unlimited and it was pretty short which is why I borrowed it to read. Plus it’s a romance novel with diverse representation, featuring a newlywed Somali Muslim couple. For those who want a strictly halal romance novel with zero spice or haram behaviour, this book is perfect as it is cute and emotional in parts , the chapters are short , one may argue it’s realistic to the struggles of a married couple. However, the reason for the harsh review is that the main male character felt like a bad or typical husband who doesn’t pay attention to his wife, there wasn’t a lot of physical affection shown to highlight their feelings , the writing felt bad or rushed with several errors and even when there was a twist in the story - third act break up , it lasted a day. It had a happy ending but it felt unrealistic too. Glad it’s over lol 😂

[Claneessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to talk about the positive first because it was written by a fellow Muslimah, and a Somali girl so I wanna be supportive; the topics tackled in this book are important, the representation is good and I loved how she talked about the faith.
HOWEVER…… the story was wayyyy too rushed, I couldn’t even get attached to the characters or to their love story cause everything happens so fast. There’s a lot of editing mistakes as well which made the book hard to read sometimes, and for me Yaqub was just a bad husband, and their marriage was not it.
Also the end was sooo rushed as well and didn’t make sense to me.

[QamAli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, I absolutely loved Memory Lane! From the first page, I was hooked. The story is so emotional and gripping—it just pulls you right in and doesn’t let go. The mix of suspense and romance was perfect, and the characters felt so real. I found myself rooting for them, crying with them, and just completely invested in their journey.

The twists in the plot caught me off guard in the best way. Just when I thought I had things figured out, the story took a turn and kept me guessing. The emotional depth in this book is incredible. It tackles some heavy themes, but it does so with so much heart and care. The writing style is beautiful, but it’s also so easy to read—I flew through this in just a couple of days because I couldn’t put it down.

If you’re into books that make you feel everything—love, heartbreak, hope—this one is definitely for you. It’s one of those stories that sticks with you long after you finish it. Highly recommend!

[luna · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

this book delves into the struggles behind marriage, marrying someone your parents disapprove of, struggles of living with in-laws, and feeling as though the person you married is someone completely different to the person you thought you were marrying. it was a really good attempt at talking about these heavy topics, but the book felt so rushed, so many grammatical errors, and not enough detail in the first half of the book (there was only a sentence to say he proposed, and a few more sentences to say they got married and moved cities that was it ?). i gave a 2.5 purely for the attempt at tackling important topics, keeping it halal and the references of quran and faith throughout the book. this book really had so so much more potential, and 152 pages was definitely not enough for it. i do want to read more books by farah though!

[Alisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Yaqub smiled, as he looked towards Ruqayyah while adding, "I've been blessed without a lot this year."

This is just one example of the many grammatical errors in this book, which I had high hopes for, because I was excited to read something by a Black Muslimah author. Even though this book was written from a Somali/Canadian perspective, and not an American one, I was still expecting more.

I hated the "mean mother-in-law" and "overbearing father-in-law" tropes, as well as the "accident causes spouse to lose all memories of their partner" trope. How convenient was it that Ruqayyah forgot about her marriage to Yaqub, but not about her friend or family?

I also hated how Yaqub suddenly fell in love with her after the accident, after blowing up at her for not communicating that he'd be home hours later than expected due to work. The ending felt incredibly rushed, and the janazah for the family friend's spouse felt out of place.

I guess that the accident was supposed to be a test from Allah, but everything just felt too convenient. I did appreciate the verses from the Quran that were in the book, and the overall message of overcoming trials in your marriage, but the book itself just wasn't what I'd hoped for. I'm glad I was able to use my digital rewards on this book. I probably wouldn't read something else from this author.

[Amina Aziz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book felt rushed to me, insanely rushed. Then about 50% in I realised it’s more than a love story, it’s to describe the realities of what can happen in a marriage. I definitely think it has more potential. The beginning and the ending felt rushed to me and I do think the plot was well thought of. The writing could have been better x
Unfortunately this book was not for me however, I can appreciate the meaning behind this book.
What I took from this book you might ask? The message behind this book for me was to never give up, even if life seems hard. No matter what obstacles are thrown your way never lose your faith. We aren’t given more than what we can handle xx

[Samina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had so much potential but just was not giving 😩 dont get me wrong, the story was ok albeit fast paced which i actually didnt mind but the grammer 😩😩😩 oh my days the amount of errors in this book was mad. So many spelling mistakes, random commas in the middle of sentences, speech marks not being used properly, missing full stops. And whyyy was it written in paragraphs?? For me, all these points unfortunately ruined it. I struggled to get through it but because it’s a short book, I persevered.
It’s a shame because i enjoyed “beyond the sidelines” by the same author!

[AaliyaBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love a beautiful read!! Got me sobbing 😭 throughout, SubhanAllah I. Farah this second edition was a masterpiece!! I loved the rose 🌹 layout and the author letter 💕 the novel was well written the characters Ruqayyah and Yaqub!!! Ruqayyah was soooo strong and refreshing to read you see her preserve…and Yaqub his love for her was just beautiful to watch ❤️!!! Love love love this one!! Don’t sleep on this Muslim romance 💝

[BookishMaryam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved! Loved! Loved! This one! I stumbled upon this after finishing the Dig Up, and how happy was I to get hold of this beautiful work of literary. I. Farah does a stunning job in displaying the whirlwind emotional rollercoaster Ruqayyah and Yaqub go through! I absolutely love this book! If your looking for a comfort read halal romance, definitely give this a try!

[AsmaSamatar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a refreshing yet poetic novel. I truly felt the spiritual aspect reading this one whilst crying. Really loved the strong islamic message and addition of verses of Quran added in. Beautiful novel, by a lovely author. 🩷

[FatimaB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruqayyah and Yaqub ❤️

Their journey of falling for each other, all over again, will replay in my mind for many moments in time. It was so beautiful and heartfelt. Such a cute read, 100 % recommend.

When I see I. Farah, I know it will be quality writing that allows delivers to tell the story in the most capturing breathtaking way possible.