Dina Gets Lucky

by Uzma Jalaluddin

At a sumptuous family wedding, two former friends rediscover their own love story and the lies that tore them apart in a chaotic and swoony second-chance romance by the author of Yours for the Season .

Toronto attorney Dina Haq is looking forward to her influencer sister’s lavish South Asian wedding. She wouldn’t dream of overshadowing the event of the season by revealing her carefully guarded Her own marriage has gone bust. She just needs to make sure her odious ex keeps his mouth shut, too. Complications arise once she discovers that the groom’s best man is none other than Luqman “Lucky” Latif, a law school crush who ghosted her six years ago.

Forced to abandon his lawyerly ambitions to help his struggling family in Chicago, Lucky rebuilt his life, and a successful contracting business, and has moved on from past hurts…or so he thinks. Then he sees Dina again, the woman who not only rejected him but also had the nerve to marry his best friend instead. He’s not sure his heart can survive another encounter.

As the wedding festivities unfold, Dina and Lucky rediscover their connection and begin to unravel the part her manipulative ex-husband played in their almost-love story. The past isn’t quite what they thought, but is it too late to imagine a new future together?

Genres: Romance

Kindle Edition

Expected publication October 27, 2026

About the author

I write funny, nuanced stories about Muslims, South Asians, Canadians, people. MUCH ADO ABOUT NADA (June 2023), THREE HOLIDAYS AND A WEDDING (Sept 2023), HANA KHAN CARRIES ON (2021) and AYESHA AT LAST (2019). Find out more at www.uzmajalaluddin.com and thanks for visiting!

Reviews

[Mai H.]

Valentine's Day TBR

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing

[inmyreadingera321 · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Uzma writes it, I read it. And I was particularly excited about this book as a soon-to-be-practicing-female-Muslim-lawyer myself! I adored Dina and her strong sense of self despite her struggles in figuring out how to make everyone (her family especially) accept her. And I also really loved how Lucky was somewhat unconventional as an MMC, at least in the Muslim/desi sense. He was a tradesman and suffered a lot of turned up noses because of that, but he also had a strong sense of self and was content with his life. They made a really great couple because they were both opposites and the same — they filled each other’s gaps in a really compatible way.

I will say that I was STRESSED reading this though!! I kept hoping and praying that all the secrets would come out soon and kept wanting to hide behind my fingers whenever more miscommunications happened. I think that the ending was a tad rushed in that sense, because after all the build-up with the secrets, things came out and were resolved a bit too quickly. But I didn’t even mind because I was just happy that Dina and Lucky actually COMMUNICATED!

And, in true Uzma fashion, the side characters stole the show. Deepak and Hassan made me laugh. And Lisa and Aliyah made the best girl gang ever — I want to be friends with them. Also, Arshad can go die in a hole ✌️

—————————

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC!

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Dina gets Lucky’ is a story about the fallout of a friendship between three friends— Dina, Luqman (aka Lucky) and Arshad from their years together in Law School to several years later when Dina and Arshad get married. Dina and Arshad’s marriage orchestrated by the opportunistic Arshad (who had his sights set on Dina’s family law firm), also culminates in a divorce years later, after Dina sees him for the narcissistic jerk that he is.

The story is centred around the events of a big fat Indian wedding; between Dina’s sister, Hania and Samir, who is part of Lucky’s friend circle, during which Dina and Arshad have to carefully keep their divorce under wraps to let Hania enjoy her big day. More importantly, Dina and Lucky who had lost touch after college meet during the festivities and navigate their past friendship and some confusing feelings reignite between them.

I adored this book for its representation of the Indian diaspora living in the west, the rich descriptions of the food and festivities, the sense of community even among different religions and the representation of the stigma around divorce in South Asian families. The characters were all written really well and my favorite remains Dina, who is self-assured and refused to tolerate the self-serving, social climber of a husband any longer. Apart from some pacing issues and my general dislike of pop culture references in books I liked everything else about this book. My first Uzma Jalaluddin book and it did not disappoint.

[Uzia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I have ever read that made me want to do unspeakable illegal (the bad kind) of things to a man. That man made me so mad I genuinely wanted to rip his hair apart. This just shows the author's amazing ability of writing. I absolutely loved the way she portrayed the characters. The little notes were the sweetest parts about their relationship. The way the author constantly represents Indian culture made me feel so seen. The constant questions about marriage to Lucky made it seem incredibly realistic.

I loved Diya as a character, especially the way she handled her responsibilities. Her family annoyed me to an extent. Her sister made me wanna rip MY hair out atp. BUT I loved the romance between Lucky and Dina. The continuous glances, the small convos and the stolen glances made it far more enjoyable. The way they cleared out the misunderstandings and spoke about it to each other made me SWOONNNN!!!

The marriage setting made it more entertaining. Mostly, because I do not go to such events. Hence, it was breathtaking to read the way the author described the wedding and its rituals.

I am so glad that I got to read this book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC copy!

[Lixiezil · Rating 3 out of 5]

**Review of an ARC. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity!**

This was a solid 3.5 stars for me. I really enjoyed the way this was written, it was a quick, easy and enjoyable read. I feel like I also learned a lot about Desi and Muslim culture through this book which is something that I hadn’t really researched a lot into in the past.
Reading about the wedding and the different celebrations and rituals that take place was super fun.

The main characters, Dina and Lucky, were definitely likeable and relatable. I did really enjoy the small, subtle moments between them like the little stolen glances etc.

Arshad is the worst. I do think he was perhaps maybe a little overly villainous at times, and that he was kind of bordering on cartoon villain behaviour, but that was just a minor thing for me.

The main thing I did not enjoy about this book was the miscommunication. The miscommunication trope has never been my favourite, and I do wish that the miscommunication in this book hadn’t gone on for as long as it did. If that trope is your thing though then you will probably enjoy this a little more than me.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, I just want to say I really loved Dina as a character! Her personal struggles are really sympathetic. It made sense to me why she was so scared to tell her family about her divorce. And I also loved Lucky and the conflicts he'd had to overcome and I love how we got his POV in this story too. The shenanagins about the wedding and Dina's sister were really fun, too. As were some of the side characters. Reading about Dina and Lucky as they met again and yearned and the misunderstanding was quite delicious, even if I wish it was revealed a tad bit earlier!
I did think the ex husband might have been a bit too comically villainous, plus I wish Lucky and Dina got together a little bit earlier, I would have liked to linger in the after of it a bit more, seeing more reactions and stuff as they settled into a relationship.
But this was such a sweet fun read! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher!

[Keila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dina Gets Lucky was enjoyable as a palate cleanser. The characters are lovable and relatable on their own but man, this book uses a lot of miscommunication tropes (and the lack of communication, thereof), which is one of my book pet peeves. Ergo, the three-star rating. The main villain of the story, Arshad, was so well-written that I hated every time he showed up to do his evil palm-rubbing.

The wedding subplot was fun and ridiculously entertaining. I got to learn a bunch of Desi culture stuff like the food, clothes and wedding shenanigans. I sorta expected to have the Muslim/Islamic aspect of the characters and/or wedding itself be highlighted, but sadly it was barely there. So if you're reading this book expecting to learn about actual Muslim weddings (there's a difference!), this is not it.

Again, I enjoyed this book more than I expected. I like Uzma Jalaluddin's other works, though, namely Ayesha at Last.

[Mystic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uzma Jalaludin’s books are a joy to read. They flow easily so sometimes I find myself reading well into the night.
This title was kindly given as a Net Galley offering. The characters were interesting and the story although riddle in tropes was engaging and fun. I love how these books capture the Indian/Desi diaspora in Canada and capture personalities we grew up with.
This was a solid 3.5, I had to knock some off for the over the top extremes of uber wealth, convinient plot outcomes and main character flaw that is so ridiculous for such a smart girl.

[Emma Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was well written and a fun easy read, I really liked how they showed different cultures and the way they showed Dina's family dynamics were in my opinion very realistic instead of clear cut evil or kind, which is a nice change, it did lose a few stars because the miscommunication tropes went on for a very long time and probably could have been resolved sooner but it was a very nice easy read, it keeps you interested and is very character driven.

[trix · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had high expectations for this book and somehow it exceeded them. It was such a fun and light hearted read I loved it so much. I also feel like I have learned so many things about desi muslims' weddings it was genuinely so interesting.

I am so glad that I got to read this book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC copy!

The book comes out on October 27th, if I were you I'd make sure to save the date!

[Aviva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book. It’s a love story, but it’s also family, friends, and deception. I did find that things came together a bit too quickly for me in the end, but I would still highly recommend this book. Check this book out when it’s released in October 2026.

[Jodi Schulz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. Super fun, fast read, even if it is entirely predictable. A little Crazy Rich Asians mixed with Never Have I Ever. Super enjoyable except for the younger sister who I wanted to punch in the face. 3.5 stars rounded up.