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Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know
Told in alternating narratives that bridge centuries, the latest novel from New York Times bestselling author Samira Ahmed traces the lives of two young women fighting to write their own stories and escape the pressure of familial burdens and cultural expectations in worlds too long defined by men.
It’s August in Paris and 17-year-old Khayyam Maquet—American, French, Indian, Muslim—is at a crossroads. This holiday with her professor parents should be a dream trip for the budding art historian. But her maybe-ex-boyfriend is probably ghosting her, she might have just blown her chance at getting into her dream college, and now all she really wants is to be back home in Chicago figuring out her messy life instead of brooding in the City of Light.
Two hundred years before Khayyam’s summer of discontent, Leila is struggling to survive and keep her true love hidden from the Pasha who has “gifted” her with favored status in his harem. In the present day—and with the company of a descendant of Alexandre Dumas—Khayyam begins to connect allusions to an enigmatic 19th-century Muslim woman whose path may have intersected with Alexandre Dumas, Eugène Delacroix, and Lord Byron.
Echoing across centuries, Leila and Khayyam’s lives intertwine, and as one woman’s long-forgotten life is uncovered, another’s is transformed.
It’s August in Paris and 17-year-old Khayyam Maquet—American, French, Indian, Muslim—is at a crossroads. This holiday with her professor parents should be a dream trip for the budding art historian. But her maybe-ex-boyfriend is probably ghosting her, she might have just blown her chance at getting into her dream college, and now all she really wants is to be back home in Chicago figuring out her messy life instead of brooding in the City of Light.
Two hundred years before Khayyam’s summer of discontent, Leila is struggling to survive and keep her true love hidden from the Pasha who has “gifted” her with favored status in his harem. In the present day—and with the company of a descendant of Alexandre Dumas—Khayyam begins to connect allusions to an enigmatic 19th-century Muslim woman whose path may have intersected with Alexandre Dumas, Eugène Delacroix, and Lord Byron.
Echoing across centuries, Leila and Khayyam’s lives intertwine, and as one woman’s long-forgotten life is uncovered, another’s is transformed.
327 pages, Hardcover
First published April 7, 2020
74 people are currently reading
19136 people want to read
About the author
Samira Ahmed
29 books1,539 followersSAMIRA AHMED was born in Bombay, India, and grew up in Batavia, Illinois, in a house that smelled like fried onions, spices, and potpourri. She currently resides in the Midwest. She’s lived in Vermont, New York City, and Kauai, where she spent a year searching for the perfect mango.
A graduate of the University of Chicago, she taught high school English for seven years, worked to create over 70 small high schools in New York City, and fought to secure billions of additional dollars to fairly fund public schools throughout New York State. She’s appeared in the New York Times, New York Daily News, Fox News, NBC, NY1, NPR, and on BBC Radio. Her creative non-fiction and poetry has appeared in Jaggery Lit, Entropy, the Fem, and Claudius Speaks.
Her writing is represented by Joanna Volpe at New Leaf Literary, Inc.
A graduate of the University of Chicago, she taught high school English for seven years, worked to create over 70 small high schools in New York City, and fought to secure billions of additional dollars to fairly fund public schools throughout New York State. She’s appeared in the New York Times, New York Daily News, Fox News, NBC, NY1, NPR, and on BBC Radio. Her creative non-fiction and poetry has appeared in Jaggery Lit, Entropy, the Fem, and Claudius Speaks.
Her writing is represented by Joanna Volpe at New Leaf Literary, Inc.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 554 reviews
June 13, 2020
OMG! Isn’t it enchanting idea to read a book about two powerful women from different time lines who want to raise their voices and tell their stories! One of them is in Paris, searching for the deepest secrets hid behind a remarkable drawing with a charming French guy carries his descendant Alexandre Dumas’ name! And the other woman is a haseki, leaving behind the walls of Ottoman Harem, telling her secret love triangle story which resulted tragically!
Didn’t you get excited and start to dance like me? To get in the mood I added some Oriental belly shake moves to my dance but my friends laughed so hard and recorded me (yes, after seeing my magical movies on their phone camera, I decided they were combination of Gangham style and a hamster who tries to catch its own tail! So I gave up!) in the meantime. So I locked myself in my bathroom and kept on dancing (of course I put blanket on the mirror not to see myself) and started my reading!
Khayyam, the young heroine of the book named after famous Persian poet Omar Khayyam. She is French American, Indian American and also Muslim American. An immigrant, biracial, interfaith. But she is not a blank page of passport everyone gets to stamp a label of their choosing! She wants to be heard, she wants to leave her traces in the universe! She wants to follow her own path to create her own story she’s destined to do! She wants you to know her name. Just like Leila who wants to take control of her own life and make her own choices but she lives at the world dominated by man power and she has no choice but keep her silence, bow her head and patiently endure the hand life dealt to her.
Instead of some historical faults about the harem life structure ( I was planning to work on a documentary about the hidden face of Harem behind the closed doors so I read tons of researches for months but guess what, I went back to work on thriller projects!) the book’s story-telling is pure, lyrical, fascinating. The powerful feminism messages and intersected stories of two different women’s lives and their challenging quest to raise their voices were remarkable.
It’s memorable and heart felting, poignant time travel story. Not literally but the author takes your feet off the ground and helps to take a journey between different continents, time zones, cultures to tell us we’re a part of different cultural, lyrical mosaic and a note from a symphony and we deserve to heard, understood and we can actually find our own tunes by our own life experiences!
I think I have to read the previous books of Samira Ahmed. Especially “Internment” is part of my long time TBR list and I have to prioritize the best books and work on my pile if I don’t want to be squeezed under them sooner!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Soho Teen for sharing this poetic book’s ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review!
Didn’t you get excited and start to dance like me? To get in the mood I added some Oriental belly shake moves to my dance but my friends laughed so hard and recorded me (yes, after seeing my magical movies on their phone camera, I decided they were combination of Gangham style and a hamster who tries to catch its own tail! So I gave up!) in the meantime. So I locked myself in my bathroom and kept on dancing (of course I put blanket on the mirror not to see myself) and started my reading!
Khayyam, the young heroine of the book named after famous Persian poet Omar Khayyam. She is French American, Indian American and also Muslim American. An immigrant, biracial, interfaith. But she is not a blank page of passport everyone gets to stamp a label of their choosing! She wants to be heard, she wants to leave her traces in the universe! She wants to follow her own path to create her own story she’s destined to do! She wants you to know her name. Just like Leila who wants to take control of her own life and make her own choices but she lives at the world dominated by man power and she has no choice but keep her silence, bow her head and patiently endure the hand life dealt to her.
Instead of some historical faults about the harem life structure ( I was planning to work on a documentary about the hidden face of Harem behind the closed doors so I read tons of researches for months but guess what, I went back to work on thriller projects!) the book’s story-telling is pure, lyrical, fascinating. The powerful feminism messages and intersected stories of two different women’s lives and their challenging quest to raise their voices were remarkable.
It’s memorable and heart felting, poignant time travel story. Not literally but the author takes your feet off the ground and helps to take a journey between different continents, time zones, cultures to tell us we’re a part of different cultural, lyrical mosaic and a note from a symphony and we deserve to heard, understood and we can actually find our own tunes by our own life experiences!
I think I have to read the previous books of Samira Ahmed. Especially “Internment” is part of my long time TBR list and I have to prioritize the best books and work on my pile if I don’t want to be squeezed under them sooner!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Soho Teen for sharing this poetic book’s ARC COPY with me in exchange my honest review!
April 20, 2024
Khayyam’s life is finished and she’s only seventeen.
Ok, that may be a bit over-the-top, but she truly is beyond bummed to have completely blown her chance to achieve her life-long dream. Admittedly, her over-eager attempt to get into the Chicago School of Art Institute was not as well researched as it should have been. The needlessly harsh criticism of one judge plays on repeat in Khayyam’s mind.
The hateful words aren’t wrong; but neither is Khayyam’s theory. A portrait must to be missing from Delacroix’s series based on Byron’s prose. And there is no way that a woman who inspired poetry and paintings was a fictional character plucked from a dark fairy-tale. Khayyam will use her month in Paris to do some proper sleuthing.
Meeting the adorable descendant of Alexandre Dumas and discovering that he, too, is conducting historical studies could prove to be beneficial. And exponentially more entertaining.
As Khayyam gets closer to a truth from the past, she begins to see that even in the present, people are not being completely honest. Going from a having a potential partner to wondering who to trust was unnerving, but uncovering the constantly-controlled life of a mysterious woman was absolutely infuriating.
This woman who had been talked about never got the opportunity to speak for herself. Her name was Leila and her story matters. In learning about Leila, Khayyam’s initial goal to rewrite her essay and prove her case grows distant. She’s no longer focused on her future, but resurrecting Leila’s past is imperative.
Teenagers are completely capable of being many things at once. Inquisitive, determined and tenacious while inexplicably also reckless, romantic and immature. I’ve not seen those traits so perfectly captured and conveyed before “meeting” Khayyam in Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed. Truly terrific YA Historical Fiction!
This review was written for Buried Under Books by jv poore, with a huge thank-you for the Advance Review Copy to donate to my favorite classroom library.
Ok, that may be a bit over-the-top, but she truly is beyond bummed to have completely blown her chance to achieve her life-long dream. Admittedly, her over-eager attempt to get into the Chicago School of Art Institute was not as well researched as it should have been. The needlessly harsh criticism of one judge plays on repeat in Khayyam’s mind.
The hateful words aren’t wrong; but neither is Khayyam’s theory. A portrait must to be missing from Delacroix’s series based on Byron’s prose. And there is no way that a woman who inspired poetry and paintings was a fictional character plucked from a dark fairy-tale. Khayyam will use her month in Paris to do some proper sleuthing.
Meeting the adorable descendant of Alexandre Dumas and discovering that he, too, is conducting historical studies could prove to be beneficial. And exponentially more entertaining.
As Khayyam gets closer to a truth from the past, she begins to see that even in the present, people are not being completely honest. Going from a having a potential partner to wondering who to trust was unnerving, but uncovering the constantly-controlled life of a mysterious woman was absolutely infuriating.
This woman who had been talked about never got the opportunity to speak for herself. Her name was Leila and her story matters. In learning about Leila, Khayyam’s initial goal to rewrite her essay and prove her case grows distant. She’s no longer focused on her future, but resurrecting Leila’s past is imperative.
Teenagers are completely capable of being many things at once. Inquisitive, determined and tenacious while inexplicably also reckless, romantic and immature. I’ve not seen those traits so perfectly captured and conveyed before “meeting” Khayyam in Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed. Truly terrific YA Historical Fiction!
This review was written for Buried Under Books by jv poore, with a huge thank-you for the Advance Review Copy to donate to my favorite classroom library.
August 30, 2020
Ahmed's Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know has a really gripping synopsis: a budding art historian heroine spends her summer in Paris investigating the role of a mysterious woman from the Ottoman Empire who features in works by Alexandre Dumas (most notably the author of The Three Musketeers), the Romantic painter Eugène Delacroix, and the famous English poet Lord Byron. The story by large is fictional, as the woman - Leila - never existed, but Ahmed builds upon an idea I love so much: giving historical women a voice.
In fact, the author's note at the end of this book is really impactful. In it, Ahmed writes something very powerful: "When we say history is written by the victors, we mean history is written by the patriarchy." And it's true, history is written largely by men, and Western-centric history is dominated by the views and recollections of white men, neglecting the vital and fascinating stories of women and BIPOC who existed at the time. "History doesn't need to be an exclusionary tale. Our lives and worlds are richer for the diversity inclusion brings. The present always holds the power to write history."
Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know is led by Khayyam, a seventeen-year-old teen soon going on eighteen. She encompasses a range of identities; "living between spaces", as she puts it: French American; Indian American; Muslim American. In the book, her French, American and Muslim identities are most apparent, and Ahmed's own personal experiences shine through.
The second narrator is Leila, the most favoured woman in the Pasha's harem until she is discarded because she has not borne any children. She is also harbouring a secret - a lover from outside the harem. When she meets Byron on his Grand Tour, he agrees to help her and her lover escape from the Pasha, and she sends up in Paris and in the company of some of the most influential creators of the time. She has a really interesting story, but her chapters are only a few pages and honestly, I would've liked to know more.
I will say that despite the fascinating premise that hooked me, I failed to get truly invested in the story. I felt the plot developed a little too slowly for my taste, and Khayyam's romance with Alexandre moved way too quickly. They're flirting quite heavily from the get-go, and it felt unrealistic? (But maybe immediate flirting is a French or American thing?I'm British and we're awkward af, I'm sorry.) I did like the love interest, Alexandre, who was a descendant of Dumas - he was funny, charming and a nerd - but I did feel like Khayyam's romance plotline (and her deliberation over her ex boyfriend Zaid back in Chicago) overshadowed the main plot at points. In one scene, a confrontation between Alexandre and Zaid literally renders Khayyam a background character in a scene between two men. I'm not sure if it was deliberate, but it echoes the confrontation between the Giaour and the Pasha (depicted in a Delacroix painting, and mentioned in the story), who fight over a voiceless woman. I do feel it's too much of a coincidence to not be planned, in which case it's a very nice mirror scene and parallel between Khayyam and Leila. But nevertheless, I felt the romantic drama drew away from Khayyam and Leila's own stories.
Although my feelings at points oscillated, I really enjoyed the ending. At the core of it, it's a YA story led by an #ownvoices Muslim heroine, investigating another historical Muslim woman whose story was neglected and rewritten and reinterpreted by men such as Byron to frame white men as the saviors. For readers who enjoy hearing tales of forgotten stories recently dredged out of the passing of time, and those who enjoy mysteries centered around history, this one could be a worthy addition to the TBR.
TL;DR: Focusing on revealing the story of a woman written out of history and led by an #ownvoices Muslim heroine, Mad, Bad & Dangerous' romantic plotline sometimes overshadows the actual women. However, it will appeal to readers who enjoy historical art mysteries, and fits perfectly into the rising genre of stories that bring the voices of forgotten women to light.
> 3.8 stars
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review! <3
In fact, the author's note at the end of this book is really impactful. In it, Ahmed writes something very powerful: "When we say history is written by the victors, we mean history is written by the patriarchy." And it's true, history is written largely by men, and Western-centric history is dominated by the views and recollections of white men, neglecting the vital and fascinating stories of women and BIPOC who existed at the time. "History doesn't need to be an exclusionary tale. Our lives and worlds are richer for the diversity inclusion brings. The present always holds the power to write history."
Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know is led by Khayyam, a seventeen-year-old teen soon going on eighteen. She encompasses a range of identities; "living between spaces", as she puts it: French American; Indian American; Muslim American. In the book, her French, American and Muslim identities are most apparent, and Ahmed's own personal experiences shine through.
The second narrator is Leila, the most favoured woman in the Pasha's harem until she is discarded because she has not borne any children. She is also harbouring a secret - a lover from outside the harem. When she meets Byron on his Grand Tour, he agrees to help her and her lover escape from the Pasha, and she sends up in Paris and in the company of some of the most influential creators of the time. She has a really interesting story, but her chapters are only a few pages and honestly, I would've liked to know more.
I will say that despite the fascinating premise that hooked me, I failed to get truly invested in the story. I felt the plot developed a little too slowly for my taste, and Khayyam's romance with Alexandre moved way too quickly. They're flirting quite heavily from the get-go, and it felt unrealistic? (But maybe immediate flirting is a French or American thing?
Although my feelings at points oscillated, I really enjoyed the ending. At the core of it, it's a YA story led by an #ownvoices Muslim heroine, investigating another historical Muslim woman whose story was neglected and rewritten and reinterpreted by men such as Byron to frame white men as the saviors. For readers who enjoy hearing tales of forgotten stories recently dredged out of the passing of time, and those who enjoy mysteries centered around history, this one could be a worthy addition to the TBR.
TL;DR: Focusing on revealing the story of a woman written out of history and led by an #ownvoices Muslim heroine, Mad, Bad & Dangerous' romantic plotline sometimes overshadows the actual women. However, it will appeal to readers who enjoy historical art mysteries, and fits perfectly into the rising genre of stories that bring the voices of forgotten women to light.
> 3.8 stars
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review! <3
July 16, 2020
3.5 stars
I'm honestly not sure what happened with this one. It sounds like a book that I should have fallen in love with. Dual timelines, a mystery that connects them both, exploring how history get written and rewritten by the most powerful, I love all of that?? Not to mention the fact that the mystery somehow involves Alexandre Dumas!! As someone who used to love The Three Musketeers when I was younger, that particular detail made me very excited to pick this one up.
So where did it all go wrong?
Let me start off by saying that I really wanted to see more of the storyline from the 1800s that followed Leila and her struggles. I felt like we barely got a glimpse into what was going on with her because all of her chapters were really short and, as a result didn't really add much to the overall story, in my opinion. Her story was really intriguing to me and I wish we had gotten to see more of it.
That said, I did like the main character in the present time, as well. I thought Khayyam was well-crafted and she was definitely a fun character to follow through all of her adventures in Paris. I also really appreciated her love for history and thought that was written really well.
Stemming from that, I really liked the way the mystery unfolded in this story and the way it all came together at the end. I really liked how Samira Ahmed carried through the theme of erased and forgotten history over the course of the entire story. I thought it was really well-developed and explored thoroughly, especially through Leila and Khayyam's connection to each other. I also really appreciated the fact that it took place in Paris because the aesthetic? Unmatched.
That said, there were definitely some things in this that I found boring and/or questionable, beginning with the love interest. Firstly, I just think it's kind of yikes that for a large portion of this book the main character, who is a minor as far as I can tell, is involved in a romantic relationship with a student who is definitely a few years older than her. That just made me... uncomfortable. And not to mention that the love interest was boring as fuck?? I can't think of a single personality trait of his.
Another thing that I found really annoying about this book is that, despite it trying to make a point about the fact that women have the power to make their own stories, a lot of the plot in this book revolves around Khayyam's relationships. I just thought that was an interesting choice to make?? Also I didn't really care for either boy in this case and I was a lot more interested in the mystery aspect, so all of the romantic bits of this kind of dragged for me.
Overall, though, I think this was a decent book that just missed the mark on some things for me. That said, please don't let my review put you off of reading it because a lot of the things I mentioned in this review really do just come down to personal preference!
I'm honestly not sure what happened with this one. It sounds like a book that I should have fallen in love with. Dual timelines, a mystery that connects them both, exploring how history get written and rewritten by the most powerful, I love all of that?? Not to mention the fact that the mystery somehow involves Alexandre Dumas!! As someone who used to love The Three Musketeers when I was younger, that particular detail made me very excited to pick this one up.
So where did it all go wrong?
Let me start off by saying that I really wanted to see more of the storyline from the 1800s that followed Leila and her struggles. I felt like we barely got a glimpse into what was going on with her because all of her chapters were really short and, as a result didn't really add much to the overall story, in my opinion. Her story was really intriguing to me and I wish we had gotten to see more of it.
That said, I did like the main character in the present time, as well. I thought Khayyam was well-crafted and she was definitely a fun character to follow through all of her adventures in Paris. I also really appreciated her love for history and thought that was written really well.
Stemming from that, I really liked the way the mystery unfolded in this story and the way it all came together at the end. I really liked how Samira Ahmed carried through the theme of erased and forgotten history over the course of the entire story. I thought it was really well-developed and explored thoroughly, especially through Leila and Khayyam's connection to each other. I also really appreciated the fact that it took place in Paris because the aesthetic? Unmatched.
That said, there were definitely some things in this that I found boring and/or questionable, beginning with the love interest. Firstly, I just think it's kind of yikes that for a large portion of this book the main character, who is a minor as far as I can tell, is involved in a romantic relationship with a student who is definitely a few years older than her. That just made me... uncomfortable. And not to mention that the love interest was boring as fuck?? I can't think of a single personality trait of his.
Another thing that I found really annoying about this book is that, despite it trying to make a point about the fact that women have the power to make their own stories, a lot of the plot in this book revolves around Khayyam's relationships. I just thought that was an interesting choice to make?? Also I didn't really care for either boy in this case and I was a lot more interested in the mystery aspect, so all of the romantic bits of this kind of dragged for me.
Overall, though, I think this was a decent book that just missed the mark on some things for me. That said, please don't let my review put you off of reading it because a lot of the things I mentioned in this review really do just come down to personal preference!
December 27, 2019
OH MY GOODNESS
My heart was soaring through the book with the amazing plot and fun mystery.
Khayyam is in Paris for her Summer vacation where she is ridiculed for her art essay for a Young scholar prize. After stepping in dog poop and feeling like a total screw up , Khayyam meets a cute french boy who might actually be a solution to her love life and her chance to get her Young Scholar Prize .
Why should you care / read / pre order Mad , Bad & Dangerous to know? Lemme explain.
Characters
Our MC khayyam , named after the famous Persian poet , Omar Khayyam .
She is
French American.
Indian American.
Muslim American.
Biracial.
Interfaith.
Child of immigrants.
She's the best Indian American portrayal I've seen so far (granted not many) , and Khayyam roxxxx. Khayyam is rightfully angry about Women's voices being silenced all the time.
Meet the French hottie , Alexandre Dumas.
Hot
Cute
Tall
French
Descendant of "The Alexandre Dumas"
Alexandre has more layers than what I prematurely described. I can promise you he's not another Étienne St. Clair . I can't say more without giving out spoilers.
The Plot
Khayyam is invested in digging through Paris to find the voice that was lost in too many men's narratives.
Leila just wants to live her life. Which her fate doesn't let her. Leila struggles to live and breathe while fate tosses her around in it's cruel hands. There's more to her story than the men care to tell.
Khayyam's determination to unravel the truth is the plot , really. While Khayyam ventures through Leila's life connecting the dots , she can see herself reflected in some ways .
Feminism
Feminism , #TellHerStory is the theme of this book. Women get to tell their stories. They can't just be muffled around all the time or seen through another male perspective.
This , obviously , isn't the male bashing type people seem to think feminism is. I'm mentioning this in my review because this is the message I'm taking away from Samira. I would hate to see it misinterpreted or misunderstood. Let my fears be just paranoia.
Writing
This is the first full length Samira Ahmed's novel I've read .
Her writing is mesmerising. The switching of PoV is so easy to navigate. Not just because of the font difference or the timeline difference.
Khayyam and Leila's voices are totally unique and majestic in their own way which made me shed a few tears at some points. I loved Samira's writing so much.
The direction the plot was taking is laid out in the first page. And the journey was so amazing. The pacing was even and .. if you haven't noticed , I love this book. So . Damn. Much.
If you like
Young Adult contemporaries , or ,
diverse books , or ,
Specifically looking for Teen Muslim rep ,
I wholeheartedly recommend reading Mad , Bad & Dangerous to know. This will be a perfect summer read❤️
Thanks for reading my review.
My heart was soaring through the book with the amazing plot and fun mystery.
Khayyam is in Paris for her Summer vacation where she is ridiculed for her art essay for a Young scholar prize. After stepping in dog poop and feeling like a total screw up , Khayyam meets a cute french boy who might actually be a solution to her love life and her chance to get her Young Scholar Prize .
Why should you care / read / pre order Mad , Bad & Dangerous to know? Lemme explain.
Characters
Our MC khayyam , named after the famous Persian poet , Omar Khayyam .
She is
French American.
Indian American.
Muslim American.
Biracial.
Interfaith.
Child of immigrants.
She's the best Indian American portrayal I've seen so far (granted not many) , and Khayyam roxxxx. Khayyam is rightfully angry about Women's voices being silenced all the time.
Meet the French hottie , Alexandre Dumas.
Hot
Cute
Tall
French
Descendant of "The Alexandre Dumas"
Alexandre has more layers than what I prematurely described. I can promise you he's not another Étienne St. Clair . I can't say more without giving out spoilers.
The Plot
Khayyam is invested in digging through Paris to find the voice that was lost in too many men's narratives.
Leila just wants to live her life. Which her fate doesn't let her. Leila struggles to live and breathe while fate tosses her around in it's cruel hands. There's more to her story than the men care to tell.
Khayyam's determination to unravel the truth is the plot , really. While Khayyam ventures through Leila's life connecting the dots , she can see herself reflected in some ways .
Feminism
Feminism , #TellHerStory is the theme of this book. Women get to tell their stories. They can't just be muffled around all the time or seen through another male perspective.
This , obviously , isn't the male bashing type people seem to think feminism is. I'm mentioning this in my review because this is the message I'm taking away from Samira. I would hate to see it misinterpreted or misunderstood. Let my fears be just paranoia.
Writing
This is the first full length Samira Ahmed's novel I've read .
Her writing is mesmerising. The switching of PoV is so easy to navigate. Not just because of the font difference or the timeline difference.
Khayyam and Leila's voices are totally unique and majestic in their own way which made me shed a few tears at some points. I loved Samira's writing so much.
The direction the plot was taking is laid out in the first page. And the journey was so amazing. The pacing was even and .. if you haven't noticed , I love this book. So . Damn. Much.
If you like
Young Adult contemporaries , or ,
diverse books , or ,
Specifically looking for Teen Muslim rep ,
I wholeheartedly recommend reading Mad , Bad & Dangerous to know. This will be a perfect summer read❤️
Thanks for reading my review.
December 18, 2020
[ARC Provided by NetGalley, my review is unbiased]
I'm also a book blogger
While I loved slowly uncovering the mystery of this woman that had faded into the background of these lauded men, I felt it was often to overshadowed by Khayyam's obsession with the guy she just met. I found Khayyam to be a very frustrating character - she's clearly flirting with this new guy, while at the same time being mad at her boyfriend for posting pictures of himself with other girls. Hello, double standards.
I loved the focus on identity - Khayyam's identity as a Muslim French/Indian/American and Laila's identity as a female Indian Muslim, in a world of powerful men. They're very different people, Khayyam is bubbly and awkward and obsessive, whereas Laila is quieter, stronger, and speaks poetically of her life.
Although the title is a quote spoken about Byron, he's little more than a side character in this story and I found it strange to use a quote from a man in a book that celebrates the forgotten women. The main men are actually Dumas and Delacroix, a writer and painter than hung out together and took a whole lot of drugs.
I really liked the ending of this book - many of it's themes are very similar to Jennifer Donnelly's Revolution, which had an incredibly messy and disappointing ending. MBDTK has a powerful and uplifting ending that made me happy that I read it, even if I did have to slog through the romance somewhat.
----------------------------------------------
Read for the Diversify Your Shelf Readathon - "Focus On Identity"
I'm also a book blogger
While I loved slowly uncovering the mystery of this woman that had faded into the background of these lauded men, I felt it was often to overshadowed by Khayyam's obsession with the guy she just met. I found Khayyam to be a very frustrating character - she's clearly flirting with this new guy, while at the same time being mad at her boyfriend for posting pictures of himself with other girls. Hello, double standards.
I loved the focus on identity - Khayyam's identity as a Muslim French/Indian/American and Laila's identity as a female Indian Muslim, in a world of powerful men. They're very different people, Khayyam is bubbly and awkward and obsessive, whereas Laila is quieter, stronger, and speaks poetically of her life.
Although the title is a quote spoken about Byron, he's little more than a side character in this story and I found it strange to use a quote from a man in a book that celebrates the forgotten women. The main men are actually Dumas and Delacroix, a writer and painter than hung out together and took a whole lot of drugs.
I really liked the ending of this book - many of it's themes are very similar to Jennifer Donnelly's Revolution, which had an incredibly messy and disappointing ending. MBDTK has a powerful and uplifting ending that made me happy that I read it, even if I did have to slog through the romance somewhat.
----------------------------------------------
Read for the Diversify Your Shelf Readathon - "Focus On Identity"
April 7, 2020
Despite following the author for a long time on Twitter, I have actually never read her books before. Internment has been on my tbr for a long time but it intimidates the hell out of me and I’m just so scared to read it. But when I saw the blurb for this one, I just knew this was my type of book and I had to read it immediately. And it was amazing.
Even though I mostly read fantasy or romance novels, I am actually very fond of books which have a lot of archeological, historical or artsy elements. I usually find these favorite aspects in my adventure novels, so it was actually very refreshing to see a literary/art history related mystery in a YA novel. I’ve never been to Paris but it’s a dream destination of mine, and the setting here in the book was so vivid and lush that I felt transported, but also sad that i haven’t been there already. I also liked that the author takes us to those places in Paris which are not the main tourist attractions - we only get a single mention of the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower doesn’t even get that - but we see the charm in the places which only the locals would know. And the way the author interconnected the stories of Alexandre Dumas, Eugène Delacroix and Lord Byron with the plot of this book was genius and it’s a great feeling to be exploring the lives of such great artists who have left indelible impressions on us. The writing style is equal parts endearing and poetic and beautiful, and I just found myself lost within the words - it was a mesmerizing experience that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
The main theme of the book is about stories - how we all have a story to tell, how the past and present and future are all connected, and an examination into who finally gets their stories told and who are lost to history. We get a very critical look into how women and their accomplishments have been forgotten or deliberately suppressed for ages now, and how it’s important to not let that happen anymore. History is always being rewritten as we go along, because we uncover new facts or alternate POVs which change the context, and it’s our responsibility to ensure that the women and marginalized people whose stories were lost get a chance to voice their truth. And all these discussions happen very organically between the characters within the novel and I thought the author did a marvelous job highlighting the importance of giving women the agency to tell their own stories.
I will not say I was completely in love with our main character Khayyam. I definitely admired her love for art history, her desire to prove herself and the earnestness with which she proceeded to bring Leila’s story to light. She is also torn between her multiple identities - Muslim, American, French, Indian - and it was fascinating to see her grow more comfortable in her own skin as the book goes on. But she is also a teenage girl who is attracted to two boys and is conflicted about whom to choose, especially because none of them are perfect - I had to actually remind myself repeatedly not to judge her through my adult gaze. Her parents are professors and I absolutely adored them, and their relationship with her. Total parental goals and these are the kind of adult figures we don’t often see in YA, so that was a nice change.
In the past, Leila is a woman of the harem who is not allowed any freedom or privacy, but she is a formidable woman who takes matters into her own hands and decides to carve her own path. It’s a story mired in tragedy but also immense strength, and every step of getting to know her was a joy. Her story also plays such an integral part in Khayyam’s character development, and I commend the author for the beautiful way she wove their narratives together.
In conclusion, this was a powerful story of two young Muslim women across centuries trying to carve their own path in life despite all the obstacles, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If like me, you are a fan of books that combine an engaging story with historical elements, or if you are an art/literary history nerd, I think this book is perfect for you. It has an interesting mystery, flawed but relatable characters and a love of art that permeates the pages. It gave me a lot of joy while reading and I hope it does the same for you too.
Even though I mostly read fantasy or romance novels, I am actually very fond of books which have a lot of archeological, historical or artsy elements. I usually find these favorite aspects in my adventure novels, so it was actually very refreshing to see a literary/art history related mystery in a YA novel. I’ve never been to Paris but it’s a dream destination of mine, and the setting here in the book was so vivid and lush that I felt transported, but also sad that i haven’t been there already. I also liked that the author takes us to those places in Paris which are not the main tourist attractions - we only get a single mention of the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower doesn’t even get that - but we see the charm in the places which only the locals would know. And the way the author interconnected the stories of Alexandre Dumas, Eugène Delacroix and Lord Byron with the plot of this book was genius and it’s a great feeling to be exploring the lives of such great artists who have left indelible impressions on us. The writing style is equal parts endearing and poetic and beautiful, and I just found myself lost within the words - it was a mesmerizing experience that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.
The main theme of the book is about stories - how we all have a story to tell, how the past and present and future are all connected, and an examination into who finally gets their stories told and who are lost to history. We get a very critical look into how women and their accomplishments have been forgotten or deliberately suppressed for ages now, and how it’s important to not let that happen anymore. History is always being rewritten as we go along, because we uncover new facts or alternate POVs which change the context, and it’s our responsibility to ensure that the women and marginalized people whose stories were lost get a chance to voice their truth. And all these discussions happen very organically between the characters within the novel and I thought the author did a marvelous job highlighting the importance of giving women the agency to tell their own stories.
I will not say I was completely in love with our main character Khayyam. I definitely admired her love for art history, her desire to prove herself and the earnestness with which she proceeded to bring Leila’s story to light. She is also torn between her multiple identities - Muslim, American, French, Indian - and it was fascinating to see her grow more comfortable in her own skin as the book goes on. But she is also a teenage girl who is attracted to two boys and is conflicted about whom to choose, especially because none of them are perfect - I had to actually remind myself repeatedly not to judge her through my adult gaze. Her parents are professors and I absolutely adored them, and their relationship with her. Total parental goals and these are the kind of adult figures we don’t often see in YA, so that was a nice change.
In the past, Leila is a woman of the harem who is not allowed any freedom or privacy, but she is a formidable woman who takes matters into her own hands and decides to carve her own path. It’s a story mired in tragedy but also immense strength, and every step of getting to know her was a joy. Her story also plays such an integral part in Khayyam’s character development, and I commend the author for the beautiful way she wove their narratives together.
In conclusion, this was a powerful story of two young Muslim women across centuries trying to carve their own path in life despite all the obstacles, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. If like me, you are a fan of books that combine an engaging story with historical elements, or if you are an art/literary history nerd, I think this book is perfect for you. It has an interesting mystery, flawed but relatable characters and a love of art that permeates the pages. It gave me a lot of joy while reading and I hope it does the same for you too.
dnf
December 5, 2020I tried twice but just can't. It simply didn't work for me. The synopsis sounds great, the concept, premises, title, everything seemed so intriguing until I start reading this book. It was just not my cup of tea.
Want to read
October 4, 2019indian
muslim
teen
rep
muslim
teen
rep
January 18, 2020
*Requested and ARC in exchange for honest review.
3.5 for now. Will write a review soon.
3.5 for now. Will write a review soon.
tbr-library
October 22, 2017ok i'm gonna admit some slight confusion that this isn't related to lord byron but this also sounds AWESOME
August 27, 2020
I'm going to be honest: I went into this knowing next to nothing about it, so imagine my delight when I realized it was about a French-American Muslim girl set in Paris on an art history sleuthing mission mixed with poetry and philosophy. Like, this hit the nail on the head for what I like, and honestly, I was hooked.
I really liked Khayyam. She's an aspiring art historian with a very strong sense of determination, trying to fix the first mishap in her (hopeful) career. Khayyam is very admirable; she has a very strong sense of individuality and morals and I loved that. Alexandre also had me hooked, despite the unbelievability of it all, and I actually really liked their relationship and whole dynamic! Like, I'm not usually into romance, but I was really liking Khayyam and Alexandre together.
One of the things I loved about this book is how it approaches history--Khayyam and Alexandre have discussions on Orientalism, which is. Just. *chef's kiss* Introducing teens to literary and historical theory. Amazing. I love it when books have smart discussions about history and the effects of colonialism on people of colour, but bringing in Edward Said has me absolutely deranged in the best of ways. But also--as a person of colour, and a student of history and English who focuses a lot on the knowledge of Western Europe, I could very much relate to Khayyam's pursuit of history and her conflicts around whose stories to tell, and the difficulties that come with the huge impact that Western Europe and exploitation of people of colour have on our society today. How so many stories of people of colour, of women, and of disabled people and queer people have simply never been told since only the stories of white, straight, rich men have been deemed important.(And there's a bibliography.)
The one aspect that took away from the book for me was the romance, and more specifically the love triangle--about halfway through the book, it really felt like the focus was veering away from Leila and the pursuit of knowledge and truth, and towards the love triangle between Zaid and Alexandre. I wouldn't have hated it if Zaid wasn't a lost cause from the beginning, and honestly, I was actually super into Alexandre as a character AND a love interest.
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed reading Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know and definitely recommend it. You're in for a fun, sweet, and adventure-filled ride, and there's a lot to this book.
I really liked Khayyam. She's an aspiring art historian with a very strong sense of determination, trying to fix the first mishap in her (hopeful) career. Khayyam is very admirable; she has a very strong sense of individuality and morals and I loved that. Alexandre also had me hooked, despite the unbelievability of it all, and I actually really liked their relationship and whole dynamic! Like, I'm not usually into romance, but I was really liking Khayyam and Alexandre together.
One of the things I loved about this book is how it approaches history--Khayyam and Alexandre have discussions on Orientalism, which is. Just. *chef's kiss* Introducing teens to literary and historical theory. Amazing. I love it when books have smart discussions about history and the effects of colonialism on people of colour, but bringing in Edward Said has me absolutely deranged in the best of ways. But also--as a person of colour, and a student of history and English who focuses a lot on the knowledge of Western Europe, I could very much relate to Khayyam's pursuit of history and her conflicts around whose stories to tell, and the difficulties that come with the huge impact that Western Europe and exploitation of people of colour have on our society today. How so many stories of people of colour, of women, and of disabled people and queer people have simply never been told since only the stories of white, straight, rich men have been deemed important.(And there's a bibliography.)
The one aspect that took away from the book for me was the romance, and more specifically the love triangle--about halfway through the book, it really felt like the focus was veering away from Leila and the pursuit of knowledge and truth, and towards the love triangle between Zaid and Alexandre. I wouldn't have hated it if Zaid wasn't a lost cause from the beginning, and honestly, I was actually super into Alexandre as a character AND a love interest.
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed reading Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know and definitely recommend it. You're in for a fun, sweet, and adventure-filled ride, and there's a lot to this book.
March 30, 2020
(Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know hooked me from the first pages. It's full of personality and Khayyam's thoughts jump off the page. I love how quickly she establishes herself in your heart - her fierce ambition, her passion, and her heart. And she only gets better and better! The characters have to be my number one reason for loving this book. Khayyam is a complex character who is both driven, but also struggling to come to terms with her own feelings. At the same time, this dual POV book feature Leila a woman who is similarly struggling with matters of the heart as well as her own survival.
Leila and Khayyam are linked in a story that weaves art, forgotten women, and love. The way women are often not given a voice, the space to speak, erased from history and looking on from the shadows. Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know unravels Leila's story all while allowing Khayyam to evolve as a character, to make mistakes, and to speak her own story. Khayyam talks about the struggles not only of being a woman of color, but also being biracial and how it has impacted her sense of identity. Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know is a book rich with layers and full of heart.
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/revi...
Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know hooked me from the first pages. It's full of personality and Khayyam's thoughts jump off the page. I love how quickly she establishes herself in your heart - her fierce ambition, her passion, and her heart. And she only gets better and better! The characters have to be my number one reason for loving this book. Khayyam is a complex character who is both driven, but also struggling to come to terms with her own feelings. At the same time, this dual POV book feature Leila a woman who is similarly struggling with matters of the heart as well as her own survival.
Leila and Khayyam are linked in a story that weaves art, forgotten women, and love. The way women are often not given a voice, the space to speak, erased from history and looking on from the shadows. Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know unravels Leila's story all while allowing Khayyam to evolve as a character, to make mistakes, and to speak her own story. Khayyam talks about the struggles not only of being a woman of color, but also being biracial and how it has impacted her sense of identity. Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know is a book rich with layers and full of heart.
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/revi...
April 28, 2020
Argh. I’m writing a review a week after reading and I’m docking a star from my initial 4 star rating. This is why I should always write reviews ASAP, because otherwise I over-analyze and realize that some irritating things were EXTRA irritating. I still liked the book and would recommend it for fans of Parisian settings and alternating timelines, but there were enough qualms to make me dock another star.
- Khayyam is freaking great. A+ heroine, would read a ten-book series about her. The Leila parts are interesting but Khayyam is the star.
- I can’t tell what’s fact vs fiction (and there is a lot of fiction re: Leila and her connection to Dumas/Byron) but I also didn’t care. It is a romp! I’m uncertain which Dumas/Byron letters are fictionalized but the historical treasure hunt is super fun. Loved the message on how some people’s stories are lost to history (and if found, should we make them public if they want to stay lost?).
- Is a lot of the book unbelievable? Yes. Pretty much the whole book is. You gotta roll with it, from running into Alexandre Dumas’s descendent to embarking on a historical quest in literally two seconds. Let’s not forget sneaking around and stealing locked-up French artifacts. Did I care so much was unbelievable? Nope. It was fun, I loved the adventure, and I rolled with it.
- Not a fan of the love triangle storyline but I didn’t hate it. I guess I’m ambiguous? Definitely don’t go in with romance expectations because you will NOT be happy. Khayyam gets a happy ending with herself, not with a boyfriend.
- No romantic HEA because cute French guy is a deceiving, cute French guy. The former unfortunately negates the latter. He is redeemed (good-intentioned deception but still a crappy thing to do) and they part as friends, but my heart was broken. This was my original reason for docking a star. I was so sad.
- And now my reason for docking another star to a final rating of 3 stars. I was skimming my highlights and found a scene that made me SQUIRM. Okay, so the real-life Alexandre Dumas has a Black grandmother (she was a slave in Haiti). In contemporary times, Khayyam teams up with Dumas’s fictional descendent (also named Alexandre, eyeroll). He truly is a descendant. That isn’t the deception part; I won’t spoil that even though I guessed from foreshadowing. It’s been centuries since Dumas’s lifetime and contemporary fictionalized Alexandre is white-passing/identifies as white (I don’t think he has any other non-white relatives).
There’s this discussion about Dumas’s race and his Black grandmother (e.g., how Dumas carried his grandmother’s legacy by taking her surname). The current-day fictionalized Alexandre is talking about his connection to the legacy, the struggles of the Haitian grandmother, the racism faced by Dumas, fictional Alexandre being unable to ignore ancestors that are both slaveholders/slaves, etc. It did feel a bit like “I’m white/privileged but I understand more about Blackness/racism than the average person because I’ve researched my family history from 200 years ago.” Maybe that’s an unfair interpretation, but I got that vibe while rereading.
More egregiously, if you take a step back from that particular scene, Dumas’s race isn’t the main topic of conversation anywhere else in the story. I skimmed the book again and it felt... odd. I was looking for discussions of Dumas’s Blackness in particular and it wasn’t omnipresent the way it *should* be. It’s there in bits and pieces, but I don’t think Dumas’s Black identity is as fully realized as Lelia/Khayyam’s Muslim identity. I don’t think anything was offensive; I just perceived a glaring omission.
And the more I think about it... perhaps the contemporary/fictional Alexandre would’ve been better off as *not* white. He’s the reader’s main lens for interpreting and understanding real-life Alexandre Dumas. I don’t know! I’m not in any place to say “make X choice to improve the story!” I simply wonder if the book would’ve been better with a fictionalized biracial descendent to interrogate the past.
So yeah. I liked reading this book, but it didn’t sit well with me during the review process. I know nothing about Dumas or Byron at all, so I’d be interested in reading a review by someone with more expertise. Still, I’m definitely going to search out Samira Ahmed’s backlist because her voice is exceptional.
Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
- Khayyam is freaking great. A+ heroine, would read a ten-book series about her. The Leila parts are interesting but Khayyam is the star.
- I can’t tell what’s fact vs fiction (and there is a lot of fiction re: Leila and her connection to Dumas/Byron) but I also didn’t care. It is a romp! I’m uncertain which Dumas/Byron letters are fictionalized but the historical treasure hunt is super fun. Loved the message on how some people’s stories are lost to history (and if found, should we make them public if they want to stay lost?).
- Is a lot of the book unbelievable? Yes. Pretty much the whole book is. You gotta roll with it, from running into Alexandre Dumas’s descendent to embarking on a historical quest in literally two seconds. Let’s not forget sneaking around and stealing locked-up French artifacts. Did I care so much was unbelievable? Nope. It was fun, I loved the adventure, and I rolled with it.
- Not a fan of the love triangle storyline but I didn’t hate it. I guess I’m ambiguous? Definitely don’t go in with romance expectations because you will NOT be happy. Khayyam gets a happy ending with herself, not with a boyfriend.
- No romantic HEA because cute French guy is a deceiving, cute French guy. The former unfortunately negates the latter. He is redeemed (good-intentioned deception but still a crappy thing to do) and they part as friends, but my heart was broken. This was my original reason for docking a star. I was so sad.
- And now my reason for docking another star to a final rating of 3 stars. I was skimming my highlights and found a scene that made me SQUIRM. Okay, so the real-life Alexandre Dumas has a Black grandmother (she was a slave in Haiti). In contemporary times, Khayyam teams up with Dumas’s fictional descendent (also named Alexandre, eyeroll). He truly is a descendant. That isn’t the deception part; I won’t spoil that even though I guessed from foreshadowing. It’s been centuries since Dumas’s lifetime and contemporary fictionalized Alexandre is white-passing/identifies as white (I don’t think he has any other non-white relatives).
There’s this discussion about Dumas’s race and his Black grandmother (e.g., how Dumas carried his grandmother’s legacy by taking her surname). The current-day fictionalized Alexandre is talking about his connection to the legacy, the struggles of the Haitian grandmother, the racism faced by Dumas, fictional Alexandre being unable to ignore ancestors that are both slaveholders/slaves, etc. It did feel a bit like “I’m white/privileged but I understand more about Blackness/racism than the average person because I’ve researched my family history from 200 years ago.” Maybe that’s an unfair interpretation, but I got that vibe while rereading.
More egregiously, if you take a step back from that particular scene, Dumas’s race isn’t the main topic of conversation anywhere else in the story. I skimmed the book again and it felt... odd. I was looking for discussions of Dumas’s Blackness in particular and it wasn’t omnipresent the way it *should* be. It’s there in bits and pieces, but I don’t think Dumas’s Black identity is as fully realized as Lelia/Khayyam’s Muslim identity. I don’t think anything was offensive; I just perceived a glaring omission.
And the more I think about it... perhaps the contemporary/fictional Alexandre would’ve been better off as *not* white. He’s the reader’s main lens for interpreting and understanding real-life Alexandre Dumas. I don’t know! I’m not in any place to say “make X choice to improve the story!” I simply wonder if the book would’ve been better with a fictionalized biracial descendent to interrogate the past.
So yeah. I liked reading this book, but it didn’t sit well with me during the review process. I know nothing about Dumas or Byron at all, so I’d be interested in reading a review by someone with more expertise. Still, I’m definitely going to search out Samira Ahmed’s backlist because her voice is exceptional.
Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
August 6, 2020
I've rarely encountered a writer like Samira Ahmed who sees so clearly into the mind and heart of a teenager. Its almost a little concerning how good she is at articulating the raging passion and indecision and outright lunacy that comes part and parcel with adolescence. How your priorities are all over the map and your hormones are almost always doing all your thinking and the things you want are vastly more important that whatever anyone else wants. She gets that sweet selfishness in a way I just haven't seen other writers do. It makes her protagonists rich and believable and very real.
She's also a terrific storyteller. Her characters have the kind of adventures I always wanted to have at that age that are fantastic and scary but also grounded in the real world. They feel like they could really happen.
So why did this one fall short with me? Alas, I think its because I'm just too damn old. I can remember being wild and willful and reckless and stupid beyond belief and when I'm staring that in the face, that perfect mirror of my own distant, distant youth its just not that much fun to look at sometimes.
Also there's a bit much happening here. On its face the story of 17 year old Khayyam Maquet is another wonderful coming of age story of girl dealing with issues of identity and working out what she wants to do with her life. She spending her summer in the city of love, Paris, with her professor parents. Her father is French an her mother Indian so issues of race have always been part of her life. She's also struggling in the aftermath of an academic failure. She has dreams of being an art historian that have all been crushed when she rushed to submit a paper on a theory about the painter Delacroix only to have it rejected on the grounds that her theory, while a good one, was poorly researched and easily debunked. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, she meets a charming young French student with connections the Dumas family (and my extension Delacroix) who just so happens to have an interest in Khayyam's work and possibly a few clues that could help her redeem herself.
This is pretty exciting stuff but then Ahmed introduces Leila, a concubine in a pasha's palace hundreds of years in the past. Her story turns out to be the one Khayyam has been searching for all long. Its a magical and tragic romance that has been hidden for centuries and turned into poetry and paintings by the men she told it to.
There's just a lot happening here and as sometimes happens in those cases the story loses the richness I so enjoy in Ahmed's writing. You don't really ever get enough of either Leila or Khayyam's characters to feel like you're really part of their stories. Just as you start to fall into Leila's beautiful but restricted world you're suddenly running down a deserted museum hallway with Khayyam as she tries to work out the location of hidden treasure.
There's also a message about women's autonomy and the importance of remembering the historical contributions women have made to the world that feels a little bit shoehorned in. Like we can't talk about women or minorities without also talking about oppression. I don't know quite how I feel about that.
So, not a bad book by any stretch but just not a great fit for me.
She's also a terrific storyteller. Her characters have the kind of adventures I always wanted to have at that age that are fantastic and scary but also grounded in the real world. They feel like they could really happen.
So why did this one fall short with me? Alas, I think its because I'm just too damn old. I can remember being wild and willful and reckless and stupid beyond belief and when I'm staring that in the face, that perfect mirror of my own distant, distant youth its just not that much fun to look at sometimes.
Also there's a bit much happening here. On its face the story of 17 year old Khayyam Maquet is another wonderful coming of age story of girl dealing with issues of identity and working out what she wants to do with her life. She spending her summer in the city of love, Paris, with her professor parents. Her father is French an her mother Indian so issues of race have always been part of her life. She's also struggling in the aftermath of an academic failure. She has dreams of being an art historian that have all been crushed when she rushed to submit a paper on a theory about the painter Delacroix only to have it rejected on the grounds that her theory, while a good one, was poorly researched and easily debunked. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, she meets a charming young French student with connections the Dumas family (and my extension Delacroix) who just so happens to have an interest in Khayyam's work and possibly a few clues that could help her redeem herself.
This is pretty exciting stuff but then Ahmed introduces Leila, a concubine in a pasha's palace hundreds of years in the past. Her story turns out to be the one Khayyam has been searching for all long. Its a magical and tragic romance that has been hidden for centuries and turned into poetry and paintings by the men she told it to.
There's just a lot happening here and as sometimes happens in those cases the story loses the richness I so enjoy in Ahmed's writing. You don't really ever get enough of either Leila or Khayyam's characters to feel like you're really part of their stories. Just as you start to fall into Leila's beautiful but restricted world you're suddenly running down a deserted museum hallway with Khayyam as she tries to work out the location of hidden treasure.
There's also a message about women's autonomy and the importance of remembering the historical contributions women have made to the world that feels a little bit shoehorned in. Like we can't talk about women or minorities without also talking about oppression. I don't know quite how I feel about that.
So, not a bad book by any stretch but just not a great fit for me.
June 20, 2020
This was an incredibly powerful and moving read. A definite must-have for fans of A.S. Byatt's POSSESSION.
April 29, 2020
I'm clearly not the target audience for this novel, but one of the reasons I wanted to read it is to give myself a booster shot in remembering what it was like to be a teenager, simultaneously struggling with expectations and self-definition and love and friends and figuring out my moral truth. It's something that I don't want to forget as my kids get older and I approach the potentially turbulent adolescent years form the other side.
That said, I can tell that I'm coming at it from the other side, not only because I identified more with the modern protagonist's parents than her, and found her thoughts about love and ambition more exhausting than insightful. But I think that's on me!
One of the things I found interesting about the book were the parallel structure moving back and forth in time between modern Paris and the 19th century Ottoman Empire and Paris. The book is a love letter to art and Paris and to feminism and letting women's voices and stories be heard, and I love that. I also, without spoiling, loved how the relationships in the book were resolved. It was not done in a standard, expected way, and I really appreciated that.
**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
That said, I can tell that I'm coming at it from the other side, not only because I identified more with the modern protagonist's parents than her, and found her thoughts about love and ambition more exhausting than insightful. But I think that's on me!
One of the things I found interesting about the book were the parallel structure moving back and forth in time between modern Paris and the 19th century Ottoman Empire and Paris. The book is a love letter to art and Paris and to feminism and letting women's voices and stories be heard, and I love that. I also, without spoiling, loved how the relationships in the book were resolved. It was not done in a standard, expected way, and I really appreciated that.
**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
November 1, 2020
the best way i can sum up this book is in the words of the main character: “following the breadcrumbs of a literary mystery in paris with a beautiful french boy”
i did not expect to love this as much as i did wow. i expected it to be revolving around a love story more than anything, but there was so much more to it. idek how to describe it.
this book told the story from two different perspectives, one from the 1800s and one in current day. as the book goes on, you get to see how these two characters storylines intertwine. i was slightly confused at first but it made more sense as the book went on and more things were revealed.
not to mention, the two main characters were feminist icons. really strong, confident poc women!!! and we love to see it. honestly sometimes i forgot i was reading a piece of fiction, it kind of felt like i was listening to a friend tell me about her summer adventure and that’s the best feeling when reading a book. i genuinely loved this so much.
historical fiction/romance is a good genre, i should check out more (lmk if you have any recs hehe).
also this is my 40th book of 2020!!!!!!! i’m so proud of myself :,)
i did not expect to love this as much as i did wow. i expected it to be revolving around a love story more than anything, but there was so much more to it. idek how to describe it.
this book told the story from two different perspectives, one from the 1800s and one in current day. as the book goes on, you get to see how these two characters storylines intertwine. i was slightly confused at first but it made more sense as the book went on and more things were revealed.
not to mention, the two main characters were feminist icons. really strong, confident poc women!!! and we love to see it. honestly sometimes i forgot i was reading a piece of fiction, it kind of felt like i was listening to a friend tell me about her summer adventure and that’s the best feeling when reading a book. i genuinely loved this so much.
historical fiction/romance is a good genre, i should check out more (lmk if you have any recs hehe).
also this is my 40th book of 2020!!!!!!! i’m so proud of myself :,)
July 23, 2020
This book had some potential in the premise and story but it failed to deliver in any big way due to the odious main character and the main plot being railroaded by a romantic relationship that I found difficult to root for. It took me a long time to trudge through the book for these reasons.
I was immediately not fond of Khayyam. Her essay was based on one line of text she found in the internet - of course she was going to be torn apart by the judges of the essay competition for her poor research. She acted like it was some big, unfair conspiracy, like the judges had a vendetta against her. And she was constantly whining her ass off and using flowery language and throwing French in with no translation. Pining after some boy back home who was clearly not interested in her beyond a physical relationship.
I'm gonna have immediate dislike for the sort of protagonist that would describe anything like so:
"It's a trapezoid of stone and steel with marble mosaic floors, immense columns, and a sky-grazing rotunda where I can roam the exhibition halls content in anonymous humidity controlled solitude - as my barest self, Khayyam, unadorned and unfettered."
Khayyam was kinda gullible, too, considering her holier-than-thou attitude. She just believed this guy was who he said he was. It wasn't a plot point but it should have been. He saw a blatant American and chose her as a target and was just saying whatever she wants to hear about Dumas because he knew she'll do literally anything if she thought it was to do with Dumas. She'd go anywhere he wanted her to go. He could have been anyone. Of course, he actually was some legit descendant of Dumas, but my point stands.
It's an unsubtle preachy book that fancies itself as an educator. Khayyam frequently has inexplicable brain tangents about Paris architecture or how badly women have been treated by history and you're left just seeing the raw research that the author put into the book. Which unsurprisingly causes it to be dull. At a quarter of the way in to the book nothing had happened except that she'd expounded on her misery over her failed essay on Dumas and then found a handsome direct relative of Dumas who's taken her on a boring trek through letters to find out some dull long forgotten lineage of possession for a painting.
Khayyam is just so self indulgent all the time. Mooning over two boys whilst pretending she's really interested in telling the story of an unknown woman and patting herself on the back for it. I really don't know why this book needed a paltry attempt at a love triangle.
Leila's story, told in snippets at the end of each Khayyam chapter, was more interesting to start with but when three snippets in a row described the feeling of drowning, I grew tired of her too.
I was left unsure how much was fiction at the end of the book, which is a feeling I hate. Are all those pieces of media from painting to poem to novel, really actually all about the same forgotten Muslim woman? Or was the author just tying them together for the sake of her story? I'm assuming the stuff about Dumas being the grandchild of a slave was correct, and a serial womaniser and a lavish spender, but who knows what was made up for plot and what's real?
The author did make good use of the Paris setting though, I'll give her that.
I received this ARC through Netgalley.
I was immediately not fond of Khayyam. Her essay was based on one line of text she found in the internet - of course she was going to be torn apart by the judges of the essay competition for her poor research. She acted like it was some big, unfair conspiracy, like the judges had a vendetta against her. And she was constantly whining her ass off and using flowery language and throwing French in with no translation. Pining after some boy back home who was clearly not interested in her beyond a physical relationship.
I'm gonna have immediate dislike for the sort of protagonist that would describe anything like so:
"It's a trapezoid of stone and steel with marble mosaic floors, immense columns, and a sky-grazing rotunda where I can roam the exhibition halls content in anonymous humidity controlled solitude - as my barest self, Khayyam, unadorned and unfettered."
Khayyam was kinda gullible, too, considering her holier-than-thou attitude. She just believed this guy was who he said he was. It wasn't a plot point but it should have been. He saw a blatant American and chose her as a target and was just saying whatever she wants to hear about Dumas because he knew she'll do literally anything if she thought it was to do with Dumas. She'd go anywhere he wanted her to go. He could have been anyone. Of course, he actually was some legit descendant of Dumas, but my point stands.
It's an unsubtle preachy book that fancies itself as an educator. Khayyam frequently has inexplicable brain tangents about Paris architecture or how badly women have been treated by history and you're left just seeing the raw research that the author put into the book. Which unsurprisingly causes it to be dull. At a quarter of the way in to the book nothing had happened except that she'd expounded on her misery over her failed essay on Dumas and then found a handsome direct relative of Dumas who's taken her on a boring trek through letters to find out some dull long forgotten lineage of possession for a painting.
Khayyam is just so self indulgent all the time. Mooning over two boys whilst pretending she's really interested in telling the story of an unknown woman and patting herself on the back for it. I really don't know why this book needed a paltry attempt at a love triangle.
Leila's story, told in snippets at the end of each Khayyam chapter, was more interesting to start with but when three snippets in a row described the feeling of drowning, I grew tired of her too.
I was left unsure how much was fiction at the end of the book, which is a feeling I hate. Are all those pieces of media from painting to poem to novel, really actually all about the same forgotten Muslim woman? Or was the author just tying them together for the sake of her story? I'm assuming the stuff about Dumas being the grandchild of a slave was correct, and a serial womaniser and a lavish spender, but who knows what was made up for plot and what's real?
The author did make good use of the Paris setting though, I'll give her that.
I received this ARC through Netgalley.
August 7, 2020
Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know is a captivating story of two strong willed women, the first one is Khayyam, a French-Indian-Muslim American and a aspiring art historian and the second one is Leila, a 19th century woman, who was the favorite concubine of the king (Pasha) and whose path seems to mysteriously intersect with three great artists of all time- Byron, Delacroix and Alexandre Dumas.
The story unfolds in a very interesting manner, where the POV alternate between the two women. Leila's narration are comparatively shorter so as to maintain the mystery about her in the reader's mind until the reader uncovers the mystery along with Khayyam. Character building was really nice too. In fact, the introduction for Khayyam was just wonderful and so powerful as it goes like this:
Others look at me and try to shove me into their own narrative to define who and what I am. But I’m not a blank page that everyone else gets to write on.
I have my own voice.
I have my own story.
I have my own name. It’s Khayyam.
What made me give this book 3.5/5 was the fact that I am not a fan of love triangles (my fault) and I felt that there is just too much boy-drama (love-drama to be precise). Also, to be honest some parts felt a bit boring and some parts felt really sophisticated that it took a while to understand.
But still, I totally recommend this book. It is completely relevant to today's problem (#alllivesmatter and #ownvoice). It makes us realize that women and their voices are often overlooked and forgotten, making it an inspiring feminist read. Also, you could visit Paris even during this lockdown situation by just reading this book! Looking for books with love, betrayals, drama, mystery, adventure??? Well, all of these are there in this book.
I thank NetGalley and Orbit Books for giving me this wonderful opportunity. All opnions are my own.
P.s.- I love the cover!!!
The story unfolds in a very interesting manner, where the POV alternate between the two women. Leila's narration are comparatively shorter so as to maintain the mystery about her in the reader's mind until the reader uncovers the mystery along with Khayyam. Character building was really nice too. In fact, the introduction for Khayyam was just wonderful and so powerful as it goes like this:
Others look at me and try to shove me into their own narrative to define who and what I am. But I’m not a blank page that everyone else gets to write on.
I have my own voice.
I have my own story.
I have my own name. It’s Khayyam.
What made me give this book 3.5/5 was the fact that I am not a fan of love triangles (my fault) and I felt that there is just too much boy-drama (love-drama to be precise). Also, to be honest some parts felt a bit boring and some parts felt really sophisticated that it took a while to understand.
But still, I totally recommend this book. It is completely relevant to today's problem (#alllivesmatter and #ownvoice). It makes us realize that women and their voices are often overlooked and forgotten, making it an inspiring feminist read. Also, you could visit Paris even during this lockdown situation by just reading this book! Looking for books with love, betrayals, drama, mystery, adventure??? Well, all of these are there in this book.
I thank NetGalley and Orbit Books for giving me this wonderful opportunity. All opnions are my own.
P.s.- I love the cover!!!
April 13, 2022
those covers thoo
the concept is really cool
- summer in Paris
- down the rabbit hole of art history we're digging up the story of a Muslim woman whose path may have intersected with Alexandre Dumas, Eugène Delacroix, and Lord Byron
the woman of the painting, of the poem, over whom the men fought, but who never got a voice
- meeting a descendant of Alexandre Dumas, called Alexandre Dumas and going through the archives and breaking into properties with him to find clues
- dual timeline with the pov of said mystery woman 200 years ago
the execution was not it
- I found the main character and the dialogue annoying and borderline immature
- not these relationships smh
- it's repetitive
idk what else, i'm very disappointed
Muslim rep : she doesn't drink, but she kisses boys :) man come on for someone who emphasizes so much on her muslim identity all through the book
the concept is really cool
- summer in Paris
- down the rabbit hole of art history we're digging up the story of a Muslim woman whose path may have intersected with Alexandre Dumas, Eugène Delacroix, and Lord Byron
the woman of the painting, of the poem, over whom the men fought, but who never got a voice
- meeting a descendant of Alexandre Dumas, called Alexandre Dumas and going through the archives and breaking into properties with him to find clues
- dual timeline with the pov of said mystery woman 200 years ago
the execution was not it
- I found the main character and the dialogue annoying and borderline immature
- not these relationships smh
- it's repetitive
idk what else, i'm very disappointed
Muslim rep : she doesn't drink, but she kisses boys :) man come on for someone who emphasizes so much on her muslim identity all through the book
June 8, 2021
3.5 stars for an intriguingly told story, even though I didn't love the main character.
This book alternates between contemporary romance and historical romance. It's two different stories entwined: Khayyam, a young French-Muslim-American girl in present-day Paris, discovers clues leading to an enigmatic Muslim woman in 1800s Paris named Leila. We get snippets of Leila's POV ... hints of her daring escape from prostitution in her homeland, her flight to France, and her subsequent affairs with famous French and British men like Alexander Dumas and Lord Byron. It's enough to make us curious, but not enough to make Leila feel like a dual protagonist, since her scenes are so very brief.
And I think that was what held me back from fully loving this book: I wanted more of LEILA'S story, and wasn't super pleased when Khayyam's 21st century teen drama sucked up most of the oxygen. You're fretting over whether or not to text your stupid ex, and meanwhile, this woman is fleeing from sex slavery and manipulating rich poets and artists to do her bidding???? I KNOW WHICH OF THOSE TWO STORIES IS MORE INTERESTING, and it's not the one that 80% of the book focuses on.
I'm glad I read it, though, if only for the chance to meet Leila. To marvel at her courage and her will to survive.
This book alternates between contemporary romance and historical romance. It's two different stories entwined: Khayyam, a young French-Muslim-American girl in present-day Paris, discovers clues leading to an enigmatic Muslim woman in 1800s Paris named Leila. We get snippets of Leila's POV ... hints of her daring escape from prostitution in her homeland, her flight to France, and her subsequent affairs with famous French and British men like Alexander Dumas and Lord Byron. It's enough to make us curious, but not enough to make Leila feel like a dual protagonist, since her scenes are so very brief.
And I think that was what held me back from fully loving this book: I wanted more of LEILA'S story, and wasn't super pleased when Khayyam's 21st century teen drama sucked up most of the oxygen. You're fretting over whether or not to text your stupid ex, and meanwhile, this woman is fleeing from sex slavery and manipulating rich poets and artists to do her bidding???? I KNOW WHICH OF THOSE TWO STORIES IS MORE INTERESTING, and it's not the one that 80% of the book focuses on.
I'm glad I read it, though, if only for the chance to meet Leila. To marvel at her courage and her will to survive.
August 2, 2020
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review
I was super excited for Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know because I absolutely loved Love, Hate, and Other Filters. However, this book just didn't do it for me.
I can't even provide a comprehensive summary of this story because most of the text left my brain immediately after I read it. There really wasn't anything I cared about: the characters, the plot, the writing style, the dialogue, the contemporary and historical perspectives, the romance--nothing. I was extremely disappointed because Samira Ahmed's writing has definitely made me feel intense emotions and has made me feel a strong liking towards her characters, but I felt nothing but bored while reading this novel. I struggled to finish and felt like I still didn't exactly know what Ahmed's goal was by the time I reached the last page. The romance and mystery, which drove this story, never caught my attention at any point. I can't even remember the characters' names even though I finished the novel a few minutes ago.
Overall, I found Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know to be terribly disappointing--however, I'll be looking out for future works by Samira Ahmed because I know she's capable of so much more!
I was super excited for Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know because I absolutely loved Love, Hate, and Other Filters. However, this book just didn't do it for me.
I can't even provide a comprehensive summary of this story because most of the text left my brain immediately after I read it. There really wasn't anything I cared about: the characters, the plot, the writing style, the dialogue, the contemporary and historical perspectives, the romance--nothing. I was extremely disappointed because Samira Ahmed's writing has definitely made me feel intense emotions and has made me feel a strong liking towards her characters, but I felt nothing but bored while reading this novel. I struggled to finish and felt like I still didn't exactly know what Ahmed's goal was by the time I reached the last page. The romance and mystery, which drove this story, never caught my attention at any point. I can't even remember the characters' names even though I finished the novel a few minutes ago.
Overall, I found Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know to be terribly disappointing--however, I'll be looking out for future works by Samira Ahmed because I know she's capable of so much more!
August 16, 2020
This book was absolutely brilliant!
It was fast paced, fun, captivating and FULL of feminism which I adored.
It tells the story of Khayyam, a young American/ French/ Indian Muslim who has a fascination with Art History and dreams of finding a lost Delacroix painting that she believes was gifted to Alexandre Dumas (the author of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers). She goes to Paris, France for her yearly summer trip with her parents, and here meets Alexandre Dumas... the great grandson of the great author himself. The two of them embark on an adventure to discover this lost painting, and on the way uncover an unknown story of Leila, the lady with the raven hair.
Alongside Khayyam's storyline runs Leila's, from the early 1800s to the mid 1800s. Leila's story starts with her living as part of a Harem for Pasha, a cruel King, but she is in love with another man, her Giaour. Leila's story is the basis for the Byron poem, the Giaour, but the reality of her life differs to Byron's account. As Khayyam and Alexandre uncover more of Leila's past in the 21st century, we see glimpses of her life in the 19th Century.
I really enjoyed this book. It was so well crafted and such a fun read. I loved how feminist and strong Khayyam was, and how she felt an affinity with Leila and was determined to find a way to tell her story, and to break way from "his-story". Both of the female characters were great and we saw them struggle to determine their relationships with the male characters. There were some usual YA tropes, such as a love triangle etc, but this was all handled well and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the romance plot, particularly as I felt it didn't take away the focus from the women and the quest to discover the lost story of Leila - this was the main plot and we saw Khayyam's determination to stay focused on this.
Alongside this plot of literary history, art history and hidden mysteries, we saw the day to day life of a teen who is struggling to know her identity and her place in the world. In the opening of this novel Khayyam states:
"I am not a passport that everyone gets to stamp with a label of their choosing. Others look at me and try to shove me into their own narrative to define who and what I am. But I am not a blank page that everyone else gets to write on".
From this opening, I knew that I would love this book and its look at history, along with the identities of women and how they fit into different categories and have the right to craft their own story and narrative. This theme continued throughout the book and it was one of my favourite parts of it.
I really enjoyed this and will definitely be reading more by this author! I highly recommend that you check this out!
It was fast paced, fun, captivating and FULL of feminism which I adored.
It tells the story of Khayyam, a young American/ French/ Indian Muslim who has a fascination with Art History and dreams of finding a lost Delacroix painting that she believes was gifted to Alexandre Dumas (the author of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers). She goes to Paris, France for her yearly summer trip with her parents, and here meets Alexandre Dumas... the great grandson of the great author himself. The two of them embark on an adventure to discover this lost painting, and on the way uncover an unknown story of Leila, the lady with the raven hair.
Alongside Khayyam's storyline runs Leila's, from the early 1800s to the mid 1800s. Leila's story starts with her living as part of a Harem for Pasha, a cruel King, but she is in love with another man, her Giaour. Leila's story is the basis for the Byron poem, the Giaour, but the reality of her life differs to Byron's account. As Khayyam and Alexandre uncover more of Leila's past in the 21st century, we see glimpses of her life in the 19th Century.
I really enjoyed this book. It was so well crafted and such a fun read. I loved how feminist and strong Khayyam was, and how she felt an affinity with Leila and was determined to find a way to tell her story, and to break way from "his-story". Both of the female characters were great and we saw them struggle to determine their relationships with the male characters. There were some usual YA tropes, such as a love triangle etc, but this was all handled well and I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the romance plot, particularly as I felt it didn't take away the focus from the women and the quest to discover the lost story of Leila - this was the main plot and we saw Khayyam's determination to stay focused on this.
Alongside this plot of literary history, art history and hidden mysteries, we saw the day to day life of a teen who is struggling to know her identity and her place in the world. In the opening of this novel Khayyam states:
"I am not a passport that everyone gets to stamp with a label of their choosing. Others look at me and try to shove me into their own narrative to define who and what I am. But I am not a blank page that everyone else gets to write on".
From this opening, I knew that I would love this book and its look at history, along with the identities of women and how they fit into different categories and have the right to craft their own story and narrative. This theme continued throughout the book and it was one of my favourite parts of it.
I really enjoyed this and will definitely be reading more by this author! I highly recommend that you check this out!
June 22, 2020
When you are 17 and feel your life is over, you might not get accepted into your first choice college, and your boyfriend is ghosting you, what do you do? Leave for the summer in Paris with your professor parents and become involved in a literary and artist mystery that you try to solve with a handsome young Parisian college student. This is Khayyem’s story and Leila’s. And it is a page turner. Thanks to Samira for another wonderful novel that celebrates women.
June 17, 2020
3.5 stars
August 26, 2020
Mad Bad and Dangerous to Know by Samira Ahmed was a unique, lyrical and wonderful story of two women who wish to write their own stories despite the odds and how their lives intertwine. I was blown away by this gorgeous story, which was at once powerful and timely and fun and entertaining.
Our main character, Khayyam, is spending her summer in Paris, and is determined to use her holiday to investigate further into her art history project on Alexandre Dumas and Lord Byron, but as she looks further into the way their stories are twined together, she finds a third voice in the tale, silenced by history but finally ready to speak.
Laila is our secondary voice, with short chapters intercepting Khayyam’s. Her narrative takes place in 1800’s and intercepts with those of Alexandre Dumas and Lord Byron. But unlike the latter two, Laila’s story never made it to the pages of history books. As we saw more of Laila’s story from her perspective, so did Khayyam begin to investigate and discover her tale too. Laila’s chapters were written so lyrically and full of deep and beautiful melancholy.
I love Khayyam. She’s so feminist and fierce and always speaks her mind. She’s deeply passionate about art history and a super relatable and likeable main character. Her voice was what pushed this story forward, she drove the narrative with her enthusiasm, kindness and intelligence. Once she discovered Layla, she became determined to learn her story and give her justice no matter what.
I loved Khayyam’s parents and her relationship with them,I love seeing properly fleshed out parental figures and these two are both so strong willed (and nerdy) just like Khayyam and you can really see their personalities reflected in her.
Mad Bad and Dangerous to know is so well written, deeply lyrical and captivating. I loved the atmosphere Samira Ahmed weaves of Paris in the summer time, full of hope and romance and light, and the way it contrasted with the doomed and dark setting of Layla’s story.
I loved the important topics this book discusses, especially feminism and identity, with two Muslim women front and centre. Khayyam and Laila have many things in common, not least the way they grapple with their identities, seek to escape familial burdens and make their own mark upon the world.
As well as this, I really adored the mystery and detective elements of finding the “raven haired lady”. This aspect was super interesting and added a lot to the story in the way of excitement and reveals. This mystery kept me hooked on the plot and helped me fall completely in love with this book.
Overall, Mad Bad And Dangerous to Know was a novel that completely swept me away. It combined vivacious and driven main characters with an intriguing art-centred mystery and important themes to be a show stopping book that I cannot reccommend enough.
Our main character, Khayyam, is spending her summer in Paris, and is determined to use her holiday to investigate further into her art history project on Alexandre Dumas and Lord Byron, but as she looks further into the way their stories are twined together, she finds a third voice in the tale, silenced by history but finally ready to speak.
Laila is our secondary voice, with short chapters intercepting Khayyam’s. Her narrative takes place in 1800’s and intercepts with those of Alexandre Dumas and Lord Byron. But unlike the latter two, Laila’s story never made it to the pages of history books. As we saw more of Laila’s story from her perspective, so did Khayyam begin to investigate and discover her tale too. Laila’s chapters were written so lyrically and full of deep and beautiful melancholy.
I love Khayyam. She’s so feminist and fierce and always speaks her mind. She’s deeply passionate about art history and a super relatable and likeable main character. Her voice was what pushed this story forward, she drove the narrative with her enthusiasm, kindness and intelligence. Once she discovered Layla, she became determined to learn her story and give her justice no matter what.
I loved Khayyam’s parents and her relationship with them,I love seeing properly fleshed out parental figures and these two are both so strong willed (and nerdy) just like Khayyam and you can really see their personalities reflected in her.
Mad Bad and Dangerous to know is so well written, deeply lyrical and captivating. I loved the atmosphere Samira Ahmed weaves of Paris in the summer time, full of hope and romance and light, and the way it contrasted with the doomed and dark setting of Layla’s story.
I loved the important topics this book discusses, especially feminism and identity, with two Muslim women front and centre. Khayyam and Laila have many things in common, not least the way they grapple with their identities, seek to escape familial burdens and make their own mark upon the world.
As well as this, I really adored the mystery and detective elements of finding the “raven haired lady”. This aspect was super interesting and added a lot to the story in the way of excitement and reveals. This mystery kept me hooked on the plot and helped me fall completely in love with this book.
Overall, Mad Bad And Dangerous to Know was a novel that completely swept me away. It combined vivacious and driven main characters with an intriguing art-centred mystery and important themes to be a show stopping book that I cannot reccommend enough.
April 8, 2020
This was an enjoyable read!!! The setting was dreamy (because obviously... Paris is amazing) and the investigation was really fun to read about! There were some things that happened romance-wise that I wasn’t a fan of, but other than that I feel like this is a fun summer-y (or spring even) read!! I really want to revisit Paris now 😂🙈
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Samira Ahmed = yes please!!!
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Samira Ahmed = yes please!!!
April 26, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
This book really took me by surprise. I honestly didn't expect to love it as much as I did. The story is beautiful, written well, and has just enough intrigue and complications to keep me turning the pages.
Full review: https://picturethisliteraturecom.word...
This book really took me by surprise. I honestly didn't expect to love it as much as I did. The story is beautiful, written well, and has just enough intrigue and complications to keep me turning the pages.
Full review: https://picturethisliteraturecom.word...
Want to read
October 22, 2017dude, this sounds AWESOME!!
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