Author: Aliya Ali-Afzal
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: February 22, 2022
Book Description: At the school gates, Faiza fits in. It took a few years, but now the snobbish white mothers who mistook her for the nanny treat her as one of their own. She’s learned to crack their subtle codes, speak their language of fashion and vacations and haircuts. You’d never guess, seeing her at the trendy kids’ parties and the leisurely coffee mornings, that her childhood was spent being bullied and being embarrassed of her poor Pakistani immigrant parents.
When her husband Tom loses his job in finance, he stays calm. Something will come along, and in the meantime, they can live off their savings. But Faiza starts to unravel. Creating the perfect life and raising the perfect family comes at a cost – and the money Tom put aside has gone. Faiza will have to tell him she spent it all.
Unless she doesn’t…
It only takes a second to lie to Tom. Now Faiza has mere weeks to find $100,000. If anyone can do it, Faiza can. She’s had to fight for what she has, and she’ll fight to keep it. But as the clock ticks down and Faiza desperately tries to put things right, she has to ask herself: how much more should she sacrifice to live someone else’s idea of the dream life?
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Review: The story of a upper middle class family living in Wimbledon, England. Everything is going well, until Tom loses his job. He is not worried yet, because Tom and Faiza have a nice little nest egg. There is just one thing Faiza has spent all the money in their savings and she does not want to tell her husband.
This is the premise for the entire novel, Faiza hiding the fact that all their money is gone. She borrows money from all other sources to help in the short term, but ultimately decides to find a job herself and try fix everything by herself.
When Faiza lands a job at a boutique investment firm, things start looking up. With the promise of a long term contract and a huge bonus at the end of the first six months, Faiza will set things straight. That is until everything starts to crash down on her. Tom’s depression, a boss that is harassing her all while trying to regain their financial stability.
This book was very engaging, however, I found myself thinking there would be no story if Faiza just told Tom about their financial situation and that aggravated me at times. This was very fast paced, with ultimately satisfying ending. A fun book to cleanse the palate.
Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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