Books like 'The Writing on My Forehead'
Readers who enjoyed The Writing on My Forehead by Nafisa Haji also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary south asian muslim
-
The Storyteller's Secret by Sejal Badani
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 69 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of Trail of Broken Wings comes an epic story of the unrelenting force of love, the power of healing, and the invincible desire to dream. Nothing prepares Jaya, a New York journalist, for the heartbreak of her third miscarriage and the slow unraveling of her marriage in its wake... -
![Take What You Can Carry by Gian Sardar]()
Take What You Can Carry by Gian Sardar
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsAn aspiring photographer follows her dreams and faces her fears in a poignant novel about finding beauty, promise, and love amid the chaos of war-torn Kurdistan.It’s 1979. Olivia Murray, a secretary at a Los Angeles newspaper, is determined to become a photojournalist and make a difference with her work... -
![]()
![]()
Sponsored links -
![The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak]()
The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 59 ratingsListen to Elif Shafak's The Forty Rules of Love reviewed on NPR In this lyrical, exuberant follow-up to her 2007 novel, The Bastard of Istanbul , acclaimed Turkish author Elif Shafak unfolds two tantalizing parallel narratives—one contemporary and the other set in the thirteenth century, when Rumi encountered his spiritual mentor, the whirling dervish known as Shams of Tabriz—that together... -
![Of Marriageable Age by Sharon Maas]()
Of Marriageable Age by Sharon Maas
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsA spellbinding story of forbidden love, spanning three continents and three decades. Set against the Independence struggles of two British colonies, Of Marriageable Age is ultimately a story of personal triumph against a brutal fate, brought to life by a multicultural cast of characters:Savitri, intuitive and charismatic, grows up among the servants of a pre-war English household in the Raj... -
-
![Laskar Pelangi by Andrea Hirata]()
Laskar Pelangi by Andrea Hirata
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsBegitu banyak hal menakjubkan yang terjadi dalam masa kecil para anggota Laskar Pelangi. Sebelas orang anak Melayu Belitong yang luar biasa ini tak menyerah walau keadaan tak bersimpati pada mereka... -
![Never Meant to Stay by Trisha Das]()
Never Meant to Stay by Trisha Das
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsA bighearted romantic comedy about family and finding the perfect match set against the exuberant backdrop of contemporary Delhi. Home has always been a temporary arrangement for Samara Mansingh, a wayfaring wedding photographer and the daughter of a diplomat. When her father is uprooted once again, Samara needs a place to stay in Delhi. Next the Khanna family... -
![The Golden Son by Shilpi Somaya Gowda]()
The Golden Son by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsThe first of his family to go to college, Anil Patel, the golden son, carries the weight of tradition and his family’s expectations when he leaves his tiny Indian village to begin a medical residency in Dallas, Texas, at one of the busiest and most competitive hospitals in America... -
![This Way Out by Tufayel Ahmed]()
This Way Out by Tufayel Ahmed
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIt’s time everyone knew the truth, and what better way to announce you’re getting married (and gay) than on your family WhatsApp group?Amar can’t wait to tell everyone his wonderful news: he’s found The One, and he’s getting married... -
![A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth]()
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsVikram Seth's novel is, at its core, a love story: Lata and her mother, Mrs. Rupa Mehra, are both trying to find -- through love or through exacting maternal appraisal -- a suitable boy for Lata to marry... -
![Tell Me How to Be by Neel Patel]()
Tell Me How to Be by Neel Patel
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 17 ratings'A love letter to R&B, youth, and the unforgettable agonies of one's first love...I will read everything Patel writes from here on.' Susie Yang, New York Times bestselling author of White IvyLost in the jungle of Los Angeles, Akash Amin is filled with shame. Shame for liking men. Shame for wanting to be a songwriter. Shame for not being like his perfect brother. Shame for his alcoholism... -
![No Honour by Awais Khan]()
No Honour by Awais Khan
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsA young woman defies convention in a small Pakistani village, with devastating results for her and her family. A stunning, immense beautiful novel about courage, family and the meaning of love, when everything seems lost… In sixteen-year-old Abida’s small Pakistani village, there are age-old rules to live by, and her family’s honour to protect... -
![The Last Queen of India by Michelle Moran]()
The Last Queen of India by Michelle Moran
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 36 ratings1857, India. At nineteen years old, Sita is the shining star of Queen Lakshmi of India's imperial guard, having pledged herself to a life of celibacy in the name of protecting the young ruler. When Sita agrees to train Lakshmi in the art of military combat, a close friendship develops between the two women... -
![The Book of Everlasting Things by Aanchal Malhotra]()
The Book of Everlasting Things by Aanchal Malhotra
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 22 ratingsOn a January morning in 1938, Samir Vij first locks eyes with Firdaus Khan through the rows of perfume bottles in his family’s ittar shop in Lahore. Over the years that follow, the perfumer’s apprentice and calligrapher’s apprentice fall in love with their ancient crafts and with each other, dreaming of the life they will one day share... -
![The Heart Asks Pleasure First by Karuna Ezara Parikh]()
The Heart Asks Pleasure First by Karuna Ezara Parikh
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAn extraordinary tale of love in a world being torn asunder.It is 2001 and Daya and Aaftab have just met in a park in Cardiff. She is studying ballet and he is practising in a law firm. She falls madly in love. He does, but he also cannot, because he is Muslim and there are certain rules... -
-
![Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda]()
Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 57 ratingsSomer's life is everything she imagined it would be — she's newly married and has started her career as a physician in San Francisco — until she makes the devastating discovery she never will be able to have children.The same year in India, a poor mother makes the heartbreaking choice to save her newborn daughter's life by giving her away... -
![Kamila Knows Best by Farah Heron]()
Kamila Knows Best by Farah Heron
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsKamila Hussain’s life might not be perfect, but, whew, it’s close. She lives a life of comfort, filled with her elaborate Bollywood movie parties, a dog with more Instagram followers than most reality stars, a job she loves, and an endless array of friends who clearly need her help finding love. In fact, Kamila is so busy with her friends’ love lives, she’s hardly given any thought to her own .Categorized as:
south asian muslim historical humor multicultural contemporary friends to lovers length-medium -
![Twisted Alliance: An Arranged Marriage Romance by P.G. Van, P.G. Van]()
Twisted Alliance: An Arranged Marriage Romance by P.G. Van, P.G. Van
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratings"It's time for you to pay... wife," he said with a cold smile on his darkly handsome face. #1 ROMANCE BESTSELLER ON AMAZON INDIAIshani Gujjar led a sheltered life as the heiress of a desert clan. Her world is suddenly shaken when her marriage is arranged to a stranger who came from a faraway place, claiming to be the secret heir of the powerful Thakvar clan... -
![The Orphan's Gift by Renita D'Silva]()
The Orphan's Gift by Renita D'Silva
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsShe allows herself to kiss her perfect child just once. She wraps the baby in her last gift: a hand-knitted cardigan, embroidered with a water lily pattern. ‘You’re better off without me,’ she whispers and although every step breaks her heart, she walks away. 1910, India... -
![The Butterfly Mosque by G. Willow Wilson]()
The Butterfly Mosque by G. Willow Wilson
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe extraordinary story of an all-American girl’s conversion to Islam and her ensuing romance with a young Egyptian man, The Butterfly Mosque is a stunning articulation of a Westerner embracing the Muslim world. When G... -
![Scent of a Garden by Namrata Patel]()
Scent of a Garden by Namrata Patel
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsA perfumer in Paris is forced to return to her California roots in an exhilarating novel about family, self-discovery, and taking risks by the author of The Candid Life of Meena Dave.The daughter of proud Napa Valley hoteliers, Asha “Poppy” Patel chose a different line as a Paris perfumer, gifted with a nose for fragrances and business. Until her heightened sense of smell disappears... -
![My Beautiful Chaos by Swati M.H.]()
My Beautiful Chaos by Swati M.H.
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsLove wanes.That’s what my missing groom told me over the phone . . . on our wedding day, no less.I wasn’t about to go down that road again—love, marriage, forever. I had enough on my plate serving as deputy general counsel of our family business and keeping my matchmaking parents off my back.Then Wayland Ramirez comes roaring back into my life... -
![Guapa by Saleem Haddad]()
Guapa by Saleem Haddad
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA debut novel that tells the story of Rasa, a young gay man coming of age in the Middle East Set over the course of twenty-four hours, Guapa follows Rasa, a gay man living in an unnamed Arab country, as he tries to carve out a life for himself in the midst of political and social upheaval... -
![Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors]()
Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors
Rated: 3.99 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsJourney to dazzling seventeenth-century Hindustan, where the reigning emperor, consumed with grief over the tragic death of his beloved wife, commissioned the building of a grand mausoleum as a testament to the marvel of their love. This monument would soon become known as the Taj Mahal—a sight famous around the world for its beauty and the emotions it symbolizes... -
![Saree by Su Dharmapala]()
Saree by Su Dharmapala
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsNila wasn’t born beautiful and is destined to go through life unnoticed… until she becomes a saree maker. As she works, Nila weaves into the silk a pattern of love, hope and devotion, which will prove to be invaluable to more lives than her own... -
-
![Man of Her Match by Sakshama Puri Dhariwal]()
Man of Her Match by Sakshama Puri Dhariwal
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsKicked off the team for a series of misdemeanours, Indian cricket's playboy Vikram Walia finally has a chance at redemption. The only it involves collaborating with his childhood best friend turned sworn enemy, Nidhi Marwah... -
![The Sweetness of Tears by Nafisa Haji]()
The Sweetness of Tears by Nafisa Haji
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFrom Nafisa Haji, author of the critically acclaimed novel, The Writing on My Forehead, comes The Sweetness of Tears, an emotional, deeply layered story that explores the far reaching effects of cultural prejudice, forbidden love, and hidden histories on a young woman and her family... -
![Love, Marriage, and Other Disasters by Shilpa Suraj]()
Love, Marriage, and Other Disasters by Shilpa Suraj
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 5 ratingsShe believes in love, family and…squiggles! Alisha Rana is not your typical single desi girl. For one, she is on the wrong side of 30. For another, she is divorced. And last but definitely not least, she is still, gasp, a virgin!Alisha doesn’t want much... -
![People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks]()
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 73 ratingsFrom the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March, the journey of a rare illuminated manuscript through centuries of exile and war In 1996, Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, is offered the job of a lifetime: analysis and conservation of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, which has been rescued from Serb shelling during the Bosnian war... -
![Water by Bapsi Sidhwa, Deepa Mehta]()
Water by Bapsi Sidhwa, Deepa Mehta
Rated: 3.97 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe renowned author Bapsi Sidhwa and the equally renowned filmmaker Deepa Mehta share a unique artistic relationship: Mehta adapted Sidhwa’s novel Cracking India for her brilliant film Earth, and here, Sidhwa adapts Mehta’s controversial film Water to the printed page... -
![Sister of My Heart by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni]()
Sister of My Heart by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsAnju is the daughter of an upper-caste Calcutta family; her cousin Sudha is the daughter of the black sheep of the family. Sudha is as beautiful, tenderhearted, and serious as Anju is plain, whip-smart, and defiant. yet since the day they were born, Sudha and Anju have been bonded in ways even their mothers cannot comprehend... -
![Only Wheat Not White by Varsha Dixit]()
Only Wheat Not White by Varsha Dixit
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhat if the one you completely love is the one you simply can't! Twenty-six-year-old Eila Sood moves to America to mend fences with her estranged older sister, Sheela. Eila and the rest of the family in India had cut off ties with Sheela after she married Steve Jacobs, 'out of caste, and out of color'. Elia soon realizes that Sheela's marriage is on the rocks... -
![The Wedding Photographer by Sakshama Puri Dhariwal]()
The Wedding Photographer by Sakshama Puri Dhariwal
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsOn a seventeen-hour-long flight, a chance upgrade to business class lands journalist Risha Kohli next to handsome real estate hotshot Arjun Khanna... -
![She Loves Me, He Loves Me Not by Zeenat Mahal]()
She Loves Me, He Loves Me Not by Zeenat Mahal
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsZoella didn’t know whether she was devastatingly happy or happily devastated. Zoella has been in love with Fardeen Malik, her best friend’s gorgeous older brother, since she was ten, but he’s always seen her as a ‘good girl’—not his type—and he can barely remember her name... -
![Trouble Has A New Name by Adite Banerjie]()
Trouble Has A New Name by Adite Banerjie
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“Will you pretend to be my fiancé for the next few days?” Recently-single model Rayna Dutt does not feel like flying to her friend’s big fat Indian wedding. But she does - and when a mix up with room allocations forces her to share a luxury villa on Emerald Isle with the gorgeous owner of the hotel - Neel Arora - and best man at the wedding, things begin to look up... -
-
![If I Loved You Less by Aamna Qureshi]()
If I Loved You Less by Aamna Qureshi
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA joyful romantic comedy retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma!I know what you’re thinking: poor little rich girl, she has everything, what else could she possibly need? Well, I’m looking for the great love of my life, thank you very much.For Long Island native Humaira Mirza, it’s always been about love – and she has the matchmaking track record to prove it... -
![If You Let Me Go by Sonia Rao]()
If You Let Me Go by Sonia Rao
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhat happens in Paris…Shivalika is a brilliant interior designer who attracts suitors like bees to honey. But she will have none of that. Shivalika has her life mapped out. She does not believe in love at all and is only focused on her career the reason for which is a secret she has nursed since she was a teenager... -
![My Other Half by Neya B]()
My Other Half by Neya B
It's crazy how fate can change the perspective of our future. Hayat didn’t plan to meet the man who will love her in this life and the afterlife. As a twenty-six-year-old web designer, Hayat was focused on her career, love was not on her agenda. Not even marriage. Anas, on the other hand, secretly hoped to find someone who could love Souhila as much as he did... -
![Season of Crimson Blossoms by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim]()
Season of Crimson Blossoms by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsAn affair between 55-year-old widow Binta Zubairu and 25-year-old weed dealer Reza was bound to provoke condemnation in conservative Northern Nigeria. Brought together in unusual circumstances, Binta and Reza faced a need they could only satisfy in each other... -
![Love Marriage by Monica Ali]()
Love Marriage by Monica Ali
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsIn present-day London, Yasmin Ghorami is twenty-six, in training to be a doctor (like her Indian-born father), and engaged to the charismatic, upper-class Joe Sangster, whose formidable mother, Harriet, is a famous feminist. The gulf between families is vast. So, too, is the gulf in sexual experience between Yasmin and Joe... -
![A Beggar at the Gate by Thalassa Ali]()
A Beggar at the Gate by Thalassa Ali
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSet in nineteenth-century British India, Thalassa Aliâ��s dazzling debut, A Singular Hostage, introduced us to Mariana Givens, the Englishwoman who risked everything to save a young Indian orphan from certain death. Now Ali returns to that exotic kingdom beyond the northwestern frontier, where Mariana will come face-to-face with a different destiny... -
![Softer Than Steel by Jessica Topper]()
Softer Than Steel by Jessica Topper
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the author of Deeper than Dreams and the Much "I Do" About Nothing novels, a story that proves that you have to find yourself before you can find love... As rock star "Riff Rotten", Rick Rottenberg has enjoyed all the perks that fame can offer, especially now that he's reunited with his former band mate, Adrian "Digger" Graves. But despite his success, Rick is a mess... -
![Rightfully Wrong Wrongfully Right by Varsha Dixit]()
Rightfully Wrong Wrongfully Right by Varsha Dixit
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsLove is in the air again…and this time it’s steamy, bold and manipulative! Gayatri, a rich, spoiled diva, is fighting to establish herself even as her tyrant father pushes her into a life not of her choice. Viraj is a genius and a con who shuns society and its hypocrisies. Gayatri sees Viraj only as a means to an end. For Viraj, Gayatri is the epitome of all that he despises... -
![Painted Hands by Jennifer Zobair]()
Painted Hands by Jennifer Zobair
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMuslim bad girl Zainab Mir has just landed a job working for a post-feminist, Republican Senate candidate. Her best friend Amra Abbas is about to make partner at a top Boston law firm. Together they’ve thwarted proposal-slinging aunties, cultural expectations, and the occasional bigot to succeed in their careers. What they didn’t count on? Unlikely men and geopolitical firestorms... -
![The Legal Affair: The Singh Family Trilogy by Nisha Sharma]()
The Legal Affair: The Singh Family Trilogy by Nisha Sharma
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsRajneet Hothi built her empire with sweat, blood, and information. She knows everything there is to know about Ajay Singh, the future CEO of Bharat, Inc., as well as how crucial he is in securing her future. But she didn’t expect the passion that burst between them the first time they went head-to-head... -
-
![The Mis-Arrangement of Sana Saeed by Noreen Mughees]()
The Mis-Arrangement of Sana Saeed by Noreen Mughees
Perfect for fans of Sonali Dev and Uzma Jalaluddin, Noreen Mughees’s sparkling debut novel reunites star-crossed childhood sweethearts against all odds, only for their second chance to clash with their parents’ strict beliefs.Thirty-three-year-old hijabi Sana Saeed has put away her childhood dream of ishq—an all-consuming, sweeping love...Categorized as:
south asian muslim contemporary historical dual-pov multicultural office friends to lovers -
![Sunshine and Spice by Aurora Palit]()
Sunshine and Spice by Aurora Palit
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsWhen two complete opposites agree to fake date in order to solve their cultural dilemmas, they find the only force more powerful than an immigrant mother’s matchmaking schemes might just be true love.Naomi Kelly will do anything to make her new brand consulting business a success... -
![Married in Hate by Shilpa Suraj]()
Married in Hate by Shilpa Suraj
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen friends turn enemies turn spouses…Four years ago, Priyanka had planned to elope with the love of her life. Only to be left stranded at the bus stop waiting for a man who never came…Daughter to the sitting Chief Minister, Dr. Priyanka Kodela’s life is a gilded cage. A cage she accepts as atonement for her sins, the ones her family can never find out about... -
![The Matchmaker by Aisha Saeed]()
The Matchmaker by Aisha Saeed
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA society matchmaker realizes she’s in danger when her clients' weddings are sabotaged in increasingly disturbing ways—an utterly original mystery from New York Times bestselling author Aisha Saeed.Nura Khan is a third-generation matchmaker in Atlanta and business has never been better. Her exclusive clientele benefits from her impeccable track record... -
![Much Ado About Nada by Uzma Jalaluddin]()
Much Ado About Nada by Uzma Jalaluddin
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsA sparkling second-chance romance inspired by Jane Austen's Persuasion...Nada Syed is stuck. On the cusp of thirty, she's still living at home with her brothers and parents in the Golden Crescent neighbourhood of Toronto, resolutely ignoring her mother's unsubtle pleas to get married already... -
![Kartography by Kamila Shamsie]()
Kartography by Kamila Shamsie
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsRaheen and her best friend, Karim, share an idyllic childhood in upper-class Karachi. Their parents were even once engaged to each others' partners until they rematched in what they call "the fiancée swap." But as adolescence distances the friends, Karim takes refuge in maps while Raheen searches for the secret behind her parents' exchange...
Fantastic book recommendations by romance book lovers for romance book lovers.
Find out more about romance.io.
Find out more about romance.io.
Get recommendations by genres & tropes
Use the romance book finder to mix and match over 100 content keywords to find the books that match your preferences
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.
