Assalamualaikum, good day dearest!
Title: If Only You Remember
Author: Norhafsah Hamid
Pages: 309
Genre: Romance, Islamic
Publisher: IMAN Publication
Year published: 2024
ISBN: 978-629-7665-06-1
Blurb:
When one brings you pain and another brings you sorrow; what would you do? Will you choose to remember or will you take that leap to forget?
***
Sofea, a headstrong independent librarian, the 'Nanny McPhee' of the library world.
Shafique, a serious antiquarian of books with a painful past.
Their love for books led them to unintentionally stumble upon each other, over and over again. Nothing is coincidental; everything is decreed.
This is not just a love story.
This is a story of perseverance, hope and faith. Of happiness that comes unexpectedly. Of sorrow that tests even the strongest/
Leaving is hard but at times, staying is even harder to do.
Can Sofea and Shafique find their way through their struggles and cling to hope to the very end.
Is happiness just a myth or does it truly exist?
Their 'first' meet was when she rushed to catch her train after losing track of time at the bookshop and he returned her scarf. The second time they met was when he returned her boarding ticket after she accidentally dropped it. The coincidences turned into fate when they met again, this time, in a meeting where they finally learnt each other names. As it turned out, their father was a long-time friend and would like to match them for a marriage.
Sofea, a librarian with a deep love for books and Shafique, an antiquarian with a love for books as deep as Sofea's. A match like those written in books. The first part of the book tells a story of them trying to get to know each other and see if they matched well for marriage. I can't deny that it was a little slow but the journey was still beautiful. With their meddling fathers, it was enjoyable and filled with such warmth. Except when Shafique's devil birth mother and sister came into the scene. With them, it was rage, all over, everywhere. Those women were nasty and evil to the core.
Just like the stories of the three musketeers, Sofea's and Shafique's stories also came with challenges. It was devastating, to say the least. Now, the title really made sense. Soooo much sense. This second part was filled with Sofea's struggles, hopes, faiths and unconditional love. It was sad that I had tears in my eyes throughout reading the remaining story. And finally, the tears dropped when Shafique called out her name and asked what was wrong.
I especially love the way this story ended. It was perfect. It leaves me so much to ponder on having faith in Allah's plan and never losing hope in His mercy. The story, for me, is perfect in so many ways. Thank you kak Hafsah for this beautiful story.
-thes
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