Book Review: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

Book title: Sense and Sensibility
Author: Jane Austen
Genre: classic
Published: 1811
My rating: 5/5

After their father’s death, the Dashwood sisters are left with very little money and have to find love in a world that values wealth. Elinor’s stoic and detached sense and Marianne’s romantic and passionate sensibility cause them their own trials and tribulations. Elinor must suffer silently after she falls in love with secretly engaged Edward and Marianne is jilted by the immoral Mr. Willoughby.

Sense and Sensibility is Jane Austen’s first published novel. It has always been on the lower half of the list of my favorite Jane Austen novels, and that was partly the reason I was interested in reading it this Jane Austen July.  I wanted to see if my feelings for it have changed, and whether I could pinpoint more clearly what it is about this book that I don’t like. I’m sorry to say that even after this reread, Sense and Sensibility still remains at the bottom, possibly only besting Emma (but then again, I need to reread Emma as well, so the situation may change!).

Book Review: Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin

Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin

Book title: Ayesha at Last
Author: Uzma Jalaluddin
Genre: Contemporary romance
Published: June 12, 2018
368 pages
My rating: 3.5/5

“Because while it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single Muslim man must be in want of a wife, there’s an even greater truth: To his Indian mother, his own inclinations are of secondary importance.”

Ayesha Shamsi dreams of becoming a poet but has to take a job as a substitute teacher so she can pay off her debt to her uncle. Her flighty younger cousin Hafsa, about to reject her one hundredth marriage proposal, is a constant reminder that Ayesha is still single. But Ayesha doesn’t want marriage, especially not an arranged marriage. But then she meets Khalid and is irritatingly attracted to him, no matter how conservative and judgemental he is. As for Khalid, he is perfectly fine letting his mother find him a suitable bride, and outspoken Ayesha certainly isn’t the modest wife his mother would approve.

Ayesha at last is a contemporary romance and a debut novel by the Canadian author Uzma Jalaluddin. I read her second novel, Much Ado about Nada, last year and wanted to read her debut for this year’s Jane Austen July.

Mid-Year Reading Check-In

My 2025 Reading Journal

Mid-year reading stats:

• Finished: 30
• Total pages read: 13,296
• Average page count: 443.2
• Average rating: 4.14

It’s time for a mid-year reading check-in! My goal this year is to read fifty books, and I’m on track to reach my goal with 30 books read in the first six months of 2025. If I keep up at this pace, I should read sixty books this year, but I’m not going to change my goal. The average page count seems high, but I have read a few massive books this spring.

June Wrap-Up (with Mini Reviews) and July Goals

Some of My June Reads

June Wrap-Up

• Finished: 9
• Started but not finished: 1
• Total pages read: 2,184
• Average rating: 4.38

June was a great month when it came to reading! Not only did I finish nine books, but they were also really good: four five-star books, three four-star books, and one three-star book. One nonfiction book I left unrated. I finished six fiction books and three nonfiction books. Three of the fiction books I read during a short summer vacation at my mother’s, and I’ll give you mini reviews of them below (there's also a bonus review of a book I finished in early July). Two of the fiction books were fantasy: The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi (4/5 stars) and Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amélie Wen Zhao (also 4/5 stars). One was a collection of ancient Greek novels, Collected Ancient Greek Novels (5/5 stars). Click the links to read longer reviews.