Thank you so much to Penguin Random House Canada for selecting me to be a part of the The Beauty of the Moment by Tanaz Bhathena! When I heard about this book, I just knew that I had to read it! A) It’s CanLit, B) it’s diverse CanLit, and C) it’s set in the Toronto area (which is a city that I visit often). Continue reading to check out the other Blog Tour stops as well as my full review for The Beauty of the Moment!

Monday, April 8

Christine @ Padfoot’s Library
Asma @ oasisgirlmd
Amanda @ Brains, Books, and Brawn
Sabrina @ Beyond the Book Reviews
Kate @ bookalong

Tuesday, April 9

Lucien @ Lucien in the Stars
Brittany @ BritReadsBooks
Jessica @ The Paper Trail Diary
Emily @ EmilyKateReads
Amy @ readingwithamy

Wednesday, April 10

Katelin @ Pretty Little Library
Cindy @ Cindy’s Love of Books
Kaitlyn @ Midsummer Night’s Read
Wendy @ A Cupcake and A Latte
Rendz @ Reading with Rendz

Thursday, April 11

Flavia @ Flavia the Bibliophile
Carly @ A Beauty & Her Books
Victoria @ The Contented Reader
Kim @ Isabella’s Reading Corner
Jaaron @ Worn Pages and Ink

Friday, April 12

Zuhra @ Venus Reads
Lisa @ Remarkablylisa
Jamie @ Books and Ladders
Herminia @ Aspiring Writer
Delina @ Delina the Reader

Title: The Beauty of the Moment
Author: Tanaz Bhathena
Type: Fiction
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
(Penguin Random House)
Published: February 26, 2019

A physical copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Susan is the new girl—she’s sharp and driven, and strives to meet her parents’ expectations of excellence. Malcolm is the bad boy—he started raising hell at age fifteen, after his mom died of cancer, and has had a reputation ever since.

Susan’s parents are on the verge of divorce. Malcolm’s dad is a known adulterer.

Susan hasn’t told anyone, but she wants to be an artist. Malcolm doesn’t know what he wants—until he meets her.

Love is messy and families are messier, but in spite of their burdens, Susan and Malcolm fall for each other. The ways they drift apart and come back together are testaments to family, culture, and being true to who you are.

Like I mentioned in the introduction for this post, the moment I heard about The Beauty of the Moment, I knew that I had to read it. There are so many things that I was excited about (like the author and the location). And once I started reading, there were a few other things that I really liked that I didn’t know about beforehand. As is the case with all books before reading them, I didn’t know if I’d like the characters (no matter how awesome they may sound in the synopsis). And while it took me a bit to warm up to Susan and Malcolm, I really really liked them! I really felt for Susan and how she’s an immigrant to Canada (as I experienced some of what she went through myself when I first moved to this country as a child…though I will say that I moved here while I was in grade school and had some time to adjust to things before having to face high school).

And Malcolm. Where do I begin? He’s definitely the kind of bad boy that would have stolen my heart in high school! Especially once I would have gotten to know him better. I also really liked Susan and Malcolm’s interactions, as well as some of the more minor characters. Another thing that I loved (as I mentioned) was the location! The story of The Beauty of the Moment takes place in Toronto, which I have visited quite often in the past. So, I recognized a lot of the spots/landmarks that were mentioned (which is quite awesome). I also loved learning about the other city that both Susan and the author lived in; Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. I had never read about Saudi Arabia before, so that was definitely a new experience. I recommend this book to all fans of contemporary YA romances (especially ones that have some depth to them)!

Tanaz Bhathena was born in Mumbai and raised in Riyadh, Jeddah and Toronto. Her short stories have appeared in various journals, including Blackbird, Witness and Room Magazine. A Girl Like That is her first novel.

THANK YOU FOR READING MY BOOK REVIEW! HAVE YOU READ THIS BOOK? WHAT DID YOU THINK? AND IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT YET, DO YOU WANT TO, OR NOT? HOW COME? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!