Tag: Mindy’s Book Studio

Yours for the Season: A Novel
Holiday Romantic Comedy
Setting – Alaska/Georgia
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mindy’s Book Studio
Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 1, 2025
Print length ‏ : ‎ 287 pages
Hardcover
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1662533047
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1662533044
Paperback
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1662533039
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1662533037
Kindle
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1662528576
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0FGY9H441
Audiobook ASIN B0FJZF951C

For an ambitious attorney and a rising-star chef, a cross-cultural fake romance takes an unexpected detour in a heartwarming and funny novel by the author of Much Ado About Nada and Ayesha at Last.

When Sameera Malik and Tom Cooke meet at a ho-hum holiday party, neither is looking for romance. Sameera’s working ridiculous hours at her law firm and healing from heartache while navigating a recently resolved family estrangement. Tom’s hustling to turn his social media stardom into a real career while fending off his family’s demands to give up his chef dreams and move back home. The two share a few laughs and a samosa-making lesson and go their separate ways.

But when one of Tom’s posts starts a viral rumor that they’re a couple, he suggests they keep up the ruse for a few months. It’s a good proposal, and a fauxmance will help Tom grow his popularity, and, in return, he can help Sameera land a wealthy client. The only problem? Their parents.

When Sameera’s very Muslim parents insist on meeting Tom’s very not Muslim family over Christmas in rural Alaska, the stage is set for misunderstandings, holiday hijinks, and an epic culture clash. As the Maliks and Cookes exchange holiday traditions and endless opinions on their children’s lives, Sameera and Tom realize they have a lot in common—including an attraction that’s starting to feel very real.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Sameera Malik has been working extremely long hours as cuts are imminent at her law firm, and she wants to ensure her retention. She is also still trying to get back into her family’s good graces after a bad breakup where she withheld a lot of information from them. Tom Cooke is a chef who wants to turn his successful social media following into a worthwhile career, but he is getting a lot of grief from his family to move back home and take part in the family business. They meet at a holiday party, and their lives take a fun new direction. A fake romance to help Tom’s social media followers climb, and Sameera gets an introduction to a “big fish” to hopefully land as a new client for her firm, cementing her continued employment.

Then their parents get involved.

I had planned to read this before Christmas, but when I couldn’t, I read it as quickly in the new year as I could, and I am so glad I did.

Tom and Sameera’s lives were easy to get invested in. They both had dreams and goals, with some roadblocks in their way. Sameera is an Indian American lapsed Muslim whose family is used to being very involved in her life, and she shut them out for years. Now they are reconnected, but her mother doesn’t trust her. She will not believe Tom and Sameera are just friends. Tom hasn’t been home to Alaska in years because he and his father always butt heads over his career choice.

We see how controlling and overbearing Sameera’s mother is when she goes behind her back and contacts Tom’s stepmother and garners an invitation for herself and the entire family to come to Alaska for Christmas, a holiday her family does not celebrate.  Tom had decided to go home for the holidays, and his family all thought it was because of his new girlfriend, Sameera.

Tom’s family lives outside Anchorage in Wolf Run,  population 1,786. His family is a pretty big part of the town. Cook Place was quite an estate with beautiful grounds. A true Hallmark setting for a holiday Rom-Com. A subplot regarding the small town adds a different kind of drama to the story.

I really enjoyed how Tom and Sameera’s fake dating changed throughout the story, with realistic tension and obstacles in the way. Sameera was very worried about her job, which was taking up time and focus. Tom had built walls around himself with his family, and that was his focus. Underneath it all, they started to realize their true feelings. The way they bantered back and forth was very entertaining.

I appreciated that both moms had researched the other family’s holiday traditions and wanted to honor them. It sparked some comedic moments. In fact, humor is sprinkled delightfully throughout the entire book.

Learning new things when escaping into a book always pleases me. One of the reasons I wanted to read this book was to learn more about Muslim culture. I had very little knowledge about Ramadan. Ms. Jalaluddin explains the month-long tradition of spiritual reflection, charity, fasting, and time spent with family clearly and in an easy-to-understand manner.

I found Yours for the Season to be a very enjoyable holiday read with realistic family dynamics, cultural diversity, lighthearted romance, and plenty of humor. I loved the author’s comfortable writing style and have added all of her books to my wish list.

This book was part of the Amazon Prime First Reads Program.

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About the Author

Uzma Jalaluddin is the author of six novels, including YOURS FOR THE SEASON (2025), a multifaith holiday romcom, DETECTIVE AUNTY (2025), featuring Kausar Khan, a South Asian Miss Marple, MUCH ADO ABOUT NADA (2023), a second-chance romance inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion, and THREE HOLIDAYS AND A WEDDING (2023), a holiday romcom co-written with Marissa Stapley. Her debut novel, AYESHA AT LAST (2019), was a Goodreads Choice Award Finalist, Cosmopolitan UK Book of the Year, and Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of 2019. Her second novel, HANA KHAN CARRIES ON (2021), was an instant Canadian bestseller and named a 2021 Best Romance Novel by the Washington Post. It is currently in development for film by Mindy Kaling. Uzma is a former contributor to The Toronto Star and has written for The Atlantic. She lives outside Toronto, Canada, with her husband and two sons. Visit www.uzmajalaluddin to learn more.

Also Written by Uzma Jalaluddin

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