Our Story Ends Here

by Sara Naveed

Terrorists are not born to love.

Sarmad was trained as a terrorist to be ruthless, to be fearless and to take away innocent lives. He has caused pain that he can’t undo. For years, he has been living without a heart, without a soul, without her.

Mehar is an army general’s daughter. After losing a loved one she decides to go to the Swat valley with her college friends to revisit the place that holds all her childhood memories.

While Mehar is looking forward to her adventurous trip, Sarmad is working on his upcoming deadly mission.

Unwittingly, their paths cross and they are forced to stay together in the same room for eleven days. Fate brings them together, but destiny has planned something else.

Does their story end here? Or has it just begun?

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Young Adult

288 pages, Paperback

Published February 14, 2017

About the author

I write because I love writing and books are the only media where I can express the stories I love!
When I'm not writing, I am (usually) snuggled up with a book!
You can like my page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/saranaveedwriter, follow me on Twitter: @SaraNaveed, and stalk me on Instagram: @sara_naveed
Have something more to say? Drop me an email at saranaveedwriter@gmail.com
I love, love, love interacting with my readers!

Reviews

[Sara Saif · Rating 1 out of 5]

Snort, cringe, shudder, eye-roll, face-palm, sobbing, muttering under breath, inhuman noises. Just know that every outward expression of derision, disgust and distress that exists in this world, I made every single one of them. These 3D feelings are known to incite violent reactions which is why, ever since I read this joke, my state of mind has been slightly off-kilter. Just now, I’m imagining every single copy of this piece of shit dumped in a pile in the middle of nowhere and me standing in front of it wearing a black leather jacket and heavy mascara with a bazooka in my hand. I take aim, I let out a guttural scream and SHABAM.

There’s a show on air right now called Munkir. It’s about how a terrorist falls in love with a girl because terrorists falling in love with girls in or near Murree is all the rage today, ya know? Which one of the two copied the other, we’ll never know. Maybe, they didn’t. Who cares? So I started watching the show and immediately realized that this wasn’t stellar TV material. The show was making me flinch. This book made me shudder. It had all the things wrong with Munkir multiplied in intensity and sheer stupidity by a hundred percent. Apart from boosting confidence in my writing skills, the bloody book also gave me a new perspective. Now I can sincerely enjoy Munkir.

An honest piece of advice for the writer, this comes from my heart like this book did from yours. HA. Stick to what you’re good at, honey. Judging by my experience, I’d say with clarity that it isn’t English. If this book had been written in Urdu, I swear it would have been a much smaller DISASTER. Urdu would have softened the blow, Urdu would have convinced me to take it in a stride, Urdu would at least have sounded NATURAL and not like a robot reading “My Self” written by a 7 year old. DEAR GOD.

FULL, UNMARKED AND DEATILED “SPOILERS” AHEAD. Read ahead for your own well-being.

The entire thing is stuffed to death with a fuckton of clichés and drama-esque ‘scenarios’. There is no plot. There is only one cliché leading into the next one into the next one until you BEG FOR A MERCIFUL DEATH. And not just any clichés. Remember the time when people used to be really excited for Indian soap operas like Kum Kum or Keunke Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi? Yup, those.

Let me list them out for ya:
-A girl and a boy going on a trip with their best friends to a place of epic beauty when one bus breaks down.
-The girl falling in some peril, being saved by the boy, both of them being separated from their respective groups.
-Finding a nice sweet family to stay with. A family who, incidentally, is about to have a wedding.
-The girl and the boy pretending to be married and thus spending nights in the same room.
(Now where have I heard that one before? )
-The girl breaking her toes, fingers or other breakable body parts every chance she gets and then being promptly carried to ‘their’ room where the boy applies ointments to her wounds and wipes her tears.
-The incredible and irresistible dupatta-smacking scene where the heroine is sauntering right past the hero, like an inch from his face and then a powerful gust of convenient wind makes her light as shit dupatta (even though it’s winter) tickle the hero’s face while he stands there mesmerized.
GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK.

“She finished her prayer quickly and got up. As soon as she walked past me, her mustard chiffon dupatta flew in the air and caressed my face. Mehar, however, was oblivious to it and walked out of the dargah. I had closed my eyes for a brief second to feel the moment.”

-the dupatta being stuck in hero’s shirt buttons/cuffs/nose hair scene. The fucking piece of cloth just won’t come free until they’ve seen deep into each other’s retarded souls.

THIS IS TWO THOUSAND SEVENTEEN FOR THE LOVE OF GOD.

-the girl and boy visiting a mazaar/darbaar/dargah for dua. Because you just can’t do that ANYwhere else, theek hai?
-the girl grabbing the hero’s hand and not letting it go while she’s FUCKING ASLEEP.
-both of them having precognitive dreams
-the zaalim samaaj stopping the two lovers hornies who can’t wait to do it from getting their happily horningly ever after.
-the zaalim samaaj changing its mind as soon as convenience would allow.
-things like these:
“The sky had turned purple, and the air had turned chillier. I wrapped a shawl around my shoulders. Noticing my uneasiness, he instantly took of his leather jacket and put it around me.”

It was POINTLESSLY over-dramatic. Since there wasn’t even a semblance of a plot and more than enough clichés to make me choke, at the beginning and end of every single chapter, Mehar and Sarmad had angst-filled monologues with extremely stupid questions that they asked themselves. Things like, “what is happening to me”, “where is he”, “what is she trying to do to me”, “I knew I had affected him”, “what I said had an impact on her”, “I wondered how he amazed me so much”. Trust me, I wondered that myself and came to the conclusion that you are just fundamentally disturbed.

Behold the melodrama:

Exhibit A:
“I didn’t know why I was helping her. I didn’t understand why I had even come after her. I had not planned to rescue her. I did not belong to her. Did I?”
Just hold your fucking horses, will you? Belong to her? You have JUST met her. What are you 15?

Exhibit B:
“My head exploded with this revelation. Who was this person? Why had he saved my life?”
Oh, JEE, our bad. He should have just let you die.

Exhibit C:
“What other choice did I have?”
This sentence was uttered by the two of them MULTIPLE times during the course of the book. It didn’t make any sense to me because I could clearly see a dozen other choices which apparently, they were too DUMB AS SHIT to see. They were probably suffering from ‘the convenience syndrome’. For example, when Sarmad ‘rescues’ Mehar, despite reaching her in a couple of mere seconds from where he was standing before, he cannot go back because he gets lost. Then he somehow takes her to the side of a road where he still can’t spot his original location. Right then, a happy couple passes by on their jeep, see the unconscious girl and ask Sarmad if he is her husband. He says yes because WHAT OTHER FUCKING CHOICE DID HE HAVE, HUH? He couldn’t tell them the truth and ask to be taken to their buses. Nope. He did not have a choice, DAMMIT.

I might have mentioned that there is no plot. They stay in Swat for 11 days and all the two of them are seen doing is taking showers, blushing and taking food trays to each other. What planet do they live on? If someone wants to have a shower daily in freezing winter, that is their prerogative but a)it’s winter. NO ONE showers daily in winter. Especially people who live up north. b)neither Sarmad nor Mehar are doing manual labor in the book but damn it all to hell because you know what that incessant showering did? It gave both of them ample opportunity to examine each other’s bodies. So Mehar is all like, hmmm, his sculpted muscles and Sarmad is all, aaaaah, her beauty!!!!!!

The absolute WORST thing that this book put me through is enduring the god-awful prose. There are SO MANY UNFORTUNATE things about the writing my head was going to explode keeping track of it all, I had to make NOTES. Ha! I took notes, made lists and diagrams before writing this review.

I have criticized a lot of books before owing to the fact that the narration didn’t click for one reason or another. But I never had to say that the writer didn’t know the language he/she was writing in. That NEVER happened. Dear Sara Naveed, you and English can’t be together, at least not yet. Please break up and try dating Urdu. You might have a healthier, saner, PRODUCTIVE relationship. You just straight-up embarrassed yourself here and it caused me SO.MUCH.PAIN. You have probably heard the saying, Kawa challa hans ki chaal aur apni chaal bhi bhool gaya. It applies here.

-First off, the entire thing read like a bloody essay. Clipped, flat and abrupt sentences which although grammatically correct (most of the time *crying*), were dull and lifeless. There were alternating chapters; Sarmad’s and Mehar’s and literally all of them ended in a weird and abrupt manner, making as little sense as they possibly could. Remember that scene in the Prisoner of Azkaban when the Night Bus stopped and Harry ran smack into the bus’s front glass screen? It felt like that. Here, let me:

“I had to take a piss. I really had to do it. Controlling it as best as I could, I went to the bathroom. I turned on the light. The light blinded me for a second. I sat down on the smooth, white surface of the toilet and relieved myself. It felt good. I washed my hands. I dried them on a towel and came out of the bathroom. I said to myself, “Wow, I just took a pee.”

No? Okay, now here’s an actual excerpt:

“I felt a jolt of embarrassment. All my excitement vanished. I couldn’t believe that I had just been so close to him. I had touched his body against my will. I had never felt this way before. I had never come close to a stranger. I stood beside Bari Aapa, feeling embarrassed. Within a few seconds, he also joined me. For obvious reasons, I loathed his presence and wanted to run away from him.”

-The prose suffered from the final and fatal stage of “telling-not-showing”. It’s the one where you are told every inconsequential little thing as if you are a kindergartner and relevant things are just not important enough to be there. You’d be surprised at how artfully details of any kind whatsoever are avoided. Descriptions are practically non-existent leaving us with odd and unreservedly uncomfortable dialogue and interactions.

“After waking up, the first thing I thought about was Sarmad. I missed him. I missed him badly. There was nothing that could make me deny how badly my heart ached for him. Dressed in plain, cream-coloured Khaddar salwar kameez and maroon woolen *shawl, I walked downstairs. I could see Abba sitting in the study room. He sat on his rocking chair, with a newspaper in his hand. I walked towards him and slowly sat on the ground, close to his feet. He immediately saw me and folded his newspaper.”

(*the writer might have been trying to convince me how Mehar was pining for Sarmad but all I read in this passage was a shitload of redundancy, a lot of irrelevant things, weirdness and her colossal stupidity for wearing a chiffon dupatta in the biting cold outside the house while wearing a woolen shawl inside it)

Here’s another one:

“Clad in a beige-coloured cotton salwar kameez, I walked down the street, observing every minute detail of the market with distraught eyes.”

Oh I’m sorry, were you expecting to read those “minute details” as Mehar described them? I apologize but she stopped right there.
An exploration of surroundings is an essential thing in books. It’s almost attacked by the authors so vehemently in books that I start begging them to stop. Have you read Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth? For all its faults, the book has an encyclopedia worth of descriptions of the places the characters go to, the things they see and they were all fictional. Alright, to hell with exploring the surroundings, it just shows that you did your research, you put an effort. RIP, hard work.

-In an effort to sound more, uh, relatable? Modern? Worth paying attention to? I don’t flipping know. She added swearing. It did nothing but convince me of the fact that the characters were being overdramatic.

“She can’t even lie properly. When the truth is transparent in her eyes, why does she have to lie? She’s growing dependent on me, and I can’t take it. She won’t even eat with me now. Damn. I fucking hate this!
Excuse me, move away, baby Sarmad is throwing a tantrum. Some people just don’t stop being pubescent.

-When a writer attempts to write about a culture other than his/her own or to translate her culture in English, they usually add words of that culture’s language. This is often methodical, either same words are repeated oft enough that you understand their meaning, the writer explains a few times or there is a glossary at the end of the book. For Urdu speakers, these words wouldn’t be a problem but for someone who isn’t familiar with our vocabulary, they would be. These words appear randomly and most of the times without any hint as to what they mean. There is no glossary at the end to help the reader. I’ll graciously ignore that and move on. Unfortunately, this backfired even for a native Urdu speaker like me:

“Baaji, there’s no use saving a soul that has already departed from this world.”
LOL. To the people who didn’t get this, imagine if Rhysand said his blown-out-of-proportion famous quote like this, “Yo, hommie, to the stars that listen and the dreams that are answered, dawwwwg!”

-The whole thing is so discordant and flow-less you can practically pick out when the changes come. Basically, the book has three parts:

1/3: INCESSANT USE OF ADVERBS This is all in a single page; “munched slowly”, “shrugged nonchalantly”, “announced animatedly”, “replied casually”.

2/3: a)MISMATCHED EXPRESSIONS & b)REDUNDANCY a)Characters were being confused, cringing, grimacing, and shrugging in situations where their expressions were not appropriate to the situation:
“I’m Sufi, by the way! I’m the one who’s getting married.” She rolled her eyes dramatically.
Wait, wait, wait. You can blush at the mention of getting married, you can bat your eye lashes, you can look at the floor shyly, you can smile, you can even cringe if you like but this? WHAT IS THIS? To top it all off, the dudes in the book giggled and had their hearts fluttering. SO, SO, BEYOND DONE.

b)This truly is the mark of a terrible writer:
“…nodded my head” (So sorry, but are there other body parts you can nod? Your butt perhaps?)
“…cheeks blushing” (Blushing nose. Blushing forehead. Blushing feet. Blushing ass…Nope)
“…blurted abruptly” (dictionary.com: Blurt definition, to utter suddenly or inadvertently; divulge impulsively or unadvisedly)
“…flushed AND felt embarrassed”
“Her question startled me. I looked back at her perplexed.” (I REST MY FUCKING CASE)

3/3: THE BLOOD-CURDLING REPITITION Tears rolled down my cheeks. Tears streamed down my cheeks. Tears fell down my cheeks. Tears rolled down his cheeks. Tears streamed down his cheeks. Tears fell down his cheeks. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Tears fell down her cheeks.
(In a single paragraph) Her beauty. Her beauty. HER BEAUTY. GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH.
“He looked so beautiful in that instant that I felt like grabbing his unruly hair from the back and planting a soft kiss on his lips. Our lips almost touched. I could feel his cool breath on my lips. My lips quivered with the sensual tension, and he saw it.”
EXCUSE ME WHILE I GAG.

THE CHARACTERS

Except for vague things like sculpted chest, rosy cheeks and fair skin, there’s no tangible description of both Sarmad and Mehar. I couldn’t picture them. It wouldn’t be a surprise at this juncture to say that they aren’t fleshed out. They are carbon copies of every role Shahrukh Khan and Kajol have ever played minus a personality. What food do they like, what’s their favorite color, what annoys them the most, do they have any hobbies? Essentially every little snippet of information that builds up a person and makes them believable IS DECIDEDLY NOT THERE. They see each other and fall in love and I just sat there blinking trying to understand what the fuck did both of them even saw in each other besides their good looks.

Sarmad is obnoxious and melodramatic ALL THE TIME; I’m a monster, I deserve to die, what is she doing to me and blah-bedi-blah-blah. He has exactly two moods: insufferably brooding and slightly less insufferably brooding.
Mehar, oh my beard, this girl gave a whole new meaning to the word ’meesni’. At the beginning our little miss obedient was really caring and considerate of her family’s sentiments, didn’t want to hurt her parents but as soon as she met Sarmad and glimpsed his well-toned stomach after he repeatedly took showers and appeared half-naked in front of her, HELLO SHINY BOLD PERSONALITY. Don’t get me wrong, she didn’t shed her old personality, just adopted another one. Which is also known as multiple personality disorder. She just could not make up her mind.

Exhibit A:
Drools over Sarmad and then:
“It wasn’t the right thing to do. I wasn’t allowed to think about him romantically. My family’s vows rushed into my mind, making me come out of my reverie.”

Some time later…

Exhibit B:
(I think this was after a particularly revolting encounter which I’ll explain soon and also probably after they sucked face. You heard me.)
“I studied myself in mirror for a long time and remembered my own family ethics and values. I was prohibited from having feelings for a stranger…”
Yes, yes. FUCK YOU, MEHAR. I wasn’t born with enough middle fingers to let you know how I feel about you.

Consider the next part of this quote:
“With him I’d experienced emotions that were still unknown to me. With him I’d *rediscovered myself and felt *freedom like never before. I had felt *independent. I had felt free. I was no longer the girl who would seek help or guidance for doing anything. I had become such a *stronger person now.”
*yes, you discovered that you had a mental disorder.
*you certainly made use of that newly found freedom.
*fell down every chance you got with him right there to catch you. He bossed you around and you liked it. Followed him like a puppy.
*HA.

THINGS THAT MADE ME CRINGE OUT LOUD AND SOB WITH DISGUST
Well, that was the entire damn book but for the sake of being thorough, let me be a bit specific:

1-That’s a really good one. This is the revolting scene I was talking about. I’ll remind you that Mehar the Nut contemplated on ethics and moral values AFTER this. When I read that scene I had to pause for a couple of minutes and stare at the walls. After my eyes had stopped bleeding I tried every iteration of WHAT-THE-HECK I could think of. Feast your eyes:

Apparently this is too long. Continued in the comments' section.

[Anum Shaharyar · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you looked at the one star rating and you really don’t want to read a full-length review explaining why this book was like an extended torture session, here is a gif to explain what I felt during my reading experience:



But if you’re brave enough to find out just WHY this book might possibly give you a permanent eye-roll, then read on.

this story features Meher, our heroine, who is not exactly the smartest chip on the block. Meher goes on a trip to Pakistan’s Northern areas with her friends, gets separated from them and ends up falling for the guy (our ‘terrorist’ hero Sarmad) she spends the rest of her trip with. Does this plot sound familiar? Well then, congratulations to you have for having seen Dilwale Dulhania La Jayenge, only the most famous Bollywood movie of all time. But unlike DDLJ, beloved by many and a classic for the ages, the only test this book will pass is the test of ‘how many clichés can one story hold?’

If you don’t believe me, if you think there’s a limit to how many formulaic scenes one measly story can indulge in, feast your eyes on the following:

Cliché number 7: Heroine trips and falls into hero’s arms:

She suddenly tripped—her arms tightly wrapped around my shoulders and neck. This little accident brought colour to her already pink cheeks. I could smell her fragrance and hear the loud thudding of her heartbeat. For an instant, our eyes locked.

Number 17: Hero stares broodingly out the window (to give the cliché extra oomph, an unlit cigarette):

He was leaning against the window pane staring outside. An unlit cigarette dangled from his lips.

Number 35: Hero uses sports/art/other random activity as an excuse to put his arms around the heroine:

Sarmad stood behind me and made me hold the origami in my hands. Both of us released it into the air together and watched it float.

Number 57: Heroine drops cup in dramatic shock:

As I overheard their conversation, the tray fell out of my hands, spilling the coffee all over the marble floor. I froze on the spot.

Number 64: Hero and heroine’s hands almost touch:

He looked at me for a long time but I kept my eyes down. Our fingers touched for a brief moment when he took the suit from my hands.

Ok, I’m going to stop now. It was hard enough reading it without having to relive the whole experience. I’m sure you get the point. Basically, if you’ve seen enough Bollywood movies, you don’t need to read this book. And you especially don’t need to read it if you have the slightest appreciation of an actual, sensible plot, because you certainly won’t find it here.

Sarmad, the ‘terrorist’, is going to the northern areas to blow some place up. (The terrorists, in this case, being the very-originally-named ‘Mullah and his gang’. That’s the name of an actual terrorist organization, I literally couldn’t make this up if I tried. It’s like the least amount of brain cells were involved in actually being creative in this book, or trying to move past stereotypes.) On his way the bus next to him gets into an accident. He saves a girl because, apparently:

No face had caught my attention the way this girl’s did. I had never felt attracted to any woman in my life before. Her aura was bewitching. There were old memories attached to her presence. It felt as if I had some strong connection with her. A lost bond.

So, you know, insta-love. Then after jumping down a ditch after her, he, world-weary traveler who has explored the dark, deep corners of the world, gets promptly lost two minutes away from the main road. He roams the ditches, bumps into an excessively generous family (no time to talk about this frankly weird-as-hell family because this review will be taken up by the special snowflakes that are our two protagonists), and then pretends to be this random girl’s husband in order to stay at said family’s house. Cue lots and LOTS of clichés, barf-worthy cheesiness, and unnecessary drama which frankly could have ended a lot sooner. The end.

Now I would compare this to fanfiction since fanfiction is famous for being written by amateurs, except I’ve read fan fiction better than this. It would actually be insulting to fan fiction to compare it to this utter shitfest. And it’s not only because the plot is senseless or the writing is amateurish (more on that later). The basic problem is that our protagonists are both insufferable idiots. I cannot stress on this enough. Meher is a moody, spoiled brat while Sarmad is volatile, indecisive, and frankly too much of a misogynist pig to be the hero of this story. They have no redeeming qualities, and not even the saving grace of good writing to fall back on.

But don’t take my word for it. I could point out the numerous irritating things Meher she does, but I’ll let you come to this conclusion yourself. Here is Day Two of her having known Sarmad, a guy who has proven himself to be a consummate liar in how easily he pretends to be her husband:

‘It’s okay if you don’t want to share anything with me. But I don’t know why I don’t feel awkward sharing everything with you,’ she said, looking into my eyes.

Girl, what you need are some lessons in basic security and what stranger danger is.

Somehow, I no longer felt scared in his presence; I felt comfortable. He was my saviour after all. He couldn’t be dangerous.

Let me just repeat: this is on day two of the guy who has so far lied to her, refused to give her his cell phone, snapped at her, ignored her, and been both rude and standoffish. It does not compute.

Here is Day 6 of their meeting. Literally the sixth day since they’ve met:

I sat still on the bed, tears rolling down my cheeks. I started weeping. I’d never missed him so much till now. It was like a part of me had gone missing.





It just gets worse and worse. I mean, when you lose someone you were particularly close to, what do you miss? Surely their conversation, their particular way of being, their very personality, yes? And yet, here’s Meher when she thinks she’s left Sarmad - the one true love of her life - forever:

My heart lunged in my chest as I realized that I had been separated from him forever. I would never see his beautiful face, never look into his deep eyes and never touch his skin again.

Face, eyes, skin. Talk about priorities.

Now here’s Meher after her engagement to her cousin. She’s found Sarmad again through a mixture of unicorn magic and more stupidity than usual. Her thought process:

He slowly took my hand and interlaced our fingers together, without saying a word. I didn’t stop him. Why would I? How could I?

BECAUSE YOU ARE ENGAGED. For God’s sake.

If I am not able to find him, I’ll die.



The funny thing is that Sarmad must be her one true soulmate since he’s almost as idiotic as her. I, of course, have twelve gazillion examples of his fine personality, but here are some of his particularly shining moments:

‘No . . . I’m fine, thanks,’ she muttered. ‘I don’t need your help.’
‘Don’t overreact and just hold my hand,’ I said, getting irritated at her childish behaviour.
She shot me a nervous glance.
‘Step down!’ I told her. This time it sounded more like an order.

Ooh my uterus is all a-quiver with this rude-as-hell behavior. Who wouldn’t fall in love with such an asshole? Not me! Sign me up for the I-have-low-self-esteem train on its way to I’m-eternally-doomed-and-don’t-know-it platform.

Misogynistic douche is just one part of his winning charm though. This man is a world-weary traveler, who’s been everywhere and seen everything. And how does he react to attending one simple wedding?

Everything was new for me. I had never seen a proper family gathering or a religious festivity, let alone a wedding.

Even his basic maths sucks! At one point in the story we are forced to suffer through flashbacks (once again, another stupid plot point that will not feature in this review because of the utter magnitude of all the other bakwas). In this flashback, his mother had eloped when he was three, and his father has been a single parent for six years. How old does he think he is? Eight.



The problem is that this feels like it was written by someone who’s read too many romance novels and nothing else. All those descriptions, trite and overused, that usually go into describing the hero and heroine are present here. ‘Brooding’ for the guy, ‘dainty’ for the girl. Flawless and perfect and ‘washed hair’ (once again, I kid you not) and soft lips and on and on for both of them. At least Twilight went all the way out there with its claims of Edward Cullen’s perfection. At least that novel had the decency to provide a cover in the ‘he’s beautiful because he’s a vampire!’ plot line. This book has no excuses for its stereotypical descriptions, which also extend into the setting. You know how you read an essay by a seven-year-old and they talk about the cool air and warm sunlight and green trees and fast river, and there’s literally no descriptive synonyms anywhere?

The beautiful sight of the gigantic mountains, roaring rivers and fascinating waterfalls brought a smile to my face. I seemed lost in its endless magnificence.

This lacking in the language is so unfair to the beauty that is Pakistan’s northern areas. I mean, just LOOK at this:

[image error]
Kundol Lake-Swat Valley

or this

Fairy meadows

or just google Swat valley, Mardan, Murree, Gilgit-Baltistan. These places are gorgeous and worthy of much better prose. This lacking in the description of the local settings extends into the lacking of the local language too. On Page 18 of this 300+page book, we get an explanation for what nan is. Now Indian food, and correct me if I’m wrong, is pretty easily available in all corners of the world, and nan is literally the most common Indian food item there is. And yet:

Nafisa cooked shorwa for us, and everyone sat on the floor cross-legged and ate it with nan—unleavened, flat bread.

But fine, so this book panders to a non-desi, western audience. Bigger, better authors like Kamila Shamsie have fallen prey to this pandering, and it’s part of a bigger problem about whom we write for. That’s all fine and well, but then the story continues with the following text and no explanations:

‘May Allah be your nigehbaan.’

Now how is a non-desi reader supposed to understand that? Or for that matter words like ‘acha’, ‘ji’, ‘baqerkhani’, ‘parathas’, etc. Even common Urdu sayings are used in English, without any actual explanation for the context, or why they’re being used in the first place.

‘There he is. He has a long life!’ Rukhsana smiled.

For the uninitiated, when you’ve been talking about someone and they suddenly appear, it implies that the person has a long life ahead of them. Sort of a desi version of ‘talk of the devil’ except, you know, a bit nicer. So how the hell do you use an Urdu proverb without providing any context and expect your reader, to whom you so gently provided a nan definition, to understand this? Just who was the editor for this text is what I want to know at this point. Even if you ignore this inconsistency in describing Urdu terms, consider the following sentence:

I talked to Amma and told her about my tour. I made up a long story, but also felt bad for lying to her. I couldn’t do anything else. I promised to return soon. After talking to her, I felt relieved and pleased.

That, right there, is what you call an unholy mess of a paragraph. This book is also FILLED with adverbs. No one will ever just speak or say or nod. They will ‘say sarcastically’, ‘laugh happily’, ‘snap angrily’, and my personal favourite:

Haider said in a low voice, to which I nodded affirmatively.

He nodded affirmatively. As opposed to, you know, nodding to show negation, which is a particularly famous expression in the land of NOWHERE.

I found his personality peculiar; something weird but indescribable.

It’s basically just bad writing. Someone with even the simplest idea of editing could have fixed this. Conclusion: writing overall -> so much of the fail.

But even WITH ALL OF THAT, I was willing to give this book a chance if the romance was passionate and intense and kept me hooked. I mean, in a romance novel, surely that’s the most important aspect, right? And yet, it was the romance that was the biggest fail. Not only is it a case of insta-lust, but also suffers from a more-beautiful-than-the-sun- syndrome. Meher is, according to Sarmad, the most beautiful, perfect specimen in the history of the universe. And he uses that to his advantage by staring at her like a creep every time he’s asleep.

Every single feature of her face took my breath away. I surely hadn’t seen a more beautiful living creature than her. I stared at her face for a few more minutes.

Someone needs to tell this guy (whom she’s known for all of two days) that the Twilight-esque ‘I watch you while you sleep’ is less likely to induce affection and more likely to trigger stalker alerts. Here is another fine example of their budding affection:

As soon as her fresh scent hit my nostrils, I felt mesmerized. She let out a silent gasp when my shoulder touched hers.

And if the brilliant word play doesn’t do it for you, consider the following ‘twu wuv’ connection (ten points to you if you got this reference):

The entire night, with our minds, with our hearts and with our bodies, we made love. Pure love.

Pure love? Did that sentence just end with ‘pure love’? What are we, thirteen? GOOD LORD.

I have a love-pain relationship with her. Love that caused more pain and pain that changed me.



it’s not just the romance that makes you want to throw the book out of the window. It’s that Meher and Sarmad don’t have any sense of a connection: Consider the deep, heartfelt, understanding conversations between these two that occur throughout the book:

‘Wait.’ I stopped midway.
He turned to look at me.
‘What now?’ he asked, shrugging.
‘I’m hungry,’ I said, a little embarrassed.
He heaved a sigh and then looked away.

Fascinating. The lives of the young and in love are truly sparkling with joy and energy. In another scene, they’ve just had an awkward conversation, and she finds him later smoking in the room. Behold:

I came up with an idea to lighten the atmosphere and cheer him up.
‘Do you know a cigarette a day reduces your life by eleven minutes?’

Maybe the poor girl doesn’t know what the words ‘lighten the atmosphere’ mean? But fine, maybe they’re both awkward individuals forced to live with a stranger, and these are beginning days, so maybe I could forgive this. But once these two are spilling their life’s secrets to each other, their conversations must get better, right?

‘How could the army help me when they were the ones who killed my father?’ he asked.
I shook my head. ‘That’s not true, Sarmad. Maybe it was all a misunderstanding. Your father was killed in an encounter. The army would never take an innocent person’s life.’

What? WHAT? I get patriotism and supporting your armed forces, but to think that those in the army don’t take innocent lives is bordering on delusional. Here are three links I found within a 2-second google search about soldiers killing innocent civilians but anyway. So our hero and heroine have found something to disagree about. Do they fight and yell and have a passionate falling out because of their divergent opinions? Do they vainly try to convince the other person why they’re wrong? Do they respect the other’s opinion and let it be?

‘Whatever, Mehru. You shouldn’t worry about it. It’s not your headache. Just forget it.’

I mean. Why was I even expecting smartness, you know? You’d think that many pages into the story, I should just know better. Even the characters themselves give us reasons, again and again, to believe that they’re dumb idiots. Here’s Meher after finding out that Sarmad might have been involved in killing her brother:

‘Stop reminding me of what you’ve done! Stop telling me you’re nothing but a monster!’

Here’s Meher two seconds later, when Sarmad tells her he will drop her at her parents’ place, where she’ll be safe.

‘Do you think I’m safe with you? With a monster?’

These people have got issues with their issues is all I’m saying. They constantly doubt, accuse, indulge in pointless angst, and the questions, oh my god the questions. Half the book is like an episode of Twenty Questions, except it most definitely isn’t fun. For our lovely protagonists, self-doubt is the way to a content life. Don’t believe me, read it for yourself, in one example out of many:

Sarmad: Despite not being allowed to have feelings for someone, I had lost my heart to her. What should I do about it? How should I get back my heart from her? How would I stop thinking about her? How would I live with the fact that she would hate me for the rest of her life?

Meher: Why was I crying? What made those tears flow out? Why did I have feelings for a person who did not belong to me?

Because you are an idiot. That’s the only explanation.



Finally, I could go into a long rant about the ridiculous sexism this book is dripping in, but I will just quote one final, slightly longer scene, and leave it at that. Meher, freshly showered, is adjusting her dupatta in front of the mirror. She puts it on her shoulder, the way some Pakistani women wear it, only to be interrupted by our hero.

She nodded as she stared at me. I took her dupatta in my hands and began to unfold it. She watched me with amazement. I spread out the dupatta and put it across her head, covering her hair. ‘It looks good here,’ I whispered, observing her.

Oh the smacks this boy deserves. This reeks of men protecting women’s honour by making sure they are fully covered. I’m all for women covering themselves from head to toe if they want, but that’s the crux of the argument. IF THEY WANT. And what was our heroine’s reaction to this patriarchal bullshit?

Mehar blushed at her reflection in the mirror.

I can't take anymore. I'm out.

Recommendation:

This book is one long list of what-the-hell and eye rolls and this-is-too-lame-to-swallow bakwas. If you are really in the mood for some desi bollymood-movie-stylez cheesiness, I recommend Karachi You’re Killing Me by Saba Imtiaz. But whatever you do, avoid this like you would avoid being roped into tea-making duty on Eid day. You’ve been warned.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

This book was such an experience. My brain will need time to recover from that overload of utter crap in order to write something about it that’s coherent. Review to come soon.

[Wajeeha · Rating 1 out of 5]

So I heard that this book is similar to Wattpad story "Operation: Dard and Devotion" and since I loved ODAD, I thought to give this book a try. Well, reading this book was one of my worst bookish decisions. There is not a single thing that is enjoyable. The story is told from POVs of Mehr and Sarmad for those curious to know the story, I am writing spoiler-filled story from the POV of both characters.I know that review is long but if you want to read this book, please bother with review instead. It will save your precious time. I am writing spoilers so that no one else mentally tortures her/himself reading this book. So heres the story:

OUR LIBIDO ENDS NOWHERE (aka Our Story Ends Here)

Mehr: Hello, my name is Mehr. I also have another name, which I will tell you at the end of my POV. I have one married sister and I had a brother who was killed in a terrorist attack. I am a self-pitying girl who thinks of herself as an oppressed human. My parents are so bad, you know why? Because they keep an eye on me. I want to enjoy my (boring) life but my parents don't give me freedom to breathe *cries*.
I am engaged to my Fouji cousin Hamza, who likes me. But since I want freedom, I don't care about him. Its my last year in college and a trip is going to Northern areas and my parents have given me permission to go so I am on a bus *bus crashes thump**unconcious*.
I woke up and saw a great, beautiful, handsome(blah blah) man standing in front of me(description of his build stretches for several sentences-pfft). Oh, I have found the love of my life. Where were you before?*tears*
So he is a terrorist and rescused me and is possibly in love with me-that's why he brought me in a house of native Northerns who *accidently**coincidently* have an incoming wedding and Sarmad(terrorist) has said them that we are married honey-mooners, so they gave us a single room to live. And all I want to do is live with this(idiot,imbecile,intolerable lunatic) awesome hero-of-my-life.We live for 11 days in Northern areas and all we do is this:
1. Me breaking my bones(she is a plastic doll)
2. Sarmad freeing his shirt buttons from Mehr's dupata(scarf).
3. They both take bath infinite times a day.
4.Every.Single.Boring.Bollywood.Drama

Some of the absurd exemplery scenes and quotes are as follows. And you will love them since Mehr is in them(irony)

"‘It’s okay if you don’t want to share anything with me. But I don’t know why I don’t feel awkward sharing everything with you,’ she said, looking into my eyes."(That's there day 2 of being together)

"I sat still on the bed, tears rolling down my cheeks. I started weeping. I’d never missed him so much till now. It was like a part of me had gone missing."(Day 4 or 5 of being together)

Following is an example that their living together is not love, but lust:-

"My heart lunged in my chest as I realized that I had been separated from him forever. I would never see his beautiful face, never look into his deep eyes and never touch his skin again."(That's when they separate after 11 days. You see? No personality , just eyes, face and body description?)

*OMG how will they live now cries*

We then return home where I hate my parents and then I did the most wonderful thing of my life.

I RAN WITH SARMAD.

Beacuse I love him and want to make my parents ashamed that why didn't they give me freedom, we went to a hotel, where I crossed all the limits as a Muslimah. And then this happened:-

"The entire night, with our minds, with our hearts and with our bodies, we made lust. Pure lust."

(Well. Pardon me that I have written the wrong quote. The following is the real quote,precisely)

"The entire night, with our minds, with our hearts and with our bodies, we made love. Pure love."

And I became a model of glory(disgrace)(Seriously such type of girls are the reason for defaming other girls). Next day Sarmad handed me to my dad(you deserved it) and you know what?

Why was I crying? What made those tears flow out? Why did I have feelings for a person who did not belong to me?"

He was an ex-terrorist now an Army spy(seriously?) My parents are angry with me *I don't know why**I want to live my own life*(blah blah).
Hamza came and said to me that I can do whatever I desire with my life, so I went to meet Sarmad.Again.
But you know what? He is wearing a suicide jacket and urges me to leave the place. But such an idiot as I am, I believe the concept of reincarnations. I will live with him after my death. So I hold him tightly and *THAWWWWWWWW* (Finally, they both die. Thank God)
Oh By the way, Mehr's other name is Mental Moldy Menace.

Sarmad: (Do you seriously want to read his story?)Hi, my name is Sarmad and I am evil and sinful and horrible and terrorist and my other name is(will tell his other name at the end) *arghhh* *sees Mehr coming* *throws his heart at her* *justification comes that why he became a terrorist* So my father was killed in a terrorist attack and I was brain washed so I became a terrorist and I was the one who killed Mehr's brother in a terrorist attack and now I am guilty so I became an Army spy and Then my uncle came to know that I am now an Army spy so he offered me a jacket which I was dumb enough not to know that it's a suicide jacket so I wear it and Oh.My.God. What shall I do now? hmmm. I have an idea. I should see Mehr instead of praying. So I called her in a big ground and then I said to her that please go from here. But to my horror(relief) she didn't go and then I told her that I loved her(loved her but didn't marry her. Disgraced her but didn't marry her) and she told me that she also *THAAWWWWWWWW*
By the way his other name is Sickening Sobbing Sinister.

"No face had caught my attention the way this girl’s did. I had never felt attracted to any woman in my life before. Her aura was bewitching. There were old memories attached to her presence. It felt as if I had some strong connection with her. A lost bond."

"As soon as her fresh scent hit my nostrils, I felt mesmerized. She let out a silent gasp when my shoulder touched hers"

"Every single feature of her face took my breath away. I surely hadn’t seen a more beautiful living creature than her. I stared at her face for a few more minutes."

"She nodded as she stared at me. I took her dupatta in my hands and began to unfold it. She watched me with amazement. I spread out the dupatta and put it across her head, covering her hair. ‘It looks good here,’ I whispered, observing her

(You see?How much hypocrite he is?)

Seriously, a Pakistani Muslim writer wrote this? This? What message is conveyed in this book? That have sympathy with terrorists? Disgrace yourself? Embarrass your parents that they gave you freedom? They both were psychopaths and were as dull as ditch-water and as plain as paper. There was no story other than their mingling hands and all that dirt..

Lastly, there should be a negative star rating system on goodreads. Beacause this book doesn't even deserve this 1 star.

[Sara Naveed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just can't wait for all of you to read this book because it's purely written from my heart. Every word, every conversation, every scene, comes directly from the heart.
I dedicate this book to all those who've been in love, who're in love, and who seek love.

[MoodyReader2.0 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our Story Ends Here by Sara Naveed...
Well if you want a quick read that's light, cheesy and something that makes you giggly, this wouod be the right pick.

I wouldn't say the story was original...it was pretty ordinary but considering that Sara Naveed is a budding Pakistani writer, this work was commendable enough.

The characters were well-established and the sentence structure and vocabulary were easy and understandable. What I truely appreciated were the traditional Urdu phrases that Sara included here and there. They made the story and culture more natural, relatable and a bit more realistic. The description of the Pakistani wedding was also really fun to read about. They no doubt have a beautiful and traditional way of celebrating their weddings.

However, there were flaws: evident and often too prominent. The dialogues were not strong enough and the sentences were a bit immature. Somethings were repeated so often they became annoying like Sarmad and Meher showered in almost every single page of the book. Moreover, I felt like some ideas were introduced but given no closure.

But that's all, otherwise this book was a pretty cute read, I mean, come on! A terrorist (who changes) and a General's daughter fall in love! That's tempting enough! Also, I especially loved Sarmad's childhood story and how he chose the path of peace and love in the end. It showed that the toughest of people have the softest and often heart-breaking backgrounds, and that anyone can change.
I did not like the ending. At all. But overall a good book. An exhilarating and exciting story.

People! This review is solely my opinion of the book. Neither the book (Our Stort Ends Here) nor the review speak in support of anything illegal, dangerous, or remotely violent. I strictly oppose violence and those who practice it, and I want nothing else but to see every country in our world prosperous in peace. Sarmad is NOT a terrorist (by the end). He is a spy helping the Pakistan army in capturing those who propogate violence. Pakistan wants nothing but to promote peace, love and harmony and is doing its most in putting an end to terrorism and violence.

[Maria · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like anything in this book.It is very disappointing to see that a Pakistani novelist is so much inspired by bollywood that she forgot to portay her own culture.
Mehar sarmad ke sath bhaag jati hai lekin ek baar bhi usey yeh nahi kehti ke chalo nikkah karlete hain.
It was shocking to read that she was 'crying' to sleep with him,and worst of all,the writer called it 'True Love'.Is this true love?Really?Is this our culture?Pathetic!
It was a big big disaster!
I wonder how readers are rating it as a 5 star!Must be the paid ones!
I wonder Penguin ne isey publish kyun kiya?Maybe they want everyone to laugh at us!
I mean seriously?Kya itne bure Editors hain Penguin ke paas?Daal main kuch to kaala hai.I am sure she has her sources!

[Zainab Ahmed · Rating 1 out of 5]

This 1 star rating is me being generous! Please excuse me while I go puke my guts out to rid myself of the acrid taste this utter disgrace of a book has left in my mouth!

[Vishy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Sara Naveed's 'Our Story Ends Here' a couple of days back. The story goes like this. Mehar is graduating from college. She and her friends plan to take a final carefree trip, to the beautiful Swat valley, before they enter the next phase of their lives. Mehar is going to get married soon. Sarmad is a terrorist. He has been an orphan since a young age and he has been brought up by a man who believes in violence to get things done. Sarmad leaves on a mission with some of his fellow terrorists. Mehar's bus has an accident and she is thrown out of the bus. Sarmad who is there on the scene interrupts his mission and saves her. And their very different worlds collide. As luck would have it, they have to spend the next few days together at a kind stranger's home while Mehar recuperates. And something happens there - something beautiful and their hearts are drawn towards each other.

What happens between Mehar and Sarmad? Do they reveal their true feelings towards each other? What happens to Sarmad's mission? Is any real relationship possible between Mehar and Sarmad because of their very different backgrounds? You have to read the book to find out.

I loved 'Our Story Ends Here'. It is a beautiful love story. The way Mehar and Sarmad develop feelings for each other is depicted very delicately and beautifully. The book also depicts Pakistani culture wonderfully - the relationship between parents and children, the food, the clothes, the music, the beautiful weddings, the beauty of nature - I loved that aspect of the book. There were many places where the Urdu version of the English sentence tried leaping out of the page - for example, 'There's noor on your face' and 'There were old memories attached to her presence.' My favourite one was this :

She : I've not found love in you. I've found life in you.
He : And I have found my heaven in you.

I tried imagining how it would sound in Urdu and it was incredibly beautiful.

The story has some interesting revelations towards the end followed by a huge surprise, which I didn't see coming. And the ending - I can't tell you about any of these things. I can't even tell you whether they are happy or sad. You should read and find out yourself.

I loved 'Our Story Ends Here.' If you are a romantic like me and like reading love stories, you will love this. I can't wait to find out what Sara Naveed comes up with next.

[Samra Muslim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Any one who has watched Bollywood or seen a lot of TV drama's will find this story full of cliches and unnecessary melodrama. The story had potential to being much better and engaging ...

It's a good attempt at romance writing but the author has tried to put all the filmy elements in her story (I could even visualise a few song sequences in my head) and in the process forgotten to give depth to the main lead of the book - Meher.

The one person you are supposed to feel for is the one person who annoys you the most - she is too nice, too docile and then suddenly she decides to share a room for 10 days with a stranger pretending to be husband & wife, to suddenly being back to her docile self and getting engaged and then running away with him, etc etc - make up your mind girl!!

... Or rather forget about the world, this guy and your parents - go find yourself sister ... !!

The writing style is simple and pleasant, however I could feel a bit of immaturity in the writing, which we hope Sara will be able to over come with time. She does have the potential to write and I felt just needs more guidance and practice to find her own style - this one was too Mills & Boons goes to Bollywood for me.

NB: received a complimentary copy of the book in return for an honest review from the Author. Hope my feedback will help her :)

[thebookshook · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best of romance thriller one can read about!

[PeaceOfGod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will review it properly this time.!!

Coming soon!!!

[Awaisha Inayat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Our story ends here sounds like a pure bollywood movie with all that cliches and melodrama.
The plot is really good however once again in her second book i feel characters lack depth. It was supposed to be a romantic thriller and I couldn't find the thrill as well as the romance. Furthermore, character of meher was just indecisive. She initiated the conversation with sarmad asking the time and when ignored she gave a typical brat response where as suddenly by the end she became so responsible that her sketch was either not so relevant to her family background or if it was then the initial intro to character seems confusing.
I still couldn't get along a girl from such a background would agree to spend 10 days right away with someone stranger.
Furthermore, the langauge with frequent slangs like fucking, what the hell, fools, etc it sounds more like reading a bollywood movie rather than literature or book for that matter.

However, unnecessary details like we say in undying affinity have improved. Thumbs up for that.
Lets see how sara does in her future books. Her plots are really good but in a language they're portrayed with such spice up masala that it ruins everything.

[Bookdragon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really hate myself for liking this book because seriously it's a lot unrealistic and it is exactly like some TV drama which I am already bored of.
But still I liked this book ehhh, my bad.
I liked the ending that's it.

[Muhammad Hassan · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a shit loaded book, full of crap. I believe, the author was high on weed when she wrote a book. My 4 year old Sister can write in a much better English and in proper grammar. "He nodded his 'Head'" , seriously ?, I feel like nodding my hand on author's cheek.
Crap book !

[Ayesha Naveed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intense. Tragic. Powerful. Romantic.
NOT TO BE MISSED!

[S.Z.F.Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

'I have a love/pain relationship with her. Love that caused more pain and pain that changed me."

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I have been yearning to read this pulchritudinous tale of love and tragedy by Sara Naveed, which narrates a story of a terrorist and her.

"Terrorists are not born to love."

Sara Naveed has beautifully wrote this impeccable journey of love - profound love. I bet you cannot resist yourself from loving this piece of writing. You would feel the intensity building up inside you as you read this intense story of agonizing love of Sarmad and Meher.

What I loved the most about this novel was the realistic end. An end which was meant to be. If Sara wouldnot have ended the way she ended, I might have disliked this book, but I loved it - every bit of it!

All appreciation for this amazing writer from my country and more power and success to her.

[beautywithbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a fast and easy read. I could not put the book down till i finished reading it. When i started reading it, i had a feeling that the plot is similar to movie Fanaa, with some modifications. But this is different. And reading this book was like watching a bollywood movie. The plot twists, the description of the moments and the background, the emotions everything was in movie style.

So basically this is a love story about two people, Mehar and Sarmad, with very different backgrounds. Mehar is an Army General's daughter. Her marriage is going to be fixed with her cousin Herman whom she has know from her childhood. But before she goes into this commitment, she takes a chance to visit Swat Valley with her friends that hold her childhood memories. Sarmad, a terrorist, is on a deadly mission. He is not born to love and live like normal human.

Their paths cross, there a small accident, which creates such a circumstance that they both end up staying for few days with very courteous family, in a single room. There's spark between them. Mehar is bound with the fact that soon she is going to be someone else's bride. On the other hand Sarmad is aware that he can never live a normal life and love someone.

A beautiful love story depicting the feelings of Mehar and Samrad for each other and how it deepens further, describing the beauty of Swat Valley and also putting little light on Pakistani culture, their customs, traditional wedding, parent children relation, food and cloths. There were some very interesting revelation in the plot towards the end. I didn't see the twist coming in the story. This only made the story more interesting and more filmy.

About the ending, as in all such stories it is sad. But i expected it to be the other way. I like stories with happy endings. I feel if there possibility to make a happy ending, it should be, though it becomes filmy and not real. But to know the ending you will have to read the book. This is filmy types romantic story. So if you like such plots do pick up this book.

She : I've not found love in you. I've found life in you.
He : And I have found my heaven in you.

[Iqra · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m all into chick flicks, nicholas sparks romantic writings fan but this!! The novel compelled me to make this account on goodreads and puke my guts out. If the writer had used 1% more effort, it could be a hilarious comedy (comedy= bulbulay level comedy here).

A pretty damsel in distress falls in love with a rough, unexpressive stranger, who turns out to be a terrorist but oh, he was actually an undercover army agent :)))

The writer’s herself is confused whether the ishq is ممنوع or not. The girl’s dad is on board with her daughter living with the stranger at first, then the girl runs away and has sex, the dad isn’t happy anymore but out of the blue he gave his blessing via hamza, the phupho ka beta and fiancé, the oh so hot so decent so positive, always setting his fine silky hair in a dramatic way. Who, after having the novel’s attempt to have a “ja simran ja jee lay apni zindagi” moment, drives to girl to her lover for the last scene, where guest what? The lovers hug and die together 🙃

Forced romance, forced plot, confused characters, lousy plot building, weak dialogues all wrapped with a failed attempt to present Pakistani culture, terrorism and army lifestyle.

Any way I could unread the book?

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

'got it in a subscription box so i decided to give it a read. if you ever read Sweet Valley High series then just rate it somewhere there. Ignore the massive loop holes in the story, weak character build of heroine and hero, and think of it as a sweet teenage fantasy romance and you might be able to finish it. This could be turned into a Bollywood movie :), the story line is that simple!
thing in its favor: it is an easy to read medium-paced book. No-brainer.
PS:
*Spoiler* - You meet a terrorist who keeps a journal *face palm*

[Shehla Rabbani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spectacular! Loved this book!

[Hina Tabassum Khatri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to follow soon.

[Ruqayyah Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Sara,
Now, where do I start? After reading Undying Affinity 2 years ago, I was eagerly waiting for your next book. (And you did not let me down with Our Story Ends Here). I repeatedly asked you, "Sara, when is your next book coming out, when is your next book coming out"? I myself have lost count as to the amount of times I asked you this question; but you answered my query with patience and utmost love, each and every time.
Finally the wait was over, come February the 14th, however I still had to wait over a month to receive my copy. Nevertheless, I kept my hopes up, that I will receive it soon. Then, when I received it, I was extremely excited. I told you immediately.
Then I began reading the book the very same day, and believe me when I say this, I read the book in three days, I was that interested in the book and very curious about what was going to happen next; I hogged on to the book, took it to University with me, read it on the train during my 2 hour journeys to and back from University. I just could not leave it without completing it.
Now that I have finished reading it, I am sad for two reasons, one the book is finished, and I want to read nore and two because I was living the characters as I was reading them and I was upset that it had to end that way.
I just want you to know Sara, that I loved each and every bit of the book, every character came alive for me as I read the book. I fell in love with Sarmad and Mehar, you wrote these characters to the core, there is no chance any reader would walk away without falling in love with Sarmad and Mehar. In this book you showed that pure love does exist no matter what ones circumstances are. Mehar's innocence and bravery, just blew my mind away; and Sarmad's care, love and warmth, made my heart melt. I have wrote a lot, yet I fall short of words to describe, as to how much I loved 'Our Story Ends Here'.
I just cannot begin to thank you enough for this book.
And when I say what I am going to say I mean this from the bottom of my heart... I love you and respect you a lot Sara; you have inspired me in many ways, so thank you so much.
Lots of love,
Ruqayyah
P.S. Always remember no matter what, you will always have one reader for sure as long as I am alive.
Take Care
Love You.

[Hasnaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since the time i read Undying Affinity, i was eagerly waiting for Sara Naveed's next book. and now that i've finished reading Our Story Ends here, i just want more & more. I am a fan of her writing style & the way she describes each & every detail as she puts the reader in the middle of each scene.


Our Story Ends here. It's an unusual love story of the main characters, Mehar & Sarmad; very different from each other with opposite backgrounds but the power of love & destiny have reunited them together.


Mehar being a general's daughter & Sarmad being a terrorist made it a forbidden love.... how a terrorist can LOVE?! the writer doesn't only make this complicated love story possible but also makes the readers fall in love with the characters. . the surprise that is coming by the end was totally unpredictable, The end & Sarmad's dream got me in tears...

I recommend this book to the people who want to read a different & unusual love story.
Sara, i would love to thank you for always giving me the opportunity to read your books & enjoy your stories. i know you are currently writing your third book so i wish you all the best for the future. Keep shining :)


"I've not found love in you....i've found life in you" ~ Mehar
"And i have found my heaven in you" ~ Sarmad
"Sarmad... does our story end here? She asked
"No, Mehar... it has just begun." He smiled, embracing her in a warm hug.

[Ahmed Nawaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book i have read. The way it was written was so intense and everything was described perfectly. Was so good that I ended it in just 3 days. The vocabulary,grammar and language was so easy to read(one of the main reason i ended so quickly. The way of writing was great. Looking forward to read other books of the author. :D

[Khan Aakif Nazeer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was new to reading novels,& fortunately it was first I have started with , became my favourite novel....
Mehar & Sarmad😊

[Anum Ammad · Rating 4 out of 5]

#ourstoryendshereclubread


          It all started some months back when I came to know about the second book by Sara Naveed. I did hear about her back in time when her first book was released but could not read that one due to unknown reasons. Since I have read our story ends here, I seriously can not wait to read "undying affinity" that is her first book.

To be honest when I bought this book I had no idea or expectation towards this book.

Reason no 1.

I haven't read much books by young Pakistani authors.

Reason no 2.

I have not read her first book.

But eventually as three to four months passed since I purchased the book. I finally started reading it and it was even unbelievable for me that I finished it in one evening and one morning. I was literally hooked to the book so much so that i didn't even have my breakfast. This pretty much explains what 8ncrediblr piece of writing it is.

Coming back to the story, at first it seems like it is just the simple love story of a girl named near who has lost her brother in a terrorist attack and a boy named sarmad who is the terrorist. But believe me you are in for a treat.It is basically a roller coaster ride with so many twists and turns. And it's between those twists and turns that their love evolves and reaches to new heights.

One thing which is commendable about this book is it won't get you bored. Moreover you won't be able to get rid of it before finishing it. Even after finishing it the characters , their bonding, their strength and the twists and turns of the story won't leave you ever. While reading the book it just seemed as if I am myself experiencing it all, it's that level of connection you feel with the characters. 

The only thing which seemed a little inappropriate to me was some of the parts where the characters were shown to be physically intimate. As this book is based on Pakistani culture and the characters are Muslim, therefore such relations were unacceptable for me because it is forbidden in Islam. Apart from that I totally loved the book.

In short, this book made me happy, sad, gave me goose bumps, made me cry and so proud that we have such incredible writers in our land. Even it's been days since I read it but I still feel its magic lingering in my thoughts. 

My advice to you all is just get up and go to your favourite bookshop or book website and grab this lovely books.

Kudos to Sara Naveed.

[Rida · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I have had my eyes on this book ever since I saw it online on major book store websites. When I finally laid my hands on it, I just could not put it down and had to finish it in two (yes, not that fast of a reader) go's .
Here's my review on the much talked about "Our story ends here" by Sara Naveed.
From page one till the 320th page or so, I couldn't stop thinking about the Bollywood movie, "Dil se". I mean it's not inspired from the movie itself, but there are numerous moments where you feel like you are watching a rerun of not just Dil se, but a lot of Bollywood movies combined. The chiffon ka dupatta covering the guy's face, the overly friendly and courteous strangers the protagonists meet and the girl falling in love with the wrong guy when she is betrothed to someone else, yup! this book has it all. However, what I do like about the book is its consistency, the consistency in maintaining a certain pace throughout the book which, no matter how clichéd it gets sometimes, does not bore you.
Another thing that you will notice about the novel is the infatuation of the author for the word "reverie". I swear I had it planned I was going to count the number of times this word comes up. Lastly, I want to point out that it gives me immense pleasure to buy and read books written by South Asian Authors and no matter how typical or how bizarre the plot might be, I will continue to fall in love with those characters, I will continue to lament the loss of love and I will continue to cry on the happy endings because the people in those novels are those whose reflections I see, wherever I go.

If you are in for a movie like, minus the Hindi songs playing in the background, kind of mood, you should pick this up and give it a try.

[Zara Khanzz · Rating 5 out of 5]

My ever favourite one ♥️
>>>> Book Review <<<< This beautiful journey is about an army general’s daughter MEHAR and a boy SARMAD . Sarmad was trained as a terrorist to be ruthless fearless .
Now here’s the whole story : Sarmad and Haider i suppose were ordered to plot a bomb at the Lahore Bazaar when he finally came across a boy Omer ( i dont Remember exact names) who was speaking mannerless on the phone , Sarmad talks to him and tells that this place isn’t safe he should leave . Omer denies and at sudden the blast explodes and Sarmad felt really bad for the boy but the only ruin that came into Sarmads hand was the boys wallet containing picture with his sisters which Sarmad kept with him .
Years passed , Mehar wanted to go on a trip when she hardly got permission she was left in Swat because of a minor accident, Sarmad was on the other bus of Mehars bus , he came to help her , and some Swati people thought they were couple and Sarmad had the only option left to act out . They both stayed with Bari Appa , Azizs relative house . Few days passed when Sarmad started having feelings for Mehar and made his mind to tell her , they heard the news of terrorist attack on Peshawar.
Sarmad was going against the army while Mehar raise her voice in favour of them . She told that her father had lost his son too on the previous Lahore attack .
After hearing this Sarmad ran towards his wallet to saw the picture , and now rest I hope your understood it well ?? .
.
This book is worth a read , go grab it read what happened next ... .
Author : @sara_naveed
Book : #ourstoryendshere
Rating : 9/10
Ps : it resembled the Bollywood film Hero alot .

[Altaf Hussain · Rating 4 out of 5]

It kept me turning the pages, so yeah it's kind of a captivating one. Besides, it's a beautiful novel. Simply written.

[Siddhi Palande · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every story has two sides. If you listen to it carefully, only then will you be able to judge the circumstances. Why this philosophy, you ask? Simply because, despite the fact that I have previously read books about terrorists, terrorism and "Love In The Torn Land", I have hardly ever come across a novel as heart touching as Our Story Ends Here by Sara Naveed, published by Penguin India.

The story revolves around two characters namely Mehar and Sarmad. Both cross each other's path, later to be entwined forever. Sarmad is a terrorist and Mehar, an easy-going, god-fearing girl of a retired military officer. But destiny has something magical in store for the two.

At the outset, it seems like an ordinary love story. Infact for a Bollywood buff like me, I would say it is a DDLJ meets Fanaa. But as you go on reading you are blown away by the beauty of its simplicity. It is simplistically told tale yet lovingly woven and put together.

Our Story Ends Here got me involved to a tee. The twists had me hooked and I found myself unable to get Saad and Mehar out of my mind. The settings doesn't matter in such tales and yet I felt like I was walking the streets of Lahore and Swat. I have loved writing travelogues for celebrities who have been to Pakistan. And through their experience I had been able to virtually visit Pak. But Our Story Ends Here, made this experience my own in a unique way. Thank you Sara for that.

Having said that, there was a point of confusion between the connection of the prologue with the story. Some of you might want to put the book down at that point but I kept on reading and to my surprise the author has deftly connected the prologue and the rest of the story. You just have to keep faith in this story and it certainly won't disappoint you. Infact it will evoke multiple beautiful emotions with every page that you turn. And if you are overtly emotional it will leave you teary eyed.

The chapters alternate between the viewpoints of the protagonists and are short. As I mentioned in one of my Instagram stories, the novel is buttery smooth and engaging. Moreover, it will take you to the place called "forever" and rejuvenate the love fervor.

For a crestfallen relationship this might be the antidote. Gift this book on the auspicious occasion of Diwali to your someone special.

Publisher: Penguin India
Available on: Flipkart, Amazon, Crossword

On the scale of readability I rate it 9 on 10 and it deserves 4 out of 5 stars.

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