I’ve had so much time with COVID-19 isolation to do a lot of reading, which has been a good thing. So, when I came across the opportunity to review a particular romance with an interesting message, I jumped at the chance. I do love to support debut romance authors, and I certainly have enjoyed the book, “Rebel With Time” by Safa Shaqsy. It’s helped me reflect on the fact that we all wish we had the ability to make our own choices in life, and what a great freedom this is if we can. Of course, it also made me think about how much of that freedom was in degrees. Degrees to choose our own life and how much society and families impose on our own freedom of our pursuit of happiness is something that can be taken for granted.

REVIEW: “Rebel With Time” is written by Safa Shaqsy.  FOUR Stars ****

A young Muslim woman from Oman wants to follow her own heart and not the traditional rules her parents have set down for her. Her sister, though supportive, is ready to find a traditional marriage match. With rebellion in her heart, Jamila breaks several rules to start following her dream of becoming a model. She finds herself being attracted to the photographer at the agency, and secretly starts to date him. Will she be able to follow her dreams and be with the man she chooses, standing up to her parents and their traditional beliefs? Or will she succumb to her duty and marry the man her parents find for her.

I did enjoyed this romance. The struggle hits home in many women, whether we are rebelling against customs set upon us or rigors in society that say we cannot do the same things as men, these struggles unite women worldwide. The writing is basic and gets the job done. The style took me awhile to get used to, but eventually I found myself being pulled into the story and reading quickly to the end. I could feel the emotion of Jamila’s struggle. Safa Shaqsy really helps you connect with both Jamila and her sister, Zahra. Their relationship is beautifully portrayed, and is the hidden gem in this novel. I do recommend this for readers that enjoy a different point of view in terms of women’s issues and problems. It will have you cheering for Jamila and for her to win the freedom to make her own choices.

“Rebel With Time” by Safa Shaqsy is available on Amazon.com as a Kindle Unlimited title.