Maybe it's just that love stories aren't my thing, which is why I didn't find it as revolutionary as so many people seem to. That being said, I think it was a really nice story and the two main characters had a lot of chemistry and the connection they had felt genuine. I think the author dealt with the cultural and ethnic differences extremely well and showed the way the differences in religion and culture impacted both the thoughts and the actions of the characters and how that in turn impacted the struggles, highs, and lows that they went through. I think the reason I felt that the book fell slightly flat is because in a way it always felt as if Rasheed was the one who got the longer end of the stick, because even when he fell in love outside of what was expected of him, it felt like he experienced less guilt and anger from the rest of society than she did.