Review of A Period of unCertainty by Sheryn Munir
This was a good read. When I saw the name Sheryn Munir, I knew I had read her before but just didn’t really remember. I finally realized that I had read her debut when she was with another publisher, about three years ago. I remember it being a decent debut, but that it had its share of bumps. I’m happy to say that this second book felt like a big improvement over her debut. Her overall writing was much cleaner and smoother than I remember it so it was nice to see such growth.
Both of Munir’s books have been WLW stories that take place in India. While there is plenty of homophobia that LGBTQ+ people face in this book, this book also gives you hope. It was a good balance so the story didn’t feel too depressing. I don’t get to read many books that take place in India so I was happy about the setting, plus all the wonderful food descriptions had my stomach growling.
When it came to the romance I liked it, but I wasn’t wowed by it. Yes, this is a second-chance romance, but the book has a real women’s fiction feel. I liked the two mains as a potential couple and I enjoyed the personal struggle of one of the mains to either live life in secret affairs or a real relationship. They did have some chemistry but I could have used just a hint more heat between them. Also, this book was again in third person, but only 1 POV, which is by far my least favorite, so I missed connecting more with the love interest.
What made me really enjoy the book was the main character’s story. This includes her character journey, her work, and especially her relationship with her son. I don’t always have the best luck with kid characters in WLW fiction but the teenage son was really well done. The mother-son connection was great and the family and work scenes ended up being my favorite.
TLDR: A strong sophomore book for Munir. Her writing was much improved and I see a lot of potential for her in the future. The romance wasn’t quite on the level I would have hoped for, especially since I didn’t connect with the love interest as much, but still a very engaging novel. This is a story about relationships, work, and of course family. While this is a romance, it felt like more of a women’s fiction book since it’s a story of personal growth and life in general. 4 stars
An ARC was given to me for a review.
