Reading diversely involves going off the beaten track to find books that one would not usually read. In the case of All Inclusive, the book, or rather the author, found me. I will admit that I was unsure if I would enjoy this book, because I do not usually read books with much sexual content. Even genre-wise, the book seemed to be a bit all over the place. In the end however, I ended up liking the book!
Cover Photo from goodreads
All Inclusive is told from two perspectives. Ameera, our MC is a biracial Muslim, who works at an all-inclusive Mexican resort. Her big secret is that she has no-strings-attached sexual relationships with couples who visit the resort. However, someone seems to have found this out and has reported it to her superior. While she tries to save her job, she is also on the search for her father.
Azeez, an international student has a one-night stand the night before he is due to return home. Unfortunately, the flight he takes is the ill-fated Air India Flight 182, which crashes due to a bomb planted on it. Ever since, Azeez is stuck in limbo, trying to finish some unfinished business.
It doesn’t take long for the reader to figure out that Azeez in fact is the father that Ameera is looking for, and that Azeez can rid himself of his ghostly existence only after he helps her. The book is thus part chick-lit, part supernatural drama, and part mystery. It is hard to imagine all these things coming together in a satisfactory manner, but Farzana Doctor manages to tie these separate threads together into a coherent narrative.
A lot of this book focuses on exploring the idea of identity–sexual and racial. Ameera is biracial, though she prefers no labels for herself. Ideas of gender and sexual fluidity, and polyamory are explored without judgement. While the book is erotic in parts, it was never overdone.
The book also discusses the idea of responsibilities versus freedoms –how one informs the other and vice versa.
The characters take some time to get fleshed out and for their personalities to emerge and stand separate from each other, but once they do, they are well-formed. The pacing of the novel was good, and I never found myself getting bored.
On the whole, All Inclusive, was a surprisingly emotional and touching read, which discusses sensitive questions about sexuality, identity and belonging, without becoming preachy or didactic.
FTC disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for this honest review.
Author Bio: http://farzanadoctor.com/bio/
- More
