Book Blurb
On her first holiday in six years, Rumi is expecting to relax and unwind. But when she is set up by her long-time friend, she doesn’t shy away from the possibilities. Ahad, a charming, independent, self-made man, captures her imagination, drawing her away from her disapproving sister, Juveria.
Faced with sizzling chemistry and a meeting of the minds, Ahad and Rumi find themselves deep in a relationship that moves forward with growing intensity. But as her desire for the self-assured Ahad grows, Rumi struggles with a decision that will impact the rest of her life.
Confronted by her scandalized sister, a forbidding uncle and a society that frowns on pre-marital intimacy, Rumi has to decide whether to shed her middle-class sensibilities, turning her back on her family, or return to her secluded existence as an unmarried woman in Pakistan.
We follow Rumi from rainy London to a sweltering Karachi, as she tries to take control of her own destiny.
Ruchi Singh (verified owner) – :
After a long time I have come across a story which has characters who are settled, mature. They gave me the feel of complexity involved in a relationship because of different upbringing and perspectives. Be it the sensible yet sensuous approach of Ahad in handling a fragile relationship with a woman he is attracted to, or sorting out her emotions and priorities by Rumi.
I loved Ahad’s patience as he waited for her to come to him, it was so chivalrous and quixotic. It really sizzled! And I loved the way Rumi handled the rejection and later the acceptance. Natasha Ahmed has expertly brought out the conduct of both Ahad and Rumi enhancing the depth of the characters. And of course ‘Duniya gol hai’.
Coming to Mahira, Ali and Faizan, friends everyone need and should have, wonderful characters. Juveria, is a natural one we see around us all the time. A person chained to legacy thought process, but she absolves herself later. I also liked the fact that the story was not unnecessarily stretched.
Breaking conventional conservative barriers, for a woman, is not easy in our societies (both Indian and Pakistani), but the clarity in presentation of thoughts made the book fantastic read.
Initially shifting POV’s bothered me, but once I got used to the style, it ceased to matter. I wished their reconciliatory conversation in the restaurant at Karachi could have been elaborated more, just for reader’s pleasure.
Overall, very entertaining insightful romance story!
Shweta (verified owner) – :
Book Review – Butterfly Season by Natasha Ahmed
Rating- 3/5
I have read only a handful of eBooks as I am partial towards paperbacks and don’t want them to die.
Butterfly Season by Natasha Ahmed is one of the few eBooks that I have given a try and I was surprised how thoroughly enjoyable the experience was.
I accomplished my many ‘firsts’ with this book. First book by a Pakistani author, first novella, first eBook that I enjoyed, first book that I read on my smartphone and first book that I finished reading in just 4 hours!!
Back to the review- Butterfly Season is Rumi and Ahad’s love story. Rumi is a traditional Pakistani woman who is torn between the archaic views dictated by the society and her own liberal thoughts. She is smart but years of social conditioning acts as a roadblock in her life choices. Whereas, Ahad is a London bred Pakistani who is suave, successful and a free spirit. His upbringing is devoid of any orthodox society rules and hence he believes that everyone should live life on their terms. Poles apart? Yes! But they meet, thanks to Rumi’s friend Mahira and then sparks fly. Rumi and Ahad, both are surprised by the intensity of their feelings for each other. Add society diktats to the already existing dilemma and what you get is an explosion waiting to happen.
The chemistry between Rumi and Ahad is very convincing, natural and beautiful. It is hard to put the book down without finishing it. In between forced breaks that I had to take, I kept thinking about Rumi and Ahad and what’s next for them. What’s great is both the central characters are well in their 30s as opposed to the age group presented in most romantic books. The writer has stayed away from dramatizing and over romanticizing love, premarital sex and life in general. I like how issues are dealt practically and that there is always a character, be it Mahira, Rumi’s mother, Ahad or Faizan, who is there to call out ‘Stop your bullshit’! Not out loud of course but in subtle ways.
The book offered me an insight on Pakistan and made me realize that people in India and Pakistan are not that different after-all.
Butterfly season reminded me of Mills and Boons too as mentioned by another reviewer.
Great job Natasha Ahmed!
P.S. – I kept picturing Ahad as Fawad Khan, the Pakistani Actor.
Only recently Pakistani television shows are being aired here in India. And I loved Zindagi Gulzar Hain, in which Fawad played the role of Zaroon. That’s why I guess I am fixated with him. 
Dola – :
Do Pakistani women think (and maybe act) like Indian women when it comes to love or are they different? What do the contemporary Pakistani women feel about pre-marital intimacy? These were just some of the questions that came to my mind when I read the blurb of Butterfly Season. Of course I wanted to know whether our sisters from across the border were really so different from us as sometimes we are led to believe. I’m glad I picked up the book because now I feel that Pakistan and India are not so different after all, at least not where we women are concerned.
Rumi and Ahad, the main characters, are easy to fall in love with. Their romance is fun and frothy & they share a great sexual chemistry. I was relieved that Ahmed didn’t fall in the trap of keeping sex-scenes in the book just to get high sales (as is the case nowadays) since so many books I read that try to talk about a woman’s choices/perspective do. Mahira comes across as a great friend, a friend everyone needs in his/her life, a strong pillar of support. Juveria, though easy to dislike, reminds me of so many women that try to guide all their actions and words according to norms set up by the society in order to please it, but turn up making their lives miserable. Ahmed has been able to create a great mix of characters, all taken from our contemporary society. The men folk needed a bit more work IMHO but the female characters all came out strong.
I liked the little glimpses the author has shown of contemporary Pakistan what with Urdu words strewn in, references to the pop culture, the Junoon-Vital signs debate etc. The author has used beautiful language in Butterfly season for example – “…Love and marriage are not synonymous. Every Pakistani girl knows that already.” There are many such ‘quotable quotes’ strewn across the book. I do wish Ahmed had delved a little deeper into Karachi, which was such an intrinsic part of Rumi. I wished to experience the city through its many colors, smells and sights but I felt something missing. I did identify with the heat though coming from Punjab myself.
Butterfly season is a quick read, hardly a hundred pages long and has some great thought provoking moments. I congratulate the author on talking about such a taboo topic like pre-marital sex and not come up as preachy or condescending. I thoroughly enjoyed Ahmed’s debut novella and would recommend it to Romance lovers all over the world. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars
Prats (verified owner) – :
Story of a million girls and guys told through beautiful Rumi from Pakistan and charming Ahad in London. Rumi has cultural inhibitions and an orthodox set of people governing her life (or so she thinks) while Ahad has never felt love and protectiveness for any one before. When they meet , they have lots to learn from each other and teach a bit too. This is a lovely story of finding own voice and to find happiness. This is also about having great friends who care for you and of finding your own identity and freedom from other’s judgments. and while you are relishing all this , it some where hits you that perhaps on the name of culture we sometimes inhibit our own love and give air to insecurities .I totally loved this novella.
Rubina – :
Rumi, a young woman in her thirties, visits her younger sister, Juveria in Loughton, Uk from Pakistan. Rumi has sacrificed a major chunk of her life to look after her ailing mother. This had given Juveria the freedom to marry and settle down.
Rumi did not begrudge Juveria her happiness, but now after the death of their Mom, Rumi wants to live a life with the freedom she so desired. Her desire takes the shape of Ahad whom she meets at her friend’s house. Friendship turns into ‘attraction’ (the hot, molten kind) and they give in to their desires. (Be ready to feel the heat !!)
Rumi’s relatives expect that since her mom is dead, she should complacently marry any guy her relatives decide for her. Strangely, the support she had expected from her younger sister is cloaked under Juveria’s need to follow the norms of the society.
On one hand, Ahad seems to be commitment phobic and since Rumi enters into this relationship knowing the consequences, she couldn’t blame Ahad for not wanting to give this relationship a name. On one hand, Rumi faces a broken relationship and on the other hand the stigma of a live-in-relationship, portrays Rumi as a girl of the modern society caught between the matters of the heart and the unspoken, stringent commandments of our society.The thoughts of all Asian women are echoed in the words of Rumi. A woman should be sacrificing, a woman should comply when the society demands and the woman should first think of others before she thinks of herself is a maxim which I have always questioned. All these cumulative thoughts of a woman make the character of Rumi, beautifully etched by Natasha Ahmed, very relatable.
The scene that profoundly touched my heart was when Juveria’s main objection to the relationship between Rumi and Ahad was based on her own in-law’s viewpoint.
‘Log kya kahenge’is one sentence that is engraved in our tender minds from the time we shed our diapers. As much as I’m trying to control the feminist in me, since I do want men of our society to read this novella, but I cannot help applauding Natasha’s bold character Rumi and mentally kicking Juveria for representing all the bipolar norms of our society.
Would I recommend this book – Definitely. Though I’m not propaganding the subject touched in this novella and I might turn into another Juveria in the near future but the stringencies and the hypocrisies that has been present in our society for so long makes Butterfly Season a compelling novel to read. The love story between Rumi and Ahad is cute, passionate and very emotional. ( And of course, the chemistry between them will give you a toe curling moment :D)
Leela Pal Chaudhuri – :
Bravo Rumi! For some reason, Natasha Ahmad, I was reminded of the classic Mills and Boons which I devoured during my teenage years, though this was hardly a picture of teenage predicament.
Rumi is heartwarmingly credible and I thoroughly enjoyed being engrossed and wrapped up in her life as she trod gingerly, then surely, then swiftly into a coming-of-age relationship and her momentary disintegration, after the fact, when she like any woman, especially sub-continental – realises the enormity of an unstated future in the most sensitive, accountable-to-family (and in her case, thanks to her bigoted, temporarily callous sister) held-to-public-view territory – romantic relationships. Being an Indian I could easily identify and empathise with her plight.
The characters are compellingly created and each one of them engages with the reader for good or bad.
And yes I loved the eloquence, the elegance, the effortless, easy English.
jazz singh – :
It’s got the sizzle and the romance.
She has both sass and innocence, he’s amused and tolerant…until she begins to get under his skin…
The roller coaster of Rumi’s journey to freedom, Ahad’s determined bid to stay away from emotional entanglements, Jo, the jealous sister, Faizan and Mahira, the supportive friends, and all the other well etched characters – all make Butterfly Season an un-put-downable read.