The Loophole is a modern fantasy about Sayyed, a gay Muslim teenager, trying to find his (ex-)boyfriend Farouk on the other side of the world. With the help of Reggie, who grants Sayyed three wishes, they go on a journey tracking down Farouk from London to Istanbul to Marrakech – and find more than they were expecting along the way.

I really liked the concept of bringing the djinn/genie folklore to a modern setting, and I think Kutub does a great job of showing how it’s not all glitz and glam for Reggie despite her resources. The camaraderie between Sayyed and Reggie was definitely my favorite part of the book, and I really appreciated the fact that we get to see their friendship develop throughout the journey.

My main critiques center around the plot. I found it to all be very polished and neatly tied up, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it felt a little off to me with this read. It was clear from pretty early on what the ending would be, and again, while that isn’t inherently bad, there really wasn’t a big twist at the end; the sequence follows as you’d expect from most books following the same general trope/line of plot.

Overall, this was a fun read! I do wish that there had been something I wasn’t anticipating toward the end, but some readers may find this a pro rather than a con. There are definitely some potentially triggering topics discussed and shown in scenes, so if you’re considering this read, please make sure you do so informed.

Thank you to Bloomsbury and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.