This is such a fun little book. It's a perfect read for a Sunday afternoon. I loved it!

--Yvonne M.--

What a sweet, kind-hearted little read. You will love the characters and the Nairobi birding community, and will root for our main character to succeed. There is a healthy dose of birding, but this is a book that non-birders would also completely love. Just a sweet story that will make you laugh and smile.

Pretty slow, not what I expected.

This was a nice story with a love twist. I thought the book got going halfway through and I wasn't thrilled that it was told from a narrators point of view. However, I did enjoy it and would read a sequel!

a light but also rather delightful read to round out the year. a quick, pleasant read that mixes in a bit of kenyan politics and a smattering of birds. -1 star for using the phrase 'throws like a girl'.

I am 100% sure I already reviewed this book and somehow, the Goodreads app once again deleted it. So, here we go again...

I picked this up assuming it would be a somewhat cheesy read, and it definitely was. However, the facts that I work in East Africa and that I am an avid birdwatcher myself meant that there was no way I was going to pass this one up. In fact, I found this book while searching for an actual guide to the birds of East Africa in the library catalogue.

Things I enjoyed:
* The fact that the protagonist is an older, somewhat average man with a lot of unexpected baggage and depth (Mr. Malik, be still my heart!).
* The setting in Nairobi and the emphasis on birdwatching, particularly birdwatching as a competition to win a chance at a woman's heart. Anyone undertaking this type of competition to win a date with me would score an incredible number of points.
* The fact that the expat author chose to present a view of expat/immigrant life in Nairobi, since this is what he knew from personal experience.
* The small but interesting plot line and theme about Kenyan politics.

Things I didn't enjoy:
* It's fairly sappy.
* The writing isn't stellar.
* The book tries to cover a lot of thematic ground, and it's a bit too much for a novel this size and scope.
* It feels a bit odd that this book has a focus on how corrupt Kenyan politics can be, but the people who are primarily fighting this corruption are not African, or at the very least, they come from privileged, expat backgrounds.
* I can't find the sequel anywhere and, despite these flaws, I really need to know what happens to Mr. Malik.

Meh. DIdn't finish. It just wasn't engaging for me. Maybe I will go back one day, but for right now, It's going to the free library

Charming story with good character development....

The writing style wasn't my favorite, especially the way the character reveal was introduced. The change of written perspective to talking to the reader was unexpected and not in a good way.