From Publishers Weekly

Addonia's bold debut is more compelling as an indictment of the repressiveness of Saudi Arabia's Wahhabism than as a love story. In 1979, Naser's mother arranges for him and his brother, Ibrahim, to be smuggled from a Sudanese refugee camp into Jeddah and the care of a fundamentalist uncle. Naser learns to despise and fear the hate-mongering local imam, merciless religious police and powerful men who lust after boys with impunity. He never stops feeling homesick for his mother and her friends or frustrated by the Saudi's strict segregation of the sexes, and when a young woman drops a love letter at his feet, he's quickly smitten. The girl he calls Fiore (flower) is bold, passing him notes and wearing pink shoes to be recognizable in her abaya. Addonia's prose, unfortunately, loses credibility when he describes their passion. Both lovers risk public flogging or even execution, but neither doubts their relationship's correctness. The consequences they fear are of daring to love in a society dominated by hatred of foreigners, nonbelievers, women and often of love itself. Addonia's troubling revelations make for thought-provoking reading.
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Review

“A gorgeous, slow-burning love story set in Saudi Arabia; a tender, insightful look into what it’s like to be a young man under such a repressive regime and what it’s like to dream of love in a world where women are forbidden . . . The Consequences of Love is touching, infinitely plausible, and infused with a brooding sensuality.”—Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat

“In The Consequences of Love, Sulaiman Addonia bravely explores the distorting and dehumanizing effects of Islamic tyranny on love and courtship. The novel offers a rare, unflinching glimpse into the bitter costs that one of America’s closest allies, Saudia Arabia, imposes on its conflicted young generation.”—Azadeh Moaveni, author of Honeymoon in Tehran

“Sulaiman Addonia has created a courageous ordinary man, and a great hero, in The Consequences of Love. As I read, I held my breath for Naser, who lives in a situation full of cruelty. Against that dark canvas of fear, Naser’s own choices–and Addonia’s writing–shine with a brightness that shows the resilience of optimism. This is a wonderful book that takes an unflinching look at humanity’s capacity for evil, but also the depth of its kindness.”—V. V. Ganeshananthan, author of Love Marriage

“In this evocative debut novel, we learn of a forbidden love that is as much an escape as a prison.”—James Levine, author of The Blue Notebook