Adiba Jaigirdar

The Henna Wars

Nishat doesn’t want to lose her family, but she also doesn’t want to hide who she is, and it only gets harder once a childhood friend walks back into her life. Flávia is beautiful and charismatic, and Nishat falls for her instantly. But when a school competition invites students to create their own businesses, both Flávia and Nishat decide to showcase their talent as henna artists. In a fight to prove who is the best, their lives become more tangled—but Nishat can’t quite get rid of her crush, especially since Flávia seems to like her back. As the competition heats up, Nishat has a decision to make: stay in the closet for her family, or put aside her differences with Flávia and give their relationship a chance.

Keira 💫

When Nishat comes out to her parents, they say she can be anyone she wants - as long as she isn't herself. Because Muslim girls aren't lesbians. Nishat doesn't want to lose her family, but she also doesn't want to hide who she is, which only gets harder once Flavia walks into her life. Beautiful and charismatic, Flavia takes Nishat's breath away. But as their lives become tangled, they're caught up in a rivalry that gets in the way of any feelings they might have for each other. Can Nishat find a way to be true to herself... and find love too?

Maddie Southall 

Ari 😚

i honestly dont know how i feel abt this? overall, i liked it. at least i think. i didn't dislike it but i didn't enjoy it much either... it wasn't something i'd go WOW about. i guess i had high expectations.

i think the main problem i had with this was the writing and characters. i cant like a book when i dont like the characters. and thats it... i didn't really care about them nor did i warm up to them. i didnt care about the romance either it was kinda... disappointing and out of place? i think i would enjoy it more if there wasn't any romance at all.

like overall the book was pretty boring for me. it definitely did bring up a lot of important points (like about cultural appropriation), but it wasn't enough for me to like it... it felt flat as a whole and the characters didn't grow on me at all

maybe it's just a pet peeve but specifically i couldn't stand how often the characters ROLLED THEIR EYES. it was so overused and it's something that annoys me a lot irl so it annoyed me here too and idk... it's partly why i didn't like the characters

asmo

i honestly dont know how i feel abt this? overall, i liked it. at least i think. i didn't dislike it but i didn't enjoy it much either... it wasn't something i'd go WOW about. i guess i had high expectations.

i think the main problem i had with this was the writing and characters. i cant like a book when i dont like the characters. and thats it... i didn't really care about them nor did i warm up to them. i didnt care about the romance either it was kinda... disappointing and out of place? i think i would enjoy it more if there wasn't any romance at all.

like overall the book was pretty boring for me. it definitely did bring up a lot of important points (like about cultural appropriation), but it wasn't enough for me to like it... it felt flat as a whole and the characters didn't grow on me at all

maybe it's just a pet peeve but specifically i couldn't stand how often the characters ROLLED THEIR EYES. it was so overused and it's something that annoys me a lot irl so it annoyed me here too and idk... it's partly why i didn't like the characters

Bria

This book definitely had it’s cute moments, but there are no consequences for the things the characters do. It’s just not realistic. Also, what was the point of Nishat’s friends? They were only around to say something to Nishat about how wrong Flavia was, but that could’ve just been Prita’s job. It was what she was doing the whole book.

I do love that cultural appropriation was a big issue in this book because it seems like no one seems to understand what it is. Jaigirdar did a great job at showcasing the problem with it.

kitty 

“I grab hold of the henna tube and begin to squeeze a pattern into Flávia’s palm while she beams at me as if this is the best day of her life. It feels kind of surreal: The warmth of her hand. The tenderness of her gaze. The way the setting sun illuminates her face”

ok i actually REALLY adored this book. i was so skeptical of most of the characters 80% of the time and the bigotry and ignorance definitely had me bristling, but the character development of everyone throughout the story, especially nishat and flavia, warmed my heart in the best of ways. the turmoil they experienced (priti, nishat, flavia, etc) turned into something really beautiful, and reading the process of that happening was special and immersive and i felt so many things on nishat’s behalf. she deserves everything ever, one of my favorite MCs i’ve ever read 

4.5/5

arwen

kait

i think i would give this a 4.5 stars because i loved almost everything about this! i loved their relationship and learning more about each of their culture's and i loved being able to just read and fall in love with the characters! this is honestly a perfect ya romance and it does an amazing job of keeping the reader hooked and interested in the story. i wish i would have read this sooner!

neri

This was cute! A bit messy but that makes sense, they are teens in the end. But cute. Don't feel like doing a bigger review, it was a nice read that touched more complex topics like lgbtphobia, racism and so on. But cute nevertheless! Also I really love when the author writes characters that speak in their language and you don't get the translation; unless you speak it or I guess people go translate it. It's lovely to understand some things and not others, that's part of the story and characters. Intimacy and whatsoever.

trixie

Tish

Chassity

The Henna Wars was genuinely amazing. The romance was spectacular, adorable, and soso pure. The poc and lgbtq representation was immaculate. I loved it so so much. Definitely recommend. 4/5 stars

"Impossible to put down." - Kirkus, starred review Nishat doesn’t want to lose her family, but she also doesn’t want to hide who she is, and it only gets harder once a childhood friend walks back into her life. Flávia is beautiful and charismatic, and Nishat falls for her instantly. But when a school competition invites students to create their own businesses, both Flávia and Nishat decide to showcase their talent as henna artists. In a fight to prove who is the best, their lives become more tangled—but Nishat can’t quite get rid of her crush, especially since Flávia seems to like her back. As the competition heats up, Nishat has a decision to make: stay in the closet for her family, or put aside her differences with Flávia and give their relationship a chance.

Evelina

3.5 stars

This book was really cute. I really loved the relationship between Nishat and Priti and Nishat herself is a character i really like. Her parents at first made me angry and sad, but im glad it turned out okay. When her friends made that poster for nishat i was very happy. It felt important especialy because of what was happening at school.

I was a bit disappointed with the romance? It kind of happened out of nowhere and i expected something more. And the plot sometimes felt rushed and not fully developed.

Overall, it was an easy read and i enjoyed it despite a few points i disliked.

Sampurna Saha 

really sweet and enjoyable..... loved the representation of Bengali culture and the sister bond depicted was amazing .the themes explored were good too .
the romance was a bit meh for me but overall liked it.

grace richards

god the characters in this book are beautifully written

3.5. i think i expected too much from this book since everyone likes it so much and, i mean, i liked it and i think it tells an important message but nothing really happens and i don't really see any kind of chemistry between them, i don't see a relationship growing, so.

tahmida tasmia

I loved The Henna Wars. I started to cry reading it and I know it sounds a little pathetic but the reason for that is that this is my story. I've never felt so represented as a sapphic, Bengali and Muslim person. I love enemies to lovers trope romance stories and this book absolutely did not disappoint. I love how Adiba Jaigirdar wove in things from our culture into the writing and I live for that. I also admire how there were content warnings at the beginning; this is something I think should be normalised for all books. The writing and storytelling were beautiful and the delivery was perfect. How Priti and Nishat's sibling relationship was portrayed was stunning. It showed how your siblings may be some of your closest friends that will always be there for you even if there are a few arguments here and there. The way Priti stood by Nishat after Nishat came out to their parents even though she was dealing with problems of her own was beautiful. Their sisterly relationship just made the book so much better. I would highly recommend this book if you're looking for good sapphic and POC rep. It is definitely worth the read.

Ciara Browne

zahra

Rachel Evans

(4.5/5) Audiobook - 4 hours 42 minutes - I liked this book more than I was expected. I liked the way it touched upon many issues such as cultural appropriation and intersectionality of race and sexuality. The main character was likeable and realistic and yet still flawed in a way that seemed natural. The character made mistakes but there was always an understandable reason behind it, and it never felt like they were forced for the sake of plot. I mostly liked the main relationship - I feel there maybe needed to be a little more resolution between the two midway through the book, but for the most part this was a very good book.

Sepia

Thank you to Fantastic Flying Book Club for this review copy and for choosing me to be a part of this blog tour.All opinions are my own.

This book follows a Muslim girl who just came out to her parents as a lesbian and how they react to her revelation. It also follows her entering a business competition and her and a fellow classmate choose the same business and how she thinks that's appropriation.

I like that this was told in first person as we could be in Nishat's head and really understand what she was feeling. I liked the writing style and it was done really well.

This focuses heavily on the cultural aspect more than religion.It shows how important mendhi is to her and why she is upset when someone who is not South Asian decides to do mendhi. I really enjoyed seeing the Bengali/south Asian culture as I could relate to it as I am south Asian. It didn't focus on religion much as they're not very religious but some small details were mentioned.

In terms of plot,I liked the competition aspect but I felt that it wasn't focused on as much as I would have liked it to.It was kind of background noise at times. That being said,I think this book was a lot more than just about a competition,Nishat faces a lot of homophobia,and racism and has to overcome it.It shows her parents coming to terms with what being a lesbian means. They are very adamant that it's a phase and this book does a good job in showing how Nishat feels and how her parent's think.

Nishat as a character was very interesting and could be very frustrating at times. I think she wasn't very good at communication and could have solved some problems by talking about them.I really liked Priti, and the sisterly reationship her and Nishat have.She was a very supportive sister. She listens and tries to help her in any way she can. I also liked her friends by the end but they didn't understand why mendhi was so important to her. I think it was explained well why they couldn't relate to her. I liked Flávia and how it showed that she had her own challenges and problems she had to deal with. 

In terms of the romance,I thought it would be enemies to lovers which it wasn't. I felt that it was very hot and cold. I felt that it was very sudden when they would become friends and then not. I feel like there wasn't much substance to it and it felt rushed  but I grew to like the relationship a lot more by the end.

I liked that the ending was a bit different than what I had expected. It was done very well and I liked the direction it went in. I am glad that everything was sorted and it had a happy ending.

I recommend this book if you like coming out stories and I defiantly agree with the Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens agenda and When Dimple Met Rishi comparisons. I would recommend this if you enjoyed them.

3/5

Sophie

this was a good book, i loved the story and the fast pace (which helped me read it relatively fast) but something is missing. I don't know what exactly but it didn't completely hit me the way I wish it did.
regardless, I think this was a great read.

** spoiler alert **
           So I reread this book in a matter of hours. I loved it just as much the 2nd time around. This book manages to portray the battle between culture and self while still giving our characters a happy ending. I love how hopeful the end of the book is. Our mc’s are happy together and Nishat’s business is starting up again. All together I just love it

Isabela H 

This book was a little strange for me. I really liked how a lot of the topics were covered, but I think that the author was a little too ambitious in the amount of issues she wanted to cover in a standalone book that already had an actual plot that you kind of needed to keep track of. There were parts that were pretty frustrating in a bad was because nothing was getting resolved or developed well and then there were parts that were a little too full of good luck and fairytale magic. I loved my Brazilian rep tho!!

alex wolfinger 

I had tears in my eyes way more times than I'd like to admit

The Henna Wars

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