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this was such great Bengali and Muslim representation and the characters were cute, but it wasn‘t as happy as I was hoping. they deal with a lot of strained relationships and homophobia and friends not being understanding or accepting of their culture/religion. the fake dating played less of a role than I thought and I still liked it. probably idealistic of me to want them to deal with less buuut. still great rep and a quick wrap up but cute

While it has good representation for Bengali and muslim characters, I think some things could have been handled better.

Reading a new sapphic fake dating ya novel with Bengali main characters

Oddly enough, I liked the middle of this book the best. The beginning felt slow, as I wondered how these two very different people would come around to fake dating. The middle was cute as they slowly got to know each other and their feelings, and to understand the truth of their closest relationships. But at the end the relationship seems to come together too easily. I loved the Bengali rep and googled a ton of things for a clearer picture!

5/5!! But wow so many toxic relationships in this book! So much representation too!! Set in Ireland. 2 Bengali high school girls fake date (fake relationship➡️real relationship trope), lgbtqa+, Muslim rep. Themes: racism, toxic friendships/family relationships, biphobia, islamophhobia, xenophobia. Characters feel genuine.

This was so cute and had some incredible character growth! And the narrator/voice actors were so good.

Massive thanks to @DaveGreen7777 for recommending this book to me! It is absolutely perfect for my essay, plus a brilliant read. Anyone looking for diverse bisexual rep in YA, READ THIS BOOK! 4.5⭐

This was a really amazing read. I can't recommend it enough!

December #doublespin @TheAromaofBooks

BIPOC #lgbtqbookbingo @Kenyazero which is my last book for the bingo!

Been in a heavy reading slump since April ish, but I can feel my reading mojo coming back now, finally!💃
Went for a walk while it was still damp and there was the occasional droplet on the air after a heavy downpour to avoid all the bugs so I could focus on my audio - really enjoying it about 30% in!

Good parts: sweet, adorable characters + great plotting. But…I walked away from this book feeling lonely & sad. Yes, the MCs have each other & that‘s great. But one MC who doesn‘t have any friends ends up also having a strained relationship with her family. The other, while having a good relationship with her family, ends up losing all her friends. All for very justified reasons! But I ended up feeling like Brown girls just can‘t win. 😕. ★★★☆☆.

Adiba Jaigirdar writes LGBTQ YA fiction like no other. I'm always completely drawn into her characters & stories. When Hani needs to prove her bisexuality to her friends, she blurts out Ishu's name. The only problem? They're not even friends, whatever people may think about them as the only two Bengali girls at school. But it turns out Ishu needs help becoming more likeable to win Head Girl. And so the guide to fake dating begins.

5 stars / ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Really enjoyed this. Reminded me of The Only Black Girls in town as it looked at how having one person like you at school is not much different from being the only one. And of course with added fake dating! Listened to the audio, narrators were both great.