Adiba Jaigirdar has done it again!

A sapphic rom-com novel, reminiscent of its namesake film (John Tucker Must Die) and other fabulous 90s movies, Rani Choudhury Must Die is a fabulous book for those who want to read about light-hearted lesbian shenanigans and teenage pining. With its dual narrative and enemies to lovers theme, it's hard to put the story down. It is also very unmistakably written by Jaigirdar, so - if you enjoy her other books (I'm speaking Hani and Ishu specifically) - you will love that her writing style doesn't stray from its unique brilliance.

Rani was my favourite character since, at times, I found Meghna ever so slightly too annoying, but I related a lot to both protagonists. They each have the perfect amount of Rachel Berry in them, combined with new traits and characteristics that made them both feel fresh and exciting!

I will be recommending this book to all the LGBTQ teens in the library I work in, but would also recommend it to people who have never read queer YA fiction before; it's a lovely way to discover the genre.

A sapphic romance about 2 girls who are ex best friends who find themselves cheated on by the same boy. I really like Adiba Jaigirdar's romance books. I always feel a spark between her characters. This book had a fun concept with the science competition, however I did feel I had to suspend my disbelief a little around it, The ethics of the girls decision was not right and there is no way a teacher would allow them to go as far as they did without pointing this out.

Two rivals team up to get revenge on the boy who wronged them both…

One of my favourite things about this book was the character development, especially Megha’s. It was absolutely stunning to see and showed real growth, which I loved to see as it took me time to warm to the characters initially but I grew to really like them all by the end of the book. I related to both of the main characters, as well as Megha’s brother, Bhaiya who was a side character. However, for this to be an enemies to lovers book, I felt like it was lacking as the two love interests did not feel like enemies, it was more like a one sided beef.

Originally, it did take me time to get into the story to the point where I felt like I couldn’t put the book down as I felt like it was a bit slow, as it was setting up the rest of the book so it was important that it took its time. It was around the 50% mark that i felt fully invested in the book and did not want to put it down. Although, some parts at the end did feel a bit jumpy as it kept going to different time periods that gave snippets, which I was not necessarily a fan of. One thing that I did really love about this book was how I could picture everything because of the vivid descriptions that created the most beautiful imagery.

I love how in Adiba’s books, she covers deeper topics that deserve so much attention and awareness and her ability to incorporate that into a YA book is incredible, as well as creating stunning sapphic POC books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder’s Children’s Books for the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for an honest review.

⚠️ CWs: colourism, sexism, gaslighting, cheating, cursing, spiking of drinks; mentions derogatory language, fatshaming, genocide, ⚠️

Overall, I did really enjoy reading Rani Choudhury Must Die (despite being confused as to why it's not 'Zak Must Die' as it's based on 'John Tucker Must Die' - although I do get that the girls hate each other almost more than Zak at points). I think Adiba is one of the best YA contemporary authors around at the minute, and I'll always buy their books for my library.

I am usually a sucker for sapphic enemies to lovers stories, but I will admit that I didn't feel like there was a huge amount of chemistry between the two characters here. For the most part, it just seemed like they genuinely disliked each other and/or they were so focused on Zak and destroying him, that it didn't leave much room for their romantic tension.

However, I did love the Romeo and Juliet-esque warring families dynamic, the miscommunications that occurred there, and how the girls overcame those and developed a better understanding of one another. I also liked that they weren't perfect people by any means- their science project was extremely unethical and I was glad that that was addressed (even though I was incredibly surprised their teacher initially thought it was a good idea!) and they did admit they were doing it for the wrong reasons. The last quarter of the story was by far my favourite for this reason (and the fact that it finally delivered on the promise of romance).

Overall, it wasn't my favourite of Adiba's, but I still very much enjoyed it and will be recommending it to my students.

Rani Choudhry Must Die is described as a sapphic rivals-to-lovers romance, but I’m not sure that’s entirely accurate since only one of the girls considers the other her rival.

This book follows Meghna and Rani who both seem to live in very similar circumstances, but both handle it in very different ways. Both care always compared (unfavourably) to someone else. Meghna is compared to Rani, and Rani is compared to Zak. But while Meghna hates Rani for it, and blames Rani for everything that happens in her life, Rani chooses to work harder in the hopes her parents notice her success. So when Meghna and Rani find out Zak has been dating the both of them, they both react in very different ways. Rani wants to team up with Meghna for the European science competition so they can beat Zak and get revenge, but Meghna wants revenge on them both. There was one point where Meghna went a little too far in her bid for revenge, and Rani actually told her off, which I thought was good. It was handled well in the book and it reminds readers that some things are dangerous.

Of course as the two start to work closely together, feelings develop. Rani had always been upset Meghna stopped talking to her and couldn’t understand why (which I thought was a little naive on Rani’s part because of everything that happened with their parents and the wider Bengali community). Meghna takes a little longer to realise her feelings.

In the end, I think they get the best revenge on Zak. It was an ending I wasn’t entirely expecting, but I loved it. It was the ending they needed. It’s the ending I think a lot of girls need to hear, but especially girls from a south asian background who might feel they cannot say no to their parents.

Despite being about revenge, this entire book was cute and heartfelt. I think it’s a must-read for people going through breakups (whether romantic or friendship) or for people just looking for a good sapphic romance.

DNF @ 60

Meghna was unfortunately an insufferable main character and a lot of the ire she had towards Rani was completely misplaced. By the time Meghna was showing a glimpse of character development, the book reached a point of being unreadable. We need a new term for books that think it's enemies to lovers when really it's just tepid mutual distrust. Rani was the only sensible person in this entire situation. Also, this follows a similar pattern to The Henna War and Hani and Ishu which made it feel almost predictable as to what was going to happen next. I think this might just be the last Jaigirdar book I'll read.

Will definitely have shelf appeal for the voracious teen romance readers in your library!
Enjoyable read,

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Children's Group for the ARC

A quick and easy YA romance novel. Rani and Meghna was once friends and then foes. After teaming up take down their Zak, who has been cheating on both girls, their feelings starts to evolve again. Do they actually hate each other?

I really liked the Bangladeshi representation in the novel. I always appreciate when foreign cultures are portrayed in books. I also thought the science an women in STEM part was great. While I liked Meghna and Rani together and enjoyed the chemistry, I couldn't really get a grip of exactly why they were enemies. Nonetheless a sweet and fun YA book.

Although I love the cultural representation and family dynamics in all of Adiba Jaigirdar's books (including Rani Chowdhury Must Die), I struggled to get on with the plot here and get behind the sometimes ethically questionable decisions that the characters made. This is also a concept (of two girls who have the same ex who cheated on them and then team up together to take him down) that I have read before and knowing how well this trope can be done I dont feel like this book measured up to its potential. The writing and characterisation are all amazing and I love the messy female characters so I can see how some people will adore this book with their entire soul but I am just not one of those people.

The most beautifully written sapphic enemies to lovers romance focusing on science, community, being Bangladeshi in Ireland, family, competitiveness and so much more. I loved the energy and storytelling, and the characters, and I'd definitely recommend this gorgeous book.

Adina Jaigirdar does it again - a superbly clever, emotional, and highly relatable joy that will be devoured by young people everywhere!

I really enjoyed this, as I do all this authors books. The characters felt so real, the plot was gripping, romance was lovely, overall i loved it

Meghna is surreptitiously arranging to meet her boyfriend Zak when we meet her, knowing her parents will not approve. But neither will his. They discuss the up and coming STEM competition in which Zak usually has success, as well as Rani, Meghna’s ex-best friend now rival. Meghna is tired of constantly being compared to this perfect example but this year she is determined it will be different.
Rani is used to being told what to do by her parents, which includes what to wear and also to meet up with Zak’s family as both sets of parents think they make the perfect match.
When all science projects in the local heat of the competition are displayed for judging and Meghna sneaks away from her own to see Zak’s she discovers he hasn’t been entirely honest.
One project which will help both girls expose Zak means the 2 of them working together and allowing previous grievances to be corrected and their true feelings to be explored and admitted not only to one another but also to themselves.
Some great friendships and supportive families.

I thought the basic premise of the book was flawed - the girls come up with a plan that's illegal, not just unethical, and their teachers say 'great idea! Go for it! - and that made the whole plot feel contrived. I didn't enjoy the character's relationship either - their reactions to each other felt plot-driven and not in character.
One thing this author does exceptionally well is creating layered family dynamics, and that is true of this book as well as her earlier works... but it wasn't enough to save the story.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I had a lot of fun with it! However, I still don’t particularly understand why Meghna hated Rani as much as she did & I feel like that could have been developed a little better. I also felt that at times (to me) the plot was moving very slowly and struggled to hold my interest, but it was still a great read that I would recommend to fans of YA romance!

Many thanks to Netgalley for this ARC!

Adiba's writing flows as always with characters who have great chemistry and a storyline to swoon for. I would recommend this as an easy read for all YA romance readers!