Such a great read for any YA reader, a beautiful queer story and a great plot! Thank you so much @netgalley for giving me my copy in exchange for an honest review

"We can enter the European Young Scientist Exhibition as a team." "That would show him, right? These two girls who he's been lying to this whole time, playing with, but he can't even beat us. He would hate that."

Rani Choudhury Must Die
By Adiba Jaigirdar
Genres: YA, contemporary, fiction, romance
4/5⭐️

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for this eARC.


This is a novel about two friends-turned-rivals who realise that they share a boyfriend and decide to get revenge on him by winning a massive science competition together, falling in love with each other along the way.

When we first meet our first protagonist, the impulsive and creative Meghna, she is meeting with her then-boyfriend Zak. This opening chapter paints her as a character who hates to think badly of others, as she brushes aside Zak’s lack of enthusiasm about her project. While she is furious at his cheating on her, she quickly sets her sights on revenge. Of the two protagonists, she’s the one who wanted to defeat Zak the most.


Throughout the book, we watch her try to beat Rani, only to find herself catching feelings as they become friends again, after five years of no contact after rumours about Meghna’s family caused most of their community to turn their backs on them, including Rani’s parents.

The first thing we learn about Rani is that she always succeeds, at least to the eyes of Meghna, whose parents seem to praise Rani at every turn. However, she had her own struggles, such as a mother who dictated what clothing and makeup she wore, and her parents’ assumptions that she and Zak would one day marry, despite her having no romantic interest in him.  She was clearly a very brave character, deciding to put her language app aside to create the totally new C.A.T app with Meghna.



Both protagonists had their own unique personalities and voices, it was easy to distinguish between their perspectives. They were such lovable characters, and I did find myself invested in their story.

One thing that often annoys me in rivals-to-lovers romances is when the characters aren't actual rivals. Fortunately, this was not the case here. For the first half of the book, Rani and Meghna bickered and disagreed about a variety of topics. In fact, it takes 27 chapters for even a hint of romance to bloom. It was so wonderful to watch the trust they had for each other grow, their romantic feelings subtly slipping in. However, I did feel like there was something missing that I can’t quite put my finger on.



From the first time we meet Zak onwards, I wanted to punch him. In the opening chapter, Meghna was clearly so excited to be chosen for the science competition and he tries to get her to back out, making her think it's because he cares when it's very evident to us readers that he's hiding something. The way he spoke about both girls behind their backs was disgusting. I hated how Rani's family adored him and ignored their brilliant daughter and her achievements. I’m glad we didn’t get to hear about his project in the finals, he didn’t deserve the attention of us readers, or of the two amazing girls he obviously didn’t care about.

The concept of Rani and Meghna’s ‘Catch A Two-Timer’ (C.A.T) app was interesting, though I did wonder why their teachers allowed an app revolving around tracking others’ online activity through downloading it without their permission to be entered in the competition, due to the ethics around spying on people.



When I read YA books set in Ireland, I'm always startled to find settings I'm familiar with, especially when the protagonists were in the same year as myself, at the same time of year as it is now. My school doesn't partake in the Young Scientist Exhibition, but in the last year of primary school we visited the RDS to see all the epic projects. It was very cool to read about characters partaking in it, though it was disappointing that the girls were the only females of colour at the European finals, and the only all-female group. It shone a light on the lack of diversity in STEM, even in 2024.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. As with Jaigirdar’s previous works, I highly recommend it to those interested in the genres. It’s quite a light, easy-to-read book. I will definitely consider purchasing a physical copy, as the book was released on the 14th of November 2024.



TWs: misogyny, racism, sexism, toxic relationship, gaslighting, infidelity

Queer rep:
Sapphic protagonists
Nonbinary sc
Lesbian sc

Adiba Jaigirdar has done it again!
Honestly this is just the cutest read and one for the STEM girlies. It full of friendship, banter, the toxic patriarchy (boo) and the fight for a women's rightful place in STEM.
The book really highlights the effects a patriarchal society has on women relationships, how they view other women and are frequently pitted against each other, in mindless rivalries. It also shows the wonderful side of friendships/relationships that can be made after that rivalry is overcome or put aside, which I adored.

I love this book!!! I’ll be honest it did take a while for me to get in cause I was just so eager to get to the revenge part, but in the end I rated this book 5 stars. I was so eager for Rani and Meghna to realise their feeling to each other and in the end it was so rewarding. As much as this is a romance I really appreciated the familial aspects of this book and I think a lot of South Asians will relate to it.

I liked this so much better than A Million to One. This book excited me where All For One disappointed me. It drew me in where A Million to One left me unengaged. I loved the story, I loved the characters and I loved the whole plot. The romance felt like a minor thing against the bigger plot, but honestly that was okay for me. I felt like these characters didn’t need a huge love story. The important part was them coming back into each other’s lives after being apart so long.

I loved the fact that this was centred on Women in Stem and showed school girls engaging in science and coding. It’s also addressed not only the lack of girls in these fields, but also the diversity with the characters being the only POC in the competition. I loved how it highlighted then Bengali identity through their projects as well as through the relationships with their parents in the story.

I love a revenge plot especially if it’s two girls who are getting revenge on a guy who cheated. This was that but with Sapphic love as a bonus. Though it didn’t have the heat that I like from Enemies to Lovers, I really enjoyed the way the plot went.

Definitely want to read more from this author now I’ve found a book I like!

Book Review - no spoilers

Rani Choudhary Must Die by Abida Jaigirdar

Meghna has one thing that perfect-can't-do-anything-wrong Rani doesn't...a perfect boyfriend like Zak. She is constantly tired of being compared to Rani, who has won the Young Scientist Exhibiton evey year she has entered, so for once Meghna has the upper hand.

Rani has problems of her own, she can't ever seem to be good enough for her parents and has decided this year at the Young Scientist Exhibtion she will push herself to win the contest for the whole of Europe.

However, the girls discover that Zak has been seeing them both. So these enemies have no choice but to bring Zak down and expose him as the cheat he is by working together for the Exhibition, where Zak is also competing.

As they work together they realise they may actually have feelings...for each other...

The movie buff inside me is screaming at this fun and sapphic twist on John Tucker Must Die...iykyk 😉

This book gave me all the feels and I loved learning more about the Bengali community and also I am in love with the representation in this novel, not with just the main characters but the supporting characters too!

The sapphic romance I feel came a little out of nowhere from Meghna's side and would love to have seen that built out more but it felt real from Rani. Zak was the perfect non-perfect boyfriend skilled at gaslighting.

I especially loved the fact that both Meghna and Rani are girls in STEM which is so great to see and we should encourage more girls to study in STEM as I am so sure they can make a positive influence in this world.

This is the second novel I have read from Abida, after Four Eids and a Funeral, and I enjoy her writing in the YA space and will definitely be reading more in the future!

Thank you to netgalleyand teambkmrk for giving me early access to this proof. Rani Choudhary Must Die is out today and happy publication day Adiba!

Favourite Quote:
"Because everyone else has always seen me as someone who shouldn't be capable. My parents want me to make myself smaller for Zak - or any guys, really - because they think I shouldn't take up space. Bengali aunties want me to be the same - worthy of being the perfect wife to some man at the expense of myself. Zak wants me to be good at science, but only so long as I'm worse than him.

Meghna, though, actually sees me as competition. She actually sees me as someone who she has to beat. Someone who has achieved things. Someone who's capable of things".

I really loved reading this. It was a short, cute read that I was immersed in from the first chapter. I love the concept of both girls getting revenge but then realising they should have been with each other. I'm sure it will resonate with so many people and allow a lot of people to feel seen. Especially with the implementation of the Bengali culture and then of course the representation of sexuality.

I really enjoyed reading and think a lot of people will feel the same.

If Adiba Jaigirdar writes it - I will read it and love it.
Out of all of her books so far I felt that this one was a little bit different. All her works focus on POC, and Muslim characters and have sapphic romantic relationships. However, this one felt like it could have been her first plutonic relationship. That could be attributed to the slow burn rivals to lovers storyline which allowed the relationship to slowly blossom and develop. But my interpretation of our two MCs felt like the story would have lent itself nicely to a plutonic relationship. But in saying that - this was still an amazing story.
At the heart this book really had something to say about the patriarchal society lends itself to the way women view relationships with other women. So frequently women are pitted against each other which causes rivalry for no apparent reason. But this story, this relationship been our two MCs showed how easy it is to overcome these masculine expectations and the amazing friendships and relationships that can come of it.
My only real gripe and issue with this book was the scientific element of the story. While not being a STEM girlie myself, I attend enough inter-school competitions to understand their structure. And some elements of the science completion outlined in this book didn't feel familiar to me. Similarly, our main character's entry crossed some ethical boundaries making me surprised it got accepted. I understand that these elements were addressed in the book but I question whether any teacher would allow their submission to begin with.
Overall, it's an amazing book that displays the power of friendship and camaraderie, the toxic patriarchal power and masculinity, and the power of STEM and women's rightful place within it. While the book did have some pacing issues the beauty of its writing keeps the reader captivated and rooting for the MCs throughout.

3.5/5

The novel pairs a STEM backdrop with a classic rivals-to-lovers trope as two Bangladeshi-Irish teens, Meghna and Rani—ex-best friends turned nemeses—find themselves dating the same guy. The story is packed with witty dialogue, emotional moments, and themes of ambition and reclaiming one's identity.

As the plot unfolds, the protagonists navigate the complexities of rivalry, betrayal, and rekindled connection. Jaigirdar’s use of dual POVs adds depth to each leading character, allowing readers to connect with their personal insecurities and cultural expectations.

While I enjoyed the smart banter and the deeper themes of identity, gender, and cultural expectations, some of the characters felt a bit one-dimensional. Rani and Meghna’s personal journeys had powerful moments, but their romance sometimes felt rushed and overshadowed by the revenge plot. Still, I admired how Jaigirdar integrated STEM into the narrative and represented girls of color in the tech industry.

Overall, this is a fun read for those who enjoy enemies-to-lovers tropes with a side of geeky mischief. Though it didn’t fully grab me, I’d still recommend it for fans of witty, inclusive YA romances.

Rani Choudhury Must Die is a really fun, contemporary YA with great representation. Of course it is an Adiba Jaigirdar book so you can expect Bengali main characters and sweet sapphic romance. Her books always feel so real and genuine, and this one is no exception. The friendships, the family tensions, the teenage emotions, all of it feels like peeking into the lives of real teens and their families. It is dual POV so we get to see the different perspectives of both protagonists.

Recommended to fans of contemporary YA. If you read and enjoyed The Henna Wars or Hani and Ishu's Guide to Fake dating, this very much has the same feel.

I've been a big fan of Adiba's work for quite some time, having devoured The Henna Wars and Hans & Ishu when they were both released. They're easily my favourite sapphic books to recommend.
This one was by no means my favourite and I feel The Henna Wars does still hold that spot, however this was another massive hit for me! I've been in a reading slump recently and nothing has managed to pull me from it until I read this in 2 days! Completely fell in love with Rani and Meghna and I Think Adiba definitely knows how to write some strong but flawed well thought out characters!
The only reason I think I didn't give this 5 stars was because it generally didn't give me that 5 star feel, but I felt there was also a little too much drama for my liking, with the hatred fro Rani and cheating with Zak. It was also definitely lighter on the romance until the final 20%. I don't usually enjoy the cheating trope but in this instance I thought it was done well and made me enjoy the story!
The writing style, as always, was so easy to flow through and I think that is what helped me devour this over the past two days because it was easy to digest without me having the pause to re-read anything I just read!
Definitely one of my favourite sapphic authors and will always continue to enjoy Adiba's stories I think!
Thank you to all who provided me the ARC. :)

This was a cute book, and I really enjoyed it, but it felt pretty slow in terms of the romance developing but also with the plot moving along. The academic rivals and competitive nature of the book was really unique, and helped develop the relationship between Rani and Meghna, which was helped more by the dual pov.

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.