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cats33's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Bullying, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Biphobia, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
Moderate: Cursing, Racism, and Outing
Minor: Classism and Colonisation
lunep's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Some of the positive things I got from the book: I liked the characters, I thought Hani and Ishu's relationship was cute, and I liked how they grew as characters. I also liked Hani's relationship with her mom, it was really nice to see how accepting and understanding she was with Hani, and I liked that it was mentioned that they did have to readjust their expectations a little when Hani came out, but it was a Them Problem, not a Hani-Being-Bisexual Problem, it made me feel really warm to read all their interactions. And I also liked the relationship that Ishu and her sister developed, I'm a big enjoyer of sibling and sibling-like relationships where the siblings know they can count on each other even if they sometimes argue or disagree. I also really liked learning more about bangladeshi culture and Islam through the book.
However, the book itself had some things (I don't wanna call them problems bc they might be subjective) that made me not love it. I went into the book thinking it was a stand-alone, then when I had finished it I saw on here it was part of a series, so I thought "oh ok, maybe some of my grievances come from the fact that I had some expectations that shouldn't have been there, and will be addressed in coming book(s)" but I looked it up and there's no sequel, just a novella, so I'm back to my grievances.
The book deals with some heavy topics (it even has a Content Warnings page, which I liked) mostly racism, biphobia and lesbophobia, islamophobia, toxic friendships, and parental abandonement. But I'm not sure if it's because I've read about these topics before (I'm not trying to say I'm an expert on them, but I'm acquainted with them) or what, but I felt it was...kind of on the nose? Or like, too obvious? I'm not sure how to explain it correctly, I'm not trying to say these things don't happen irl, but while reading Hani deal with her friends, for example, Aisling and Dee's actions felt a little weird to me, like over-simplified, in spanish there's this expression "dar masticado" which translates literally to "to be given [something] chewed", which means simplifying a hard topic for easier understanding. To me the friends characters and the principal felt very 2D, with little nuance, kind of like their only purpose was to show "what these characters do is bad", so maybe this was better suited for someone who is just starting to foray into racism and biphobia? (It is a YA book, tbf, and I'm 24)
I also had some trouble with the ending of the book, and this is where the "oh, it makes sense if this is going to have a sequel" thing comes in. Because Hani and Ishu start fake dating so Hani's friends will take her seriously about being bisexual, and so Ishu can become Head Girl and thus prove to her parents that she's not going to "screw up" like her sister, whose shadow Ishu has felt she's been in her entire life, but towards the end something happens between Ishu and her parents, making her relationship with them more strained, and making her closer to her sister, and that plot-line, specially with the parents, doesn't get closed satisfactorily (I LOVED how Ishu and Nik's relationship grew tho); and the explanation we get for how Aisling acts since Hani tells them she's "dating" Ishu felt like BS quite honestly (which isn't to bash the author, because her intent might very well have been for it to sound like BS, because it also doesn't explain the biphobia and racism from before Ishu came into the picture), and Dee never grows as a character. So things seem to have been left open, and if it was intentional to make it open-ending, for me it didn't feel that way when I was reading. If you want the full explanation it's in the spoiler tag
And on Hani's side: After the cheating fiasco with Aisling, Hani is not sure who to believe, but ends up realizing it doesn't make sense that Ishu would copy off of Aisling, as Ishu always get stellar grades and Aisling doesn't, and confronts Aisling for being manipulative and a liar, and Aisling's only response is "ok I'm sorry I did that, are we friends again?", because apparently the whole reason she was a pos was that "she was jealous of Ishu because Hani has been friends with her and Dee all her life and she was changing", and when Hani tells her she needs time, Aisling throws a fit, Dee tries to defend her (saying "it was a mistake"), and finally Aisling tells Hani "Forgive me, don't forgive me. I'm definitely not apologizing to Ishita Dey" and leaves, and so does Dee. And while I don't expect a picture perfect ending where Aisling realizes she's a shitty friend, and gets over her biphobia and racism, we were shown a couple of times that Dee seemed to not always agree with Aisling, and sometimes go against her wishes in small ways, but like I said before, she doesn't get any development and she stays Aisling's follower until the end.
Graphic: Bullying, Racism, Biphobia, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcohol, Misogyny, Colonisation, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia
torrentsofhayl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Biphobia, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Cursing and Colonisation
zombiezami's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Biphobia, Bullying, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, and Racism
Moderate: Cursing and Alcohol
Minor: Colonisation, Pedophilia, and Animal death
juliannereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Biphobia, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Alcohol and Cursing
Minor: Sexual content, Colonisation, and Outing
scottyreadsstuff's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Racism, Lesbophobia, and Biphobia
Moderate: Islamophobia
Minor: Colonisation
lindseyhall44's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating follows one unlikely alliance as they team up to form a fake relationship which they both need, albeit for different reasons. Hani has recently come out to her best friends as bisexual, however they don’t validate her sexuality because she has never dated a girl. Ishu craves to meet her parent’s expectations of becoming head girl, but is not popular enough to secure the votes. Together their scheme will highlight individual growth, and just maybe kindle a true relationship in the process.
In all honesty, Fake dating is usually not a trope I love, because the third act miscommunication can often be pointless and frustrating. That being said, Jaigidar creates a believable and complex plot, which displays the growth of both characters extremely well.
Overall, I would recommend this book to any romance lover, as well as the author’s debut novel The Henna Wars!
*There are some more serious topics intertwined with the romantic elements so make sure to check trigger warnings before reading.
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Bullying, Lesbophobia, Racism, Islamophobia, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Abandonment and Alcohol
Minor: Colonisation
thedisabledreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Biphobia, Cursing, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Racism, Islamophobia, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Colonisation
luananki's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Bullying, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Racism, Biphobia, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Sexism and Colonisation
evieolive's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Moderate: Homophobia, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Biphobia, and Xenophobia
Minor: Colonisation and Racism