A review by maisiewrites247
The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

4.0

Content Warning: Racism, Homophobia, Bullying, Character being outed. The Henna Wars follows Nishat, who is Bengali, Muslim, and a lesbian. The story revolves around her coming out to her parents and taking part in a school business competition, where she competes with two classmates who also open a henna business. As a romance book, I wasn’t completely on board with the love interest because I think her views on henna were problematic, and because they were rivals for so much of the book, you couldn’t see any good qualities in her until towards the end, and she did have good qualities but I didn’t see enough of that. I also didn’t expect the racism and homophobia to be so rampant, mainly because I read Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating first and it wasn’t that extreme, but that’s my fault for assuming. My favourite character was Nishat and my least favourite character was Chyna. I recommend this book because it’s sapphic, it has an enemies to lovers vibe, and it’s a coming of age story. However I do not recommend it if you are triggered by racism or homophobia. I love Nishat and how she stands up for herself and the things she believes in. ‘What I want more than anything else in the world is to feel like being myself isn’t something that should be hidden and a secret.’