Before I start, I would like to thank NetGalley and the Hachette book group for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. You can buy the book on Amazon here, and add it to your Goodreads here!
I also want to say that reviewing this book was so hard, because I had so many mixed feelings about everything that was going on. I struggled deciding on what to finally rate this book because there were so many aspects I loved, but there were also some that were lackluster.


When Dimple Met Rishi meets Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda in this rom com about two teen girls with rival henna businesses.
When Nishat comes out to her parents, they say she can be anyone she wants—as long as she isn’t herself. Because Muslim girls aren’t lesbians. Nishat doesn’t want to hide who she is, but she also doesn’t want to lose her relationship with her family. And her life only gets harder once a childhood friend walks back into her life.
Flávia is beautiful and charismatic and Nishat falls for her instantly. But when a school competition invites students to create their own businesses, both Flávia and Nishat choose to do henna, even though Flávia is appropriating Nishat’s culture. Amidst sabotage and school stress, their lives get more tangled—but Nishat can’t quite get rid of her crush on Flávia, and realizes there might be more to her than she realized.
Title: The Henna Wars
Author: Adiba Jaigirdar
Publisher: Hachette Books
Genre: YA, LGBTQIA+, OwnVoices, Contemporary
Representation: Bengali-Muslim main character, Bengali-Muslim side characters, Lesbian main character, Sapphic romance, Afro-Brazilian Love interest, Bisexual love interest, Korean side character & other Queer rep.
Trigger Warnings: Bullying, a character being publicly outed, Homophobia, Racism, Cultural appropriation
Final Rating: 3.5 stars

What I liked
The family + sibling relationships. AHH!! I LOVED THESE!! The relationship between Priti and Nishat was heartwarming. I feel a lot of others reviews cover how much they adored the sisterly love in this book, because it was TO DIE FOR!! However, one aspect I feel, is not mentioned as much, is the relationship between Nishat, Priti, and their parents. I loved the relationship Nishat had with her parents almost as much as the one she had with Priti… Although her parents were disapproving of her sexuality, and her being Lesbian in the beginning of the book, we see how they start making an effort and stepping out of their comfort zone for their daughter. They start watching Ellen DeGeneres, and researching about Lesbians in Pop culture to feel closer to their daughter, but just the way they react is beautiful.
The inspirational & moving messages. I love how the author combined so many important themes into this story. I also love how even after adding so many heavy themes, and topics, the story stayed a light fluffy read. A lot of contemporary novels cover these topics, and just don’t do justice to them. If you’re looking for a book that tackles issues like racism, homophobia, and so much more without getting too heavy, this is the book for you.
How each of the characters evolved, and grew from when they were first introduced. I loved how in ‘The Henna Wars’ you could clearly see the growth in every character mentioned. Not just the main character, but also minor characters, which helped create a sense of depth to all of them, and really bring them to life. It was also really interesting to see how all of them grew, and changed from their past selves introduced in the first few chapters.
What wasn’t my cup of tea
The writing style. I don’t think it’s just me, because I know a lot of readers felt the same way, but at times the writing style felt a bit childish and bland. I felt that the author chose themes that could have definitely been conveyed using more emotion, and she could have expressed her voice in a more powerful way.
The pacing. Like Ash said in her review, this book was really slow at points. It could definitely have a faster pace, and cut down on the excessive elaboration. It was droning, and kind of boring at times. According to me, this book definitely could have been faster at some points…

Overall!!
I’ve given ‘The Henna Wars’ a rating of 3.5 stars (as you can see above). Please don’t let that deter you from checking out this book, because it’s a beautiful, fluffy, OwnVoices, contemporary read (we need more books like these)!! Apart from the reasons stated above, I would give this book 3.5 stars, because I just couldn’t find myself relating with the story. Yes, it was just the break I needed from complex magic systems, but it wasn’t my type… A lot of bloggers I know have made this a favourite of 2020, though, so it’s always best to look at a range of opinions!!
Others reviews I enjoyed reading:
- Ash @ Starlight Strands expresses her love for ‘The Henna Wars’ in a mini review!
- Cotton Candy Book Witch also wrote a wonderful review on this book!
- Jess @ Comfort Reads wrote an amazing review on ‘The Henna Wars’
- May @ Forever and Everly convinces you to pick up one of her favourite titles of the year!

Have you read The Henna Wars yet? Are you excited to get yourself a copy?? What are other contemporary books with heavy themes and messages you enjoyed?


I want to read this book! I can’t wait to pick it up. I loved hearing your thoughts on this!
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thank you!! i hope you enjoy it when you get to it!!
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Lovely review! I picked this one up from the library the other day and I can’t wait to dive in 🙂
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thank you!! i hope you like it!!
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i’m happy to hear that you (mostly) enjoyed this book! the family/sister relationship was definitely one of my favorite parts of the book 🥺 i agree about the writing style though, hopefully it’ll be better in the author’s next book! and thank you so much for linking to my review ❤
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thank you!! i adored all the family relationships in the book, they were all so sweet 🥺 i loved reading your review, so it was no problem!! ❤
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Great review!! I heard lots of good things about this book!! I’ll try to check it out.
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thank you!! it’s a really nice book, i hope you enjoy it!!
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Great review!! I’ve heard a lot of great things about this book and I DEFINITELY want to read it!! I really appreciated your honest comments/critics.
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thank you!! even though it wasn’t perfect, it was a great read, so i hope you enjoy!!
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I absolutely agree with you Ahaana! Priti and Nishat had an incredible relationship, one of the biggest highlights for me in the book. I tend to be quite picky with YA contemporaries hehe but The Henna Wars was such a welcome surprise. Ooh complex magic systems? Could you give me a few recommendations? Many thanks!!
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thank you, eleanor!! priti and nishat did have an amazing relationship, and i feel like that was definitely one of the best parts of the book!! i’m so glad you enjoyed it!! i sent you some recs through your contact page:)
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Thanks so much Ahaana! Ooh Six of Crows was so good, the TV show is coming out in April!! I was so excited when I heard 😂
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I love family relationships in books, especially young adult and middle grade books, so I might try this one out! I don’t usually mind slow pacing in books so I feel like I might enjoy this one, thanks for your review!
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yes!! the family relationships in this were to die for!! i hope you enjoy it when you read it!!
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I’ve heard such great things about this book especially the siblings and family relationships ❤ lovely review, can't wait to read!
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yes!! the family relationships are the best!! it’s not perfect, but it’s still a super great read!! hope you enjoy it!! ❤✨
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You wrapped it up pretty well! This sounds like a nice book
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thank you!! i hope you enjoy it!!
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Sorry this wasn’t your favorite! I hate slow-paced books too, I feel like contemporaries need to be on the faster side for me to be interested! I’m glad you enjoyed the characters and relationships though.
Great review!
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ahh, it wasn’t a favourite, but overall still a great book!! same for me – i feel like contemporaries are meant to be those quick, light, fluffy reads! the characters and relationships were amazing!! thank you ❤
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I love how thorough this review is!! I’ve really been looking forward to it because of May and Ash’s reviews so I hope I’ll love it ❤
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thank you 🥺❤ it’s honestly a great book, but the blurb is a bit misleading, and i think you should be fine if you start reading knowing what to expect!! i hope you love it too x
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thank you for telling me!!
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I’m reading this right now for the Sapphics Book Club! (search @dykereads on IG if you would like to join, we have a discord and everything!) I’m loving it so far, and the narrator of the audiobook is great. I get why you could have mixed feelings though. Great review, and I love your blog!
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ooh, thats so cool!! i’m so happy you’re loving it, and trying out the audiobook!! i read the physical copy, so we might have different views on the pacing aspect of it! thank you so much 🥺❤
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I read this too and will be posting my review soon! I had similar thoughts haha
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i can’t wait to read your review!! it’s nice to know you had the same thoughts ❤
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[…] Ahaana […]
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[…] Ahanna @ Windows to Worlds […]
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Great review! I’ve been meaning to get my hands on a copy. Quick question, what does ARC mean?
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thank you so much!! i hope you enjoy it!! ARC stands for advanced readers copy, which is basically when an author, or publisher sends a blogger/booktuber/bokstagrammer a book before its release date for free, in exchange for an unbiased review!! if you search up ‘how to get ARCs’ on google, i’m sure you’ll find a ton of helpful results!! i hope that helped! x
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Ahhh okay thank you so much!
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[…] The Henna Wars: ⭐⭐⭐ [3.5/5 stars, review here!] […]
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I completely agree about what you said about Nishat’s parents and I haven’t seen in mentioned much either. They definitely had a rocky start but I love seeing how the relationship progressed, like the little things they did in the end was so sweet. The family was my favourite aspect of the book. I agree it wasn’t perfect in every way but I still really enjoyed. I LOVED reading your thoughts so much, thank you for sharing !! 💕💕
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yes!! i feel like although a ton of other’s reviews focused on the relationship between the sisterly bond between priti and nishat, the relationships amongst nishat and her parents were also wonderful to see – and i just loved the way they progressed as well!! the family relationships were also definitely my favourite part of this book!! thank you so much for commenting 🥺❤️
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This book is definitely in my TBR pile. Loved reading your review! I think I’m looking forward to it more now, especially because of your description of the family relationships! Great review, Ahaana! 💕
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a lot of people loved this book, so i can’t wait to read your thoughts once you’re done with it!! the family relationships were definitely amazing, so i hope you enjoy it if you end up reading it!! thank you!! 💖
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