As Long as You Loathe Me

by Swati Hegde

When a teen tries to get back at her ex-best friend for stealing her crush, she ends up unexpectedly rekindling their complicated friendship and discovers that it’s not just her pride on the line, it’s her heart too.

Bring down the cheerleader. Just don’t fall in love with her.

Meera Rao-George is done being the dorky high school senior crushing on her neighbor Sushant, who only has eyes for cheerleader Lucy Hughson—Meera’s ex-best friend. After countless attempts to get his attention, Meera decides it’s time for a bold the Date Sushant & Dethrone Lucy Plan.

Lucy Hughson appears to have it a loving boyfriend, top grades, and a designer wardrobe. But beneath the surface, she battles anxiety, struggles with her identity, and questions her feelings for Sushant compared to what she felt for someone from her past.

As Meera cozies up to Lucy to execute her plan, she realizes her heart's at risk. Their friendship ended for a reason—a secret Lucy won’t confront. Now, she must reevaluate everything she thought she knew about herself, and what a real shot at love ultimately looks like.

Genres: Young Adult, Queer, Romance, Contemporary, Lesbian, LGBT, Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

Expected publication March 31, 2026

About the author

Swati Hegde is the author of Can’t Help Faking in Love and Match Me If You Can. She is also a freelance editor, mindset coach, and self-proclaimed coffee shop enthusiast who lives in Bangalore, India, and can often be found at the nearest café with a hot mug of tea or singing her favorite songs off-key at karaoke night. She looks forward to a long career bringing Indian stories and voices to light.

Swati is represented by Rachel Beck at Liza Dawson Associates. Her romance novels Match Me If You Can and Can't Help Faking in Love are out now from Penguin Random House, with forthcoming books As Long As You Loathe Me releasing on March 31 and Love Beyond Reasonable Doubt slated for May 12.

Find her on Instagram @SwatiHegdeAuthor.

Reviews

[SJARR ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mean girls, but make it sapphic? Say less.
This story is what young adult, rom-com dreams are made of.
I need this to be made into a movie. Like, today. Maybe even yesterday.

PERFECT for lovers of:
- Sapphic romance
- Young adult romance
- Enemies to lovers
- Plotting/scheming trope

Meera and Lucy used to be best friends.
That is, until Lucy randomly ended the friendship after a summer away and started dating Sushant, the boy Meera was in love with.
Two once best friends are now sworn enemies.
Meera devises a plan to take Lucy down and steal her boyfriend. But things don’t always go as planned, and her scheme to get the guy may just end in her getting the girl instead.

I love, love, loved this.
This story somehow feels like pure nostalgia. I can’t explain it, but this is exactly what a younger version of myself thought high school was going to be like.
I would read this even if it was 1000 pages long. I was just that into it.
The drama, the tension, the romance. Give it to me.

I was crying and begging Lucy to finally open up to meera throughout this entire thing. I fear secrets and miscommunication will be the death of me.
Of course, when things work out and she gets the girl, I am inevitability brought back to life. Thank you Swati.

Love the representation here!
Meera, her parents and Sushant were all Indian. We get to see some culture that doesn’t typically get a lot of appreciation in books.
I thought it added a very nice flare.

Also, the writing? Spectacular.
This is the kind of book that I could probably read in a single sitting if I tried. It is just so fun and well-written, you can really fly through it without even realizing.

Perfection overall!! I will probably remember this forever. MY QUEER MEAN GIRLS RETELLING!

Huge thank you to Netgalley, Random House Children’s Books | Delacorte Romance and author Swati Hedge for providing me with the eARC of “As Long as You Loathe me”, in exchange for my honest review!
Publication date: March 31st, 2026

[Cross Nelda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enemies to lovers at its finest. This book had all the banter, tension, and delicious drama I could want, and it delivered it in such a fun, bingeable way. The characters had sparks flying every time they were on the page together, and the romance hit that perfect mix of swoony and chaotic.

Fast-paced, witty, and full of moments that made me grin like an idiot. This one was pure fun from start to finish.

[Lily | The Bi Library]

Bring down the cheerleader Just don't fall in love with her.

A girl tries to get back at her ex-best friend for stealing her crush, but ends up unexpectedly rekindling their complicated friendship in the process and discovering that it's not just her pride on the line, it's her heart too

A sapphic rivals to lovers romance with a bisexual Indian-American main character!! Let's goooo

[Liv Knight · Rating 2 out of 5]

thank you netgalley for this arc!!!

i’m really sad to say that i am simply too old to enjoy this in the way it was meant to be enjoyed. HOWEVER im not making this review/rating based on that and i absolutely acknowledge that im not the target audience for this. my big issue with this book is that i really struggled to root for the romance, or even for good things to happen to the characters. i love romance books of all types and usually it’s not a problem i have, but here it feels weak and nonsensical and the characters are selfish and harmful to other people around them. the pacing in this book really made these flaws noticeable, and it took wayyy longer than necessary for character redemption and even the actual main romance to start. i wanted to like this so so bad, but unfortunately i came out of it disappointed.

[Brooke! · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is one of the best sapphic books i have read! i tore through the end of it! i love a good dual pov book and i loved how each chapter had a song! meera and lucy i will always think of yall!!!! make sure to read this when it comes out in march!

[maci · Rating 4 out of 5]

toxic in the best way?? like did all of the characters kinda suck? well yes. but after the slow start, i was in it. also loved the pansexual frenchman everyone came out to.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had such a great time reading this. It's basically toxic teen yuri/dirtbag teenage girls who are ex-friends in a Regina George and Janis Ian kind of way. From the cover* and blurb, I was expecting it to be fun but relatively "PG" (if that makes sense), but I was pleasantly surprised that these characters feel like the almost graduated seniors that they are. Admittedly, I don't really read too much YA these days, but I can't remember the last YA book I've read where the characters actually swear.

Lucy and Meera are both so messy, and I love that for them. These are two girls who had an obsessive, close friendship that ended disastrously when Lucy couldn't handle her attraction to Meera. What Lucy does is incredibly cruel, but don't worry — Meera is acting so normal about it as she plots her revenge. In the middle of it all is a male character who is basically a chew toy for their proxy war. I lowkey feel bad for him, but not enough that I like the girls any less. (Let girls be problematic!)

Anyway, I need more sapphic books with this level of unhinged behavior. It is DELIGHTFUL.

*I have to mention the cover because while it's cute... Meera literally only ever wears black. Like that outfit on the cover isn't her at all. It's so unfair because Meera is the goth weirdo to Lucy's attempts to be the sweet cheerleader, which is such a classic F/F dynamic.

[Socks2945 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's Books for a copy of this book.
All opinions are my own.
Review
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. While I had a slow start with it, I grew to really like the characters and root for them. By the 50% mark, I felt emotionally invested in it and could not put it down because I wanted to know what would happen. Overall, I’d rate the book 4/5 stars.
This book made many references to early 2000s and 2010s pop culture, and as someone who grew up listening to Taylor Swift and watching Mean Girls, I really liked how this book would reference them in a way that would relate to them, but not to the point where it got tiring. I also enjoyed that the author would list a song per chapter because I got to listen to the song on loop to set the mood for what I was about to read.
I enjoyed how the author wrote the characters. I knew I’d be invested in Meera and Lucy’s stories, but I didn’t realize how invested I would be in their friends’ storylines, or when new characters showed up. It was easy to see why they made the decisions they did and how they ended up where they did.
While I really enjoyed this book, there were a couple of things that I think could’ve been improved. Without spoiling the book, I will say the resolution felt a little rushed. I felt like almost all the characters needed to have deeper conversations with each other than those shown in the book. The lack of depth in the resolution made it feel like we were just skipping to the end.
Again, I really did enjoy this book. The characters were relatable, easy to understand, and overall fun. The story, while it did fall into some tropes, did feel unique and thought-provoking. I really enjoyed a quote from Lucy when talking about her love for rom-coms and books that aren’t as well-regarded: "Books that spark joy and love are just as important as books that start conversations,” and I think that really made me rethink how I refer to the books I enjoy. Thank you for this amazing read, and I can’t wait to see what you have next.

[Vee Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing is what it seems in this debut YA novel by Swati Hegde. Meera is a typical teenager whose best friend abandoned her and stole the boy she had a crush on, her neighbor Sushant. Her former best friend Lucy is head cheerleader, beautiful, and popular. Meera is fed up and creates a “Mean Girls” style plan to bring her down and steal back the boy that she wanted first. Another problem Meera needs to tackle is Café Kismet. Meera’s dads’ café is on the verge of closing and she has a brilliant idea…keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer. Meera can use Lucy to bring in business and to bring her down. What could go wrong?

This book transported me back to my childhood! It captured the essence of identity, crushes, and love. The dad with the tarot cards was incredibly sweet and made me laugh out loud. The dads were amazing and supported Meera, but they also allowed her to make her own mistakes and embrace her true self. It is so hard to be who you want to be and show who you are and when you are in a small town, your business is on full display. The courage these FMCs showed was empowering. Also let’s applaud Sushant and Julien who were incredibly nice guys. They supported the FMCs no matter what. This is a great example of friendship. All the side characters were well-developed and beautifully written. The plot was engaging and entertaining, and I couldn’t put it down. I stayed up way too late reading this, but it was worth it. The story was beautiful, and I could feel the passion and heart that went into writing it. Well done!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's Books for the ARC, my opinions are my own.

[Agathon · Rating 3 out of 5]

As Long as You Loathe Me separates itself from the back with a diverse set of characters. Swati Hegde's writing is manages to capture the poignancy and pain of young love among the turbulent seas of expectations and identity. With a healthy, diverse supporting cast, Meera and Lucy find themselves in this heartfelt and sweet coming-of-age story.

The youthful nature of the story shows cracks in Hegde's writing, where often times the characters aren't speaking like any seventeen or eighteen year old I've ever met, but with the wisdom and eloquence of people in their thirties. At one point Lucy delivers a compelling speech about the values of light romance novels, and its hard to not hear it as the author using her characters as a mouthpiece.

That said, Meera, with all of her messy flaws, is a wonderful protagonist and the effortless inclusion of her heritage and culture helps the world feel like a lived-in and vibrant place. I was also happy to see the attention and care given to healing different types relationships throughout the book.

Overall, its lovely and warming story with a good message and representation, though lacking in ways that strained my suspension of disbelief. Thank you Delacorte Romance for the book review consideration via NetGalley and it is written with full honesty.

[Heather Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

📖Book Review: As Long as You Loathe Me by Swati Hegde
⭐️ 3.5/5

This book was such a sweet, heartwarming read. At its core, it’s about two ex–best friends who find their way back to each other and realize their friendship has always been something more. I loved the high school setting because it perfectly captured that time in life where you’re still figuring out who you are, what you want, and who you love. Everyone thinks they have their life mapped out in high school… until they don’t. Swati Hegde really nailed that messy, exciting, and terrifying part of growing up.

What stood out to me most was the perspective on falling for someone of the same sex for the first time, the mix of exhilaration and fear felt so honest and real. Meera and Lucy’s relationship had such a natural progression, and I loved how the dual POVs let us see both sides of their feelings. And I wouldn’t complain if we got a spinoff about Natalie and Julien’s Parisian romance; I was invested in them too!

Overall, this was a really cute, sweet story that captures the highs and lows of love and self-discovery in high school. Solid 3.5/5 stars from me.

[Cally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really struggled to get into this one. I loved the plot idea, it reminded me of Mean Girls. However, I didn't really feel any chemistry between Lucy or Meera, which made it hard to buy into. For me, too much of the book was focused on Meera and Lucy loving Sushant, and the transition to them loving each other seemed rushed and hard to believe.

There were a few things I liked, such as Lucy's struggle with her identity. I felt it was very similar to what a lot of younger adults go through when coming out. Lucy's mom's character in particular reminded me so much of many unsupportive members of my own family, it was almost triggering at times, yet very realistic. I also enjoyed Lucy's heart to heart with Julien and her having him as a confidant.

Overall, this book while maybe great for some readers, wasn't quite my cup of tea. I liked the idea, but the execution of the romance didn't quite live up to my hopes. 3.1/5 stars.

[Catie Belle · Rating 5 out of 5]

In love with this book! So grateful to be an ARC reader for this one. Pop culture fun, including songs as your chapter titles plus a Playlist.
The pansexual representation in this book was especially BEAUTIFUL, as were the other queer representations. I mean, the cover is super cute and clever with its pansexual and bisexual flag colors for our main characters.
The messy drama was well done. I know at times early on, I would mildly question some of the naive and immature moments.. But oh yeah, they're teenagers graduating high school and figuring out their own identities. That's gonna be messy and immature sometimes. Also I don't remember those moments anymore anyway, because this book was just so entertaining.
The love triangle miscommunication besties to enemies to lovers whole big mess.. This easily could have been cheesy or too immature. But Swati wrote it all so perfectly. Even the acknowledgement made me tear up.
If you want a queer version of You Belong With Me turned Mean Girls, this is your book!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so much fun! Meera and Lucy had a great friends-to-enemies-to-lovers dynamic, and loner girl-cheerleader romances are one of my favorite types of pairings. I also kind of wanted Meera’s dads to adopt me. However, out of everyone, the exchange student Julien was hands down my favorite character. I do wish the other supporting characters had been a little more fleshed out since they felt somewhat surface level to me, even Sushant.

The song titles at the start of each chapter weren’t really my thing, but probably would appeal more to fans to the songs being mentioned.

While this is minor, Madre Maria being a mostly vegan town but somehow also anti-gay stood out as unrealistic to me. If such a vegan utopia existed, it’d be the most queer-friendly place on the planet. People with empathy for animals tend to have empathy for humans, too. Also, a large percentage of vegans are LGBTQ+.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meera and Lucy have gone through an intensely traumatic friendship breakup after being besties for years. It’s clear that they’ll always be in each other’s orbit at the same school, but Meera feels incredibly burned because Lucy isn’t talking to her anymore AND she’s dating her long term crush Sushant. It all feels incredibly targeted and evil. Meera comes up with a plan to break them up to get to Sushant which brings Lucy back into her orbit.

This was billed to me as way more sapphic than it actually turned out to be, but I did enjoy the identity narrative that was woven throughout this book. It felt very true to my own high school experience of planning your future around your teenage relationship and the endless worry around what life after high school will actually be like.

This is going to be a big hit with my middle schoolers who want the drama of teen romance without the sexually explicit bits!

3.5/5 stars
Pub. Date: March 31, 2026

[Kate Connell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lesbian best friends/enemies to lovers romance is right up my alley!

Meera and Lucy were best friends, until one year when Lucy returned from summer camp with a new car, a new attitude, and a new best friend. To make matters worse, she started dating Sushant, Meera's next-door neighbor and longtime crush. A year later, Lucy and Sushant are going strong, in the running for prom royalty and planning their collegiate futures around each other. As Meera watches from the sidelines, she comes up with a plan to win the boy and get back at Lucy for ditching her. But when she and Lucy start to get close again and Meera's time spent with Sushant isn't what she imagined, who knows that the future holds?

I recommend this book to fans of romance, sapphic literature, friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, and tarot cards.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this novel.

[Fallon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5⭐️This book was quite a refresh from some other books I had read recently which I found myself struggling through. This book felt honest, light and easy to read. I found the characters funny and relatable and the plot to be cheesy but not in a bad way. I enjoyed the representation of people of color as well as a nonbinary character, pansexuality (which I find is not as often represented) and representation of anxiety, though I wish the later was dug into a little deeper than the surface level that the book seemed to do. This was a quick and easy read as aforementioned and I got through it in just a day.

TLDR: Read if you are looking for a funny lighthearted and easy YA read with good representation and an adorable sapphic couple.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for letting me read this book early in exchange for an honest review!

[Kat Brownell · Rating 5 out of 5]

 absolutely adored reading Swati Hedge's YA novel As Long As You Loathe Me. While it had some Mean Girl vibes, I love that we are in an era where young people are actually nice to each other. When I was young, young people were the absolute worst, but now every young person I know is inclusive and friendly and wants to make the world a little better for everyone, and I'm here for it. In that vein, there aren't really any bad guys or severely unlikable characters in this book. Everyone is simply doing the best they can with the cards they've been dealt. And it's also super queer and extremely multicultural. Really just the perfect book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[twoey (rachel q.) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice little romcom Mean Girls retelling about queer kids in SoCal by the queen of Desi romance, Swati Hegde.

While I’m not the biggest romance or YA reader, Swati always really impresses me with her stories. I can always count on her to write the perfect cozy coffee shop romance. But this time around was different- I think she’s an incredibly strong YA author, and the story of these girls coming to terms with themselves and each other was so poignant. As a former teenage girl myself, the narrative voice feels really authentic to that of a young person, with all of the confusion and naiveté that comes with it. A sweet book overall!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Rivulet027 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meera and Lucy are both so messy! I was expecting Meera, with her plan to take down Lucy and date Lucy's boyfriend Sushant, to be messy, but then Lucy stepped in with her reasons for making Meera loathe her and dating Meera's crush to ensure the loathing stuck and I was hooked! I think that having each girl's pov for half a chapter really added to the urgency and fast pace of this book. I really loved the supporting characters! Also Sushant is the sweetest. I really enjoyed the addition of French exchange student Julien, especially since it takes Lucy a moment to warm up to him. It's especially interesting to watch the two girls longing for each other even though they're doing their best to justify why they can no longer be friends. Lucy's mom also stressed me out, but it was very mature of Lucy to reconized her mom's flaws while doing the her best to stay safe.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Lindsay Ottens · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you NetGalley

Messy, Heartfelt, and Totally Charming
As Long As You Loathe Me by Swati Hegde is a delightful sapphic YA romance full of culture, chaos, and complicated feelings. Meera Rao-George and Lucy Hughson’s friendship-turned-rivalry crackles with tension, awkwardness, and real emotion. I loved how Hegde weaves in Meera’s Indian heritage and family life while exploring identity, belonging, and love in all its messy glory.
It’s funny, heartfelt, and a little bit dramatic—in the best high school way. Perfect for fans of slow-burn rivals-to-lovers and stories that celebrate both friendship and finding yourself.

[RStanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Children’s for this arc for my honest review.
4 out of 5 stars/Dual pov First person(Meera and Lucy)
Meera and Lucy used to be best friends but now they are more like enemies. Meera’s main goal now is to take Lucy down by breaking up her relationship with Sushant who is also the boy that Meera is in love with.
Will the scheme to get the guy work or will Meera realize that maybe she never wanted the guy to begin with?
I loved this book. I was cheering both Meera and Lucy on as characters the whole time.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very invested in the plot and enjoyed the Mean Girls influence. There is great representation and side characters. The characters felt like typical teenagers who make mistakes but you’re still able to root for. My biggest issue is I wish there was a little more about Meera’s feelings before the kiss because it felt a little sudden. Overall, I recommend if you’re into light enemies to lovers.

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

📚What happens when a mean girls inspired scheme has the power to unite you with the love of your life but could also erupt your friendships and leave you questioning your identity?

✨Thank you to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

https://open.substack.com/pub/thedear...

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s Books for the eARC!

A solid YA with a fun, Queer twist on Mean Girls. Meera’s messy and sometimes hard to root for, but the dynamic with Lucy is cute and clever. It leans a little cringe at times, yet still delivers a quick, entertaining read with heart.

[Rainy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for this arc for my honest review.

This is a cute and easy YA sapphic read. It gives Mean girls/John Tucker Must Die Vibes. I thought it had great POC and a spectrum of LGBTQIA+ representation.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up

[Ana Lime · Rating 2 out of 5]

so fanficy. it was less mean girls inspired and more a direct retelling. Meera was the worst tbh. Lucy would benefit from some meds. very easy read, you are told everything and allowed to infer or interpret nothing. had fun and devoured in 2 days!

[Swati Hegde · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so excited to share my debut YA romance with you! As Long as You Loathe Me is perhaps my most personal book yet: an amalgamation of my love for Mean Girls, Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me" music video, and my Indian roots--but it's also the story I wrote while I was coming out as bi and coming to terms with that unresolved crush I'd had on the popular girl in high school decades ago. I know parents aren't supposed to have a favorite kid, but ALAYLM is mine.

Here's what you can expect from As Long as You Loathe Me:
💛 f/f friends-to-rivals-to lovers romance
🩷 Mean Girls x Never Have I Ever
💛 bi Indian-American FMC
🩷 pan FMC with anxiety
💛 coming out story
🩷 gay tarot-reading Indian dad
💛 "Do I hate her or do I want to kiss her?"
🩷 Swati Hegde™️brand of slowburn

Buckle up for some chaotic teen romance!

Love hard & dream big,
Swati