Heartbreaker: John Tucker Must Die meets To All The Boys I've Loved Before in this irresistible YA romcom!

by Anika Hussain

He broke her best friend's heart, so now Saachi plans to break his. May the best heartbreaker win . . .

Saachi would do anything for her best friend. So when school bad boy Fahim breaks Mona's heart, Saachi is hellbent on getting revenge. It's time to put him in his place once and for all.

And so begins Operation Heartbreaker: Saachi will make Fahim fall in love with her and then pull the plug on him - just like he does to every girl he's ever dated. Simple.

Except as she spends more time with Fahim, against her better judgement, she finds herself falling for him. Unable to talk to Mona about her mixed emotions, and with the mission veering dangerously off course, Saachi will have to embrace her role as a heartbreaker or potentially end up with her own heart broken . . .

A fiery and fun enemies to lovers romcom, for readers of Jenny Han, Joya Goffney and Adiba Jaigirdar.

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Enemies To Lovers, Contemporary Romance, Fake Dating, Contemporary, Audiobook

336 pages, Paperback

Published May 8, 2025

About the author

Anika Hussain was born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden but currently lives and writes in Bristol. She is a graduate of the Bath Spa MAWYP. Not having seen herself in the books she read as a teenager, Anika writes YA novels with South Asian characters at the heart of the story.

In her free time, Anika rewatches Love Island, listens to too many true crime podcasts, and sings pop-punk songs loudly around her apartment.

Anika is represented by Alice Sutherland-Hawes at ASH Literary.

Reviews

[Anika · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's my own book... of course I love it!

But mostly, you will love it too if you like:

🩷a headstrong MC who will stop at nothing to avenge her best friend
🩷a love interest that will have you swoooooooning
🩷a fiercely loyal friendship group for the ages
🩷schemes schemes and more schemes
🩷there's only one bed (hehehheeh)

[Ayushi (bookwormbullet) · Rating 5 out of 5]

omg this was SOOO CUTE!!! love seeing so much of my culture in Anika Hussain's books <3 and I appreciate how she writes such refreshing topics and family dynamics for a South Asian & Bengali novel. And this Bengali teen romance was truly so adorable :)

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

YA teen romcom about a strong fmc who will not stop until she gets revenge at the boy who broke her best friend’s heart.

AAAAAHHH I had a blast reading this book!!!
The besties group chat? Hilarious. The revenge operation? Diabolical. The South Asian, Bengali, rep? Amazing.

Oh how I love to read about different cultures that make me learn new foods!! My mouth was watering every time they went to grab a bite. Have I ever had it? Nope. Will I want to try it now? YUP.

Saachi’s best friend, Mona, got ghosted by Fahim: a well known heartbreaker. So now Saachi is out for revenge: make him fall in love with her and then break his heart.

The only problem is, now that Fahim and Saachi have some alone time and are getting to know each other on a deeper level, he doesn’t seem so bad after all. And why do they both feel so comfortable talking about their family issues to one another?

Honestly such an enjoyable story

[Anahita Karthik]

Heartbreaker is the epitome of how a YA romantic comedy needs to be written, and the fact that it is desi is the cherry on top of the icing. I hadn't read a book by a Bangladeshi author before this one, but I'm head-over-heels in love, and you can best believe I'll be on the hunt for more Bong stories, not just by Anika Hussain, but by more Bangladeshi authors!

I was literally annotating every other line because the book is so ridiculously funny, cute, feisty, and flirty! This is the perfect example of how a teen romcom needs to be paced, placed, and written. Obsessed can't even begin to describe how much I adore this book and how sat I am for everything by Anika Hussain.

I loved Sachi and how much of a firebrand she was, and even though she made plenty of wrong decisions through the book, I was rooting for her and defending her mentally throughout. I loved the twins, Mona, and the girls' group chat—those made me crack up so hard. Fahim, oh Fahim, that boy is the SMOOTHEST flirt of a love interest I've encountered, and I was giggling and kicking my feet at every interaction of theirs. Their back-and-forth—with Sachi's raging insults and Fahim's clever comebacks—had me rooting for them, and their chemistry was ugh, perfect! They reminded me of Devi and Ethan from Never Have I Ever, though Fahim is an absolute sweetheart and golden boy, as opposed to Ethan's bad boy persona, haha.

Also, that first line has to be one of the funniest first lines I've ever read, it sucked me in immediately: My hands don’t even shake as I carefully draw as many teeny tiny asses as I can on Fahim Saha’s ridiculously expensive trousers. Like, how on Earth can that not make you want to read on?

I also loved Abba, he was the coolest, most understanding dad ever (which is rare for a desi dad, lol), and Dev, the little, sweet, innocent devil that he was. As someone who has two younger brothers, I could totally relate to the relationship Sachi shared with him. I've usually read books with desi-American characters, but it was a fun change-of-space to read about desi-British characters in a Bristol setting! Again, the chats included within the book will remain one of my favourite parts of the book besides the Sachi x Fahim banter.

SPOILER: I also really like the conversations about postpartum depression and Sachi's complicated relationship with her mother, but I don't fully think I could've been able to forgive her had I been in Sachi's position.

Thank you to Anika for sending me the ARC!

[brontësaurus]

pre-read
if this does not satisfy i am prepared for imminent psychological trauma. and pie.

[Cyd’s Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for approving me to read this book, I’m rating it 4.0 stars.

This YA romance had a lovely mix of tropes that made for a genuine build up of a connection with hurdles along the way that made it that much more special when the happy ending came.

I like the fact that the characters had individual hurdles that affected their connection, but also allowed us to see them grow and heal in some shape or form.

Desi culture which was well represented in this story and I loved the references to the culture throughout.

If you are a fan of to all the boys I loved before, scheming friends with revenge on the brain, a fierce FMC and charming MMC then you will absolutely love this.

[Zela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Das Buch war so CUTEEEE I CAN‘T ich habe es so genossen zu lesen. Einerseits fand ich es interessant das die Kultur so aufgegriffen wurde damit man mehr darüber erfahren konnte und andererseits war es so süß wie es geschrieben war. Ich habe die beiden geliebt und hab die ganze Zeit mitgefiebert und rumgeschrien innerlich, weil ich love Stories LIEBE die enemies to lovers vibe geben. Deswegen 5⭐️💖

[Léna · Rating 3 out of 5]

j'ai bien aimé sans plus, c'était un copier coller de TATBILB... l'alchimie était pas sensationnelle et les personnages pas super attachants, et au final on s'en fout de la mère???? bref, sympa et mignon mais c'est tout.

[saachi (taylor's version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh this was the cutest ever!!! loved the character development and the friendship dynamics shown in this one

[Léanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO GOODDD I LOVED THIS. I loved the John Tucker must die vibes.

[Nushie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 🌟

as a brown girl who LOVES a good YA romance, I really enjoyed this book! An easy to read book (I finished it in one sitting) with a classic enemies to lovers trope and some good character development. There were bits that felt easily resolved but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment overall.

Thank you Netgalley and Bonnier Books for the ARC 🥰

[Anusha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know how I feel about the bestfriend’s ‘ex’ trope but I was pleasantly surprised by this book! Appropriately paced, cute and had lots of overarching storylines which kept the book varied. My one minor complaint is I don’t like how at the end everyone turned on our fmc when yes she did some problematic things but they were also in the wrong at points??? But it’s still a 5 star read xx

[Bookishemx · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the perfect blend of fun and swoony romance, packed with witty banter and undeniable chemistry.

Saachi is out for revenge after her best friend, Mona, gets ghosted by none other than Fahim. With the help of her tight-knit friend group, she hatches a plan: date him, then break his heart. But, of course, things don’t go as planned.

I absolutely loved watching the relationship between Saachi and Fahim unfold. Their interactions are so charming and full of tension—you can’t help but grin as it becomes clear he’s completely smitten, even if she refuses to believe it. The flirty banter had me giggling, and I kept turning pages just hoping for more scenes between them.

The group chat added a fun, authentic layer to the story—it’s one of my favorite tropes, and it was done so well here. Both Saachi and Fahim are dealing with personal struggles, which are revealed slowly and sensitively, and I appreciated how they showed up for each other in the end.

I’ll definitely be picking up more from this author. The vibrant settings, strong family themes, and heartfelt storytelling really stood out. If you love any of these tropes, this book is a must-read:

✨️Enemies to lovers

✨️Only one bed

✨️Cocky male main character

✨️Revenge plot

✨️Young adult romance

[Leonie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not investing to me at all like I couldn’t stand the MC she was just so annoying and jarring to me that I was pretty much not interested for this book at all I was disappointed a little because I wanted to love it but I didn’t and I felt bored reading this too

[ruq ౨ৎ⋆.˚⟡ ࣪ ˖]

if any of you came to me and said you wanna date my ex to get back at him i would smack you so hard😭 actually the dumbest thing ever i can’t wait to hate read🫶🏼

[Lorna Bromwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in Bristol, Sixth form students and long-time school rivals Saachi and Fahim are your usual teenagers, both working through some family dramas. They find themselves spending more time together after Saachi vows she will get revenge on Fahim for ghosting her best friend or "Operation Heartbreaker". But Saachi didnt count on their natural attraction and similarities, they both begin to open up to each other and the operation starts to fall apart, and her friends arent happy with the way she handles it, can Saachi figure out a way to have it all?

This was a really nice quick read for me, and i loved sassy Saachi and how cute the dates were. Desi culture galore with Mindy Kaling's "Never Have I Ever" vibes, this coming of age romance has family drama, school scheming, personal growth and some wit thrown in.

Themes
❤️ Young Love 👩‍🏫 Sixth-form Setting
🇧🇩 Desi Culture Representation
💞 Enemies to Lovers 🧑‍🧒‍🧒 Family Drama

With thanks to Netgalley, the author and Bonnier books UK for this e-ARC

[Shena · Rating 5 out of 5]

No notes just pure perfection

Loving the south asian representation and all the desi content
Loving the brownies like we need more of them in the book community hello!!

The plot was easy to spot but also so perfectly done, let’s bsff fahim was a GONER from the start, it’s not “playboy” it’s “yearning because he can’t have her so tries to fill the gaps”
Mona lowk pmo the half of the book, like who falls head over heels after a few interactions and texts, genuinely get a grasp. And she was so indecisive and kinda 2 faced the whole time, same for the twins who just ghosts their best friend without hearting 2 sides of the story, especially after you know she has nobody #sachidesversbetterfriends

Overall the book was so good, I loved the reconciliation of Sachi and her mum at the end, and fahim and hers story overall the “i hate you” I love you trope always gets me and she’s so hard headed but he’s willing to deal my god.
Like I said pure perfection 5⭐️
(Bring more brown baddies into the book world please 🙏)

[milliereadsalot · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very fun time reading this - I really felt the connection between Fahim and Saachi, and watching the romance (reluctantly, on Saachi's part) build up was so cute. There's also some great friendship dynamics, which I always love to see especially in YA. Admittedly at times the main character was a bit jarring, and I definitely needed the side characters around her to balance her out so I didn't get too annoyed (because why didn't she just talk to her best friend, and vice versa?). Cute, sweet and easy to read, I would recommend if you love YA!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review!

[Sinne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and easy read!! Definitely judged this one by the cover because it’s soooooo freaking cute!! Loved the details and the sprinkles of (what I assume) Anika’s culture in this one. I also think Saachi and Fahim had suchhhhh good chemistry, I just feel like we skipped some plot moments and it was very focused on just Saachi and Fahim. But, definitely recommend if you’re looking for a cute romance! 💓

[Lise &#x1f497; · Rating 5 out of 5]

This rom com was awesome!! I laughed out loud many times and the connection between Saachi and Fahim was amazing!! I loved their banter and the care they had for each other.
The writing and the plot was also amazing. I was never bored and I couldn’t stop reading.
A thing I loved a lot was the culture represented in this book. They really felt human and it was amazing to learn some things about their culture.
I also liked the fact they had problems with their family. The story wasn’t only focused on the romance and I loved that!

[A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cute book, hard to put down. Loved the mc’s <3 The only issue i had with staying in the zone was the constant american wordings (soccer/pre school etc) 💀 felt like it wasnt researched enough for a book set in Bristol 🇬🇧 lol

[Sümy · Rating 4 out of 5]

sooo cute. reversed 10 things i hate about you vibes. Loved the British-Bangladeshi representation.

[taz · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5⭐️ cute read, though as a tall bengali with equally tall family members, finding bengali men over 5’8 is a challenge

[Zully · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was so fun and easy to read!! i love enemies to lovers and a brown enemies to lovers??? sign me up!

[Elena &#x1fa77; · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a cute cosy read.

[Samantha Cloves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a lovely read - would recommend this over and over again. Another great book from Anika!

[Gemma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entretenido, comfy, good feelings. Está chuli para pasar el rato y despejarte la cabeza

[Valentina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[lyss! · Rating 4 out of 5]

had such a phenomenal time reading this. genuinely most of my free time went to reading this. i giggled and i kicked my feet and i loved every minute of it. (4.5 ⭐️)

[Aava · Rating 5 out of 5]

honestly, i had so much fun. i was hooked from the very first page. shout-out to the audiobook narrator, she was perfect !! so i would highly recommend listening to the audiobook.

i'm usually not a fan of gen z slang in books because it ages them FAST. in this book it didn't bother me at all, if something, it made the humour even funnier. maybe it's because i read this book within the first 3 weeks of it's publishing, but who knows.