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, India, Contemporary

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.

[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

[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

[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

[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!

[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.

[Holly Bowden · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

First of all, thank you very much to InstaBookTours and Hot Key books for my beautiful copy of the book and for having me on the book tour.

‘Heartbreaker’ follows Saachi, who in a bid to get revenge for her best friend Mona, sets out on a mission to do the same to the boy who broke her heart- with her unfortunately catching feelings along the way.

I think this was a lovely, fluffy read that will definitely appeal well to the YA audience. It presents teenagers realistically, without making them seem deplorable, and perfectly captures that youthful feeling of secret crushes and consuming friendships that we can all relate to.

I absolutely loved the pages of DM’s in the girl’s group chat- their bantering and bickering really solidified their friendship and was realistically shown. I also loved the messages between Saachi and Fahim- they added a nice dollop of dead-pan humour into a sometimes tense plot.

I really liked the dynamic between Saachi and Fahim, despite Mona and her friends sometimes getting on my nerves with their reactions to certain things. I also really liked the relationship between Saachi, her father, and her younger brother. It was a really wholesome dynamic- and not one that you see too often in books.

I definitely recommend for lovers of:
🌸Rivals to Lovers
💔Only one bed
🌸Humorous banter
💔3rd act breakups that are resolved quickly!
🌸Headstrong FMC’s

[Library.of.char · Rating 1 out of 5]

couldn't get into it tbh, nothing wrong with it just not for me rn

[Paris Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book so much!! It had me captivated from the first chapter. The FMC saachi is so witty and against any real romance towards the MMC Fahim.

Saachi wants to get revenge for her best friend against Fahim… so operation heartbreaker starts to try and get Fahim to fall for her so she can break his heart.

The growth that the FMC goes through in her personal life is so emotional. Both of the main characters have personal issues to do with family which makes the book feel older than the characters are.

The book is a lovely YA romance where the two characters are at sixform. It has first love. Academy setting and fake dating.. one her side. Such a cute and romantic book that will make you laugh .

[Gini’s books · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a quick, light read it’s a good choice. You pretty much get exactly what you expect.
Just be aware this is on the younger side of YA.

Did I enjoy it? Yes, but..

I really enjoyed the first half of the book, the second half was just not as good.
I found my self annoyed at Saachi more and more, without any fun scenes to lighten up the mood.
Her bad decisions are admittedly needed for the plot yes, BUT there’s not enough fun, lighthearted scenes mixed in between for my taste. It’s not well balanced I guess.
Plus the end was rushed.

Also the feelings that are built up really well in the first half when there’s a lot of flirting are sadly not done well later during “big” moments.

[Nena · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.8 ⭐️
I was so excited to read this book because I saw that it had John tucker must die vibes and I LOVEEE John tucker must die!

I was hooked the first part of the book it had what I was looking for in this cute funny YA read. But it also had character growth, we get to see Saachi grow and overcome her fears. I loved Fahim the way he payed small attentions to her and always listens and watches her. It is so cute. 🥰

But I did feel like around half of the book it was slowly losing my interest it was getting kinda slow.

I do recommend it for a cute fun read if you love john tucker must die, romcom and it has british bangladeshi representation 💗 a lot of banter and cute moments!

[zoya · Rating 2 out of 5]

i mean it’s aight