Synopsis:
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 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 . . .
Review:
I had a great time reading Heartbreaker. The tagline of “John Tucker Must Die meets To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” had me sold before I even opened the book. The John Tucker Must Die vibes were definitely there. I loved the references to it: talking about filming the dates to humiliate Fahim when Saachi broke up with him, Fahim giving Sacchi a sentimental piece of jewellery that her friends catch her wearing and question whether or not she’s in over her head. Ah, I loved it. Seriously.
I pretty much devoured this book and had such a wonderful time doing so. The only problem with this is not stopping to really think about what’s going on or make any notes. The only “notes” I did make were two highlights in the entire book, which are:
Saachi’s brother plays a prank on her by switching out her shampoo for mayonnaise and due to having to wash her hair multiple times after, her hair is ridiculously glossy which leads to this hilarious text exchange with her friend Rimi: “maybe Fahim just *loves* the smell of mayo and that’s how you get a date? hey, at least if he takes you for dinner you won’t need to pay extra for sauces” Rimi was 100% the funniest character in this book, I’d love to read a book about the twins.
I also loved Saachi’s dad. She finds him awake late one night watching TV and they have this hilarious exchange:
‘What are you watching?’ I ask.
‘Not sure. I think it’s a film about Pocahontas but with blue people instead?’
I let out a belly laugh, only remembering a second later to lower my volume since Dev is upstairs asleep. ‘Abbu,’ I say when I can finally breathe again, ‘that’s Avatar.’
‘No, it’s not. Where’s Appa? And Aang?’
I shake my head, still reeling with laughter. ‘That’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. This is a different Avatar.’
Abbu’s got the right idea, there’s only one Avatar in my mind and it’s Avatar: The Last Airbender.
My favourite part of Heartbreaker was seeing that Fahim wasn’t the “F-boy” he was first shown to be. He understood that he had a past of “going out” with a lot of girls and through his budding relationship with Saachi, saw that he didn’t always treat them well. He genuinely became very emotionally mature by the end and watching his relationship grow with Saachi was so sweet.
Saachi was a flawed main character but she was more than aware of that. I loved that she was a high achiever that did well at school that didn’t make it her whole personality. She actually starts the book by getting suspended for cutting some not safe for work (or school in this case) shapes into Fahim’s clothes.
My other favourite part of Heartbreaker was the deep dive into Desi culture. Indian food is one of my favourite cuisine’s so this book made me constantly hungry – it also gave me inspiration for new dishes to try.
I also thought the turmoil Fahim felt about not being connected to his culture was an interesting plot/character development point. He discovered a love for cooking after finding an Indian food van at a food market and asking them about the recipes. Food is definitely one of the best ways to feel connected to a culture. It also made his character more than just the player you’re told he’s supposed to be.
I’d highly recommend Heartbreaker if you’re looking for a clean romance that dives into familial dynamics, strong female friendships and discovering that not everything is as it seems on the surface – this is in references to multiple parts of this book, one that hasn’t been mentioned as it’s quite a large spoiler.
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