Tag: tashie bhuiyan

Book Review: I’ll Pretend You’re Mine by Tashie Bhuiyan

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Tashie Bhuiyan
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: June 3rd, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Summer Ali has been making a name for herself in the music industry for years, slowly but surely climbing the charts—but the world doesn’t know her stage parents are the ones who molded her entire public persona. Finally eighteen, Summer breaks free of their control and focuses on creating her own path.

Upon running into writer’s block, Summer grows eager to take any opportunity to shake things up—even if it means agreeing to a PR stunt with child-actor-turned-playboy, Jules Moradi, famous for his tabloid escapades.

At first, Jules keeps his distance, maintaining professional boundaries. But as time passes, his walls come down, and Summer uncovers who he is beyond his reputation, and it’s someone more like her than she ever realized. As the lines blur between fake and real, Summer begins questioning who she is and what she wants—and if her dreams are worth sacrificing her heart.

CELEBRITY ROMANCE WIN.

Celebrity romances are hit or miss for me in the romance department and I am happy to report this one was a great read for me. I loved the audiobook, it really brought the book to life for me.

I loved the coming of age theme and the journey Summer went on to find herself and the strength it took to make some hard and big decisions. I loved the close relationships Summer had with her sisters and her friends. I love seeing the balance of positive relationships between the heaviness of Summer’s parents and other circumstances. And I found the anxiety rep to be very relatable.

Jules and Summer had the sweetest chemistry. From a fake dating vibe to the slow friendship build to lovers. I loved all of the tender moments they shared and how you could see them slowly opening up and pulling away from toxic situations.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low
  • Content warnings: racism, homophobia, anxiety, parental abuse/neglect

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Book Review: Stay with My Heart by Tashie Bhuiyan

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Tashie Bhuiyan
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Release Date: January 2nd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the author of Counting Down with You  and  A Show for Two comes a new YA contemporary about a girl who accidentally sabotages an up-and-coming local band and falls for the guitarist while secretly trying to make up for her mistake.

Liana Sarkar lives and breathes music, hoping to follow in the footsteps of her A&R coordinator father. Maybe if she succeeds, he’ll finally give her the time of day instead of drowning himself in work to distract from the grief of her mother’s passing.

When Liana accidentally sabotages an up-and-coming local band, Third Eye, she makes it her mission to steer them towards success—without them discovering her role in their setback. But as she gets closer to Third Eye, especially their enigmatic leader Skyler Moon, it becomes harder to hide the truth.

With both her heart and their futures on the line, will Liana be able to undo the damage she’s caused?

ENJOYABLY MESSY.

When I read YA contemporary I can get frustrated with decisions and the attempt at problem solving. But sometimes it comes off really well and just feels human. This had that quality. I felt for the main character battling depression, an absent father and a mistake she truly didn’t mean to make. I loved the positive therapy rep and acknowledging the need for help and having the support system around you to make it to the next day. I LOOOOVED this found family with the band. They had ups and downs and you could clearly see how they came together to make it to those final pages.

I loved all of the music content and lists of songs throughout the book. There’s an obvious theme of the power of music and the effects it can have in someone’s life. The quiet moments were sweet and I loved how the romantic relationship developed. This was a solid young adult contemporary I thoroughly enjoyed.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: low-moderate
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: absent father, mentions of loss of a parent, depictions of anxiety and depression

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Book Review: A Show for Two by Tashie Bhuiyan

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Tashie Bhuiyan
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Release Date: May 10th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Mina Rahman has a plan for her future:
• Finally win the Golden Ivy student film competition
• Get into her dream school across the country
• Leave New York City behind once and for all

Mina’s ticket to winning the competition falls into her lap when indie film star—and known heartbreaker—Emmitt Ramos enrolls in her high school under a secret identity to research his next role. When Mina sets out to persuade Emmitt to join her cause, he offers her a deal instead: he’ll be in her short film…if she acts as a tour guide to help him with a photography contest.

As Mina ventures across the five boroughs with Emmitt by her side, the city she grew up in starts to look different and more like home than it ever has before. With the competition deadline looming, Mina’s dreams—which once seemed impenetrable—begin to crumble, and she’s forced to ask herself: Is winning worth losing everything?

EXHAUSTING.

I adored this author’s first book and have been very excited to read book two. Unfortunately, this book left me feeling nothing but exhausted.

I was exhausted with the hateful parents (that we didn’t even get an ending or some kind of wrap up with??). A lot of this book was spent fighting. Over everything. And I thought the focus could have been a bit broader so character growth on all sides could be found.

Aaaand the romance. D*ickhead is not a term of endearment. I will not be accepting other opinions at this time. Full stop. I’ve overlooked smarta** in some books that have used it sparingly as endearing, buuut I can not even with d*ckhead. What started off as a name used when Mina and Emmitt get off on the wrong foot somehow turned into a “charming” word and I cringed every time I heard it. AND SHE WAS SO MEAN. That’s not how enemies/rivals/whatever to lovers is supposed to go.

It’s fast paced and they’re some good conversations about culture, expectations and passions. The small pieces in there kept this rating at a three star. I needed so much more from this than I was given and I too tired to continue.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: emotional parental abuse, depression, grief/loss depiction, death of a father mentioned

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Book Review: Counting Down with You by Tashie Bhuiyan

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 464 pages
Author: Tashie Bhuiyan
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Release Date: May 4th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A reserved Bangladeshi teenager has twenty-eight days to make the biggest decision of her life after agreeing to fake date her school’s resident bad boy.
How do you make one month last a lifetime?

Karina Ahmed has a plan. Keep her head down, get through high school without a fuss, and follow her parents’ rules—even if it means sacrificing her dreams. When her parents go abroad to Bangladesh for four weeks, Karina expects some peace and quiet. Instead, one simple lie unravels everything.

Karina is my girlfriend.

Tutoring the school’s resident bad boy was already crossing a line. Pretending to date him? Out of the question. But Ace Clyde does everything right—he brings her coffee in the mornings, impresses her friends without trying, and even promises to buy her a dozen books (a week) if she goes along with his fake-dating facade. Though Karina agrees, she can’t help but start counting down the days until her parents come back.

T-minus twenty-eight days until everything returns to normal—but what if Karina no longer wants it to? 

GREAT CHARACTER JOURNEY.

A random selection because I was feeling a contemporary and this was available! And what do you know, I really enjoyed it. I flew through it quickly (one of my favorite aspects of contemporaries) and thought it was overall a charming book.

Karina goes on such a journey. Having anxiety as well, I felt seen by a lot of the portrayals of her anxiety. The counting and breathing, anxiety attacks and more. All things I know intimately that I connected with to Karina.

I absolutely adored the bad boy Ace. Oh my goodness, he was so stinkin’ cute. I loved his demeanor and when he whipped out a fake dating trope I was ecstatic. it played out well and the super cute scenes of them studying together, going on dates and meeting family had me grinning from ear to ear. I love the way he supported Karina and also respected her boundaries and time frame.

There’s not some wildly dramatic issue between them in the end. It’s more of a focus on Karina and owning who she wants to be and what life choices she has the right to make on her own. I cringed many times listening to the beratement from her parents and it broke my heart in two listening to her struggle to come to terms with pleasing them, and becoming a shadow of who she is. Luckily, this book ends on a sweet HEA.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: emotional/verbal/psychological parental abuse, anxiety attacks, depictions of general anxiety

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