I loved Counting Down With You and was super excited to pick up another book from this author and boy was I not disappointed. The story is so cute and the dialogue fits these characters ages. I was related a lot to Mina.

This book immediately became one of my most anticipated reads of 2022 after having read Tashie Bhuiyan's debut novel Counting Down With You. Let me just say that Tashie Bhuiyan never disappoints. Inspired by the time Tom Holland went undercover at the authors high school??? A Hate to love POC romance?? Topics of family dynamics and mental health? SAY LESS.

This book was just lovely. I really enjoyed how real this book felt, especially the feelings and obstacles residing around Mina. Although the romance was a major aspect of the book, I felt the decisions that Mina had to undergo and the personal lessons she learned was the focal point of the story. I have a feeling that many readers, especially teens will relate to some if not many aspects of this book. One aspect where I wasn't the biggest fan of however, centralized around the conflict between Anam and Mina. I didn't really like how much Anam blamed Mina for being selfish because she wanted to pursue her film dreams in California. Despite this, I loved the way this book read, it was adorable and I flew through it in a matter of hours. I will say that I liked Counting Down With You a bit more than A Show for Two, however I still highly recommend this book and know so many readers will like, if not love this book.

SAMINA AND EMMITT = MY NEW FAV YA SHIP! i rarely read YA romances anymore but this book is making me rethink that. I had so much following Samina’s journey and sometimes it got a little too close to home as a fellow Muslim girl. I love NYC being the backdrop of the book (deadass made me fall in love with that city even more and I’ve never been)

OMGGG!! okay, if you don't want spoilers, here's a spoiler free-one sentence review: This book was honestly so inspiring and gave me words that I needed to hear, plus it has such a cute banter romance between Emmitt and Mina, so it's a must read!

First of all, Tashie, I LOVE all the little references! It just makes me so happy to see them and made the book even more fun to read. Before reading it, I had super high expectations because it's inspired by THE Tom Holland and Counting Down With You is the perfect YA romance book to ever exist. A Show for Two topped these expectations and made me so invested in Mina's story.

Mina is such a wonderful character and I felt frustrated and sad and happy along with her (these characters are the absolute best). Her story resonated with me, and I felt especially mad when her parents neglected and laughed at her dreams like that. But I just love how she develops and how she realizes that she doesn't need to move so far to chase her dreams. It's something that I struggled with, and I know that there are many people who also relate to Mina.

"And maybe I'll do that in California, maybe I'll do that in New York City, maybe I'll do that on Mars. It doesn't matter where I am. It matters who I want to be, and what I intend to do about it." - Mina

Now let's talk about the romance between Mina and Emmitt!! I love it! Their banter is so cute, and they find home with each other where they can talk about their dreams and what they love to do. This is the type of relationship that just makes you feel so warm and fuzzy inside.

I feel like this book is such a great one to read as you're growing up and just struggling to stand up for your dreams. But it shows that it's worth it, and it'll inspire you to keep doing what you love as there will always be people beside you who'll support you through and through. <3

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

When I read the synopsis for this, I got major Kasie West vibes and just had to read it. What I didn't know was how deep this book was really going to go and how much I would love that even more.

What I liked about the book:
1. The characters are really unique and I love the representation.

Mina (our FMC) is a Bangladeshi, Muslim, diaspora high school senior with depression caused by her crippling self-doubt due to her family background, who is going against the grain in life in order to reach her own goals, no matter who gets caught in the crossfire.

Emmitt (our MMC) is a half-Chinese, half-Spanish celebrity going undercover at a high school as research for his next big film, who is floating through life not living up to his own dreams in favor of someone else's.

Rosie (Mina's BFF) is a white, gay high school senior exploring a new relationship with bi-sexual Sophia.

Various classmates are mentioned as being other ethnicities. On top of that, as part of the film club's self-introductions, Mina and Rosie have everyone announce their name and their preferred pronouns.

How can you not love Tashie Bhuiyan after seeing all this representation!!!!

2. I loved that the main theme of home-is-what-you-make-of-it stayed through the end. I was sure there was going to be some kind of happy wrap-up on Mina and her parent's disagreements and their non-support of her life goals, but true to how real life is for some people, it did not happen. I love that! It subverted expectations for a YA book and I was not expecting this.

3. I love their meet-not-so-cute! He's arrogant, she tells him to f*ck off. How is it not destined to be love at that point?!?!

4. I loved all the traveling within the story! I'm not familiar with NY at all, but I felt like I was getting a virtual tour just by reading this book. I would love a tour by Mina!!!

5. Oh my gawd!!! He keeps taking her picture!!! And then they both created video/photo slideshows for each other as apologies?!?!? Gawd, they're killing me with their cuteness!!!!

6. I felt the depression issues being addressed in this book were great and better than most books I've read on the subject. As someone who suffers from depression, I related to the things Mina thought and said, but on the other hand, I had hoped there would be more concrete help in this area. The only thing mentioned about her getting help was about how she would talk to school counselors when she made it to USC. But, why aren't you doing that now?

I guess, realistically, this is totally how the situation would be for a young person with parents who care what people think of them and their children, which makes me love Tashie even more for understanding her characters!

What I didn't like about the book:
1. I loved Mina and her sister's relationship so much through this book, until her sister sold her out on Emmitt. Like, really?!? I know you're being spiteful because you're pissed, but I would think sisters with the relationship described between you two wouldn't sink to that level in front of their shared enemy. While I found the petty arguments between Mina and Rosie frustrating, but very realistic, I found this a tad unrealistic.

2. I would have liked more insight into the family dramas for both Mina and Emmitt. There were definitely times I just thought, "Are you just being a stereotypical teen and blowing things out of proportion? Are you even a reliable narrator at this point?"

Special thanks to Inkyard Press/Harlequin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The book is set to be published May 10, 2022 so make sure you pick it up!

4 Stars!!!

Thank you so much to Inkyard Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I had really high hopes for A Show For Two after reading Counting Down With You last year, but overall I feel like Tashie Bhuiyan’s sophomore novel fell short of the bar I had set. While the premise of the novel sounded so interesting and had so much potential, I think it ultimately ended up being CDWY but in a different font. The novel also had so many plot arcs, characters, and themes clashing with one another that it was hard for me to connect to any of the romance.

Addressing this last comment, this book is clearly marketed as a romance, but I felt like the romance between Emmitt and Mina was barely the main focus of the book (for me). Instead, plot points like the film competition, Mina’s decision between NYU and USC, Emmitt’s passion for photography, Emmitt’s own conflicts with his mother, Mina’s depression, Mina’s struggle with relating to her heritage and faith, as well as Mina’s conflicts with her sister, her parents, her best friend, Rosie, and Emmitt, made me completely forget that this novel was about Mina falling in love with a celebrity going undercover at her high school.

Speaking of Emmitt, I was honestly just very confused by his character. He first came off as this condescending a$$hole who was incredibly rude to Mina while being super dark and mysterious. However, 0.2 seconds later, he became super flirty and cocky with Mina, and I was kinda shocked at how quick that jump was. He also just felt like a walking “hot British love interest” archetype without much depth? I feel like this was my issue with Ace in CDWY, as well. It just felt like the stuff that defined Emmitt boiled down to the fact that he wears rings, has three piercings, has a snake tattoo, and says “love” and “sweetheart” every five seconds.

Also, similar to CDWY, I felt like there was this grey area of consent throughout the novel. In CDWY, there are several moments where Ace invades Karina’s personal boundaries and touches her, plays with her hair, without asking if she’s okay with it (back when they barely know each other). The same thing happens in ASFT, but on both ends. There are instances at the beginning of the novel when Mina and Emmitt aren’t fully friends yet where Mina touches Emmitt and physically drags him around, and instances where Emmitt puts his fingers on Mina’s face and lips, touches her hair, grabs her hands, and more. I feel like this was supposed to be shown as cute and romantic, but it just made me uncomfortable thinking about a person who's practically a stranger doing that to me.

This book once again explores the theme of parental abuse, at a much higher degree than in CDWY. Prior to reading this book, I was hoping to see the MC of ASFT have a healthier relationship with her Bengali parents, and was disappointed to see that this wasn’t the case in ASFT. As much as I understand the authenticity of this type of parental abuse, as it comes from Tashie’s personal experiences, I’m honestly just very tired of seeing abusive relationships portrayed among South Asian parents in books and other media. As a reader, I primarily read books as a form of entertainment and escape and as a Bengali reader, I love South Asian books that depict Bengali joy. Thus, reading books that portray parental abuse becomes emotionally exhausting and makes it hard for me to even find the Bengali joy within the pages. In my opinion, there are other ways of depicting intergenerational conflict that are much more impactful than featuring parents being absolutely horrible to their children. There also wasn’t even any proper closure between Mina and her parents at the end of this novel. Obviously, intergenerational conflict can’t be 100% solved within a 300 page novel, but ending the novel without Mina’s parents not even attempting to see things from Mina’s side left a bad taste in my mouth.

Additionally, as much as I adored Karina’s relationship with her brother in CDWY, I lowkey despised Anam in this novel and how she blamed Mina and called her selfish for ditching her to pursue her dream in California. She was also so rude to her parents, omg. There were moments where my jaw dropped at the attitude she showed--if I said half of the things to my parents that Mina or Anam said to their parents in this book I would not be alive writing this review right now, LOL.

I think what I enjoyed most in this novel was Mina’s journey to figure out where she wanted to attend college and where she wanted to end up after graduating high school. Just like Mina, it was my dream to attend film school at USC for the longest time and my ultimate decision ended up being eerily similar to Mina’s. So it was really cool to see that arc play out!

Overall, if you enjoyed CDWY, you’ll most likely enjoy ASFT as well. I’m excited to see what stories Tashie writes next, and as always, I hope for her next novel to feature Bengali rep depicted in a positive manner.

𝟑.𝟕𝟓 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 ★★★☆☆

**𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘯𝘬𝘺𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.

P̳L̳O̳T̳

𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙚: 𝘛𝘞 - 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘴, 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘦 ⇢ 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭

𝐀 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐨 follows 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗥𝗮𝗵𝗺𝗮𝗻 (h), a high school student from New York that is solely focused on winning the Golden Ivy student film competition to pursue her dream of studying in California at USC. Enter – 𝗘𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝘁 𝗥𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘀 (H), indie film star who is slowly rising in the film industry for his international work. Mina sees his arrival as an opportunity to feature him in her film in efforts to win the film competition. The only issue is convincing Emmitt who is currently undercover at her high school to agree. Her solution … offer him a favor in exchange for his participation in the film. Reluctantly, he agrees to have a cameo in the film with the condition that she assist him with his photography contest – 5 weeks, 5 photos, and 1 winner. The story depicts the journey of Mina and Emmitt navigating New York and bonding throughout the way. All her life, Mina has wanted to leave New York because she felt suffocated by the chaos of the city and parental expectations, however, as she travels across the five boroughs of New York alongside Emmitt her priorities begin to shift and she begins to question her decisions. What she once thought she wanted becomes blurred and she is forced to come to terms with what this means for her future - most importantly is California what she really wants afterall.

C̳H̳A̳R̳A̳C̳T̳E̳R̳S̳

⇢ Mina Rahman (h):
✓ Bangladeshi
✓ passionate about film
✓ inner New York enthusiast
✓ looks at the hero and compares his beauty to New York City

⇢ Emmitt Ramos (H):

✓ half Chinese, half Spanish, & grew up in London
✓ refers to the heroine as “sweetheart” and “love”
✓ rented out a movie theater for the heroine because she was upset
✓ takes the heroine to a carnival for her birthday and wins her a stuffed wolf named “chip”
✓ gifts heroine a pendent with the inscription “you are the light”
✓ creates a photo book with different pictures of the heroine portraying her in a different light and proceeds to tell her that he sees her - real and honest

T̳H̳O̳U̳G̳H̳T̳S̳

I personally loved this book and even though YA romance is no longer my preference it was completely adorable and the romance that developed between Emmitt and Mina was so wholesome. Initially, I did dislike that as soon as Mina discovered that Emmitt was undercover she wanted something from him, however, the development of their relationship completely erases that first interaction. Their first encounter was not insta-love considering the two did not get off on the wrong start but it is interesting to see how their connection strengthened and they bonded over their love for New York through film and photography.

P̳R̳O̳S̳

𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨:

⤷ “𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙤 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩, 𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙂𝙤𝙙-𝙖𝙬𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨. 𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨, 𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.” Mina’s depressive episodes is a topic that I resonated with wholeheartedly and was executed well. It would have improved the storyline if her depressive episodes had been acknowledged by her loved ones – I don’t think anyone ultimately realized what she was feeling and that she needed help. It would have assisted if she admitted out loud to someone that she was feeling a certain way – yet I completely understand shutting down and being closed off. She often treated people in a dismissive way and didn’t consider their feelings – especially Grant but she did have a character development when her best friend and her sister confronted her and really caused her to put into perspective other’s feelings.

⤷ “𝙄 𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣 𝙆𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙖’𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙮𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝘼𝙘𝙚” 1) I was screaming at this mention because if you didn’t know I absolutely adore Ace & Karina. 2) Now that Mina and Emmitt are confirmed endgame, imagine the moment when he meets Ace. Im crying just thinking about that interaction.

⤷ “𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙢𝙚. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙄 𝙥𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙄 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙩𝙤𝙤.” Mina and Emmitt completely understand each other and gravitate towards their artistic similarities. Even when it seems like no one else on the planet understands their struggles, these two always seem to click and tune in with what the other is feeling. They could sense when one of them was having an off day and they would quickly figure out how to make that person feel better. Exhibit A) Mina was not feeling well and he rented out the entire theater so that she could watch her favorite movie .. how cute is that.

⤷ 𝙃𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚, 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙢. “𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙤𝙣, 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚. 𝙄’𝙢 𝙨𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪.” I am telling you right now that you will fall in love with Emmitt Ramos. Initially, he started off as an unlikeable character and had arrogant tendencies but underneath all of his mannerisms he is such a supportive person. He loves Mina unconditionally and he consistently demonstrates his love and appreciation for her through tiny gestures – you can tell that his love language is physical touch and words of affirmation.

C̳O̳N̳S̳

⤷ "𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙥𝙞𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙩 𝙪𝙥 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙪𝙥..." Mina’s parents were completely unsupportive and did not act like grown adults. They were constantly concerned about what others thought of their children rather than loving Mina and Anam unconditionally. Frankly, it was upsetting that there was no effort on their side to understand their children and they were continuously belittling them. Mina and Anam deserved better - there was no character development but that just makes this story realistic. There aren’t always happy endings and that is the truth. Some parents do not want to see their kids succeed and constantly serve as a burden instead of a support system - this book demonstrates the raw reality of many households.

⤷ “𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄’𝙢 𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩.” It could be just me - but I felt like everyone attacking Mina for wanting to leave New York was completely uncalled for. Mina was burdened by her parents and wanted to venture out and see if she could find that freedom that she was longing for and everyone antagonized her for wanting to win the competition and get a fresh start. While I am glad that she learned that she loved New York after all, I’m concerned that she was peer pressured into setting aside USC. Even though she felt relief when she was not accepted – the relief was quick after the entire premise of the book was her desire to go to California and be away from her parents and the burden of the chaos of the city. I am content that she realized that she found home in her friends and loved ones but it was frustrating to see that the people she was close to easily dismissed her intent to go to CA and were not supportive at all.

O̳V̳E̳R̳A̳L̳L̳

This was a fast paced book – 100% the book to read if you need to get out of a reading slump. The characters are a bit cheesy but it makes it that much more interesting to read especially if you love heroes that use “love” and “sweetheart” as terms of endearment. Though romance is a major part of the story, it focuses on topics of mental health, identity, and love – especially what defines home.

Full-Review will be up on pop-culturalist.com closer to the release date. Here’s what I liked: I loved that the main love interest is loosely based off of Tom Holland. I also loved the sister bond between Mina and Anam. The bits about film was a nice addition. I also liked seeing her interact with her friends and that her friends were a part of the side plot. I was not a fan of the fact that Mina is a Muslim who gets together with a non-Muslim (which is haram). However, I did appreciate the disclaimer in the author’s note that it’s based off a singular experience and reiterates that Muslims are not a monolith. I also liked the fact that Mina doesn’t bash Islam and seems to genuinely like being a Muslim. I would have loved to see Anam and Mina get closure from their parents but in a way it was more realistic that they didn’t. The ending was really cute and overall, it’s a fast-paced read! In other words, I’m glad I gave this book a chance and read it.

I can't thank Inkyard Press enough for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Actual rating: 4.5/5

In short, Mina and Emmitt are adorable. They are exactly what I want when I search for YA romance book recommendations. As someone who prefers slow burns, I enjoyed this book a little more than Tashie Bhuiyan's other book, "Counting down with you." If you are looking for a cute, fast paced, young adult romcom to get you out of a reading slump, I highly recommend checking this out.

Mina felt like how I would imagine a real teenager in her situation. I love the relationship she has with her sister and Rosie (her best friend and my favorite character), and how they held Mina accountable for how she acts the majority of the book. I was expecting Emmitt to be a lot more similar to Tom Holland, and I'm really happy he's not. Emmitt and Mina's relationship had a really good progression from hate to love (which is why I love slow burns so much).

I also really appreciated the small things like the brief mention of Ace and Karina, Emmitt's mom's last name being Gong, and one of Emmitt's movies being Foul Lady Fortune (Chloe Gong's next series), and more.

If I could have asked for one more thing, I would have loved to see Emmitt meet Mina's parents or seen him bond more with Mina's sister (Like we saw with Ace and Karina's brother in Counting Down With You).

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. After reading both this and Tashie Bhuiyan's other book, I know I will keep reading her books as they come out. I immediately preordered a physical copy. I can't wait for May 10th to get here so I can add it to my shelf.

I’ve aged out of this genre. I spoke to a friend who is currently reading this (and who also read Bhuiyan’s previous novel) and we’re just baffled by so many elements at work here. I will be going into detail so this is the heads-up for SPOILERS, though it is a standard young adult contemporary novel, so make of that what you need.

[Willem Dafoe voice] I’m something of a film lover myself, a film and media studies major in fact, and there was nothing on the page that I found remotely recognizable. The jargon and feeling was just completely off, it was like that meme of Steve Buscemi saying “how do you do fellow kids?”

Does Mina like any specific directors? Cinematographers? Composers? Is she excited about any new releases? She apparently likes screenwriting, so who’s her favorite? She doesn’t even step foot in a movie theater until Emmitt **Rents One Out For Her.** Does she care about the politics of the entertainment industry, its history or future accountability? USC's film school serves as this distant green light at the end of the bay, but USC is a 1. primarily for grad students and 2. highly specialized and specific. So what part of the industry is she truly passionate about?

It doesn’t help that I’m not a big fan of first-person point of view, which is made worse by some really strange sentence construction that Bhuiyan employs (present perfect tense which threw off my sense of time off so subtly it bothered me through the entire novel). I also think perhaps she saw criticism of her previous two protagonists, that they were in general toothless and without any flaws or friction, and then just went wildly swinging in the other direction. Mina and Emmitt are truly abrasive and unpleasant to read about. I didn't feel their relationship develop at all, just a switch flip somewhere around the middle of the novel. Their dialogue, which some call banter but I call excruciating is punctuated with unnatural pet names and "Gen Z" slang which is so hyperspecific to a certain kind of internet subculture, it reads as juvenile, with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer.

I don’t want to harp on all of these specific, decorative elements without addressing the more serious topics that Bhuiyan is working with, namely depression and abusive households. I'm fortunate enough to have a solid family structure, but I do have depression, it’s actually somewhat severe. I understand that it manifests in different ways for different people, but it doesn’t excuse someone’s baseline behavior. Mina's attempts to make amends are hasty, but I do understand what she and Bhuiyan were going for (the one that landed most effectively was with her younger sister).

I wish we had explored the details of Mina's relationship with her parents more. One of the most emotionally resonant things in the novel is that she got her love of the movies from her parents taking her to the theater when she was younger, and despite that relationship souring as she grew up, she still loves cinema. She questions multiple times what it was, when it was, that changed. The most logical thing to do would be a revelation as to why Mina's parents treat her and her younger sister so poorly. It would not need to be forgiveness or absolution, abuse victims don't owe that to anyone. I do however believe that it would be context and emotional nuance that the story sorely needs. I know that life doesn't necessarily provide closure or answers like that, but fictional narratives do, which is why we return to them constantly, again and again.

There's just missed opportunity after missed opportunity here. Who is the intended audience? If they're anything like me, a young woman of color who likes books and movies, then I would brace for similar opinions, especially from those who identify as film lovers. Perhaps if Bhuiyan had interrogated any idea she posits in the novel beyond surface level, I would have responded to it more positively.

Bhuiyan never fails to reach a part of me that's never felt seen with her books. It feels like she's peered into my soul. Her books both break and heal you, and they never fail to leave an impact.

Mina was such a relatable character. Our family lives are completely different, our cultures are completely different. But her inner struggles, they felt like me. They felt real. Several times this book almost had me in tears, it hit that hard. And it wasn't a sad book by any means. It was filled with joy, but it still punched you right in the chest.

On top of the emotional aspects, Bhuiyan is able to write some of the most entertaining yet realistic relationships ever. Mina and Emmit had some of the best banter, and the absolute best dynamic. Their meet-cute (or really, uncute-meet-cute) was absolutely adorable. Their tension and hatred at the beginning was so fun to read, especially as it grew into something more. Some of their meetings will stay in my mind forever, they were that impactful.

And even better, Bhuiyan is able to write beautiful characters. Mina was so strong. She took no shit from anyone. She had no qualms about calling Emmit out, and it was beautiful. Meanwhile, Emmit was just as nuanced. As both characters revealed their many sides, I couldn't look away. It had me hooked in the best way.

After finishing this one, the only thing I want to do is go reread Counting Down With You. And then of course, go buy my own copies of each. This was that good. If you haven't read it, you're missing out.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

Tashie Bhuiyan hits it out of the park again with her latest novel. I really enjoyed this story & if you like a cute romance, a story about following your dreams, & Ton Holland ( you will be to read the authors note to understand why), then this is the perfect book for you.

WOW! I absolutely loved "Counting Down With You", and now I have a new favorite! "A Show for two" was an incredible story about an aspiring filmmaker, who wanted change the world with her stories, and fell in love along the way. The relationship between Mina and Emmitt was amazing, the writing is excellent, and spread an empowering message about following one's dream. This book will be in my favorite's that I have read this year, and I cannot wait for people to feel the same way while reading this special novel. 5/5 stars <3

Thank you to the publisher for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Firstly, I really flew through this book, managing to read the whole thing in practically one sitting which made me very happy. Plus, most importantly, the wide variety of different representations of cultures, races, and mental health in this book is outstanding, so major points for that.

However, I found this book to be lacking any truly likable characters. While it is not a requirement for a book to have likable characters, for me, there has to be at least some quality, trait, or action, that I can connect with so that I can understand the characters better. Sadly, this book did not really provide that with any of its cast of characters, and I found them all to be kind of mean to each other and not show much empathy?? Like, I understand that some characters are just unkind and that is important to the story arc, but I can only take that in moderation. There were just too many unlikeable traits in all of the characters that left me wishing I could connect to at least one of them, but not being able to do so. This is completely my opinion and experience reading this book so it's possible others will have a differing viewpoint, but I wanted to share my thoughts.

Besides that, I enjoyed that this book was dedicated as a love letter to New York City and it is a sweet coming-of-age story about finding love, not only for someone else but also for your home.

**Thank you to Netgalley and Inkyard Press for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Never in a million years did I actually think I’d get an ARC of this book, yet here we are! Oh my gosh, I absolutely loved this! There is absolutely nothing to not love about A Show For Two.

A Show For Two is Tashie Bhuiyan’s second novel following her debut, Counting Down With You. It follows Mina Rahman, a senior in high school who dreams of attending USC and becoming a screenwriter. The only thing standing in the way of her dreams is her parents, who believe that her dream is nothing but a fantasy. Grappling with her family and her dreams, Mina’s life only gets harder when rising film star, Emmit Ramos, goes undercover at her high school.

This book is partially inspired by Tom Holland’s time undercover at Bronx School of Science while prepping for Spider-Man. I was worried this book would read like Tom Holland fanfiction, but Bhuiyan has done a great job at making Emmit a character and not Tom Holland. Not only that, Bhuiyan does an impeccable job at conveying what it’s like to live with unsupportive parents and depression. Everything about Mina’s struggles felt authentic and not forced. Add in amazing banter between all of the teen characters, great film references for the film buff readers, and fantastic chemistry between the two love interests, A Show For Two is a wonderful read for anyone.

A Show For Two is an incredible follow-up, and only solidifies my love for Tashie Bhuiyan and her writing. This book is my most anticipated release for 2022, and I can’t wait to get my physical copy on May 10th, 2022.