Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a pleasant surprise! I think this is Tashie Bhuiyan's best work by far, and if anyone didn't enjoy COUNTING DOWN WITH YOU or A SHOW FOR TWO, I suggest trying Bhuiyan's third novel. This story follows a Bangladeshi American girl who unintentionally sabotages a local band and then begins helping them to make up for her mistake. Even though a teenage girl who has regular interactions with a boy band seems like an unbelievable premise, the author somehow made the story feel realistic. The main character, Liana, made decisions that felt believable, even if they were totally wrong, which is exactly how you want to feel as a reader. Each of the boys in the boy band (and there were four of them) had distinct personalities, which was impressive because I had found the side characters in Bhuiyan's previous novels to be so flat that they blurred together. The romance between Liana and Skyler was very sweet, as were the relationships Liana had with the other band members. All in all, I enjoyed reading this book!

“We were all strangers at one point. Now we’re a family, aren’t we?”

AD PR PURCHASE - i read this on Netgalley, thank you for the copy!

𝗖𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿
the cover is what drew me to request this book actually. it looks diverse, it looks cute! beautiful artwork as well.

𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀
music
grief
generational trauma
competition
romance

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀
I did not like Liana, the FMC. i did like the boys in the band, and i also loved quite a lot of the side characters, but they felt like fillers rather than having actual storylines! Liana was mean, selfish and stuck up. Sorry, she just irritated me.

𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
i think the writing WAS good. i really liked the longing between main characters. not quite angst but i still enjoyed it. i think the plot was good as well. i was a little confused at their cultures.. i think they were bangladeshi!

𝗔𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗱?
ok it is bothering me but there are 2 major things that I did not like.
1. a character calldd Mohammed, who drinks alcohol. im sorry, but the name is so clearly Muslim and even though its not mentioned what religion anyone is, alcohol is forbidden. so why write a character with that obvious name, who handles, purchases and drinks alcohol!!! thats just lazy and offensive.
2. ive already mentioned it but Lianas attitude with her dad annoyed me. shes a spoilt brat who doesnt even consider what type of grief her father might be going through and WHY do we not delve further into that? hes portayed as a villian but hes not so i wasnt happy abput that. But props to the author for making me feel so strongly about these things, I suppose?

𝗙𝗮𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗤𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲
“I could write a million songs about you and it still wouldn’t be enough.”

ms bhuiyan, this is the third book of yours to make me hysterically cry. with the extra bonus of me being on public transportation this time. it was so cozy and so loving to read, the theme of grief throughout the book and how people react hurt my soul. also im counting this as fulfilling my rockstar bf trope. thank you.

thank you to netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the concept behind SWMH, but wished that Liana had been more fully fleshed out. A lot of SWMH felt like it needed more editing, and could've been better with more time and a longer novel.

Stay with My Heart is a book that I never expected to love as much as I did, but the themes of family, love, and growing up really cemented this book as one of my top reads of the year. At first I found myself disliking the protagonist, Liana, but I soon came to understand her struggles of wanting her father's approval and of drowning in grief caused by her mother's death. The anxiety rep was fantastic, and I greatly enjoyed the emphasis on found-family being just as important--if not more--than the families we're born into. Finally, this book's discussion of music as a force that brings people together can't be ignored. I discovered several great artists and songs while reading this book and I couldn't be more grateful.

If you're someone who enjoys reading about found-families, or if you're an artist of any kind--this book just might be for you.

Thank you to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book was utterly fantastic. I have been a long time fan of Tashie Bhuiyan since her debut novel “Counting Down with You” and I can safely say her books always exceed my expectations

This YA novel follows Liana Sarker who accidentally sabotages an up and coming band called Third Eye. As she tries to secretly fix her mistake, she finds an unexpected community and romance. The plot is so wonderfully unique and well rounded. The pacing was perfect in the thought out but quick sort of way.

The characters in this novel were absolutely perfect and relatable. No character felt half written and they meshed together so well. I honestly think that the friendships in this book were the strongest aspect of it. If you love found family this is right up your ally.

From late night drives to subtle hints, the romance of this book was as swoon worthy as I hoped for. Tashie Bhuiyan knows how to tug at heartstrings and develop a realistic relationship that still feels just as magical as a reader would hope for.

Overall this book was amazing. I cant wait to have to add a physical copy to my collection on January 2nd. This book makes me eager to see what Tashie Bhuiyan has in store for her readers in the future.

I wanted to love Stay with My Heart. I really wanted to. But I found Liana to be irritating and I’m so over the storyline of the brown desi girl who hates her parents. This feels like a slightly better version of counting down with you. This book isn’t for me and this author’s writing style isn’t my favorite either. I’m well aware that the author has a huge fan base but I still want to write honest reviews which is why I’m leaving this one. Just no. No thank you.

Stay With Me by is another terrific novel from the wonderful @tashiebhuiyan and is definitely the perfect book to read if you miss shows like Julie and the Phantoms! I loved how each character was fleshed out and had had their own arcs. I really enjoyed seeing the music marketing side of things from Liana’s pov. I loved Liana and Sky as well as all of Liana’s different dynamics with each band member, her family and her friends. The book also discusses topics such as anxiety, depression and mental health in an open and honest way. Stay With My Heart is a gorgeously written novel that you’ll definitely wanna have on your radar.

6 STARS!!! I WOULD GIVE THIS 6 STARS IF THAT WAS POSSIBLE!!!!

okay so wow. i don't even know where to begin with this review..... first off, when i first saw the synopsis i was like I NEEEEEEEED THIS BOOK!!!! because it feels like it was written for me. i am a huge fan of my local music scene (in vancouver canada) and literally my favourite band of all time is a local band who i ended up becoming friends with, so i think tashie somehow accidently stole my life for the plot? ahahahaha and although i wasn't gaining anything from it (i just did it for fun as a fan) i have helped promote them and gain them opportunities to tour with other artists/get signed to a label, so it just truly felt like this book was: for me! when i was approved i literally SCREAMED because i had been checking and praying every day for A MONTH to be accepted and when i finally was i was so happy :)))))

i zoomed through this book so fast and literally from the beginning i was loving it and relating so much. it fully captured all the feelings of getting to see a smaller band grow and gain a fanbase etc and to know you were apart of that, it's a truly special feeling. the romance was so cute and swoony and had me giggling and kicking my feet! ALSO ETHAN MY BELOVED I LOVED HIM SO MUCH if third eye was a real band i could tell he'd be my fav hehehe i have not stopped thinking about this book since i read it and so many of the quotes really stuck with me. i don't think i will *ever* stop thinking about this book!! i have not read any of tashie's other books but now i know i need to read her backlist because i loved this one so much! it was perfect and i 100% can see myself rereading this when it's released because i want to annotate a copy so bad (even though i literally already annotated the ebook ahahaha)

overall i truly can't express how much this book means to me and i will thank the universe every day for bringing it into my life because it was exactly what i needed <3333333

I love books set in the musical industry, Liana and Skylars story was so good! I was so anxious to find out what Liana did that was so catastrophic to Skylars band Third Eye and how she was going to fix it! Also what was he going to do when he found out would that affect their blossoming relationship. So good!

She. Has. Done. It. Again! I love this book so much and how real and raw and emotional it is. The characters and their found family make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and it's wonderful. I will continue to say this because I want Tashie Bhuiyan to continue writing these amazing stories, but I will literally read any book she writes. The romance in this book is top tier, and the way Liana as a character develops makes me so incredibly amazed, and overall this book is just *chef's kiss*

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the opportunity to read and review a digital advanced copy!

As someone who has anxiety this was SO relatable. I have experienced those moments of panic and the overthinking that our main character had and the striving to be perfect. I also loved how diverse the characters were. I do wish there was a little more of the romance aspect but all in all, a really cute book

AHHHHHH this was so good, readers!!!! There are so many things I love; I don't know where to start. I shall focus now. I shall focus while fangirling over Third Eye and the sweet romance AHHHHHH!!!

Our protagonist is named Liana. After the death of her mother, she and her music rep father go through the motions. While Liana grieves in her own way, she sees her father focus on his work and more or less ignore his own daughter. I got a "don't ignore the living" thing out of him, but I felt for him in my own way. Liana spends her days working at a music store, interning at Ripple Records, and attending indie music shows. She strikes up a friendship with Thomas, a member of an indie group called Third Eye. Seeing his talent, Liana gives his demo to her father only to find out Thomas is not what he seems. To make up for her mistake, she does everything she can to redeem herself to Third Eye by allowing them space in the music store to practice to get them into the biggest music competition ever. But she can't tell them what happened with Thomas or everything will fall apart

Liana is a great protagonist and I loved her relationship with the members of Third Eye. They are all distinguishable with their own voices, especially Skylar, the broody boy with the tats (:D), but I absolutely loved Ethan and Vinny!

The romance is organic and is not the main focus of the book. What I could appreciate is how they start out as friends and then slowly start to respect each other. The scenes of listening to music while driving reminded me so much of my days as a teen.

Speaking of music, the chapters all begin with the name of a song that vibes with said chapter and I LOVED all the K-pop, especially my boys, The Stray Kids! Levanter <3

The ending was utter perfection. I loved everything about this book and I'm honestly sad it's over. I highly recommend this one!

I stopped at 11%

I get this is supposed to be YA (and I read a lot of YA) but my goodness the writing made these kids feel more like 14/15 with potty mouths than 17/18… :/ It’s cute for the right audience however it missed the mark for me.

I've read an early copy of every Tashie book so far so this was going to happen someway somehow.
Let me be clear: I will read anything Tashie writes. I know it's going to make me cry and I know it's going to make me happy.
The one thing I can always count on is the anxiety representation which is absolutely incredible in all of her books.
This follows Liana who is a Bangladeshi teenager working the summer before she starts college. Her mom passed away years ago and since then her father is dealing with his own grief. Liana meets a boy wanting to go solo who then ghosts her. She decides to help his former band with beating him while dealing with her anxiety and depression along with her own grief.
The exploration grief from her father, Liana, and another character is amazing. There's positive therapy, anxiety, depression, and also talks about Bangladeshi culture.
I will never stop talking about this book. It's so good and so sweet and hit me right in the heart. Counting down the days until I can hold it in my hand.

Reading STAY WITH MY HEART by Tashie Bhuiyan is like finding a tiny, tucked away, hidden corner of the world and finding the utmost comfort within it. It’s so warm and cozy and so perfectly well-written, and I devoured this book in less than 24 hours. Everything about this book was just SO GOOD from the found family, to the humour, to the way Liana is such a perfectly fleshed out character that I was rooting for from the very first page. ALSO THE ROMANCE????? SKY AND LIANA FOR LIFE.

There’s literally nothing about this book that I didn’t like. 5/5 stars and you guys NEED to pick this up. Thank you Inkyard Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. STAY WITH MY HEART comes out JAN 2nd 2024!

This was another incredibly heartwarming, romantic book by Bhuiyan—a love letter to music and the communities that form around it, with a healing message around mental health and the families we choose for ourselves. I was cheering for the protagonist from the start, who messes up but works even harder to redeem herself (an eternally resonant message). It will undoubtedly be a comfort read for so many!

The writing feels young, perfect for the target audience. It doesn’t feel like there’s crossover adult potential, so it’s not a good fit for our libraries as the YA audience doesn’t frequent. I stopped after chapter 2 (5%), but easy three stars and four to five for the right readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the ARC.

flew through this one like it was a race. the strongest of bhuiyan's novels so far i think, the tone and voice has matured and obviously the pacing is stronger.

Over the past three years, I've learned that Bhuiyan is an author who won't disappoint. She has a talent for writing characters that feel so incredibly real and multi-faceted. Although I think Counting Down with You is still my favorite book of hers, I loved Stay With My Heart.

My favorite thing about it was definitely the focus on music. Like, each of the chapter headings being a song was SO much fun! I loved it. I was constantly on Spotify, matching each chapter with the corresponding song. And not to mention the amount of love for Taylor Swift. As a Swiftie through and through, this made me day.

As for the actual romance, I did really like Sky and Liana together. The way their relationship built felt organic and I loved the lack of excessive dama. They felt like they fit.

My one complaint would be that the beginning, with Thomas, felt super rushed. I know it was mainly to set up for the eventual conflict, but I wish we had gotten an extra 20 pages to flesh things out a bit more.

Excluding that small fact, I loved this! I know I'll be picking up a copy at the next bookstore I visit and rereading it constantly!

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