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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Found family, friends to lovers, sorta celebrity romance??? This book was incredible. I picked it up and read it almost entirely in one sitting.
The entire book is practically a playlist and it was super fun to take a break to listen to the songs. Anyone who loves music will love this book.
The entire book is practically a playlist and it was super fun to take a break to listen to the songs. Anyone who loves music will love this book.
Thank you to Epic Reads and HarperCollins for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
Stay With My Heart by Tashie Bhuiyan is a story about a found family coming together through a shared love and dream of music; it’s a story filled with topics like grief, depression, and mental illness. From its synopsis, it really sounded like it could be an incredible book for me. But, unfortunately, it fell flat.
I am very much a character-driven person. The plot of a book could be absolutely terrible but so long as the characters are well-developed and realistic, I’m all in. However, the characters in Stay With My Heart felt like very stereotypical one-dimensional characters. They were never really able to leave the tropes/quirks they were assigned, and it made them feel unrealistic. They felt like caricatures. It took me out of the story almost immediately, and it was hard to care about their arcs and outcomes.
I also just really disliked the main female character and couldn’t champion for her.
Another major issue I had with this book was its odd pacing. Certain events or conversations would have a long lead up, and then said event or conversation would be briefly mentioned in one sentence before fully moving on from it. For example, one of the major plot points of this book is the band performing at a music competition and winning it. The band members then spend countless hours of their time and countless chapters of mine rehearsing for this competition. There is even added tension considering the band entered this competition in the first place to best an ex-band member. Then, the competition itself lasts for maybe two anti-climatic chapters before the competition winner is announced within the first sentence of the next chapter. Where is the tension? Why am I just being told what happens and not shown?
I will admit, as a now older adult, it’s common for young adult books to not hit for me the same way they used to. Although, I don’t think that was the issue here. I think this one was just bad…
I’m also just still not over the fact that the main love interest in this book is named Sky Moon.
Thank you again to HarperCollins for an advance copy for my honest review!
Stay With My Heart by Tashie Bhuiyan is a story about a found family coming together through a shared love and dream of music; it’s a story filled with topics like grief, depression, and mental illness. From its synopsis, it really sounded like it could be an incredible book for me. But, unfortunately, it fell flat.
I am very much a character-driven person. The plot of a book could be absolutely terrible but so long as the characters are well-developed and realistic, I’m all in. However, the characters in Stay With My Heart felt like very stereotypical one-dimensional characters. They were never really able to leave the tropes/quirks they were assigned, and it made them feel unrealistic. They felt like caricatures. It took me out of the story almost immediately, and it was hard to care about their arcs and outcomes.
I also just really disliked the main female character and couldn’t champion for her.
Another major issue I had with this book was its odd pacing. Certain events or conversations would have a long lead up, and then said event or conversation would be briefly mentioned in one sentence before fully moving on from it. For example, one of the major plot points of this book is the band performing at a music competition and winning it. The band members then spend countless hours of their time and countless chapters of mine rehearsing for this competition. There is even added tension considering the band entered this competition in the first place to best an ex-band member. Then, the competition itself lasts for maybe two anti-climatic chapters before the competition winner is announced within the first sentence of the next chapter. Where is the tension? Why am I just being told what happens and not shown?
I will admit, as a now older adult, it’s common for young adult books to not hit for me the same way they used to. Although, I don’t think that was the issue here. I think this one was just bad…
I’m also just still not over the fact that the main love interest in this book is named Sky Moon.
Thank you again to HarperCollins for an advance copy for my honest review!
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
thank you inkyard press and netgalley for the arc!
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
thank you inkyard press and netgalley for the arc!
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
oh my god tashie bhuiyan did it again!!!! my new fav book (when are her books not my fav?) god i’m so obsessed with the characters and i cried when this book ended because i NEEDED more. as a queer girl it was so comforting to feel represented in a book centered on a heterosexual relationship. as a music stan i felt so seen and understood. i’m gonna be rereading this one for sure. i need a third eye family in my life asap.
Thank you Harper Collins for an arc of this book! One thing that immediately caught my attention was the gorgeous cover! I really enjoyed how we felt all the emotions Liana was feeling so intimately throughout the book. However, I personally would have preferred a more well rounded ending to her and her father’s story. As well it was very hard to not be frustrated with her through the book due the fact that she could solve all the problems that the book centers around simply by just telling the truth. In terms of their relationship I enjoyed them together, and their shared love of music (way too many pop culture references are mentioned for my liking).
Overall a quick read that will definitely have you wanting to see everything resolved as soon as you can
Overall a quick read that will definitely have you wanting to see everything resolved as soon as you can
emotional
reflective
medium-paced