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A review by sunnymashi
Stay with My Heart by Tashie Bhuiyan
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
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
3.75
Like Tashie Bhuiyan’s books, I felt so many emotions. I related to Liana’s struggles with trying to do the right thing despite past mistakes and fears about connecting with people. For that reason, it was endearing seeing her connect with Third Eye (reminded me of my relationship with certain musical acts… esp Treasure and ATEEZ! Except Liana actually actually got to know them face to face and mine is more parasocial lmao) I also loved her diverse music choices! It supported the whole idea that she loves music. I also really liked getting to know Third Eye, but I do feel that some characters were more fleshed out than others. I also appreciated the thoughtful discussions of grief, emotional abuse/neglect, and mental health… it is so important to acknowledge them and how they affect people’s lives deeply. ALSO ALSO THE ROMANTIC MOMENTS in this book as was the case in her other books were very satisfying, especially those towards the end… but we could’ve had more romantic moments between Sky and Liana in my opinion to make their romance more developed. BUTTTTT to be fair this all happen over the course of a summer… you can only have so much happen.
However, I did struggle with a few things about this book. The pacing felt a bit off sometimes… like for instance, the beginning could’ve gone a bit faster? I wish more of the time in the beginning section could have been dedicated towards the middle where she was getting closer to the band. I do understand that all that context was needed to establish the starting point for Liana’s character, but that friendship development felt incomplete to me. That leads into my next point. I could see her spending so much time with this group and getting to know them, but I feel like the moments showing their friendship rather than work relationship was shown in a few instances towards the end. I can’t properly articulate it, but I just feel like the friendship somewhat came out of nowhere. ALSO the resolution of the plot felt rather sudden??? I was shocked- grateful my heart could chill but shocked nonetheless. I think it worked because of the kindness embedded in all of the characters despite rough exteriors. I would have liked the forgiving to take a little longer because that feels more realistic BUT in a way it’s good that it turned out this way bc the whole book, Liana was stressed about how her secrets would spiral and ruin everything permanently despite her best efforts when in reality, it did not turn out that bad, offering hope.
Being honest, this book stressed me out at several points. I had to put it down at several points because the way events were happening was stressing me out. I think that this reading experience might’ve made it hard for me to absorb everything well? For all these reasons, I appreciate this book and do not regret reading it, but it’s not my favorite of all her books. I am excited to see what else Tashie Bhuiyan has in store!!!
However, I did struggle with a few things about this book. The pacing felt a bit off sometimes… like for instance, the beginning could’ve gone a bit faster? I wish more of the time in the beginning section could have been dedicated towards the middle where she was getting closer to the band. I do understand that all that context was needed to establish the starting point for Liana’s character, but that friendship development felt incomplete to me. That leads into my next point. I could see her spending so much time with this group and getting to know them, but I feel like the moments showing their friendship rather than work relationship was shown in a few instances towards the end. I can’t properly articulate it, but I just feel like the friendship somewhat came out of nowhere. ALSO the resolution of the plot felt rather sudden??? I was shocked- grateful my heart could chill but shocked nonetheless. I think it worked because of the kindness embedded in all of the characters despite rough exteriors. I would have liked the forgiving to take a little longer because that feels more realistic BUT in a way it’s good that it turned out this way bc the whole book, Liana was stressed about how her secrets would spiral and ruin everything permanently despite her best efforts when in reality, it did not turn out that bad, offering hope.
Being honest, this book stressed me out at several points. I had to put it down at several points because the way events were happening was stressing me out. I think that this reading experience might’ve made it hard for me to absorb everything well? For all these reasons, I appreciate this book and do not regret reading it, but it’s not my favorite of all her books. I am excited to see what else Tashie Bhuiyan has in store!!!