First off, I love the cover. The characters expressions and body language really portray their feelings for each other through out the book. Second, what a great book! Not only are the main characters realistic and relatable, the secondary characters are fun and likable. What a found family story. I will be putting this title on my library shelves and taking it up with my students. Music is central to my students' well being and this book illustrates the connection between friends and music. The story spoke to my heart and I hope my students enjoy it as well.

Thank you for the advance copy.

Thank-you to NetGalley, Inkyard Press, and Tashie Bhuiyan for the eARC!

I've been a big Tashie fan for the last couple of years and I've got to say this is my favourite book of hers so far! I will be recommending it to everyone at work.

This was another really good book from Tashie Bhuiyan, that I would definitely recommend to fans of her previous novels!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

this was fun YA contemporary novel! i don't have much to say, it did not leave that big of an impression on me. but it was not bad! i love everything tashie writes to be honest.

Absolutely captivating! This book kept me hooked from beginning to end. The characters were incredibly well-developed. 5 stars without a doubt!

This was such a cute YA romance filled with found family, music and warmth. Like in any other Tashie Bhuiyan book, there’s great mental health representation, and difficult parental relationships, though this one takes the latter much further.

If you have not yet been introduced to Tashie Bhuiyan’s wonderful YA romances, you’re missing out! Counting Down With You is still my favorite, but this is amazing as well, especially if you like the found family trope or the music world.

👍
+ The love interest was the sweetest of sweethearts. So thoughtful (almost to a fault), giving and loving not just as a boyfriend but especially as a friend, he was difficult not to love.
+ I loved (almost) all the side characters: the band members, the bestie, some family members…
+ I really appreciated that things weren’t just wrapped up in a neat bow in the parental area. I like it when books don’t take the stance of, they’re your parents, you have to love them or get along with them. Some people are toxic, and those people might happen to be a parent.
+ I really enjoyed that each chapter came with an accompanying song, and until I got way too into the book to stop reading and pick the song, I enjoyed listening to them while reading.

👎
-The situation that starts the whole story felt a bit contrived. I was not convinced that she had no other choices, coming clean from the get go still feels like it would have been the easiest solution.
- Liana is so misguided in her efforts to “help” the band and never listens to them. There are even times she second guesses herself but it never goes anywhere. I understand this was mostly for

Thank you so much to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for this eARC!

Tashie Bhuiyan is becoming a must-read author for me. Her books have never let me down. I love the characters and how real they feel- it makes their challenges and disappointments and mistakes feel all the more real to me when I read her books.

Cover Story: Sky Blue

A Bengali girl and an Asian boy sit back-to-back on a background of fluffy clouds. It’s cute, but it doesn’t tell us much about the book. I wish there had been a microphone, a guitar, a group of band members in the background maybe? Music notes? Anything to tell us about the song-filled story we’re about to get. But then again, this look is pretty ethereal so it’s got that going for it.

The Deal:

Seventeen-year-old Liana Sarkar is the daughter of a music label’s A&R executive – that is, her dad is really into music, and can control the destiny of many musicians’ dreams. Unfortunately, that is all he cares about. Ever since Liana’s mother died three years ago, she’s felt her father pulling away from her and concentrating only on work.

When Liana meets Third Eye, she befriends Thomas, a disgruntled member of the band. He has plans to go solo, and Liana shares his demo with her father. Then she finds out that Thomas is a fraud and passed the leader, Skyler’s, songs off as his own. Instead of fessing up to the mistake, Liana decides it’s up to her to take Third Eye under her wing, prepping them for a music competition where the prize is a record contract. But can she keep her secret? And what happens when she finds herself falling for Sky?

BFF Charm: Oda Mae Brown

Liana, girl. It was so hard to root for Liana when she didn’t own up to her mistake. She kept getting more and more intertwined with the band, and the anxiety of knowing that they were going to find out about her actions really got to me! But Liana has a reason for her not telling her father that she made a mistake: she and her dad have not gotten along since Liana’s mother died, and the one sentence of praise he gave her for “trusting her intuition” and finding Thomas meant that she couldn’t bear to let him know she was wrong. So she stumbles through her humility and tries to make amends to Third Eye. She’s a tough cookie to love, but Liana is a messy teen with a good heart overall.

Swoonworthy Scale: 6

At first, Skyler is a real piece of work. We meet the handsome, brooding leader of Third Eye at a house party, where he asks girls to name three of the bands’ songs for a date. Liana is disgusted. When she hears about his selfish nature from Thomas, she hates Sky even more. But when Thomas is revealed to be a liar and a fraud, we question Sky’s reputation for being cruel. Is he actually? And he turns out to be kind… and has really nice eyes… Yeah, there’s very little kissing in this book, but when Sky confesses his feelings, it’s SWOONWORTHY. Trust me, y’all.

Talky Talk: With Lyrics In Your Eyes

I personally loved how the chapters were all titled with songs from existing songwriters to best express Liana’s feelings. This entire book is a playlist set to romance and I’m. Here. For. It.

The characters talk like teenagers, they’re messy like teenagers, the author really got into their headspace. I believed them. Such magic doesn’t always happen in books, so I’m happy.

Bonus Factor: Pride and Prejudice

Okay, hear me out! I don’t think this book was marketed as a P&P retelling, but I see parallels. Thomas is Wickham and Sky is Darcy. Liana is prejudiced against Sky at the start but then when she sees him in a softer light, he improves. There’s no Pemberley or Lydia to round out the story, but the trope exists!

Bonus Factor: Found Family

I love when there’s a group of misfits who find each other and become each other’s family. Third Eye grows to accept Liana’s intrusions and they end up deeply caring for each other. (Which makes the anxiety that they’ll find out about Liana’s mistake with Thomas even more of a tension-builder!)

Bonus Factor: Mental Health Rep

Liana deals with depression – exacerbated by her mother’s death – and spirals a lot. I appreciated that the author included days where Liana can’t seem to get out of bed or do anything worthwhile because she just doesn’t have the energy for it. Bhuiyan convincingly writes about what it feels like to attend to grief, and it makes sense (unfortunately) that Liana’s father is pulling away from his own daughter. Which brings me to…

Anti-Bonus Factor: Dan Scott Award for Awful Parenting

He’s not a bad parent in that he’s abusive or hurtful. But Liana’s dad is neglectful. He doesn’t tell Liana that he loves her. The only words of praise she receives is if she does her intern job at his record company well. So you can imagine that I don’t love this character, but he’s a realistic look at what an emotionally absent father can be like. Liana has to grow despite his disappearance from her life (or, because of his disappearance).

Relationship Status: Music to my Heart

Book, you were fresh and special. From the excessive Taylor Swift references, to discussing cultural shifts in brown families, I thought you were a great read.

Ohhhhh how I love all of Tashie’s books 😭 Stay With My Heart is so full of love, friendship, and music. It’s about choosing who to love and being loved in return. It’s about finding your place in the world and in your family through music. It’s about connection and being brave enough to let go. It’s just so good. Go read it! And then go read Tashie’s other two as well. I promise that you won’t be disappointed.

For Liana Sarkar, music isn’t just her life’s blood, the thing that helps her make it through every day; it’s also her only remaining connection to her father, an A&R coordinator who drowns himself in work to distract from the grief of her mother’s passing. As an intern at her father’s record company, Liana wants desperately for her own work to make her visible to him again, but when she tries to bring in a brand-new artist, she accidentally sabotages the prospects of up-and-coming local band Third Eye. Unwilling to admit her mistake to her father, but wanting to make amends, she makes it her mission to use her knowledge of the music industry to steer the band towards success—without letting them discover 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? From the mood-based playlists to the insider peeks at the music industry to the passion with which the characters approach the creation and sharing of music, Stay with My Heart is the perfect read for teens who, like Liana and Skyler, know that music is a necessity and a lifeline.

Although I have all of this author’s books on my TBR, this is the first one of them I actually sat down and read. And honestly I feel like I made the right choice. Because this book was so good! I was fighting air the whole way through and I couldn’t stop until I finished.

Ok so the reason I was fighting air was the toxic friendship and toxic relationship. I still don’t know how this person was able to do what they did. The horrible thoughts they had to have had while they were doing this? It was like they had no conscience. And I was in awe that they didn’t even think twice about it. I also didn’t understand how the person it first happened to didn’t understand that they were doing the same thing to another party. It was a circle of lies and I was trying to tell them all to just leave everyone alone, but none of them were listening lol But I do know that that’s the way I know I love a book. When i get so into it that I’m talking to the characters or yelling at them knowing they won’t listen. And this was one of those books.

The romance in this was adorable. It felt so authentic. And Idk it’s the cutest when they try to convince each other that they don’t like the other. That’s what they do here. They weren’t quite enemies but they did have some little tiffs here and there. And idk, it was so cute to me. Which is weird because I usually don’t like enemies to lovers.

The best thing about this book tho was the characters. All of them felt like a warm hug. The whole band was different in their own way and they all brought their own thing to the story. To be honest I would love to see another book but only about them. I’d also like to see some of their music or band photos etc. And the way they interacted with each other was so cute.

The only thing I didn’t like about this book was the situation between Liana and her dad. We never find out why he acted this way and he never apologizes or anything. And in the end, we don’t find out anything. I just felt like it was left too wide open. (And y’all know how I am about open ended endings lol) I guess I just wanted to see him be held accountable. After him being like that the entire book, she (we) deserved some kind of closure. Especially since the entire book happened because of him. Literally everything was because she was trying to impress him or make him notice her and nothing. It just felt a bit unfinished.

I also liked the neurodiversity rep in the book. As someone with high functioning anxiety, I felt very seen in this. Probably another reason I was so into this book. Although I didn’t agree with her not saying anything right away, I can say I probably would have done the same thing. The thought of having someone mad at me, I think I would have done everything to make sure I could fix it.

I’m purposefully being vague because if you’re like me and you don’t read the synopsis either, the person who is toxic comes as a surprise. The play-list in this was also pretty good too. I went back and listened to all the songs and all the other books by this author too. After this one, I’m definitely going to read their whole backlist.

I’m afraid to tell you // If I was braver // I’d kiss you tonight

after reading this twice, i think i am now knowledgeable enough to be writing a proper review that will do this book justice. cause when i say this book hands down will always have a special place in my heart, im not joking. 🥹🫶💘

this book. its just serotonin in book form. that is the best description i could ever come up with, without talking your head off for five hours (tho dw the youtube video is coming <3).

miss tashie has a way with her characters, cause how else do i find pieces of me and my life in them? i genuinely understand the pain lia went through cause ive been in similar situations, and its comforting to see that in books (?) writing this review im baring a part of my soul alongside cause of how emotionally attached i am to these five adorable humans. they deserve the best and nothing less. speaking of which, miss tashie is there any chance we could get mo and kate's story? pretty please???? 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹😆

*spoilers ahead (?) so read with caution :D*

♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ. liana ♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ.

ill start with our lovely lia. from her love for music to her long-distance relationship with her best friend, there are so many things i relate to her. she is just so good at what she does (cause um did anyone see thirdeye's follower stats, this girl is fire!), and knows it to. sure she made a small mistake, but what's remarkable is her tenacity to fix it. i would honestly just down-spiral for the next few days. and even if she tried her hardest to stay detached, our boys are just too good to not fall for. 🤭🤭🎀

then there's her relationship with her dad. i think this is where i really understood her a lot more. this line had me sobbing my heart out, because yes, why? 😭😭

Why should I? Why is that my responsibility? He signed up to be a father. I didn’t sign up to be his daughter. If anyone should be cutting the other slack, it should be him to me.
His wife died, too. And so what? Does that mean he’s no longer my father? He’s just a grieving husband? I’m some kind of collateral?

oh and the long-distance bestie situation. i just think its a universal law that best friends will always be separated because of studies. ive been long-distance for the past three years with mine, and god, this was so accurate! (but technically in our situation, im evie, and she's lia, cause my love life is non-existent 😂😭).

Me: death is looking a lot nicer than whatever tf life has going on
Evie Khodabux: you have to stay alive if you want to see me beat the shit out of thomas
Me: ...suddenly my will to live is stronger than ever

Some days, I wish I were never born. This is one of those days.
I want to hit something. I want to rip something apart. I want to do something, but there’s nothing for me to do.
It’s not fair. It’s not fair.
But it’s not like life has ever really been fair to me before.

i wish i couldnt relate to this, but um, i do and it hurts at times, but seeing that kind of representation in books is just healing.

“Fair enough. Mine are ‘Afterglow,’ ‘Cornelia Street,’ and ‘The Archer’."

also her taste in music 🤝 my taste in music >>> i geniuinely only listen to afterglow, daylight and the archer the most out of that album (is it obvious that i am skylia's child in reality?) and the fact that both our playlists have english and desi songs 😌✨

♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ. skyler ♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ.

next we have him. honestly if he existed in real life, i would geniuinely go all the way to LA to see him and make sure there was hope for me because he makes me want to hold onto the fact that boys like this do exist. and when i tell you this boy fell hard first, i mean HE FREAKING FELL! idk how i missed it the first time, but the signs are all over the place! he would always initiate conversation, and every time he talked to her HE HAD A SMILE ON HIS FACE!!?! 🦋💘✨🦋💘✨🦋💘✨

“I would’ve actually taken you on the date if you let me.”
I cough abruptly. “Huh?”
“I mean, you knew our music and you were beautiful,” Sky continues. I’m gonna go into cardiac arrest at the tender age of seventeen at this rate. “And I could tell you were pissed near the end, but it was kind of hot.”

dear god, if you still have any mercy left in you, kindly bring a sky into all of our lives. love, a hopeless romantic <3

even if i forget about him as a love interest, and just him itself is walking AMAZON FOREST. the way he absolutely cares about third eye, and he only ever cared about the music and his boys.

“No! They’re my family,” Sky says, voice cracking. We both wince. “I’d do anything for them.”

♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ. them ♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ.

“Is there any reason you’re looking at me?” I ask when I finally return to my post behind the cash register.
“Is there any reason you’re looking back?” Sky asks, and I try not to immediately scowl at him.
“I asked you first,” I say, even though it sounds childish to my own ears.
He smirks a little, like he knows. “And I asked you second.”
“But I asked you first.”
“We can go in circles all day, Liana.”
I blow out a deep breath. “I find you very irritating.”
Sky grins. “That’s alright. So where’s this practice room of yours, anyway?”

their relationship is the most wholesome one to ever exist. their's is the kind of love that you slowly but gently move into. is there falling involved sure, but this one is a slow burn that just makes you fall for these two even more than ever. the way they talk out things and communicate is just heart warming. they are the definition of love and if anyone says anything against them, they're just idiots and have no taste.

AND UM IF ANYONE HAS FORGOTTEN, HE WROTE TWO SONGS ABOUT HER!!! AND LITERALLY SAID THAT HE COULD WRITE A MILLION AND IT WOULDNT BE ENOUGH?!?!? um- wha-? how does your standard NOT rise higher than heaven after this? 🤭😌🥹✨

♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ. third eye <3 ♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ.

if there is one complaint i have for miss tashie, its the fact that she makes me wish this was a real band. i wish that i could just go into google and type "third eye" and find every video and post lia has made for them. if they were real, my will to live would be off the charts.

“I’m buying you a bottle of vodka for your birthday,” I say to Ethan. “Bless your heart.”
“Liana, do not buy him alcohol,” Skyler says at the same time Vincent says, “Absolutely not.”
“Haters,” Ethan mutters.

then there's our ethan and vinny. i had my suspicions from about 25% in and boy am i happy to have predicted this one :)))) these two are just sweeter than italian hot chocolate and i could get drunk on that love. the way ethan wrote a love song for vinny??? *swoons, dies, and gets revivied to continue writing this* 😂🤭💖

and there's mo, dont tell them, but he's my fav :) the way he might look scary and strong, but is actually just a huge softie with an even bigger and lovelier family.

ugh, how do you not fall in love with all of them? T-T and the way they whole-heartedly accepted lia into their little family? even celebrated her birthday with a surprise party?!??! my standards in friends have also risen!!! honestly, i would end every calamity on earth for these five. 😆🤧

♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ. the writing ♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ.

miss tashie just outdoes herself every time she publishes a book. and this was no different. her writing was just so well paced, but maybe a little too well, cause i wouldnt have minded an extra 200 pages of third eye + lia content (just saying, or maybe that book about mo and kate would do as well ;)) 💗

all in all if you read till here, and still haven't read the book, what are you waiting for? GO, BUY IT AND READ IT ASAP!!!

_________________
original review:

miss tashie, i love you! these five have my heart and soul for life. they’re the most adorable found family ever! and mix in all that music and band and im just a melting puddle 🥹🫶✨ sky&lia forever 💖🎀🦋✨

thank you so much author, publisher and lonelypages book tours for the eARC.

Ugh not me crying in the club (okay fine, in bed) on a Tuesday because of this book! I really loved so much about it, from the depression rep that truly made me feel so seen, to the romance, to the genuine found family friendships Liana forged with the boys of Third Eye. Honestly I'll tear up again if I think about it too much! Regardless, I really loved this book <3

this book was good! loved that it was quick to read and liana and sky were adorable! will recommend to my friends

Thank you to NetGalley who provided me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you were one of those people on wattpad in 2014 reading One Direction fanfics (cough cough me) THIS IS FOR YOU!!
I want to marry Tashie Bhuiyan's writing, I ADORE her books!

"Stay with My Heart" is a YA contemporary novel that follows Liana Sarkar, a girl who, following her high school graduation and the grief of losing her mother, attempts to distract herself and please her neglectful father by gaining an internship at his music recording company. However, she only finds more trouble when she sabotages an aspiring band by mistake.

The found family vibes in this book were EVERYTHING! It was so heartfelt and humorous and I fell in love with the romance. Tashie, you beautiful soul, this was perfect!

I think I went into this thinking it was more of a romance than it really is. This was a story about friendship, found family, finding your place in this world, your relationship with your family and grief. There was some romance but it was more towards the end and not the main focus. I enjoyed the members of Third Eye, loving the way their personalities balanced out and how close they were. I really wanted more of a solution with Liana and her dad, the ending left me feeling a little unsatisfied.

Thank you so much to Lonely Pages Book Tours and Netgalley for sending me an e-copy of this book. It was just the perfect last read of the year!🥺

I so agree with Tashie when she wrote in the author note that “music—and the friendships that come from it—can save your life.” With a found-family-boy-band trope and mentions of more than a hundred songs (every chapter title is a song), Stay With My Heart is a very sweet and simple feel-good YA love letter to music. The drama and tension in the plot are well-laid out and the characters are all adorable. I kept picturing Skyler Moon as Jade Hossler ngl 😭

My only qualms about this book are twofold. Firstly, i find the cover and title to be a bit misleading because they both give a sense that romance is the central plot in the book when it’s pretty sidelined.

Secondly, Liana getting no sense of closure with her dad just put me off. I get the whole ‘choosing your own family’ kinda thing and the contrast with Mohammad’s parents, but I really wanted Liana’s dad to come through. I feel like the potential of this arc wasn’t used to the fullest.

Overall though, I’d rate the book a solid 4/5 for giving me a breath of fresh air in YA and a lot of good music to check out! 🥰

where do i even start for this review? no contemporary YA books hit like tashie’s books, a rule further proven with her new release STAY WITH MY HEART.
i know i never shut up about how much i love found family in fantasy books, but it’s so rare to find it meaningfully written into contemporary that it hits so much harder. it’s probably the most prevalent theme of the book — even more than the romance. the development of their relationships made me cry multiple different times. they’re just so pure and lovable and perfect.
also, i need to talk about the music aspect?? like miss bhuiyan, hello? there were a few of third eye’s (the band’s name) lyrics where i made the note “this sounds like something taylor swift would write.” also, the amount of playlists in this book is insane (and they are TASTEFUL playlists). it made me want to become one of those pinterest girlies that has ten million different spotify playlists with hyperspecific names for every situation. tashie got me into sleeping at last with COUNTING DOWN WITH YOU, and i’ve had SWMH’s official playlist on repeat since i finished reading.
finally, even though it’s not the number one most important aspect, the romance slaps so hard. skylia is my new obsession and they are literally made for each other. that specific trope of “FMC doesn’t experience unconditional love in her family/home life and is amazed at the MMC taking care for her” that’s consistent in every tashie book has me on the floor. it makes me feel so many emotions.

This was such a sweet read. I've loved both of Tashie Bhuiyan's previous books and this one was no different. The anxiety rep was spot on and so endearingly accurate. It was heartwrenching to read but was amazing to see it realized on page. It was a love letter to music but also shed light on mental health concerns. Tashie Bhuiyan is an automatic read for me!

i have no words to describe how much i adored this book. it’s easily one of my favorite books of the year, if not the best one - it had everything i could’ve hoped for: the best found family ever, the cutest romance, relatable main characters & a plotline centered around music 🫶🏻 i hadn’t fallen in love with a book like i did with this one in a while and i’m so grateful to have been able to read it <3

firstly, i need to talk about the characters - they were all so well crafted, and their love for each other was the sweetest thing ever. liana, sky, ethan, mohammed and vinny have my heart and i am & will forever be obsessed with all of them and their little found family <3 liana’s personal story of finding her place in the world, healing, and finding the people who truly care about her means the world to me, and as someone who also struggles with anxiety, i saw myself in her (that representation is pretty rare in YA books so that was also an amazing part of the book!) i felt every word deeply in my heart and sometimes i wonder if i’m actually a person anymore or if i’m just a bunch of swmh quotes glued together haha (i’m joking but only barely tbh)
despite the fact that this book explores a lot of darker topics, it just mostly felt like a warm hug & a breath of fresh air 🩵

secondly, i live and breathe for music, and i’ve never read a book so focused on it before so swmh was truly the perfect book for me! (i wish third eye was real so bad rn) the way sky writes liana songs/liana makes sky playlists was absolutely adorable. their relationship was so sweet and perfect and their shared love for music was so heartwarming 🫶🏻 i’m also a swiftie so all the taylor references were highly appreciated haha 🤭

the writing flowed amazingly and the banter between the characters had me giggling all the time (i’d gladly read a thousand more books about them). all in all, if there’s one new release you pick up this year, please let it be this one <3