This book was extremely fun to read and I flew through it within the span of 48 hours. It's everything that you would expect in a YA contemporary/romantic comedy novel: friendship chaos, fluffy romance, a bad boy because we were all obsessed with toxic traits in high school, and of course, the fake dating trope. But amongst the adorable romance, we also get to journey with Karina through her struggles with anxiety, parental expectations, and understanding her own place in the world. Although my parents were never really strict on me growing up, Karina's emotions felt very much raw throughout the pages as she gripes with her own personal wants vs. her parents'.

This book is truly a coming-of-age novel and I deeply appreciate how <em>nostalgic</em> it made me feel. More, it made me feel old! As someone in their early twenties reading about sixteen year olds, it really made me reminisced about how absolutely chaotic I was at sixteen; Sixteen year old me, too, would have fallen for a bad boy like Ace. And that's exactly why I think that this book hits the bull's eye when it comes to their target audience—Gen Z, this is the book for you!

<p>Some have pointed out that the writing in this book resembles 'a wattpad' story, and frankly, I do agree. The poems didn't stick with me, but that's totally okay because I'm not the target audience! I do think that Tashie Bhuiyan wrote a fun young adult novel that's <em>absolutely meant for young adult</em> but with classic tropes that made me feel the same way that John Green novels did. Instead of the maniac pixie dream girl, we get broody and sometimes adorable Ace Clyde. But rather than just being the archetype bad boy, Bhuiyan offered him nuances and complexities behind his character through his and Karina's interactions. I found their interactions and how they approach her relationship with her parents portrayed really powerful to young girls, in a way that emphasizes her own boundaries and strength instead of the 'damsel in distress' trope.

I know that some have expressed disappointment at the ending, but I'd like to offer this: sometimes real-life problems have no easy answers, and we can only make progress one step at a time. Not everything will be resolved, and that's okay. Overall, this book offers a fantastic high school romance along with a glimpse into filial obligations and finding your own strength.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I tend to shy away from realistic fiction books these days because they all seem to focus too heavily on the "love story" and their sub plots take a huge backseat.

I did not feel that way about this book.

What I loved:
-- Karina is a teenage girl torn between what she wants and what she believes is right. She wants to go to prom and study English in college and date a white boy that she is crazy about. Her parents want her to become a doctor and focus on school and not date at all. The anxiety she experienced and how she tried to cope with it was real. Karina's struggle to please her parents and do what she wants made her a complex character and is what made me appreciate and love her relationship with Ace.
-- The concept of "crossing lines". Both Karina and Ace (Karina more so because of her culture) have lines that they do not want crossed, especially in the beginning. Ace is learning that Karina comes from a different world than he does and that some of the things that seem normal to him, aren't the case for Karina. He always apologizes when he accidentally crosses a line and learns not to do it again. He also tries hard to understand where Karina is coming from when she talks about her parents. I LOVED seeing the respect and admiration that Ace had for Karina and the support he gave her.
-- Even though their relationship was romantic, it felt like these two were best friends as well. It wasn't a hate to love relationship or an insta-love. Karina and Ace got to know each other despite the initial awkward circumstance Karina found herself in. I loved watching them both grow as characters and it is evident that they couldn't have done it without each other. Karina makes Ace want to do something with his life after he has spent most of it rebelling against his family, and Ace makes Karina want to fight for her happiness after she has spent so much of her life adhering to them. They complement each other really well.
-- Nandini and Cora. What I loved most about the friendship Karina had with them is that it wasn't perfect. Cora and Nandini love Karina and want her to be happy, but they don't always understand where she is coming from or what she is trying to say. When they tell her they just want her to be happy, Karina feels frustrated because to her, that isn't just something easy she can do. Regardless of whether they fully understand Karina, they love and support her and are always there for her. They are also hilarious.

There wasn't anything I really disliked about this book. I felt like the author had a great balance of family differences and family culture, what true friendship means, and what unconditional love looks like. Overall, I absolutely adored this story.

This was a sweet, heartfelt story with well-crafted characters. It took me a while to get into this book, but I was swept away in the ease of the story once I did. It was a cute book with a delightful romance that also held a lot of sadness. I think a lot of people will enjoy it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this one early!

This book was warm in all the right places. From Karina's calls to her cultures, to her dynamics with Ace, Bhuiyan paints a brilliant new spin on the well loved fake dating trope. The characters feel fresh, the interactions are memorable, and it set against a backdrop that gives an interesting picture of who these character are and what they're striving for. It's a YA rom-com I hope everyone picks up.

I'm a firm believer that #ownvoices authors should get to tell their stories in the most authentic way possible. So, when I heard that CDWY is by and about a Bangladeshi-Muslim women, I was excited. Surely, Tashie can shed light on Bangladesh, its cultures, and customs. However, what I got was a lot of outright hate for the heroine's home country and derisiveness about Islam. I thought, okay...I am not South Asian nor am I a Muslim so I can't speak on this even though it felt difficult to read. I thought, hey, this is how the author must be feeling. But it just doesn't sit right with me that this character looks down on almost everything about her culture and religion. It feels like the only rep is that she's Bengali. That's it. Otherwise, she could be any YA contemporary girl. But, again, not my place to judge.

So, I thought I'd focus on other things. Except, the writing is so...immature. I literally had to stop several times because the narration irritates me to no end. I get that this is YA and most YA contemporary books have this, well, *young* feel. But this doesn't feel refreshingly young. It's just...immature.

So, yeah.

I. Loved. This. Book. Basically everything about it was magical, and I absolutely could not put it down. Were there some pretty predictable tropes? Sure! But it is a fake dating YA and it was perfect. I also loved the representation here: Karina is a Bangladeshi Muslim and the dynamics between her and her family, her friends, the pressures she feels to meet certain expectations while also seeking personal happiness and fulfillment are issues that I’m sure every adolescent can relate to, but are super personal for the author being from this particular community.

One thing to remember is that it’s never our job to police own-voices representation. The author has several threads on Twitter about this and I think it’s imperative that we remember that with COUNTING DOWN WITH YOU. Maybe some of the relationship dynamics feel stereotypical, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t realities for a lot of people. This is a story that reflects the conflict the author experienced as an adolescent and she has every right to see herself on the pages of this book - and it will likely be powerful representation for other youth from similar communities. I’m not an OV reviewer, so I would never say that issues with the representation aren’t valid. I just want to remind us non-OV readers that it is not our job to police OV representation and narratives.

So! Given that, I was completely captivated by the plot and the characters. Did Karina sometimes drive me nuts? Yes! But I think that’s the point - to get us to really feel the disconnect and conflict between who she really is and who she thinks she has to be for her family. I felt that deeply, and I thought the author did a remarkable job bringing everyone to life and getting me invested in the characters.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance e-copy! It’s definitely one of my favorite fake dating books to date. I can’t wait to see what else Tashie does!

I am screaming how is this book so good?????

This book is incredibly sweet and incredibly sad at the exact same time. Karina’s struggle with her parents’ expectations and her anxiety is heart-wrenching to read, especially because as a character, you immediately want the best for her. But the romance- oh my god, the romance- is absolutely incredible. Ace and Karina captured all the best parts of a fake dating relationship, and the way they always supported each other no matter what was so incredible.

What a wonderful story! Tashie has created a wonderful story. The characterizations alone are so well written and thought out. I truly thought I "knew" the characters. The plot maintained my attention the entire time. What I love mostly about this book is that I was able to get to know a character from a different cultural background. I LOVE THAT! I will never be a reviewer that states, "I can't connect with a character". 5 stars aren't even enough for this book. THANK YOU NETGALLEY FOR ALLOWING ME TO READ THIS BOOK!!!!!

~Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!~

Actual rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟⭐ 3.8

Why in the crappy world, am I always disappointing when my expectations were like, monumentally high? (right, because I only have one working brain cell, and it is currently drunk on singleness) And by monumentally high, I mean, up there with Cardan and my other 5676 husbands which have no idea that I exist. Or that I'm real, period. Because they aren't real- Okay, moving on. Let's start this ARC review by saying that there are going to be no spoilers involved. Apart from, you know, the basic ones. *laughs in 'gosh I am so smart'*

*turns up 'Singin' in the Rain'*

THINGS I COULD'VE DONE WITHOUT:

The main thing that absolutely annihilated any possible reason for me loving this book was...

HAHAHAHAHA, The romance

Wow, such a mysterious thing to experience.
First, it was annoying. Second, beyond cheesy. Third, why the heck did it even exist???
I legit felt like it was against me. And them. Also, Karina, even though the guy annoys me half to death, YOU NEED TO STOP STRINGING HIM ALONG. WHY? WELL, BECAUSE WHO WOULD'VE GUESSED THE GUY HAD FEELINGS.

*intense coughing fit* The love interest

Can y'all see where I'm going here? He was...well you see....he was very... the thing is...yeah.
One of the things I was insanely craving for in this book, was the bad boy romantic aspect. (a moment of silence for all those who don't like the trope) Is it predictable? Yes. Does it include the uber ~baddish~ leather jacket which somehow represents rebellious nature without ever doing anything? *gasp* How did you know? Does it encompass a cigarette in hand, a beat up car, and a tattoo? Woah, creative.
But SUE me, for wanting all of that. I need gasoline for my dreams, okay? Okay. We understand each other. Also, the hate to romance. I was misguided. The synopsis click baited me. That trope and I are tight. (oh, did I forget to mention that all bad boys somehow share the same vocabulary? Ha ha, silly me)

I realize I'm ranting against said trope that I said I loved, but that is ingrained in my nature.

THINGS THAT WERE BETTER THAN BAD:

The Characters~

Let's divide this further, shall we? (look at me using words like 'further' I need food)

Karina (main character) _ComplicatedRebel89@_

She was so very sweet.
And so very annoying.
Okay, give me a sec to explain.
The reason why I considered her to be annoying, was her inability to stand for herself. In any circumstance. Like, at all. And I completely understand her anxious behaviors and the pressure instilled by her family to be prefect. I do. I just wish that even sometimes, concerning HER feelings. Not of anything like studies or her career (which her parents wanted to have a say in) just HER emotions towards the love interest. That's what sincerely almsot made me drop the book.
Example:

Her: "Well, you see, I care for you [insert love interest name] but we can't"
The guy: (I keep referring to him as 'guy' even though I know his name is Ace. Don't even know why...oh! Because I don't like him) "I have loved you for such a short time, but I feel like we can be together forever"

Me: WHAT. WHY. UM....WHAT???

So yes, that frustrated me JUST a bit. (but to be honest, they had 28 days to fall in love, I can't fault them for being overridden by their need to meet the deadline)

The Grandmother (I sincerely don't remember her name)_QUEEN869$_

We'll refer to her as theonewhoinitiallysavedthisforme
She was the kindest most fierce lady I have ever had the privilege of reading about. And because I don't want to spoil, I'll just say that: When you feel like putting this book down, probably keep on going just for the opportunity to see her bash in some skulls with word only insults.
*chef's kiss* BOOTIFUL

The parents _YouMustBeaDoctor^#_

You see this hand? Imagine it across your face. Multiple times. Repeatedly.
*muttering* I hate people who are like that. Just hate them, gosh darn it.

The little brother _RealisticGuy@45_

He was super adorable, albeit got on my nerves. It was not his fault though. So I can forgive. Okay yeah, it MIGHT'VE been his fault.

The Friend Squad _#GOALS_

This was one of the few things that I truly absolutely loved in this book. Seriously, there is no way I couldn't have.
The girls were honest, the diversity was *sniffling* it was simply gorgeous. And FINALLY a book in which no friends backstab each other. WoW, such a MiRaClE.

THINGS I ABSOLUTELY LOVED:

Guyssss *giggle giggle* he bought her books.... he was saved from my wrath by simply doing that. Still don't like him, though.

And the fake dating. Gosh, I am a sucker for that trope.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

The fact that I wrote this entire thing without majorly spoiling anything, is an act worthy of Hercules coming down from his pedestal among the gods and giving me a free passage to Olympus.
The book was good, not great. But good. Was entertaining. I cried a bit (internally). My feelings were slightly touched. My swoon-o-meter was nowhere to be found, sadly. *sigh* I think it was mostly my fault. High expectations and such.

I truly recommend this book to people who want something less 'fun and sparkles' which is seen quite a bit in YA rom coms , fake dating trope lovers (ahem, such as I) and who are in the mood for something short, pungent, and realistic (minus the love part, of course).

Plot: I loved reading about Karina trying to follow her dreams, while also dealing with the expectations of her family. I loved that Karina has anxiety, because as someone who also deals with it, it's always nice to see it featured in a book. And fake dating is my favorite trope, so you know I loved that!

Characters: Karina was such a great main character! And Ace was such a great love interest (When I was a teen he would have definitely made my list of book boyfriends!)! They were an adorable couple! I loved how supportive her friends were. And her grandmother was wonderful!

The Cover: I love it!

Overall: This was one of my most anticipated debuts this year, and it did not disappoint! I loved this book, and am looking forward to what this author writes next! If you're looking for an excellent Contemporary YA, I highly recommend reading this book! :)

I received an e-ARC of this book from the publisher.

When I say I loved this book, I mean I LOVED it! The characters felt so raw and real, the scenes were super swoony, and the representation in the book was great. Karina's struggles were captured so beautifully and well by the author.
Overall, this book made me feel all the feels, and... I also can't get over how cute Ace was portrayed. :)
The pacing of this book was perfect, and just the right length. Very well written!

I loved this book! I think that for her debut novel, Tashie Bhuiyan did an incredible job. The main character is so strong and was very likeable to read. This novel was a fun one to read, and I lost track of time when I was reading it. I honestly finished it in two days, and I took some time to collect my thoughts on it.
I think that this young adult romance was realistic, with a very captivating fake dating trope. The author wrote her characters with unparalleled wit and insight that I'm very excited to see what she has in store for future novels!

This was just a trope filled contemporary fluff fest and I loved it :’)
Oh, except the near-crippling anxiety Karina felt about disappointing adults, especially her super conservative and pushy Bangladeshi-Muslim parents, ya know, that wasn’t as fluffy

But I love that about YA, especially recently, how realistically the lives of teenagers are portrayed even when they’re having totally unrealistic things happen to them romantically - like your parents leaving town for a month while you’re tutoring and then fake-dating the bad boy who actually likes sweets and the piano and astronomy

I love that this story was written by someone who is actually a part of Gen Z - especially during covid, TikTok is about as close to really seeing how their generation interacts together, but Karina’s conversations with her friends and her brother and even with Ace just felt sooooo organic and natural to the way kids talk to each other. I love YA by older authors, too, but sometimes there’s a little disconnect between the stories and actual teens and I really didn’t get that at all from this story. It was so fun.

Karina really struggles with her parents’ expectations, like has a crisis every chapter about it kind of struggles. They want her to be a doctor and she decidedly doesn’t. And it’s difficult because it starts to frustrate you as a reader and you see her friends and Ace get frustrated with her too but it’s really one of those situations you can’t understand until you’re in it. They get on to her about standing up for herself but she knows her parents and knows it wouldn’t turn out well and there’s just kind of an impasse over that situation for a lot of the story. I have little to no relation to the way Bangladeshi-Muslim kids, or just second generation immigrants, feel about being their parents’ lifelines to the American Dream, but the author really painted what felt like a super genuine portrayal of that pressure.

Ace is such a sweet love interest that it’s actually enough to give you butterflies. He’s gentle, attentive, protective, and respects boundaries once he’s learned them. He definitely has his own issues at home at the start of this story, but the way he and Karina bring out the best in each other over the course of the novel is really touching.

The other supporting characters: Karina’s best friends, her grandma, her brother, Ace’s stepsister and her girlfriend - they’re all really supportive and sweet and funny and they make this story really well-rounded and exciting.

I like the way this story wrapped up - to not spoil anything, it left some things open as far as familial approval went, which was nice because it was really realistic. I’ll definitely be recommending this to teens at work!

WoW what a heartfelt story this was! A tear jerker for sure.
This was a beautiful romcom novel that I enjoyed easy too much.
I loved everything! The storyline. The characters were just so real!
Karina's anxiety felt so spot on and raw. I loved the female friendship and very much appreciated Karina's brother and grandmother. I highly recommend this to everyone!

Sigh.

I'm bummed that I didn't like this book. Based on the other reviews though, it seems like I'm in the minority opinion, so do with that what you will.

It covers some really important topics, but I just really wasn't impressed or engaged with the execution. It had so much potential! It just ended up being hard for me to finish.

This is a must read for 2021. The writing pulled you in so you could experience the emotions and especially the anxiety the characters felt. I started doing the countdown myself as the situations became more intense. No nothing horrible happened, but that doesn’t lessen the stress we place on ourselves and that others place upon us.
Ace was an interesting character / love interest. His personality quirks were a perfect complement to Karina’s anxiety.
I also loved reading about cultural expectations. It was very eye opening for me.
I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.

I had heard this story through goodreads and tiktok and I was so excited to read it. I wanted to like this book so much, so I set in with very high expectations.

Maybe too high? I often want contemporary romances to start like fantasies, so it was kind of on me that I rushed into this book expecting something grand, when all it really was, was a normal and cute love story between a Bangladeshi Muslim, and a bad boy type white boy.

It did have a rocky start, little too similar to fanfictions, but once the plot really starts and the two main characters are in a groove, it gets better. The book starts delving more into brown culture and the standards we set for young girls and they’re survival in America as children of immigrants, and that’s where Tashi’s writing really shines. It’s clearly something she knows a lot about, along with Karina’s experience with anxiety. The book got so much better in the second half. I felt invested in this relationship, and I wanted to see how they would make it work.

Overall, the book was adorable. I will always be glad that there are more people of colour in paper and in publishing, and I am so glad that we got this cute story about a brown girl falling in love in high school. I romanticized it a lot in my head, thinking it would be this grand love story, but I forgot that it didn’t need to be. I went wrong where I expected something life changing, something larger than life. But the truth is, all stories surrounding people of colour don’t need to be. We should be allowed to have cliche love stories, and chick-flick type romances.

It was what I always thought a brown girl/white boy high school story would look like and it was lovely. Didn’t break any records, but still really entertaining, and exactly the kind of story I have rarely seen a brown person in and wanted to read when I was younger.

All it needed to be was a cute, adorable love story that we’ve seen so many white fuels feature in. Counting Down With You releases May 4, and I hope you guys like it too!!

The ARC was kindly provided by NetGalley!

I'll be stronger. Braver. Bolder. I will win in the end.

4.5 stars. Counting Down with You was probably one of the best YA contemporary books I've read in a while. I had high hopes and I wasn't disappointed!

Some of the things I liked:

- Karina Ahmed. She is the main character and narrator of the story, a young Bangladeshi-American teenager. I saw so much of myself in her, and that's probably why I enjoyed reading about her. Karina lives under a lot of pressure from her parents who want her to study medicine and become a doctor, while she dreams of majoring in English. Her anxiety, struggles, and fears felt very real. She was afraid of disappointing her parents, and the stress that comes with that is something I know a lot of second generation immigrant kids feel. I loved seeing her growth. I could relate to her lack of freedom being a daughter in a Muslim family. She was a very well crafted character that just felt true.

- Karina and her two best friends, Cora and Nandini. Unlike many other YA books I've read, their conversations don't feel forced. How they texted each other was accurate to how I honestly see many teenagers talk, references were also relevant and realistic. Their friendship was adorable in general.

- And of course Ace Clyde, and the romance, were very cute. The writing and all the poems made the romance even more heart fluttering. On a separate note, Ace has a very good taste in music, and I liked his recommendations!

I only thought that the book was just a bit more lengthy than it could have been, but it didn't take from my enjoyment.

*Deep sigh* Ok so I have thoughts about this book. Conflicting, mixed thoughts. I liked it, but by no means do I think this book is a perfect read. To be honest, there were multiple times while reading that I wanted to DNF because it was just...blah, but I pushed through it because I really don't like to DNF books, especially if they're an ARC. In the end, I'm happy that I made myself continue reading because I do think the book, more specifically, the writing gets better.

I'll start with the good aspects of this book. I loved that this was about a Bangladeshi girl and her struggle with trying to figure out where she fits in with her family, but also her struggle to stay brave and fight for her happiness. I loved learning about her culture, and I loved how there was just so much casual diversity in this book. There are LGBT+ side characters, many POC characters and we see Karina, our main character, try to figure out the best way to handle her panic attacks. Even though I found Karina a bit frustrating at time, I really enjoyed seeing her journey. I also really liked Ace and learning about his family (though I do find his character underdeveloped).

Unfortunately for me, my biggest issue with this book is probably the writing. This is the author's debut novel and I can tell that in a couple of years she could write some really great books. But this book...well the only way I can explain it is that it reads like a Wattpad/Fanfic. Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with Wattpad or fanfic. I read both and I've even written them. But there is a difference between someone who is writing a story on one of those sites versus a published novel. The writing was choppy and fell flat. It reminded me a lot of a first draft or when you're writing a book but don't actually know how to follow through with all the ideas that you planted in the book. And so, the writing falls flat, the characters appear one-dimensional and the plot just has so many holes and inconsistencies. I also found the social media slang and pop culture references to be so cringe and just not good. I know that people talk like this every day (I often use twitter slang in conversations with friends too) but it just did not work for me in the book. I think it might be a personal preference but I don't like when books use pop culture references or lingo because I feel like it dates the book and just overall takes me out of the story. The pacing the book was also very off. There were times that I felt like the plot was dragging and this book felt entirely way too long. And yet I also felt like things moved too fast and didn't feel believable.

The romance between Ace and Karina was cute but didn't really feel well executed. Ace is this "bad boy" and talks to no one but for some reason the moment he sees Karina he's a teddy bear and actually isn't a bad boy at all? Also I'm supposed to believe Ace is a bad boy because...he wears a leather jacket? He literally wears $300 cashmere sweaters and has probably never lifted a finger to do anything in his life. Baby boy does not sound like a bad boy he sounds like a rich douche who's trying too hard. Now granted, Ace is the sweetest and I really liked him but I just could not for the life of me understand how someone who the author spends lots of time emphasizing spends no time with anyone, doesn't talk to anyone and will even rudely dismiss them if they even look at him, takes one look at Karina, the nerdy, quiet tutor and decides "hey I like you and I'm going to drop all of my walls and pursue you relentlessly"? Also, we learn that Ace is actually a secret musician and for me that was the icing on the "is this a one direction fanfic" for me.

Overall, this wasn't a horrible read it just wasn't a super great one either. I think many readers will be able to relate to Karina and her story will resonate so many young readers. As for whether or not I recommend this book: well I think it depends on the reader. I think this book will certainly work for some, but not all. I think if after reading this review, you are still curious and want to give it a chance than you should go for it! The rep alone is really great and if you're looking for a book where you can relate and see characters like you, then this is definitely it. Just go in with low expectations because this book isn't the most well written and it's not a perfect read.

This was a great read that brought together two teens who are trying to navigate through their family problems, on the premise of fake dating. The story provided solid characters and great representation.

Karina is a high schooler who comes from a Bangladesh and Muslim family. She is expected to become a doctor but deep down all she wants to do is to pursue English. From the very beginning, you are shown that Karina suffers from anxiety, but since she comes from a culture that doesn't take mental health seriously, she has to resort to online suggestions/tips in coping with it. Throughout the story, Karina strictly abides by the rules her parents have established, despite being out of the country for a month. She has so many conflicting thoughts because just her very happiness can never be achieved if she doesn't stand up to her parents. It's a slow progression in her development, but I'm glad she was able to get there in the end.

While the book carries a lot of positive attributes, it does have flaws. First off, the pacing. At first, that book progressed at a decent pace, as it took time for the fake dating to even occur. However, the fake dating also didn't last very long before the relationship became official. This caused the progression of it to feel a bit rushed. When you're reading you might think it's happening at a relatively good pace, but in reality, everything is happening in a span of a month, which isn't long at all. Personally, I'm not a fan of quick romances. Another part that I didn't like was the cliche and cheesiness of it all. I'm sure it adds a certain charm to it to other people, but at times it gets a bit much for me. Despite this, I did actually enjoy the romance.

Overall, while this book may not be perfect, it offers great representation that is much appreciated. If you like fluffy romance, mental health representation, and complicated families, then this might be just for you.

Overall rating: 3.75/5