I’ve been obsessed with the idea of this book ever since the premise was revealed. A famous actor enrolls at the protagonist’s school as an undercover student? That just sounds like so much fun, and I really enjoyed this book. A Show for Two was a sweet story of discovering what home truly is and the people who make up that home.

Mina Rahman is ready to get away from New York, from her emotionally abusive parents, to her dream school in California. To do that, she has to win a student film competition with her best friend Rosie, and the best way to do that is to have a celebrity appearance. When Emmitt Ramos, an up-and-coming indie star, enrolls undercover at her school as research for his next role, Mina enlists him in starring in her and Rosie’s film. He agrees but with a stipulation — she has to help him with his photography contest. As they take pictures around every part of New York City, they grow to know each other better and Mina begins to reappreciate the city she’s grown to hate.

I really liked the characters! Mina has been surviving in a home with very little love from her parents, other than her strong relationship with her younger sister Anam. She can’t wait to get away although her one-track mindset begins to fray her relationships with her best friend Rosie and Anam. Over time, she begins to realize that, just because she has bad memories of New York, she can’t deny that she still loves the city and the people in it.

Emmitt is one of the people who help her see this. He himself is going through his own issues; although he seemingly has it all — rising fame and a steady career — he wants his life to slow down. First, though, he has to stand up to his mother, who is in charge of his career. Mina also prompts him to take a step toward this goal.

Mina’s relationship with her younger sister induces a lot of emotion. Anam is two years younger and is also aware of their parents’ manipulation and generally not caring for their children. While Mina desperately wants to get away from home, she dreads leaving Anam in the daily hostile situation. They do fight about this, but I liked seeing how they still clearly love and care for each other even when they are angry with each other.

The romance was super cute! Mina and Emmitt initially dislike each other, or at least, Mina dislikes him because the first time they met, he was rude, which didn’t help her bad mood. They bicker a lot, especially in front of the members of the film club, who start putting bets down on when they’re going to get together. As Mina and Emmitt begin to spend more time together though, they grow closer and learn more about the other person. The ending was very sweet, and I couldn’t stop smiling at the epilogue.

It was interesting seeing how Mina and Emmitt grapple with their respective identities and their relationships with their cultures. Mina is Bangladeshi-American and Muslim, but her terse relationship with her parents has caused her to feel distanced from both identities. Emmitt is half-Chinese and half-Spanish, and I liked reading about how he keeps in touch with both of his parents’ backgrounds.

Also! I love when the title of a book appears in a story, and the way it does in this book was sooo good. I was screaming a little honestly!

A Show for Two was a sweet love story, both in a romantic sense and in falling in love with your home again. I liked the characters and found the romance adorable. If you’re looking for a cute contemporary with emotional resonances, you should pick up A Show for Two!

The love I have for this book can only be matched by my love for Counting Down With You. Mina was so relatable in the ways she struggled with defining herself for her future and in her honesty about finding her relationship with her faith. I adored the way the story played out and the way Mina took responsibility for her actions and how she recognized how her mental health would always affect her life and that she needed to find better ways to cope. I also really liked that most of the characters were able to self reflect to find their ways back to one another. This book is so touching and real and beautiful, so please read it when it comes out!

Thank you NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the Digital Advanced Copy of this book!

The cutest story about finding yourself, love, and everything in between. The premise of A Show For Two originally had me hooked when I found out it was based on Tom Holland going undercover at a high school. And from the first line, I was sucked right in. Mina is an incredibly relatable and complex character that I bonded with from the start. Battling mental illness while also trying to chase after her dreams, it hits close to home. From the slick references to the banter between Emmitt and Mina, this has become a comfort read. Once again Tashie weaves an incredible story, and as I said with Counting Down With You, I can’t wait for the next one!

Thank you to Inkyard Press and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Tashie, please, bring me a love interest as fantastic as the ones you write. They are just cinnamon rolls, but at the same time tough. I wish I had one in real life for myself. You are officially the queen of incredible love interests.

I could write so many brilliant things about this book, about the way Tashie is able to convey so many things all at once, but I will simply say: this book is a work of art. I have absolutely fallen in love with the Tashie writes. Her ability to convey depression, parental struggles, following your dreams, and the confusion of love and feelings in high school is spectacular. I feel seen and understood. I won't fully be able to understand what Mina was going through, or Emmitt, but I could understand and relate to the depression that Mina felt. I could also relate to the pressures of wanting to please everyone, but still desiring things for myself. It's a beautifully woven cast of so many things all wrapped into one powerful book.

I could sit here and continue to babble about how incredible this book is, but instead I will urge you to read this for yourself so you can fall in love with Mina and Emmitt the same way I did. You also did the impossible. You made me want to come back to New York and fall in love with it too.

This book is a powerful, raw and real story about depression, parental pressure and learning to find your way in your own way and that home is wherever you make it. This is easily one of the best books of the year!

I had heard a ton about this book before jumping into it myself and it lived up to the hype! The inspiration of this book is iconic- Tom Holland visiting the author’s high school undercover!! I’m not much of a Marvel fan honestly, but I love the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies, which definitely contributed to my desire to read this book haha!

I’ve never been to New York, but the descriptions of the adventures the characters go on sound so cool that it made me want to see it myself. In a lot of ways, this book feels like a love letter to NYC.

I really enjoyed the characters and their complexity. Our main gal, Mina, has struggles, but in a very realistic and understandable way. Her conflicts don’t feel super immature or awkward, which I’ve struggled with reading other books so that was amazing! You end up having a lot of sympathy for a lot of the characters and I think that’s a good thing, we actually care about them all!

The romance is swoon worthy and so sweet. It’s got enemies to friends to lovers vibes and the banter between Mina and Emmitt is hilarious!

There is a lot of diversity in the cast and it’s done really well! Muslim rep, queer rep, and more!

If you enjoy films, there’s also a ton of references to movies that I found really cool! Also, if you know the author and her friends, you’ll notice references to their works as well- I caught a few @thechloegong references myself lol.

Overall, I really loved this book and rated it 5 stars because it was both very sweet/adorable and very impactful about things like generational trauma, immigration, and diaspora.

I will read anything Tashie Bhuiyan writes, it’s true. My favorite thing about her work is that it perfectly captures the whole gen z vibe. As someone who’s very close in age to the protagonist of this book, Mina Rahman, I was able to relate to a lot of the experiences she had in this book in terms of high school. This book was super cute !! I loved the push and pull and the banter between Emmitt and Mina. I’m a sucker for celebrity romances actually, sue me. I liked the writing in this book as well. Counting Down With You was one of my favorite reads of 2021 so this instantly became an anticipated release for me for 2022.

Personally, I would’ve loved a little more exploration into Mina’s battle with depression. I think it was a little more underplayed than I would’ve preferred but that’s just me. The book focuses heavily on Mina's relationships with friends and family, and later Emmitt. Unlike CDWY, the parental conflict in this book - in which they refuse to support their daughter and her passion for film making - ended on a very negative note. I wish it could've been a little more mellowed out but oh well. I have a lot of highlights to come back to though so I'm still going to take the win.

Overall, definitely recommend checking this one out. I can’t wait to read more of Tashie’s work !!

~A Show For Two Review~
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5/5
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Obviously i had to request this immediately! Counting down with you was one of my favorite reads last year and i have no doubt that this book is also going to be amazing. If it’s based off tom holland going undercover i don’t see how it won’t be amazing
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Pros:
+we love a passionate film nerd
+casually diverse characters i love it!! bangladeshi character! half chinese half mexican character! bi and queer characters!
+enemies to lovers just does it for me. the BANTER is *chef’s kiss*
+we love a good deal!!!
+casual soft touches my heart can’t handle it im weak
+the fucking pet names i can’t!!!!
+ahhhhhhhhh!!!!! kissing to escape fans is iconic!!!
+you gotta love impossible parental standards trauma bonding
+okay emmitt really grew on me what a man!
+yangyang + poppy <3
+realistic sibling dynamic
+THE HALAL CART SCENE I CANTTT
+this was so so so cute i love
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Cons:
-not a fun meet cute. their bickering was a little too antagonistic at first
-family argument trauma ):
-still bitter from college admissions what a horrible process
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this book did not disappoint!! i loved it just as much as i loved tashie bhuiyans first book! this has definitely cemented that i will read whatever this author puts out!! everyone go read this one asap!!

Last year I read Tashie Bhuiyan's first book - Counting Down With You and I was absolutely obsessed with it. So, naturally 'A show for two' was one of my most anticipated book releases of this year. While this book still cannot top my love for CDWY, I still adored it.

First of all, as a Bangladeshi myself, I am so grateful for the Bangladeshi rep in Tashie Bhuiyan's books. You dont realize how important it is to see yourself (or someone who looks a lot like you and have similar cultural background as you) in literature until you read something like it. I loved all the small sprinkles of Bangladeshi culture in this book, including the food referencing etc. The rest of the characters, including the love interest, also come from many diverse backgrounds.

I loved Mina and Emmitt's relationship and the way it progressed. Their banter was very entertaining and adorable. There are many moments that made me laugh out loud or swoon! I loved how he kept taking photos of her all the time and how they could have such honest communications. Bonus points for referencing Taylor Swift's Cornelia Street! That song really fits their story.

Aside from the romance, this book heavily focuses on Mina's relationship with her parents, best friend and sister. While I hate the way her parents treat her, I wish it could have been resolved in a somewhat positive manner. I understand how complicated the dynamics of an immigrant family can be. I just wish it were better handled in this book. Also, I was counting on her best friend and sister to be more understanding for her situation. I wish she had a better support system who would understand her instead of making her feel guilty for chasing her dreams. Why is it wrong or "selfish" for her to chase her dream, to try to get away from a situation she is not happy with? Why make her feel horrible for trying to find happiness? I wanted her sister and best friend to communicate with her nicely about this whole situation instead of getting upset at her. To be honest, I don't understand why her best friend was mad in the first place. Mina was teasing her most of the time, which seemed perfectly normal to me, but her best friend took it personally.

I really did enjoy the book a lot even though a few thing made me really frustrated! Overall, this book was really sweet and swoon-worthy!

A Show for Two is Tashie Bhuiyan's sophomore novel, a YA contemporary romance that follows Mina Rahman, a Bangladeshi, Muslim, president-of-the-film-club senior in high school, and Emmitt Ramos, a half-Chinese, half-Spanish actor who goes undercover at aforementioned high school as research for his new movie.

I can't choose between giving this book 3.5 or 4 stars, so we'll round up because, I have to say, this book was entertaining. I'm a sucker for a good YA "enemies-to-lovers" trope, and that's definitely what this book was. However, it was also so much more than that - particularly, this book focuses on the familial tensions within Mina's household, and doesn't hold back from showing the emotional and verbal abuse that she and her sister face.

WHAT I LOVED:
- The diverse array of characters. I am often wary of books with a diverse cast because it almost always feels like every character is a token character. However, personally, I didn't feel that way with this book and felt like the characters were very seamlessly introduced.
- The premise. Okay, actor goes undercover at a high school where the only person who knows who he is the film club president that HATES him? So cute. & especially because this was based off of Bhuiyan's REAL experience with Tom Holland going undercover at her school to prepare for Spider-Man. Main character moment, much?
- The banter. Emmitt and Mina were very cute. I'll mention some of the things I didn't love about their relationship later, but for the most part, I loved the constant banter between the two, even after we all knew they didn't hate each other anymore.
- Don't want to spoil the book for anyone, but parts of how Mina's relationship with her parents was portrayed. Definitely wasn't something you always see in YA books, but it felt necessary and I'm glad the author didn't shy away from it.

WHAT I DIDN"T LOVE:
- The development of Mina and Emmitt's relationship. The "before" was cute, the "after' was cute, but I'm not sure what happened in the middle. It just suddenly felt like they flipped a switch and all of a sudden, they're both in love with each other. I definitely wish we could've seen more of a development in their feelings for each other.
- SOME of the writing. Overall, the writing in this book was fine - nothing outstanding but not bad by any means. However, some sections that could have been really poignant felt like they fell a little short for me - the ideas and the feeling was there, but I'm not sure it was conveyed in the best way. There was also some "Gen-Z" language sprinkled throughout, and while I didn't mind it (and actually found some of it funny) in the form of Twitter comments & online discourse, it felt off in the regular dialogue. The author also used the word bemused a lot.
- The other part of Mina's relationship with her parents. I completely understand that the things Mina goes through in her family life is seen a lot, especially in immigrant families. I could even relate to a lot of it (mind you, on a much milder scale, as I am very lucky to have a positive familial environment). However, I really wish that for once, I could read a book where the Desi MC isn't always going through some struggle with their identity, whether it be emotionally abusive parents, hating their culture, forgoing their religion, etc. It is 1000% important to have these conversations, since they speak to a lot of the experiences that many Desi people face, but I also feel like we deserve stories that don't have to revolve around some trauma. Let's have a cute YA romance where the MC fully embraces their culture, practices their religion, doesn't have abusive parents, and can just BE. This is NOT a criticism for ASFT specifically ( I actually think Bhuiyan did a really good job showing Mina's disconnect to her culture in a non-shameful way, while still showing that she wanted to be closer to it). I just felt like it had to be said.

Honestly, I truly did enjoy this book and definitely had a lot of fun reading it. Thank you, Netgalley, for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The book's premise caught my attention, but the two main characters were so obnoxious that it was difficult to really enjoy the book. Mina was so focused on winning the film competition and "escaping" to USC that she neglected every relationship in her life. Even when she does notice that things are off between herself and her best friend, she doesn't take the time to address those issues. When she finally gets called out for being selfish, she is offended and doesn't listen. Her character isn't redeemed until the final 10% of the novel, but there are so many gaps in the narrative that it was difficult to understand Mina's drive in the first place. When did her relationship with her parents break down? Why were she and her sister so hostile towards them? None of this is resolved in any real way.

Emmitt is also annoying, but he shows signs of humanity much earlier in the book and ends up being the most likeable of the characters, all of which are underdeveloped and shallowly written. Aman and Rosie lack depth - all we know about Aman is that she plays volleyball and hates her parents while Rosie loves film and is a lesbian. Done. I probably won't remember this book in a day or two because there was no emotional investment in the characters.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC.

TASHIE JUST BLEW ME AWAY WITH THE MASTERPIECE A SHOW FOR TWO IS!!
I remember reading Counting Down With You when it first came out thinking Tashie can’t outdo that, but like a genius she is, she did!
The fact she based the idea of this story off of the icon; Tom Holland, makes this story even better!
A hate-to-love relationship. Celebrity love interest. The way it starts off as forced. The banter. I cannot explain how she put such amazing little tropes into this story that everyone loves!
On top of having cute romantic moments, Tashie also didn’t forget to include some serious topics such as depression and toxic family relations!
Can’t forget the references in this book, that you all will find out when it comes out, are the best little subtle things ever!

I truly loved all the characters and how they are portrayed! Throughout this book I felt a connection with majority of the characters with how I felt during my high school years. The stress of having a crush. Especially when that crush was of the same sex. The stress of approval for what I want my future to be like. The stress of college application. The stress of college acceptance. The stress of it all. I’m so glad to read them grow and learn throughout this story!!

Thank you NetGalley and Inkyard Press for an ARC!

A Show for Two by Tashie Bhuiyan follows Mina Rahman. Mina has her future planned out perfectly: she will win the Golden Ivy student film competition, get into USC, and leave New York City. Mina’s ticket to success is indie film star Emmitt Ramos. The heartbreaker has secretly enrolled in Mina’s high school for research purposes for his next role. Mina is determined to get him to agree to appear in the student film, so when he offers her a deal, she accepts. All she has to do is show him around New York City and help him find the perfect locations to take pictures for a photography contest. The more time Mina spends with Emmitt touring New York City, the more she realizes the city might not be so bad after all. Mina’s perfect plans begin to crumble, and she must decide if getting what she wants is worth losing all she’s ever needed.

I adore everything about this book. Mina and Emmitt provide enemies-to-lovers excellence. I couldn’t stop smiling during so many of their scenes together. This is a new top favorite contemporary!

omg!! personally, i wasn't a fan of tashie's debut, 'counting down with you', but i loved this one so much! they really redeemed themself in my eyes here: the romance was sweet, i loved the conversations of identity, the plot was so well written and paced. could not recommend more!

Thank you, NetGalley and Inkyard Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Soooo I recently read Tashie Bhuiyan's debut novel, "Counting Down with You", and I loved it, so when I saw this on NetGalley I was so so so excited, and rightfully so.

Bhuiyan does an amazing job making the voice of the immigrant children heard. I think that's why I'm so drawn to her writing style- I relate to her MC's on a different level, and "A Show for Two" definitely showed out. ( so obvi

The Blurb did not do this book justice, Mina's character although stubborn (the best ones are) was commendable, driven, and easy to like. Her thought process was really interesting to read, and her passion for film added the touch that was needed to make this YA romance so good.

Emmit and Mina both relied a lot on each other when it came to personal obstacles, which is really needed in Young Adult novels, where teens (and others) should understand that friends are there to support you, and you should be able to lean on each other through tough times.

I also think aspects such as Mina's parents being really unsupportive and creating a toxic environment for her and her sister spoke volumes to so many of what immigrant children face. It was tear-inducing for sure.

Bhuiyan's writing style although similar to her first book, felt a bit more mature, which created interesting tones that set this book on a great course for more relatability.

Also, really cute. Like reaaaally cute. Cute banter and well-developed chemistry. Built really well and didn't feel insta-lovey at all.

Overall really fun, quick, YA contemp romance novel that I would recommend!

A Show for Two by Tashie Bhuiyan was the perfect celebrity YA romance everybody was waiting for! I fell in love with this book as soon I read the first page. Nina faced so many problems and obstacles and having Emmit there for her was EVERYTHING!! The writing style was similar to Counting Down With You and I absolutely love it!! As with the celebration romance, it was PERFECT!! I love how Emmit became his true self with Nina and how they both worried through their problems together and came out stronger than ever. I especially loved Emmit being there for Nina when her parents weren’t and him being the pillow and the hug she needed. Emmit brought out the best side of Nina, the part many others didn’t see in school but the TRUE part that was her. The epilogue was AMAZING!! When readers ask for epilogues this is what we mean!! It was * Chef kiss * The Asian Rep was also on point!! I love that more books when MCs like me are being published and it’s amazing!!
Overall if you’re looking for a light ya romance with the sunshine/grumpy trope( the girl is grumpy) and an amazing, relatable protagonist A Show for Two is perfect!! Thank You Netgalley proving an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I received an ARC from NetGalley and I am truly glad to have read it. This title and the blurbs about it do not, I think, do it justice. It was a much deeper, much more rich and sadder book than I anticipated. However, this in no way took away from the story. In fact, I think it improved it for me. The only reason it doesn’t get a 5 is the lack of any more real or effective means of dealing with the depression that plagues Mina. I wish it were not just a “give in to tears once or twice while alone and otherwise muscle-through” sort of thing. Readers need to see characters addressing mental illness in a more intentional way, in my opinion.
But it’s a good story and I love that the author got the idea from her real experience with Tom Holland. 💜📚

I LOVED THIS BOOK. This book was everything that I wanted a sweet romance to be. I had a little trouble in the beginning with reading the interactions between Mina and her parents, but honestly maybe that’s the point? Like it should make readers a little uncomfortable with it because it’s an uncomfortable and toxic relationship. I love love love Emmitt and Mina and their slow growing but all at once love for each other. The entire second half of the book was honestly my just grinning uncontrollably. Amazing deep themes of friendship, home, and identity. And of course, this books gets bonus points for mentioning TSwift! (As soon as Tashie wrote “this city screams your name louder than anything else”, I was like there’s no way she’s gonna let me down without a full blown Cornelia Street ref. Tashie did not disappoint!)

Tashie Bhuiyan is a "New Yorker through and through" according to her author bio and A Show for Two reads like a love letter to New York, but NYC in some alternate universe. Characters are wearing t-shirts in the winter, watering plants outside in March, and bouncing around with MTA cards that get them to all five boroughs at warp speed. And the characters are visiting all these places in the doldrums of winter when the sun is gone before 5:30 and no one has seen windchills above 40 degrees since Thanksgiving. But the characters are doing it after school and taking pictures. Huh? Golden hour is long gone by then and just try to take pics without gloves - especially on the Staten Island Ferry.

Mina, the protagonist, is truly selfish and entitled - her supposed quick wit is beleaguered with gendered insults, intolerance, and belittling comments. In short, we aren't rooting for her to find success, but we're hoping she'll grow up and get out of her own way.

The book summary is well-written and I wanted to love the story - who hasn't dreamed of a movie star coming to school and falling in love with them after a whirlwind tour of the greatest city in the world? But this version of that fantasy isn't working - the plot is forced into an unrealistic timeline and this New York does not exist.

Considering how much I loved the author’s first book, I was really looking forward to reading A Show for Two. I thought the fact that the premise of the story was loosely based on something that happened with the author and Tom Holland was so amazing, and I couldn’t wait to see how she would tell the story. However, for some reason I just didn’t enjoy reading from the main character, Mina’s perspective. I felt like there was a bit too much inner monologue-ing for me. That’s my main complaint about the story. Other than that, it was an easy to read, cute New York love story about two artsy teens. I would still pick up another book written by this author in the future!

oh my GOSH this was good! tashie has DELIVERED yet again!

my favorite things about a show for two
- the actual realistic buildup of it all was great. I adored the film festival and photo contest backdrop that brought mina and emmitt together. it was so sweet to watch them begin to understand each other.
- the BANTER. mina and emmitt’s immediate bantery chemistry was perfect. their first meeting was the opposite of a meet cute, but somehow it was still an adorable meet cute???
- the incredible depiction of depression. tashie has a gift for realistically showing mental illness. just like in counting down with you, the mc’s thought process and feelings felt so real and raw that I felt like I was going through them with her. the entire read I truly wanted the best for mina, and I was rooting for her always. I loved watching her grow into the incredible young lady that she is!
- the relationship between mina and her parents. tashie also has a gift for showing the depth of a family. I was so mad at mina’s parents any time they were nasty to her or didn’t believe that she’s as strong and capable as she is; but even through their bad relationship, I could feel how much they love her. even though their methods are terrible, they really thought that they were helping their daughter. I was so torn between being mad at them but also kind of seeing things from their perspective. gah.
- anam and mina’s sister bond. their texts were so realistic and fun! they’re just such a power duo. like everything else in this book, their relationship feels so real, and it’s so much deeper than it appears at first.

a huge thank you to tashie bhuiyan for writing this work of art! thank you for giving this world mina and emmitt. I cannot wait to see where your writing career goes in the future. I am rooting for you all the way! I can’t wait to share a show for two with all of the YA enthusiasts at the indie bookstore where I work!