I am pleasantly surprised with how much FUN I had with this book! I dove in without context and was greeted with a fun Emma-esque character, plenty of cultural context, and excellent commentary on colonial legacies that continue to haunt South Asia and it's diaspora.

Habiba is our protagonist and reminiscent of Austenian tradition, we aren't supposed to "like" her as much as we are supposed to cringe at her choices and endear ourselves to her attempts at repair. I appreciated her no-BS attitude, in complete juxtaposition to her elder sister's character, and also the many ways in which she challenges her cultural upbringing. I actually loved that the majority of this story takes place in Bangladesh because we're offered a very fish-out-of-water perspective for Bibi and how she navigates her time there.

The commentary on colonial legacies of tea farms and exploitation of Indigenous Bangla labor, classism and colorism in South Asian cultures, distribution of wealth, historical trauma from Partition and the Bangladesh Liberation War, inter-generational dynamics, and many other nuanced topics was not only refreshing but also incredibly accessibly-written (especially for folks who may not have background knowledge on the history of Bangladesh!).

While the romances in this book played a key role in the plot and character development for Bibi, I also enjoyed that that her dating adventures were also lighthearted while simultaneously didactic. Bibi and Sohel's chemistry is fun from start to finish and I think their pairing complimented the story as a whole.

I'd recommend Always Be My Bibi to fans of frustratingly endearing FMCs, those who enjoy a Black Sheep protagonist, and stories that explore cultural heritage from multi-faceted perspectives.

Bibi's sister announces a surprise engagement that leads to the whole family traveling to Bangladesh for the wedding. But Bibi and her future brother-in-law's younger brother Sohel team up to stop the wedding.

There's a lot I liked about this book. I loved way food and culture were described and how tradition came up against love. Sohel was a fun love interest. And I enjoyed the writing, which was fun and engaging throughout.

For a book that hinges on sabotaging the engagement, the two really didn't do much on that front. I much preferred the subplot involving Bibi's Thathu. Bibi was a bit too spoiled and self centered, but she stands up for love in a solid way.

If you enjoy YA romance with snarky characters, you'll have fun with this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

This book follows Bibi as she is banned from interacting with boys during the summer. Soon after, her sister tells her family that she is getting married to her college love, Sunny. They fly over to Bangladesh for the event. On her trip, Bibi collaborates with Sunny's younger brother, Sohel, to stop the wedding. I love the descriptions of the settings and food. It felt like I was in there experiencing everything with Bibi. I enjoyed the exploration of the different families and their beliefs. There is one scene that I wish Bibi were present for. This book should be picked up for a movie or even a mini-series. I would love to see this book adapted for the screen. However, I did not enjoy the third act and how easily it was resolved. I will continue to read from this author!

Adored this YA rom-com! A lovely mix of humor and swooniness, with some heartfelt moments and family bonding thrown into the mix. Enjoyed the reverse parent trap storyline (or in this case, reverse sibling trap where Bibi and Sohel work together to break up their siblings engagement.) Great setting in Bangladesh with traditions and cultural expectations layered on.

The romance was very cute, and I grinned like a fool during Bibi's shenanigans.

If I had to describe it, I would say it's the Bangladesh version of Crazy Rich Asians and Bridesmaids for teens.

unfortunately not for me. i may be experiencing a slight YA burnout so i could see myself returning to it another time

A sassy Bengali teen. A tea garden. A not quite enemies, but also not quite friends to lovers. The Big Book of Biodata used as a way for our main characters to have sarcastic conversations. South Asian family squabbling. Honestly, what’s not to like about Always Be My Bibi?

While Always Be My Bibi is billed as a ya romance, I think it’s really a book about relationships. Between daughters and parents. Between grandkids and grandparents. Between soon to be newlyweds and in-laws. And between siblings (real and found). The use of all the various parts of a Bengali wedding is the perfect way to highlight the nuances of all these relationships, how different they are to each other, but also how intertwined and connected they all are.

Seeing the entire story unfold through Bibi’s eyes helps us see the various relationships in interesting—though not always complete—ways. Sohel is a wonderfully sarcastic foil to Bibi’s stubborn belief that she’s always right. As the central characters in the middle of many of the book’s adventures, together, they create a really dynamic story.

My favorite relationship/aspect of the book was the side story with Bibi and her Thathu. Honestly, I’d love a whole detective-y short story or novella of the lead up to the conclusion of that plot point or even a follow-up short story to follow Thathu’s story after the book ends.

My second favorite aspect was watching Bibi go from being quite materialistic and not understanding her privilege to having a much better grasp of just how much hard work goes into creating and maintaining a dream.

Together, Always Be My Bibi is wonderful sophomore book from Priyanka Taslim that I highly recommend. (And readers of The Love Match will especially love the little easter egg referencing that book.)

This was a cute YA love story. I loved to see the cultural diversity, but the fmc was a bit over the top. I don't know if this is really how things are in Bangladesh, but yikes.

Thanks for the read!

Thank you to Simon Teen for the gifted e-arc!

Bibi is a materialistic boy crazy Bangledeshi-American teenage girl who visits Bangladesh with her family for her sister’s wedding to a tea garden heir. There is tension between the two families as the grooms family don’t believe they are good enough for their heir. At this, she and the grooms brother devise a plan to “break up” the engagement, but in the process could there be another love connection brewing?

I really enjoyed this! This is a heartwarming YA title about love, culture, and the merging of two families! I am enjoying reading books about cultures other than my own. I’m learning more about the Asian culture and how marriage is often arranged and about pedigree over love.

I enjoyed getting to learn more about Bangladeshi culture. I’ll never get tired of reading about young love and coming of age! I loved seeing the growing pains and character growth of Bibi.

DNF at 20%. The Clueless comp should have been an indicator this could be very hit-or-miss for me. I don’t mind an unlikable heroine (I love them, even), but the way the book was executing “privileged girl gets a job” felt rather obnoxious. “Farmer chic?,” complete with name-brand everything?

What a fun, refreshing YA romcom!

I loved Taslim's previous novel, so I was very excited to meet Bibi and get wrapped up in her hijinks! I really adored the Bangladeshi culture and everything we learned and saw through Bibi's eyes; all the descriptions of the food and cities really made me want to visit!

I really loved Bibi and Sohel's romance; they were both so snarky with each other, but it soon gave away to some blooming sweetness between them and it had me kicking my feet and blushing once they realized their feelings for each other! I also really loved seeing Halima and Sunny come into their own while dealing with both their families, and finally showing who they truly are to their loved ones, even if it went against everything they wanted for them. I also loved that Bibi stuck by her sister's and family's side throughout it all, and in the end, got to experience her own little romance story!

All in all, another fun read from Taslim - I look forward to more in the future!

really fun and swoony romcom with a nice set of protagonists and a plotline that's remarkably effective. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

Thank you Simon teen for an arc!!

Absolutely loved this book. It was a heartfelt, emotional story about sisterhood, family and romance. Bibi was hilarious and overly dramatic which I deeply enjoyed as someone who is also a drama queen. :)

Bibi almost get her first kiss but her parents have to ruin it. After she getting caught hanging with boy her parents grounded her by make her work at her family restaurant. Her father one rule is no boys until her older sister gets get married. But things change when her sister Halima coming back home with her mysterious new fiancé. The mysterious fiancé is Sunny is the heir is a princely estate turned tea garden in Bangladesh. The next things she knows, she is on plane to Sylhet for her sister wedding. That’s where she meet Sunny family, the Rahmans who disapprove of this engagement. So Bibi team with up Sunny younger brother Sohol to broke them up. Along the way Bibi start to catch feelings for Sohol. Now would she get her happily ever after she stirs up trouble for her sister engagement?

💭I love Always be my Bibi. This is second book I have read from Priyanka Taslim. Her first book I have read is The love match (I believe it’s my first YA rom-com, which open the door for me to rom-com/romance books) Both time she have make me cry. I really try not to spoilers. I love she wrote the relationship with family, specially the relationship with bibi and her grandma. I favorite chapter is 23. Since I get e-arc and I believe is not the final copy, I kind dislike the great big book of Biodatas parts bc I can’t understand what going on. So hopefully in physical copy i hopefully will understand it.
4.75 ⭐️

Always Be My Bibi not only has a catchy title and beautiful cover, but the story inside is upbeat and fun! The premise could've easily become too heavy, but that author keeps the story moving and entertaining for the reader.

3.25 stars rounded down

I liked the story overall. I enjoyed Bibi and her growth as a character. I LOVED her love interest, Sohel, and his backstory and sweet/sassy personality. I really liked their siblings and the dynamics of their families. The setting was beautiful, and I liked being in Bangladesh for the majority of the story.

So why a middle-of-the-road rating? This book was trying to do too much. There were 3 "major" plots, so none of them were able to breathe and fully given the time they needed in the story. Plot 1) The wedding and "sabotaging" it. I did read an arc copy, so I'm hoping this was better fleshed out in the final version, because I didn't see them do much to sabotage their siblings' wedding. There were a couple of things, but nothing major or unforgivable. Plot 2) Bibi finding a boyfriend by going on dates according to biodata. This was pretty random. Plot 3) Finding Bibi's grandmother's lost love. This was pushed in a couple of times and shoehorned in at the end for Bibi to realize something about her own romance. I liked all of these plots, but they would randomly come in and out because the author was trying to do too much in too little time.

Overall, this was a fun, low-stakes story about first love. I enjoyed myself.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an arc copy in exchange for my honest review.

I’m living for all the new South Asian books releasing this year, and this might be one of my favorites.

Always Be My Bibi follows Bibi Hossain, a spoiled Bengali teenage girl living in America. After getting caught breaking her father’s #1 rule- no dating, she’s forced to work at her family’s famous fried chicken chain all summer. When her sister suddenly announces she’s getting married, Bibi finds herself staying at her to-be brother-in-law’s tea estate in Bangladesh. After meeting the horrible family her sister’s marrying into, she is determined to stop the wedding at all costs, even if that means teaming up with the groom’s insufferable younger brother.

This was such a fun summer read. I loved Bibi’s character development, as well as the romance. The history of both the tea estate, as well as the families was explained really well. I also appreciated the classic South Asian family dynamics that were shown in this book. Both relationships, (Bibi and Sohel as well as Halima and Sunny)’s relationships were adorable to read about, and the obstacles both couples had to overcome made this book hard to put down. It had the right balance of being a quick, fun summer read, as well as a book about the importance of a healthy family.

this was such a sweet book!!! I am a sucker for the "rich girl goes to new place and falls in love" so I was eating this up man!! it also made me very hungry cause all the mentions of food sounded so good

Before we talk about the book, I need you to do me one tiny little favor. Look away from here, go listen to the song Fabulous from the High School Musical 2 soundtrack. Why? Because that song and the mc of this book Bibi, have the same vibes. It really sets the ambiance.

Now, back to the book. Always Be My Bibi is the quintessential summer read that has a little bit of everything for everyone. There’s romance, family drama, more romance (because Bibi’s sister is getting married), Bengali culture, finding a long lost love (so more romance), and it’s just overall a really fun time. At first I wasn’t sure if I was going to like Bibi, because she comes across a little spoiled but she grew on me quickly because of her heart of gold. I very quickly found myself rooting for her happiness and loving the relationships she was building with everybody around her.

I have no complaints, seriously one of my favorite books I’ve read lately. Thank you to Simon Teen and the author for the gifted copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting my request to read this e-ARC and provide my honest opinions.

I absolutely love YA romance, and this one was such a cute, slow-burn story! Bibi may be spoiled, but she’s also confident, outspoken, and unafraid to chase what she wants.

Apart from the romance with Sohel, one of the things that endeared me to the story was the description of Bangladesh; it felt as if I was right there, experiencing all the shenanigans Bibi was up to.

Through the course of her sister’s wedding to the wealthy, traditional Rahman family, we see Bibi grow from a spoiled girl into someone who truly values the little things.

Overall, I adored the slow burn, the character development, and the beautiful cultural backdrop. Thank you again for the e-ARC!

What a cute book. Bibi is definitely spoiled but I love how she grows. I didn’t know what to expect since I don’t know a lot about Bangladesh culture, but it was interesting to learn about. I love her relationship with her family and just the growth through the book. She’s never perfect, but she’s always her genuine self and I think that’s what is most important. It took some time for me to warm up to the move interest, but it did happen. This is definitely an author I’ll be checking out more from!

I wanted to like this book i really did. A desi wedding set in bangladesh sounded amazing but unfortunately i was just disappointed. I think the whole story was kind of all over the place and that made it difficult for me to connect with the characters. Still I did really enjoy the setting and there were some cute moments. I really appreciate more Bangladeshi authors writing about Bangladeshi characters and I also did enjoy the author's debut novel but this one just missed the mark for me.