Counting Down with You by Tashie Bhuiyan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Counting Down with You by Tashie Bhuiyan is a YA romance that deals with anxiety disorders and filial piety. Seventeen-year-old Karina Myra Ahmed tries to live up to her Bangladeshi parents’ high expectations, but she feels suffocated under all their rules, so when they take a month-long trip to Bangladesh, she decides to use their absence to cut loose.
Things are complicated when she’s forced to tutor bad-boy Alistair “Ace” Clyde, and he asks her to fake date him for three weeks. They catch feelings for each other and in the process learn to fight for themselves and what they want.
It took me a while to get into this book, but I’m glad I stuck with it; Ace and Karina are adorable together, and I was so rooting for them. But the other characters were a bit one-note, and I couldn’t stand her parents. They are the definition of toxic parents, and I wouldn’t blame Karina if she cuts contact with them once she goes to college.
Overall, I like this book, but it did have some issues. First, the overuse of adverbs led to a lot of telling. I’m talking at least once every page. That said, it didn’t detract from the story that much.
Second, as I mentioned above, aside from Ace and Karina, the characters were two-dimensional. But my favorite character Karina’s grandmother; she was so warm and understanding, like a comfy blanket.
My third issue was that neither Ace nor Karina grew a spine until after they got together. This is a pet peeve of mine; if you don’t care enough about yourself to fight for what you want, then why would you just because you’re in a relationship?
The ending was also a bit lackluster with the issue of whether Karina will tell her parents about Ace being left unresolved.
I did enjoy Karina’s poems and the build up of her relationship with Ace.
Overall, I give Counting Down with You 4.0 out of 5.0 stars and recommend it if you like diverse YA romances.
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