Name: A Show for Two
ISBN: 9781335424563

Tashie Bhuiyan

Mina Rahman has a plan for her future: Finally win the Golden Ivy student film competition Get into her dream school across the country Leave New York City behind once and for all Mina's ticket to winning the competition falls into her lap when indie film star--and known heartbreaker--Emmitt Ramos enrolls in her high school under a secret identity to research his next role. When Mina sets out to persuade Emmitt to join her cause, he offers her a deal instead: he'll be in her short film...if she acts as a tour guide to help him with a photography contest. As Mina ventures across the five boroughs with Emmitt by her side, the city she grew up in starts to look different and more like home than it ever has before. With the competition deadline looming, Mina's dreams--which once seemed impenetrable--begin to crumble, and she's forced to ask herself: Is winning worth losing everything?

A Show for Two

Sophia

For a moment, l’m thrown back to our first meeting, the loathing remarks, the vicious undercurrent of emotion. But this is so much worse, because he knows me now, and I know him, and we see each other, but it's not enough.

I can almost hear my heart breaking, a slow, painful crack that vibrates inside me. All our shared memories, all our shared dreams fade until there's nothing left but a throbbing ache. 

kari <33

Keira 💫

The ending was a bit too cheesy for my liking and it really bothered me how everyone said she was selfish when she actually wasn't at all. The book was really good tho! I loved their banter and the photo trope.

Ellie M.

A Show For Two spoke so much to me in volumes I can’t even truly describe. It felt so real and I easily connected with Mina Rahman’s character and I could only hope to experience the kind of growth she had (Do look out for the trigger warnings as Mina has depression and exhibits depressive episodes). This book was so in-depth with discussing the struggles of expectations and pressure of college, looming futures, friendship, and family it literally didn’t overlook a thing. I’m POC and I will say Tashie gave us everything. Not to mention the romance was incredibly heartwarming and funny and light-hearted. Go read it! Life is too short to not spend it giggling over rom-coms <3 I also want an Emmitt Ramos (I’m serious)

A Show for Two is the definition of Cornelia Street: Set in New York City, this is a very heartwarming coming-of-age, rom-com story between an aspiring screenwriter and an actor. The story speaks a lot about the expectations of the future, being part of a first generation immigrant family, and all the in-betweens of young love.

 can’t decide if this deserves five stars or not…

it’s honestly the best ya romance book i’ve ever read. most of the time ya romance is just so cliche i’m going to throw up but this, this was nice. it was well written and it had the complexity of a well thought out book. 

i think the main thing that keeping me from giving it five stars is how mad i was just half an hour ago (switches this review to a spoiler review). the way every one started treating mina towards the end of the book really boiled my blood. first her best friend turns on her, then her sister, then her (almost) boyfriend? and they all call her selfish for working hard for her dreams that her parents aren’t going to support. her parents are jerks and she wants to get away from them and follow her dreams and everyone who cares about her know that, they’ve known that! so what kind of crappy support system calls a girl selfish for working hard for something that matters to her?! they are the selfish ones! and then i hate that she let them guilt trip her sm that she didn’t even want her dream anymore. whatever tho.

super cute book with a great plot. the characters were funny and very much so entertaining. love it.

Rachel Braithwaite

 can’t decide if this deserves five stars or not…

it’s honestly the best ya romance book i’ve ever read. most of the time ya romance is just so cliche i’m going to throw up but this, this was nice. it was well written and it had the complexity of a well thought out book. 

i think the main thing that keeping me from giving it five stars is how mad i was just half an hour ago (switches this review to a spoiler review). the way every one started treating mina towards the end of the book really boiled my blood. first her best friend turns on her, then her sister, then her (almost) boyfriend? and they all call her selfish for working hard for her dreams that her parents aren’t going to support. her parents are jerks and she wants to get away from them and follow her dreams and everyone who cares about her know that, they’ve known that! so what kind of crappy support system calls a girl selfish for working hard for something that matters to her?! they are the selfish ones! and then i hate that she let them guilt trip her sm that she didn’t even want her dream anymore. whatever tho.

okay rant over, sorry.

super cute book with a great plot. the characters were funny and very much so entertaining. love it.

also s/o to tom

Beatrix Haase

I had a hard time reading this. It was slow and didn't pull me in right away. I like when a book pulls me into the story, I hate waiting. I am impatient. I really liked the idea of this book but that was about all I liked about it. I was excited for this too :/

Bea

wow. i really wanted to like this book bc char bought it and poc solidarity but i simple could not. its so bad like wattpad personified. please do not waste your time

i love it so much!! as a muslim girl i relate to mina and anam so much 

Shafa

sydney

Coming soon! A Show for Two by Tashie Bhuiyan will be available May 10, 2022.

3.5 ━ if there are two things tashie bhuiyan is gonna write in her stories it's relatable familial issues that never fail to make me cry and accurate stantwt lingo jdshcbjhds i had issues with cdwy but i have to admit that this one is sliiightly better!

l.h.

an indulgent round-up to 5 stars based solely on enjoyment. yes, some of this book is unrealistic and a little ridiculous, but it read distinctly like a comfort read and i am kind of in love with the love interest, so sue me :)

It made me laugh and made me cry and was so cute. The start was a bit slow for me but that lasted like 5 chapters I think. From how it deals with depression to friendships and relationships with parents it’s so good. I kinda wonder what happened to Mina and her parents and if they’re still on speaking terms or not and also Anam is she okay? Did she survive the last year and where did she end up at college? 

Definitely enjoyed this book and so happy that I picked it up!

Jinte

I absolutely adored this book

It made me laugh and made me cry and was so cute. The start was a bit slow for me but that lasted like 5 chapters I think. From how it deals with depression to friendships and relationships with parents it’s so good. I kinda wonder what happened to Mina and her parents and if they’re still on speaking terms or not and also Anam is she okay? Did she survive the last year and where did she end up at college? 

Definitely enjoyed this book and so happy that I picked it up!

This book may be one of the best books I've read in 2022. 
I absolutely loved everything in this book, even the parts towards the end that frustrated me. 
Tashie's writing is absolutely breathtaking and always has me sobbing over how relatable it is. 
Mina is dedicated to escaping New York for all the wrong reasons. And in this book, we accompany her as she unlearns her hatred for the city with Emmitt, an indie actor. 
I can't get over how amazing Emmitt and Mina are. They don't overpower each other like so many other couples are written to do so. 
I absolutely fell in love with Mina because she's just so fucking relatable. 
The family she has is basically holding up a mirror to mine. 
The things they say and then claim it's all for "love". The good moments they have constantly being overpowered by the hatred they have for her? 
I related to it all. It's so hard to learn one's intentions when they're constantly contradicting each other.  
When she had a fight with her sister, I was reminded of all the fights I've had with my brother. 
It felt like I was reading about me honestly. But at least she learnt her lesson. I haven't yet. She believes home is where her found family is. I personally can't wait to leave this shithole. 
Anyways, everyone has to read this book. If you don't, I don't think you'll ever understand me 😪

Skyler Hess

Thank you so much to Tashie Bhuiyan, the publisher, and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. 

While I initially wanted to read this book because of the real-life inspiration behind the story, after reading it I have found that it is one of my favorite reads of 2022 so far! It has an abundance of representation in the POC leads (Bangladeshi-American/Muslim & Spanish/Chinese) as well as for the LGBTQ+ community. 

A Show For Two follows Mina Rahman, who is as she deals with her last few months of high school, her family, and a certain film competition that is essentially her ticket out of New York.

I don't typically read contemporary romance, but this novel might have inspired me to dip my toes into the genre a little more. I am a sucker for more dark/realistic themes, which is why I particularly liked the inclusion of the impact that generational trauma can have on the children of immigrants as well as the general mental health of Mina. 

There was a wonderfully balanced focus on both relationships within families as well as the families that are created through friendships. There are several dynamics like the relationship between Mina and her sister, as well as between her and her friends, her and her dreams, and her as the leader of the film club. The main romance itself between Mina and Emmitt was very cute and ended up playing out quite naturally between the two. 

One thing that did stand out to me was the inclusion of very 2022 references to music, movies, and pop culture. While these references fit in perfectly fine this year, I do wonder if they will "age" the book several years down the line when people from different generations read this. The passage of time and pop culture is both a blessing and a curse. 

On another note, I loved the references to fellow author Chloe Gong that were scattered throughout the novel. Its little easter eggs like these that add to my enjoyment of the novel.

Ultimately this is a very raw novel and I encourage anyone interested in getting a copy themselves!