Counting Down With You by Tashie Bhuiyan

-

 Karina Ahmed's plan for the future is to survive high school by keeping her head down and following her parent's strict rules, even if it includes giving up her dream. When her parents go abroad to Bangladesh for a month, Karina expects peace in her life. Instead, a simple lie unravels everything. Tutoring Ace Clyde, the school's resident bad boy, was already crossing a line. But pretending to date him? It's out of the question. If she goes along with Ace's fake dating plan, Karina is promised a dozen books a week. Though Karina agrees, she can't help but start counting down the days until her parents return.

Reading this book put a smile on my face. It was such a cute contemporary. This book seemed to have everything. There was a good blend of friendship and family dynamics. The fake-dating trope is always so much fun too. Counting Down With You was so much fun, yet so emotional at the same time.

Though this book looks pretty long, I flew through it so quickly. It took me only two days to get through this 450-page book. Once I started reading, I just couldn't stop. I lost track of time a lot while I was reading because I was just so invested in Karina's story.

I loved all the characters in this book. Karina was quirky and well written. She was also so relatable. Especially with her anxiety. I definitely know what she's going through with that. If any book going to win the award for best side characters, it's Counting Down With You. I loved Cora and Nandini. They were hilarious and reminded me so much of my own friends. Karina also has the best grandmother ever. She was so supportive of everything Karina did.

I'm always skeptical of the "bad boy" trope, but Ace was great. I loved Ace. He was such a sweetheart. He and Karina were such a cute couple! I'm always a sucker for the opposites attract trope too.

The only characters in this book I didn't like were Karina's parents. They were awful. I hated how manipulative they were. They were so verbally abusive. I just absolutely hated them.

Page count: 464 pages

Published: May 4, 2021

Genre: contemporary

My rating: 4.5 stars

Trigger warnings: anxiety, panic attacks, verbal parental abuse

Buy this book!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My 5 Favorite Quotes From Clap When You Land

-
Image
  Clap When You Land  was an amazing novel. On top of that, Elizabeth Acavado's writing was beautiful.  5 "The whole time she swallowed her words like bitter pills not realizing that they were slow dripping poison." 4 "Papi was a man split in two playing a game against himself But the problem with that is in order to win, you always lose" 3 "A queen offers her hand to be kissed, & can form it into a fist while smiling the whole damn time" 2 You do not let your words stunt unknown possibilities." 1 "Fight until you can't breathe, & if you have to forfeit you forfeit smiling, make them think you let them win." About Clap When You Land Camino lives in the Dominican Republic. Yaraha lives in New York City.  The two girls have never met but they have one thing in common: their father. When their father dies in a tragic plane crash, Camino and Yaraha's world turns upside down. To add to all the crazy in their life, they find ea
Read more

October Book Haul

-
Image
 I got so many new books this month I'm excited to read! About half of the books I got were graphic novels because I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately. Act Cool  by Tobly McSmith Act Cool  is a recent release that looks so good! Goodreads synopsis: Aspiring actor August Greene just landed a coveted spot at the prestigious School of Performing Arts in New York. There's only one problem: His conservative parents won't accept that he's transgender. And to stay with his aunt in the city, August must promise them he won't transition. August is convinced he can play the part his parents want while acting cool and confident in the company of his talented new friends. But who is August when the lights go down? And where will he turn when the roles start hitting a little too close to home?  A Tale of Sorcery by Chris Colfer Though I'm so excited to read the last book in the Tale of Magic  series, I am a little sad that Chris Colfer is taking a break from wri
Read more

Fairest of All by Serena Valentino

-
Image
Page Count: 250 pages (Hardcover) Published: August 18, 2009 My Rating: 4 stars Series: Villians book 1 Genre: Fantasy   While she may seem like a jealous queen after a young girl's beauty, she is so much more. They may have been logic and heartache behind the Queen's attempts on the sweet girl's life. The Queen struggles with her looks and the trauma from her childhood helps her accept the fact that she must become the fairest of them all.    This is definitely my favorite version of Snow White! From the Queen's early days as a child to her last moments, Serena Valentino took this seemingly innocent fairy tale and turned it into something dark and twisted. This is by far the most heartbreaking story of Snow White ever. At the same time, this book has enough plot twists to keep any reader entertained. You'll never believe who the magic mirror really is!      Even though Snow White has never been my favorite, this is definitely a book I would be willi
Read more