This post was written by Tashie Bhuiyan, author of Stay With My Heart.
I’ve always wanted to write a book that was a love letter to music and the community it creates, and my latest novel was finally my chance to do that! STAY WITH MY HEART is a YA contemporary about a girl who accidentally sabotages an up-and-coming local band and falls for the guitarist while secretly trying to make up for her mistake. It’s about found family and the way music can bring people together. It’s about making mistakes and finding yourself in the process. It was so much fun to write, and I’m excited for readers to meet the whole cast!
I thought a fun way to get to know each of the characters before reading the book would be to listen to a song that encompasses them best, so I’m so excited to share with you: Stay with My Heart Characters as Songs.
Liana Sarkar, “Publicist” of Third Eye
And they called off the circus, burned the disco down
When they sent home the horses and the rodeo clowns
I’m still on that tightrope
I’m still trying everything to get you laughing at me
And I’m still a believer, but I don’t know why
I’ve never been a natural, all I do is try, try, try
I’m still on that trapeze
I’m still trying everything to keep you looking at me
– Taylor Swift, “Mirrorball”
Skyler Moon, Guitarist of Third Eye
I know exactly how your rule goes
Put my mask on first
No, I don’t want to talk about myself
Tell me where it hurts
I just want to build you up, build you up
‘Til you’re good as new
And maybe one day, I’ll get around
To fixing myself, too
– Sleeping At Last, “Atlas: Two”
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Mohammed Anwar, Keyboardist of Third Eye
All my, my, my, my armor comes from you
You make me try, try, try, try harder
Oh, that’s all I ever do, ever do
Oh, no no, my, my, my, my armor comes from you
You make me stronger, stronger
Now hand me my armor
(Hand me my armor, hand me my armor)
– Sara Bareilles, “Armor”
Vincent Alvarez, Bassist of Third Eye
Oh, are you gonna hurt?
Are you gonna burn?
Gonna answer me?
Let me take your heart, love you in the dark
No one has to see
Mmm, I, I want more, I want more
And I, I want more, I want more
– Years and Years, “Memo”
Ethan Mitchell, Drummer of Third Eye
I believe, I believe, I could die in your kiss
No, it doesn’t get, doesn’t get better than this
God only knows where this could go
And even if our love starts to grow outta control
And you and me go up in flames
Heaven won’t be the same
– Niall Horan, “Heaven”
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Thomas Smith, Ex-Vocalist of Third Eye
Cause I… see right through you, boy
And I, I… ain’t feeling you no more
I ain’t feelin’ you no more
If you knew better
Boy, you would do better
Can’t nobody love you there like I do
– Ariana Grande, “Knew Better”
Evie Khodabux, Bestie Extraordinaire
Yeah, you know who I’m likin’
Way before I liked them, duh
Cause you liked them first
And if somebody hurts you
I’m gonna get hurt too
That’s just how we work, yeah, that’s just how we work
It will never change
– Julie and The Phantoms, “Flying Solo”
I’ll let you make of these songs what you will to keep it as spoiler-free as possible, but I think each of them provides some deeper insight to each of the characters. Aside from these songs, every single chapter of STAY WITH MY HEART is accompanied by a song to enhance your reading experience to the fullest!!! Music is the heartbeat of this story and I like to think it shows in every page. 🙂
Make sure to check out STAY WITH MY HEART and hop over to my Spotify to check out the chapter by chapter playlist!
Get your copy of Stay With My Heart by Tashie Bhuiyan here.