When Dimple Met Rishi

Written by Sandhya Menon

Published by Simon Pulse, May 30, 2017

My star rating: 4.5 stars

THE SYNOPSIS:

Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right? 

Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself. 

The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitate toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not? Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways. Find it on Goodreads

MY REVIEW:

If I was to choose one word for this book, it would be smile. Because that’s basically all I did while reading! Absolutely adorable and full of really great characters.

I LOVE the Indian culture SO much! When I found out about this book I was crossing my fingers that it would include some of the cultures, traditions and more. And it did! More so in the beginning though and it slowed down a bit during the middle and end. But what I really enjoyed is that it showed the contrasts between tradition and modern. Both Dimple and Rishi came from families who were born and raised in India. Their parents roots were deep into the Indian traditions. But Dimple and Rishi had conflicting views. Their upbringing was full of the traditions of their parents home land while their surroundings were modern America. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to figure out how you fit into the world. Conforming either to the culture you were surrounded by with your family, or the culture you were surrounded by with society. It was very well written in the way that it showed the struggles of finding that perfect balance, which was constant and never easy.

I loved the family dynamic throughout as well. Dimple and Rishi had both just graduated high school and were about to embark on the journey of college. This is a difficult time for anyone. It’s a time where you are becoming more of an individual and setting yourself apart from your family. I love that these characters were constantly supported by their parents and siblings. Great parents in books are always a huge draw in for me. Dimple and Rishi themselves were such great people!! They were so easy, real and relatable. They were driven, smart, feisty, and made mistakes. This was told in both Dimple and Rishi’s points of view which I loved! In the span of one chapter it would bounce back and forth between the two, allowing us as the reader to understand the thoughts and emotions from both sides. It helped me get more emotionally invested in both of the characters and what was happening in the story. Dimple was a strong willed girl who knew what she wanted, and wasn’t afraid to speak up. Rishi was a more traditional person who was protective and wanted happiness. Both characters knew their passions and I love that they worked together to gain those goals. But how snarky both of them could be at times was the best part! Their dialogue made me laugh and smile more times than I could count. In the beginning I thought Rishi was this soft spoken push over, but I quickly realized that he’s a very smart, quick, and calculated person. Take this quote for example:

Rishi smiled congenially. “Oh you heard me. If you have to be nasty to prove you’re better than others, then… well. Let’s just say that breeding isn’t everything.”

I straight up belly laughed at this part! When faced with challenges both Dimple and Rishi stood up for themselves in a way that was super smart and effective. They worked so well together, pushing each other to be better people.

There was a little bit of insta love and the plot points were, at times, predictable and convenient. That’s normally something that irritates me but in this case I didn’t mind. The cuteness of this read more than made up for the little things that I normally don’t enjoy in a book. There were also a few really awkward funny moments but they worked perfectly with this book and the characters. Awkwardly funny moments usually have me rolling my eyes to the back of my head but these fit the characters and the story so well that they just worked.

This was the super adorable and loveable read that I was hoping it would be! I had high expectations for this one and I’m so glad that it met every one of them! If you’re in need of a great contemporary read this summer – please pick this one up! You won’t be disappointed!

Until next time, happy reading!