Book Review and GIVEAWAY: When Dimple Met Rishi, by Sandhya Menon {ends 6/20}

"So, you think Ashish is going to come stay with you?"

"Probably. To be honest, I think he's mostly just interested in ogling college girls rather than checking out the merits of the campus." Rishi rolled his eyes.

"Oh, like that thought never occurred to you when you were coming here," Dimple said.

The doors opened to an empty elevator, and both of them stepped in. Rishi turned to her as the doors closed. "It didn't," he said seriously. "I was only thinking of you."

This is probably one of the cutest YA books I've read in a while. I was intrigued by both the premise and the cover (an Indian girl drinking Starbucks or some sort of other drink, who is obviously a bit younger) and the novel did not disappoint.

Official synopsis:

A laugh-out-loud, heartfelt YA romantic comedy, told in alternating perspectives, about two Indian-American teens whose parents have arranged for them to be married.

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.

Dimple and Rishi seem to be complete opposites at first. It probably doesn't help that Dimple's parents didn't tell her that she'd be meeting him when she goes to Insomnia Con (a convention/summer camp-esque place for coders) at the SFSU campus, and that when he met her for the first time he jokingly says "Hello, future wife" ... 

Once Dimple learns of her parents' plans, she's of course furious (she doesn't want to get married at 18, anyways!), but begrudgingly befriends Rishi, and later their friendship turns into something more. 

First off: #relationshipgoals here, so much. Rishi ends up being besotted with Dimple, and she with him, and they're adorable together. 

I don't know much about arranged marriages, but some traditional Indian families still keep up with this tradition. In this book, Dimple and Rishi's parents were hoping they would meet naturally, or at least Dimple's were - Rishi's parents had told Rishi all about Dimple, so he sought her out when he arrived on campus. Rishi also is planning on going to MIT for his freshman year of college, majoring in engineering, so coding wasn't entirely related to his course of study; he's mostly at SFSU to meet Dimple. 

I'd recommend this novel for anyone who is a fan of YA books, and/or those who enjoy love stories, especially with a very much fleshed out cast. Dimple asks a lot of questions that normal YA heroines don't ask too - in one conversation with her mother, she says that although she does like Rishi, it's always the women that end up giving up their life aspirations to get married (rather than the men), which I found to be very insightful. 

4.5 stars out of 5.

{Click here to purchase}

GIVEAWAY:

One of my lucky readers will win a hardcover copy of When Dimple Met Rishi!

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Tuesday, June 20th, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be notified via email the next day and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen.

U.S. residents only, please.

Good luck!

When Dimple Met Rishi book