Book Review and GIVEAWAY: From Twinkle, with Love, by Sandhya Menon {ends 6/6}

Crap. I'd missed what Sahil was saying—again—because I was ogling his brother. Anyway, context. Come on. Look around. Look at his face. What might he have said? Oh, right. He was holding out a business card. I took it, frowning slightly.

Sahil Roy, Film Critic, it said. There was a phone number below it.

"You're into films, aren't you? he asked, tugging at his T-shirt.

Am I into films? Ha. Ha ha ha. Only like Bill Nye is into science. "Mmhmm," I said. "Definitely."

This is Sandhya Menon's second book, and I LOVED her first book, When Dimple Met Rishi, which I reviewed last June. Although I didn't enjoy this one quite as much, it's still a cute story, and is worth a read, especially if you enjoy YA books.

Official synopsis:

Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true. The fact that it gets her closer to her longtime crush, Neil Roy—a.k.a. Sahil’s twin brother? Dream come true x 2.

When mystery man “N” begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it’s Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she’s fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.

Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she’s got is not the one she’s scripted. But will it be enough?

Told through the letters Twinkle writes to her favorite female filmmakers, From Twinkle, with Love navigates big truths about friendship, family, and the unexpected places love can find you.

The best part of this story is how Twinkle slowly falls in love with Sahil—even though it's his twin brother, Neil, that she was originally crushing on (and had been, for a while).

Sahil and Twinkle work on a school project together, which is a reimagining of Dracula — called Draculass, with flipped genders (the main character is a woman)—and get to know each other during the filming of it, since she's the director and he is the producer. 

There's also a "B plot" where Twinkle has been getting mysterious emails from someone named "N," whom she assumes is Neil, saying that he has a crush on her and wants to meet her ... but I figured out who "N" was before his identity was revealed (hint: it's NOT Neil).

I'd recommend this book for anyone who likes teen/YA stories, or anyone who likes a good romance. Much like her last book, the protagonist here is Indian, and we learn a bit about Indian culture as well. The protagonist isn't close with her mom and dad, but by the end of the novel they have repaired their family a bit, which was also a nice side plot.

3.5 stars out of 5.
{click here to purchase}

*Disclosure: I was provided with a review copy of this book. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

GIVEAWAY:

Three of my lucky readers will win a copy of From Twinkle, with Love!

Enter via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Wednesday, June 6th, at 11:59pm EST, and winners will be notified the next day via email, and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner(s) will be chosen.

U.S. residents only, please.

Good luck!

Hardcover copy of From Twinkle, with Love