When Dimple Met Rishi (Dimple and Rishi, #1) in YA Book Bloggers

Jun 30, 2018 ✨ jami ✨ rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, 2018-reads, romance, contemporary

“It was his damn fool heart. Ever optimistic, always looking for a sliver of sunshine in a sky clotted with thunderclouds.”

im actually angry people made this book out to be SO HORRIBLE like yall were out here saying dimple was abusive like literally what the fuckgjjdfgd

I have 3 things to say

1: im convinced yall have never met men in your life bc im telling u if a random man came up to me and said hey future wife i would fLIP my shit too

2: rejecting traditional femininity yourself (ie. I don' ...more

120 likes · Like · see review

Apr 17, 2017 Tala rated it it was amazing

Shelves: hyped-like-there-s-no-tomorrow, this-is-wickedly-good, out-of-the-box, contemporary-and-etc, books-i-own, favorites, cover-fabulousness, switchy-3rd-pov, faaaast-paced, unputdownable

I MAY OR MAY NOT BE MADLY IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK.

Don't even try to talk sense in to me. I love it.

ALOT.

Oh, where do I even begin to talk about WDMR? With the effortless relatablesness of both Dimple and Rishi (and even Celia and Ashish and Tree #3?) With the slow yet interesting premise, plot, and execution? With the humor? Or with the fact that I am surprising even myself with loving a contemporary this much?

This is a fantastic rom-com. The jokes are actually funny. The romance is cute. It ...more

38 likes · Like · see review

Apr 28, 2017 The Candid Cover (Olivia & Lori) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned, 2017-releases, netgalley, arc, ya-enemies-to-lovers, young-adult, ya-romance, kindle

Full Review on The Candid Cover

When Dimple Met Rishi has got to be the best rom-com of the year. This story is about two teens arranged to be married who are also paired together in an app development competition. I loved the main character and her intelligence and the bits of culture laced throughout the book. This novel is a must-read this summer!

I adored the concept of this book! Basically, Dimple and Rishi are arranged to be married while they are participating in an app development competit Full Review on The Candid Cover

When Dimple Met Rishi has got to be the best rom-com of the year. This story is about two teens arranged to be married who are also paired together in an app development competition. I loved the main character and her intelligence and the bits of culture laced throughout the book. This novel is a must-read this summer!

I adored the concept of this book! Basically, Dimple and Rishi are arranged to be married while they are participating in an app development competition. The thing is, Dimple has no intention of being married, and Rishi is only competing in the competition to get to know his future wife. This book is absolutely hilarious and adorable, both at the same time. There are also a lot of technological aspects to the book, such as coding, which I had no idea I was so interested in. After reading this story, I will definitely be on the lookout for more books like this one!

Dimple is absolutely one of my favourite main characters ever. She is so sassy and does not take crap from anyone. She even goes as far as throwing her iced coffee on Rishi when he meets her for the first time and addresses her as his wife. Dimple is also so independent and intelligent. She knows her values and would rather focus on coding than dating, despite her mother’s protests. If Dimple was a real person, I would definitely want to be her friend.

I really enjoyed all the Indian culture integrated into this book. Tradition plays a really big role in this story, especially arranged marriage. I feel like this is a topic that isn’t addressed very much, and Sandhya Menon did an amazing job discussing this subject with humour. I also loved the way that Dimple breaks away from tradition a bit while still embracing her culture. If you are looking for the perfect funny and diverse novel, this book is a great choice.

When Dimple Met Rishi is an Indian rom-com complete with one of the sassiest main characters ever. I loved the culture that is woven throughout the story and reading about Dimple choosing her own path for herself. After reading this book, I can definitely say that Sandhya Menon has made it onto my auto-buy list! ...more

28 likes · Like · see review

Jul 05, 2017 Angelica rated it liked it

Shelves: reviewed, contemporary, release-2017, read-2017, two-star

Rating: 2.5

Ok, so I’m conflicted.

I liked this book. A lot. It was so, so cute! And yet, it also had a lot of things that annoyed me to no end.

Before I get to the review and go on about the good and the bad of this book, let me just talk about the fact that this is a diverse contemporary romance. I love that! For a long time the cute contemporary romance scene has been dominated by white authors writing about white characters. Lately, there has been a wave of diverse authors bringing fresh pe ...more

20 likes · Like · see review

Jun 14, 2017 Mandy rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemp, the-bookshelf-of-actual-bookshelves

I'm going to start this by saying this book has some serious adorable moments. It had some cute moments, it had some funny moments (the first meeting between Dimple and Rishi was literally so adorable and actually got a real life chuckle out of me), and it had some super positive role model moments (epic girl coding and actual conversations between couples about important issues). This book is definitely a good contemporary in so many aspects.

My favorite character was definitely Rishi. Omigosh, I'm going to start this by saying this book has some serious adorable moments. It had some cute moments, it had some funny moments (the first meeting between Dimple and Rishi was literally so adorable and actually got a real life chuckle out of me), and it had some super positive role model moments (epic girl coding and actual conversations between couples about important issues). This book is definitely a good contemporary in so many aspects.

My favorite character was definitely Rishi. Omigosh, I give five amazing princess crowns to that man. He was so cute and funny and in tune with his feelings. I was just like, BUT I WANT A RISHI OF MY OWN. SO CUTE. Ugh, he might be one of my favorite book boyfriends of the year.

Dimple was good. I never felt a super big connection to her, but I could understand where she was coming from in may situations. I loved how you saw her progress from beginning to end and she did feel like a different character by the end of it - and one that I really liked.

There was really only one big issue that I had with the novel, and it was the pacing. It took me an absurdly long time to read this - if it's a cute contemporary and I'm in a reading mood, I should be able to knock it out in 2 days. It took me 9. It just seemed like I would get bored a bit and give up on it for the night.

I think my issue stemmed with what Steph @ Lost Purple Quill mentioned in her review - the moment after the arranged marriage issue came and went, I just lost that tension and draw that had originally drawn me in. I loved the idea of them working through the whole arranged marriage issues and then falling in love, but literally they had agreed they were not getting married within the first two meetings. Where was that original tension that kept it quirky and different? It was still cute, but it just lost its extra little magic and what I had envisioned for the romance.

Overall, this was a super cute contemporary, but it lost me a bit with the pacing and how things really didn't match up with what it seemed to be. The characters were still good, the plot was good(although, why the heck was there a need for a talent show - I just wanted lots of epic coding!!), and I want to marry Rishi myself. The diversity aspect was brilliant as well. 3.5 crowns and a Jasmine rating since there were parts I really enjoyed but also parts where I was like, but eh! ...more

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Apr 01, 2017 Kayla K. rated it really liked it

Shelves: indigo-arcs, owned, young-adult, ya-contemporary, arcs

Over the past few months, I have spotted When Dimple Met Rishi on a lot of Waiting on Wednesday and TBR blog posts- there has been so much hype about it, and many other bloggers who also got early copies have adored it. So, I naturally joined into all that hype. When I found this book as an option on the weekly Indigo ARC newsletter, I definitely requested it right away!

It turned out that just as I'd expected, I adored this book. It was diverse, light, fun, and basically everything I wanted it t Over the past few months, I have spotted When Dimple Met Rishi on a lot of Waiting on Wednesday and TBR blog posts- there has been so much hype about it, and many other bloggers who also got early copies have adored it. So, I naturally joined into all that hype. When I found this book as an option on the weekly Indigo ARC newsletter, I definitely requested it right away!

It turned out that just as I'd expected, I adored this book. It was diverse, light, fun, and basically everything I wanted it to be! (Well, almost.)

To quickly summarize the novel, it follows the dual POVs of Indian teens Dimple and Rishi. Their parents want to set up a marriage for them, but they don't really know each other yet, so they get sent to the same computer camp and are paired up to work on a project together. But the two are polar opposites, so will this get in the way of their relationship? And even despite that, can they pull off a relationship under their parents' wishes and expectations?

To be honest, I didn't love the characters, and that's the one thing that kept me from giving this book a 5-star rating. I found Dimple (the female protagonist) to be a bit stuck-up and whiny, which is something that always irks me with some characters. I get that she always wanted things to be perfect, but I just got a bit fed up with her at times. As for Rishi (the guy), he was okay; a bit better to stand than Dimple, but I simply found him to be unmemorable.

I have to say that instead of the characters, I really liked the premise of this book. I have never read much about the Indian culture, let alone an arranged marriage, and I found it so interesting to read about it in this story. This book also sent out great messages about doing anything you set your mind to, and it really was a stunner!

If you are looking for a nice, adorable, diverse story to enlighten your mood, then look no further than When Dimple Met Rishi. It is really an amazing story with great morals, but don't necessarily expect to be wowed by the characters.

*I received an advanced reader copy of this book from Indigo Books & Music Inc. in exchange for an honest review.* ...more

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Dec 27, 2017 Jackie rated it really liked it

definitely not as good as i hoped it would be in the first place (this was one of my MOST highly anticipated releases so my expectations were pretty high) but A LOT better than i expected after seeing so many negative reviews!

i thought this was SUPER CUTE and FLUFFY and i really liked that it was centered around two Indian main characters and that we got to see so much of the Indian culture! ANDDDD THERE WERE BOLLYWOOD REFERENCES AND I WAS LOOKING UP THE DANCES THAT WHERE MENTIONED WHILE READING ...more

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Sep 02, 2017 Joana Bookneeders rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-love

4.5 stars
I started this book just liking it. It was cute and I wanted to know more about the culture, the characters were interesting and I wanted to understand them. Also, the writing had a way of gripping me.

After 1/3 of the way, I couldn't put it down and had to finish it. I freaking loved this book. It left me red, blotchy and my eyes were swollen (sorry for the image...). I couldn't stop crying for the life of me... I was a mess! But I couldn't stop turning pages even tho we could see the e 4.5 stars
I started this book just liking it. It was cute and I wanted to know more about the culture, the characters were interesting and I wanted to understand them. Also, the writing had a way of gripping me.

After 1/3 of the way, I couldn't put it down and had to finish it. I freaking loved this book. It left me red, blotchy and my eyes were swollen (sorry for the image...). I couldn't stop crying for the life of me... I was a mess! But I couldn't stop turning pages even tho we could see the end miles away! I loved this so much. It was such a cute and thrilling read with amazing characters that I want to read about more and more!

It's true that I was expecting a bit of a different story tho. The marriage aspect kind of dies right in the beginning, and I suspect that not every Indian girl/boy is that lucky. So I did want to see a bit more about that and it didn't have much. Also, after that went away since Dimple was so focused on her project and winning it, I was expecting more tension there, but that also didn't happen...

Basically, this book is about Dimple and Rishi falling for each other and helping and supporting each other. They had one of the best relationships ever, and I'm not even talking about dating, just about the connection that existed between them. They were just perfect for each other. They just understood what the other wanted/needed so well. You know when you know a person for a very small amount of time and yet you feel like you've known her all your life? That's basically this novel. I loved to see the interaction, love, and sometimes even shock.

Dimple was such a strong female character! She always went for what she truly wanted in her life. I didn't feel like she was selfish. I just felt that she was head-strong and she knew what was best for her life. She knew herself and her worth. Of course, she is still only 18 years old and after all, human. So she did make some annoying mistakes... But I could definitely understand her, although I loved Rishi and hated to see him so broken, he kinda needed that push.

Rishi is without a doubt the best male character ever. He is the sweetest most perfect thing I ever met and I wonder if there's any Rishis in the world. For sure I doubt there's many. He did everything for who he loved. I also really liked how along the novel he grew up and so things differently not only about himself and his desires but also about his brother. Because I loved Ashish! (I'm so excited for the book featuring him! SO EXCITED!)

I also really loved how much they loved their parents, and although they showed it in a very different way, I could feel how important family was to them.

And of course, the writing was also on point. It was easy to read and extremely gripping and emotional. In some parts it actually got me snorting, so I definitely loved it! It's hard to believe this was a debut novel.

It was heartwarming perfectness and I would definitely recommend it! It's such a cute romance and I loved the Indian aspect to it! It's cute and emotional and it will make you cry A LOT. Worth it. ...more

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Jun 22, 2017 lady h rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2017

This is one of the cutest books I've ever read! From the very first chapter I was captivated, drawn into Dimple's world, sympathizing with her frustrations. I could not put the book down. It's such a sweet little romance story, and a really awesome book for teens!

I was so drawn to Dimple, who is such a vibrant, fleshed-out character. She's serious and studious and determined, fierce and ferocious and independent. Her ultimate goal is to become a web developer, and she most definitely does not wa This is one of the cutest books I've ever read! From the very first chapter I was captivated, drawn into Dimple's world, sympathizing with her frustrations. I could not put the book down. It's such a sweet little romance story, and a really awesome book for teens!

I was so drawn to Dimple, who is such a vibrant, fleshed-out character. She's serious and studious and determined, fierce and ferocious and independent. Her ultimate goal is to become a web developer, and she most definitely does not want to get married. Despite this, her parents set her up with Rishi, who, unlike Dimple, is more traditional and appreciates the romance of arranged marriages. Both sets of parents agree that their kids will head to Insomnia Con, an app development camp/competition, to get to know each other.

One problem: Dimple has no idea she's being set up.

This leads to an absolutely hilarious introduction between Dimple and Rishi. He jokingly calls her "future wife" and she throws her iced coffee at him. Soon enough, though, the two become friends, and soon enough, their friendship turns into something more. Dimple and Rishi are super different, but both are realistic characters. The story is told in their alternating POVs, and each character has a clear, distinct voice. Their romance was sweet and fluffy, at times bordering on cheesy, but I still liked it. Both of their parents ended up being so supportive and understanding of their ambitions, which was a nice change of pace from how Indian parents are presented. Also, Menon's writing is excellent! With her descriptive and evocative sentences, San Francisco becomes a character in its own right; I could picture the hills, the fog, the dips in weather.

I also liked the nuanced perspectives offered on the characters' cultural expectations, and arranged marriages in particular. I'm not Indian, but I also come from a culture of arranged marriages, which younger me always viewed quite negatively. Now that I'm older, I have a much more layered view of this tradition, and I appreciated that in this book it wasn't simply dismissed as old world nonsense. Dimple and Rishi do, in fact, get along, just as their parents predicted! The set up begets real love, which often happens in arranged marriages. I liked that Rishi and Dimple each had their own understandings of their culture and their relationship to it; their discussions about their culture really hit home for me.

This book is so utterly happy and adorable and I just loved it so much!
...more

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May 27, 2017 Moira rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017

Number of pages: 378

Number of times read (including the time before this review): 1

Rating (out of five stars): 4

When Dimple Met Rishi is unbelievably cute, and it was exactly what I needed after a string of disappointing fantasy books. I’m still not a contemporary book fan, and I do have some complaints, but other than that, When Dimple Met Rishi was a really solid debut novel.

I love all the characters, especially Celia, Dimple and her parents. I strongly relate to Dimple; just replace coding wi Number of pages: 378

Number of times read (including the time before this review): 1

Rating (out of five stars): 4

When Dimple Met Rishi is unbelievably cute, and it was exactly what I needed after a string of disappointing fantasy books. I’m still not a contemporary book fan, and I do have some complaints, but other than that, When Dimple Met Rishi was a really solid debut novel.

I love all the characters, especially Celia, Dimple and her parents. I strongly relate to Dimple; just replace coding with books (though I did go to a one day program called Girls Rock I.T. No knowledge was retained), and cultural heritage with a distinct lack of cultural heritage. I loved seeing Dimple realize that her parents genuinely cared about her happiness. I also loved seeing Rishi realize that he should do what makes him happy, rather than what makes his parents happy. I am also officially dubbing the rich, popular kids aberzombies from now on.

I appreciate seeing phases in what I believe is Hindu (don’t take my word for it. I can barely form a sentence in my country’s second language). I used to be bothered when books include phrases in other languages without translating them, but then I remember how I feel whenever I can understand when people in books speak French. It makes me feel like the book is written for me.

One of my issues with When Dimple Met Rishi was that it would switch perspectives halfway through a chapter. There was fair warning for the perspective change, but it didn’t really work for me. I am okay with novels that change perspectives, but I prefer chapters to be dedicated to a specific character.

It was also really nice to see characters going into college/ university. It’s probably because I don’t normally read contemporary, but it was nice to read about characters in the same situation I’m in (I will be done with High School in a month).

Overall, When Dimple Met Rishi was a sweet contemporary that taught me about a culture that I previously had very little knowledge about. It has therefore earned 4 out of 5 stars.

You can read more of my reviews on my blog. ...more

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Jun 23, 2017 Ash rated it liked it

Shelves: romance, young-adult, school-uni-related, friendship, fun-and-light, easy-read, didnt-stick-the-landing, contemporary

About two weeks ago I sat down and thought to myself, “You know what, Ashley, you should try reading contemporary YA books. There’s so many that people seem to love on WordPress and Instagram right now, you should definitely read some.” And so, with much excitement and expectation, I headed to the bookstore and picked myself up a copy of When Dimple Met Rishi. Contemporary YA? Check. Greater than four star GR rating? Check. Reviews gushing about how adorable the book is? Double check. Fast forwa ...more

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Jun 14, 2017 Kyera rated it really liked it

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon is a contemporary book set in San Francisco. Our two main characters, Dimple and Rishi are Indian-American and this book is such a lovely addition to the more diverse YA reads that we have been getting lately. Dimple’s parents don’t understand her love of coding and desire to do that for a living. They want her to find the Ideal Indian Husband, get married and settle down. To Dimple, that sounds like the most horrifying loss of her identity and freedom, so When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon is a contemporary book set in San Francisco. Our two main characters, Dimple and Rishi are Indian-American and this book is such a lovely addition to the more diverse YA reads that we have been getting lately. Dimple’s parents don’t understand her love of coding and desire to do that for a living. They want her to find the Ideal Indian Husband, get married and settle down. To Dimple, that sounds like the most horrifying loss of her identity and freedom, so she’s very surprised when her parents agree to let her attend a coding camp over the summer at SFSU.

Rishi is the perfect eldest son, sure of his duties and ready to fulfill his family’s wishes. He plans to attend MIT in the coming year to major in engineering and computer science. Even though he has other interests, he knows that they are not viable career options and will have to support his family in the future. His parents send him to the same coding camp so that he can meet and get to know his (possible) future wife. It is not an official arranged marriage, but their parents each have decided that they would be good together.

Unlike Rishi, Dimple does not know of her parents' plan and is entirely freaked out when a stranger comes up to her and addresses her as his future wife. Their first interaction is hilarious and sets the stage for a fantastic book to come. Although Dimple is vehemently opposed to Rishi’s attendance as she feels tricked, she knows that it would be unkind to demand that he leave. The two end up spending more time together and become friends. Their friendship was authentic and quite adorable, even though on the surface they don’t have much in common.

Celia, Dimple’s roommate and Ashish, Rishi’s brother are really nice supporting characters. Celia gets wrapped up in the idea of fitting in and we watch as she learns to be herself. She has a number of rapid changes of opinion and emotion that aren’t entirely explained. Sometimes they seem like they come out of nowhere and there isn’t enough context or backstory to support them. That feels like one aspect of the story that could be improved.

Ashish is initially portrayed as the lazy brother who does not care what his parents want for him. He is most passionate about basketball and spends his time doing things that Rishi does not always approve of. It was nice to see their brotherly bond evolve over the course of the novel. Rishi learns to support his brother and judge him less, as a result, their relationship becomes stronger. They learn more about each other and it was nice to see a positive familial relationship depicted. Even his parents are ultimately supportive as they just want their children to be happy.

I would highly recommend this book to young adult/teen readers who enjoy diverse reads, contemporary novels, character-driven plots and coming of age stories. The characters go on a lovely journey of self-discovery and have a lot of enjoyable (and funny) scenes along the way. ...more

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Jul 12, 2017 Maya Zada rated it it was ok

Review:
I was so exited to read this contemporary because I needed a cute book and I've heard so much good things about it. I finished reading it and I found it to be overhyped for no actual reason. There was nothing special about this story that could make it stand out compared to other contemporaries like it. It seriously felt like a WASTE OF TIME to me.. It had a really fine start but as the story progressed the romance intensified, and I began to find them all irritating. I stopped caring abo Review:
I was so exited to read this contemporary because I needed a cute book and I've heard so much good things about it. I finished reading it and I found it to be overhyped for no actual reason. There was nothing special about this story that could make it stand out compared to other contemporaries like it. It seriously felt like a WASTE OF TIME to me.. It had a really fine start but as the story progressed the romance intensified, and I began to find them all irritating. I stopped caring about whatever was going to happen to them because the characters were just so flat and stupid.
The only salvageable part to this story is that both Dimple and Rishi were American-Indians and I got to learn a bit of their traditions and a bit of their language and their ways which was interesting. It was the only real twist to this uneventful book. The author could've gone in a completely different direction and made this novel very fun by actually giving it a purpose or a moral.
Dimple seemed like such a promising character at the very beginning. She was iron-willed and had her own way of thinking that clashed with what her parents believed in. She's not dying to meet a guy and start a relationship and fall in love like many others her age and I could relate to that. She's prepared to do anything to achieve her dreams and it was really inspiring. Unfortunately all these wonderful things about her dropped dead when Rishi arrived and so her character lost all meaning.
I found Rishi to be a loser from the very beginning. The only thing that I made him cooler was his obsession with comic books and sketching. It was cute seeing him act dorky and geeky and completely obsessed with the character he himself created.
All the other characters aren't even worth mentioning because there's literally nothing to say about them besides all of them being typical and characteristically poor. They just added nothing to the story and didn't even develop throughout the whole thing. There's the friend who wants to be with the cool bitchy group while the rich bitchy group takes advantage of her. The rich dudes were also rude to Dimple and Rishi. That's pretty much the whole plot of the story! Very refreshing!
Dimple was studying programming and coding and I thought that we'd get a little more details about the apps and such but only 0.1% of the book actually talked about this which was a huge let down for the nerdy side of me.
In conclusion, I really expected much much more from this book and I don't recommend it even if you're in the mood for something fluffy and easy to read. Completely overhyped and just not worth it! ...more

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Sep 23, 2017 Analee (Book Snacks) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017-may-releases

4.5 stars!!

I FINALLY READ IT AND I'M SO HAPPY I DID. A few things:

- I finally see what everyone was saying about Rishi!! THE SWEETEST SOUL WHERE CAN I FIND ME A RISHI.

- I heard many people were disappointed about the lack or arranged marriage plot, and although I had wanted that aspect of it, it didn't really bother me?? Maybe because I was warned in advance, but I found myself enjoying the story all on its own. But I would have liked it to be more of a plotline! (contradictory woops)

- LOVED se 4.5 stars!!

I FINALLY READ IT AND I'M SO HAPPY I DID. A few things:

- I finally see what everyone was saying about Rishi!! THE SWEETEST SOUL WHERE CAN I FIND ME A RISHI.

- I heard many people were disappointed about the lack or arranged marriage plot, and although I had wanted that aspect of it, it didn't really bother me?? Maybe because I was warned in advance, but I found myself enjoying the story all on its own. But I would have liked it to be more of a plotline! (contradictory woops)

- LOVED seeing the different familial relationships! It was so interesting, and honestly I could see myself in a few situations.
- Also loved how effortlessly the little phrases of Hindi were spread out! Anyone who's familiar with the language will love to see that, and even anyone who isn't can easily understand the meaning based on context, things repeated in English, etc. and it's honestly so much fun! I'm not fluent in the language, but I was familiar with a few phrases and I just loved it all.

- Dimple was an interesting protagonist!! I wasn't super comfortable all the time with her supposedly harmless hitting/slapping Rishi as a joke (there was one time she played it off as being "not like other girls" kind of thing and UM... hurting someone, even as a joke, is still hurting them. If it had been the other way around, it would definitely not be okay so ??)
BUT I did appreciate her character nonetheless, seeing a bit of myself in her relationship with her parents and their expectations.

- Plus her and Rishi were so, so cute!! I have to say I like Rishi better, but awwwwww!!! *swoons* (Can someone PLEASE help me find a Rishi?? A precious cinnamon roll)

- This IS pretty predictable, but it is also so sweet and fun to read, I loved meeting Dimple and Rishi (MY LOVE), their romance was just so cute. Not to mention I loved meeting Ashish and Celia as well, both super great individuals!

In the end, this is exactly what I had been expecting, so honestly I don't have many complaints? Apart from Dimple's early behavior and some of the predictability, it's a pure rom-com that will definitely put a smile on your face. I love, love, this book and what is stands for, honestly, this is one of the first times I've seen an Indian-American in fiction, not only on a cover, but also as a lead in her own romance rather than the side character. LIKE YES PLEASE. Publishers, and Menon, YOU HAVE DONE WELL.

If you're looking for a diverse cute read, do yourself a favor and PICK THIS UP!!
Now, if you'll excuse me I'm gonna go watch Rab ne Bana di Jodi for the millionth time. :))))) ...more

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May 22, 2017 christine✨ rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, racial-diversity, contemporary, asian-rep, young-adult, classroom-library

You know how this goes: boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love…except this time, there’s a twist. Dimple and Rishi’s parents want to arrange their marriage—but Dimple doesn’t know about it. Cue iced coffee to the face.

When Dimple Met Rishi is actually as cute as its cover. It sucks you in with the cute, upbeat rom-com vibes. The story has so many awkward, hilarious, cringeworthy moments that come from knowing what both characters are thinking. There are miscommunications, mishaps, and just go You know how this goes: boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love…except this time, there’s a twist. Dimple and Rishi’s parents want to arrange their marriage—but Dimple doesn’t know about it. Cue iced coffee to the face.

When Dimple Met Rishi is actually as cute as its cover. It sucks you in with the cute, upbeat rom-com vibes. The story has so many awkward, hilarious, cringeworthy moments that come from knowing what both characters are thinking. There are miscommunications, mishaps, and just good clean fun.

If you’re thinking “but I hate contemporary romance,” think again. This book is worth reading simply for the diversity. Dimple and Rishi provide two unique perspectives on being the child of Indian immigrants. While Rishi identifies with his parents and admires his cultural background, Dimple resists by embracing her American culture. Dimple doesn’t want a boyfriend at all, much less an arranged marriage, and focuses on her education and future career as a web designer. She’s outspokenly feminist and rejects female beauty standards. She’s a proud spectacled girl, which is so refreshing to read. Meanwhile, Rishi is a total hopeless romantic and admires the partnership aspect that he hopes will come of this potential arranged marriage. Adorableness ensues.

Dimple and Rishi’s relationship is absolutely swoon-worthy. Although it develops over a matter of weeks, it didn’t feel like that annoying insta-love we all hate so much. We get to watch the characters get to know each other, bonding over their shared background as well as their difficulty fitting in with their peers. They talk openly about their worldview and their dreams—and, even better, they encourage each other in their aspirations. Dimple supports Rishi’s comic art even though he insists it’s just a hobby, and Rishi supports Dimple’s web design dream. Although they’re opposites in a lot of ways, they balance each other out and bring out the best in each other. Despite the cheesy ending, I enjoyed watching them get there, from Rishi learning to pursue his passion to Dimple questioning if she’s giving up her career for romance.

This was an enjoyable book, but I’m docking a star for a few small reasons. For one thing, I didn’t really enjoy the third person past tense and switching constantly between their two perspectives. While I think it’s necessary to see both sides, I felt that the story switched a little too rapidly for my liking. Additionally, I did feel their relationship moved rather fast; for instance (view spoiler) And while I related to their feeling of not belong with their peers, I felt that the subplot relied a lot on the trope of the Mean Popular Group in a way that, while realistic, wasn’t something I really wanted to see in an otherwise cute contemporary.

Overall, When Dimple Met Rishi is an adorable, summery contemporary romance that I highly recommend to anyone. ...more

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Aug 15, 2017 Niv rated it it was ok

I had high hopes for this book, especially because the main characters are South Asian (like me aaayy). Unfortunately, I was hugely disappointed.

PROS

The cultural references were absolutely hilarious. The part where I was imagining them grooving to “Dance Pe Chance” (^which is the theme song at the top by the way^) was my favorite part in the whole book. The fact that Menon also talked about how some desi kids are embarrassed to talk about their culture (ex. Hari mispronouncing his name on purpos ...more

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Feb 11, 2018 Bayley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-own, made-me-cry, new-in-2017, 2018, 2018-favorites

I can’tttttttttttt.
This book was so sugary sweet. And we all know I love sugar.
Dimple and Rishi’s story was so cute. My bones could not handle the sweet. Rishi is probably the most perfect book boy. And Dimple is exactly the bad ass smart witty girl that I love. AND THEY BOTH HAVE FLAWS. So clearly this book was great.
I did find a few tiny bits of the plot we’re reaching. But the story as a whole totally overshadows that.
I loved the way families were important in this book. Even though a maj ...more

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Jun 26, 2017 mghrebia added it

Shelves: ya-chick-lit, contemporary, poc-lead

D: I wish I liked this! It started off pretty well but tbh everything was just too easy and sweet. There was no tension so I ended up DNFing because I just didnt care what happened (plus there was lots of eye rolling on my part). Maybe I will sell give away my copy or just put it away and try again later. IDK.

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Dec 29, 2019 Leannes-Booklist rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2019-reads

Oh my gosh, this story was SO CUTE! I loved all the relationships in this, and the idea of a positive "arranged dates/marriage" was wonderfully done. Full review to come! ...more

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