Book Review: When Dimple Met Rishi

When Dimple Met Rishi

by Sandhya Menon

Blurb: Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she's more than ready for a break from her family- and from Mamma's inexplicable obsession with 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 he and his future wife will be attending the same summer program- wherein he'll have to woo her- he's totally on board. Because as sill 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 notice them both gravitating 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.

Cover Review: I love everything about this cover. From the distinct Indian vibe it gives off to the way the title is written on the coffee cup. It's eye-catching and cute. How many books do you know that are orange? And don't forget to look at the back cover.

Plot: Since it's February, I chose this book because it's a romance. That already gives you an idea as to the plot. Boy meets girl, girl throws coffee at boy, boy and girl get together in the end. All that. It was really well written, told from both Dimple and Rishi's point of view, which helped me understand them both well. Menon did a great job keeping you on your toes throughout the book, root for the to work through their differences and be together. The one thing I wish there had been was more coding. For being in the blurb, and Dimple's passion, there wasn't a lot of it. And it had a lovely happy ending. I love a good happy ending.

Characters: One of the fun things about this novel is that both characters are Indian, but each look at their heritage a different way. For Dimple, it's stifling. She wants to be a coder, have a career, and not be like her parents. But for Rishi, it gives him a pattern to live by. Even though his passion is art, he'd give that up just so he could have a stable life and a family. I loved how passionate both of them were, but in different ways. Dimple was fierce and all about girl power. Rishi was sweet, and yet tough when necessary. Both had their own flaws, and both overcame them in the end.

There were some great secondary characters as well. I liked Celia, Dimple's roommate a lot, as well as Rishi's brother, Ashish. They had their own mini love story, which I thought was a fun layer. And then there were each kid's parents. I liked them because they weren't cliche parents that don't care what their kids want. They took time to try and understand where their kids came from and just wanted them to be happy, like a normal parent.

World: The story takes place mostly in San Francisco, and Menon did a good job transporting me there. I didn't even know San Franciscans named the fog (it's called Karl), but now I do.

The other part she did well was writing the Indian culture. You can tell she knows exactly what she's talking about (she's Indian herself) and it opened my eyes to a different way of life. Do I agree with Hinduism? No. But it can be interesting to learn more about other religions so you can learn better to defend against them.

Themes: The theme of the book was to follow your heart, even if it takes you to unexpected places. Like Dimple and Rishi falling in love. Or Rishi choosing to pursue art instead of engineering.

Other: One of the few things I didn't like about this book was Dimple's view on marriage. She saw it, and even being in a relationship, as meaning that she would be domesticated. She thought she couldn't have a career and a family (though she learns different), and she would rather have the former. I don't understand women today being this way. If God wants you to have a career of some sort, he'll show you how. Okay, I'll stop preaching now.

My Rating:

Let's talk! Do you enjoy a romance, if it's well written? Do you like books that highlight other cultures? What's your favorite romantic read? Tell me in the comments.