Summary: Dimple Shah can’t wait to get away from her mother’s obsession with finding her the “Ideal Indian Husband” when she goes to Stanford University in the fall. She starts to think that her parents are on the same page as their career-first daughter when they allow her to attend Insomnia Con, a summer program for aspiring coders and web developers. Rishi Patel, on the other hand, greatly appreciates his Indian upbringing, including his parents’ wish for him to have an arranged marriage. With his future wife attending Insomnia Con as well, the hopeful romantic Rishi doesn’t think anything can go wrong– until he meets Dimple.

My Rating: 4.5/ 5 Stars

Cover Lust? : GIVE ME A POSTER OF THIS BEAUTY PLEASE

My Thoughts:

When Dimple Met Rishi was one of my most anticipated releases of 2017, completely jealous of anyone who was able to receive an ARC back in January, and Sandhya Menon delivered in this young-adult romantic comedy. Besides its summer contemporary vibes, what drew me into this novel was its diversity, as Dimple and Rishi are both Indian Americans, whose families value tradition and in their case, arranged marriages. It was interesting to get a glimpse of their home lives (kudos to Dimple for sitting through tea time with her mom and auntie Ritu) and their culture. While Rishi definitely incorporates his family’s traditions more than Dimple into his daily life, I still enjoyed Dimple’s nods to her culture- wearing kurtas, performing a Bollywood dance at the summer program, etc.

One of the many things that I appreciated about When Dimple Met Rishi was Dimple’s confidence in accomplishing her goals. While she does develop feelings for Rishi and builds a strong relationship with him, I loved how she was determined to have a career and work on her app before the idea of marriage and having children even entered her mind. Her determination makes her a great role model not only for women entering the tech industry, but for all girls. Another aspect of the novel that I enjoyed was the ‘role reversal’ between Dimple and Rishi in the beginning of the novel. Dimple is furious that her parents would press an arranged marriage on her at this point in her life, contrary to Rishi’s excitement in getting to know his hopefully future wife. In some contemporary reads, often the female protagonists tend to be the head-over-heels characters , and I just loved this reversal.

Overall, I really enjoyed When Dimple Met Rishi. Even though it was a tad predictable, this was the perfect YA rom-com because of its characters and diversity, and I’m excited to see what Sandhya Menon has next.

Have you read When Dimple Met Rishi? Share your thoughts and feels in the comments!