From New York Times bestselling author Sandhya Menon comes a delightful enovella sequel to When Dimple Met Rishi and There’s Something about Sweetie, about a Valentine’s Day group date gone hilariously, disastrously awry. Ashish Patel has never considered himself a hopeless romantic. But now that he’s found his other half, Sweetie Nair, there’s nothing he wants more than to celebrate love in all its forms. So when Valentine’s Day rolls around and he hears about a romance-themed escape room, he knows it’s the perfect opportunity to bring together Sweetie along with his newly engaged brother and sister-in-law-to-be, Rishi Patel and Dimple Shah. On their way to the escape room, the group runs into Pinky Kumar and Samir Jha—both friends to Ashish but nemeses to each other. Despite Pinky’s kneejerk reaction to the cheesy theme (which gets her a high-five from Dimple), the two of them agree to join the group. The escape room is as insufferably saccharine as Pinky feared, but even she is surprised when she and Samir actually…work well together. Samir embodies everything Pinky despises—following rules, having no fun, consuming single-use plastics. Getting along with someone like him—a shiny Volvo when she’s so used to junkers—sends Pinky into a tailspin. Sparks are definitely flying, but it’s unclear if that’s a good thing. Could this be love at first fight?

My Rating: 5/5 Stars

My Thoughts:

Sometimes I question the purpose of novellas … but that’s never the case when it comes to Sandhya Menon. After loving the first When Dimple Met Rishi/Dimpleverse novella, As Kismet Would Have It, I knew I had to read Love at First Fight. 

Let me take some time to explain the Dimpleverse. The Dimpleverse is composed of When Dimple Met Rishi, There’s Something About Sweetie, and 10 Things I Hate About Pinky, and the two novellas. I do recommend reading As Kismet Would Have It AFTER reading There’s Something About Sweetie, but BEFORE Love at First Fight. Sandhya Menon has also stated that you do not need to read Love at First Fight before reading 10 Things I Hate About Pinky. However, I did read the novella before reading the upcoming book, which comes out on July 21, 2020. I really wanted to revisit the Dimpleverse, and yes, I also wanted to read everything in chronological order. 

Ultimately, I do not think you have to read the novellas to fully understand the Dimpleverse, but I do recommend reading them. They’re such cute compliments to the books and offer a where-are-they-now glimpse at the characters since their books. Both As Kismet Would Have It and Love at First Fight are currently available for free on rivetedlit.com. 

Love at First Fight takes places on a Valentine’s Day couples date, in which Rishi & Dimple and Sweetie & Ashish decide to go to a romance-themed escape room. Along the way, they meet us with friends and polar opposites, Samir & Pinky, who are NOT a couple – Pinky makes that clear to everyone and anyone. 

I really loved getting to check in with Dimple & Rishi and Sweetie & Ashish. Dimple & Rishi are just so classic, and I love how they’ve really stayed true to themselves since their book. Rishi is ever the romantic, while Dimple still disputes a lot of stereotypes surrounding relationships. I’m interested to see if there’s any talk about marriage in 10 Things I Hate About Pinky. Maybe Sweetie’s name is some form of foreshadowing, but Ashish and Sweetie are just so sweet! I think I enjoyed their chapter working together to find clues the most. 

And last, but not least, Pinky and Samir’s dynamic sets up for their book. As much as Sam and Pinky clash about nearly everything, there’s no denying that they have feelings for one another. Like Dimple, Pinky is such a headstrong character, but even within the novella, we get to experience her softer side. I think their book is going to explore much about Sam’s family life and why Pinky puts on such a hard exterior. I also hope there’s some sort of reference to their escape-room photo. 

Overall, Love at First Fight was such a cute compliment to the Dimpleverse and will makes readers even more excited to get their hands on 10 Things I Hate About Pinky -and reread the first two companion books! 

Have you read Love at First Fight? Have you read any books in the Dimpleverse? Is 10 Things I Hate about Pinky on your TBR? Share in the comments!