Publication
Date: May 30, 2017
Hardcover, 380 pages, Simon Pulse
Genres:
YA, Contemporary, Romance
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Dimple Shah has it all figured out.
With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family,
from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her 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 his future wife will be attending the same
summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board.
Because as silly 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 noticed them both gravitate 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.
My Review
One coder girl, one suppressed artist boy, and one arranged
marriage equals a very cute, bubbly summer contemporary.
Dimple is a girl with simple dreams: she wants to win her
coding camp’s app competition, go to college, and focus on her work. None of
these goals involve the Ideal Indian Husband. However, her parents have another
idea. They want Dimple to marry Rishi, and Rishi is all for that.
Honestly, Rishi and Dimple were crafted very well. Each
character had a unique personality that readers will relate to on various
levels. Dimple is the awkward, work-focused girl, and Rishi is the obedient, lovable
boy. Their journeys would have been fun to read about even without Dimple having
met Rishi and vice versa. Them being together in their hilarious meet-cute,
though, makes the story even more engaging.
The plot of the book revolves entirely around the arranged
marriage their families set up as well as the summer coder camp Rishi and
Dimple go to. Because of the two-month timeline, the story is short and sweet.
Dimple is super invested in creating a winning app, while Rishi just wants to
win Dimple’s affections. And boy does he ever. ;)
While this story was super cute and sweet on a major level, I
was hoping for a little more depth in some areas. For example, the coding
aspect of the camp wasn’t highlighted as much as I was hoping it would be. I
would have loved to have seen Dimple’s actual app-making process come to life
in this book. Another nitpick I had with the book was the development of the
side characters. There were some obvious tropes and stereotypes in their
relationships that had me rolling my eyes a bit.
Despite its minor flaws, When
Dimple Met Rishi does exactly what it’s intended to do: it provides a fun,
adorable story with two unique characters.
All in all, if you’re looking for a book that puts a twist
on the arranged-marriage plot, Rishi and Dimple’s story might just be for you.
*Note: I was
gifted this book from a representative at Simon Pulse. This in no way affected
my opinion/review.
This sounds like a cute book. I will probably have to pick it up at some point.
ReplyDeleteIt was! You should give it a try. :)
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