Waiting on Wednesday (115)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that you are eagerly anticipating.

From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary
Page Length: 384 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: June 5, 2018

About From Twinkle, with Love (via Goodreads):

Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true. The fact that it gets her closer to her longtime crush, Neil Roy—a.k.a. Sahil’s twin brother? Dream come true x 2.

When mystery man “N” begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it’s Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she’s fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.

Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she’s got is not the one she’s scripted. But will it be enough?

Told through the letters Twinkle writes to her favorite female filmmakers, From Twinkle, with Love navigates big truths about friendship, family, and the unexpected places love can find you.

When Dimple Met Rishi (Review)

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary/Romance
Page Length: 380 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse

About When Dimple Met Rishi (via Goodreads):

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.

When Dimple Met Rishi was an absolute delight. With a heart-melting romance and incredible characters, When Dimple Met Rishi was an extremely relatable and fun read.

It took me about three chapters to get into the story, but once I hit chapter 4, I WAS HOOKED. I completely devoured the rest of the novel in a day. It was that good. Also, I am a huge fan of character-driven novels, and this one DID NOT DISAPPOINT. Sandhya Menon delivered an amazing story that not only focused on romance, but also on pursuing one's individual passions and taking risks to achieve your dreams.

Both Dimple and Rishi were fantastic main characters. They were flawed, lovable, and (most importantly) realistic. They were relatable characters who had authentic teen experiences and identity struggles that any teen could relate to.  I loved watching their individual growth, as well as also seeing their relationship progress and flourish. I honestly don't know how to convey how much I loved them. Not only are they my newest and truest OTP, but both of them are individually two of my favorite characters ever. I couldn't help but want to root for each of them through each and every high point and low point in their story.

The main issue for me was that the plot seemed to fade a bit in the middle. While their relationship continued to progress, some of the storyline grew less prominent and fell to the wayside. It was still entertaining and I loved seeing their amazing relationship grow stronger, but I would have liked to see a bit more of the summer program work and interactions, especially since it was such a big deal to Dimple. While it did work overall and tied in nicely in the end, a better blending of romance and plot would have made the book even better than it already was.

Filled with the perfect blend of humor, romance, and a dash of heartbreak, When Dimple Met Rishi was a rejuvenating read. When Dimple Met Rishi is the only book to ever have made me feel so unbelievably happy and renewed. It was so refreshing and fun.

My rating: 4 stars