I received a copy of When Dimple Met Rishi on Netgalley in return for an honest review. This is the book EVERYONE is talking about. This summer's cute contemporary. It's Menon's glorious debut novel and in my opinion, all the hype is worth it! So let's get into the review... 

In this standalone novel we follow two Indian-American teenagers who have been put into an arranged marriage. Rishi, a nerdy yet dishy guy knows. Dimple, a strong and fiery soon to be woman - does not. As you can imagine, hilarity ensues and I knew, right at the beginning of the book, when Dimple, in a panic, throws an iced coffee (I love iced coffee) over Rishi...that I was gonna fall in love with this book. The two main characters are SO adorable but also really well-rounded and developed. They both come from really dedicated families which you don't see a lot in YA. It's a really refreshing element and I am a massive fan of influential f

amilies in YA. I got through the book in less than 12 hours and I think a lot of that is to do with the amazing characters. I also love dual perspective, which is a particular favourite literary device of mine. I really enjoyed following Dimple's perspective and watching her chase her dream in programming etc which is generally seen as a "male" subject. This didn't hold her back though and she is such a strong willed and ambitious character.

I also really enjoyed the setting of a college summer programme, I felt the excitement buzzing around the characters and it made for really interesting reading as both our characters face competition from the peers both academically and just in life. And I will say...and this is tough competition!...the kissing scenes rivalled that in Wing Jones! (My probable fav kissing scene to date.)

I loved learning about their culture and what their life is like and that's one of the many reasons why #OwnVoices is so important! We get windows into lives we don'

hype without a doubt and will for sure be on my fav books of the year list!

t know anything about and I think that's really exciting, don't you?

I loved everything about this book including the face cover and I usually hater faces on covers. This

book really is a triumph and I cannot wait to see what Sandhya Menon writes next!

An adorable, well thought out, fluffy and comforting read! Worth the hype!

Rating: ★★★★★

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Thank you lovelies and happy reading! ox

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book as I realise I have many similarities between Dimple and even Rishi:
- Indian
- Wears glasses
- Hates makeup
- Uni student doing Software Engineering/Web Development
- Loves comics/manga
- And probably more, but can't remember what else I had thought was similar (LOL)

I think this book met my expectations and I truly enjoyed reading Dimple and Rishi's story. I understood every bit of Hindi that was spoken, of course, and love the mention of the many Bollywood actors and movies. I also loved Dimple's idea of the app and how helpful it would be to diabetic patients.

Overall, awesome!

Such a fun, refreshing read. I loved how it is an older YA but doesn't leave behind the lightness and essential sweetness you often miss in older YA. Dimple is so easy to like and I loved her character.
Will be recommending this to anyone and everyone. 5 very easy stars!

When Dimple Met Rishi was such an unbelievably adorable story. It screamed cute from start to finish and its bursts of humour throughout the book really sealed its status as one of my favourite contemporary reads of the year so far. It was such a fun read, light and fluffy but also dealing with some serious issues such as bullying. What I loved more than anything was how diverse this book was! Both protagonists are Indian and the cultural references were a delight to read about. I connected with the characters and related to their issues despite the fact that they came from different backgrounds to myself. It was fascinating getting this glimpse into a different culture and beliefs and it really made this book an unique and enjoyable read.


I LOVED Dimple simply because she wasn't afraid to be herself in a world that was screaming out for her to fit the norm and live up to expectations. Her mother is constantly onto her about wearing traditional Indian makeup and finding a husband but Dimple isn't having any of it. Cue girl power! She loves coding, is a complete computer geek and shoots her mothers suggestions down over and over again. I loved her fierce nature and how she softened as the story progressed. Rishi is just lovely. So lovely. He eats, sleeps and breathes tradition and wishes to find a wife to share his future with. He hopes Dimple fits the bill. And that's how the story begins. Both are pushed together (one unknowingly, one very aware and eager!) and the fun goes from there. Their relationship blossomed and it was great to see. The story was about so much more than just romance though. It really was a tale about growing up, finding yourself and being true to yourself and not allowing others to bring you down or tell you how to live your life.


I LOVED the setting. I've been to San Francisco myself and absolutely adored it. So getting such a vibrant and quirky setting for such a great host of characters was great. All in all, When Dimple Met Rishi is just pure fun. Fun from start to finish. It's bursting with humour and will have you feeling all the feels, all gooey and happy, chuckling to yourself at its cuteness. It'll definitely be a book I'll be recommending to everyone but especially those who loved Anna and the French Kiss. Great story, amazing characters, wonderfully diverse and adorably funny. When Dimple Met Rishi is definitely one of my favourite contemporary reads of the year.

What a wonderful story this is of a young girl who is - like me - also a feminist. She doesn't want to be appreciated for her looks, but for her brains:

'Seriously? That's what you think I should be relegating my brain space to? Looking nice? Like, if I don't make the effort to look beautiful, my entire existence is nullified? Nothing else matters - not my intellect, not my personality or my accomplishments' (2%)

It was a cute book, perfect for summer. It was quick and easy to read and had such loveable characters.

It's just so damn sweet. The entire book is made of sugar. Both Dimple Shah and Rishi Patel are genuinely beautiful characters and they both won me over within the first few pages. They're just so damn precious! The two have quite a bit of chemistry and and sparks fly almost immediately.

When Dimple Met Rishi does not have a groundbreaking plot and it's predictable, with the coming of age tropes all neatly placed in the right spots, but it's a joy to read nonetheless.

This novel isn't just diverse and full of delightful humour, but the protagonists are also quite geeky and smart. Dimple is into coding and programming and Rishi is a comic book artist. The story is told from both point of views and both have an unique and captivating voice. They're both fleshed out and have a lot of depth.

If you're looking for a light and sweet romantic beach read, look no further and give this one a try. You'll probably be reminded of the first time you fell in love and will read the entire thing with a goofy grin on your face.

Oh, my heart. This book is so adorable and precious, and it will fill you with joy. Sure, it’s a little unrealistic in places (namely, the ending) but do I care when it gives me such a happy feeling? No, not really. Dimple just wants to escape her over-bearing mother and ace her summer web coding programme. Rishi just wants to please his parents and impress his future wife. I want them to just fall in love and live happily ever after. After a very adorable meet cute, in which Dimple has *no clue* that her parents have arranged a marriage with Rishi’s parents behind her back, the two start a slightly rocky friendship. They think they have each other pegged, but as the summer progresses and they reveal their hidden depths to each other and love might just find them after all. And even if it doesn’t, you’ll definitely fall in love with these characters – with fierce, determined Dimple and sweet, soulful Rishi, as well as their friends and family. I never wanted this book to end; I wanted to stay wrapped in its warm embrace forever more – but the best I can do is to pass the recommendation on to you!

I feel quite anxious about this review. This book has received such wide-spread love from the book world, that I know my thoughts will be considered a little bit controversial, because whilst I really enjoyed this book and completely fell in love with the characters, I didn't love it.
I get why so many people are gushing about this book. Dimple is the type of character you'd love to have as your best friend. Rishi is the dream boyfriend. The book merges two cultures in a way we rarely (if ever?) see in literature, particularly YA literature, and does it with sensitivity, humour and admiration. Add to this the strong feminist overtones that underpin much of the narrative and it really is the set-up for a fantastic book.
The only thing that stopped me from tipping my opinion from 'I really liked it' to 'I love it' was the predictability of the narrative. At times it felt so predictable I was sure it was a red herring and a huge twist was going to happen. But it never did. So, from about chapter 2 there was an obvious way the plot could develop, and whilst I didn't expect it to follow this obvious route, it did. (It also really bugs me that one of Dimple's cutest features is her 'too-big' glasses, but the girl on the cover, who I presume is supposed to be Dimple, doesn't wear glasses!)
That being said, I did really enjoy this book and I refuse to end the review on a bad note. This is a great read with a strong reminder to follow your dreams.

I'm going to start by saying that contemporary YA books don't usually get me that hyped. I enjoy them, don't get me wrong, but they very rarely get me buzzing.

When Dimple Met Rishi was the contemporary rom-com I had no idea that I needed! It's heart-warming, funny and completely adorable! I loved every moment of reading it.

The main plot follows two young Indian-American teenagers whose parents have orchestrated a potential arranged marriage between the two of them. Dimple wants to rebel against her Indian heritage and rejects the idea that she needs to get married. Rishi wants to please his parents and stay true to his family's past.

When I say that this book is funny, I don't mean funny in a vaguely amusing way. I mean in a 'genuinely chuckling to myself in the staff room and my co workers looking at me like I'm mad' kind of way.

As someone who knows nothing about Indian culture I found that I took a lot away from this book and didn't feel that it impeded my enjoyment of the story or characters at all. There was description of Indian culture and dress, with parts written in Hindi. It really gave me a window into a world that I knew nothing about, but has left me hungry to know more.

Both Dimple and Rishi are immediately likeable characters. Dimple is badass and rejects conforming to any mould that society wants to push on her. Her independent nature and drive to achieve her goals makes her a wonderful role model for young women reading this book. Rishi on the other hand is just completely adorable! He is super loyal, both to his family and to anyone else that he cares about and you can tell that he will go above and beyond for those he loves. He also manages to say the wrong thing, creating endless humour. I love that the first thing he says to Dimple is 'Hello Future Wife'. What I love about both of them is that they are such massive nerds!

I liked the dichotomy between Indian culture and American culture and how both Dimple and Rishi reacted to both contrasting cultures. It was interesting to see Dimple who wanted so much to not be defined by her Indian family in contrast to Rishi, who was so proud of his heritage. In the end, I think that having these contrasting views really allowed the two characters to develop and say something about modern culture where you can have multiple cultural influences on you and how that is such a strength.

There is so much to love about this book and if you haven't picked up your copy already then I would seriously encourage you to go out and get one right now!

I absolutely loved this book. The story and idea was so original and unlike any contemporary I had read before. I loved that the main characters were Indian/American. Although I don't know much about the Indian/American culture I found that I didn't feel left out of the story because of it. I thought Dimple was such a relatable character because she reminded me a lot of myself, and I'm sure she would remind many young women of themselves when they were teenagers trying to find their place in the world. Rishi, although not instantly relatable, ended up being such a wonderful character. His hidden artistic talent and the secrets that he kept about his family and wanting to please them just made me love him that little bit more. Something that I really loved was that each of the characters had their own little quirks that made them very relatable and very realistic. The POV switching I thought was really strong in the story as it helped the plot move and the characters develop. Another thing I loved was the romance. Hate to love is one of my favourite tropes and I think it worked really well, especially with Dimple's character initially wanting to hate Rishi because of the arranged marriage issue. All in all I loved the novel, it constantly kept me guessing and I found it such a joy to read.

Well this read was everything I hoped it would be and more! I thought this was going to be a cute story about two young people under pressure from their parents to be and behave a certain way. In many ways it was, but it was so much more than that and this will definitely be a book that I recommend to people again and again. This book has it all, hopeless romance, people who have and want to get a good education and a strong female lead who knows her own mind and isn't afraid to go for it, not matter what.

I loved these two characters and the fact that this book is a dual narrative made me get into their heads and identify with theme even more. I actually listened to a lot of this book on audiobook and so the dual narrative was helped out by two different narrators. I would actually really recommend the audiobook but I'm glad I also have this on ebook so that I can go back to certain parts of it and relive the magic.

As I said, I really enjoyed the structure of this book, I always love a dual narrative and it was great being able to see both of their reactions to something happening or not happening as the case may be! I also love the fact that this is set in that time between school and university, an area which is being covered more in YA and I'm really please to see because that is a time when everything changes and you really get to know who your friends are and are not. It has a great setting too, being away from parents was definitely a catalyst in this storylines.

I loved the beginning and end of the book and felt like i flew through those particular parts but the middle did drag just a little for me. I started to loose track of some of the supporting characters and so it did have a bit of a lull for me in the very middle but it definitely picked up again as the story progressed. Overall I really enjoyed this read, the romance was just lovely but it wasn't rammed down your throat at any point. It was great to read about a strong female and people who have and want a great education. I would definitely recommend picking this book up this summer!

When Dimple Met Rishi has been high on my list of upcoming titles for a while now and I LOVED IT SO MUCH. From the first few pages I was just completely in love with the characters and desperately rooting for them to do well. This book is full of cultural representation, fluffy romance and completely geekiness which I absolutely adored!

I learnt a lot from this book about Dimple and Rishi’s culture and I thank Sandhya Menon so much for that. I loved seeing such a positive portrayal of arranged marriage because I think it will help to break the stereotypes that can sometimes spring to mind when arranged marriage is spoken of. There is very much a focus on developing a wonderful companionship and mutual love and respect and I love that it wasn’t forced here. Although it is what their parents want, they are also very accepting of not getting their desired outcome. I just thought it was all written beautifully. I also loved how bilingualism was represented with the characters regularly speaking Hindi as well as English. This felt very natural and it was wonderful to see it being acknowledged in the book. When Dimple Met Rishi is authentic in a way only an #OwnVoices book can be.

Dimple Shah is easily one of my new favourite fictional ladies. She was so independent, hilarious and sassy and I just loved how focused she was. She is a perfect example of how it is okay to be a girl and be ambitious and want to put yourself out there in a world that is male-dominated. I was completely behind Dimple all the way and I loved how passionate she was. Rishi was like an adorable little puppy and I just wanted to take him under my wing a bit. He was SO fluffy and wonderful and passionate and caring and I just loved him. I don’t think I need to state at this point that Dimple and Rishi are my newest OTP but …. they are!!

Although I am usually not a big fan of instalove in books (and I had expected more of a slowburn here) I did still fall head over heels in love with the romance in this book. It just felt right in every sense and was very well written. When Dimple Met Rishi is fluffy, romantic, hilarious and touching in every way possible. When’s the wedding?

This is the book that everyone is talking about. The release date was pushed forward by over a month and everyone is going wild. Seriously, it's one to keep your eye on.

You can tell right from the cover that this is going to be one of those diverse YA novels that the industry needs. Dimple is a young woman on the road to a career in coding and computing. She's desperate to win a competition that will see her idea for an app launched in the professional market. Although she comes from a traditional Indian family, she's not interested in make-up or finding the Ideal Indian Husband. Meanwhile, Rishi is set on following his parents' wishes and when he's told his future wife will be attending a six week long competition, he decides to go. When the two meet their clashing personalities for a vibrant and comedic narrative that discusses Indian American culture, arranged marriages and feminism in a light-hearted way.

Told in alternating perspectives, Dimple and Rishi are both completely set in their ways and the way they bounce off each other is wonderful. I can see this perfectly translating into a rom-com on the big screen. I loved the balancing out of the characters through Dimple's mum and Rashi's brother as well as the other teenagers at the competition. In some ways, Celia was exactly the opposite of Dimple, yet the way they still managed to maintain a great friendship paved the way for Dimple and Rishi.

The novel touches on so many topics, including bullying and prejudice. Dimple and Rishi even handled that differently but it didn't mean that either of them had a perfect solution and that was important. I loved the lack of perfections and conclusions and everything-will-be-brilliant. Their struggles and fears made their decisions all the more powerful.

I wasn't such a fan of the talent show which seemed a bit bizarre in ways. It didn't seem to have much relevance to the competition and I would have liked to have seen more chapters on how Dimple and Rishi prepared their product and how they could use any extra money towards it. It kind of felt like a plot device rather than a step in moving the story forward. In the same way, the way that sex was handled as a topic throughout the novel was very casual and not at all how I expected it to be. Maybe it's just me but I found it odd that it wasn't a bigger deal.

However, I highly recommend sinking into the world of Dimple and Rishi. It's well worth picking up and adding to your TBR.

I LOVED this book. I requested it after seeing some people get physical copies on Twitter and knew that it was Melissa Cox's first acquisition so was curious and thought it sounded like my cup of tea. I wasn't wrong. It was a sweet read but the characters were old enough that I could relate to them. It took me back three years to when I started to date my partner. It was such a charming read with some beautifully written passages, and I thought that the cultural differences were shown really well. The fact that it slipped out of English occasionally was, I thought, going to be a problem but it was handled really sensitively and didn't make me feel like I didn't know what was going on. It reminded me of Stephanie Perkins or Jennifer E Smith and I can't wait to see what comes next. I will definitely be buying book two, whatever that may be, and will be telling people I know to pick up a copy! Fantastic!

**Disclaimer: Copy received from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

Whew, where do I start with this one? I loved it.

When Dimple Met Rishi has been on my must-have releases of 2017 since I first heard of this book. This is the story of Dimple, an aspiring coder, who finally convinces her parents to let her go to Insomnia Con, a 6 week programme for coders, before she heads off to Stanford in the autumn. What Dimple doesn’t know is that her parents have only let her go so she can meet Rishi, a boy they approve of and wish for her to marry.

First things first, I loved the Indian references in this book - Dimple and Rishi are both Indian-American and I feel like I learned a lot about their culture just reading this book, from Bollywood references to the expectations placed on Dimple and Rishi by their respective families. And talking of their families, this is one YA book with realistic and present families throughout.

Dimple is a great character - she doesn’t conform with society’s expectations of her, shunning makeup and even traditional Indian clothes, and she is confident that she doesn’t want a boyfriend and wants to focus on her career. Rishi is also fully fleshed-out - he’s a hopeless romantic and traditionalist who has his heart set on marrying Dimple before he’s even met her. He’s also destined to study computer science, despite his love for comic artistry.

I loved the fact that this book is the older end of YA - Dimple and Rishi are both spending their summer before college/university at Insomnia Con. I loved the feel and tone of the book; it’s really something special, and it has that summery first-taste-of-freedom element to it.

If you like YA contemporary, this is a gorgeous summer romance that brings something new and refreshing to the YA table, and it has to be one of my favourite releases of the year so far.

When Dimple Met Rishi is definitely a unique YA read. It's the first one I've come across where arranged marriage plays such an big part in the plot but that's not the only reason that this novel stands out. Dimple and Rishi are both appealing and dynamic characters, and you just can't help but root for them both from the very beginning. Dimple loves her family but with her passion for coding and her desire to go against so many of her parents' traditions, she feels like she is a disappointment to them, and they just don't seem to understand her. Rishi on the other hand is every part the dutiful son, living up to his family's expectations to the point where he is about to give up his passion of drawing comics for the sensible career that his parents want him to have.

The novel follows both Rishi and Dimple during their six weeks at Insomnia Con as they overcome their awkward first meeting and begin to find some common ground and help each other in ways they didn't realise they needed. It's a sweet love story, full of the intensity of first love, but it's about Dimple and Rishi's relationships to their families and themselves as much as their relationships to each other. With such an abundance of absent parents in YA novels, this is one of those refreshing few where family aren't just important to the main characters, but central to their stories.

If I have one small complaint it's only that for a novel set at a coding camp, there isn't a whole lot of coding. With so much talk of Dimple's passion for it, it's a shame that we don't ever really see her doing it, the way that we see Rishi drawing. There is however a talent competition that makes for excellent reading and really, what a small complaint for such a great novel.

When Dimple Met Rishi is warm, funny, and a perfect read for summer.