Representation: Asian characters
Trigger warnings: Sexism
Score: Five out of ten.
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I would've enjoyed When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon if it received some improvements. I wanted to read this one for a while but I put it off for a few months until I picked it up at a library. I glanced at the blurb, making it seem like a romance between two Indian American characters, but when I closed the final page, it was okay.

The low ratings were a sign I should avoid this one, but I read it anyway. It starts with Dimple Shah and Rishi Patel living separate lives in the opening pages, with Dimple wanting to go against her parents' expectations, instead wanting to attend a program for web developers like her. Rishi is the opposite of her, firmly believing in traditions, which leads to them attending a smaller version of Comicon named Insomniacon soon after, where they spend the rest of the narrative. When Dimple Met Rishi tries to go for a slow burn pacing, with a length of nearly 400 pages, but it didn't work as the characters lack depth, making it hard to connect or relate with them, especially considering Dimple hits people sometimes. She's less likable now when I think about it. Side characters, like Ashish Patel, don't get much dedicated page time, unlike Dimple and Rishi, which have a lot of time in the spotlight, but I guess I should expect that considering their names are literally in the title.

There's not a lot of plot to When Dimple Met Rishi other than the romance, except for the brief discussions on sexism and Indian cultural traditions, which I found intriguing but underexplored. Diving deeper into those topics would've improved the reading experience, though. There is, however, a subplot revolving around Dimple and Rishi entering a cosplaying competition, providing a much needed break from the romance, and at least I appreciated that part, but that was only toward the concluding few pages. Once the central storyline ended, there is some bonus content, including a novella, which I liked, but even that couldn't make me enjoy When Dimple Met Rishi more. ( )

This is totally a romantic comedy. If you like romance and cuteness and wish fulfillment, you will probably enjoy it. I sure did. I found both Rishi and Dimple appealing. I was kind of like Dimple as a teen -- no makeup, strident feminist, protective of my independence. And I fancy my husband is kind of a Rishi -- a more traditional, earnest, hardworking, responsible type. Their compatibility doesn't seem likely, so it's all the sweeter when they fall for each other. They have both just graduated high school and are attending the same summer coding program at San Francisco State University, so this book almost falls into the category of college story/new adult. It's a romance novel, a pretty tame one. Sex is discussed but not described.

The only aspect of this book that didn't work for me was the talent show. I do not understand why a bunch of would-be coders who are there to create apps would be told to put on a talent show in the middle of their program. I guess because it's fun? But there's actual money riding on it, so it's not actually fun, it's seriously competitive and stresses Dimple out. The talent show seemed to be a convenient device for the author (to include Bollywood dancing, Rishi's help, video footage, etc.) but it wouldn't make sense in the real world. It was just a big distraction from what the kids are there to learn. ( )

Accidentally'd a book in one sitting, but that's because I checked out There's Something About Sweetie from the library but it's overdue now and I figured I should read the first book before the companion.

A cute debut though I'm skeptical about college kids letting some pre-college 18 year olds in their parties, and the ending stretches my disbelief quite a bit. ( )

I found this to be a super fun read. I really enjoyed how this book was set in the tech world and also the summer before college. I loved how we got to explore a different culture then mine and how I learned so much about their culture. I def was more invested in Rishi side of the story and he was why i sped through this novel because a artist who is not sure he can survive on being an artist in a story I am was intrested to see how it turn out. Dimple took me to the end of the book to love her and she was not a complex a Rishi as a character but I thought the book was a fun read and will def read more by this author in the future. ( )

I found this to be a super fun read. I really enjoyed how this book was set in the tech world and also the summer before college. I loved how we got to explore a different culture then mine and how I learned so much about their culture. I def was more invested in Rishi side of the story and he was why i sped through this novel because a artist who is not sure he can survive on being an artist in a story I am was intrested to see how it turn out. Dimple took me to the end of the book to love her and she was not a complex a Rishi as a character but I thought the book was a fun read and will def read more by this author in the future. ( )