10 Things I Hate About Pinky by Sandhya Menon – ARC Review

I was sent this arc by the author in exchange for an honest review.

I love all the books in the Dimpleverse and you can read my review of Dimple here and of Sweetie here.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Pinky Kumar wears the social justice warrior badge with pride. From raccoon hospitals to persecuted rock stars, no cause is too esoteric for her to champion. But a teeny-tiny part of her also really enjoys making her conservative, buttoned-up corporate lawyer parents cringe.

Samir Jha might have a few . . . quirks remaining from the time he had to take care of his sick mother, like the endless lists he makes in his planner and the way he schedules every minute of every day, but those are good things. They make life predictable and steady.

Pinky loves lazy summers at her parents’ Cape Cod lake house, but after listening to them harangue her about the poor decisions (aka boyfriends) she’s made, she hatches a plan. Get her sorta-friend-sorta-enemy, Samir—who is a total Harvard-bound Mama’s boy—to pose as her perfect boyfriend for the summer. As they bicker their way through lighthouses and butterfly habitats, sparks fly, and they both realize this will be a summer they’ll never forget. 

This book was hilarious and sweet and there was so, much, angst! I loved it! I had already started shipping Pinky and Samir in There’s Something About Sweetie so when this was announced I was so excited!

The tension and angst between Pinky and Samir was just *chefs kisses* and how they slowly started developing feelings for each other but adamantly denied their feelings because this is fake dating and they both important reasons for this so it can’t possibly be real was just amazing!

They both have assumptions about each other which makes them bicker a lot but they slowly realise that maybe there is more to the other person than they first thought. They seem like total opposites but then they actually start to get along really well and see past the outer layers and get to know each other and I just loved watching them slowly take down their barriers with each other.

They both have such wonderful character development. Pinky has a difficult relationship with her parents, especially her mother but it was really great seeing how they both acted out of love but because they didn’t communicate they each misunderstood the other and how they slowly started to understand each other better especially once Pinky starts to learn more about her mother. I really related to Pinky and how her mother holds her to such high standards and doesn’t always believe her and I am so glad we get to see these complicated relationships in the book.

Samir’s relationship with his mother is the opposite of Pinky’s to the point of stifling and that his life revolves around his mother and it was also really interesting to see such opposite relationships with parents. I especially loved how they both helped each other with coming to terms with things they don’t want to admit to themselves and help each other improve their relationships with their parents.

It was so much fun reading how their fake dating slowly gave way to real feelings and it made me just want to read one more chapter because the angst and tension build up was so good! I really loved how they were both true to themselves and had passions in life that were so important to them. It was also great to see how they supported each other in each others passions. Though they both have different approaches in how to deal with things. Pinky is all fire where as Samir is always calm.

I really loved this book and how Sandhya wove some really important issues into the story but also still kept it fun and hilarious with an equal helping of sass and angst. I think everyone should go read this book and all three books in the dimpleverse as they’re all amazing!

There’s Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon – Book Review

I thought When Dimple Met Rishi was adorable but this was phenomenal! I absolutely ADORED this book!

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Ashish Patel didn’t know love could be so…sucky. After he’s dumped by his ex-girlfriend, his mojo goes AWOL. Even worse, his parents are annoyingly, smugly confident they could find him a better match. So, in a moment of weakness, Ash challenges them to set him up.

The Patels insist that Ashish date an Indian-American girl—under contract. Per subclause 1(a), he’ll be taking his date on “fun” excursions like visiting the Hindu temple and his eccentric Gita Auntie. Kill him now. How is this ever going to work?

Sweetie Nair is many things: a formidable track athlete who can outrun most people in California, a loyal friend, a shower-singing champion. Oh, and she’s also fat. To Sweetie’s traditional parents, this last detail is the kiss of death.

Sweetie loves her parents, but she’s so tired of being told she’s lacking because she’s fat. She decides it’s time to kick off the Sassy Sweetie Project, where she’ll show the world (and herself) what she’s really made of.

Ashish and Sweetie both have something to prove. But with each date they realize there’s an unexpected magic growing between them. Can they find their true selves without losing each other?

Ashish and Sweetie are my newest OTP! I love love love them! They were so adorable and cute and omg I could not stop grinning as I read this book!

I loved Sweetie so much! She is such a wonderful character and I loved seeing how despite her not being the dress size her parents want her to be, she lives life to the fullest. The body positivity in this book was so wonderful to see. I loved seeing how this harmful and awful obsession with being ‘skinny’ was deconstructed. I really hope that as young girls read this they will see that their dress size does not determine what they can do in life. Sweetie is an athlete and has a wonderful group of friends who fully support her, the female empowerment in the book was so great to see.

“He though, Life can’t get any more perfect than this. But they were young, and it did.”

Ashish was such a great character, he was absolutely adorable with Sweetie and how he does the cutest things to make her feel special and loved. I also loved seeing his friends and how they all are so different yet get along. I also really enjoyed seeing how friends sometimes fight but that they can work through it.

It was so interesting and fun to see how Ashish and Sweetie were falling for each other and yet they were denying it because of their own baggage and wanting to prove a point. They each had their own issues to deal with and I loved seeing how they overcame their own problems.

Again this book is unapologetically desi, from the wonderful parts of desi culture to the not so great parts. I loved how the community supports each other and the wonderful food and clothes. And also how people can be judgemental and base your worth on your looks and dress size. But it was great to see how Sandhya totally obliterated that. I hate that part of desi culture, I have personally seen how much damage it can cause to young girls.

I absolutely adored this book and it has fast become my favourite of Sandhya’s books. It was adorable and cute and the exact type of book I needed to read right now. Bollywood really needs to make this into a film!

Books I Would Love To See Adapted

There’s been some talk recently about books being adapted so it got me thinking again about what books I would love to see adapted into a tv show or film. I just want to see more diverse books being picked up for adaptation! Please adapt diverse books!

So here are my favourite books I want to see adapted:

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

Look I need this to be adapted into a tv show but adapt it EXACTLY as the book! Imagine seeing Daevabad on screen, imagine seeing the palace and all the mythical creatures and my Alizayd!

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

This is another book that would make an amazing tv show so we could see all the details. The tasks that Laia and Helene have to do would look epic and brutal on screen!

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

I had heard this was optioned but then never heard anything again about it so please make this a tv show! Imagine seeing Khalid say those beautiful lines to Shahrzad and the beautiful world and imagery that Renee has created.

Love From A To Z by S.K. Ali

Give me my halal love story on the big screen! Let me see my hijabi falling in love while still embracing her faith. Please! I need it!

There’s Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon

I love this rom com so much and I need to see it on the big screen! The body positivity and the absolute adorableness I need to see it!

Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin

This Pride and Prejudice retelling with Muslim characters absolutely and entirely deserve to be on the big screen! Imagine the angst and tension between Ayesha and Khalid and being able to watch it on the big screen!

So here are the books I would love to see adapted! What books would you love to see adapted? Would you prefer a tv show or film?

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon – Book Review

I have been meaning to read this book for so long and wow why did I take so long to read it because this book is so cute!

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis from 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.

I am not a fan of rom coms so I kept putting off reading it but as I recently started to enjoy more contemporary books I thought I would give it a go and I absolutely loved it! This book was adorable and I read it with a huge grin on my face!

First of all this book has the best meet cute ever! Like excuse me but how does Rishi actually think that his…overly enthusiastic hello…would end in any other way. I was cackling! Every time I remember it I crack up!

One of the things that I really loved was seeing the role reversal. In rom coms we generally see the girl as the romantic and the guy focusing on his career, yet Sandhya switched it around and I really loved seeing that! Rishi was the most adorable hopeless romantic and Dimple only cared about starting her career. I loved how Dimple was a programmer and Rishi an artist. It was refreshing to see that gender stereotypes were broken down.

I loved seeing the way Indian culture was unapologetically infused into the story, it really made the story what it is, the way their culture and religious beliefs influenced their decisions and also how some parts of the culture which is actually harmful was discussed and broken down too. Seeing culture so similar to mine in the story, as if it was the norm was so wonderful to see! From their clothes to food to their language and family dynamics. It was amazing!

“This is our life. We get to decide the rules. We get to say what goes and what stays, what matters and what doesn’t.”

Dimple and Rishi were such wonderful characters, not only do we get to see them grow together but also separately. I loved how they both impacted each other, from Dimple helping Rishi see that his parents would still be proud of him even if he chose to pursue his passion over their expectations and Rishi helped Dimple see that she doesn’t have to sacrifice her career to be with him.

I also loved the side characters that we get to see from Dimple’s friend Celia and Rishi’s brother Aashish. I especially loved Aashish! I loved that the girls supported each other and were there for each other. It was also great to see sibling relationship and how they love each other but also how it can be complicated too.

I really loved their story and I hope we can see more of them in future books in the series and see what happens as they get older! This is a Bollywood romance in a book and I loved every single second of it.