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!

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.

So what happens when level-headed and career-driven Dimple meets the more traditional, hopeless romantic, Rishi? Well, he refers to her as his ‘future wife’ and she, quite rightly, runs away…

When Dimple Met Rishi is a contemporary YA novel about arranged marriage. When the pair meet, Dimple has no idea her parents have made the match and she immediately rejects the idea, having no interest in her mother’s insistence that she must find the IIH (Ideal Indian Husband). Instead, her interests lie in coding and completing the six week summer camp that could be the making of her future career.

Despite this, Dimple and Rishi get to know each other over the course of the six week camp and find that they do, in fact, have a lot in common. Could their parents really have been so successful in making a compatible match? And, if so, what does this mean for their futures and the plans they had made?

I loved When Dimple Met Rishi. It is so much more than just the ‘arranged marriage romcom’ that it has been pitched as. It features relatable teen characters, with complex hopes, dreams and opinions, as they approach college. Far from living in a fairytale, their romance is complicated thanks to the weight of expectation from their parents and the desire, on Dimple’s side, to move away from the traditional role she is expected to fill. They are at the age where their parents are starting to come to life as real people, not just as parents, and their complex relationships with their parents are explored brilliantly. As with any cross-generational relationship, there is a balance of respecting their parents, but not necessarily aligning with their more traditional values, and loving them, but not always appreciating the pressure they bring (be it a real pressure or just a perceived one).

The highs and lows of Rishi’s relationship with his brother, Ashish, are beautifully played out. Despite their differing views on respecting their parents’ values which often pulls them apart, their love and respect for each other always survives their conflicts. We see that Rishi – who otherwise can appear near perfect – is flawed in his assumption that Ashish is simply being difficult. I loved that him seeing Dimple stand up to her parents’ plan for her helped him to understand that Ashish is not just rebelling for the sake of it, but rather because he is being true to who he is.

Dimple is, by far, the star of this book for me. Intelligent, passionate (for coding!), wise and headstrong, she’s the perfect heroine. Her romance with Rishi is complex, well-developed and ridiculously cute.

The only fault I can really find with When Dimple Met Rishi is that, despite being on a six week summer camp, the last three weeks are skipped over very quickly. I can understand the need to keep the plot moving, but I could have happily spent another fifty pages with these characters! I also found it odd that they had a talent show – full of dancing, singing and magic – at a coding camp. I can’t help but wonder if this is a slightly unwise plot device, but perhaps such talent shows are common to US college camps like this?!

Even with these minor niggles, this is an excellent YA contemporary. Comparisons to Rainbow Rowell are overused, but I am amazed to say that, in this case, it is valid. If you loved Fangirl, this is the perfect book to go straight to the top of your summer reading list.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Dimple Met Rishi, is such a brilliant, lighthearted contemporary. A perfect read for the Spring and Summer seasons and I really enjoyed it. We get two very humorous original perspectives and I really adored both Dimple and Rishi, they were very different from any characters I have previously read about in the contemporary genre. When Dimple Met Rishi follows two Indian protagonists at a computer programming summer camp and their struggles with their parents expectations of marriage and their futures while also looking to what they personally want their future to hold. 

This is an own voices novel and I loved how Indian culture was wonderfully presented and I found it extremely brilliant that Sandhya Menon was able to both challenge stereotypes and dive deeper into the complexities of Indian traditions. I feel like she was really able to explore a different side to arranged marriage by delving into both negatives and positives of the situation. It was interesting to read from Dimple's point of view and of her opinions against it and then read the contrast from Rishi's point of view. It was really excellent.

"It's like you have this paintbrush, dipped in brilliant mauve's and teals and golds, and you just totally redid my monochromatic life. I need you; I need your paintbrush."

One of my favourite moments was in the beginning when Dimple and Rishi first meet it was absolutely hilarious I could not stop laughing. The banter between both of them was excellent and the misinterpreted situation was brilliant, it is one of my favourite moments from all of the books I have read I just found it so funny and Sandhya Menon did it in such a clever way. The romance in this book is so cute and I enjoyed how it was done in less typical YA way, it was a very realistic representation that was lovely to read. While being cute and heartwarming it was also really deep and interesting. The plot was really fast paced and I didn't get bored while reading at all.

"She wept for her hardheadedness, and for a world that couldn't just let her be both, a woman in love and a women with a career..."

There were a couple of things that I didn't really like. Firstly I felt a little uncomfortable reading the talent show parts. Mainly because I find that talent shows are really cringe-worthy and I personally felt awkward for the characters. I had to have a little break in between reading those parts because it was a little too much. But honestly it was funny and made for a great read. I also feel like the beginning and middle parts seemed so well developed and put together that I then found the ending to be a little anti-climatic and rushed however I did enjoy the conclusion and feel like it was a great way for the book to end. I just wish the last three weeks of Insomnia con were more spaced out like the first three instead of just skipping them and going straight to the end. Or at least a few scenes in between would have been nice.

Overall this was a wonderful read, I only had a few problems here and there mostly I found this to be really funny and fast paced and I am really excited to see what Sandhya Menon might come out with in the future. Definitely recommend!

4/5 Stars

Thank you to Hodder and Stoughten and Sandhya Menon for sending me an early digital copy via NetGalley.

I'm so glad to have had the chance to read this book early. I'd been seeing it all over Twitter and Bookstagram and knew that I had to read it.

Dimple, an aspiring web developer, gets the chance to attend a highly commended web development summer program. Unbeknown to Dimple, her parents agreed to send her there to find the "Ideal Indian Husband". Rishi on the other hand is a hopeless romantic, and jumps at the opportunity to attend the same program with hopes of wooing Dimple and falling in love. However, from the moment they meet and Rishi greets Dimple with "Hello future wife" to which Dimple responds to by throwing coffee all over him, their relationship was not what either of them expected.

I loved loved LOVED that Dimple really stood up for what she believed in. Despite constantly being told by her mother that she should wear makeup and dress a certain way for her to be able to find a man, Dimple didn't conform. She did what made her happy and stood against the misogynistic views which I really appreciated.

Similarly, while Rishi loves the idea of finding his soulmate and falling in love, once he realises that Dimple desires different things, he puts his feelings aside and respects her wishes. I love that not once did Rishi pressure Dimple into anything. In fact he constantly admired her, both personality and looks.

Both Dimple and Rishi had their own passions, and while Rishi was a little reluctant to pursue his at first due to what he feels is his duty to his family, both characters really encouraged each other to work towards their dreams which I thought was so lovely.

I would have liked to have read more about the actual coding and web development that happened across the program, to see how each character would deal with the different aspects and really let Dimple come into her own. However, I appreciate the story was more about the character development which I totally respect, and this hasn't changed my opinion of the book at all.

When Dimple Met Rishi is the perfect own voices YA contemporary. It was funny, it was cute, it gave me "bookish butterflies" and I loved the main characters. While I myself cannot speak for the representation of the Indian culture in this story, with not being Indian myself, I can say that I have only read positive things from Indian readers. I felt that I learned a lot about the culture whilst reading, and really enjoyed seeing lines in Hindi as well as English!

Cultural representation matters and I'm so glad to have heard from so many people that When Dimple Met Rishi is good representation and totally relatable! 4/5 stars.