Published May 30th 2017 by Simon Pulse
380 pages | Goodreads Description: ❝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.❞ (end of description)
MY RATING: ★★★★★ (5/5)
REVIEW
The book follows Dimple and Rishi, two young Indian-American high-school graduates that are attending a pre-university course before starting college. The interesting part is that Dimple doesn’t know Rishi exists and at the same time Rishi shows up ready to ask Dimple to marry her. Hilarity ensues.
One of the main themes of the novel is how the characters balance their own dreams with their family expectations and traditions. I loved both characters, well, that’s a lie, I loved Rishi a lot more, he’s just so cute, and smart, and polite, DREAM boyfriend.
The story is told from the alternating points of view of the main characters and takes place in current times. Their voices were well-drawn and distinct.
I listened to the audiobook and wished I had read the book instead, some of the sentences are in Hindi and (for a non-Hindi speaker like me) is easier to google the written comments. I’m not proficient in Hindi, my basic understanding is limited to
han, nahin, namaste, -ji, baba and all the traditional food names.
Overall, I enjoyed this novel very much and recommend it to all readers of romance, YA, and contemporary fiction.
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