Happy Freedom Day (Juneneeth) Beauties,

I finished the June book yesterday, and wrote a bit. I decided to write my Blog post today. Let’s jump right into the review.

“When Dimple Met Rishi”

By: Sandhya Menon

****    (4 stars)

Hey Sunshines,

I finally finished reading the book for this month. I am actually very shocked that it took me this long to read. I mean it is longer than than the other books, and the font size is smaller, but still. This whole month passed by so fast that it doesn't feel like June at all.

You know before I step into the characters I want to talk about why I gave it the rating that I did. It will be confusing to go back and forth, but the problems with this book have been on my mind during the course of reading.

As to my previous reviews I am a fan of bigger text fonts. There are many reasons why, but for one thing I know I am a slower reader, and having bigger fonts help me have a bit of a confidence boost when reading. It almost feels like I am accomplished when I read from a bigger font. It is totally a cop-out, but I don't care. Not to mention this book was a lot longer than my other books. Even though the book flowed well it didn't need to be so long. There were parts that weren't so important.

I mean during this book the 2 main characters obviously have feelings for each other, but it was the same kissing, flirting, etc scenes for a lot of the book. I didn't need a constant reminder of their feelings for each other. However, I do wish that the process of their app was written more. The whole point of the summer camp thing was to create this app. I want to watch the process of how the app was going. It was mentioned in the beginning, and rarely touched on throughout the book.

What was annoying was how much was written for the Talent Show. Honestly, the Talent Show could have been touched on here and there, but it was somewhat a main focus. I was kind of bored with everything dealing with the Talent Show. Their whole concept, of being away from home wasn't about the unimportant Talent Show.

Now besides what I said already there has been a part where I could careless about Dimple. I did like the strong-willed persona she puts on in the beginning, but that fades almost instantly. It just seemed like she got more vulnerable over a guy super fast. Way too fast. Way too fast where she sleeps with the other main character.

Now there is a few things wrong with this part. First, after Dimple and Rishi (main characters) slept together it wasn't mentioned after it. It was like "Yeah they did it," and the story moved on. Usually when it's a first time with a character something is brought up. Whether or not they feel regret or wonderful that it happened. This book didn't have either. I didn't understand that. After all, a few times it was subtly mentioned by Rishi that it was important, because he lives a traditional mindset, because his family instilled that into him. Honestly, that scene could have been left out of them sleeping together.

What I don't get is when Rishi tells Dimple he loves her before their performance for the Talent Show it showed that Dimple was on Cloud 9. How is "I love you" a big deal for her, and sleeping with Rishi was just a fluke? I would think it would have the same amount of clout. Losing your virginity is a big deal, because once it is taken away, it's taken away. You can't take it back. Saying, "I love you" anyone can say that whether they mean it or not. It's just words.

On top of that I feel in a weirdish way that Dimple kind of raped Rishi. It sounds weird to even say that, but I feel like it was some sort of rape. Like I said Rishi was a traditional kind of guy, and didn't want to move fast when it came to having relations. He said a few times that he wants to talk seriously before actually doing the act. All Dimple said was that she thought about it, and was ready. She didn't talk to him about it. She pretty much pushed him into having sex. She pretty much pushed his feelings to the side, and gave him compliments to make him on the same page. I don't feel that he was in his right mind to have sex. I don't think it was fair. She didn't bother to see his side. She was very selfish in that way.

To have this feeling of "rape" in this book I felt a little uneasy. I mean I know it happens in books, but having it in like this where the book is supposed to be about love and everything. I didn't like that.

Another small detail that would have been nice was to have a key or guide to the ethical dialects used. Even though it kind of explained it the further you read into the story, but by that time I would forget what it meant. I spent time trying to figure out what simple Indian sentences were than what the main idea was. I am still lost on what "beta" means. So that concept could have been clearer especially if the focus of the audience doesn't get customs and languages that aren't theirs.

At any rate, I did like the concept of introducing the point of view of the main characters from an Indian culture. I already had an inkling of how the Indian culture is, but after reading this book I can see it at a clearer perspective. Both Dimple's and Rishi's family are so traditional.

What has been written in other reviews that other reader's felt like he was clingy, and a stalker. I don't feel that way at all about him. The reason why is because I am seeing it in the perspective of their culture. Ever since from youth the culture arranges marriages and such. I saw it as a culture thing, and since Rishi had a traditional way of thinking he acted in the way he thought was right. As soon as he realized the first impression was misread he wanted to make it better with Dimple. He didn't want to make it worse for her. After he put himself out there and willing to sacrifice  himself, Dimple wanted him to stay at the summer program.

For the position he came from to meeting Dimple he was open-minded. He didn't think Dimple was crazy for being her. I appreciate that about him. Mostly guys wouldn't be so loving and open. Rishi is a perfect example of the rare class of guys out there that are dying off, because they are corrupted by selfish women.

The more lustful Dimple got with her relationship with Rishi the more selfish she got. I don't like how Dimple didn't think clearly about everything that was going on with Rishi. She acted on lustful thoughts and actions more than thinking about the end results. I would think that mindest would come on her head, and act upon that.There were times where she thought about things going too fast, and end up ignoring them.

You know I kind of rolled my eyes when Dimple lost the app competition. She went into this weird depression. It tells me that Dimple never heard the word "no" or lost something in her life. It was a spoiled way to handle the situation. Even after losing the app competition she couldn't just live in that failure mode and learn to get over it. Rishi nicely put together a meeting for Dimple and her idol to talk. (The group that won the competition  would meet with Jenny Lindt, which is Dimple's idol.) No offense, but seeing how selfish Dimple was it was nice to see her suffer a little.

I did like how they change each other. They both helped the other out of their comfort zone. It was nice of Dimple to push Rishi with his drawing talent. Rishi's brother tried to push him, but that didn't work. She saw a magic in him when he is drawing. For Dimple, Rishi opened her mind of slowing down with stability. She always ran her mouth and opinions. She needed to calm down, and be okay with consistency.



That's it for today!

Sandra M. Dorazil