WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI

Author: Sandhya Menon

Summary:

Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family—and 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—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 gravitating 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. 

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

When Dimple Met Rishi covers these differences through the characters of Dimple and Rishi, who are polar opposites with what they want to achieve in life. Dimple is set out to be a coder, changing lives with her intelligence and drive to pursue the better. This goes against her mother's wishes for her to marry a good man and become a housewife.

Rishi on the other hand, has a gift for artwork and drawing comics. Ever the dutiful son, he lets his parents dictate what he should do in life, from going along with the arranged marriage to studying Engineering.

I loved how Rishi embraced his cultural identity, finding every opportunity to educate others about his identity. While this was something Dimple shied away upon, it was nice seeing his quiet confidence and how he didn't care about people's opinions - at least those that didn't matter.

The book also explores first love, but having a goal in life beyond just finding your future husband. As someone who isn't afraid to pursue her talents and who is driven to succeed, I related a lot to Dimple's mindset. Especially when it came to getting into a relationship that would only hold her back.

I absolutely loved this book so much. The family dynamics, the relationship, and the cuteness and squealing I did throughout reading it. I was smiling the entire time I was reading this.

I do wish there had been a bit more of the actual coding and programming (and less on the talent show, which seemed like a weird addition to the story) but it was such a great story.

Have you read this book? Are you going to pick this up?

ROAR

Author: Cora Carmack

Summary:

In a land ruled and shaped by violent magical storms, power lies with those who control them.

Aurora Pavan comes from one of the oldest Stormling families in existence. Long ago, the ungifted pledged fealty and service to her family in exchange for safe haven, and a kingdom was carved out from the wildlands and sustained by magic capable of repelling the world’s deadliest foes. As the sole heir of Pavan, Aurora’s been groomed to be the perfect queen. She’s intelligent and brave and honorable. But she’s yet to show any trace of the magic she’ll need to protect her people.

To keep her secret and save her crown, Aurora’s mother arranges for her to marry a dark and brooding Stormling prince from another kingdom. At first, the prince seems like the perfect solution to all her problems. He’ll guarantee her spot as the next queen and be the champion her people need to remain safe. But the more secrets Aurora uncovers about him, the more a future with him frightens her. When she dons a disguise and sneaks out of the palace one night to spy on him, she stumbles upon a black market dealing in the very thing she lacks—storm magic. And the people selling it? They’re not Stormlings. They’re storm hunters.

Legend says that her ancestors first gained their magic by facing a storm and stealing part of its essence. And when a handsome young storm hunter reveals he was born without magic, but possesses it now, Aurora realizes there’s a third option for her future besides ruin or marriage.

She might not have magic now, but she can steal it if she’s brave enough.

Challenge a tempest. Survive it. And you become its master.

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

I bought this book upon release in 2017 and then it collected dust on my Kobo shelf. In fact, I forgot I had even purchased it, but I got this through Audible Plus - Audible's new "download these for free" option. This and the sequel were "included" with my membership so I thought I would give it a go.

And I am so glad I did. The worldbuilding was amazing. I loved learning about how the magic worked, how the hunters went searching for storms, and everything about the way that all the magic worked together. I thought it was so well done, given to us at a good pace, and then expanded upon in a way that made sense to us as a reader while moving the plot along as well. That craft of world building is something that not a lot of people can accomplish, let alone do it well.

And I did like the characters as characters. I liked going between the different perspectives to see what was happening within each of the storylines, but I would have liked this to be a 5 person audiobook rather than just one. It made it difficult to always know whose perspective we were in because only one person was speaking.

I thought Aurora (Roar, Roara) was a really interesting main character and I do wish we spent more time in her perspective (it was probably about 60-75%). She is a princess who has to find her own way in the world because she's so afraid of being left behind or used in a way that she doesn't want. I wouldn't say she is naive, but she is sheltered and seeing her grow throughout the novel to be more of her own person was really great.

I do wish we had seen more of the storm hunters crew both before they left and during the hunts. We only really saw one "fight" with the storm and I would have liked more of that. That would have pushed this to be even more than what it was. But learning about witches, the old gods, and the way that everyone worked together to be able to tackle the storms was really interesting.

I hated all the romantic options and thought there was a lot of problematic aspects of the romance that was provided. There are a lot of reviews out there that go into detail about it but it is definitely toxic - a lot of non-consensual kissing, touching, etc. And both men see Aurora as something to be captured and/or conquered. But truthfully, the romance actually didn't feel like a big part to me. Maybe that's the pro of the audio format or maybe I was just too excited about the worldbuilding.

TLDR: I am glad I already have access to the next book but I do wish that the third one was already published (or at least had a release date). I got about 60% of the way through and tried to order book #3 but can't find it available. That's how I feel about this one.

Have you read this book? Are you going to pick up this or the sequel?

2017 Roundup

1. The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed // My Review!
2. The Martian by Andy Weir // My Review!
3. The X-Files: Agent of Chaos by Kami Garcia // My Review!
4. The Hush by Skye Melki-Wegner // My Review will be posted in the new year!
5. Furyborn by Claire Legrand // My Review will be posted in the new year!

Life Updates

HISTORY IS ALL YOU LEFT ME

BLACKSOULS

Where do you like to write? 

Why do you write for younger audiences? 

BAD ROMANCE

Where do you like to write?

Why do you write for younger audiences?

Describe BAD ROMANCE in 10 words or less.

DAUGHTER OF THE PIRATE KING

What is your writing routine?

Why do you write for younger audiences?

THE LOVE INTEREST

What is your writing routine?

Why do you write for younger audiences?

Describe THE LOVE INTEREST in 10 words or less.