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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
this series has been like reading a high quality tellywood show that never inevitably dips in quality. can't wait for samir & pinky's book
“to know her is to love her”
eu AMO as histórias de sandhya menon e esse livro foi mais um que me deixou com coração quentinho!
eu AMO as histórias de sandhya menon e esse livro foi mais um que me deixou com coração quentinho!
Another sweet (sorry) tale from Sandhya Menon. All these teenagers are WAY more emotionally advanced than anyone I went to school with but maybe kids are better communicators these days? Sweetie's relationship with her mother was very difficult to take, which meant I didn't enjoy this the way I enjoyed Dimple & Rishi's story, but it's a good one all the same.
3.75 stars
I delayed going into this book for ages. Like, I loved the first companion novel so I didn't want to ruin my impression of it, if I didn't like the 'sequel'. Luckily for me, though not being on that 5 star level of When Dimple Met Rishi, it did give me "all the feels" again. Sweetie is the star cross country runner of her school's team, she sings, she has loving friends, but she is fat, and that is the thing that her mother fixates on. She doesn't see Sweetie, she only sees her weight. So when Ashish's mother asks Sweetie's mother if the two could date, Sweetie's mother freaks out and says her daughter is not good enough for the star basketball player. To prove something to herself, Sweetie begins secretly meeting up with Ashish, though this soon evolves into something more. Ashish, on the other hand, has trouble moving on from Celia, but there's something about Sweetie that makes himself feel good again...
Other than the romance itself, I think that the thing I appreciated most about this book was actually the relationship between Sweetie and her mother. The build up and pay off were really worth all the work that happened in between. the plot points perfectly built up Sweetie's ambitions and showed her mother's worries and reluctances regarding her. All this put together built up to an even better finale. The struggles of Sweetie were ones that I am sure a bunch of people face and I really appreciated that they were shown in this relatable genuine way.
The romance itself during the ending was plagued by my least favorite trope: miscommunication. To be fair, the build up was surrounded by other things like Sweetie dealing with her insecurities as well as Ashish learning to move on. This made the trope not as terrible as it usually appears to be, though I still thought some of the things leading up to it were just kind of stupid. I'm the type of person who believes in no filter with your partner so it was just frustrating to see this.
Other than that I really liked Ashish and Sweetie. They were just a genuinely cute couple. I couldn't really relate to them as much as I did to Dimple, but that's ok. I did find Ashish cringey at time, but it lessened towards the end as he gained more confidence. I also liked how Sweetie empowered him and empathised with his problems. This was definitely a two-way romance. The start however was slightly insta-lovey, but again, that's fine because it was more of an insta-attraction.
Overall, solid companion novel, glad to have finally read it.
*book completed as part of the February Romances challenge
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Books in series :
When Dimple Met Rishi: ★★★★★
There's Something About Sweetie: ★★★.75
I delayed going into this book for ages. Like, I loved the first companion novel so I didn't want to ruin my impression of it, if I didn't like the 'sequel'. Luckily for me, though not being on that 5 star level of When Dimple Met Rishi, it did give me "all the feels" again. Sweetie is the star cross country runner of her school's team, she sings, she has loving friends, but she is fat, and that is the thing that her mother fixates on. She doesn't see Sweetie, she only sees her weight. So when Ashish's mother asks Sweetie's mother if the two could date, Sweetie's mother freaks out and says her daughter is not good enough for the star basketball player. To prove something to herself, Sweetie begins secretly meeting up with Ashish, though this soon evolves into something more. Ashish, on the other hand, has trouble moving on from Celia, but there's something about Sweetie that makes himself feel good again...
“There were few things that made her feel lonelier than conversations with her own mother.”
Other than the romance itself, I think that the thing I appreciated most about this book was actually the relationship between Sweetie and her mother. The build up and pay off were really worth all the work that happened in between. the plot points perfectly built up Sweetie's ambitions and showed her mother's worries and reluctances regarding her. All this put together built up to an even better finale. The struggles of Sweetie were ones that I am sure a bunch of people face and I really appreciated that they were shown in this relatable genuine way.
The romance itself during the ending was plagued by my least favorite trope: miscommunication. To be fair, the build up was surrounded by other things like Sweetie dealing with her insecurities as well as Ashish learning to move on. This made the trope not as terrible as it usually appears to be, though I still thought some of the things leading up to it were just kind of stupid. I'm the type of person who believes in no filter with your partner so it was just frustrating to see this.
Other than that I really liked Ashish and Sweetie. They were just a genuinely cute couple. I couldn't really relate to them as much as I did to Dimple, but that's ok. I did find Ashish cringey at time, but it lessened towards the end as he gained more confidence. I also liked how Sweetie empowered him and empathised with his problems. This was definitely a two-way romance. The start however was slightly insta-lovey, but again, that's fine because it was more of an insta-attraction.
Overall, solid companion novel, glad to have finally read it.
*book completed as part of the February Romances challenge
---------------------------------
Books in series :
When Dimple Met Rishi: ★★★★★
There's Something About Sweetie: ★★★.75
I think I am just growing out of YA Rom/Com Contemporary... I didn't love it, but didn't hate it either. It was MEH. This is a companion novel to When Dimple Met Rishi (which I enjoyed more). This follows Rishi's brother who just got out of a bad breakup and agrees to let his parents set him up. As the story goes both our main characters flirt and date and fall in love.
My big issue with this, other than just not being invested in the plot, is all the fat shaming that is done my Sweetie's mother and how there seems to be no negative impact on Sweetie and her life. It doesn't feel treated properly. As a teenager (and honestly as an adult) it's a hard thing for a person to just be told by someone you love that you're fat, you're never going to be happy or successful because you're fat, etc.. and they way Sweetie acts like its no big deal was so frustrating.
My big issue with this, other than just not being invested in the plot, is all the fat shaming that is done my Sweetie's mother and how there seems to be no negative impact on Sweetie and her life. It doesn't feel treated properly. As a teenager (and honestly as an adult) it's a hard thing for a person to just be told by someone you love that you're fat, you're never going to be happy or successful because you're fat, etc.. and they way Sweetie acts like its no big deal was so frustrating.
I love Sandhya Menon's books. They're light and sweet and fun while still always tackling some important issues, and this one was no exception. It's such a treat to read YA books that feature generally happy main characters who are loved and well-rounded. And how fun to spend more time with Ashish!
There’s Something About Sweetie is a companion novel to When Dimple Met Rishi. It totally stands alone – Dimple and Rishi only make a very brief appearance. There’s Something About Sweetie is about Rishi’s little brother Ashish and a girl named Sweetie Nair. Sweetie is a great student and star of her school’s track team. That’s not good enough for her Indian mother because she also happens to be fat. Sweetie’s mother worries that she’ll never find a suitable boy if she doesn’t lose weight.
Ashish is recovering from a break-up and decides to do something he never thought he’d do…Ask his parents to set him up with an Indian girl. They choose Sweetie but Sweetie’s mother won’t allow it. She thinks that because Sweetie is fat, she’s not good enough for Ashish or his family. His parents are filthy rich after all. Sweetie and Ashish decide that they want to date anyway. Ashish’s parents make them sign a dating contract outlining the specific dates he and Sweetie are allowed to go on. Hopefully, Sweetie’s mother won’t find out.
I appreciated that this book showed that just because someone is overweight, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t worthy of love or can’t be happy. And that it’s possible to be overweight and an athlete. I think Sweetie is a great role model – she’s very body positive, which is quite a feat considering how horrible her mother is to her about her weight. However, There’s Something About Sweetie crosses the line into After-School Special territory. I found it to be preachy at times. The dialogue between Sweetie, Ashish and their friends was not how typical teenagers talk. The author definitely had an objective – she wrote that she herself was fat as a child – but I think she was heavy-handed in trying to achieve it. I’d be interested to find out if teen readers feel the same way.
Ashish is recovering from a break-up and decides to do something he never thought he’d do…Ask his parents to set him up with an Indian girl. They choose Sweetie but Sweetie’s mother won’t allow it. She thinks that because Sweetie is fat, she’s not good enough for Ashish or his family. His parents are filthy rich after all. Sweetie and Ashish decide that they want to date anyway. Ashish’s parents make them sign a dating contract outlining the specific dates he and Sweetie are allowed to go on. Hopefully, Sweetie’s mother won’t find out.
I appreciated that this book showed that just because someone is overweight, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t worthy of love or can’t be happy. And that it’s possible to be overweight and an athlete. I think Sweetie is a great role model – she’s very body positive, which is quite a feat considering how horrible her mother is to her about her weight. However, There’s Something About Sweetie crosses the line into After-School Special territory. I found it to be preachy at times. The dialogue between Sweetie, Ashish and their friends was not how typical teenagers talk. The author definitely had an objective – she wrote that she herself was fat as a child – but I think she was heavy-handed in trying to achieve it. I’d be interested to find out if teen readers feel the same way.
This was my favorite of the three. I read them out of order and this one I read last. I think they just felt the most compatible to me or maybe I just liked them the most. Also, I Just wanted to hug Ashish in the beginning and tell him everything was going to be ok. Plus, the Sassy Sweetie project.
So much body positivity my heart was about to explode.