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tmalini's review
5.0
WOW. Loved this collection of short romances. Suleikha Snyder is a gorgeous writer - her characters are grounded and funny and realistic and passionate. I didn’t want any of these stories to end. DIL OR NO DIL was exactly what I needed today!
moviemavengal's review
4.0
Absolutely LOVED this short story and novella collection. The last story with the older hero and heroine was my favorite.
frogy927's review
4.0
Even when a collection is one author, it can't seem to escape the collection curse, which is that the good and bad cancel each other out. This collection had four or five short stories and two novellas. All of the short stories were amazing. The second of the two novellas was fine but not great. But Adam from the first novella was a useless waste of space and I did not want the heroine to end up with him because she could do so much better than that man-child.
lvndrgms3's review
4.0
It can be easy to forget sometimes that short stories can be as fulfilling as a full length novel. There’s something about Snyder’s writing that draws me in. She has a distinctive way of describing sequences and feelings that catch my attention and it always feels natural.
cdnmrs's review
4.0
Originally reviewed for Red Hot Books
To be honest, I don’t generally read a lot of short story collections. I usually find them slightly frustrating because, if the stories and character are good, I generally want more than what a short story has to offer. Furthermore, I’ve never read anything by author Suleikha Snyder. So, I was a little unsure about how I would enjoy Dil or No Dil, but it was on sale and I was between books. Spoiler alert: It was fantastic!
The collection contains older stories, dating as far back as 2011, and new stories made available for the first time in this collection. There are eight in all. The stories range in length from several pages to as many as 13 chapters and contain many elements of and references to the author’s Indian background. I was really blown away by how much I really enjoyed Dil or No Dil and especially the variations of the stories. Some of the stories, were f/f, others were m/m, most were typical m/f pairings, but then some the m/f stories included older female characters and younger male love interests which aren’t typical of Romance as a genre at all. Some of the stories were of the insta-lust/love variety and other were love stories that, while told over only a couple of pages, spanned decades.
One area where there was very little variation was in the many characters. Snyder writes amazing strong, independent characters that are unrepentant in their individuality and their sexuality. With little exception, each character in each story knew themselves, what they wanted out of both love and life and went after it. I was particularly drawn to the character of Sapna from the story “That You Dare To Dream” and Tiya Chatterjee from “A Taste of Blessings.” Both women could have been hemmed in by circumstances and culture, but, without necessarily eschewing their culture altogether, grew into these strong women that when faced with life and love take chances and cut their own paths.
As I previously mentioned, the stories with, if I’m not mistaken, the exception of “Jesse’s Girl” and “Secured,” contain many elements of and references to the author’s Indian background and I loved it. I’ve read about North America, Ireland and the UK forever, I’ve even read Fantasy Romances set in universes that could easily be North America, Ireland or the UK, but with elves and magic and stuff. The number of white, twenty something women I’ve read about is legion, but I’ve very rarely read about a Tiya, a Dhristi or a Saroj. I’ve never read a story about Bengal without the involvement of British soldiers and before reading Dil or No Dil I didn’t know a single thing about Durga Puja. There’s no requirement that authors outside the white, cishet, North American, Judeo-Christian experience educate me, but I read to “live a thousand lives” and to escape. Why would I want to escape to the same place or live the same life over and over again? I enjoyed “Jesse’s Girl” as much as “That You Dare to Dream,” but I appreciated the new (to me) settings, traditions and experiences Snyder shares with the reader in the anthology.
If you enjoy short stories with strong, independent characters, variation and something different than the everyday, check out Dil or No Dil and prepare to be amazed.
To be honest, I don’t generally read a lot of short story collections. I usually find them slightly frustrating because, if the stories and character are good, I generally want more than what a short story has to offer. Furthermore, I’ve never read anything by author Suleikha Snyder. So, I was a little unsure about how I would enjoy Dil or No Dil, but it was on sale and I was between books. Spoiler alert: It was fantastic!
The collection contains older stories, dating as far back as 2011, and new stories made available for the first time in this collection. There are eight in all. The stories range in length from several pages to as many as 13 chapters and contain many elements of and references to the author’s Indian background. I was really blown away by how much I really enjoyed Dil or No Dil and especially the variations of the stories. Some of the stories, were f/f, others were m/m, most were typical m/f pairings, but then some the m/f stories included older female characters and younger male love interests which aren’t typical of Romance as a genre at all. Some of the stories were of the insta-lust/love variety and other were love stories that, while told over only a couple of pages, spanned decades.
One area where there was very little variation was in the many characters. Snyder writes amazing strong, independent characters that are unrepentant in their individuality and their sexuality. With little exception, each character in each story knew themselves, what they wanted out of both love and life and went after it. I was particularly drawn to the character of Sapna from the story “That You Dare To Dream” and Tiya Chatterjee from “A Taste of Blessings.” Both women could have been hemmed in by circumstances and culture, but, without necessarily eschewing their culture altogether, grew into these strong women that when faced with life and love take chances and cut their own paths.
As I previously mentioned, the stories with, if I’m not mistaken, the exception of “Jesse’s Girl” and “Secured,” contain many elements of and references to the author’s Indian background and I loved it. I’ve read about North America, Ireland and the UK forever, I’ve even read Fantasy Romances set in universes that could easily be North America, Ireland or the UK, but with elves and magic and stuff. The number of white, twenty something women I’ve read about is legion, but I’ve very rarely read about a Tiya, a Dhristi or a Saroj. I’ve never read a story about Bengal without the involvement of British soldiers and before reading Dil or No Dil I didn’t know a single thing about Durga Puja. There’s no requirement that authors outside the white, cishet, North American, Judeo-Christian experience educate me, but I read to “live a thousand lives” and to escape. Why would I want to escape to the same place or live the same life over and over again? I enjoyed “Jesse’s Girl” as much as “That You Dare to Dream,” but I appreciated the new (to me) settings, traditions and experiences Snyder shares with the reader in the anthology.
If you enjoy short stories with strong, independent characters, variation and something different than the everyday, check out Dil or No Dil and prepare to be amazed.
alys's review
4.0
Great writing. This was a 3.5 for me, but I rounded up in giving it stars because I think the things I was frustrated with were about me - and were a direct result of good writing. The short stories were too short for me, I wanted to spend more time with the characters, so the very brief vignettes seemed to end abruptly, which is not a fault in the writing, as it was exactly what the author was intending to do. I'll definitely be reading more by this author so I can see what she does with a longer format.
I didn't love the longer work with Adam the musician, as jealousy is a complete turn-off for me, and I didn't understand what they each saw in each other because of that.
I didn't love the longer work with Adam the musician, as jealousy is a complete turn-off for me, and I didn't understand what they each saw in each other because of that.
kjcharles's review
An absolutely cracking collection of romance shorts plus two novellas. Suleikha Snyder is one of the best short-story writers in romance, and this is an exhibition of how to do it. Stories range from tension-filled single scenes to fully completed romance arcs that convince you of a love over a lifetime in a handful of pages. Single author collections can rather show up an author's limited range; this one is terrifically varied and well balanced, with a wide range of settings and MCs and pairings (includes m/m and f/f) and ages (yes! older MCs!) and conflicts. Jesse's Girl, a riff on the Dolly Parton song Jolene, remains one of the best romance shorts I've ever read and one of the few pieces of writing to use second person viewpoint for a reason and pull it off. And the whole thing is impeccably edited, which is good for my soul.
Smart, well written, not a dud in the collection. A very big recommendation.
Smart, well written, not a dud in the collection. A very big recommendation.
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