A review by lawbooks600
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Representation: Asian characters
Score: Five out of ten.

I would've enjoyed When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon if it received some improvements. I wanted to read this one for a while but I put it off for a few months until I picked it up at a library. I glanced at the blurb, making it seem like a romance between two Indian American characters, but when I closed the final page, it was okay.

The low ratings were a sign I should avoid this one, but I read it anyway. It starts with Dimple Shah and Rishi Patel living separate lives in the opening pages, with Dimple wanting to go against her parents' expectations, instead wanting to attend a program for web developers like her. Rishi is the opposite of her, firmly believing in traditions, which leads to them attending a smaller version of Comicon named Insomniacon soon after, where they spend the rest of the narrative. When Dimple Met Rishi tries to go for a slow burn pacing, with a length of nearly 400 pages, but it didn't work as the characters lack depth, making it hard to connect or relate with them, especially considering Dimple hits people sometimes. She's less likable now when I think about it. Side characters, like Ashish Patel, don't get much dedicated page time, unlike Dimple and Rishi, which have a lot of time in the spotlight, but I guess I should expect that considering their names are literally in the title.

There's not a lot of plot to When Dimple Met Rishi other than the romance, except for the brief discussions on sexism and Indian cultural traditions, which I found intriguing but underexplored. Diving deeper into those topics would've improved the reading experience, though. There is, however, a subplot revolving around Dimple and Rishi entering a cosplaying competition, providing a much needed break from the romance, and at least I appreciated that part, but that was only toward the concluding few pages. Once the central storyline ended, there is some bonus content, including a novella, which I liked, but even that couldn't make me enjoy When Dimple Met Rishi more.
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