Flash review: When Dimple met Rishi and Romancing the Throne

May has already been an amazing month for book releases, and the party isn’t over yet! There are some fantastic contemporary reads coming out over the next two weeks (and anyone who knows me knows that I’m not always rah rah contemporary, so that’s saying something). Today I’m going to talk about two of them!

When Dimple Met Rishi (5 stars)

Women in STEM, Kismet, Bollywood dancing, a clash between traditional and modern Indian values, California and a story of firsts. Need I say more? (I will though because I need to share how much I loved this one). When Dimple Met Rishi is a super fun, easy to read story that will leave you all warm and gooey inside. I was hooked very early on by Menon’s upbeat and fast paced writing and absolutely loved the shifting between Rishi and Dimple’s point of view. Each of their way of thinking is so different, yet so compatible. You will be rooting for this unlikely friendship from the very beginning. Menon also has this way of making her characters jump off the page. I sometimes felt like I was sitting there with Dimple and Rishi through every awkward encounter and I connected with them very quickly, despite how vastly different each character is. These are everyday people with everyday hopes and dreams and that makes them incredibly likeable and relatable.

TL;DR: BUY THIS ONE (and also if you’re in Canada or the US and you preorder before next Tuesday, there are pre-order goodies.)

Book plot: Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic and 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 gravitate toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?
^{Adapted from: GoodReads}

Romancing the Throne (3.5 stars)

If you’re anything like me, then the royal family fascinates you. I don’t know what it is about them, but they delight me, especially the younger generation, and so this book was right up my alley. It centres around two sisters (cough Kate and Pippa cough) who both fall for the same prince (cough William cough) and who have to navigate this very uncomfortable situation. Though it sounds like the story of two sisters pitted against each other, it is ultimately the story of the love we have for family. The book is very much a summer, lazy day read as you can get through it pretty quickly (despite it being 400 pages long) and it is very much in the same vein as Gossip Girl.

One of the big complaints I have heard from other readers is that these characters do not sound very British. As I am no expert on the matter, I can’t really comment on it and it was not at all an issue for me, but may be for some.

All in all, grab this one if you’re looking for a light hearted, fun read.

Book plot: For the first time ever, the Weston sisters are at the same boarding school. Social-climbing Charlotte considers it her sisterly duty to bring Libby into her circle: Britain’s young elites, glamorous teens who vacation in Hong Kong and the South of France and are just as comfortable at a polo match as they are at a party. It’s a social circle that just so happens to include handsome seventeen-year-old Prince Edward, heir to Britain’s throne. If there are any rules of sisterhood, “Don’t fall for the same guy” should be one of them. But sometimes chemistry—even love—grows where you least expect it.
^{Adapted from: GoodReads}