A hilarious teen series to enjoy

Hi friends, this post is one I have been itching to write about ever since I finished the last book in this hilarious and hugely enjoyable teen series!! Well, to find out more you’re going to have to go on blind faith and press the button below…

Not too long ago I was looking for diverse teen stories and I stumbled on Sandhya Menon’s Dimple & Rishi series. Beginning with the first title: When Dimple met Rishi, I fell head over heels in love with both the characters and the storyline; the unique Indic feel or ‘Desi’ flavour made it stand out from the others I was reading back then. I suppose I felt more at ease with these characters as they had grown up in a culture that was not that dissimilar to my own. 

For those of you who haven’t read these stories and met these awesome characters, here is a small blurb of the whole series, in the correct order.

When Dimple met Rishi begins with our main couple and their meet-cute, or should I say ‘match-cute’. With graduation behind her, Dimple Shah was more than ready for a break from her family – and from Mamma’s obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband”. Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that he and 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. 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!!

The next story that follows this in sequence is titled There’s something about Sweetie and it introduces us to Rishi’s younger brother Ashish Patel. After he’s dumped by his ex-girlfriend, his mojo goes AWOL. Even worse, his parents are annoyingly, smugly confident they can find him a better match. So, in a moment of weakness, Ash challenges them to set him up. The Patels insist that Ashish date an Indian-American girl – under contract. Sweetie Nair is many things: a formidable track athlete who can outrun most people in California, a loyal friend, a shower-singing champion. Oh, and she’s also fat. To Sweetie’s traditional parents, this last detail is the kiss of death. Sweetie loves her parents, but she’s so tired of being told she’s lacking because she’s fat. Ashish and Sweetie both have something to prove. But with each date they realize there’s an unexpected magic growing between them. Can they find their true selves without losing each other?

The story that follows from this is actually a novella called As Kismet would have it. We meet up with our lovebirds, Dimple and Rishi again in this delightful novella. They have overcome a fair bit in their relationship even though Dimple still has a lot of opinions about marriage. Sure she loves her boyfriend Rishi but why does she need to validate that with an institution that has historically never favored the woman? Rishi Patel deeply disagrees and believes in the power that comes with combining love and tradition, and wants nothing more than to honour those things in a huge celebration with his friends and family. The two lovebirds find themselves at a philosophical impasse. Can they find a way to.work.it.out Or does kismet have other plans? 

The next novella Love at first fight, feels like a mash-up of the lives of the two brothers and their girlfriends. It’s Valentine’s Day and Ashish Patel has heard about a romance-themed escape room; he knows it’s the perfect opportunity to bring together Sweetie along with his brother Rishi Patel and his girl, Dimple Shah. On their way to the Escape Room the group runs into Pinky Kumar and Samir Jhah – both friends to Ashish but nemeses to each other. Despite Pinkie’s knee-jerk reaction to the cheesy theme (which gets her a high five from Dimple), the two of them agree to join the group. The escape room is as insufferably saccharine as Pinky feared, but even she is surprised when she and Samir actually work together. Samir embodies everything Pinky despises. Sparks are definitely flying but it’s unclear if that’s a good thing. Could this be love at first fight? 

The last in the series is 10 things I hate about Pinky. Pinky loves lazy summers at her parents’ Cape Cod lake house, but after listening to them harangue her about the poor decisions she’s made, she hatches a plan. Get her sorta-friend-sorta-enemy Samir Jha to pose as her perfect boyfriend for the summer. When Samir’s internship falls through, he gets a text from Pinky asking if he’ll be her fake boyfriend in exchange for a new internship. He jumps at the opportunity. Pinky’s a weirdo, but he can survive a summer with her if there’s light at the end of the tunnel. As the two bicker their way through lighthouses and butterfly habitats, sparks fly, and Pinky and Samir both realize this will be a summer they’ll never forget.

Well, to begin my review/dissection of these amaze-some reads, how cool are the Desi-flavoured titles spun from popular Hollywood romcoms!! I could have sworn when I first saw them, all I saw in my head were the movies but then after reading these, I imagined them as movies too!! I absolutely adored Dimple and Rishi in their first story. Dimple felt like a kindred spirit to me. To be honest, all the girls were all equally cool and driven. Sweetie and Pinky, in their own stories, brought so much vibrant personality and flair to the female quotient of the romance equation. The boys, where do I start!! Rishi, our sweet and helpless romantic; Ashish, his younger and obnoxious brother, and snobbish Samir, all quirky and funny in equal measures with just the right amount of vulnerability to balance the girls. Combined, the stories and couples bring so much to life. One of the main things that excited me the most were the Hindi language and terms scattered throughout the series which brought the Indic flavour to these contemporary romances. What inspired me the most were the hefty themes addressed. By hefty I mean regarding body image, cultural identities, homosexuality and themes of friendship and family. Deftly woven into a narrative that’s a traditional romance at heart, the underlying message in each read packs a punch. Sandhya Menon has created a masterpiece in this series and you can’t help but laugh out loud and fall in love with it all. A small recommendation though, they’re all better suited to older readers 15 and over. 

With awards and nominations under her belt for this wholesome and hilarious series it’s no wonder Netflix has secured a drama series already. Based on the first title, When Dimple met Rishi, the streaming giant has a series titled Mismatched featuring Indian teens in the city of Jaipur. Yes, it’s a bit different, so brace yourself if you’re going to check it out!!

Have fun reading and watching if that’s what tickles your fancy.

Miss Mahee