I went into this expecting to like it, but I don't know...this book was just not for me.

I know that part of the reason I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would was because it was slightly triggering. It brought back old and fresh memories of things that have happened to me/are happening to me and it honestly made me angry and frustrated. Mostly at the way my culture is. I sort of took my anger out on this book, so I apologize in advance.

I did like the diversity though, and that was the main reason I wanted to read this. That and the fact that it deals with arranged marriage in a more positive light. It's not your typical girl-is-forced-to-marry-cousin-from-Pakistan/India story. While the main characters aren't Muslim, so their version of arranged marriage is different from my experience, there were many parts that were familiar.

I really hated Rishi as a character. He's just so naive and romantic and stupid. And also very, very creepy. That scene where Dimple throws her coffee at him was 10000000% justified, but it made no sense to me why she invited him to pizza afterwards. Like I'm sorry, but if I had no idea my parents set me up with someone, and then that said person came up to me and introduced himself as my future husband, I would run to the opposite end of the world and if he tried to come back to woo me, I'd kill him. And I'd have an all out war against my parents lol

I should add that I am the least romantic person to have ever existed, so contemporary romances are usually not my thing. But this book made me gag and cringe and want to throw up 90% of the time. I was constantly rolling my eyes cause of how cheesy some lines were or because of whatever Rishi was saying to Dimple. Also, Rishi's inner monologue made me want to choke him. He's way too obsessed with Dimple's smile and her shampoo, it's not normal.

The one part that I really hated because of how accurate it was, but also liked cause of how accurate it was lol...were the scenes where culture and family issues were discussed. Especially the focus on how mysognistic South Asian culture actually can be. And it made me rant on twitter lol so here's the link to the thread if you're interested: twitter thread

I guess seeing the truth on paper made me very passionate and angry about the topic, especially since its so relevant to my own life.

The last half of the book turned into a Bollywood film – I've never seen a Bollywood movie, but I'm pretty sure this is what they're like. Ashish showing up and the drama that followed was something I wasn't expecting, and the whole Rishi realizing his brother isn't as horrible as he thought scene was kind of cliche and fast. What really annoyed me was the ending.

The whole fight scene was so predictable. I was waiting for it to happen from the beginning. And then we have the typical Bollywood ending, where both characters are trying to find each other to profess their love, and then they finally meet and say how sorry they were and it was a mistake, and then they get back together, the scene explodes in colour and song, and everyone is happy.

Dimple's mother was never actually "disappointed" but just sad because Dimple was sad. CAN I JUST SAY HOW UTTERLY RIDICULOUS THIS WAS. Like there is no way that Dimple's mother was just sad. No, she's manipulative. And what would have actually happened was that she would have made Dimple feel terrible until some other potential husband came around, or Dimple would have given in and appeased her mother by wearing make up and becoming more domestic. There is no way that that scene in Dimple's room with her mother would have occurred. Maybe a very very small percent chance, but yeah, not realistic.

And Rishi telling his father he wants to do comics instead of engineering and his father eventually agreeing...yeah no. Also not happening.

I get that the point of this book is to show readers that you can follow your dreams and still stay within traditions and culture. And I guess it gives people hope that something like this can happen – that they too can have a happy ending. And maybe I'm just angry cause of how real this is to me, or I'm becoming a pessimist, but it's not what would have actually happened. But at the same time, I don't know if I would have been any happier if the author had ended it with Rishi having to go to school for engineering and Dimple being miserable cause her mother is miserable. I would have definitely felt like it was more realistic, but it does make this contemporary rather sad and bleak.

So I don't know. This book was definitely not for me. My past experiences tainted my reading experiences for sure, but besides that I really did not like the plot or Rishi, and Dimple was mostly okay.

Overall: 2/5 stars