I absolutely loved When Dimple Met Rishi, so when I saw that Sandhya Menon had come out with a sequel, I bought it right away… and then let it sit on my bookshelf for a few years before finally getting around to reading it.
I picked this one up right after finishing H Is for Hawk, which I loved, but a lot of that book is about grief and depression, and I finished it a few days before the second anniversary of my mom’s death, so I knew I would need to drastically switch gears if I was going to make it through the anniversary, and this book did not disappoint.
Like I said, it’s a sequel to When Dimple Met Rishi, but as is usually the case with romance series, you don’t need to have read the first book in order to enjoy this one. Dimple and Rishi make one or two cameos in this book, and that’s about it.
This book centers on Rishi’s younger brother, Ashish, and Sweetie. Ashish is a basketball star and heartthrob. He’s just been dumped by his first serious girlfriend, Celia, who’s already off at college and cheated on Ashish with some college guy.
Since then, nothing has gone right for Ashish. He’s off his game, both on the court and with the ladies.
Then one of his friends suggests he have his parents set him up with a girl. If you don’t know anything about When Dimple Met Rishi, the premise is that their parents set them up, but Dimple’s parents didn’t tell her about it, leading to hilarity when she meets Rishi (hence the title). Obviously, it turned out beautifully because most of the book is about the two of them falling in love.
So Ashish’s friend says, “Hey, if it worked out for Rishi, why not give it a try? What do you have to lose?”
Since Ashish’s parents are constantly badgering him about his love life, and asking him to let them set him up with someone, he finally gives in on the condition that, if it doesn’t work out, his parents will drop the subject forever.
I can’t say I was thrilled to see Menon using the same conceit in her sequel that she had used in her first book. I liked it the first time around, but to use it again just makes it feel like she doesn’t have any other stories in her.
Sweetie is a fat teenaged Indian American living not too far from Ashish, but he goes to a private high school and she goes to a public high school. Like Dimple, Sweetie’s parents are well off, but nowhere near as wealthy as Rishi and Ashish’s parents. But again, they live in the same area and their parents know each other.
Sweetie is a track star and a great student, but it feels like all anyone sees is her size. When she tells her mom she’s the fastest one on the team, her only reply is to think about how much faster she’ll run once she loses weight. And she makes Sweetie run laps before letting her have an after-school snack, even when that snack is an apple.
Of course her mom isn’t the only one making comments about her weight, but they’re the ones that hurt the most, leaving Sweetie feeling ugly and unworthy. One day Sweetie decides she’s had enough and starts what she calls the Sassy Sweetie Project, meaning she’s going to do whatever she wants to the extent that she can and prove to herself (and hopefully her mom) that she doesn’t have to let her weight hold her back.
The project starts when Ashish’s mom calls Sweetie’s mom about setting up their kids. Sweetie’s mom is afraid people will make fun of her daughter when they see her with a more conventionally handsome boy like Ashish so she refuses, even after Ashish’s mom tries to assure her that doesn’t matter to her or Ashish.
When Sweetie finds out that her mom doesn’t think she deserves to have someone like Ashish she’s hurt and furious. Then she gets his number from a friend and texts him to meet her on the track field, where she proceeds to kick his ass in a foot race.
I found Ashish’s self-pity annoying at times, but for the most part I really liked him, not least because of the fact that Sweetie’s ability to outrun him turns him on instead of making him insecure. I also loved the fact that, although he’s never dated anyone who looks like her, he’s not dating her despite her looks. He’s legitimately attracted to her and doesn’t see the need for her to change anything.
But family and parental approval are both extremely important in Indian culture. Sweetie doesn’t like going behind her parents’ backs to date Ashish, but at some point, proving to herself that she is worthy of love is more important.
That doesn’t mean Ashish’s parents are OK with it. Eventually, they agree to allow the couple to go on three dates (the time and place of which are to be chosen by themselves, rather than the couple) before telling Sweetie’s parents.
You can guess how it goes from there. As with When Dimple Met Rishi, this book ends where the couple first met and it’s adorable!