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Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Bleeding Violet in Books
Apr 27, 2018
Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves
Genre: YA, Romance, Paranormal
Rating: 4/5
My Summary: Hanna is a freak. Diagnosed with Anxiety, Depression, Insomnia, Hyperactivity, Insanity, and nearly shut away as a maniac-depressive, she runs away from home in search of the mother she never knew. On arriving in her mother’s strange town called Portero, she makes a deal with her mom—if she can fit in with the people in this town within two weeks, she can stay. Her mother scoffs at the idea of Hanna being able to fit into the town—but Hanna soon learns that this has nothing to do with her, and everything to do with the town. Portero is like nothing she’s ever seen or heard of or imagined before. Strange creatures, invisible doors, a police-like force with a strange sense of right and wrong, a boy who she’s not sure if she likes or hates (but knows for sure that he’s hot), and a mayor who thinks she’s a god, Hanna starts her two-week challenge trying to fit in—and ends it trying to save the lives of everyone she loves.
Review:
Bleeding Violet was freakishly amazing, morbidly exciting, and realistically romantic.
I love it when the romance between the characters is real—not two perfect people who never fight who get along perfect. No, the romance between Hanna and Wyatt was not perfect, but it was there and it was special, and it was funny.
This whole book was funny. Though parts of it were strange and morbid, a lot of it was moderately confusing in an understandable way (Does that make any sense? probably not. Remember that Hanna is insane. She hallucinates… and makes some pretty interesting things happen near the end. It is confusing because it’s impossible, but understandable because she’s crazy.). I laughed almost the whole way through. It’s light and heavy, witty and serious, all mixed with the color purple.
The characters were my favorite. All the characters were very distinct and different. Sometimes when reading a story, some of the minor characters kind of blend together and seem similar, not defined enough, because they don’t really matter. But in Bleeding Violet, all the characters are distinct. I’m not sure if telling everyone that I identify with Hanna would be a wise idea because it might scare you… but to a certain extent, I did (and do) relate to her. Not just because of my own insanity (mwa-ha-ha!) but because her character was written in a very clear personal way. The story is told from first person inside Hanna’s head, so I knew exactly what Hanna was thinking all the time. Wyatt wasn’t perfect either. He had his flaws and that made him a real person. The change in Rosalie (the mother) was… both interesting and wonderful to see (Trying to keep this spoiler-free… but those of you who’ve read it already know what I mean by “change”).
The plot was engaging and fast paced, but not rushed. The details enhanced the story, rather than slowing it down just for the sake of telling you what something looked or felt like.
Bleeding Violet has a good mix of reality and paranormal. It’s mixed well enough that you can relate to it and it feels like our present day, age, and atmosphere, but the paranormal aspects are still strong and don’t feel out of place.
The low points of the book were the writing, and the ending. The writing was nothing special, but for the most part it was acceptable. The ending wasn’t a let down, but it could have been better. It was cute and sweet, but it didn’t fix all the problems, didn’t answer all the questions, and didn’t have quite enough closure for me.
Content: There was some sex, but no explicit details. There were some sexual references, moderate language, and some morbid details. Not for the easily offended or the weak of stomach.
Recommendation: Ages 16+ to anyone who doesn’t mind being a little freaked out or surprised by crazy people.
Will I buy this book and read it again? Yes, probably. (I read the e-book copy for review.) It will (hopefully soon) have a permanent spot on my bookshelf.
~Haleyknitz
Genre: YA, Romance, Paranormal
Rating: 4/5
My Summary: Hanna is a freak. Diagnosed with Anxiety, Depression, Insomnia, Hyperactivity, Insanity, and nearly shut away as a maniac-depressive, she runs away from home in search of the mother she never knew. On arriving in her mother’s strange town called Portero, she makes a deal with her mom—if she can fit in with the people in this town within two weeks, she can stay. Her mother scoffs at the idea of Hanna being able to fit into the town—but Hanna soon learns that this has nothing to do with her, and everything to do with the town. Portero is like nothing she’s ever seen or heard of or imagined before. Strange creatures, invisible doors, a police-like force with a strange sense of right and wrong, a boy who she’s not sure if she likes or hates (but knows for sure that he’s hot), and a mayor who thinks she’s a god, Hanna starts her two-week challenge trying to fit in—and ends it trying to save the lives of everyone she loves.
Review:
Bleeding Violet was freakishly amazing, morbidly exciting, and realistically romantic.
I love it when the romance between the characters is real—not two perfect people who never fight who get along perfect. No, the romance between Hanna and Wyatt was not perfect, but it was there and it was special, and it was funny.
This whole book was funny. Though parts of it were strange and morbid, a lot of it was moderately confusing in an understandable way (Does that make any sense? probably not. Remember that Hanna is insane. She hallucinates… and makes some pretty interesting things happen near the end. It is confusing because it’s impossible, but understandable because she’s crazy.). I laughed almost the whole way through. It’s light and heavy, witty and serious, all mixed with the color purple.
The characters were my favorite. All the characters were very distinct and different. Sometimes when reading a story, some of the minor characters kind of blend together and seem similar, not defined enough, because they don’t really matter. But in Bleeding Violet, all the characters are distinct. I’m not sure if telling everyone that I identify with Hanna would be a wise idea because it might scare you… but to a certain extent, I did (and do) relate to her. Not just because of my own insanity (mwa-ha-ha!) but because her character was written in a very clear personal way. The story is told from first person inside Hanna’s head, so I knew exactly what Hanna was thinking all the time. Wyatt wasn’t perfect either. He had his flaws and that made him a real person. The change in Rosalie (the mother) was… both interesting and wonderful to see (Trying to keep this spoiler-free… but those of you who’ve read it already know what I mean by “change”).
The plot was engaging and fast paced, but not rushed. The details enhanced the story, rather than slowing it down just for the sake of telling you what something looked or felt like.
Bleeding Violet has a good mix of reality and paranormal. It’s mixed well enough that you can relate to it and it feels like our present day, age, and atmosphere, but the paranormal aspects are still strong and don’t feel out of place.
The low points of the book were the writing, and the ending. The writing was nothing special, but for the most part it was acceptable. The ending wasn’t a let down, but it could have been better. It was cute and sweet, but it didn’t fix all the problems, didn’t answer all the questions, and didn’t have quite enough closure for me.
Content: There was some sex, but no explicit details. There were some sexual references, moderate language, and some morbid details. Not for the easily offended or the weak of stomach.
Recommendation: Ages 16+ to anyone who doesn’t mind being a little freaked out or surprised by crazy people.
Will I buy this book and read it again? Yes, probably. (I read the e-book copy for review.) It will (hopefully soon) have a permanent spot on my bookshelf.
~Haleyknitz
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Sweet Little Lies in Books
Mar 18, 2019
Perplexing, well-written tale
Young Detective Constable Catrina (Cat) Kinsella hasn't had the easiest of lives--she didn't get along well with her father and her mother has since passed away. At twenty-six, Cat is in counseling after a traumatic incident while on the job, and she spends most of her nights alone, plagued by insomnia. She isn't close to her family, including her father, sister, or brother. Her latest case is that of thirty-five-year old Alice Lapaine, who is found murdered and dumped in Leamington Square. Alice too led a solitary life, spending weeks away from her husband, Thomas, who quickly becomes the team's top suspect. But then they receive a call--Alice isn't Alice, but rather Maryanne Doyle, a teenager who went missing in Ireland nearly twenty years ago. Suddenly, Cat's world is upside down. After all, she knew Maryanne, whom her family met while visiting Cat's grandmother when Cat was eight. And Cat has always suspected her father had something to do with Maryanne's sudden disappearance. Cat chooses not to tell her DCI about the linkages between Maryanne and her father, but this choice may have serious consequences: for Cat, her career, and her entire family.
"I feel it's necessary to make clear that I know nothing about what happened to Maryanne Doyle, the girl who went to Riley's for hairspray and never came back. I have my suspicions, of course. I speculate plenty, especially after white wine. But when it comes right down to it, I actually know nothing. The same cannot be said of my father."
This was an interesting, complicated tale. The mystery aspect of it was actually really fascinating, with the linkages slowly building between Alice and Maryanne, as we try to figure out what happened between Maryanne disappearing as a teen, her becoming Alice and then winding up murdered. Overall, I really enjoyed that part of the book. Frear has a lot of good surprises for us, and I was kept guessing for most of the novel.
The personal side of the book was a little harder for me. Don't get me wrong, I did like Cat. She certainly is a complicated character. I have to admit that characters that don't tell the truth or narratives that revolve around this aspect of keeping the truth hidden can be a bit of a pet peeve of mine. So basically an entire book that involves the main character keeping such a big secret (my Dad knew my murder victim, who was found a few paces outside the pub he owns)--that was tough for me. The more involved Cat gets in her case and the more entwined the case becomes with her own life and past: ugh. It all felt a little wrong and icky for me.
Honestly, I probably would have enjoyed this book more if the personal ties to Cat weren't there, or weren't so strong. I recognize they existed to give her depth and add more to the story and case, but they just made me uncomfortable and almost added an extra layer to the mystery that I felt wasn't necessary. Things were already twisty enough, it seemed as we didn't need this whole additional convoluted element with Cat's family. But maybe that's just me and my aversion to lying and such. (I don't even like when this happens in movies and eventually you know it's all going to come out and bad things will happen.)
This is not a simple book, and the story told is a perplexing and sophisticated one: you really have to be ready to follow along. On the plus side, it's original, and the characters are rather unique. I'm intrigued that it looks like Cat will be part of a series. I did like this book, even if some elements were a little harder for me to enjoy, and it was well-written. I'd certainly pick up the next book in a series and perhaps if her family wasn't so entwined in her case, enjoy it even more.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Edelweiss in return for an unbiased review (thank you!).
"I feel it's necessary to make clear that I know nothing about what happened to Maryanne Doyle, the girl who went to Riley's for hairspray and never came back. I have my suspicions, of course. I speculate plenty, especially after white wine. But when it comes right down to it, I actually know nothing. The same cannot be said of my father."
This was an interesting, complicated tale. The mystery aspect of it was actually really fascinating, with the linkages slowly building between Alice and Maryanne, as we try to figure out what happened between Maryanne disappearing as a teen, her becoming Alice and then winding up murdered. Overall, I really enjoyed that part of the book. Frear has a lot of good surprises for us, and I was kept guessing for most of the novel.
The personal side of the book was a little harder for me. Don't get me wrong, I did like Cat. She certainly is a complicated character. I have to admit that characters that don't tell the truth or narratives that revolve around this aspect of keeping the truth hidden can be a bit of a pet peeve of mine. So basically an entire book that involves the main character keeping such a big secret (my Dad knew my murder victim, who was found a few paces outside the pub he owns)--that was tough for me. The more involved Cat gets in her case and the more entwined the case becomes with her own life and past: ugh. It all felt a little wrong and icky for me.
Honestly, I probably would have enjoyed this book more if the personal ties to Cat weren't there, or weren't so strong. I recognize they existed to give her depth and add more to the story and case, but they just made me uncomfortable and almost added an extra layer to the mystery that I felt wasn't necessary. Things were already twisty enough, it seemed as we didn't need this whole additional convoluted element with Cat's family. But maybe that's just me and my aversion to lying and such. (I don't even like when this happens in movies and eventually you know it's all going to come out and bad things will happen.)
This is not a simple book, and the story told is a perplexing and sophisticated one: you really have to be ready to follow along. On the plus side, it's original, and the characters are rather unique. I'm intrigued that it looks like Cat will be part of a series. I did like this book, even if some elements were a little harder for me to enjoy, and it was well-written. I'd certainly pick up the next book in a series and perhaps if her family wasn't so entwined in her case, enjoy it even more.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Edelweiss in return for an unbiased review (thank you!).
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Sully (2016) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
No, not “Monsters Inc 3”.
Chesley Sullenberger was just a very experienced US Airways pilot starting an everyday job flying from LaGuardia airport in New York to Charlotte when fate stepped in. Following an extensive bird strike and the loss of both engines, ‘Sully’ achieved worldwide fame by landing his aircraft and all 151 passengers and crew safely on the Hudson river. Sully is immediately acclaimed by the public as a hero; US Airways, and their insurers, however, are not necessarily as impressed given that their plane has got rather soggy when the flight data suggests it might have actually been able to make it to a landing at a number of nearby airports. So a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) inquiry is called, where a decision against Sully could see him facing the fastest fall from grace since Icarus.
This film is obviously based on this real-life ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ and to a large extent the recreation of the crash…. sorry… “forced water landing” is both vivid and gripping. The film is certainly unlikely to make the regular list of in-flight movies for nervous passengers, but it does serve as a good training film for all of those regular airline passengers who don’t “put down their reading materials” to listen to the aircraft safety announcement.
Director Clint Eastwood has delivered a highly watchable action sequence showcasing the undisputed acting talents of Tom Hanks (playing Sully) and his Aaron Eckhard (“Olympus Has Fallen”, playing the co-pilot Jeff Skiles). This makes for a great 45 minute film. The problem is the other 51 minutes.
Where the film works well – aside from the actual recreation itself – is in representing the post-traumatic stress experienced by Sully, with his insomnia and regular flashbacks of ‘what might have happened’ (anyone still strongly affected by 9/11 will struggle with these scenes). The final NTSB hearing scenes are also well-done and suitably gripping: particularly for viewers outside of the UK where we wouldn’t have heard the outcome of the affair once the news cycle had moved on from the ‘gee-whizz’ headline event.
Where the film aquaplanes somewhat is in the padding achieved through multiple (MULTIPLE!) scenes of New Yorkers back-slapping Sully. Some of this is needed to establish the pedestal that Sully is set upon: the bar scene, for example, is well done. But all the rest of the references become just plain tiresome.
There is also a back-story focused on Sully’s financial problems and rather scratchy marriage (as portrayed) to Lorraine (Laura Linney). Linney is normally a highly-watchable actress, but here her character is just so irritating that the mood of the film plummets every time she reappears on screen.
The key problem that screenwriter Todd Komarnicki (“Elf”!!) had here is the obvious one: that as a real-event (based on Sullenberger’s own book “Highest Duty”) he would have had more scope to build tension if the flight had lasted more than 208 seconds! We end up with little visibility into the back-stories of the passengers. We get to see a father and two grown-up sons who – as fate would have it – just manage to catch the doomed plane: and we end up caring what happens to them. But this approach could have perhaps been usefully extended to feature more of the passenger back-stories (without getting the full “Airport” soap treatment).
Clint Eastwood is also clearly an All-American patriot, and in common with some of his other films he can’t help himself from putting up rather soupy statements about the self-sacrifice of New Yorkers (“the best of New York came together”): when actually the rescue teams did what they were paid to do and Ferry captains did what you or I would do if we stumbled on the scene! These sentiments might go down well in the States: in the cynical UK they tend to generate snorts of irritation.
What IS nice are a couple of “monkeys” (see Glossary) during the closing credits where the real Sully, Skiles, cabin-crew and passengers appear together in a celebration of continued life against all the odds. And just so you are aware, this is done as two separate segments during the titles, so if you don’t want to be one of those people standing in the aisles with your coat half on, then wait for the second one!
A curate’s egg of a film: great in places, but overall not as well executed as it could have been.
This film is obviously based on this real-life ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ and to a large extent the recreation of the crash…. sorry… “forced water landing” is both vivid and gripping. The film is certainly unlikely to make the regular list of in-flight movies for nervous passengers, but it does serve as a good training film for all of those regular airline passengers who don’t “put down their reading materials” to listen to the aircraft safety announcement.
Director Clint Eastwood has delivered a highly watchable action sequence showcasing the undisputed acting talents of Tom Hanks (playing Sully) and his Aaron Eckhard (“Olympus Has Fallen”, playing the co-pilot Jeff Skiles). This makes for a great 45 minute film. The problem is the other 51 minutes.
Where the film works well – aside from the actual recreation itself – is in representing the post-traumatic stress experienced by Sully, with his insomnia and regular flashbacks of ‘what might have happened’ (anyone still strongly affected by 9/11 will struggle with these scenes). The final NTSB hearing scenes are also well-done and suitably gripping: particularly for viewers outside of the UK where we wouldn’t have heard the outcome of the affair once the news cycle had moved on from the ‘gee-whizz’ headline event.
Where the film aquaplanes somewhat is in the padding achieved through multiple (MULTIPLE!) scenes of New Yorkers back-slapping Sully. Some of this is needed to establish the pedestal that Sully is set upon: the bar scene, for example, is well done. But all the rest of the references become just plain tiresome.
There is also a back-story focused on Sully’s financial problems and rather scratchy marriage (as portrayed) to Lorraine (Laura Linney). Linney is normally a highly-watchable actress, but here her character is just so irritating that the mood of the film plummets every time she reappears on screen.
The key problem that screenwriter Todd Komarnicki (“Elf”!!) had here is the obvious one: that as a real-event (based on Sullenberger’s own book “Highest Duty”) he would have had more scope to build tension if the flight had lasted more than 208 seconds! We end up with little visibility into the back-stories of the passengers. We get to see a father and two grown-up sons who – as fate would have it – just manage to catch the doomed plane: and we end up caring what happens to them. But this approach could have perhaps been usefully extended to feature more of the passenger back-stories (without getting the full “Airport” soap treatment).
Clint Eastwood is also clearly an All-American patriot, and in common with some of his other films he can’t help himself from putting up rather soupy statements about the self-sacrifice of New Yorkers (“the best of New York came together”): when actually the rescue teams did what they were paid to do and Ferry captains did what you or I would do if we stumbled on the scene! These sentiments might go down well in the States: in the cynical UK they tend to generate snorts of irritation.
What IS nice are a couple of “monkeys” (see Glossary) during the closing credits where the real Sully, Skiles, cabin-crew and passengers appear together in a celebration of continued life against all the odds. And just so you are aware, this is done as two separate segments during the titles, so if you don’t want to be one of those people standing in the aisles with your coat half on, then wait for the second one!
A curate’s egg of a film: great in places, but overall not as well executed as it could have been.
Jamie (131 KP) rated When Dimple Met Rishi in Books
Aug 15, 2017
Sweet romance (1 more)
Great commentary about cultural identity
Underdeveloped plot (2 more)
Unconvincing setting
Frustrating main character
A sweet summer romance with potential that just didn't work for me
Sigh. It’s hard for me to decide how to start this review because I found myself confused and disappointed when I finished. I think I suffered a little bit from overhype about this book since it was recommended so highly and talked about like mad over the summer. I wanted to love this book because everything just sounded so perfect: a strong willed STEM girl heroine, a clash between cultures, a sweet summer romance with lots of laughs, and one of the cutest book covers I’ve seen in a long time–I was all over it!
I absolutely adored the first half of this book. I could sympathize with both of the main characters, especially Dimple, whose mother reminded me of my own. I too was that nerdy awkward girl that felt uncomfortable wearing makeup and dresses and found happiness in front of a computer screen grinding out code to make websites and browser games. Like my mom, Dimple’s mother pushes her to be more feminine and doesn’t fully understand modern western culture. Dimple struggles with feeling like an outsider in both of her worlds, an experience shared by many American children with immigrant parents. It made me happy that this duality is explored in the novel as I think it’s important for children and teens that, like me, had difficulties with their cultural identity.
On the other hand there’s Rishi, who embraces his cultural heritage and doesn’t care whether or not he “fits in” with either group. He is still a modern young man adapted to western culture that also values tradition and believes with all of his heart in the fairy tale romance of his parents. He is exceptionally sweet and witty and is pretty much the ideal cute nerd boyfriend. The romance between Dimple and Rishi is swoon-worthy and made my heart melt.. Which was great for exactly half of the book.
With the Insomnia Con setting what I expected was a summer “coding camp” similar to ones like the Make School Summer Academy and others held on college campuses around the country every year. Many of these camps usually offer workshops to practice making programs, opportunities to make professional connections and to meet industry leaders, and very often have competitions where they can create and submit their own apps for a cool cash prize. I guess my expectations were misplaced because What I got, sadly, was high school drama with hook ups and a talent show that turned more into a dance competition? Dance? In a coding camp??
This was the start of when the book stopped working for me.
A large part of Dimple’s story revolves around her desire to develop her own app to catapult her into a successful tech career. The book talks at length about how much this matters to her, how she’s dying to make connections to help her on her way, and how she’s so different from other girls by being interested in coding. The book tells the reader all of these things but fails to actually show the reader these things. It’s easy to forget that the main characters are even at a coding camp because so little time is spent on it. The plot just gets plain weird and doesn’t seem to have any sort of focus, even the romance felt rushed.
Also I’m sorry, the dance competition was exceedingly boring to read. That and, well, the love story has already happened by then so the build up for that is finished as well. So what else was there? I thought heavily about skimming or just putting the book down at that point but I honestly wanted to know if Dimple would win the competition (the app one, not the dance one) and achieve her dream of becoming a high powered STEM girl. I was still optimistic that the book would get back to the code camp, but it never does. In fact, three weeks out of the six week camp is skipped completely as the story fast forwards to the result of the app completion. The more I read the more disappointed I was as the plot became more and more juvenile.
By the 3/4 mark it seemed like there was no story left to tell and was starting to seriously drag. So of course there had to be some drama to keep it going. I hated this part. Dimple’s actions in the later portion of the book quite frankly left me feeling confused because they didn’t make any sense whatsoever. It was frustrating and I quite frankly got a little mad at how Dimple treated Rishi in the latter half of the novel. Such a shame considering how amazing the story set up was and how strong the early chapters were.
The characters drift from dinners, parties, and dance practices with next to no time actually coding and it made for a surprisingly boring and mediocre read for me personally. Even despite my criticisms, When Dimple Met Rishi is still a sweet summer romance that shined in the first half of the book. Just because it didn’t work out so well for me doesn’t mean that it won’t work out for others, in fact I seem to be in quite the minority for this book. This book definitely had a lot of potential and I honestly wish that the tech girl part of the story could have been developed better and for the setting to be a little more convincing.
I absolutely adored the first half of this book. I could sympathize with both of the main characters, especially Dimple, whose mother reminded me of my own. I too was that nerdy awkward girl that felt uncomfortable wearing makeup and dresses and found happiness in front of a computer screen grinding out code to make websites and browser games. Like my mom, Dimple’s mother pushes her to be more feminine and doesn’t fully understand modern western culture. Dimple struggles with feeling like an outsider in both of her worlds, an experience shared by many American children with immigrant parents. It made me happy that this duality is explored in the novel as I think it’s important for children and teens that, like me, had difficulties with their cultural identity.
On the other hand there’s Rishi, who embraces his cultural heritage and doesn’t care whether or not he “fits in” with either group. He is still a modern young man adapted to western culture that also values tradition and believes with all of his heart in the fairy tale romance of his parents. He is exceptionally sweet and witty and is pretty much the ideal cute nerd boyfriend. The romance between Dimple and Rishi is swoon-worthy and made my heart melt.. Which was great for exactly half of the book.
With the Insomnia Con setting what I expected was a summer “coding camp” similar to ones like the Make School Summer Academy and others held on college campuses around the country every year. Many of these camps usually offer workshops to practice making programs, opportunities to make professional connections and to meet industry leaders, and very often have competitions where they can create and submit their own apps for a cool cash prize. I guess my expectations were misplaced because What I got, sadly, was high school drama with hook ups and a talent show that turned more into a dance competition? Dance? In a coding camp??
This was the start of when the book stopped working for me.
A large part of Dimple’s story revolves around her desire to develop her own app to catapult her into a successful tech career. The book talks at length about how much this matters to her, how she’s dying to make connections to help her on her way, and how she’s so different from other girls by being interested in coding. The book tells the reader all of these things but fails to actually show the reader these things. It’s easy to forget that the main characters are even at a coding camp because so little time is spent on it. The plot just gets plain weird and doesn’t seem to have any sort of focus, even the romance felt rushed.
Also I’m sorry, the dance competition was exceedingly boring to read. That and, well, the love story has already happened by then so the build up for that is finished as well. So what else was there? I thought heavily about skimming or just putting the book down at that point but I honestly wanted to know if Dimple would win the competition (the app one, not the dance one) and achieve her dream of becoming a high powered STEM girl. I was still optimistic that the book would get back to the code camp, but it never does. In fact, three weeks out of the six week camp is skipped completely as the story fast forwards to the result of the app completion. The more I read the more disappointed I was as the plot became more and more juvenile.
By the 3/4 mark it seemed like there was no story left to tell and was starting to seriously drag. So of course there had to be some drama to keep it going. I hated this part. Dimple’s actions in the later portion of the book quite frankly left me feeling confused because they didn’t make any sense whatsoever. It was frustrating and I quite frankly got a little mad at how Dimple treated Rishi in the latter half of the novel. Such a shame considering how amazing the story set up was and how strong the early chapters were.
The characters drift from dinners, parties, and dance practices with next to no time actually coding and it made for a surprisingly boring and mediocre read for me personally. Even despite my criticisms, When Dimple Met Rishi is still a sweet summer romance that shined in the first half of the book. Just because it didn’t work out so well for me doesn’t mean that it won’t work out for others, in fact I seem to be in quite the minority for this book. This book definitely had a lot of potential and I honestly wish that the tech girl part of the story could have been developed better and for the setting to be a little more convincing.