Blog Tour | Q&A | When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

It is with great honor to announce that the UK When Dimple Met Rishi tour has officially started right here on The Book Chapter and I am so fricking excited. To kick start off this tour I have an epic Q&A in store for you, I swear Sandhya is the sweetest and the answers are just amazing. Without further ado I bring forth the Q&A...

Disclaimer; random Bollywood GIF's will be used by yours truly because words are not enough to describe my emotions to all these answers, plus Bollywood GIFs are life.

Everyone's crush, just saying

Thank-you so much Sandhya for joining me on my blog and another big thank-you for writing such a master-piece ‘When Dimple Met Rishi’. I guess I speak for most people when I say, I’ve never connected with a character like I did with Dimple before.

I’m so glad you connected with Dimple! That makes me so happy! :) - Sandhya

Where did the idea for ‘When Dimple Met Rishi’ come from?

I was contacted by S&S with the kernel of the idea—two Indian-American teens whose parents want to arrange their marriage, and only one of them is really on board with the plan. I knew I had to flesh it out and turn it into a book because there is such an incredible dearth of happy stories about marginalized teens! It really appealed to me that this wasn’t an issue book or a book about poverty in India or something depressing like that. I wanted to show brown teens kissing, living life, chasing their passions, and getting happily-ever-afters!

When Rishi and Dimple first met haha

Are you working on anything at the moment?

My second book, another YA contemporary, will be out next summer! Hodder & Stoughton has bought the UK rights to that one, too, so I’m so psyched that UK readers will get to read it. :)

Will you be writing a sequel or a companion novel to ‘When Dimple Met Rishi’?

Well, never say never. ;)

OHMYGOD OHMYGOD

If you could describe Dimple and Rishi in 3 words each, what would they be?

Dimple: Spitfire, ambitious, feminist

Rishi: Romantic, traditionalist, artist

Where there any difficult and/or fun parts of ‘When Dimple Met Rishi’ to write?

Oh, so many of each! The difficult parts were when I had to put them through tough times. *sniff* I really felt sad doing it and I can’t say exactly what without giving away some spoilers, but readers can take solace in the fact that it totally broke my heart, too.

The fun times were anytime I got to write banter and sarcastic jokes (of which there were many!), kissing scenes (especially the one at Bernal Heights), the “I love you” scene, and the end!

What are Dimple and Rishi doing beyond the book, how are things going?

I’m happy to say they’re both chasing their dreams, living life to the fullest, and sneaking kisses every chance they can! :)

YAAASSSSSS

What inspired you to make Dimple an aspiring tech student?

Another paucity we see in YA—a lack of STEM (science/technology/engineering/mathematics) girls! I wanted to show a strong female character who could totally kick any boy’s arse in a STEM field.

YAS! So nice to get some rep in YA as a tech student

Top 3 tips you’d give to struggling writers?

Read as much as you can in various genres. If you hate a book, take note of the mechanics/craft side of things: What did you hate, exactly? Prose? Pacing? Character development? All of those things will teach you what not to do in your own story.

Also set a writing goal and aim to meet it. It doesn’t have to be a certain number of words every day, although that does certainly help. Your goal, especially at the beginning, can be to just write one short story every two weeks or five poems every month. Then make sure you take it to a critique group you can trust for feedback.

Thank-you Sandhya for being on my blog and for the epic debut When Dimple Met Rishi that has stolen many of our hearts. I highly recommend this book to all.

Thank you so much for having me on your blog! :) - Sandhya

About the Author

My name is Sandhya Menon, and I write books for teens. I currently live in Colorado, where I'm on a misson to (gently) coerce my husband, son, and daughter to watch all 3,221 Bollywood movies I claim as my favourite. Also, I love my cat a little too much, as you can probably tell.

My YA novel 'When Dimple Met Rishi' is out now from Simon Pulse (Simon and Schuster) US, and Hodder & Stoughton - UK. 

Find Sandhya over on:

Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

When Dimple Met Rishi Summary 

Summary from Goodreads

The arranged-marriage YA rom-com you didn't know you wanted or needed...

Meet Dimple.

Her main aim in life is to escape her traditional parents, get to university and begin her plan for tech world domination.

Meet Rishi.

He's rich, good-looking and a hopeless romantic. His parents think Dimple is the perfect match for him, but she's got other plans...

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.

Add to Goodreads | Amazon | Waterstones | Book Depository | Wordery

I hope you all enjoyed this Q&A and my obsessive GIF work of my fav Bollywood OTP, who I totally see as Dimple and Rishi.

OTP GOALS. 

Review | Flame In The Mist #1 Renée Ahdieh

Summary

Summary from Goodreads

The daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has long known her place - she may be an accomplished alchemist, whose cunning rivals that of her brother Kenshin, but because she is not a boy, her future has always been out of her hands. At just seventeen years old, Mariko is promised to Minamoto Raiden, the son of the emperor's favorite consort - a political marriage that will elevate her family's standing. But en route to the imperial city of Inako, Mariko narrowly escapes a bloody ambush by a dangerous gang of bandits known as the Black Clan, who she learns has been hired to kill her before she reaches the palace.

Dressed as a peasant boy, Mariko sets out to infiltrate the Black Clan and track down those responsible for the target on her back. Once within their ranks, though, Mariko finds for the first time she's appreciated for her intellect and abilities. She even finds herself falling in love - a love that will force her to question everything she's ever known about her family, her purpose, and her deepest desires. 

Review

The moment I found out Renée Ahdieh was going to write MORE, I freaked out. Renée is easily my favourite author EVER! When I found out it was going to be a mashup of MULAN and 47 Ronin, I flipped my shit. They are the best movies ever, making me want to go Japan even more. When I found out the rights had been sold to publish Renée's books in the UK, that too, Hodder - I cried, because a) Hodder are amazing and b) bout time us UK folks got dem books!

Flame In The Mist follows young Hattori Mariko as she sets off to Inako - Heign Castle, to get married to the Emperor's favourite consorts son. But things don't go as planned as her 'people' get attacked supposedly by the Black Clan. Mariko sets off on a journey of self discover and to find the truth - why the Black Clan wanted her dead. The entire story, plot was so well paced and luring. I was intrigued and captivated by the Black Clan because just as Mariko was about to find out - nothing is what it seems.

The characters were so amazing and different. I instantly liked and connected to Mariko, headstrong and never one to bow down in the face of fear. She was on a journey to find herself, not as the daughter of the Hattori clan, not even as the betrothed of royalty, but as a person and a strong female. The Black Clan are lethal, an enigma and the unraveling of the truth behind them was stunning. As Mariko builds their trust, she finds something beneath them all, could she possibly see them as her enemies?

Renée has simply blown me away. I really liked that I could recognize a few rituals and traditions and it was so nice to see such intricate and beautiful names. Japan is stunning and one day I hope to travel there. The plot twist at the end was amazing, though I saw it coming - the build up was hella awesome, it was shocking and I need more. 

Flame In The Mist will capture your heart and soul, make you fall in love with all that Japan has to offer, make you wish you were right in the heart of it all. But above all, make you crave the next chapter in this captivating and imaginative novel.

★★★★★

Review | The Crown's Fate #2 by Evelyn Skye

Summary

Summary for Goodreads

Russia is on the brink of great change, Pasha's coronation approaches, and Vika is now the Imperial Enchanter, but the role she once coveted may be more difficult - and dangerous - than she ever expected.

Pasha is grappling with his own problems - his legitimacy is in doubt, the girl he loves loathes him, and he believes his best friend is dead. When a challenger to the throne emerges - and with the magic in Russia growing rapidly - Pasha must do whatever it takes to keep his position and protect kingdom.

For Nikolai, the ending of the Crown's Game stung deeply. Although he managed to escape death, Nikolai remains alone, a shadow hidden in a not-quite-real world of his own creation. But when he's given a second chance at life - tied to a dark price - Nikolai must decide just how far he's willing to go to return to the world.

With revolution on the rise, dangerous new magic rearing up, and a tsardom up for the taking, Vika, Nikolai, and Pasha must fight - or face the destruction of not only their world but also themselves.

Review

This book was one of my most anticipated reads of 2017. After The Crown's Game and that killer ending, I needed more, I needed more Nikolai. This book in some ways did not disappoint, however certain aspects really got to me. Mainly because with book 1, I hoped some things wouldn't carry on. Also - this is only a duology?! WHY. 

The Crown's Fate continues after a few weeks of the events of the game. We see Vika as the Imperial Enchanter, Pasha - stuck in a limbo as he waits for the coronation, and sweet Nikolai, stuck in shadow form in his dream bench (MY SWEET BABY). Vika still has that fierce power in her, despite having to do both Pasha's and Yuliana's bidding. She was always selfless but kept onto the hope of saving them all. You see growth with Pasha no longer just agreeing with all Yuliana commands.

The plot was intense, yet at times certain things weren't necessary for the plot. There's a darkness that really got to me - complete opposite to The Crown's Game which was all games and mischief and magic. But I really liked it, seeing Skye write both ways was amazing, intriguing as well to see a beloved character so differently. However I feel the whole saving 'said' character was left too late into the book, which I would have loved to see a little earlier. The magic grew ten folds then its predecessor, holy crap the magic was insane and stunning. 

Evelyn Skye had quite literally transported me to Russia, with delicious food (THE FOOD) and the places. It was all vivid and clear, the battles intense and unpredictable. Though, once again, the love quadruple? (I guess) wasn't the main focal point - but it was still there and it still irritated me. The Crown's Fate was captivating with its magic, delicious with all the food, intense with battles and treason. But hopeful with finding the perfect half of peace, love and family. I cannot wait to see what Evelyn has in store for us next.

★★★★