{Review} LOVE AT FIRST FIGHT by Sandhya Menon -- and enter to win 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT PINKY!

O P E N I N G   H O O K:

   "IT WAS LIKE CUPID had thrown up all over everything. Like the dude had a big night out, spun around on a carousel a few times, and then just... let loose. Ashish stood back and considered the giant tree in the center of the plaza covered with pink and red glittery paper and enormous papier-mâché hearts. 
   "It feels like a crime against nature." He stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets. "Right?" 

(Page 5, US e-book edition)

“For strong women like us, having feelings, especially for guys who are totally, completely different from us, can be really disconcerting. But I'm here to tell you that closing yourself off, putting that concrete wall up, and being mean just to distance yourself from him is not the way to go. It's just going to make you unhappy because that's not who you are, it's going to hurt his feelings, and things are going to get really messy.”

~LOVE AT FIRST FIGHT

Have you ever loved a book so much, you wished you could see the characters on the big screen? Sandhya Menon made a huge splash in 2017 with her debut novel WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI, which quickly hit the Best Sellers List and got readers everywhere talking. The book has since inspired two companion novels (The final one, 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT PINKY, comes out this Tuesday, and you have a chance to win it below!) and two novellas. There's even going to be a Netflix movie this fall! (Read all about it here!) If the movie does well, maybe there will be movies for each of the remaining books -- and holiday specials for both novellas! The first novella, AS KISMET WOULD HAVE IT, begins at Christmas time, and the second novella, LOVE AT FIRST FIGHT takes place during Valentine's Day, so they'd be perfect!

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LOVE AT FIRST FIGHT:

Do I need to read WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI before reading FIRST FIGHT?

It depends. I think you get more out of it if you already know the characters, since it is about 50 pages and just a short story. But if you just want a fun Valentine's story? Not really, no. It's more of a gift for fans of the book who already love the characters, and if you don't go in knowing them, you won't get much out of it, but it can be done!

Do I need to read THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT SWEETIE before reading FIRST FIGHT?

Same answer: It depends. I think you get more out of it if you already know the characters, since it is about 50 pages and just a short story. But if you just want a fun Valentine's story? Not really, no. It's more of a gift for fans of the book who already love the characters, and if you don't go in knowing them, you won't get much out of it, but it can be done!

Do I need to read 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT PINKY before reading FIRST FIGHT?

Nope! ^_^ FIRST FIGHT takes place after both DIMPLE and SWEETIE, but before PINKY. However, you get a sneak peek at Pinky and Samir, who intensely dislike one another, and get to see them bicker before they experience that fabulous hate-to-love trope and fall for one another in PINKY!

DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN READ AS LOVE AT FIRST FIGHT RIGHT NOW FOR FREE!?

It's true! Simon and Schuster has a great website for teens, Riveted by Simon Teen (With the best tagline -- Believe in Your Shelf! If you sign up for a FREE account, you have access to FREE reads! There is always a ton to choose from each month, from full novels to extended excerpts. Right now, you can even get a sneak peek at the Spring 2021 Cover Reveals before they hit stores next year!  

One of this month's FREE offerings is LOVE AT FIRST FIGHT. And lucky ducky that you are, you can ALSO read Dimple-Verse novella AS KISMET WOULD HAVE IT for free!

Check out Riveted by Simon Teen now for these FREE great reads and so much more!

SO TELL ME ABOUT THE BOOK ALREADY!

Okay, okay, I hear you! ^.~

If you love a good holiday read, LOVE AT FIRST FIGHT takes place during Valentine's Day! I feel like a ton of books take place at Christmas and during summer break or even spring break, but most other holidays just fall off the board. I've read a few Valentine's books, but not many. This is definitely one that will be fun to read every February!

Even if you aren't a huge fan of the holiday, it's still fun -- especially if you are a fan of Escape Rooms! This novella takes place after both WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI and THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT SWEETIE, so we see both couples getting together on Valentine's Day to do a holiday-themed Escape Room together. They wind up meeting up with their friends Pinky and Samir, who don't get along with one another, but they both reluctantly join the group because an escape room sounds fun, right? Except...maybe not on Valentine's Day when the rooms are re-done and everything is suddenly themed around couples and love and hearts and cupids and all that mushy-gushy stuff. Even Dimple, who is in a loving, committed marriage, still rejects many Valentine's traditions and thinks the holiday is overrated. It's fun to see everyone's reaction to the love-themed escape room: Some hate it and others love it! It really showcases everyone's personalities.

Each couple goes off into a corner to figure out the clues and reunite two long-lost lovers in order to escape their room. I loved the idea of a Valentine's themed escape room, but man, I would have lost at the first clue. They were all so specific and if you didn't know the TV show/book/comic, then you would not escape. Thankfully, our couples are much smarter than me, and even know the obscure!

This is just a fun moment in time that lets fans of both DIMPLE and SWEETIE reunite with their favorite couples, see them "living happily ever after," and be introduced to the upcoming couple featured in the next novel, 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT PINKY.

It's really hard to talk in-depth about this 50 page novella without spoilers, especially since it's just a moment in time, so I'm just going to let you discover it for yourself, and say that it is definitely worth a read if you are a fan of the Dimple-verse!

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If you are able to, please purchases a copy of 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT PINKY from indie-owned Wellesley Books, who will be hosting Sandhya Menon's virtual launch party for PINKY!

You can order online through Bookshop and Libro.fm -- the store will receive a portion of the proceeds and it will help so much!

Interested in attending the PINKY Launch Party?
Sandhya Menon will be in conversation with Becky Albertalli (SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA, WHAT IF IT'S US, YES NO MAYBE SO)
Tuesday, July 21st at 7 pm EST.

Sign up for the Zoom Webinar now!

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You also have a chance to WIN A COPY of PINKY below -- it's truly the perfect summer read! It takes place during Pinky and Samir's summer vacation. I don't know about you, but personally, I love reading books that take place in "real time." I loved this book so much that I've already read it twice, and now I want you to have a chance to read it as well!

Enter below!
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O F F I C I A L   I N F O:

Title: WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI

Author: Sandhya Menon

Release Date: May 30, 2017

Publisher: Simon Pulse / Simon & Schuster


Purchase Links:

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY
BOOKSHOP *Order from and support your local indie or Wellesley Books, who is hosting the PINKY Virtual Launch Party! * 

SUMMARY:

Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right?

Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—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.

The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitate toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?

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. 

O F F I C I A L   I N F O:

Title: THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT SWEETIE

Author: Sandhya Menon

Release Date: May 14, 2019

Publisher: Simon Pulse / Simon & Schuster


Purchase Links:

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY
BOOKSHOP *Order from and support your local indie or Wellesley Books, who is hosting the PINKY Virtual Launch Party! * 

SUMMARY:

Ashish Patel didn’t know love could be so…sucky. After he’s dumped by his ex-girlfriend, his mojo goes AWOL. Even worse, his parents are annoyingly, smugly confident they could 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. Per subclause 1(a), he’ll be taking his date on “fun” excursions like visiting the Hindu temple and his eccentric Gita Auntie. Kill him now. How is this ever going to work?

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. She decides it’s time to kick off the Sassy Sweetie Project, where she’ll show the world (and herself) what she’s really made of.

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?

O F F I C I A L   I N F O:

Title: 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT PINKY

Author: Sandhya Menon

Release Date: July 21, 2020

Publisher: Simon Pulse / Simon & Schuster
Received: For Review

Purchase Links:

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOK DEPOSITORY
BOOKSHOP *Order from and support your local indie or Wellesley Books, who is hosting the PINKY Virtual Launch Party! *

SUMMARY:

The follow-up to WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI and THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT SWEETIE follows Pinky and Samir as they pretend to date—with disastrous and hilarious results. 

Pinky Kumar wears the social justice warrior badge with pride. From raccoon hospitals to persecuted rock stars, no cause is too esoteric for her to champion. But a teeny-tiny part of her also really enjoys making her conservative, buttoned-up corporate lawyer parents cringe.

Samir Jha might have a few . . . quirks remaining from the time he had to take care of his sick mother, like the endless lists he makes in his planner and the way he schedules every minute of every day, but those are good things. They make life predictable and steady.

Pinky loves lazy summers at her parents’ Cape Cod lake house, but after listening to them harangue her about the poor decisions (aka boyfriends) she’s made, she hatches a plan. Get her sorta-friend-sorta-enemy, Samir—who is a total Harvard-bound Mama’s boy—to pose as her perfect boyfriend for the summer. As they bicker their way through lighthouses and butterfly habitats, sparks fly, and they both realize this will be a summer they'll never forget. 

~*~

****Giveaway*****

You could win...

-  A copy of 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT PINKY by Sandhya Menon!

This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL
wherever Book Depository ships!

You must be at least 13 years old to enter or have a parent's permission!

Winner will be emailed and must respond within 48 hours, or a new winner will be chosen.

Enter now!

...Stop by tomorrow for another chance to win, and check out yesterday's post reviewing AS KISMET WOULD HAVE IT! for another chance to win!

You may have also missed these posts:

*Street team interview with Sandhya Menon
*A Twist in the Tail Thursday featuring  the mythology in PINKY
 *Learn more about Mismatched-- an upcoming Netflix film centered around our beloved couple Dimple and Rishi!

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