TOUR / REVIEW: 10 Things I Hate About Pinky by Sandhya Menon

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**I received an eARC as a part of Sandhya Menon’s street team. These are my honest opinions, and in no way was I compensated for this review.**

Book: 10 Things I Hate About Pinky (Dimple and Rishi #3) by Sandhya Menon

Release Date: July 21, 2020

My Rating: 3.5 stars

Rep: ownvoices Indian-American protagonists and side characters, Chinese-American side character

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.

Today, I’m happy to be a part of the blog tour for 10 Things I Hate about Pinky by Sandhya Menon as a part of Sandhya’s street team! My stop includes my review.

Pinky was in need of a boyfriend. A perfect summer boyfriend.

Sandhya’s contemporary books are the best and I love being on her street team! I was so excited for the next installment in the Dimple and Rishi universe, especially after meeting the protagonists in the last book. 10 Things I Hate About Pinky has hate-to-love fake dating and the same heart that you can feel in all of Sandhya’s books.

We first met Pinky and Samir in There’s Something about Sweetie and now their dynamic returns at full strength. Pinky is at her family’s vacation house when her tension-filled relationship with her mom comes to a peak. After being accused of burning their backyard barn down, she lies and says she has a “good” boyfriend now. Luckily for her, Samir is stranded after his prized internship is unexpectedly canceled, so he decides to make an impulsive decision for once and agrees to be Pinky’s fake boyfriend for the summer.

I love when secondary characters get their own book, and it was so interesting to see Pinky and Samir at the forefront of this book. An activist, Pinky is strong-willed and stubborn. Meanwhile, Samir is uptight and adverse to change. Over the course of the book, however, we get to see real growth in both of their characters. Pinky’s stubbornness becomes less hostile and Samir realizes that sometimes it’s okay to let go of his plans.

The secondary characters were also great. Dolly, Pinky’s cousin, was a voice of reason throughout the book. A perfect student, she wants to rebel from her “boring” image although that might have more consequences than she expected. Pinky’s and Dolly’s parents are very prominent in this book as well.

I found Pinky and her relationship with her mom fascinating; both of them overreact over trivial comments that escalate into full-blown arguments. I related to this honestly, and I loved seeing Pinky slowly realize that this all comes from a place of love and that her mom just wants what’s best for her.

The romance was cute! There’s an tension between Pinky and Samir that neither of them expected. The hate-to-love is also very real; there’s lots of bickering and arguing but also lots of heart-to-heart conversations. The fake dating aspect added a layer to the story but I did feel like it was more secondary to the plot and the characterizations.

This book was adorable and was an amazing addition to this universe. The romance was cute, and I loved the growth among all the characters. 10 Things I Hate About Pinky is a perfect summer read! You don’t want to miss it.

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About the Author: Sandhya Menon is the New York Times bestselling author of several novels with lots of kissing, girl power, and swoony boys. Her books have been featured in several cool places, including on The Today Show, Teen Vogue, NPR Book Review, Buzzfeed, and Seventeen. A full-time dog servant and part-time writer, she makes her home in the foggy mountains of Colorado.

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