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Dimple and Rishi #2.5
Love at First Fight
From New York Times bestselling author Sandhya Menon comes a delightful enovella sequel to When Dimple Met Rishi and There’s Something about Sweetie, about a Valentine’s Day group date gone hilariously, disastrously awry.
Ashish Patel has never considered himself a hopeless romantic. But now that he’s found his other half, Sweetie Nair, there’s nothing he wants more than to celebrate love in all its forms. So when Valentine’s Day rolls around and he hears about a romance-themed escape room, he knows it’s the perfect opportunity to bring together Sweetie along with his newly engaged brother and sister-in-law-to-be, Rishi Patel and Dimple Shah.
On their way to the escape room, the group runs into Pinky Kumar and Samir Jha—both friends to Ashish but nemeses to each other. Despite Pinky’s kneejerk reaction to the cheesy theme (which gets her a high-five from Dimple), the two of them agree to join the group.
The escape room is as insufferably saccharine as Pinky feared, but even she is surprised when she and Samir actually…work well together. Samir embodies everything Pinky despises—following rules, having no fun, consuming single-use plastics. Getting along with someone like him—a shiny Volvo when she’s so used to junkers—sends Pinky into a tailspin.
Sparks are definitely flying, but it’s unclear if that’s a good thing. Could this be love at first fight?
Ashish Patel has never considered himself a hopeless romantic. But now that he’s found his other half, Sweetie Nair, there’s nothing he wants more than to celebrate love in all its forms. So when Valentine’s Day rolls around and he hears about a romance-themed escape room, he knows it’s the perfect opportunity to bring together Sweetie along with his newly engaged brother and sister-in-law-to-be, Rishi Patel and Dimple Shah.
On their way to the escape room, the group runs into Pinky Kumar and Samir Jha—both friends to Ashish but nemeses to each other. Despite Pinky’s kneejerk reaction to the cheesy theme (which gets her a high-five from Dimple), the two of them agree to join the group.
The escape room is as insufferably saccharine as Pinky feared, but even she is surprised when she and Samir actually…work well together. Samir embodies everything Pinky despises—following rules, having no fun, consuming single-use plastics. Getting along with someone like him—a shiny Volvo when she’s so used to junkers—sends Pinky into a tailspin.
Sparks are definitely flying, but it’s unclear if that’s a good thing. Could this be love at first fight?
47 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 30, 2020
53 people are currently reading
1914 people want to read
About the author
Sandhya Menon
24 books3,486 followersSandhya 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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 182 reviews
June 8, 2020
So cute!
We are reunited with our much beloved Rishi & Dimple and Ashish & Sweetie, along with getting a delightful preview of what is to come with Pinky & Samir. It's Valentine's day galore with this short, fun novella of our OTPs solving escape room puzzles.
Though I must say they were the most oddly specific clues ever, because what are the odds of every couple being fans of Bronte, Downtown Abby, and an obscure webtoon? That was a major coincidence but hey this is a light-hearted romance novella so I shall forgive it lol
We are reunited with our much beloved Rishi & Dimple and Ashish & Sweetie, along with getting a delightful preview of what is to come with Pinky & Samir. It's Valentine's day galore with this short, fun novella of our OTPs solving escape room puzzles.
Though I must say they were the most oddly specific clues ever, because what are the odds of every couple being fans of Bronte, Downtown Abby, and an obscure webtoon? That was a major coincidence but hey this is a light-hearted romance novella so I shall forgive it lol
June 13, 2020
Like always, Sandhya Menon's stories are adorable and cute, even in an overdose of pink and hearts. I loved the escape room setting, and how everyone had to work together to solve the mystery!
Thank you to SimonTeen for allowing us to read this enovella for free this month!
Thank you to SimonTeen for allowing us to read this enovella for free this month!
July 30, 2020
What a cute story! Now I'm super excited to read 10 Things I Hate About Pinky. :)
July 6, 2020
Let me just say that I enjoyed reading the excerpt 1o Things I Hate About Pinky of that was at the end of the book and I really cannot wait to read the book.
Here we follow Sweetie and Ashish (who is the brother of Rishi, from the first book) who plans a Valentine Day event for Sweetie and he invites Rishi, Dimple, and Pinky and Samir who cannot stop fighting with each other. Pinky is a free spirit and all she hates is bodily represented by Samir but an escape room event results in them working together
I just thought it was hilarious and we got to know a bit more about Pinky.
Here we follow Sweetie and Ashish (who is the brother of Rishi, from the first book) who plans a Valentine Day event for Sweetie and he invites Rishi, Dimple, and Pinky and Samir who cannot stop fighting with each other. Pinky is a free spirit and all she hates is bodily represented by Samir but an escape room event results in them working together
I just thought it was hilarious and we got to know a bit more about Pinky.
February 27, 2021
Dimple and Rishi,Sweetie and Ashish & Pinky and Sameer are back in a Valentine’s Day themed companion story.
It involves a treasure hunt kinda clue game which invoked emotions between our fighter girl Pinky and Sameer.It’s good to see them again💕
It involves a treasure hunt kinda clue game which invoked emotions between our fighter girl Pinky and Sameer.It’s good to see them again💕
January 17, 2021
A cute one time short read, when you are looking for a short, happy and no brainer read.
March 2, 2021
Pinky and Samir
The 3 couples and friends go to an escape room for Valentine’s Day and its theme is romantic. Sweetie and Ashish are in love and so are Dimple and Rishi. Pinky and Samir are always fighting but seem to fall in love.
The 3 couples and friends go to an escape room for Valentine’s Day and its theme is romantic. Sweetie and Ashish are in love and so are Dimple and Rishi. Pinky and Samir are always fighting but seem to fall in love.
September 2, 2020
Very cute addition to the Dimpleverse!! Sandhya Menon remains one of my favorite desi authors, for the record.
And this makes me want to reread the trilogy 🥰🥰🥰
And this makes me want to reread the trilogy 🥰🥰🥰
September 27, 2025
This was super cute! I really like seeing all the past couples come together and I’m excited to see the next story.
January 3, 2021
3.5 stars
July 25, 2020
Love at First Fight (Dimple and Rishi, #2.5)
Rating 3.5/5 Stars
I thought this was cute it was fun to revisit these characters again.
Rating 3.5/5 Stars
I thought this was cute it was fun to revisit these characters again.
August 11, 2020
Love love love the chemistry between Pinky and Samir and already picked up the next book which is based on them..
June 8, 2020
Sometimes I question the purpose of novellas... but that’s never the case with Sandhya Menon!!! This novella is such a cute compliment to the Dimpleverse & I cant wait to dive into 10 Things I Hate About Pinky!!
My full review is up on Fangirl Fury.
My full review is up on Fangirl Fury.
January 1, 2023
All of my favorites in one novella! A dream come true!
This one comes right before the events in "10 Things I Hate About Pinky" and oh my goodness, it sets the best groundwork for it.
You have the most ridiculous Valentine's day escape room with Dimple and Rishi, and Ashish and Sweetie coupled off, leaving Pinky and Sam (Samir) stuck together to figure out their portions of the clues.
I loved how each couple got their own section of the novella, and we got a snippet of each of their perspective. The ending was just **chef's kissing ** with Sam tucking away something from the escape room, that makes me now want to go back and read "10 Things I Hate About Pinky" all over again. :)
This one comes right before the events in "10 Things I Hate About Pinky" and oh my goodness, it sets the best groundwork for it.
You have the most ridiculous Valentine's day escape room with Dimple and Rishi, and Ashish and Sweetie coupled off, leaving Pinky and Sam (Samir) stuck together to figure out their portions of the clues.
I loved how each couple got their own section of the novella, and we got a snippet of each of their perspective. The ending was just **chef's kissing ** with Sam tucking away something from the escape room, that makes me now want to go back and read "10 Things I Hate About Pinky" all over again. :)
August 11, 2021
A cute fun story with the whole gang! I loved getting a little glimpse of what’s to come between Pinky & Samir in the next book. As always, both Patel brothers and their girlfriends are absolutely adorable. 😍 I loved this little novella! ❤️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
June 7, 2020
This was adorable, naturally. I loved the escape room setting, and it was interesting to see how each couple's puzzles that they were trying to figure out really fit them. It also did the trick and made me excited to read 10 Things I Hate About Pinky sooner than later!
June 22, 2020
So, so cute. And a good look into the potential future of Pinky and Samir!
November 17, 2025
this was so cute omg
Dimple makes such a good older sister figure and this made me realize how badly I need to do an escape room
Dimple makes such a good older sister figure and this made me realize how badly I need to do an escape room
June 21, 2020
Loved it. Like everything from Sandhya Menon. It was pleasure to read it.
July 27, 2020
I love seeing how adorable and gooey our past couples are! They’re so in love and that makes me happy.
Hardcore already on board the Pinky and Samir ship.
I’m glad Menon wrote this fun little story.
Hardcore already on board the Pinky and Samir ship.
I’m glad Menon wrote this fun little story.
March 17, 2023
This was a cute novella and I'm very glad that this one didn't contain any spoilers.
June 18, 2020
THis was cute!
July 7, 2020
www.bookworm221.tumblr.com
Such a fun short story with some of my favorite characters of all time.
Rishi, Dimple, Ashish, Sweety, Pinky and Samir find themselves on a Escape Room adventure on Valentine's Day and let me tell you this little novella manages to bring so much happiness in just a few pages, it's the ideal read to get ready for 10 things I hate about Pinky coming out this month.
Instagram and Twitter @bookquotes221
Such a fun short story with some of my favorite characters of all time.
Rishi, Dimple, Ashish, Sweety, Pinky and Samir find themselves on a Escape Room adventure on Valentine's Day and let me tell you this little novella manages to bring so much happiness in just a few pages, it's the ideal read to get ready for 10 things I hate about Pinky coming out this month.
Instagram and Twitter @bookquotes221
July 19, 2020
3.5⭐️
August 18, 2020
I could read little novellas in this universe forever.
August 21, 2020
A cute novella that gives us a chance to catch up with characters from the previous books (Dimple, Rishi, Sweetie and Ash) and get to know Pinky and Samir a bit.
The two established couples are looking for something to do on Valentines Day and come across the idea of an escape room.
Along the way, they meet up with Pinky and Samir. They were definitely not together. Pinky is quite feisty and pretty sure that she does not like Samir at all. Unfortunately she keeps being unintentionally rude to him. She doesn’t actually want to hurt his feelings.
Everyone goes to the escape room together and get split up into pairs of two. So Pinky and Samir have to work together.
Pinky winds up saying something without thinking and hurts Samir’s feelings.
Her friends think she might be protesting too much and actually be fighting feelings for Samir. Considering the next book in this series is Pinky and Samir’s book, I think they’re right :)
This was a very very quick read but a perfect hold over before starting the next book in the series.
The two established couples are looking for something to do on Valentines Day and come across the idea of an escape room.
Along the way, they meet up with Pinky and Samir. They were definitely not together. Pinky is quite feisty and pretty sure that she does not like Samir at all. Unfortunately she keeps being unintentionally rude to him. She doesn’t actually want to hurt his feelings.
Everyone goes to the escape room together and get split up into pairs of two. So Pinky and Samir have to work together.
Pinky winds up saying something without thinking and hurts Samir’s feelings.
Her friends think she might be protesting too much and actually be fighting feelings for Samir. Considering the next book in this series is Pinky and Samir’s book, I think they’re right :)
This was a very very quick read but a perfect hold over before starting the next book in the series.
June 7, 2020
What a sweet and fun story!
I really love this series! Dimple and Rishi, so sweet together. Sweetie and Ashish, again so sweet. Now we have Pinky and Samir. These two seem to dislike each other, but it is only a falsehood. They are actually so into each other that they fight like cats and dogs. Watching on the outside as a reader, you feel the chemistry between them. Just like the rest of the group, you just know that they will end up together at some point.
It didn't happen in this little story, but it will soon, I just know it!
I also liked the theme with the Escape Room. I've always wanted to do one, so reading about others involved in one is super exciting to me!
I want more, so much more, so now I have to get the next book and get to reading!
Romance fans will love this series, so if you haven't read it, what are you waiting for?
I really love this series! Dimple and Rishi, so sweet together. Sweetie and Ashish, again so sweet. Now we have Pinky and Samir. These two seem to dislike each other, but it is only a falsehood. They are actually so into each other that they fight like cats and dogs. Watching on the outside as a reader, you feel the chemistry between them. Just like the rest of the group, you just know that they will end up together at some point.
It didn't happen in this little story, but it will soon, I just know it!
I also liked the theme with the Escape Room. I've always wanted to do one, so reading about others involved in one is super exciting to me!
I want more, so much more, so now I have to get the next book and get to reading!
Romance fans will love this series, so if you haven't read it, what are you waiting for?
December 9, 2020
I loved this book so much more than As Kismet Would Have It (the short story following When Dimple Met Rishi. I got to revisit the OG couple, Dimple and Rishi, but also got to explore and see more of Sweetie and Ashish, which was amazing. But my second favorite part was seeing the interaction between Pinky and Samir. It's no doubt an enemy-to-enemy relationship...but maybe things will change in the third book...
My favorite part, though, would have to be the escape room element. I love escape rooms, even though I've never been to one in real life. There's just something about seeing your characters coming together and working for a same purpose. This was so well done and it definitely got me hyped to read the last installment (I think it's the last) in the trilogy!
June 2, 2020
Short novella in the Dimple-verse. Short and sweet celebration of Valentine’s Day with all of the characters we’ve gotten to know and love with a hint of what’s to come with Pinky and Samir in the upcoming book as they work to escape a lovey escape room. Cute and continues the love stories of Dimple and Rishi and Sweetie and Ashish.
June 28, 2020
This was just as cute and enjoyable as other books by Sandhya Menon that I've read. It was nice to see the characters that I know from her previous books and to be introduced to Pinky and Samir.
I was a bit frustrated with how the escape room was portrayed. I know that it's a young adult romance story, but the escape room part felt a bit unrealistic to me, and so I had to mention it. But the writing was good and it made a good introduction for the new characters and their story.
I was a bit frustrated with how the escape room was portrayed. I know that it's a young adult romance story, but the escape room part felt a bit unrealistic to me, and so I had to mention it. But the writing was good and it made a good introduction for the new characters and their story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 182 reviews