Item: There's Something About Sweetie
Rating: 5.00
Author: kozbisa

by Sandhya Menon and Jacob Pritchard

'I'm head-over-heels for this charming, funny, romantic, life-affirming book.' Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

The irresistible companion novel to the New York Times bestseller When Dimple Met Rishi, which follows Rishi's brother, Ashish, and a confident, self-proclaimed fat athlete named Sweetie as they both discover what love means to them.

Ashish Patel didn't know love could be so...sucky. After being 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?

'A thoroughly delightful romance featuring a spirited, confident, and lovable heroine and an unexpectedly dashing romantic hero. Add to your must-read shelves!' Melissa de la Cruz

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Sweetie embarked on project "Sassy Sweetie" in an attempt to challenge people's preconceptions of what fat girls can and cannot do, while Ashish went along with the plan in an attempt to mend his broken heart and reclaim his mojo. What they found was an honest connection and a person, who saw the best in them.

• Pro: I have to commend Menon on how she wrote Ashish, because I was NOT a big fan of his when I met him in the previous book. However, she really let the "true" Ashish shine in this story, and he won my heart. He was vulnerable, kind, sweet, swoony, and he grew tremendously during this story.

• Pro: Sweetie was fab-u-lous! She was a dutiful daughter, straight A student, star athlete, amazing singer, and loyal friend. She was, in a word, effervescent, and I loved getting to know her.

• Pro: I liked that Menon chose to make Sweetie a fat character, and challenged many of the misconceptions people have about those who are overweight. Pairing these two went against the norm, and highlighted the idea of looking beyond appearance and seeing the "whole" person.

• Pro: Both Ash and Sweetie had amazing friends, who were there to support them on their journey, and also enhanced the story adding to my enjoyment.

• Pro: Yeah! for present and loving YA parents. I couldn't get enough of Mrs. Patel, and how both she and Mr. Patel so openly cared for Ashish. Though Sweetie's mother might not have gone about it in the right way, she did love and care for her daughter, and she grew, along with Sweetie and Ashish, over the course of the story.

• Pro: The romance was sweet and adorable, and I loved the dates the Patels arranged for Ashish and Sweetie. Not only did we get to see them interact with each other, but we got a good glimpse into their culture as well.

Overall: Another wonderful YA romance from Menon, which left me with a smile on my face and a song in my heart.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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There's Something About Sweetie (Dimpleverse, #2)

by Sandhya Menon and Jacob Pritchard

Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on May 2, 2019

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