What will happen when two enemies decide to fake date? A lot of banter, laughs, and a few “practice” kisses.
From the Blurb:
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 she’s made (a.k.a. boyfriends she’s had), she hatches a plan. Get her sorta-friend-sorta-enemy—who is a total Harvard-bound Mama’s boy—to pose as her perfect boyfriend for the summer.
When Samir’s internship falls through, leaving him with an unplanned summer, he gets a text from Pinky asking if he’ll be her fake boyfriend in exchange for a new internship. He jumps at the opportunity; Pinky’s a weirdo, but he can survive a summer with her if there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
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.
It’s summer break for Pinky and she’s spending it with her family at their lake house. On the surface Pinky seems to only be a wild child. Her parents think that her impulsiveness is leading her down the wrong path and it worries them. When an accident happens at the lake house, Pinky’s parents immediately look to her to blame. That is the final straw that makes Pinky blurt out how she has this perfect boyfriend even they would approve of.
Enter Samir. Samir is the polar opposite of Pinky in more ways than one. With the responsibility of taking care of his sick mother as a young child, Samir’s personality is more controlled than Pinky’s. Some would even say he’s a bit boring. He knows exactly what he wants for his life and his summer internship at a law firm will bring him closer to that goal. When those plans quickly fall through, Samir finds himself mixed up with Pinky and her scheme of getting back at her parents.
Readers were first introduced to Pinky and Samir in There’s Something About Sweetie. I was excited to learn that we would be getting an entire book of these two after reading their interactions in the previous book. They are both such fun characters!
Pinky and Samir are my favorites from this series. Sandhya Menon’s books are always refreshing to read because of the characters she creates. They are always relatable but have their own unique traits that set them apart from other young adult characters. Menon tells cute romantic stories while teaching readers a bit about themselves along the way. 10 Things I Hate About Pinky is no different from her other stories which made it easy to enjoy reading.
This is a character-driven story, which I didn’t mind. There are a lot of cute moments shared between Pinky and Samir as they begin fake dating to trick Pinky’s parents. The heart of the story is definitely the relationship Pinky has with her mother, though. Pinky wishes for her mother to see her for who she is and not who she paints her to be. When a butterfly habitat the two of them used to spend time together at faces being shut down, Pinky has hopes that her mother will help her save it.
I wish it didn’t take the story so long to get to this part because, in the end, it felt very rushed. The plot felt lacking at times with certain areas of both Pinky’s and Samir’s lives not being fully explained. There was a lot of heart within this story but there could have been more if we saw more backstory for both of their characters and their relationships between their families.
Overall, I enjoyed 10 Things I Hate About Pinky. I loved the mixing between two of my favorite romantic tropes and the sweet moments between Pinky and Samir! Even with the rushed plot towards the end, I still had fun reading this book.
If you’re looking for a cute romance to read, or if you are a fan of Sandhya Menon’s previous books, then you’ll love this story!
Bookstacked Comment Policy
We welcome respectful comments. Our only rule is to be kind. Rude, hateful and generally mean-spirited comments will be removed.