ARC REVIEW: From Twinkle with Love by Sandhya Menon (May 2018)

So remember this day. Remember this moment. And go explore the universes. They’re waiting.

My synopsis: Twinkle Mehra is an aspiring filmmaker and she chronicles her life in a diary addressed to various female directors (i.e. Sofia Coppola, Mira Nair) she looks up to. A self-proclaimed wallflower/groundling, she is eager to transform into her shiny, ideal self and finally gain the respect and attention of the silk-feathered hats population and she thinks dating the smart, athletic, and popular Neil Roy will get her there. But another opportunity presents itself when Neil’s identical nerdy, groundling twin Sahil Roy offers to work on a movie with her as her producer for the upcoming Midsummer Night festival. 

To be published May 22, 2018 by Simon Pulse

e-ARC provided by the Simon & Schuster through Edelweiss+ 

Genre: YA Contemporary, YA Romance

Themes: Indian culture, fimmaking, aspirations, dreams, best friends, friendships, love, soulmates, romance, future, the stories we tell, popularity, parent-children relationships, finding yourself, identical twins

Amazon* / Barnes & Noble / Book Depository

*As an Amazon Associate, I receive a mini % of the sales price if you make a purchase using my link, thank you!

I don’t think I’m wrong when I say people won’t be disappointed! I have not read When Dimple Met Rishi, but from what I’ve heard about it, I knew that this will be a cute contemporary read – I actually am planning to pick it up soon because of this 🙂

From Twinkle with Love is a cute and lovable story of a dreamer, told in a unique diary-like format – Twinkle’s personality, passion, and wit is sure to pull you in! I’ll definitely be watching out for future works by Sandhya Menon.

First of all I’d like to mention, I just love that we’ve reached the day and age when people from different backgrounds and cultures get the representation they deserve. I love the openness that the reading community is evolving into! In previous years, I would never have imagined that I’ll be picking up books with so much diversity in it, and this is a shoutout to the authors who didn’t get cowed by the resistance/barriers and courageously told their stories, but also to the people who helped pave the way and make these kinds of books happen >>> THANK YOU. 

I absolutely loved the characters. I appreciated Twinkle’s passion for filmmaking – I enjoyed all the film references (even though I sadly did not get all of them). She wore the coolest shirts!! Sahil was this nerdy but equally passionate guy – he was insecure in some ways (but that’s okay, aren’t we all?) that you just want to hug all the time. He’s so dependable, and I just want to say all the good things, but you just have to wait for next #SwoonySaturdate post for that! Another character I will especially mention is Victoria Lyons – I was really surprised by her, but I don’t want to say any more than that!

You’re kind of cool in a weirdly quirky way. It draws people in.

Another super cool part is when we get some other POVs throughout, not in any predictable way, but it just kind of pops in out of nowhere, and I thought that was so much fun and very interesting.

The plot itself kept me going because I like when there’s a production element in the plot – I just have to watch Dracula now! It was so much fun reading about how they picked costumes, and all the planning that went into the film. I think I enjoyed that the most, and also how the “big day” turned out to actually be “the big day.”

And of course, this review won’t be complete without my comments on the romance! I am totally sold on it, and I thought it was super cute and I was all in! It was so honest, and just adorable in every way.

But when I see you… every time, Twinkle, I feel those golden fireworks inside me. And the only reason I can think of is that you have some kind of chamatkaar. You must be a special kind of miracle.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this very much! It gave me some The Outcasts / Can’t Buy Me Love film vibes, and the whole film production theme reminded me of Emma Mill’s Foolish Hearts. I can’t wait to hear everyone’s thoughts on it once it comes out next month!!

Thank you Simon & Schuster for my review copy!

Thanks for reading! Also, because my words cannot possibly be better than the author herself, I included a special message for you from the author below…

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS FEATURE (the words of Sandhya Menon):

Last, but far from least, this book is especially for you. You, who stumble but refuse to fall. You, who refuse to dim your shine. The world desperately needs your voice, your courage, your heart. Twinkle on.