BOOK REVIEW | From Twinkle, With Love by Sandhya Menon

Title: From Twinkle, With Love
Author: Sandhya Menon
Series? No
Pages: 336
Publication Date: May 22, 2018
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: I received an e-arc of From Twinkle, With Love via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Simon & Schuster!

Aspiring filmmaker and wallflower Twinkle Mehra has stories she wants to tell and universes she wants to explore, if only the world would listen. So when fellow film geek Sahil Roy approaches her to direct a movie for the upcoming Summer Festival, Twinkle is all over it. The chance to publicly showcase her voice as a director? Dream come true. The fact that it gets her closer to her longtime crush, Neil Roy—a.k.a. Sahil’s twin brother? Dream come true x 2.

When mystery man “N” begins emailing her, Twinkle is sure it’s Neil, finally ready to begin their happily-ever-after. The only slightly inconvenient problem is that, in the course of movie-making, she’s fallen madly in love with the irresistibly adorkable Sahil.

Twinkle soon realizes that resistance is futile: The romance she’s got is not the one she’s scripted. But will it be enough?

Told through the letters Twinkle writes to her favorite female filmmakers, From Twinkle, with Love navigates big truths about friendship, family, and the unexpected places love can find you.

Goodreads

One of my favorite books from last year was Sandhya Menon's debut, When Dimple Met Rishi. I thought Menon's debut was close to perfect. The romance was adorable, the protagonist was headstrong, and there was just enough angst. When reading From Twinkle, with Love, I found the same three elements present. But when comparing which one I like more, When Dimple Met Rishi still takes the cake. 

From Twinkle, With Love follows Twinkle as she directs a movie for an upcoming festival with Sahil Roy. Twinkle has had a crush of Sahil's brother, Neil, since forever. She is also getting emails from a secret admirer who signs off with "N". Twinkle thinking that Neil could be her admirer decides that working with Sahil is a perfect solution. She can make a movie and spread her voice all the while getting an in with Neil and boosting her social status. While making the movie though, she begins to develop feelings for the wrong Roy - Sahil. Add in friendships, insecurities, teenage drama, and tender moments among family, and you've got From Twinkle, With Love.

I really liked the romance in From Twinkle, With Love. The situation is pretty complex, but it's obvious from the start who Twinkle's real romantic interest is. Her interactions with Sahil were so adorable, and I loved that Sahil always recognized Twinkle's voice and respected what she had to say. There never was an uneven power balance between them; they were both equals in their relationship. There was also plenty of angst. Twinkle can't fully commit (what if the mysterious "N" is Neil??), which led to some instances where I wanted to reach into the book and shake some sense into our frustrating protagonist.

My main issue with this book was the main character. Twinkle makes some choices that I just didn't agree with. While they are painted in bad light, and eventually get rectified, it was difficult to empathize with her from then on out. Even when the mistakes are fixed, I wasn't rooting for Twinkle as much after seeing how vindictive she could be. I appreciate that Menon wrote such a complex protagonist, but Twinkle verged on villainy at times.

Another reason that From Twinkle fell a bit short for me was it's focal point. I would have loved if the book focused a bit more on Twinkle's relationship with her parents. We see some amazing interactions between Twinkle and her dadi, but not too much with her parents. They are largely absent from the book. The scenes where they are present were very touching and heartfelt, and I wish we saw more of them! 

Despite the lack of focus on Twinkle's family, there was a pretty large focus on friendships. Twinkle struggles with her self confidence throughout this book, and solely because her best friend, Maddie, has crawled the social ladder and is hanging out with new people. Maddie isn't reserving any time with Twinkle, leading Twinkle to feel more insecure. Though I wish this problem would have been resolved sooner, I did love how they ended things. While the whole love triangle (square?) thing was happening, this other conflict grounded the book and made me reflect on my friendships in high school. 

I didn't love From Twinkle, With Love, but I did like it.  It has its flaws - including a protagonist that I did not root for at times - but it kept me interested the entire way through. If you are a fan of Menon's debut, I would suspect that you would enjoy this as well. The book offers Indian-American representation as well, which is own voices. Menon's novel is steeped in Indian culture, and it refreshing (and at times educational) to read a young adult contemporary that presents a perspective different than my own.

With that, I give From Twinkle, With Love

3.5 out of 5 Flowers!

Have you read From Twinkle, With Love? What did you think?

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Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!