Bark at the Ghouls

I listened to this book on audio hoping for a pick-me-up because I’ve been reading a steady diet of darkness this summer and desperately needed a mini-break. This book was the perfect choice.

It’s charming from beginning to end and this is coming from someone who is typically annoyed by young adult fiction. It’s about a young lady named Dimple whose traditional parents expect her to marry a young man of their choosing, the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Unfortunately for them, Dimple has other plans. She’s grown up in the USA and she doesn’t want to abide by family traditions. She wants to go to college to learn, not simply to meet a suitable man. She isn’t ready to settle down and live a boring life. She wants to go to Insomnia-con and win the top prize and when her parents agree she’s pretty damn stunned.

Rishi is a young man who is quite the opposite. He feels a pressing need to do exactly what his parents ask of him because his younger brother is a flake. He’s the oldest son and feels he must become an engineer and leave his artistic passions behind, marry the woman his parents have chosen, have children and take care of his parents in their old age. He is such a good boy that it hurts my heart! He heads to Insomnia-con thinking he’s going to meet his new wife.

And it goes oh-so-hilariously-badly.

That’s all I’m saying. This is a romance. A reluctant one and that was what was so great about it. Dimple has no room in her life for a boy – until she does. It’s sweet and charming and funny and a little maddening and I loved it. I truly loved it all. Well, maybe not that stupid, pointless talent show thing but I adored the bits when Dimple was a bit of a jerk. She felt real and independent and she had this simmering anger that came out in the worst of ways and it all felt so genuine. 

There are dual narrators for this book. Don’t ask me why. It wasn’t necessary and it was jarring until I got used to it. For the first 45 minutes or so, I was thinking, “Wait, no this is not Rishi speaking! Who is this guy? This is not Dimple. Where’d she go?” If the female narrator had been able to read the entire book, this would’ve been a five star production. As is? It’s only a four.

Despite my nitpickery, this book really is adorable. It's thoughtful and sweet and the two main characters are so lovely together that you can’t help but wish them the best. This was such a nice breather of a book and was so refreshing and helped me reset my head and my mood. Now I’m ready to get back to the horror!