Ashish Patel didn’t know love could be so ... sucky. After he’s 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?

There’s something about the approaching summer months that makes me crave a good romance. There’s something about a good romance that makes me want to tune out the rest of the world. And there’s something about that magical feeling that makes There’s Something About Sweetie impossible to forget.

After suffering a bit of a romantic setback, Ashish is done with love. Meaning there is no harm in letting his parents pick out someone for him because a.) he’s never dating again and b.) there’s no way his parents know more about his love life than he does. But Sweetie surprises him, and he realizes he’s not opposed to getting to know her better. Which is going to be a problem, because Sweetie’s parents don’t exactly approve of the match.

Sandhya Menon writes with so much humor and heart that her characters practically leap off the page. Sweetie in particular touched me deeply. I felt like I knew her and her story, and having the chance to pick up a book and see that reflected back was something that my high school self would have needed. I may be a touch beyond that stage of my life, but there’s still something deeply personal about reading a book that can move you in that way. I hope many others will find that same experience in this story.