Sonali Dev

This is a typical romance novel but what makes it a little different is that the characters are Indian and Indian culture, especially things related to weddings is prominent. That's the part I enjoyed.

I found the overall storyline of the main character irritating and unbelievable. Her love interest far too perfect even by romance novel standards.

I have another book by this author which I'll probably read someday but if it doesn't grab me fast I'm going to abandon it.

::from Book Riot subscription box::… (meer)

It's been a year since I read [b:Recipe for Persuasion|52695036|Recipe for Persuasion (The Rajes, #2)|Sonali Dev|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1572993520l/52695036._SY75_.jpg|73107700], and I'm kind of wondering if I should do a reread given how short the length of time seems to be between that ending and the start of this one. But, it's also been a while since I've read Sense and Sensibility, so while I do generally get the contours of the story I had trouble placing Naina's equivalent (and thought "oh, that's a weird full first name" when it was revealed here only to look at the next Raje title and go, "ohhhhhh.")

Like the rest of the Raje books tackling Austenian works, these are ostensibly romance novels but they get pretty bleak! This one starts with an assassination attempt, and the recovery girds much of this novel's structure. Even in the last 50 pages I genuinely wasn't sure how our hero & heroine were going to get their HEA, but do be assured it gets there.

The family dynamics in this series is one of the things I enjoy the most, how quick they are to circle the wagons (for better or worse) and how duty-driven so many of them are (also for better or worse).

...I am very belatedly realizing who is Colonel Brandon, whoops.… (meer)

Ostensibly a romance, but upfront I'm going to note that this book includes discussions of suicide, marital rape, alcoholism, crippling anxiety so... a cute cover does not mean all is light and fluffy! I knew that it would probably hit serious themes though, given the previous entry ([b:Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors|41154302|Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors (The Rajes, #1)|Sonali Dev|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1539890985l/41154302._SY75_.jpg|64328109] did too.

I don't know Persuasion as well as I do P&P so, aside from long-lost loves named Frederick(o), I don't know what other beats are here (and how many are in Ashna's story vs. Shoban's.) I really did enjoy this though, and the comedy (sorta) of manners in mother and daughter trying to figure each other out. Rico's alright too, but I do wish we could've gotten a little bit more of his backstory.… (meer)

A romance for Romance Week, and a retread of Austenian tales! This was mostly fun, though it took me about 250 pages to realize TRISHA is our Darcy-stand in (which I should've caught earlier given how DJ often thinks she's snobbish). A thing I remind myself is that it's ok to have unlikeable protagonists, and it's even plot important here but wooooooof is Trisha so singlemindedly focused sometimes.

Book had surprisingly heavy bits in it too that I wasn't necessarily expecting in a romance novel (cw: high risk pregnancy, date rape specifically on a male victim) which felt like a tonal change, but maybe I expect the genre to be fluffier in general.

Intrigued enough to read the next ones.… (meer)