This is my first Sonali Dev book and I enjoyed it. Now let me put it out there that I am in a bit of a reading slump and reading this took me out of it a little more. It honestly felt like a soap opera in a book. It was extra at times and it felt like a lot was going on. This isn’t really a romance, more like a general fiction (not sure if that is a genre) with romantic elements. The main characters “hated” each other for pretty much the entire book, so it felt rushed when they transitioned and finally started admitting their feelings for each other.

There are a lot of difficult topics brought up in this book and it felt like that took away from the connection between the main characters. Overall, I enjoyed the writing and I will read more from the author. 

TW: Cancer, racism, s*xual assault, classism, death of a family member, miscarriages. There are more but I cannot think of all of them

she's somehow Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet, and we love her for it

I’m kind of confused with this book. If we take out the romance storyline it’s a great book about family and doing what is to keep them happy and healthy. I loved this part of the book. Now looking at the romance storyline, it doesn’t make sense. I normally love a good enemies to lovers but there was no indication that there were any feelings on one side of this relationship, and all of a sudden they were together. The way the two of them spoke to each other I don’t know why they acted that way if they liked each other. 

This was so drama filled!

At first it took me a little while to get into it, but once all these plots started happening I was intrigued. The main characters were honestly kind of whatever and I didn’t love their personalities and I feel like it wasn’t explained well. Also one of the conflicts just resolved so easily in my opinion. I also didn’t feel any chemistry between the main characters. I didn’t really love most of the family dynamics and this made me laugh a little. There are some more serious themes so check trigger warnings. 

The repetition of “but she didn’t say that” after dialogue became annoying after the 20th time. This book is built on miscommunication so if that bothers you skip it. The main characters have little chemistry and spend most of their time fighting but not in a way that seems resolvable. It is resolved but given they are fighting about their outlooks on life it doesn’t seem like it should nearly as easy as it is. This book also veers into some really heavy topics somewhat suddenly. 

I didn't really get Pride & Prejudice vibes. The characters were so unlikeable and the writing was mediocre at best. Also way too long and painfully slow.

Definitely cute! Has gotten me interested in the other books in the series

This was a really cute read. It inverts some of the plot of Austen‘s pride and prejudice. For example, the FMC Trisha is a neurosurgeon from a family with generational wealth and privilege, while the MMC DJ is a talented but struggling chef. Dev takes necessary liberties with Austen’s plot line to update it and make it work for these characters and the 21st century racial and class contexts of Silicon Valley. Even so, the book has all of the personality clashes, the pining, and the villainous characters of the source text. And it all works really well together. I think as long as you go into it expecting a remix rather than a faithful adaptation, you’ll enjoy it just fine.

Be sure to check your trigger warnings though. The scandals have been updated for the 21st century and some may find the material difficult. There are multiple instances of SA (all off page) as well as a scary encounter with the police, among other things. 

The secondary characters are well developed and a lot of fun. Not surprising given that this is the first book in a series about Trisha’s family. All of the books are based on Austen’s works.

There isn’t really any spice. And similar to Austen‘s narrative, this is a slow burn that really takes a while to heat up. Once it gets there, there are lots of great quotes and sweet moments. I give it two swoony hearts.💖💖

The novel has lots of racial and class diversity. Trisha is a first generation Indian American. Her mother was a Bollywood movie star and her father was royalty in the province that they come from in India. DJ and his sister Emma are part Indian, part English, and part Rwandan. There are very few white characters in the novel. So far there don’t seem to be any queer characters. But there are characters dealing with long-term illness and disability. Trisha is written in such a way that there are hints that she may be neurodivergent or maybe she just has some of those necessary characteristics of being a neurosurgeon. The ambiguity works.

Overall, I found this to be a fun and engaging read, and I really liked it. I will definitely read others in the series and look forward to how Sonali Dev adapts more of Austen‘s work. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 💖💖