Picked this up on a whim because of the title. Don’t know if I agree on it being so heavily P&P-esque as it is an enemies to lovers narrative. How they became lovers? That part still eludes me as I don’t feel the chemistry between them. It seemed more a relationship of convenience because that was where the book needed to go. But I certainly couldn’t tell you where the “aha moments” were for Trisha and DJ other than it being “oh shit I like [them].”

Working with surgeons, it pains me how terrible Trisha’s family is to her with a surgeon’s schedule. You don’t get to totally predict every time how long a surgery is going to take, or when an emergent case comes in. I know that is a pain point for families in real life, but especially with her dad also being a doctor, why are they not more proud of her??? (also, having gotten through the next two books at the time of this review, her grant just falls out of relevancy, like wtf that’s a huge deal!!!)

It was also hard to get me to like DJ because his “British English” was cringe and felt very disingenuous. Every time I heard “arse” I wanted to pull my hair out.

Also… can we talk about how Trisha can’t believe DJ would ever get racially profiled because, “This is California!” Girl please. Especially when you get to Yash’s book, I can’t believe she ever said something so ignorant. I genuinely laughed out loud.

I honestly wasn’t sure I was going to move on to the next books after this one because I was pretty meh after this one. The dash of spice we got at the end though was rather enticing, I’m not gonna lie. And I want to try whatever magical food DJ is cooking in real life. 

"This is how Trisha's dating life had worked since college: every now and again some guy came along and they confused the heck out of each other until he disappeared, leaving her more relieved than sad, and embarrassed as hell about her inability to know what was going on when it came to men. Why were men such complicated beasts anyway? Relationships felt like full-time babysitting jobs crossed with high-level code cracking."

 

This is one of the most emotionally accurate Pride & Prejudice retellings I've had the joy of reading. It's gender-bent, it's contemporary, the name "Wickham" makes me want to punch people, and the characters' personal growth was astoundingly beautiful while also stressful in the moment. I loved Dr. Trisha Raje as our Darcy character. Her arrogance is perfectly off-putting from both a real world and Pride & Prejudice frame of reference. Meanwhile, DJ is a saucy take on Lizzy Bennet with his big heart and straight-backed pride.

 

The story went beyond the original by weaving in new elements to reflect modern life and a far more diverse (in all senses of the word) cast than we see in an Austen novel. It builds on Austen's commentary on wealth and social class by turning a sharper eye on sexism and bringing in conversation about immigration, racism, and police brutality.

 

Dev builds a world that feels lifelike not only because she includes so many aspects of our brutal world but because she renders each individual character with such loving detail. Backstory for both families is deep and moving, and it made me want to read more, whether it was about the past or the future of any side character.

 

Finally, the story is powerful because of the messaging. It talks about the bonds of family and all that can be left unsaid in our long histories together, the pain and the love. And it reminds us that our work doesn't define us. We matter outside our professional accomplishments and what we can do for others (yeah, that part led to some tears on this end).