Recipe for Persuasion: A Novel (The Rajes Series Book 2)

I haven't read any Jane Austen, so any parallels between this modern retelling and Austen's original Persuasion are lost to me.I have read all of Sonali Dev's novels, and I think this current book is her best yet. Characters introduced in Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors are in the current book, without overwhelming the story of chef Ashna and rerired soccer star Rico. This layered story is anti-patriarchal, without being anti-male. There is so much going on, but is not confusing at all. I don't know if I could have forgiven Ashna's mother for abandoning Ashna for most of her life, but Ashna's forgiveness of her mother feels genuine. Simply a remarkable story.

I would like to start this review by saying that this was my second attempt to pick this book up. My main motivation to finish this time was this was supposed to be a buddy read.Now, with that said, I didn’t hate this book, but I also didn’t love it. It felt like this book suffered from the second book curse. I wasn’t rooting for the main character to win. Yikes. I may not have always dug Trisha from book 1 but I R least wanted her to figure out the surgery. I was rooting for her. Ashna, was a totally different story. Now, I think Dev did drops Easter eggs throughout the book to help you gain insight on Ashna’s motivation but you don’t find out the why until literally chapter 29. I’m sorry fam, but that’s entirely too long to make me wait and get invested. Also am I supposed to believe that Ashna and Rico Sauvey I mean Silva had that much of a connection that it lasted over almost two decades. Nope I’m not buying it, especially when they both thought they were left. Uhm, no. Yeah I’m sorry I’m not in the camp where finding love or finally saying I love you fixes everything; therapy, self awareness, coping skills, and community is more on par especially when there’s this type of plot point. Love ain’t it. Btw I was more invested in mom and her boo than this tepid couple. This book was supposed to be a slow burn but read like a flicker of a romance. This book was a family drama with a smidgeon of romantic elements and I’m being generous. So in summary this book was too long, the romance was meh, and it wrapped in like one chapter. You can’t go from hating your mom for your 30 chapters and then move to besties after one paragraph even when you peel back the layers. There was not enough time to develop e.g. nurture that relationship because of all the other things goin on. The flashbacks and Ashna’s negative self talk could have been trimmed down may by 10 chapters. I'm rounding up to 3 but it feels more like a 2.5Trigger warnings for marital rape, physical and verbal abuse, suicide (on page), ptsd, anxiety, alcoholism, child abandonment, gas lighting, divorce, and manipulation.

Ashna Raje (a character introduced in Dev’s previous book) is staring ruin in the face. She is desperate to find a way to save her deceased father’s restaurant while simultaneously proving to her estranged mother that she’s not a screw up. Facing panic attacks from changing anything about the restaurant, the menu, decor and staff have become tired and old. When she’s offered the chance to go on a reality TV cooking show, she recognizes that it might be the only way to save her family’s legacy. Upon securing the elite spot, she realizes she’s paired with elite soccer star Rico Silva, recently retired after a defeats ring knee injury-and he just so happens to be her first love. Will Asha find a way to preserve her father’s dream-and find both love and herself in the process? Oh my good gracious, she does it again! If this book isn’t on your Top 10 romance novel list, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR LIFE? I love how this book delves into mental health issues (alcoholism, suicide and panic attacks) without making it the entire premise of the story. I loved how the book focused on second chance love but also second chance relationships with family members. I absolutely adored this book.

I wanted to like this book, but the author effused so much over everything that the book ballooned to over 400 pages and really, it could have been written in half that. Still, somehow I kept at it, to find out how the damaged heroine ended up.But the narration of this thing was so choppy and confusing (along with every damn conversation in the book!) that it is almost impossible to figure out in any linear kinda way what is going on and what happened in the past. It hops all over the place with melodramatic gusto and purple language. I began to speed-read through, trying to discern the nuggets of actual narration as I went along and to string these together. Still, the premise was interesting and the story had good bones.(Was there an earlier book in the series? The characters were thrown at us as though we ought to have known them already! I didn't.And I won't be reading any further tales, thank you. Life's too short.)

Anytime I've a chance to catch up with the Raje family is a guaranteed excellent day. This is Sonali Dev's second installment on her Jane Austen-inspired work through the lens of a wealthy, Indian-American family. There's so much to love about the Raje family in all their complexity and traditions. This book not only features a passionate, second-chance romance but also focuses on how women work towards empowering themselves and future generations. There are traumas and much drama -- but in the end, this is a family that knows how to support each other through love, food, and strength. I can't to see what Sonali does next!

As persuasion is my favorite Jane Austen book, this always going to be the book i love but Sonali Dev has made it impossible to not care about each character of this book. Loved Shobi's story and Ashna's and Rico's.

This book tackled some heavy topics but was such a good read regardless!

I enjoyed reading this book as it opened up the world of Indian society, traditions, choices. How to reconcile age old traditions with the new world around us.

arrived early and in perfect condition

Great read!