With Indian royalty, California wealth, a governor campaign, a neurosurgeon, a Michelin-star-trained chef, and soul-satisfying Indian food, Dev has delivered a complex smorgasbord of a novel.

Both large-hearted DJ and socially shy Trisha are generous of their time and care with their families even as they are snippy and brusque bordering on rudeness with each other. Without meaning to sometimes and with intention the other times, they continue to hurt each other. How Dev takes them from animosity to love is a story of scaffolding of awareness, attraction, and noticing strengths and weaknesses of each other, and eventually deciding that the other is perfect for them just as they are.

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors is a women’s fiction story with a large romantic sub-plot. Trisha’s journey with her family and with DJ is an archetypical hero’s journey as defined by mythologist Joseph Campbell and refined by author Christopher Vogler. From estrangement with a call to action to challenges to a black moment to atonement, and finally, to reconciliation and acceptance, Trisha navigates it all with trepidation and courage, with tentativeness and confidence, and despite setbacks, is triumphant at last. This book ranks up there among Dev’s best work.

https://frolic.media/the-heart-of-a-story-pride-prejudice-and-other-flavors-by-sonali-dev/

A delightful modern re-telling of Jane Austen's beloved classic, Pride and Prejudice, with a few fun and delicious twists and turns. Thoughtfully exploring relevant and timely social tensions with plenty of foodie culture, medical drama, creative art influence, and descriptions of the sexy male protagonists biceps thrown in. Read with a snack in hand.

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors is a thoughtful, modern re-imagining of Austen's classic tale. Trisha and DJ are good stand ins for Lizzie and Darcy and I appreciated the nods to other characters and tropes while developing its own unique plot and relationships as well as discussion of timely themes.

There is a review someone had already written in Goodreads that I thought nailed my experience with this boom completely but I’ll try to sum it up too.

Thanks to the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

1. Love the modern/ more relevant frame of this P&P retelling (the retelling is loose from the original and I enjoyed that it wasn’t a perfect match, it felt fresh). I also appreciated that I wasn’t exactly sure what would happen.
2. The MCs were solid. I loved reading about both of their professions- an Indian woman surgeon who knows her stuff and an African English dude who is an excellent chef... yes please and thanks. The food scenes were delicious!! The characters were done well and their familial connections/struggles, desires, needs etc were worked out and explored through the story.
3. My main gripe is the romance/ connection between the two MCs was one of my favorite tropes of hate to love.. but the shift wasn’t done all that well for me. The liking one another section felt rushed, unrealistic, and unfounded. Since this connection was the underpinning of the story and these scenes/parts missed for me, that’s what puts me down rating wise. There were sweet and poignant moments about life or relationships, but they were within their familial relationships (still nice to read all the same). Beyond that I really enjoyed reading this one and will definitely look into what’s next from this author. 3.5

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors is a modern gender bent retelling of the classic Jane Austen novel set in San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area. Our Darcy is Trisha, a prodigal neurosurgeon at Stanford and our Elizabeth is DJ Caine, an equally as talented chef from England. DJ Caine's little sister, Emma has a brain tumor, most doctors have diagnosed as terminal. Trisha has found a way to save her life, but the process will leave Emma blind. Emma is hesitant towards receiving treatment because she is an artist, and this snowballs a series of events that tie Trisha and DJ Caine together.

Although they have completely different upbringings-- DJ Caine is the son of a Rwandan refugee and an Anglo Indian while Trisha is the daughter of a 90's Bollywood actress and a prince-- they run in incredible similar social circles. They keep bumping into one another when they least expect it! Like the original Bennett and Darcy, they are stubborn and headstrong.I loved how Dev explored each character's different yet similar cultural backgrounds through food, so do not read this book on an empty stomach. This book explores classism, mixed identities, and privilege through a uniquely own voices lens. It's refreshing to read a POC love story that ultimately focuses on the triumphs of the characters, someone make this into a movie!!

I love retellings if classics, so this is right up my alley. This is a clever, engaging read- really enjoyed it!

I read three modern and multicultural takes on Austen's P&P this year*. This one was the third and really is just a loose retelling. It is about an Indian family living in Silicon Valley, very wealthy and privileged, and felt very hard to relate to. The pride and prejudices were extreme examples, a little over the top, and much of the book felt unbelievable. Too much privilege, too many issues addressed, ridiculous power trips by the father that were not addressed...I just didn't buy it. Also, as I mentioned in my previous update, so much telling. The back stories were so in depth and convoluted, often thrown in at awkward moments, and so long. The book could have been cut by 1/3.
That said, I enjoyed all of the food scenes immensely.

This book just drags. There is a lot of family history and flashbacks involved. It's actually more of a family drama than a romance. I love Pride & Prejudice and this story just wasn't compelling for me. I ended up DNF which was a shame as I was really looking forward to this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

DNF

This book is a slooowww burn. At times it is more of a family drama rather than a contemporary romance, and at nearly 500 pages, it got long. Hints of romance peak through, but for the most part that is on the back burner. Then there is something that happened in the past that Trisha (and her family) find her at fault for and while it is constantly alluded to, they never actually say what it is (at least not in the few hundred pages I read). While I don't mind a secret or tease now and then, it got old and I stopped caring about what it could be.

I also was not a huge fan of the original Pride and Prejudice (please don't throw things at me) and that may have been another reason why I didn't find this book to my liking.

I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.

I can't tell you how much I enjoy Dev's writing. Although this one followed a Pride and Prejudice story line it was original, fresh, fun and real. I really enjoyed it.

I found the characters to be stagnant and boring. Reading the interactions between the main characters was like watching cardboard cutouts enact a bad hate-to-love story. I just really could not get into this book. What I will give it is that the characters back stories were very original and had a lot of potential, but somehow the way it was written still made it dull. I cannot recommend this book.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this title around the half way mark.

I was expecting a lot more romance and a lot less family drama, and while I’m not opposed to a good family drama, I had a hard time investing in any of these characters. I really wanted to like this book, and I really tried, but with so many other compelling titles on my to-read list I just couldn’t get through this one.

Definitely willing to give it another chance in the future, but if you’re looking for mostly romance look elsewhere.

Absolutely infuriating re: the sexual assault subplot and I was furious at the resolution. Review to come.

I went into this one with high hopes mainly because I love retelling and the stunning cover. I started off really enjoying this but did not care for some aspects of it. I struggled a bit to see the chemistry between the main couple. I believe this would have been a lot better if it was not so long, it was nearly 500 pages and I struggled with the pacing a bit. Despite this I really enjoyed Dev's writing style and her characters. The ending/last half of the novel picked up and I enjoyed the rest of it. I will for sure be reading more from her in the future.


Rating:

3.5 Stars Out of 5 Stars.

Give me a good Jane Austen retelling any day! Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors is inspired by - you guessed it - Pride and Prejudice. Sonali Dev does a delightful job taking inspiration from the classic while also making the story her own. In the novel, Darcy James "DJ" Caine is a working class chef who dropped everything and moved to California to support his sister Emma, who has a brain tumor. Trisha Raje is Emma's surgeon and part of the family employing DJ as a caterer. Their first encounter in the kitchen of the Raje estate leaves both with an unfavorable impression of the other, which only worsens in subsequent encounters. When the two are forced to work together on an event, Trisha begins to be irresistibly drawn to DJ despite the animosity between them.

While it doesn't take much for me to enjoy stories inspired by Austen, I particularly enjoyed this one. I love how Dev reworked the characters (including gender flipping!) while still leaving them recognizable and also without feeling the need to reproduce every person from the original book. Everyone feels so real and relatable, and getting both Trisha's and DJ's perspectives help the reader clearly see how easily we can misunderstand and wrongly judge people when we don't know them. You don't have to be an Austen fan to enjoy this fun, sweet, romantic novel!

As a Jane Austen fan, I love reading unique takes on her stories. This is a good read, I struggled with a bit of it, but overall it's an excellent read. My struggles were my own, because Sonali Dev is an excellent writer and the story is very good. Enjoy!

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors

By Sonali Dev
Harper Collins - May 2019
Contemporary Romance

Trisha Raje knew her worth as a skilled surgeon. She was able to take the difficult cases and find solutions. They might not be perfect solutions, such as with Emma Caine. The young woman had a tumor growing around her optic nerve. With surgery, she would live, and for Trisha, that was a successful solution. However for Emma, it was an impossible choice. She was an artist, and refused a solution that would leave her blind.

DJ Caine would do anything for his sister, except accept her decision to die rather than choose the only solution that would save her life. Emma was his only family, and he had quit his job at an elite restaurant and had come to America to help any way he could. Luckily, he had friends, one who was a relative of Trisha, and he was thrilled she had taken Emma on as a patient. Meeting her in person, he was less than impressed. She might be brilliant in the operating room, but she was insulting each time he came in contact with her. He and Emma might not have been born into money, but they had worth.

He was trying to get his catering business off the ground in America, and needed to impress her family so he would be hired to cater several significant events. Unfortunately, DJ couldn't limit his association with Trisha to just doctor appointments because she had just become his contact for organizing the next event.

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors is certain to be a favorite for fans of Jane Austen and food. DJ is always experimenting with recipes, and reading the descriptions of the food experimentation and tastings is certain to make all readers hungry to try some. Sonali Dev deftly tied in to Pride and Prejudice with a pinch of characters here and a dash of storyline there while still maintaining its own unique twists, turns, and surprises. I enjoyed the romance, and Trisha's interactions with all her family members. The only detraction was Emma. I could understand her reluctance to give up her sight, but felt that she acted immature.

Kathy Andrico - KathysReviewCorner.com

There was much to like about this book, the strongly portrayed characters were interesting, and while not always likable, at least people we wanted to get to know better. The Raje family dynamic was fascinating, while again, not totally admirable. The food descriptions had me longing for a trip to the Bay Area to hunt down D.J. and his delicious cooking.

The story revolves around Dr. Trisha Raje, a neurosurgeon at Stanford, and I’m willing to bet that this book has hospital administrators there cringing. Raje’s HIPAA violations are numerous, and frankly jarring, as she discussed her patient with her family, and then proceeds to have a personal relationship with both the patient and her brother. At one point Dr. Raje brags about her medical law expertise, and I laughed out loud.

Ultimately this lack of believability was too central to the theme, and really took away from the pleasure of reading and otherwise entertaining novel.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Heat Factor: Longing glances and orgasmic food
Character Chemistry: Spot on
Plot: Gender swapped Pride and Prejudice, but without the desperate marriage plot
Overall: I. LOVED. IT.


This is the best contemporary adaptation of Pride and Prejudice I have ever read. Full. Stop.

Maybe I should back up that statement. In order to do so, I’m going to talk about Jane Austen for a hot minute. Here’s what P&P is about: financial insecurity, the divide between social classes, devotion to family, the process of reevaluating long-held beliefs, and the balance between pride and arrogance. The story of a family that needs to marry off five daughters is the incidental plot through which Austen explores these deeper issues (and offers biting and hilarious social commentary).

Most retellings of P&P focus on the marriage plot. Oh no! There are a bunch of girls in this family, and they must have romantic partners or we are all dooooooomed! But because the real economic and social impact of spinsterhood is less severe now than in the early 19th century (understatement), these retellings feel dated, rather than fresh. Plus, there’s the whole issue of how to deal with the Lydia / Wickham plotline; the solution offered by other authors, which must involve some type of improper romantic relationship, generally tends towards slut-shaming or homophobia / transphobia.

Where Dev succeeds admirably is in capturing the spirit of Pride and Prejudice - you know, the financial struggles, the class differences between the protagonists, the complicated family dynamics, the pride, the prejudice - without following the plot of the original beat for beat. (She also manages some really funny social commentary, and also some less funny but still important and relevant social commentary. Bonus kudos for that!) But enough of the arc from initial bad first impression to true love between our hero and heroine remains the same that the story is still instantly recognizable for what it is. This book hinges on that relationship, and luckily for me and everyone else who should go read this book immediately, Dev nails the characters individually and in their interactions with each other.

Our heroine, Trisha Raje, is an amazing character. She is a genius neurosurgeon. Her poor boss is like, “Maybe you should work on your bedside manner.” And she’s like: “Why? I’m a genius neurosurgeon and I’m going to save my patient’s lives when nobody else can. Who needs bedside manner?” But she is also really dedicated to her family and to saving people and to making the world a better place. Classic Darcy.

DJ Caine (Darcy James only to his mother, but don’t let his name fool you, he is definitely the Lizzie Bennett of this story) is a chef, and he is so pretentious when he talks about food (you know, discovering things like “what exact note of flavor unfurled a person”). He sounds like the guys who get featured on Chef’s Table that make my eyes roll so hard that I’m surprised they’re still attached to my head, but his food is so orgasmic that he has the chops to back it up. He’s worked his way up to the top of the game (Michelin stars, fancy French food, etc), but he comes from a pretty humble background and had some rough times growing up, and Trisha’s particular brand of snobbery pokes at all his insecurities.

I really appreciated how real their interactions felt. In order to delve into the success of this component of the story, I’m going to break down one of their interactions in some detail. For context, this scene occurs right after Trisha’s sister has thrown up at a food tasting:

“Let’s get you to a doctor.”
Excuse him? Could those thickly lashed, hazel-flecked eyes not see her standing right here? That snapped her out of her swooning.
“Let’s get her to her room. She’ll be fine.” This time she didn’t care how harsh she sounded.
“Why don’t we let a doctor decide that?” he said, so coolly he couldn’t possibly be messing with her… could he?
“A doctor is deciding that. So if you don’t mind.” She pushed him out of the way and grabbed her sister’s arm. The action made her feel like she was six and playing at being doctor instead of actually being one, and that shot her rioting emotions right into intense annoyance.
“I’m sorry,” he said utterly unapologetically. “How could I forget?” and then she could swear he muttered, “The worth of your hands and all that,” under his breath.
She couldn’t remember that last time her ears had heated with embarrassment. What was it with him getting so hung up on that? Her hands were worth too much to burn on saving a pot of caramel. Why was that so hard to understand? He should be glad - she was going to save his sister’s life, for shit’s sake.
“That’s ok,” she said, then she matched his mumble with, “It’s not like you need a photographic memory to cook food.”

Obviously, we are still in the antagonistic portion of the relationship here.

So why does this work so well? First, they are definitely mean to each other, but not in that cutting, witty sitcom way; the rudeness feels real, because it’s clever, but not so clever that it feels rehearsed. D.J. saying that they should call a doctor for Trisha’s sister - when Trisha is literally a brain surgeon who is in charge of D.J.’s sister’s brain tumor treatment - is some high-level insulting, mainly because it’s not overt. There is plausible deniability that he didn’t mean call her credentials into question, that he’s just reacting to the situation at hand (ie, his client is sick) as he always would.

Second, the characters explicitly refer back to their earlier interactions. Quick backstory: at their first meeting, Trisha knocks over a hot pot of caramel, and doesn’t go to grab it. When D.J. berates her, she literally asks him “Do you know what these hands are worth?” So when D.J. mutters about her hands, he’s showing that that interaction still rankles, because, seriously, is this chick for real? So we have some non-annoying intertextual referencing going on, but also some clear signaling about D.J.’s character, and what kinds of snobbery bother him, and what level of pettiness he’s willing to engage in.

Trisha’s reaction to his comment also powerfully showcases her character, and the range of emotional responses that she experiences underscore the realness of it all. She’s embarrassed, because honestly, it is kind of an embarrassing thing to say. But she’s proud of her accomplishments, and feels like her sense of self-worth is completely justified, and that D.J.’s reaction is all out of proportion (his sister’s brain > some stupid caramel, amirite?), so she covers her embarrassment by being rude in turn.

All of this is to say: the beats in the relationship between Trisha and D.J. as they slowly work from antagonism to mutual admiration feel earned, because Dev skillfully walks us through their thought processes and writes believable fights, as well as believable moments of connection. The change in Trisha’s opinion of D.J. doesn’t happen because it has to because this is P&P, but because it makes sense for her character and the way she sees D.J. interacting with the world.

To sum up: Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors unequivocally wins the Darcy Seal of Approval.


I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

A fresh twist on Pride and Prejudice. I really enjoyed this because it wasn't strictly a redo of the original, but reinvented the original with contemporary characters and powerful female characters - Trisha is a great role model for my teen readers. I already recommended this to my book club.