Neurosurgeon Trisha Raje descends from Indian royalty.  Her father – now a surgeon himself – was once a prince, and he gave up his royal lineage in an attempt at assimilating when he married their one-time child star mother. Due to their hard-to-please dad’s influence, the Raje children all consider themselves modern Californians, in spite of yearly summer trips to Sripore to visit their beloved grandfather.

Trisha has a family dinner to attend, and the last thing the introverted woman likes to do is socialize.  At the party, Trisha learns that her ex-college roommate, Julia Wickham, is back in town – endangering her brother Yash’s attempt at running for governor of California.  Long ago, Julia drugged and raped Yash – and since it was Trisha who introduced Julia into their family, her father blames Trisha for the assault and has kept a frosty emotional distance from her. 

Trisha has been consumed by the case of Emma Caine, an artist whose brain tumor turns out to be benign but is wrapped around her optical nerves; the surgery to remove it will leave Emma blind.  Emma refuses to undergo the procedure even at the possible cost of her life. 

Chef Darcy “DJ” Caine- Emma’s brother – has been trying desperately to talk her into taking the surgery in between catering jobs.  His latest happens to be cooking for the Raje family’s dinner thanks to a connection to Trisha’s cousin.  Aside from saving for his sister’s treatments, he’s hoping to make it back to Paris, where he’s got a mentorship situation and an attic flat. He needs this job, and is determined to impress with it.

When Trisha comes to the kitchen, lifts the lid on DJ’s piece de resistance – his famous caramel sauce – and nearly tips it over, sparks and words fly.  Soon DJ and Trisha are bantering and falling in love, but when Julia, now a documentary film-maker, offers to film Emma’s story, she has an entirely different tale about her history with Trisha and the Rajes to tell DJ – one that paints her as a poor friend trod upon by the rich, unfeeling Rajes. 

Who’s telling the truth?

AAR staffers Lisa Fernandes and Shannon Dyer read Sonali Dev's Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors, and here's what they have to say about the novel.

Lisa: I love Sonali Dev’s novels so much.  Do you have previous experience with her work?

Shannon: This is my first book by Ms. Dev, but it absolutely won't be my last. I loved pretty much everything about her writing, so I'm looking forward to binging on her back list.

Lisa: What did you think of Trisha?  Did you relate to her at all?  Her desire for her father’s approval and her desire to help people both struck cords with me.

Shannon: When I first encountered Trisha, I found her pretty off-putting. She seemed so brusque, even when she should be kind and sympathetic. Fortunately, I soon discovered the vulnerability hidden beneath her tough exterior, and I warmed up to her pretty quickly after that. I wasn't always thrilled by her relationships with various family members, but I'm eager to see how the author resolves some of that tension in future books.

Lisa: How about the Raje family?  Did you have a favorite among the extended family?  I was a sucker for their family dynamic in general.

Shannon: I did enjoy the Raje family. Both Yash and Ashna were of particular interest to me, and I really hope they get books of their own before too long. I loved the authenticity Ms. Dev was able to breathe into the various family members. Their relationships are messy, just like so many real life families.

Lisa: I loved Ashna in particular as well! DJ, meanwhile, has to struggle for every penny he’s ever earned.  I loved his stubbornness, and the food porn in his chapters, and his frustration with Emma – and how clear it was that he really loved her and Trisha.

Shannon: My favorite thing about DJ has to be his relationship with Emma. He's a great guy, and I loved seeing him and Trisha together, but there was something so believable about the way he and Emma related to one another. There's a lot of love there, but also a lot of hurt feelings, and I was so glad to see each of them trying so hard to work past the difficulties.

Lisa: Dev definitely knows sibling relationships! What about Trisha and DJ’s romance?  Did you feel it was occasionally thrust into background, as I did?

Shannon: This turned out to be kind of a busy book, so the romance didn't get quite as much page time as I was expecting. Even so, I thought Ms. Dev allowed us to see Trisha and DJ falling for one another, and I had no problem picturing them living happily ever after as a couple.

Lisa: I really liked Emma, her paintings and her understandable desire for control. Did you like her?

Shannon: I'm always a bit skeptical of books with blind characters. As a blind person myself, I've read a ton of terrible depictions of blindness, so I wasn't sure what to expect from Emma. Fortunately, Ms. Dev did a good job weaving Emma's struggles with blindness into the story in a way that did not make me cringe.

Lisa: I was looking forward to your insight on that plot point!  I’m glad she nailed it.  Every story needs a foil, and Julia was definitely that.  Did you find her a complex enough villain?

Shannon: Julia was definitely complex enough for me! I love that Ms. Dev allowed her to have some depth instead of just being the villain. The things she did definitely weren't great, but I was able to understand her motivations for behaving so badly.

Lisa: How does the book stack up against Pride and Prejudice for you?  I’ve had problems with other retellings of the story, but I felt that this one knocked it out of the park. I thought Dev did an excellent job having her characters echo Austen’s while making them their own people.

Shannon: To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the original and I actually loved this retelling way more.

Lisa: What’s your final grade? I’m giving this a solid A- for combining good character work, a solid retelling, compelling brother/sister and sister/sister relationships, juicy and thought-provoking story twists and a romance that follows Austen’s lines while creating something entirely new. But that romance was sometimes pushed into the background when I really craved more of it.

Shannon: It gets an A- from me, too. It's one of those books I sank right into, and I enjoyed every minute I spent with these characters. Ms. Dev is a gifted writer for sure, and I'm so glad I chose this for review.

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The cover and the mouthwatering food descriptions get a star all to themselves. I love Jane Austen's P&P and could see the nods Sonali Dev gave to the iconic story line in this new release. The closely knit Indian family is a centerpiece in the book and I was fascinated by their family interactions. It was also enlightening to watch the birth of a campaign. Will the brainy neurosurgeon fall for a genius chef? Sure, I can buy it. DJ sounds like a total dreamboat. And can he ever cook! This will find its place in many a beach bag this summer, I suspect.

A big thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this new release in exchange for an honest review.

I want to start off by thanking the publisher and Netgalley a chance to read an ARC of this book, however, all thoughts and opinions of this review are my own. I will be posting a full review on my blog later this week.

I really wanted to like this book. I love Pride and Prejudice and the idea of a retelling that was fused with Indian culture greatly appealed to me, however, this book let me down on a few fronts. The most important of which being the characters.

I am a character first sort of reader. I can forgive a really poorly written or non-existent plot if I love the characters and find them intriguing. I can think of several series where I have read several books because I like one or two characters from them and not even necessarily the main character, but I didn't care for the characters in this novel. I found Trisha and DJ to be very obnoxious, but in different ways. Yes, I'm happy that Trisha is a BA neurosurgeon, but she really plays into what her family thinks about her and doesn't stick up for herself enough. And DJ was just annoying and kept a super grudge even after he knew that it was a misunderstanding. Together they just liked to injure and hurt each other and I personally didn't really feel the chemistry between them. Also speaking of chemistry, Trisha and her family are awfully cozy for her being the black sheep estranged daughter.

This novel also let me down in the pacing area. It was so slow in parts. It bounces back and forth between flashbacks to the past to provide the reader with information (tell not show) and sometimes the writing is overly descriptive where it doesn't really need to be. However, the overly descriptive descriptions of food were actually my favorite part of this book and where it gets it second star from. However, the pacing just frustrated me so much.The writing style also let me down. There was a lot of tell and not show going on in this book, which after awhile started to drive me crazy. I wanted to throw my Kindle at someone.

I think that plenty of people will enjoy this book. I would read a book based around descriptions of Indian food. I have one more book by this author already so I will be giving her one more chance.

I always enjoy re-tellings of Pride and Prejudice and I think that this had a fun spin on it. Trisha and DJ were a fun couple to watch grow and I loved how the different family members interacted with each other and the characters. I would love to have sequels to this focusing on different characters, especially Emma!

3.5 Stars - I recommend if you enjoy contemporary fiction with a bit of romance. I thought this was a solid P&P retelling!

This book started out slowly for me, and I wasn't loving it quite as much as I expected at first. I loved the cooking aspect of the story, but I had a hard time connecting with the ultra-rich family at the forefront of the novel. The more time that DJ and Trisha spent together, however, the more I enjoyed it! I appreciated the modern day take on the classic story, and enjoyed seeing it through the lens of Indian American culture. I thought Dev approached modern day racial issues in a very thoughtful and powerful way. I'm so glad that she included this in this novel, as these topics are incredibly important. I thought that DJ and Trisha's moment where they really have it out was SO true to P&P! As the big conflict came to the forefront of the story I became very invested in what would happen. Overall I wish it would have been a bit more of a romance, because I wanted a little more tension between the characters. I liked the family parts, but I also wanted more of those relationships. It wasn't completely a family drama either. Because it doesn't fit a mold super well I'm having trouble rating it. I think I just wanted more cooking, more romantic tension, more charming family moments. I do think that this will all get more fleshed out as the series goes along. I'd be interested to read her other novels which I can only assume will be about Trisha's siblings. :)

I love Pride and Prejudice so I was disappointed that no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't connect with the characters. I was unable to finish this one.

I love a book with Jane Austen flavor. This wasn’t really a retelling of Pride & Prejudice just more like lots of gentle nods to the great work. That being said this book was a wee bit disjointed. There were some confusing parts where it seemed like Trisha had been estranged from her family for 15 years but no they are close? I didn’t understand that part. And the romance felt a little forced and I wasn’t that interested in it. But the part I hated the most was when it would quote her and then it said of course I didn’t really say that. Ughhhhh. This book as a whole was disappointing.

Received an advanced copy from the publisher.

As Sonali Dev said in the author's note, truly an exploration of the themes of Jane Austen, not a 1-for-1 modern adaptation and it works better for it. You see some of the same story beats but they aren't forced, and the characters are so fleshed out and developed it's a treat to read.

Dev explores themes like race, class, ethnicity and family adeptly through the Raje and Caine families and writes a lovely romance in the middle of it all. Writing from both Trisha Raje and DJ Caine's perspectives allows the reader to see where both are going wrong in understanding each other but it totally makes sense why things are unfolding as they are. Miscommunication and lack of communication, huge Austen tropes, loom large in the conflicts here and are frustrating but realistic.

Absolutely delighted with this story and ready to name it my favorite modern Austen take in a long time.

Such a delightful and modern spin off of Pride and Prejudice.

WARNING: DO NOT READ THIS BOOK IF YOU ARE HUNGRY OR ON A DIET. Because OMG my mouth was watering half of the time! The author made sure to add A LOT of flavor into the book! All of the food sounded so delicious and I was super jealous of the characters who are able to smell and taste the wonderful food depicted in the book.

Dev was able to create modern, likable, and believable characters who were easy to relate to on different levels. Now, of course we can't all relate to Trisha's life exactly seeing how she's a brilliant neurosurgeon who has a brilliant, wealthy family which includes a brother running for a Governor of California... Nor can we all relate to being a brilliant chef who is struggling and gave up everything to care for his sick sister... But that all plays into the P&P theme. Now, what we can relate to are the personality traits that the characters exhibit. You can feel the frustration between the characters. Dev's writing allowed you to see situations from different perspectives so you can easily become invested in the characters. Characters who are driven by heart and emotions and others who are driven by logic and reason.

I also really enjoyed the side stories that were occurring. They added a level of depth to the story so it wasn't just a typical, boring, one-tracked story. I almost wish that the side stories were elaborated on more. I want to learn more about the other characters and become invested in their lives as well.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins Publishing for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is one of my all-time favorite novels. I love everything about Pride and Prejudice but I’m especially fond of it because it’s where my love for the enemies to lovers trope began. I’m also a sucker for retellings of any kind so when I heard that Sonali Dev’s latest novel Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors is meant to be a modern-day Pride and Prejudice retelling, it sounded like the perfect read for me.

I was engaged by the story as soon as I met the main characters because I immediately realized it was going to be a P&P retelling I hadn’t encountered before. Why? Because it’s a gender-bent retelling. The arrogant, unlikeable Mr. Darcy character is actually female. I just found this such a delightful and unexpected twist!

Dr. Trisha Raje is a gifted neurosurgeon who also happens to be descended from Indian royalty. Her father is directly descended from royalty, while her mother is a former Bollywood actress, and her brother is in the beginnings of a bright career in politics and who has his eye on the governorship of California. The rules of the Raje household are very simple: be careful who you associate with and do absolutely nothing to bring shame and scandal into the family. Fifteen years ago, Trisha did exactly that and is now considered the black sheep of the family. She wants to redeem herself and help her brother win his election, but the family doesn’t trust her.

I really loved the complexity that Dev gives Trisha. Trisha begins showing her “Mr. Darcy” side at a fundraiser for her brother when she has a run-in with the chef who is catering the event. She is rude and condescending to what she deems “the hired help,” which leaves a bad taste in the chef’s mouth and in my mouth too. Trisha is completely obnoxious in the way she looks down on people like the chef, but at the same time, she possesses many good qualities too. She’s a brilliant surgeon who, after a chance encounter with blind children at an institute when she was a child, is drawn specifically to doing whatever she can to prevent or cure blindness. It’s hard to reconcile that compassion for some with her seeming disdain for others, and I had to keep reminding myself that Mr. Darcy redeemed himself in the original book and that I needed to stay open-minded.

Chef DJ Caine, on the other hand, was easy to love right from the start. We learn in the opening pages that he and his little sister, Emma, were tossed out on the street by their father’s family after their mother passed away. DJ therefore practically raised Emma on his own, and all they have in the world in terms of family is each other. When Emma is diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumor, DJ quits his job so that he can be there for Emma. How can you not love a brother who is so completely devoted to his sister? It makes it all the more infuriating when he has his run-in with Trisha and she’s so rude to him. Then it spirals into an ongoing series of encounters with him looking down on her for looking down on him. Talk about awkward, haha!!

Things between Trisha and DJ become all the more awkward, however, when they each realize that Trisha is the only surgeon who can perform the surgery that can save Emma’s life. Can they look past their initial clashing of personalities and come together for Emma’s sake?

In Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors, there is a strong focus on the importance of family, as well as a thorough exploration of class and cultural differences and the prejudices that can arise because of them. I was equally drawn in by the DJ and Trisha dynamic and wanting to know what was going to happen to DJ’s sister, and by wanting to know what in the world Trisha had done all those years ago to end up in such a bad spot with her family.

Overall, I really enjoyed the way Dev gave the original Pride and Prejudice such a fresh and modern update in terms of the actual plot without losing track of those themes that have made the original such an enduring classic. I highly recommend Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors for Jane Austen fans, for those who enjoy a moving family story, and especially for those who enjoy a good enemies to lovers romance.

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors is the first of Sonali Dev's works that I've read, but it definitely will not be the last. This loose adaptation of Pride and Prejudice revolves around Trisha Raje, a haughty neurosurgeon who comes from a royal Indian family, and DJ Caine, an up and coming chef who's sister is an artist who faces the choice of losing her eyesight or her life. Dev weaves a compelling tale, with the Darcy and Elizabeth roles swapped, that was impossible to put down. I truly loved how Dev stayed true to the original story while creating fresh new characters that told their own story, rather than just imitating the original. I really hope she revisits the characters in this novel- there are many little threads that could be developed into a great series. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Right off the bat, title is very on the nose but if one is a fan of pride and prejudice like I am, you would definitely pick the book. I loved, loved, loooooved that the main characters are all Indian americans. I love how casually a lot of Indian references, culture and heritage and even food was thrown in.

The story starts with the affluent Rate family, the maharajas of Sripore in India who settled down in California and became Americans embracing American culture. But what you say is that there's still a lot of Endianness going around. The tight-knit family has its own problems as evidenced by the POV of our heroine, Trisha Raje. She's a renowned surgeon, her dad's the head of the hospital. It's a rich and privileged family which rubbed me the wrong way so many times. Just like it rubbed DJ, our hero who is a chef catering the Raje's event. Very Pride and Prejudice-y I tell you.

The initial interactions between the main characters were so awful though. I couldn't stand them. The insults were sharper and some of them crossed the line. I wondered how the author is going to bridge the yawning divide and felt myself losing interest around 1/3rd into the book. The Raje's problems didn't really seemed like actual problems. That's the problem with the book. Its a fluff piece. If you read Pride and Prejudice, you know what happens. You just have to wait and see how the characters are being steered because instead of Darcy, we have Trisha Rate and instead of Elizabeth, we have DJ. So I kept on reading out of loyalty towards an Indian author and the Indian characters because as an Indian, if I don't read it, who will? And finally, thankfully, the last 1/3rd of the book really delivered! I loved how the divide was bridged and then the romance got RED HOT! Now, we are talking!

For readers who live by romance books, this book has enough uniqueness and intrigue and red hot romance to hook you. I'm thinking this book will have moderate success with readers. For me, its 3 stars.

I am in love with Sonali Dev. She is the only author I have ever read that bring the smells and favor of foods to her books and I cannot forget the Indian culture.. Yes I was craving Indian food by the time the book was over!!

The details and the complicated relationships make this a must read. So exciting see that this is the first book in a new series for Sonali Dev.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins for this ARC.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that I love EVERYTHING Pride and Prejudice related. I will never not swoon as Mr. Darcy declares his love for Lizzie Bennet 😍. •

I picked up an advanced copy of this beauty at a bookstore last month, and I absolutely adored reading it! It’s a modern, gender-swapped retelling of Pride and Prejudice that keeps all of the best parts (So 👏🏼 Much 👏🏼 Romantic 👏🏼 Tension) and adds in some great new elements, like a BA female brain surgeon, Indian culture, and mouthwatering food descriptions! If you are in love with Mr. Darcy as much as I am then you should definitely read this one when it comes out next month! •

Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev 5 stars

I started reading books by Sonali Dev when "A Bollywood Affair" came out. The next book "The Bollywood Bride" was just as good. The next two books were OK, but not as good as the first two. Then came "Pride Prejudice and Other Flavors". This was a terrific book. Loosely based on Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, this was a page turner with many layers. The main characters, Dr. Trisha Raje, a gifted neurosurgeon and DJ Cain, a gifted chef were very loosely based on Mr. Darcy and Lizzie Bennet. In this book there are no daughters to marry off, but there are misconceptions based on occupation, social status and skin color. I say this book has many layers and on the surface, you have an awkward, workaholic heroine with a hero who has a loved one health issues to deal with. The deeper layers show complicated family relationships, unconscious bias toward people in the service industry and unconscious bias toward people of wealth. There is also an incident that shows the heroine how police and other people treat people of color when they are mainly in a white neighborhood. One of things I enjoyed were the descriptions of the food, DJ Cain is a chef that specializes in Indian food and the heroine reactions to his food made me want to go to an Indian restaurant immediately.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins for this ARC.

I'm new to the romance genre and I haven't read any Austin, so I probably missed some points this book is meant to make. However I've read this author before and enjoy her stories a great deal. This one was on the slow side to start, but once all the characters' lives became intertwined, the pace picked up. I'm adjusting to the slower pace and character driven aspects of romance as opposed to a lot of other genres I read. This allows for a lot of personal development for the characters over the course of the novel, which is definitely the case here. I like how my opinions of Trisha and DJ changed throughout the book, as theirs are changed as well, of each other and of themselves. And while this is a romance novel, this story is mostly about families, and the power of keeping secrets. There were serious parts as well as lightness. I definitely recommend this one.

Take a stressed-out neurosurgeon who has trouble with emotions. Add a super hot chef who has never felt like anywhere is home. Now stir in a dash of Jane Austen. And let it simmer, simmer, simmer...

Trisha Raje is one of Stanford's top neurosurgeons, and is highly dedicated to her patients. However, her outside of work life is a wreck. She's excluded from family events because of a mistake she made as a teenager, she doesn't have time to date, and her brother is just about to launch the biggest campaign of his political career. You know, the one she nearly destroyed with that one teenage mistake. Now her work life has become complicated, too. She has just figured out how to remove a tumor and save her patient's life. Unfortunately, her patient is refusing the surgery.

DJ Caine dropped his entire life in Paris to come to the side of his baby sister, Emma, when she tells him that she has a brain tumor. Now he's once again restarting his life and his career as a chef, slowly being crushed under the weight of Emma's medical bills and his sister's stubborn refusal to have surgery. He thinks he's found his lucky break when he's asked to cater dinner parties for the campaign of Yash Raje. However, this means he crosses paths with Yash's spoiled, uptight, and proud younger sister, Trisha... who happens to be the only one who can save his sister's life.

A wonderful "Pride and Prejudice" inspired tale, "Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors" is a beautiful tale of family love, overcoming obstacles, overcoming your own failings, and finding a brighter future. Add in family drama, old wounds, and past actions that come back to haunt you, and you've got a fascinating, funny, unforgettable, heartbreaking and heartwarming book. And as Goodreads implies that this is only the beginning, I look forward to returning to see what will happen next with the Raje family.

Trisha is a successful neurosurgeon from a prominent family. She immerses herself in her work and her social skills could use some work. She has some difficulties with her family and very little personal life outside of her grueling workload. DJ is a chef/caterer who is currently caring for his gravely ill sister who is under Tricia's care.

This story is flavored by the Pride And Prejudice plotline but it is truly it's own story that only has hints of the original. Trisha and DJ find themselves disliking each other after an encounter at an event at Trisha's family's home. Fate conspires and they must work together for both of their families' sake. Their feelings change as they learn more about each other.

Themes include: Love, Family, Choice, Pride, Prejudice, Power.

Lotsof times retellings stick very close to the original. This one is very creative and truly only takes inspiration from the story, it does not follow the plot directly. An interesting twist is that Trisha is the Darcy character (prideful, brusque, arrogant) and DJ is inspired by the Elizabeth Bennet character. Also, the descriptions of Indian food are mouthwatering!

In this homage to Jane Austen’s seminal work, the themes of family, relationships, and marriage are played out in the Raje family who are a go-getters extraordinaire American Indian clan determined to make every American Dream come true. One daughter, Trisha, has achieved the pinnacle of success as a brilliant neurosurgeon, but because of a bad situation that harmed her brother in which she was involved in years before, Trisha feels an outsider to the family. Her brother, Yash, is heir apparent to the family’s royal Indian lineage and is the focus of all the family who want him to become an American prince of politics. Trisha has devoted her whole adult career to saving lives while living with guilt of those past weighty events. When she meets the brother of a patient, Emma Caine, whose life her skills hold in the balance, Trisha is overwhelmed with feelings she has never felt for anyone else. DJ “Darcy” Caine skills as a master chef engage every one of Trisha’s senses with an explosion of flavors and sensuosity she can barely believe. DJ and his sister have had a hard scrabble life, but have overcome much adversity to achieve excellence.

DJ Caine and Trisha seem anything but compatible as the encounters leave both of them thinking the other to be insufferable and arrogant at the same time developing a blazing attraction that threatens to sear them both in its intensity. DJ Caine has been looked down on much of his life for his race and class so he is very sensitive to any perceived injustices. Being around Trisha reminds him of all the old hurts because not only is he desperate for his sister to live, he is also catering an extremely important political event for the Raje family.

Trisha and DJ are two intense, driven, yet in some ways, deeply lonely people who have built up walls to protect themselves so that it takes quite a bit for them to overcome life’s caprices in order to realize to whom their hearts belong. Trisha’s very ambitious, large family is headed by a father dubbed HRH which gives an indication of his personality and control over them. He seems particularly harsh with Trisha and considering he is her superior at the hospital, this heightens the drama even more.

Ms. Dev’s elegantly written story will take the reader on quite an emotional journey along with her characters. While not an exact retelling of Pride and Prejudice, similar passions are evoked and themes about love overcoming seemingly impossible situations while shining a light on what divides people whether it be class, culture, or perceived notions of suitability. Ms. Dev’s beautifully crafted words will have readers falling in love too along the way becoming immersed in her story and deeply craving the food and flavors of India she so deftly describes. I look forward to more adventures with this colorful, sometimes crazy, but very engaging family.

2.5 stars. I'm a sucker for Pride and Prejudice retellings but, alas, this time I liked the idea of this book more than the author's execution of it. Mainly, I found the book too long, bloated with overly descriptive language, as well as flashback info dumps that were meant to give depth to the characters, but just made the book clunky. It took me six days to read, when I could have otherwise breezed through it in two. The chemistry between Trisha and DJ also just didn't work for me. I love a good enemies to lovers story but, while I liked them as individual characters, I just didn't find their journey together believable.

And while I loved the contemporary setting and diverse cast, there were some truly cringe-worthy scenes dealing with race that really do nothing to advance the plot. For one, there is an incident involving a police officer that calls to mind the Black Likes Matter movement, but is used only to illustrate Trisha's naïveté and isn't explored beyond that, and which is apparently resolved with a beer summit (yes seriously — recall the 2009 beer summit between Barack Obama and Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr, and the police officer who tried to arrest him as he was entering his own house). Yikes. Then there is the treatment of Africa/ns, including DJ, who is described as having "Rwandan-Tutsi skin like [his] mother, dark and luminous." As a Rwandan-American, kudos to Dev for introducing a Rwandan character as a normal everyday person, but WTF is "Rwandan-Tutsi skin"? There is no such thing. Just no. And then there's Trisha going off to Africa because "There's no place like Africa to set your head straight." It's 2019 and we're really still using "Africa" to redeem characters? Just... sigh.

Despite all this, I did like the Raje family, and siblings in particular, so I'm curious to see whose story is next in this series. Whether I will read it though remains to be seen.