TW: abuse, manipulation

This was a difficult book to read- it's sold as a rom com, but it has far heavier topics such as spousal abuse, manipulation, and suicide. While I love the connection to Persuasion, my favorite Austen novel, this was missold as a romantic comedy and I think that really hurt the rating for me.

As a lover of Jane Austen's works I was very excited to read this second installment in Sonali Dev's retelling of Austen's classic stories. I was not disappointed. What I loved about her first book, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors, was that Dev wove the original story line throughout the book but gave her story new life. Dev's second book, Recipe for Persuasion, does the exact same. I was able to see the similarities between Recipe for Persuasion and Persuasion but also sink into a totally separate story.

I loved it. I am beyond excited for whatever Sonali Dev produces next.

I loved this story and I do hope to see more stories based around the Raje family in the future. Keep up the good work.

A fun read for Jane Austen fans or anyone who likes a romantic comedy. It's loosely based on Persuasion, but could be enjoyed by anyone. Best parts--the slow reveal of the backstory of the main character, Ashnu. She is literally an Indian princess, but she has lived in Palo Alto, California since the age of 10 and is running her father's Indian restaurant. The secrets of her mother's past give the story more depth. Frustrating part--Rico and Ash clearly are going to end up together and unlike in Persuasion, there's no real obstacle to their being together except for Ash's stubbornness.

First of all, don’t let the cover fool you. This is not a romcom. It’s definitely a drama and at times the characters’ tragic backstories overshadowed the romance, which isn’t my favorite thing. I also think it was a bit too slow paced the whole time.

I also expected this to be an actual retelling of Persuasion and it’s not?? Make it make sense???

**Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!**

I absolutely loved this book. I read the first in the series, Pride and Prejudice and Other Flavors, and couldn't wait to read more about the Raje's. This was a great retelling of a classic Jane Austen. Sonali Dev does a great job of incorporating elements of the original story into a modern context. You can see the resemblance of the original characters without being drowned in the original story.

As the title suggests, this is a (slightly distant ) modern day variation of JA's Persuasion.

Story is about Ashna, a strong-willed/determined and independent lady. She grew up separated from her mother, who stayed in India, while she and her father migrated to America. She is, at this time, an owner of a struggling restaurant She joined a cooking competiton but un/fortunately, she was paired with her long-lost love/friend Rico. The story took off from there.

For me , it is a touching story about the love lost that returned (both mother and child love and the love of your life). It was engaging to learn how Rico manuevered back into Ashna's life. I was also intrigued what might have caused this mother to be separated from this child (esp with their culture)

I had a bit of struggle in the beginning. I had to pause and think at times who's who (esp a variation with the names of the characters totally different from the original one). Once I remembered everyone, it was an easy and engaging read. I recommend reading this variation.

(Note: There were some mature implications and thus may be best for mature minds).

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and I am voluntarily leaving a review

Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev is a great romantic read. Inside, there's a feisty chief trying to make her family restaurant a hit. But so far, it's failing and she's struggling with making her family recipes. The recipes bring on memories that she isn't ready to tackle just yet. Then, her main helper has found a big job that pays well, and before she knows it, she's agreed to be on TV. Ashna Rae didn't want to be on TV but for friends, she agrees. Only fate has a surprise in store for her. An ex-boyfriend comes onto stage. That's where everything bubbles up...

Recipe for Persuasion is fun, hilarious, and charming. I could not get enough of these quirky yet sweet characters. A rom-com that is perfect for summer reading.

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. It was a bit of a guilty pleasure read but Persuasion is my favorite Jane Austen novel so I gave it a try. I definitely got sucked in and rushed through it in an evening. It's definitely a little light but it does deal with some tough topics and it's worth the read just for the cultural insights.

I am a sucker for retellings and a sucker for Jane Austen's Persuasion.
I've read many different retellings and this one tops them. The modern twist, family dynamics and cooking added such an enjoyable twist to the narrative that I couldn't put it down.

Persuasion is my favorite Austen novel, and I was unsure what to expect in this book. I was blown away by this retelling. It took everything I love from the original and made it fresh and new with a completely unique story.

Finally! A sequel to Pride, Prejudice, and other Flavors! Recipe for Persuasion picks up pretty closely to where Pride, Prejudice, and other Flavors left off, only this time we get to hear from Trisha’s friend, Asha, a chef who is trying to keep her father’s restaurant a float. As a last ditch effort, she joins Cooking with the Stars, a reality cooking show that could help put her restaurant back on the map. The characters in this story are just as colorful as the first book and it’s not hard to remember why you love this family. You’re also able to dive even deeper into the history of the Rajes family, which is an invaluable asset to the book. Sonali Dev really nailed this book and I can only hope she’ll write a third!

Oh.my.god! Rico and Ashna are so delightful! I adore these characters and for some reason I feel like I know them. All you angst loving people, here it is, this is the book for you. I was in a reading slump for the past few weeks and this book has been one that fairly dragged me from it. It is nuanced with beautifully written characters. It is just amazing! Although, I have to say that this book has a trigger warning for sexual abuse. So if you cannot read a book mentioning it, I would skip it. If not, please pick up this book as it a beautifully written poignant story with absolutely wonderful characters. If there was one thing I wish the author had written about, it would be more love scenes between Rico and Ashna. Their connection is so electric and hot, I would have loved to read more about their chemistry in bed. I would highly recommend this book.

* I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

The first half had me hooked, the second half bogged me down in the mother-daughter relationship and made me lose the excitement of the romance.

Thoughts:
I really was into the first half of this book. The set-up was excellent, Sonali Dev has a great writing style and while Second Chance Romance isn't my favorite trope, I was excited about this Footballer coming to get some answers, and of course, fall in love.

And while the first half of the book served me up some Romantic feels, there was definitely some dark things in the characters' past. And then, this book took a much darker and tackles some triggering subjects including marital rape, suicide, alcoholism, and child neglect. I was not prepared for those in this book, and they really started coming to the forefront the more Ashna's mother was in the novel.

Unfortunately, while I liked that Ashna and her mother cleared the air and learned to find some closure in the past and some hope in their future relationship, this really overshadowed the romance in the second half of the book. Which is what I was reading for. If this had been in a different genre (say fiction, women's fiction) I would have given it four stars, but because the romance took a backburner, it was a three star read for me.

McDreamy to McSteamy: McDreamy butttt for some reason I wasn’t super connected with their love

Classy to Nasty: Vanilla PG-13 Fade to Black

Hero rating: 🍆🍆🍆🍆 A sexy football from brazil but partially raised in the US and playing in the Premier League is a literal wet dream. Happy he found a new calling with the campaign strategy and I loved how much he adored and worshipped her.

Heroine rating: 🍑🍑🍑 I liked Ashna - I think she overcame a lot in her life and finally flourished and forgave herself and everyone else for the past so she could move forward. Like that she didn’t take shit from her mom. Liked that she slowly let Rico back into her heart. The joy she made blending her chai teas.

Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐ I was definitely intrigued by the family enough that I’d read the next book. 2nd chance romance is not my favorite trope. I liked the gender-swapping of the first book -Pride Prejudice and other spices

CW: Pregnancy, Suicide, Parental Death, Parental Abandonment, Clairvoyance, Agoraphobia

I did not finish reading this book because I didn't realize that it was a sequel. The writing style also wasn't really for me. I didn't feel drawn in. The premise was interesting enough, but the characters felt flat. This book is also a retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion, which I am not familiar with. Overall, not a book for me.

I have so many mixed feelings about this compelling yet frustrating book. It's engrossing for sure, but I feel like this story has been hijacked by its secondary characters and flashbacks and I have no idea why this was necessary.

One of Ashna’s greatest challenges is that she feels that other people don’t see her, that she’s not enough. Reading this book, I couldn't shake the sense that her creator seems to share that opinion. She’s apparently so bored with her main character that she abandons her for long stretches for one with a more dramatic personality and arc.

Perhaps because of this shift in focus from Ashna to Shobi there are several neglected and underdeveloped threads to this story. Most importantly, we don't spend much time with Ashna and Rico, and. their relationship seems fuzzy and underdeveloped as a result. If there were going to be flashbacks in a second chance romance, should some of those focus on the two main characters falling in love?

A more minor, but odd loose thread is a subplot about Ashna's jealousy of or rivalry with another contestant on the celebrity cooking show that brings Ashna and Rico together. At one point, a specific competitor is presented as Ashna's motivation to win a challenge in her reality tv cooking competition, except this rival is barely a secondary character. His name appears exactly four times prior to her declaration that she's going to "kick Danny's butt." Her focus on him seems random and out of place as though it was meant to be more than it ended up being. There's a bit of a similar feeling with Rico's friends/ found family. What little we get to see of them is lovely.

It’s sad because I would have loved to read Ashna and Rico's love story. Rico is a fabulous And I would really love to read a retelling of Persuasion that engages with the book more deeply. This was not it. As for the story we got so much of-- Ashna's mother-- the story of her life and work and love was well worth telling in its own right, not stuck in as elaborate, discursive backstory to her daughter. Just very disappointing, and, again, frustrating.

Lots of family characters were confusing to me, although this take on Jane Austen's _Persuation_ was a quick book to read. Enjoyable romance with food is always appreciated, but this one won't be memorable.

"I'm half agony, half hope." The greatest love letter in literature! This nod to Persuasion is thoughtful and filled with similar angst and struggles.
Ashna and Frederico are high school sweethearts. Combine the "big misunderstanding" with the insecurities of teenagers and this second chance gives me all the feelings. I want to be friends or adopted into the Raje family.
As with Pride and Prejudice and Other Flavors, Sonali's food descriptions make me salivate and her prose is not an exact retelling (thankfully!), but something innovative and interesting. I love how she weaves in Ashna's mother's story for complexity and understanding in to how a family's history has such great impact on us.
I can't wait to see what she does in book three!
In short, I loved it, am very hungry, and want #3 asap.
Thank you, Harper Collins and NetGalley for the advanced copy! All thoughts in this review are my own.

A very enjoyable read. I liked that we got to see the perspective from multiple characters it helped to give the story depth and make them more sympathetic. This is a book where you spend half of it just wishing people would talk to each other but it doesn't get too frustrating.

I love re-tellings of my favorite Jane Austen novels, and Recipe for Persuasion did not disappoint. While not an exact re-telling (after all, few are and none should really attempt to be), Sonali Dev captures the push-pull of the relationships within the story very well. The tension is balanced well with the humor and at the end there's more than one happy couple (hooray for China, I didn't see that one coming but it was a nice addition). Recipe for Persuasion took the best parts of Jane Austen and made them accessible for modern readers as well as pulled in an important perspective of non-western cultures. I'm very glad I was able to read this book, and I look forward to other novels by Sonali Dev.