Scan barcode
rkw2017's review against another edition
main character is super unlikable, classest, and self-absorbed. cannot read any more from her perspective
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
laurenpat's review against another edition
4.0
It’s pretty good. A little bit of a slow beginning but it picks up in the second half. Took me a while to realize that it was a complete gender swap of PAP, since the plot doesn’t completely follow the original (obviously). I think it wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be because Elizabeth Bennet is such a strong, inspiring, passionate character in the original, and now to have that “persona” for a man, I just didn’t really relate as much. Still a decent light read though.
yarn_chicken's review against another edition
3.0
Maybe closer to 2.5 stars from me but that be due to my mindset when reading it
cinelitchick's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
book_concierge's review against another edition
2.0
Book on CD performed by Soneela Nankani.
2.5**
This retelling reverses the roles of Elizabeth and Darcy. Set in modern-day San Francisco it features Trisha Raje, daughter of a very wealthy immigrant Indian family, with royal connections back in India. She’s an incredibly brilliant “genius neurosurgeon” with a tendency towards quick judgement and, according to her siblings, absolutely NO emotional insight. (She’s clearly the Fitzwilliam Darcy character). Darcy James Caine, known as DJ, is a transplanted Brit of Indian and Rwandan heritage. (He’s the Elizabeth Bennet character.) He’s a brilliant chef and slated to cater the Raje family’s fundraiser for their brilliant scion’s announced run for Governor. He’s also the brother of brilliant artist, Emma, who has a brain tumor that only brilliant neurosurgeon Trisha Raje can possibly remove.
Did I mention that these characters are all brilliant? I just wanted to be sure, because the author manages to mention this in every single chapter! Good thing she does, because most of the time Trisha, in particular, doesn’t act brilliant at all. She’s a complete mess. I worked with surgeons, including some extraordinarily talented and innovated ones – several of the best were women. Not a single one of these women behaved even remotely like Trisha does. I rolled my eyes so often I made myself dizzy.
I did like DJ, although his secrets and guilt were a bit much. But his genuine goodness and steady support of his sister and his friends were admirable qualities. And his way with food! Oh. My. Stars. I was practically salivating whenever the book focused on DJ’s skills as a chef. (And there’s a recipe at the end that I’d like to try.)
In general, though, I think the author was trying too hard to match P&P. There’s even a Wickham character – Julia Wickham. Perhaps if she had just focused on the Bollywood-movie style romance without trying to force the elements of Austen’s classic into her story this might have worked better.
Soneela Nankani did a fine job with less that stellar material. She had a lot of characters to interpret and she was up to the task … even when sisters where talking I was never confused.
2.5**
This retelling reverses the roles of Elizabeth and Darcy. Set in modern-day San Francisco it features Trisha Raje, daughter of a very wealthy immigrant Indian family, with royal connections back in India. She’s an incredibly brilliant “genius neurosurgeon” with a tendency towards quick judgement and, according to her siblings, absolutely NO emotional insight. (She’s clearly the Fitzwilliam Darcy character). Darcy James Caine, known as DJ, is a transplanted Brit of Indian and Rwandan heritage. (He’s the Elizabeth Bennet character.) He’s a brilliant chef and slated to cater the Raje family’s fundraiser for their brilliant scion’s announced run for Governor. He’s also the brother of brilliant artist, Emma, who has a brain tumor that only brilliant neurosurgeon Trisha Raje can possibly remove.
Did I mention that these characters are all brilliant? I just wanted to be sure, because the author manages to mention this in every single chapter! Good thing she does, because most of the time Trisha, in particular, doesn’t act brilliant at all. She’s a complete mess. I worked with surgeons, including some extraordinarily talented and innovated ones – several of the best were women. Not a single one of these women behaved even remotely like Trisha does. I rolled my eyes so often I made myself dizzy.
I did like DJ, although his secrets and guilt were a bit much. But his genuine goodness and steady support of his sister and his friends were admirable qualities. And his way with food! Oh. My. Stars. I was practically salivating whenever the book focused on DJ’s skills as a chef. (And there’s a recipe at the end that I’d like to try.)
In general, though, I think the author was trying too hard to match P&P. There’s even a Wickham character – Julia Wickham. Perhaps if she had just focused on the Bollywood-movie style romance without trying to force the elements of Austen’s classic into her story this might have worked better.
Soneela Nankani did a fine job with less that stellar material. She had a lot of characters to interpret and she was up to the task … even when sisters where talking I was never confused.
kmw1994's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
morr_books's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
taylersimon22's review against another edition
3.0
I have just recently shifted my reading tastes to other flavors besides vanilla and now have a more intentional focus on reading works by authors of color. I read Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev and I can definitely detect hints of spice under the trope of, well, the pride and prejudice trope that launched the classic into infamy.
Before I start my rant, I just want to say that it was also fascinating reading about a racially and ethnically complicated character that was more than a half black, half white person (which is still a really complex identity who’s nuances aren’t explored enough as it is) living in America. I want more stories about complicated identities like this!
I stayed interested in the book because it was a refreshing twist on the classic novel, but y’all, let me tell you how much I didn’t know I have grown to dislike the common game in romances, both page and screen, of let’s find people who don’t have anything in common and start out hating each other, insert some fierce sexual tension, and make them fall in love, because that’s how real life works.
This is just the adult version of “If a boy likes you, he will physically and emotionally harm you.” Boys will be boys, after all.
Please take this as a critique on the troupe, rather than the novel itself. We need different voices contributing stories because there are more experiences than white, cis-het, affluent, able-bodied individuals. And someone, still trying to figure out who (white supremacy, maybe?), keeps telling us that we, the mainstream, won’t “relate” to any other stories.
Before I start my rant, I just want to say that it was also fascinating reading about a racially and ethnically complicated character that was more than a half black, half white person (which is still a really complex identity who’s nuances aren’t explored enough as it is) living in America. I want more stories about complicated identities like this!
I stayed interested in the book because it was a refreshing twist on the classic novel, but y’all, let me tell you how much I didn’t know I have grown to dislike the common game in romances, both page and screen, of let’s find people who don’t have anything in common and start out hating each other, insert some fierce sexual tension, and make them fall in love, because that’s how real life works.
This is just the adult version of “If a boy likes you, he will physically and emotionally harm you.” Boys will be boys, after all.
Please take this as a critique on the troupe, rather than the novel itself. We need different voices contributing stories because there are more experiences than white, cis-het, affluent, able-bodied individuals. And someone, still trying to figure out who (white supremacy, maybe?), keeps telling us that we, the mainstream, won’t “relate” to any other stories.
curious_artifact_reads's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0