Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev

43 reviews

harperhoney's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Addiction, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, and Alcoholism

Minor: Child abuse and Domestic abuse

frantically's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

If this had been marketed as a literary piece about mothers and daughters and loss and reconciliation, I would've liked it a lot more. But it wasn't. And it didn't even start like that.

We start with the typical rom-com elements, second-chance romance, meet-cutes, all the good stuff. When we get introduced to Shobi, I immediately think "Damn, I wish this book was about her." I spoke too early because in some way it did — and thus the rom-com was over.

This is such a heavy (and such a slowww) book. The different plots (Ashna & Rico and Ashna & Shobi and Shobi's past) didn't feel like  they fit into the same book, which made the whole thing feel all over the place.

Espically Ashna and Rico's story just didn't make me feel anything (which is bad in a supposed romance book). Most of the time I even thought there was a better love interest for Rico. We didn't have nearly enough development for their relationship.

I loved the first book in the series but after this one, I don't think I'll be continuing — too many surprises for me. I'll leave this at 2.5⭐

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Moderate: Infidelity, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Abortion

alexkudej's review

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Child abuse

katemch's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Suicide, Rape, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Death

Moderate: Abortion and Pregnancy

taibreakfast's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad 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

4.0

I liked this even better than the first in the series! This one deepened the story of Persuasion by adding a multigenerational element and adding the [familial] love story between the protagonist and her mom. And that actually is just as important as or even more important than the primary romance story, although that is still good!

I also appreciate that the Louisa subplot didn't carry out entirely faithfully to the original because that is truly so rough every time!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide

Moderate: Death of parent, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Blood

Minor: Confinement, Abortion, Infidelity, and Vomit

ajahde's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

This book was branded as a romantic comedy, but it really is not because it deals with a lot of dark and difficult topics. I was hoping for a much more lighthearted read, which is why I think I didn’t enjoy this very much. I also really wanted more scenes set on the cooking show because I thought that sounded like a fun setting, but it was not featured that often. 

I also just could not get into the romance between Ashna and Rico. For most of the book, it felt like they were unnecessarily rude to each other and only started being nice at the very end. I wish there was more development to their relationship because it was kinda hard to see why they even liked each other. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and Death of parent

Moderate: Suicide, Sexual assault, Rape, Alcoholism, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders

alycelarsson's review

emotional funny reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

I really liked this book! I thought it was a refreshing take on Persuasion, especially because it was not a carbon copy. If you are looking for an exact retelling of Persuasion in a modern era, this book is not for you but I loved how the author maintained the atmosphere of Persuasion while also bringing in new characters and plots of her own. Overall a great, romantic and simple read although be warned there are some darker aspects of the plot. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Suicide, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content and Pregnancy

mynamescarol's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Suicide, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Alcoholism

ellenr272's review

emotional 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

A little slow in the beginning, but once it picked up it was so good

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Rape, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

taymo's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Death of parent, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, and Drug abuse