Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors: A Novel by Sonali Dev

8 reviews

spicycronereads's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious 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

This was a really cute read. It inverts some of the plot of Austen‘s pride and prejudice. For example, the FMC Trisha is a neurosurgeon from a family with generational wealth and privilege, while the MMC DJ is a talented but struggling chef. Dev takes necessary liberties with Austen’s plot line to update it and make it work for these characters and the 21st century racial and class contexts of Silicon Valley. Even so, the book has all of the personality clashes, the pining, and the villainous characters of the source text. And it all works really well together. I think as long as you go into it expecting a remix rather than a faithful adaptation, you’ll enjoy it just fine.

Be sure to check your trigger warnings though. The scandals have been updated for the 21st century and some may find the material difficult. There are multiple instances of SA (all off page) as well as a scary encounter with the police, among other things. 

The secondary characters are well developed and a lot of fun. Not surprising given that this is the first book in a series about Trisha’s family. All of the books are based on Austen’s works.

There isn’t really any spice. And similar to Austen‘s narrative, this is a slow burn that really takes a while to heat up. Once it gets there, there are lots of great quotes and sweet moments. I give it two swoony hearts.💖💖

The novel has lots of racial and class diversity. Trisha is a first generation Indian American. Her mother was a Bollywood movie star and her father was royalty in the province that they come from in India. DJ and his sister Emma are part Indian, part English, and part Rwandan. There are very few white characters in the novel. So far there don’t seem to be any queer characters. But there are characters dealing with long-term illness and disability. Trisha is written in such a way that there are hints that she may be neurodivergent or maybe she just has some of those necessary characteristics of being a neurosurgeon. The ambiguity works.

Overall, I found this to be a fun and engaging read, and I really liked it. I will definitely read others in the series and look forward to how Sonali Dev adapts more of Austen‘s work. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 💖💖

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Classism, Racism, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Ableism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, Dementia, Pedophilia, and Miscarriage

Cancer,

one character refuses life saving treatment rather than go blind. She eventually changes her mind but it takes a while

heather667's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Chronic illness, Sexism, Misogyny, Racism, Cancer, Ableism, Grief, and Medical content

Moderate: Death of parent, Dementia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Miscarriage

Minor: Racial slurs and Police brutality

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective 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

4.25

This really tickled me, and I look forward to reading more from Ms. Dev. This had the caramel-thick tension of will-they-won't-they, and I really liked it. I also thought it did a really good job of portraying some beautiful sister moments, which always tug at my heart. Just a fun time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship and Bullying

Moderate: Death of parent, Medical content, Pregnancy, Classism, and Abandonment

Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Alcohol, Grief, Racism, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Infidelity, and Police brutality

imds's review against another edition

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Classism, Confinement, Death, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Police brutality, Racism, Ableism, Cancer, Chronic illness, and Terminal illness

thecuriousbean's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

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

2.0

The author is very talented in writing but I despised the woman main character. I almost stopped reading halfway through but hate-read the rest of it just to see how it ended. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Medical content, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Classism, Terminal illness, and Police brutality

Minor: Islamophobia, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Racism, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Confinement, Grief, and Drug use

editoryalizing's review against another edition

• 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Xenophobia, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Miscarriage, Infertility, Grief, Emotional abuse, Cultural appropriation, Classism, Chronic illness, and Abandonment

Minor: Police brutality, Racism, Racial slurs, and Pedophilia

cozylifewithabby's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Racism, and Sexual assault

robynrambles's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I really liked this book, however, with Sonali Dev's other book 'Recipe for Persuasion' the amount of trauma she puts in the characters backgrounds is a lot for a contemporary romance. I don't think having a full background is necessarily a bad thing but she alludes to the trauma a lot and when it finally is revealed it seems much more serious than necessary for the main plot.  I would say this book is more inspired by Jane Austen than a retelling, she gender bends Darcy and Jane but there missing a lot of family dynamics.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Ableism, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship