Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Incense and Sensibility

As always, Sonali Dev turned out another absolute delight. I absolutely loved the push and pull in Yash and India's relationship. They both clearly wanted a relationship with each other, but they cared so much about the other's happiness that things just never worked out. They have this instant love connection that grows into a beautiful friendship, despite their initial challenges getting along due to their history.

I loved how despite their instant connection, things weren't instantly easy, and that they had to put in work to get themselves individually to a point where they could support a healthy relationship with each other.

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alexkudej's review

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emotional hopeful 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

4.0

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cozylifewithabby's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad tense

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

4.0

Another excellent retelling. I like that Dev uses inspiration from Austen, but it still feels like her own entirely new romance. I also like that the characters I loved in the first too books are still around while the minor characters from the others get their spotlight. This particular book has a lot of trauma, so check out trigger warnings for this slow burn romance.

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mariebastien's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring fast-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

3.25

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izmc's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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? It's complicated

5.0

I think this might be my favorite book in the whole series. I loved it so much, and I completely see myself rereading it again and again.

Two points of note:

1. I absolutely hated how a majority of the characters treated Yash’s rape. In fact, I don’t think they actually used the word rape. I truly loathed how it was handled, I wish that there would have been a bit more insight into how the character’s dismissal of the sexual assault truly impacted Yash.

2. This point also has to do with how the other characters dismissed the sexual assault. This quote left me reeling:

“"This is how you treat your friend? I've been here for you, Yash, always. I've taken care of you. Have you forgotten what happened when you trusted another woman? You ended up drugged and caught on tape
fucking an underage intern. Even then I was there for you. I didn't bat an eyelid. Through all your trust issues I was there making sure you were okay, working around it, tiptoeing around all your physical issues.”

This complete and utter dismissal of the trauma he went through was horrific. What’s worse is that it is never addressed again. That would be moderately okay if Nisha and her words were written in a more negative light. However, I just looked and she is going to be the heroine in the next book in the series. I honestly think that because of this quote I won’t be able to read the next book at all. I have loved this series so much, but I just don’t think I can tolerate reading and attempting to root for a character like that.

Overall, I loved the book.

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lilysbooks's review

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emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

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unwise_samwise's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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prisreadallnight's review

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challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective fast-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

5.0

Sonali Dev's writing is truly masterful. This book has made me feel and change the way I see familiar relationships and friendships and how people change over the years. Her whole series is amazing but incense and sensibility really touched me in a way I wasn't expecting at all. I really enjoyed this book and it is my first 5 stars read of 2022.

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