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A review by lizshayne
Incense and Sensibility by Sonali Dev
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The problem with romance novel series is that you get into them and then you find yourself reading a book that you're kind of meh on the premise.
There were two tropes this book used that frustrated me. One is one that I sometimes like and I think I'm just deeply bored with - "they knew each other back when and left each other and now must rebuild!" and, like, sometimes I just wonder why "this person treated me terribly, let's try that again!" makes so much sense to so many people that I keep reading it. Idk, I might just be in a "mehhhh" place or I just need to accept that I am a "fake-dating," "there was only one bed" and "arranged marriage" person and that's the way it goes.
The other thing that deeply bothered me isthat India was working as his therapist and should not have been in a relationship with him at any point because that's terrifying and wonky and my rabbi brain absolutely hates it and also it plays into the "women rescue men from their feelings" problem and I just cannot with it and that threw off the whole thing for me.
Which is a shame, as Paul Hollywood would say, because I love the premise and I really like the Rajes overall. This one, though. I got into it at the end, but it wasn't as much for me as Recipe for Persuasion.
There were two tropes this book used that frustrated me. One is one that I sometimes like and I think I'm just deeply bored with - "they knew each other back when and left each other and now must rebuild!" and, like, sometimes I just wonder why "this person treated me terribly, let's try that again!" makes so much sense to so many people that I keep reading it. Idk, I might just be in a "mehhhh" place or I just need to accept that I am a "fake-dating," "there was only one bed" and "arranged marriage" person and that's the way it goes.
The other thing that deeply bothered me is
Which is a shame, as Paul Hollywood would say, because I love the premise and I really like the Rajes overall. This one, though. I got into it at the end, but it wasn't as much for me as Recipe for Persuasion.