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A review by yetanotherbookstagram
Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I really wanted to love this one because Persuasion is my favorite Austen novel and one of my favorite books ever but this one can only barely be called a retelling or a reimagining. A romantic-comedy light on the comedy, there were some heavy topics in here that I wasn't expecting (marital rape; suicide; alcoholism).
Ashna, a chef, agrees to join a show on the Food Network to try to win the prize money that will save her restaurant. Rico is the soccer star, newly retired due to injury and Ashna's high school love, who is assigned as her celebrity partner on the show. Sparks fly, old wounds resurface, etc. There's a side plot of flashbacks revolving around Ashna's mother.
I really disliked the glorification of Ashna and Rico's past relationship and how they were all they would ever need and basically relied upon one another as the only relationship to give them love and support, in a way that honestly screamed "unhealthy". Ashna had some stuff to work through but she didn't need Rico coming back to fix her problems, she needed to go to therapy. Their complete inability to move on from one another was supposed to be romantic but I found it disappointing.
Why was there no Louisa Musgrove and her family? Why were there no allusions to Persuasion other than making this a second-chance romance and an oddly placed quote 3/4 of the way in? For all of the focus on Ashna and her knack for creating tea blends, did the judges not even mention the tea she made for the show finale? So many questions.
Ashna, a chef, agrees to join a show on the Food Network to try to win the prize money that will save her restaurant. Rico is the soccer star, newly retired due to injury and Ashna's high school love, who is assigned as her celebrity partner on the show. Sparks fly, old wounds resurface, etc. There's a side plot of flashbacks revolving around Ashna's mother.
I really disliked the glorification of Ashna and Rico's past relationship and how they were all they would ever need and basically relied upon one another as the only relationship to give them love and support, in a way that honestly screamed "unhealthy". Ashna had some stuff to work through but she didn't need Rico coming back to fix her problems, she needed to go to therapy. Their complete inability to move on from one another was supposed to be romantic but I found it disappointing.
Why was there no Louisa Musgrove and her family? Why were there no allusions to Persuasion other than making this a second-chance romance and an oddly placed quote 3/4 of the way in? For all of the focus on Ashna and her knack for creating tea blends, did the judges not even mention the tea she made for the show finale? So many questions.
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape and Alcoholism