Scan barcode
saukittome's review against another edition
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Medical content, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Infertility, Stalking, Dementia, Racial slurs, Death of parent, and Miscarriage
taibreakfast's review against another edition
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
3.75
Fun retelling of Pride and Prejudice set in modern times, with the genders switched. The love birds are a guy and a girl, and the girl is the Darcy character this time (even though the guy is named Darcy, fooled ya!). She is the rich one with painful social skills and too much pride while he is the one from a working class background and prejudice against her because she's rich. The author does a good job of translating the plot to modern problems that convey just how life-ruining things could be. And it's very fun to have the story with an almost entirely POC cast of characters. Lots of fan service: some key scenes can almost be mapped directly, at least to the 2005 movie 😁. Definitely recommend to anyone looking for an easy but smart story. Check the content warnings though.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Death, Death of parent, Infertility, Medical content, Miscarriage, Toxic friendship, Cancer, and Sexual assault
Minor: Sexual harassment
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Cancer, and Medical content
Minor: Sexual violence, Racism, and Sexual assault
rosierosereads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Terminal illness
Minor: Rape and Child abuse
just_one_more_paige's review
emotional
lighthearted
tense
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
4.0
One of my comfort genres is Jane Austen retellings (and movie rewatchings), especially Pride and Prejudice. I had seen mixed reviews for this one, so it wasn't at the very top of my TBR list, but I was recently feeling ready for a revisit to this story and decided to give it a try.
Trisha Raje is a rockstar neurosurgeon, and she knows it. Though she's on rocky terms with some of her family over a youthful mistake, she is still close with the rest of her tight-knit (and very well-off) family. DJ has just quit his high-profile chef's position in order to move and support his sister in-person as she faces a debilitating choice about treating a brain tumor. A friend of his from culinary school has given him a shot at regaining income after the move by catering a political event from her cousin, who happens to be Trisha's younger brother. And as it turns out, Trisha herself is the only surgeon with a chance of successfully operating on his sister's tumor. So before they ever meet, DJ and Trisha's lives are deeply intertwined. When they finally bump into each other, and before realizing who the other is, their first impressions are...less than stellar. And the misconceptions and assumptions only grow from there. But, of course, those unfriendly exteriors are hiding some soft hearts, and with time DJ and Trisha realize maybe they were both wrong about the other.
This is a really solid retelling. I loved that it leaned more "inspired by" than "strict retelling," which I know not everyone enjoys, but for me is a great mix of familiarity with a little originality, and tops it off with a (satisfying) scavenger hunt for recognizable details. So, for example, I loved the gender swap of Trisha being the judgmental/arrogant and very financially stable character, while DJ was the lower socioeconomic status and defensive character. Dev wrote them both spot on - they had all the right vibes. And the surgeon and chef careers fit those respective personalities so well, and the ways they ended up brought together were very realistic (no contrivance here, which is a major pet peeve of mine in romances, so I was glad for that.) Because of the ingrained social understandings that they each grew up within, as well as vastly different family situations, their inclination to distrust and assume the worst intent from each other makes sense. In addition, I really appreciated the more modern look at prejudice, related to race as well as wealth, and the way they intersect and interplay with each other. It is vastly more relatable to a present-day audience, and in a necessary way considering the diversity of the characters on both fronts.
Other aspects that harkened back to the original that I loved included the big family/lots of siblings of the Raje family, which had a very "Bennett" vibes to it. Within that, I also caught some foreshadowing to the other characters and their relationships that could be the basis for other familiar Austen stories throughout the rest of this series (and I'm definitely now interested in reading those too). I thought the "Wickham" character, the way they played their role in a more modern sense and caused inter-family drama (as well as other interpersonal distance) was well done. And the overall romance plot, with the rude and spurned original confession of love from Trisha (the Darcy character), and the final coming around from both after secrets about Wickham and other risks taken on behalf of the others' loved ones, was the perfect ebb and flow following the original. Speaking of which, oh my goodness there were so many secrets that Trisha was holding and protecting for everyone around her - it was super stressful and I have no idea how she managed it for so long! But when the tension finally let go and it all came out and Darcy and Trisha get their moment together in the end, it was all the romantic relief and comfort that P&P builds to.
Overall, I enjoyed this retelling. I get the mixed reviews, as it's not a draw-dropper, but it is absolutely the comfort read that I wanted it to be. It did a great job honoring the original storyline, while plotting its own course a bit as well. Once I got into it, I flew through it, happily ensconced in this familiar tale.
“The syntax of prejudice - threaded into conversation with the perfect pauses and facial expressions - was like ciphers and spy codes. The meaning clear to those it was meant for. To everyone else, it was harmless scribbles. Easy enough to deny.”
"The thing about human beings is that they heal [...] We're nature's creations, we regenerate like the seasons. We just need someone to let us know that we're worthy of healing. […] But the healing itself, the changing, that you can only do yourself. No one else can do that for you.”
Trisha Raje is a rockstar neurosurgeon, and she knows it. Though she's on rocky terms with some of her family over a youthful mistake, she is still close with the rest of her tight-knit (and very well-off) family. DJ has just quit his high-profile chef's position in order to move and support his sister in-person as she faces a debilitating choice about treating a brain tumor. A friend of his from culinary school has given him a shot at regaining income after the move by catering a political event from her cousin, who happens to be Trisha's younger brother. And as it turns out, Trisha herself is the only surgeon with a chance of successfully operating on his sister's tumor. So before they ever meet, DJ and Trisha's lives are deeply intertwined. When they finally bump into each other, and before realizing who the other is, their first impressions are...less than stellar. And the misconceptions and assumptions only grow from there. But, of course, those unfriendly exteriors are hiding some soft hearts, and with time DJ and Trisha realize maybe they were both wrong about the other.
This is a really solid retelling. I loved that it leaned more "inspired by" than "strict retelling," which I know not everyone enjoys, but for me is a great mix of familiarity with a little originality, and tops it off with a (satisfying) scavenger hunt for recognizable details. So, for example, I loved the gender swap of Trisha being the judgmental/arrogant and very financially stable character, while DJ was the lower socioeconomic status and defensive character. Dev wrote them both spot on - they had all the right vibes. And the surgeon and chef careers fit those respective personalities so well, and the ways they ended up brought together were very realistic (no contrivance here, which is a major pet peeve of mine in romances, so I was glad for that.) Because of the ingrained social understandings that they each grew up within, as well as vastly different family situations, their inclination to distrust and assume the worst intent from each other makes sense. In addition, I really appreciated the more modern look at prejudice, related to race as well as wealth, and the way they intersect and interplay with each other. It is vastly more relatable to a present-day audience, and in a necessary way considering the diversity of the characters on both fronts.
Other aspects that harkened back to the original that I loved included the big family/lots of siblings of the Raje family, which had a very "Bennett" vibes to it. Within that, I also caught some foreshadowing to the other characters and their relationships that could be the basis for other familiar Austen stories throughout the rest of this series (and I'm definitely now interested in reading those too). I thought the "Wickham" character, the way they played their role in a more modern sense and caused inter-family drama (as well as other interpersonal distance) was well done. And the overall romance plot, with the rude and spurned original confession of love from Trisha (the Darcy character), and the final coming around from both after secrets about Wickham and other risks taken on behalf of the others' loved ones, was the perfect ebb and flow following the original. Speaking of which, oh my goodness there were so many secrets that Trisha was holding and protecting for everyone around her - it was super stressful and I have no idea how she managed it for so long! But when the tension finally let go and it all came out and Darcy and Trisha get their moment together in the end, it was all the romantic relief and comfort that P&P builds to.
Overall, I enjoyed this retelling. I get the mixed reviews, as it's not a draw-dropper, but it is absolutely the comfort read that I wanted it to be. It did a great job honoring the original storyline, while plotting its own course a bit as well. Once I got into it, I flew through it, happily ensconced in this familiar tale.
“The syntax of prejudice - threaded into conversation with the perfect pauses and facial expressions - was like ciphers and spy codes. The meaning clear to those it was meant for. To everyone else, it was harmless scribbles. Easy enough to deny.”
"The thing about human beings is that they heal [...] We're nature's creations, we regenerate like the seasons. We just need someone to let us know that we're worthy of healing. […] But the healing itself, the changing, that you can only do yourself. No one else can do that for you.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness and Pregnancy
Moderate: Death of parent and Medical content
Minor: Toxic friendship, Racism, and Sexual assault
jmmreads's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- 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
3.5
I really really love Pride & Prejudice and usually love adaptations so I really wanted to enjoy this book, however, it just fell flat for me. I did enjoy it overall, but there were several points I had to fight to finish it. I did like how the Darcy and Elizabeth characters were gender swapped and you got to see both of their perspectives at different points in the novel. But I found Trisha, the main character and the Darcy, to be very annoying so it was hard to get through her parts. I thought the author did a good job modernizing the story and a lot of social issues like police brutality and racism to highlight the themes of pride and prejudice in a modern world. It was fun to be able to catch plot points in the show and connect them to the original book but it in no way felt like re-reading pride and prejudice word for word or plot point for plot point.
In the end this was still a fun read I just had a really hard time connecting with Trisha, even though I did find her sympathetic at certain points. The miscommunication between her and her parents and her siblings, while realistic, was hard to push through. And since it was pride and prejudice there was very little romance right until the end, by which point there was a lot. But there wasn't a lot of time for payoff for all the longing and anticipation. I also found the pacing to be rather slow.
I know I just listed a bunch of things I didn't like but I did in general like the book and I look forward to reading Sonali Dev's other books to see how those are!
In the end this was still a fun read I just had a really hard time connecting with Trisha, even though I did find her sympathetic at certain points. The miscommunication between her and her parents and her siblings, while realistic, was hard to push through. And since it was pride and prejudice there was very little romance right until the end, by which point there was a lot. But there wasn't a lot of time for payoff for all the longing and anticipation. I also found the pacing to be rather slow.
I know I just listed a bunch of things I didn't like but I did in general like the book and I look forward to reading Sonali Dev's other books to see how those are!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Racism, Medical content, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Stalking, and Toxic friendship
jadatrack's review
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Racism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Pregnancy and Sexual assault
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual content
internationalreads's review
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Cancer, Classism, Grief, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Cultural appropriation, Dementia, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Medical content, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
ldslizzard's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
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
4.25
While it was slow for me to get into, once I got about 1/4 of the way through I couldn't put it down. Such a great take on Pride and Prejudice! Loved the role reversal and the independent woman. So many different life issues compiled into a beautifully woven story. I loved/hated the main character, but I think we were meant to! Very impressed!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Suicide, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Medical content, Death of parent, Cancer, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Infertility, and Toxic friendship
tctimlin's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
introduction to the Indian-American Raje family with the focus on brain neurosurgeon and workaholic Trisha who wants to heal every patient and who believes she is not welcome in her tight family circle because of a moment of terrible judgment back in her early college years. The author flips genders (the “Darcy” character is Trisha, and the villain is her roommate Julia Wickham, while Darcy is the poor guy who can’t figure out how he is going to pay for his younger sister’s brain surgery). I liked the fact that the author played with the expected gender roles and that she felt free to stray from the plot to make a story more consistent with modern day, and I liked all the Raje family characters enough that I’m looking forward to reading the rest of Sonali Dev’s Austen re-tellings.
Content Warnings
Minor: Pregnancy, Cancer, Classism, Medical trauma, and Sexual content