A review by renuka__
Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev

emotional hopeful mysterious 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

3.5

I think this was a cute, character-driven enemies-to-lovers novel. I loved that it took place in the city I grew up in, as the visuals were all the more vibrant in my mind. The main characters had believable flaws throughout, and their story followed a natural progression. However, the end felt rushed and it felt as though all the resolution occurred within only 4 chapters at the end of a 36 chapter book. There were also certain scenes referencing social justice issues that were not handled in the best manner, in my opinion. 


The police brutality scene felt a little out of place, and especially given that the author is not Black herself, the scene felt like a capitalization on Black trauma. Also, the lead up into revealing what Julia did to Yash felt way too long. Personally, I felt like it also didn’t come across in the intended way, reinforcing the anti-feminist pressure on men not to report their experiences of assault in fear of their reputation. The fact that Dev chose to specifically say that he did not want to “take away from the Me Too movement by going public with his story” felt very tone deaf and not at all genuinely in support of survivors. 
 
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