From the minute I picked up this modern-day retelling of Pride and Prejudice, I was utterly charmed. I'm a sucker for books that flip familiar narratives, and Trisha Raje standing in for the emotionally inept but ultimately misunderstood Mr. Darcy definitely hit all the right notes for me. Plus, I loved the reverent descriptions of food in the book. I only wish that DJ wasn't a fictional character, so I could taste his mind-blowing culinary creations! Pride, Prejudice and other Flavors was just the right blend of light-hearted and serious, serving up lots of emotionally satisfying moments while also taking on privilege and what it means to be black or brown in modern-day America.

I enjoyed this clever, loose, and gender-swapping re-telling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. It is filled with interesting and complicated characters and introduces readers to the talented, definitely overachieving Indian American Raje family. Dr. Trisha Raje is a brilliant neurosurgeon with a decided lack of people skills, who crosses paths with DJ Caine, an equally brilliant chef who she labels "the hired help" upon first meeting him. I truly loved the descriptions of DJ's food throughout the book. I look forward to re-visiting Trisha and DJ in future stories of this amazing family.

I’ve enjoyed Sonali Dev’s romance novels so I was curious what I would think of her women’s fiction, particularly one that is Pride And Prejudice-inspired. And I have to say, my feelings are complicated.

As a P&P-inspired gender bent story, it’s inventive and a great update. Julia Wickham’s character in particular was a great/treacherous take. This is not a straight retelling and this frees Dev up to make some interesting choices with the characters

The food descriptions are one of the best parts of this story. DJ’s passion for his work as a chef was just as fascinating as Trisha’s response to his creations. I also really liked learning about the technology Trisha developed in order to do cutting edge surgeries on tumors. I have no idea if it's based on existing technology but I hope so!

However, the medical plot didn’t work for me and that means a good portion of this book didn’t work, as Trisha is a surgeon and DJ is her patient Emma’s sister. There are major HIPAA violations throughout where Trisha readily discloses Emma’s medical history, options, and prognosis to her family. She even laughs off HIPAA, basically saying her family is exempt, which just no. They’re not. Then there’s the matter of Trisha, a health care provider, dating her patient's brother. Now there is some gray here as Trisha’s cousin connected DJ to her for the sake of giving Emma more medical options. Technically they met at Yash’s fundraiser as DJ catered the event. Although Emma was already her patient, DJ was never at the hospital when Trisha did her rounds. So I can see where the lines are blurred but they never address the possible ramifications of how a relationship could impact Emma’s care and I’m still pretty sure it would violate Trisha’s employer’s policies, if not her medical license.

Look. I don’t know how many times I need to say this regarding health care provider-patient/patient family member relationships but they’re wrong. If you are providing direct care to someone, then there’s a good reason to not become romantically or sexually involved with them or their family members. It’s an ethical violation for good reason and it boils down to relationship imbalance. If your health care provider ever tries this with you, please run in the opposite direction because they do not have you or your well-being in mind. I really need authors to stop with this pairing, unless it’s to paint it in a negative light or to show someone grappling with it. I will read those books but I cannot handle romanticizing an ethical violation.

The other thing that super bothered me about the medical plot was the lack of social work involvement. (Of course it did. I used to be a medical social worker.) Emma’s situation is the perfect reason to involve the hospital social worker. I would have been all over helping her process her treatment options and what the loss of her vision would mean for her life and career. This was a gross mishandling of her care and it’s no wonder she didn’t respond well to Trisha or her brother. Additionally, the story was filled with ableism, some of which is countered but most is not. I was irritated Trisha and DJ wouldn’t respect Emma’s wishes to not get the surgery if it meant losing her eyesight—again pointing to why social work involvement would have helped. Patient-centered care is paramount and I didn’t see it here.

The Yash-Julia storyline was quite troubling. Without spoiling why, I’ll say it was a poor understanding of #metoo. And frankly, it didn’t seem like the best way to adapt or update P&P.

Lastly, Trisha’s family was quite toxic. I found myself willing Trisha to confront them or to at least stop avoiding the issue but she never did, which was quite puzzling as she’s very confident and assertive professionally. While we can be different people at work vs. home, the difference was jarring. By the time she did stand up to them, I was rooting for her to just cut them out of her life altogether. I wanted better for her. And along those lines, the antagonism between her and DJ lasted far too long for my comfort and I could not buy a happy ending for them.

Like I said, this book was complicated. I’m still turning over the elements from Pride And Prejudice over in my mind but the rest of it was a struggle.

CW: cancer/tumor, ableism, grief, loss, fatshaming, racism (including a white cop questioning a POC main character), microaggressions, reference to past rape

This proved to be a fabulous retelling of Jane Austen’s classic that stayed true to the nature of the original while bringing the themes into the 21st century. This book includes storylines dealing with Black Lives Matter, STEM, disability, #MeToo, and politics. Mr. Darcy becomes an awkward but brilliant Indian-American neurosurgeon descended from royalty, and Lizzie Bennett becomes an up-and-coming talented British chef with a heart of gold who would do anything for his family. I think Jane Austen would be proud.

I have a soft spot for Pride and Prejudice and this gender swapped version is fun. The only downside is DJ our "Elizabeth" of the original. I just never really got to like him, but I loved Trisha and her wild family. Worth reading if you love the original.

This book was good but lacking in some parts. Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite stories. The problem with reading a retelling is it never lives up to the original. That being said, I did like the gender bent twist the author put on this retelling. Unfortunately some of the characters fell flat. I didn't really like either of the main characters. And I didn't definitely understand why they liked each other. There are several events that are there purely to add drama at a later point and I just didn't buy it. Those parts felt more like a soap opera and didn't fit in with the rest of the book. Overall, I would recommend this to someone who likes high drama romances.

3/3.5 out of 5 stars.

This book was so fun! This was the first book I've read from this author and I really enjoyed it. The story was different from anything I've read recently and really captured my attention. It was so well written and the characters were fantastic.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.


I have been a fan of Jane Austen's novels and despite that, I haven't delved much into retellings. Lately I have been reading more romance novels so I thought I would give this a try and it didn't disappoint!

Set in San Francisco, Trisha is a genius neurosurgeon who is very good at her job but lacks social skills, particularly with people not in her family. She also carries extreme guilt over an event that happened when she was in college that severely damaged her relationship with her family.

DJ is a talented chef who recently moved to SF from Paris to help out his sister, Emma, who has a brain tumor. DJ and Emma were raised in London and had a difficult childhood due to being raised by single mother after the sudden death of their father.

Emma is Trisha's patient and without the surgery Trisha can do, Emma will die. However, with the surgery, she will be able to live but will lose her sight. So, DJ and Trisha must work together to convince Emma to have the surgery. Furthermore, DJ becomes involved with Trisha's family because he is the chef in charge of catering Trisha's older brother's, Yash, fundraiser for his governor campaign.

Like P&P, Trisha and DJ have misconceptions and prejudice they feel towards each other. Almost every encounter they have ends with an argument. Although at times all the arguing did get to be a little too much, but overall I did like how the romance developed. I also enjoyed how well we got to know each character's family, especially Trisha's family. The author has a way to bring them to life and overall, she does a great job of sucking you into the story and make you not want to put down the book until you're done.

When I read the synopsis of the book I knew I had to read it, mainly because Pride & Prejudice is my favorite novel of all time, and this was a retelling. But as soon as I read the first chapter I knew it was going to be hard for me to get into. Not that is badly written, but because of HOW it is written. I gave the book a few more chapters to see where the story was going. And the book seems to go in a good direction as far as showing how ones own pride and prejudices can influence other peoples perceptions and perspectives. And how being born of privilege can make you tone-deaf to societies problems.

But after about 50%, I DFNed which I have only done this on one other book in my entire reading career. I was just hard for me to finish because of the prose. I am going to say this is a case of me not you, because this book will be good for others, just not for me.

I give it three stars for the content, which is great.

I reviewed this ARC in exchange for an honest review, thanks to netgalley, publisher and author for the chance.

I liked this. I didn't sense the Pride and Prejudice connection as much as I did in Eligible (which I loved). But these characters were great, although sometimes a bit exasperating with their attitudes (especially Trisha). I just looked and it looks like it's the first in a series also, so that could be fun.

Loosely based on Jane Austen's classic Pride and Prejudice, Somali Dev's Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors centers around Dr. Trisha Raje, a talented neurosurgeon from a powerful Indian family, and DJ Caine, a chef specializing in Indian/French fusion foods who dropped everything and moved to California when he discovered his little sister had a terminal diagnosis of a brain tumor. When Trisha says she can operate on Emma and save her life- but not her sight- DJ should be thrilled. And he is. Except he hates the arrogant and privileged Dr. Raje, Emma refuses to have the surgery, and the only way he can earn enough to pay the bills is by catering a series of major events- for Trisha's family. Both have pasts they need to deal with if they can have futures, but pain from the past doesn't let go easily.
Perhaps even more than Austen's original, a fitting alternative title for this book could be First Impressions. Trisha makes a poor first impression on DJ without even realizing it, and everything she does after that only makes her worse in his eyes. As is typical for doctors, Trisha is proud of how good she is at her work- occasionally almost to the point of arrogance. It especially seems that way because while she's great with brains, she's not as good with people. She claims to have emotional blindness, and never really feels comfortable interacting with anyone on a social level. What she really seems to have is a lack of confidence in herself for anything outside of her work. Having trusted her roommate in college only to have that roommate harm Trisha's older brother means she's less likely to trust her judgment when it comes to people. She has spent her entire life since then making herself pay for her mistake, and mourning the fact that it destroyed her relationship with her family.
DJ Caine is a loving older brother and a genius in the kitchen. He knows the value of family- and little sister Emma is all the family he has left. He also knows the importance of good impressions and getting along with others no matter how he feels. DJ prides himself on his calm and friendly attitude when inside he's a mass of anger and unresolved issues from a hard childhood, and carries a chip on his shoulder the size of a continent but doesn't seem to be aware of it. One poor encounter with Trisha and he allows all his anger and frustration to focus on her: a woman he sees as arrogant, entitled, and oblivious to others in her perfect ivory tower with her perfect family and no problems ever.
I found Trisha and DJ to be characters I sympathized with but at the same time couldn't always like. DJ in particular I had a hard time liking for his harsh and judgmental attitude towards Trisha, although he seems to give everyone else plenty of chances. Both characters were compelling, and complicated, but sometimes Dev's writing of them seemed inconsistent. For example, Trisha's comment that DJ overheard is one that jarringly doesn't sound at all like her, and she never remembers saying it so we never find out what she was thinking when she said it. The secondary characters felt, for the most part, rather 2-dimensional. They were there to make things complicated for the main characters and occasionally impart words of wisdom, but felt uneven to me. Trisha's family claims they understand her and her awkwardness with people, but then never seem to take that into consideration when dealing with her. It's hard to tell if they say and do things to make her feel bad because that's how she interprets them or because that's what is happening.
Even when I wasn't always sure I liked the characters, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors was a book I had a hard time putting down. Fast-paced and complicated, Somali Dev mixes together flavors of a variety of cultures and individuals to create a compelling, vibrant story.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

My favorite thing about this book other than the Indian twist to it was the gender reversal of the pride and prejudice parts.
Other than that, I couldn't get much into the story even though it is original enough.
It deals with themes such as colonialism, elitism, and privilege and that was interesting to see into a new light.
I really liked the book cover and the food descriptions inside the book are amazing as well.
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Paperbacks for this ARC.

Overall, I thought this was a really fun retelling that didn't rely too heavily on the original Pride and Prejudice, and instead twisted around roles to give us something new. I haven't read too many other Pride and Prejudice retellings (Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld is the only one coming to mind atm), but I think this is a good one. It's not too predictable, completely removes us from the dreary English setting to California, and focuses on two POC main characters (mostly all the characters, really... there are maybe two white people?).

Also.... Dev's descriptions of food need a moment please. I was drooling through the entire book, and now I'm left craving all the Indian food. Dev also wrote some great characters. Everyone was unique, and a perfect mix of outrageous and down-to-earth to make them enjoyable to read about. And, yes, almost everyone had some amazing talent or skill, which wasn't that realistic, but that's not really what this book is about. It was a little jarring to be thrown into such a lavish environment, but at least DJ provided some perspective to it all. While Trisha was insufferable at the beginning of the novel, Dev injected enough character development into the story to make it a happy ending for all.

I am excited to see where this goes, as it's listed as part of a series? Could The Rajes be the next Crazy Rich Asians? I'd be hype, if so... The potential is definitely there. I'm curious to know if future stories would also be retellings, or not.. I'm so curious to see where this book goes!

I saw that a couple of people I follow were going to read Pride and Prejudice and Other Flavors, so I decided to read it too. I only briefly skimmed the synopsis, but I was so excited to get started on it when I realized that it was going to be somewhat of a reverse Pride and Prejudice with the heroine playing the part of Mr. Darcy and the hero’s role as Elizabeth. Now, don’t get upset, but I have actually never read the original. I know, I know, it’s shameful and I’m sorry, but it was just not one of the books I was ever supposed to read for a class and I’ve never been big on reading the classics unless it was required, which I should probably change, but they’re not going anywhere and they’ll be there waiting if I ever do decide to crack them open. Anyway, my point is that going into Pride and Prejudice and Other Flavors, I didn’t have any high standards that I needed for it to meet before I could enjoy it or deem it a worthy re-telling. From my limited knowledge of Pride and Prejudice from the mini-series and movie, though, I do think Sonali Dev did a wonderful job with it because I really, really loved this book — it was amazing!

Pride and Prejudice and Other Flavors frustrated me and made me want to shake someone sometimes, but it also completely and utterly captivated me. There were times when I absolutely could not pull myself away from the story, I just HAD to know what was going to happen next. It brought out my emotions from early on and all throughout the book. I was wholly invested in Trisha and seeing her grow and getting her happy ending — I just adored her and she was definitely the star for me in this book. Pride and Prejudice and Other Flavors was fascinating, a little heartbreaking, extremely entertaining, and so heartwarming — I couldn’t be more glad that though I really only decided to read it on whim, it was one hundred percent worth it and I will always look back on it fondly — plus I’m excited to check out more from Sonali Dev!

~ A Hopeless Romantic's Booklandia, 5 Stars

Thank you, Netgalley, for this arc.

This was my first time reading Sonali Dev. I found the writing style to be good, but there were a LOT of characters to keep track of - but maybe some of that was setting the stage for continuation of this new series. The scenes with food - especially DJ cooking - made this novel shine. The loose parallels between this and Pride and Prejudice were subtle and clever.

3.5 stars for this zesty Austen retelling (and God knows, I read all the retellings!) I loved how Ms. Dev gender-swapped the plotlines, so the Darcy archetype was impoverished and the Elizabeth counterpart was wealthy. The descriptions of food and even the Ocean Palace at the beginning were strong and tantalizing throughout, so much so that each chapter felt like a different entree, a la "Like Water for Chocolate" but Indian-style. The plot was believable and paced well, and the romance was daring by Bollywood standards (though there isn't sex, it is hinted at, and there are some steamy kisses). The father, HRH, felt like a parody of Joshua Templeman's in "The Hating Game", but it didn't bother me. Even Trisha's clumsiness vs. ice princess exterior didn't faze me, since she was so easy to root for, so in need of development, and the humor and family dynamic between sisters was still present.

My only gripes were that what happened to Yash seemed very extreme and was off-putting enough to pull me out of the novel, and that the dialogue was occasionally clunky. I couldn't buy Julia's character. The real Wickham would never have broken the spell of his charm, and Julia didn't seem likable or professional enough to be able to waltz onto private property without getting waylaid by security. I'm glad I read this - definitely one of the better adaptations - and if you're a fan of the film "No Reservations", you'll love it.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

Plot: The story follows Trisha Raje a neurosurgeon from a prominent Bay Area family and DJ (Darcy) Caine an up and coming Chef brought to the Bay Area by his sister’s illness. Their worlds collide in more than one way as DJ gets a job catering political events for the Rajes and Trisha is the doctor trying to save his sister’s life. The two characters clash in several ways throughout the story, with their assumptions of the other not always being correct at first glance.

At first, I thought it was a little cheesy but by the end, the story had me fully invested! This book overall was delightful. It dealt with some surprisingly heavy topics but handled them well. It was heartwarming to see two characters who while each individually prideful, would do anything to ensure the safety, health, and success of their family and loved ones. Overall this was a completely enjoyable read. Would recommend reading on vacation, by the beach, with some delicious food and drinks nearby.

Neurosurgeon Trisha Raje descends from Indian royalty.  Her father – now a surgeon himself – was once a prince, and he gave up his royal lineage in an attempt at assimilating when he married their one-time child star mother. Due to their hard-to-please dad’s influence, the Raje children all consider themselves modern Californians, in spite of yearly summer trips to Sripore to visit their beloved grandfather.

Trisha has a family dinner to attend, and the last thing the introverted woman likes to do is socialize.  At the party, Trisha learns that her ex-college roommate, Julia Wickham, is back in town – endangering her brother Yash’s attempt at running for governor of California.  Long ago, Julia drugged and raped Yash – and since it was Trisha who introduced Julia into their family, her father blames Trisha for the assault and has kept a frosty emotional distance from her. 

Trisha has been consumed by the case of Emma Caine, an artist whose brain tumor turns out to be benign but is wrapped around her optical nerves; the surgery to remove it will leave Emma blind.  Emma refuses to undergo the procedure even at the possible cost of her life. 

Chef Darcy “DJ” Caine- Emma’s brother – has been trying desperately to talk her into taking the surgery in between catering jobs.  His latest happens to be cooking for the Raje family’s dinner thanks to a connection to Trisha’s cousin.  Aside from saving for his sister’s treatments, he’s hoping to make it back to Paris, where he’s got a mentorship situation and an attic flat. He needs this job, and is determined to impress with it.

When Trisha comes to the kitchen, lifts the lid on DJ’s piece de resistance – his famous caramel sauce – and nearly tips it over, sparks and words fly.  Soon DJ and Trisha are bantering and falling in love, but when Julia, now a documentary film-maker, offers to film Emma’s story, she has an entirely different tale about her history with Trisha and the Rajes to tell DJ – one that paints her as a poor friend trod upon by the rich, unfeeling Rajes. 

Who’s telling the truth?

AAR staffers Lisa Fernandes and Shannon Dyer read Sonali Dev's Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors, and here's what they have to say about the novel.

Lisa: I love Sonali Dev’s novels so much.  Do you have previous experience with her work?

Shannon: This is my first book by Ms. Dev, but it absolutely won't be my last. I loved pretty much everything about her writing, so I'm looking forward to binging on her back list.

Lisa: What did you think of Trisha?  Did you relate to her at all?  Her desire for her father’s approval and her desire to help people both struck cords with me.

Shannon: When I first encountered Trisha, I found her pretty off-putting. She seemed so brusque, even when she should be kind and sympathetic. Fortunately, I soon discovered the vulnerability hidden beneath her tough exterior, and I warmed up to her pretty quickly after that. I wasn't always thrilled by her relationships with various family members, but I'm eager to see how the author resolves some of that tension in future books.

Lisa: How about the Raje family?  Did you have a favorite among the extended family?  I was a sucker for their family dynamic in general.

Shannon: I did enjoy the Raje family. Both Yash and Ashna were of particular interest to me, and I really hope they get books of their own before too long. I loved the authenticity Ms. Dev was able to breathe into the various family members. Their relationships are messy, just like so many real life families.

Lisa: I loved Ashna in particular as well! DJ, meanwhile, has to struggle for every penny he’s ever earned.  I loved his stubbornness, and the food porn in his chapters, and his frustration with Emma – and how clear it was that he really loved her and Trisha.

Shannon: My favorite thing about DJ has to be his relationship with Emma. He's a great guy, and I loved seeing him and Trisha together, but there was something so believable about the way he and Emma related to one another. There's a lot of love there, but also a lot of hurt feelings, and I was so glad to see each of them trying so hard to work past the difficulties.

Lisa: Dev definitely knows sibling relationships! What about Trisha and DJ’s romance?  Did you feel it was occasionally thrust into background, as I did?

Shannon: This turned out to be kind of a busy book, so the romance didn't get quite as much page time as I was expecting. Even so, I thought Ms. Dev allowed us to see Trisha and DJ falling for one another, and I had no problem picturing them living happily ever after as a couple.

Lisa: I really liked Emma, her paintings and her understandable desire for control. Did you like her?

Shannon: I'm always a bit skeptical of books with blind characters. As a blind person myself, I've read a ton of terrible depictions of blindness, so I wasn't sure what to expect from Emma. Fortunately, Ms. Dev did a good job weaving Emma's struggles with blindness into the story in a way that did not make me cringe.

Lisa: I was looking forward to your insight on that plot point!  I’m glad she nailed it.  Every story needs a foil, and Julia was definitely that.  Did you find her a complex enough villain?

Shannon: Julia was definitely complex enough for me! I love that Ms. Dev allowed her to have some depth instead of just being the villain. The things she did definitely weren't great, but I was able to understand her motivations for behaving so badly.

Lisa: How does the book stack up against Pride and Prejudice for you?  I’ve had problems with other retellings of the story, but I felt that this one knocked it out of the park. I thought Dev did an excellent job having her characters echo Austen’s while making them their own people.

Shannon: To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the original and I actually loved this retelling way more.

Lisa: What’s your final grade? I’m giving this a solid A- for combining good character work, a solid retelling, compelling brother/sister and sister/sister relationships, juicy and thought-provoking story twists and a romance that follows Austen’s lines while creating something entirely new. But that romance was sometimes pushed into the background when I really craved more of it.

Shannon: It gets an A- from me, too. It's one of those books I sank right into, and I enjoyed every minute I spent with these characters. Ms. Dev is a gifted writer for sure, and I'm so glad I chose this for review.

Buy it at: Amazon/Apple Books/Barnes & Noble/Kobo

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The cover and the mouthwatering food descriptions get a star all to themselves. I love Jane Austen's P&P and could see the nods Sonali Dev gave to the iconic story line in this new release. The closely knit Indian family is a centerpiece in the book and I was fascinated by their family interactions. It was also enlightening to watch the birth of a campaign. Will the brainy neurosurgeon fall for a genius chef? Sure, I can buy it. DJ sounds like a total dreamboat. And can he ever cook! This will find its place in many a beach bag this summer, I suspect.

A big thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this new release in exchange for an honest review.

I want to start off by thanking the publisher and Netgalley a chance to read an ARC of this book, however, all thoughts and opinions of this review are my own. I will be posting a full review on my blog later this week.

I really wanted to like this book. I love Pride and Prejudice and the idea of a retelling that was fused with Indian culture greatly appealed to me, however, this book let me down on a few fronts. The most important of which being the characters.

I am a character first sort of reader. I can forgive a really poorly written or non-existent plot if I love the characters and find them intriguing. I can think of several series where I have read several books because I like one or two characters from them and not even necessarily the main character, but I didn't care for the characters in this novel. I found Trisha and DJ to be very obnoxious, but in different ways. Yes, I'm happy that Trisha is a BA neurosurgeon, but she really plays into what her family thinks about her and doesn't stick up for herself enough. And DJ was just annoying and kept a super grudge even after he knew that it was a misunderstanding. Together they just liked to injure and hurt each other and I personally didn't really feel the chemistry between them. Also speaking of chemistry, Trisha and her family are awfully cozy for her being the black sheep estranged daughter.

This novel also let me down in the pacing area. It was so slow in parts. It bounces back and forth between flashbacks to the past to provide the reader with information (tell not show) and sometimes the writing is overly descriptive where it doesn't really need to be. However, the overly descriptive descriptions of food were actually my favorite part of this book and where it gets it second star from. However, the pacing just frustrated me so much.The writing style also let me down. There was a lot of tell and not show going on in this book, which after awhile started to drive me crazy. I wanted to throw my Kindle at someone.

I think that plenty of people will enjoy this book. I would read a book based around descriptions of Indian food. I have one more book by this author already so I will be giving her one more chance.