I love Sonali Dev’s books, and the Rage series is becoming my favorite. Ashna is trying to keep her father’s restaurant, Curried Dreams, from failing. An opportunity is presented to her to be a chef on a reality show, paired with a celebrity. Little does she know that the celebrity, Rico, a soccer star, maneuvered on the show to be paired with her. Themes include relationships between mother and daughter, truthfulness, feminism, alcoholism and so much more. Most of all, in these crazy times, it’s a really enjoyable read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I started this book no agony, all hope and am now two-thirds agony, one-third hope that <i>Emma</i> will get the Raje family treatment soon.

I am so torn because I really enjoyed Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors and was looking for something to feed my newfound Persuasion obsession; I wanted so badly to love this. After Dev's previous book, I was prepared for another retelling "in the spirit of" Austen instead of a simple modern-day rehashing of the original, but even in that light calling Recipe for Persuasion a retelling is a bit of a stretch. Dear Ashna, bless her heart, is no Anne Elliot. She bears little to no resemblance to Austen's quiet, heartbroken heroine. I thought maybe this was another case of gender-swapped protagonists, but Rico Silva is every bit the lovelorn, awkward moron Wentworth was. Don't get me wrong, Ashna's a fine character, but she was so altered, one would not have known her apart from the book premise. In a retelling that's already barely recognizable, a drastically different heroine really doesn't help its case.

I think that's really the crux of the problem with this book: it's not a good Austen retelling. As another book in The Rajes series, however, it's fantastic. I will say that part of this might be my unfamiliarity with Persuasion, which I did after all, just read yesterday. Because I don't have a 8+ year relationship with it like I do with Pride and Prejudice, maybe there were overarching themes and nuances connecting this to the original that I missed, but somehow I doubt it. So I'd say if you're a Persuasion fan expecting something familiar, look elsewhere. This holds no cliff-jumping Louisa, no competing affections of Mr. Elliot, and certainly no gossiping grapevine (unless you count the internet, I guess, but it doesn't serve the same literary purpose as the eavesdropping did). No, here information isn’t gleaned from snippets of conversations overheard by other person; instead, they talk to each other with their eyes. (Guess what, I can talk with my eyes too 🙄) I don't know, there was just something about the dynamics between Ashna and Rico that felt off. I get that the Persuasion pace might not translate well to a modern audience and appreciate attempts to keep the spirit alive while talking creative liberties, but this felt more like a love-hate/"I'm going to run away from my feelings" story rather than the slow-burn dance Anne and Wentworth went through. WHERE WAS THE ANGST?? I needed more angst. I also think the age difference hurt more than it helped in this case. People actually got married young in Austen's day, so it made sense in Persuasion, but here it was harder to believe some young, dumb puppy love could lead to this life-altering, soulmate kind of love. (It probably didn't help the that first love descriptions were overly romanticized and sappy. Granted, they were fifteen, but still...) Also, sexy collarbones, really? (First butt chins, now this? I love Sonali Dev, but her penchant for highlighting random body parts is kinda weird). All this to say, you could've changed the title and taken away the retelling claim, and I would have been none the wiser--and maybe even happier. But alas, I had unmet expectations that colored much of my reading experience.

This is not to say that this was a complete waste of a book. I think Sonali Dev has the makings of great writer. (Maybe I'm biased because Asian American versions of modern-day Austen are near and dear to my heart, but whatever). If you ignore a few literary mishaps like "amazeballs" and "her heart warmed" (which I'm kind of hoping were edited after the advanced copies were sent out), Dev delivers some absolutely brilliant pieces of writing. This didn’t quite pack the emotional punch that Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors did, which is surprising because this is literally about 8.5 years’ worth of pent-up emotion, but for the most part, I didn’t feel like I was reading a trashy romance (though I skim-skipped that one chapter). What I appreciate about Dev is that she’s not afraid to tackle difficult subject matters. Granted, she did it with slightly less finesse than she did in her last book, but it's refreshing to read a love story that also has some substance. There are sections where her exposition comes off as a bit preaching and out-of-place (e.g. when Rico fangirls over Yash by reciting his entire healthcare plan), but for the most part it was organically woven into the narrative. Unlike most authors, she doesn't just use issues to add fake depth or melodrama to her books; she finds complexity and engages with it in a meaningful way.

She also used Recipe for Persuasion to continue to build upon the charming Raje family that we've all come to know and love ginormous eyes and all. Ashna's mom, Shobi, for example. Her perspective seemed oddly out of place if this was a strictly Austen-esque book, but she was a great addition to the Raje family and storyline. Both her past romantic struggles as a modern woman trying to fight Indian patriarchy and her current struggle to navigate the complexities of her current relationship with her daughter added another layer of complexity to the book. It completely detracted from the Persuasion premise but would’ve made an interesting standalone Raje book.

I’m still a Sonali Dev fan after all this and still waiting, hoping, wishing that Emma will be next. Though if China, India, and Siddartha Dashwood (what kind of parent name their children after large Asian countries and why didn’t they name one Russia?) are any indication, it's more likely that we'll get a Sense and Sensibility retelling instead.

If you want a warm, romantic book, this is not the book for you. It goes through painful issues.

Even though Ashna owns a restaurant, she has a phobia cooking anything that her father didn't teach her. When she was in high school she fell in love with Rico. After a huge misunderstanding, they broke up. Years later, no matter how much they tried, they are still in love with each other. Ashna agrees to work on a reality show that pairs her up with Rico. Their close proximity makes them start having an understanding of how emotionally abusive Ashna's father was.

As a fan of the original Persuasion, this book does a good job of Ashna's and Rico's pining over each other. Ashna herself is painful character to read about how abusive her father was. His suicide left her blaming herself. I wish she saw a therapist to figure out why she faints when trying to cook a recipe that is not her father's. Instead, she closes up.

My main problem with this book was that I was supposed to be understanding toward Ashna's mother. She saved Indian girls instead of being there for her daughter. There are chapters showing her point of view of why she avoided Ashna's father (answer: once they got married, he raped her). Even though she had compelling reasons, the fact that she left Ashna mentally and physically alone with a man who she knew was an emotionally abusive person annoyed me. She didn't try hard to keep in contact with Ashna after she divorced the father and went back to live in India. Ashna forgave her too easily.

I'm always a little apprehensive going into books that are modern adaptations of classic literature (particularly when it comes to Austen), but Sonali Dev did Austen's Persuasion some justice in Recipe for Persuasion.

While I liked the novel overall, I think my big issue was that it felt at times, especially in the middle, like there were two different competing storylines being told in the same book. Recipe for Persuasion bills itself as a romantic comedy, but quite a bit of its contents definitely fall into hard family drama territory. And when there's so much other stuff getting sorted out in books like this, often the main love story is what suffers. It just felt like a little something was missing there, like we were told that Ashna and Rico had this incredible love but were never exactly shown it for most of the book.

Obviously, this isn't to say that the more serious topics that the novel delves into aren't incredibly important, just that we could've used some connective tissue in the middle to bring everything together more seamlessly.

I went into this book not knowing it was second in the series but did not feel lost at all. This is a self contained story of one of the Rajes and while likely the book would have had more nuance had I read the first in the series, I don't feel that it will ruin anything if you haven't. Also important to note is that this only touches VERY superficially on Jane Austen's Persuasion; you definitely will not be missing out on anything if you don't know the plot of that book.

Story: Ashna is desperately trying to keep her father's Northern California restaurant going after his suicide but things are looking dire. When her sister suggests she help her husband by being a 'celebrity chef' in a competition reality show, Ashna sees a way to ease her financial troubles. That is, until her ex, a famous football/soccer star, shows up as her celebrity partner. Can Ashna fix her troubled relationship with her mother, overcome her anxiety about using her own recipes rather than her father's, and finally deal with the ex she never really got over?

Persuasion's central plot revolves around a woman who, when she was younger, was persuaded not to marry a man 'beneath her station.' Ten years later, the man returns wealthy and lauded while her family's fortunes have fallen. Similarly in this book, Ashna once had a relationship with Brazilian Rico Silva; he was an aspiring athlete when she knew him but now is world famous. Where Persuasion was about our heroine spending too much time helping and following others instead of herself, this book is more about dealing with a large family and getting over modern anxieties as a neurotic but somewhat selfish person. Where the hero, Wentworth, in Persuasion had an integrity and strength of character, here Rico Silva is more of a free wheeling playboy, more annoyed that he was turned down years ago by Ashna than bitter. For these reasons, this has a very light Persuasion influence and is not a modern retelling in any regard.

That said, I did not enjoy Recipe. The author seemed to take every situation to the nth degree: the father is a prince, the mother is receiving India's highest civilian award for her services to the country, one relative was in a horrific plane crash and is now psychic, etc. etc. It was all so completely over-the-top; nothing could be ordinary, from the accidents to the family's situation. Even Rico had to be the best thing to hit soccer since Pele.

Similarly, nothing was believable in the plot. Who would hire an owner of a failing business as a 'celebrity chef'? How would Rico be able to so easily finagle his way onto the set as her specific partner? Right upon meeting her, he saves her from cutting off her toes by sliding across a set studio floor while having just undergone extensive knee surgery. It stretched my credibility too much for a book written in such a straight-forward fashion.

Another reason I had a hard time is that I just wasn't invested in any of the characters, especially Ashna. She has the tools to fix her business but stubbornly opposes all attempts. The people trying to help her come off as manipulative or overbearing. Ashna's interest in Rico and vice versa was never really understandable. No one was relatable or even very likable.

I have to think that for a retelling or inspiration using Persuasion, authors should not focus on the 'long separated sweethearts' and instead bring in the traits that made the characters so memorable. Persuasion is about two people meant for each other for very obvious reasons and that's just not something I got out of Recipe at all. Even the title is clunky. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

This is an enjoyable contemporary romance with a blend of modernity and the nod to Jane Austen's Persuasion. Funny, sexy and poignant about romantic and family relationships and perceived obligations.

Nope this is not sweet romcom that I’ve dreamed of and it is not also great example for retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion.

I actually have to admit that when I click the request button, I didn’t think it was retelling of one of the famous classics. I looked at the beautiful cover and read the blurb made me think it’s entertaining second chance romance with humorous enemies- ex lovers story with a sweet and romantic touch of Indian cultural motifs. But as soon as I got the book into my hands, I found the story way too much tragic.

There are suicide, child neglect, alcoholism. But one thing I know: Ashna is definitely not Persuasion’s Anne! The things they’re in common: First letters of their names, rejecting the man they could have HEA, risk of poverty ( she can lose her restaurant that she keeps it open for the memory of his deceased father) and their ages.

And of course Persuasion is the wrongest choice to be retold in cooking reality show drama concept centered on a young chef suffering from anxiety and ex soccer star suffering from leg injury. The staccato way of story telling was too wordy, arduous, slow and made me lose my interest.

I didn’t have problem about characters but their tragic stories overshadowed their love stories at most parts and Ashna’s too selfish mother reminded me of soap opera villanelles.

Overall: I may sense the author has real talent by her word choices and the way of building stories but she gave so much details and descriptions that slow down the pace.
And the tragic events she developed for own characters were too depressing and heavy. So I go with solid 3 stars for this book because I felt like being deceived after reading enjoyable blurb and vivid cover of the book.

I expected something enlightening my dark mood. We’re locked down in our house! You may imagine my husband and me give each other our kill at the first sight glares. He just called steak with my name when he cut it into tiny pieces as if he’s planning the perfect mur... I mean cooking perfect stew. So all I need a perfect reading escape for getting through these stressful days! But unfortunately this is not my cup of Irish whiskey (happy St. Patrick’s Day quarantine Eve by the way! )

Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers/ William Morrow Paperbacks for sharing this interesting ARC in exchange my honest review. I wish I could like it more.

Sonali Dev's retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion is a updated and diverse version that does not play light. The book encompasses family relations, gender roles, patriarchal societies, a forced marriage and of course many many misunderstandings. Ashna is a chef trying to save her late fathers famous restaurant, Rico is a retired pro-footballer who played for Manchester United. They are partnered together on a chef and celebrity Food Network show, Rico because he is seeking closure and Ashna to win. There are flashbacks to both Ashna and Rico's childhoods and Ashna's mother, Shobi's, life and marriage in order to better understand the circumstances.
This book shows you that life and love is not always pretty and that it can really hurt but that those are also the things that make life worthwhile.

I loved the first book in this series so much. Sonali Dev did a great job with retelling Pride and Prejudice and with her next re-telling I went, oh no. No. No. This book was too all over the place. Reading the description you think you would be focused on the heroine (Ashna Raje) and the hero (Rico Silva) but nope, we also get into Ashna's mother's life prior to her marrying Ashna's father. I ended up being more fascinated about her life than what went on with Ashna. No one was developed very well due to the flopping back and forth. And honestly, I didn't like the final resolution with Ashna. I still don't think she's passionate about being a chef. I wish that she had acknowledged that and did something else. FYI, the book does quote Persuasion, but even my favorite line ever in the history of literature was enough to save this book.

"Recipe for Persuasion" follows Ashna Raje. Ashna is running her late father's business, "Curried Dreams." Too bad the business is about to fail. Unable to cook anything besides her father's recipes, Ashna is not able to do much in the kitchen. When her sous chef quits she doesn't know what she will do. When her cousins nag her to do a celebrity cooking show, she thinks she may have figured out how to save her father's restaurant.

Rico Silvia is recovering from a career ending sports injury. He is celebrating his best friend's upcoming wedding. During that, he starts to realize that his latest relationship ended because he didn't let himself fall in love. And he realizes he didn't because of his first love who turned him away. When Rico hears about Ashna being in a celebrity cooking show, he makes sure that he appears on the show as her partner.

The third character in this book is Ashna's mother, Shobi. Shobi was married to the former prince (Bram Raje). We slowly find out how awful the marriage was and how Shobi's life turned out the way it did. She wants to get closer to Ashna, but doesn't know how.

I have to say that Ashna bored me and got on my nerves. She blindly ignores everything she knows about her father and then somehow gets a realization about things. Girl you should have been woke up. We find out that she used to love sports (just like her mother) until she didn't and why. I wish that Dev had did a bit something different with her in regards to the ending.

Rico was a head scratcher. I honestly didn't get why he was into Ashna at all. I think that's the biggest problem I had. Dev writes them as teenagers, but there's nothing there. I saw zero chemistry between them as teens to make them be this decades long love story that just had to get together. I was also perplexed about some of Rico's past, but Dev doesn't delve into it enough. Heck she barely delves into Ashna's all the way through. We just hear things piecemail.

Shobi's backstory was more developed, which pushed me to thinking that this book should have been her story more than Ashna's. It would have set up nicely with a Persuasion type setting. Heck maybe even set it up to be retelling of Mansfield Park. Parts of the book would have worked for that maybe. I don't know. I was just frustrated and saddened when we get the full storyline here.

We get prior characters showing up in this one which was nice, but I found myself caring more about them than Ashna.

The writing was solid, the story was not. The flow was awful. Juggling through characters, different time periods and then the present day was too much.

The ending tied things up in a much too tidy bow to be believed.

An Indian chef and a Brazilian soccer player are the main characters in this lovely retelling of Persuasion.

As a hard fan of Jane Austen and originally from Brazil, I was immediately hooked by the premise of Recipe for Persuasion. Two high school sweethearts (an Indian chef, and a Brazilian soccer player), separated by family opposition, meet again twelve years later as participants in a culinary reality show.

What at first seemed to be a romantic comedy soon turned out much denser and more complex. The intricacies of Indian culture, especially the role of women and their fight for equal rights, is a big part of the story.

It is not exactly a light read. Ashna (the heroine) suffers from a traumatic childhood. Fruit of a loveless marriage, she was deeply influenced by her parent's neglect. Alcoholism, verbal abuse, marital rape, child emotional abandonment, and a touch of politics distance the book from the realm of rom-coms.

It was not the escapist reading I was expecting. It was a solid story with very interesting and layered characters.
Ashna is vulnerable and full of doubts, a person haunted by duty and guilt. Frederico, the hero, like his counterpart in Persuasion, is a confident man, but most of all, a very respectful individual. His love for Ash was palpable and beautiful.

Overall, a very engrossing and diverse telling of Persuasion.

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sonali Dev returns with the second of her Jane Austen inspired novels, centered around the Raje family of California. Just because this family is royalty, doesn't mean life is easy.

Ashna Raje is desperate to save Curried Dreams, the restaurant her father opened upon moving to America. But between dwindling customers, mounting debt, and her own inability to cook anything new and unique--even after a Parisian culinary education--Ashna feels downtrodden and desperate. And let's not talk about her relationship with her mother... But when her friend, China, asks her to be a chef on a new cooking show, "Cooking with the Stars", she's uncertain. Until she learns that it might be what saves her restaurant.

Manchester United star striker Rico Silva had it all: a Premier League title, a World Cup trophy, thousands of adoring fans, and a Calvin Klein endorsement deal (he did it as a dare, shut up). But now he has a messed up knee held together with screws, his soccer glory days are behind him and an uncertain future before him. When a mid-life crisis hits him at his best friends bachelor party, he does what anyone would do: look up his ex from high school. Yes, that one. The one that wrecked his heart and he still holds a flame for. And then he finds out that she is about to be chef on a cooking show with celebrities and, in a desperate move, he bullies his way in. Or, rather, his agent does.

The last person Ashna expects to be paired with is Rico, her ex-boyfriend from high school. And so she is mortified when an accident leads to a heroic moment and now the entire world is hooked on Ashna and Rico together... and shipping them. But she needs this show. So she is willing to shove aside her past to focus on her future. But her past continues to chase her, and it has a huge impact on her future and her happiness. That is, if she will let it.

A fantastic, moving second novel that examines past love, the ramifications of broken marriages and addiction on children long after they become adults, gender in India and around the world, and ultimately finding happiness.. Told in alternating points of view between the Ashna of the present and past, the Rico of the present and past, and Shobi--Ashna's mother--of the present and past, "Recipe for Persuasion" weaves the threads of fate together. Frayed in some places, weak and nearly broken in others, but coming together so strong and powerful at the end.

Like the first book in this series, I found this story hard to get into. I'm not sure if it was Ashi's life or culture that felt like a barrier, but once I got into the meat of the story and plot I found the story much more relatable and fun!. The culture in this book is rich and deep and completely different than my own. I found the characters compelling. Dev's writing feels very clinical at times, but overall I understood the characters and their feelings even when I disagreed. This story is a modern day Persusaion for a culture that rarely gets to see themselves in retellings and it is so worth the read.

Persuasion is my favorite Austen so when I saw this modern retelling I was so excited! But unfortunately I didn't love Recipe for Persuasion as much as I had hoped. It feels more like a family drama than a romance, and the marketing doesn't let on how heavy some of the baggage Ashna and her mother are carrying really is, so this didn't hit the Persuasion-as-a-modern-cooking-show-romcom notes that I had expected. The characters are all great and fully realized but this just wasn't a favorite for me.

This Pride and Prejudice retelling wasn't for me. While I liked the individual stories and relationships that formed, this book is very character heavy and there's a lot of connections and relationships to keep track of. I wish there was something else that could have brought them together more.

I really wanted to love this book since Persuasion is one of my favorite books/movies ever. Unfortunately it just didn't move me - the characters and the love story were just blah. This is the kind of book I will forget all about in a few months. I also expected more of a Persuasion retelling as opposed to an "inspired by". This was just a bit of a chore.

This was a cute romance. It follows the Persuasion story line, only modernized. I enjoyed the authors take on this story.I love cooking shoes, celebrities and love so this was all of that plus learning experiences all wrapped up in one!!! Fabulous. There were a few more difficult moments with Ashna and Rico but overall a very sweet book..

I had read Sonali Dev's previous book about the Rajes titled 'Unmarriageable' and quite enjoyed it. That was a retelling of Pride and Prejudice one of my favourite book of all time.
So when I found that she had written another book I was excited. Thankfully, I was approved by the publishers and Netgalley for a digital ARC... So yay!

This story takes inspiration from Austen's Persuasion (as one can tell from the title) and I wasn't disappointed. I love a good romance and this one fulfilled it. Since I was already invested in the Rajes I was happy to read more about another member of the family.

The story is told from multiple people. Ashna Raje, the main female protagonist, Rico the male and also Ashna's mother. This helps tell the story through perspectives and also across the years. I enjoyed the modern-day adaptation and was quite in love with Rico.

I like that despite knowing the original story the author's take on the modern retelling is unique and so readable. So easy to be immersed in the world and invested in the characters. The characters are all well fleshed out and deep. I quite love the Rajes, their lovely and lovable family and now can't wait to know more about the other characters in the huge Raje clan. Book 3 come soon!

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Chef Ashna Raje desperately needs a new strategy. How else can she save her beloved restaurant and prove to her estranged, overachieving mother that she isn’t a complete screw up? When she’s coerced into joining the cast of Cooking with the Stars, the latest hit reality show teaming chefs with celebrities, it seems like just the leap of faith she needs to put her restaurant back on the map. She’s a chef, what’s the worst that could happen? Rico Silva, that’s what. Being paired with a celebrity who was her first love, the man who ghosted her at the worst possible time in her life, only proves what Ashna has always believed: leaps of faith are a recipe for disaster.

Losing Ashna years ago almost destroyed FIFA winning soccer star Rico Silva. So to prove that he's definitely over her, he insists on being her partner.

But when their catastrophic first meeting goes viral, social media becomes obsessed with their chemistry. The competition on the show is fierce and so is the simmering desire between Ashna and Rico. Can these two finally trust enough to get back what they once had?

I enjoyed this book quite a bit, but since I have never read Persuasion, I cannot speak to its parallels. Ashna has a lot of luggage to unpack and that it isn't an easy fix made me like this more. Most of the main characters are fully fleshed out and the cooking and teas are a nice touch.

I had so much fun reading this. Its all of my guilty pleasures, rom com, delicious food, and great relationships!

Heat Factor: Fade to black
Character Chemistry: Swoon-worthy
Plot: Ashna enters a cooking competition in a bid to save her floundering restaurant, only to discover that her competition partner is her high school boyfriend slash love of her life.
Overall: If you can power through the angst, the payoff is so worth it

When I read Pride and Prejudice and Other Flavors, I was in such a glow over finding a Pride and Prejudice retelling that actually understood the source material that I kind of forgot that Dev writes really angsty books. Like. Really angsty.

In Recipe for Persuasion, Ashna carries the angst. She was honestly a challenging heroine for me. In P&P&OF, she came across as kind and helpful and calm, but here, we get a glimpse into Ashna’s inner life, and she is actually a quivering ball of angst and rage and anxiety and sadness. All of Dev’s characters have serious baggage, but Ashna’s baggage really defines her - it shapes all of her interactions and the armor she wears (all the time). So when we’re inside her head, she becomes reduced down to her baggage. Her chapters were therefore kind of a slog, especially in the beginning.

Rico more than makes up for it - he’s an amazing hero. First, he’s a soccer superstar. With a man bun. He has a lot of angst and anger about the way his relationship with Ashna ended, back when they were in high school; in fact, he has some vague revenge / closure ideas in mind when he finagles his way into competing with Ashna on Cooking with the Stars. However, he quickly figures out that while the hurt is still there, it doesn’t matter if the connection between them is still real. Basically, he still has angst, but it doesn’t define his entire being.

I will admit to crying at the end. I was so glad to see Ashna finally be happy and have some love and joy in her life. Also, some of the moments of them coming together are so beautiful. How can you not love a man who says “I don’t know how to be me without you”? (I’m crying again, even though pulling the line out of context from the whole book makes it seem kinda cheesy. It’s not cheesy, guys. It’s romantic.)

A few incidental notes:
Recipe for Persuasion is the second in the series that covers a big family full of drama. I would say it works fine as a stand-alone, but reading them both would definitely give you a larger picture of the characters. I found myself wanting to reread Pride and Prejudice and Other Flavors not because I was confused, but because I wanted to check back on how secondary characters were portrayed, as Ashna and Trisha have really different perspectives on their family members.
Dev also includes a detailed secondary plot about Ashna’s mother, with whom she has an extremely strained relationship, and whose story thematically mirrors Ashna’s own in some interesting ways. I think it worked, but other readers might find it distracting. It does mean that there’s less time for Rico to shine.
This is a retelling of Austen’s Persuasion, which I am less familiar with, so I can’t comment on the specific beats of the story. From what I recall, Dev follows the general arc of the story pretty well.





I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report. (Late May 2020)