I love Sonali Dev’s takes on modern day Austen stories! Incense and Sensibility did not fail to keep me entertained and wanting to know more about the characters. Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

With every book I think I can't love any character in this family more than the last, and every time I am wrong! The ways in which Sonali Dev expresses emotional trauma and openly discusses feelings so many of us have experienced keeps me turning the pages.

Based off my favorite Austen novel, so I knew I had to read this one. I love how this series takes such beloved and retold stories and wows readers with fresh, modern takes that still speak to the sister relationships and near-miss lovers that made me love the original novel.

Incense and Sensibility begins with a tragic event that shocks Yash Raje, a gubernational candidate, to his core. As he works to recover physically, mentally, and emotionally, Yash unexpectedly encounters someone he spent an amazing evening with years ago - and never quite forgot.

India is dealing with her own challenges amidst family and their yoga practice.

The journey amidst pride, stress, vulnerability, expectations of self and others isn't an easy one... and you empathize, cringe at times, feel joy and sorrow at different points along the story.

Incense and Sensibility may be the third in the series, but I didn't feel like I was missing any major context. I will, however, be sure to read the rest of them!

Many thanks to William Morrow and Custom House, as well as Netgalley, for the ARC.

*review posted timely on goodreads*

I read this months ago and can't believe I forgot to leave a review! This is my favorite of the Raje/Austen reimaginings, and not just because I LOVE YASH! It's remarkable to me that, although this is a book that delves into politics and violence, it is still remarkably a romantic book that doesn't feel overly weighed down by the complex "real world" issues in the story. The heart of the story and romantic conflict really boils down to questions about integrity and the complications that arise in life when we compromise our integrity in order to get what we think we want. Yash's journey is so relatable despite him being larger-than-life precisely because, at heart, he has come to the crossroads we all do when we realize that what we really want isn't what we thought, and then have to take on a little pain in order to course-correct. I don't want to give spoilers so you'll have to read this one to learn more. P.S. In case it isn't clear enough....I LOVE YASH. :-)

Not my favorite romance novel. I had a bit of a hard time getting into it and found the characters more unlikeable than I anticipated.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3797815003

Yes!!! Finally got an ARC of this book by awesome Sonali Dev, one of my favorite writers! I'm not kidding when I say I love all her books, especially her contemporary takes on Jane Austen. I'm pretty sure I wanted to read Yash's story starting from Trisha's story in Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors! It is totally worth the wait!

Yash is the gubernatorial candidate and goes through a life changing event that stops him in his tracks. India Dashwood is the lifestyle management guru who helps him through the aftermath to get back to doing what he lives.... Except they have a history. I love how India and Yash deal with their feelings for each other. They are tender and kind with each other and it's a very satisfying journey through their story. One of the things I like most about Sonali Dev is how she deals with family and personal issues with sensitivity and grace, and it has again come through in this book. Great read and highly recommended.

I’m a huge Sonali Dev fan and I loved this book just like I love all her other books. The characters were all great and I always love transporting the storyline of classic novels into different timelines or cultures and Sonali Dev is so great at doing that.

This is a phenomenal book. It beautifully captures the spirit, sentiment, and themes of Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, while updating it for a relevant and modern audience. India Dashwood is a perfect modern-day Elinor, always poised, always controlled, and Dev’s writing simultaneously conveys her inner turmoil and the outward calm that the people in her life see. As for Yash, he is totally believable in why he’s kept his feelings secret for so long and the reader can sympathize with him while also wanting to scream at him to sort out his life. His political platform is also the thing that we all fantasize about here in the 2020’s. Compelling characters, A+ writing, simultaneously a lovely homage to Austen while being definitively Dev’s own lovely work.

This is the third book in Sonali Dev's series featuring the Raje family and I fall in love with the Raje family a little more with each book. This one is based on Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility" and Dev does a phenomenal job with this retelling. India Dashwood and Yash Raje...wow. I thought Ashna and Rico from "Recipe For Persuasion" (book two) were magic but these two...magic. I think this was my favorite one so far and also the one that broke my heart the most and put it back together the best. My favorite thing about these books is that with the main characters, there is no surface-level only story. Dev goes deep into these characters and I love it. Through events and other characters, she forces her main characters to delve deep within and confront what they aren't facing about themselves, and she does it so well. Also, I absolutely DISLIKE Naina and have no idea how I'm going to feel about her being one of the main characters in the next book but if I trust anyone, it's Sonali Dev. CW for gun violence towards the beginning and after-effects.

I love a Jane Austen retelling and this is a good one. The slow burn romance between India and Yash is believable but I probably would have been more invested had I read the previous two books in the series. I loved India's family and their subplots and the mental health storyline. I wanted to be India's bestie and would totally vote for Yash.

Excuse me while I run off to buy Dev's other books now...

Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the copy to review.

I love Pride and Prejudice and pretty much anything Jane Austen in general. The movies? Yep! The rest of her book catalog? Yep! However, modern re-imaginings of her books can be hit or miss for me. Incense and Sensibility is Sonali Dev's retelling of Sense and Sensibility and it is the 3rd book about the Raje family. The book opens with Yash Raje, California’s first serious Indian gubernatorial candidate, and his friend/bodyguard being shot while at a political function. His life spins quickly out of control when he begins experiencing anxiety/panic attacks after the event. Scared of how that may affect his political future, his family brings in India Dashwood, California’s foremost stress management coach and personal friend of the family, in order to work with Yash and get him back on track for the political campaign. It isn't common knowledge but Yash and India have a brief romantic history and feelings are rekindled during their sessions together, which would be fine and dandy I suppose if Yash weren't already fake dating another woman.

I am fascinated by Indian culture, so of course I loved all of the cultural references in the book and actually wish there had been more! I have not read the first 2 Raje family novels and while this one can be read as a standalone, you may enjoy it more if you were already invested in the Raje family by way of reading the first two books. The second chance romance was frustrating to me, the one romantic connection 10 years ago was light and I just wanted to shake Yash and India in the current day. Overall, I didn't really connect with the characters, it was a bit too long and ultimately just "fine."

I love Sonali Dev & I love this whole series! This book focuses on Yash Raje & I can't wait for the next one!

Book Club Girls gave me a free copy of this book, and I love that it is a reimagined Sense and Sensibility. It was true to the book and now I need to read the entire series!!

Amazing book! I would highly recommend this book to my customers and patrons. I would recommend other books by the same author as well.

Thank you to Book Club Girls for the early read. What an amazing book! So hard to put this book down. Thoroughly enjoyed this book!

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

It was cute but didn't have much substance. Which was a shame, because there were a LOT of character & social complexities that could have been explored in more depth, which could have then given the characters and storyline more depth. The characters were certainly likable enough, and the plot was intriguing to me, especially as I am a yoga teacher. I just wanted more. Reading this book felt like eating the icing on the cake but not touching the cake whatsoever.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4267928319

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley and HarperCollins to read and review.

In this modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, Yash Raje is in the middle of the California gubernatorial race as the first serious Indian-American candidate. When Yash appears at an event on his campaign trail, someone attempts to assassinate him, but he is saved by his bodyguard. As guilt over his friend’s injury develops, Yash finds that he is paralyzed with fear when he attempts to speak publicly again. His family refers him to a family friend, India Dashwood, who is a well-respected stress management coach and yoga therapist. The only problem is that Yash and India have a history that no one knows about that makes this arrangement complicated very quickly. As their attraction grows, they soon realize that any potential relationship could be disastrous.

I think this book could have had a little more depth—I never felt as though I fully connected to the characters, so I didn’t feel as moved by their plight as you would hope. The story was very predictable, and felt overly long to me with not a lot of plot action. Maybe I would have felt more connection to the characters if I had read the other books in the series (I didn’t realize this was part of a series until after I began reading.) The resolution felt very rushed after the slow build up, and it seemed very unrealistic to me. I had to push myself to get through this story—it wasn’t awful, but it just didn’t hook me enough to drive me want to keep going. I slogged through, hoping it would get better, but I felt that the whole book was just mediocre at best.

Incense and Sensibility by Sonali Dev is the 3rd installment in the Raje series. This series includes retellings of various Jane Austen classics. But do not let that stop you from reading these books or you will be missing out on a great series!

Confession-I don’t really enjoy Jane Austen and I read Sense and Sensibility in college years, and years, ago. But I loved Incense and Sensibility. I don’t think you have to know anything about Jane Austen. These romances stand in their own and can be enjoyed simply because they are good stories.

Incense and Sensibility is the story of Yash Raje, the oldest sibling in the Raje family. Ten years ago he met India Dashwood at his sister’s wedding. The next day he had to go to India, to his family’s ancestral home, but he told India he would return to her. Yep-he did not.

Yash is now running for California governor but after a tragic event at a political rally, he turns to India for help.

This story is about family, and secrets, and friendship. It’s about promises and potential. I loved all the characters in this book, the ones already met in previous stories, and the new ones introduced in this book. I look forward to the next installment of The Rajes.

Thank you to @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for the advanced e-copy of #incenseandsensibility .