The Emma Project is a fun, modern reimagination of Jane Austen’s Emma. This story focuses on Vansh Raje and Naina Kohli who are forced to work together and although they were often at odds at each other they discovered that there was more to their friendship.

This was such a fun rom-com. I found myself laughing throughout, and I couldn’t get enough of these characters. This is the first novel I’ve read by this author, and I will definitely be going back to read the rest of the books in this series. If you haven’t read any of her other books, I think this one definitely works as a stand-alone. I highly recommend this one if you are looking for something a little lighter and fun.

thanks so much to netgalley for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review!

unfortunately i did not realize this was the 4th installment in a series when i requested it. i did enjoy vansh and naina a lot though but i just feel like the experience would have been so much better if i had read the previous works. i will definitely do that in the near future!

I absolutely adored this series. Sonali Dev delivers one of the best contemporary romances time after time in this series. The Emma Project is my favorite book in the series and was an excellent way to end the Jane Austen retellings. I loved Vansh and Naina's story. The romance was wonderful. The banter and chemistry between them was delightful. I think there was more humor and banter in this book than any of the others, After finishing the third book, I wasn't sure about Naina as the love interest, but it felt so good to learn about her and understand her outside of being with Yash. I loved understanding what motivates Naina and Vansh, and reading about them working together on what they are passionate about was lots of fun. Naina and Vansh are not perfect, they make mistakes and have issues that they must deal with, but you can't help but adore them together and wish them the best. This book deals with genuine human emotion, flawed human beings, complex family relationships, friendship, love, and real world issues. The Emma Project, like all of the Raje novels, is more than a romance, tackling deeper emotions and relationships, which is what makes it such an incredibly story. By the end of the book, I was in tears because of all the different emotions I felt for the characters in this series. I cannot recommend this book enough, especially if you enjoyed the other books in the series.

Also, I am happy for Esha, so glad she was able to be get her own subplot in this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with an ARC .

What a great book by Somali Dev - I found this to be a fantastic read. Rich plot, lots of emotions, and an overall excellent book.

Another Jane Austen-inspired rom com from romance writer Sonali Dev, The Emma Project was just as fun and charming as her previous installments. I recommend reading this series!

I'm so torn about The Emma Project. In some ways, it was everything I was hoping for and more. I've literally been waiting for Sonali Dev to put her Raje-spin on Emma since I finished Pride and Prejudice and Other Flavors in 2019. I've read about 15 contemporary Emma retellings and have yet to find one that captures the spirit of the original well but I had a feeling Sonali Dev would be the author to do it. I was right. For the most part.

I was a little nervous going into this after Incense and Sensibility because I wasn't a huge fan of Nania as either a character or a Knightley stand-in, but The Emma Project started out strong. The opening lines are the perfect nod to that of the original and something I didn't know I've been waiting for all my life. Chapter one opens with a scene that's funny but a little cheesy, but it's the final hurrah, I'm okay with a little cheese. The scene is a great tie-in of all the books and celebration of the Rajes. I immediately loved Nania in all her no-nonsense, prickly splendor. The story gripped me right away, and it was the perfect modernization of Jane Austen's novel. Sure, there were some creative liberties taken--no one can accuse Sonali Dev of creating carbon copies of her source material--but all the main components of the story were there. Dev captured the spirit of Emma, both the character and the book, beautifully, and I was beyond ecstatic. We got a surprise chapter featuring Esha's POV (which admittedly could definitely be incorporated better,) and I was mentally writing out a review filled with gushing, caps and tons of exclamation points.

Then we hit the romance. One of the hardest parts about finding a modern version of Emma is the fact that so many authors seem to want to give us a pining Emma and/or Knightley for a majority of the book. Look, I am all for unrequited love and mutual pining, but the beauty of Emma is the fact that we have two dorks in love who don't even realize they're in love until the book's almost over. (If you want to make case for having Knightley pine earlier, fine, but he should express it subtly.) Build up the tension, people! Unfortunately, The Emma Project falls into the same trap so many of its predecessors have fallen into and gives us a book about two horny childhood family friends. (The word "horny" is actually used multiple times in the big inciting incident otherwise known as The Thigh Incident.) I was hoping it was a one-time thing, but the story eventually progressed to a friends-with-benefits kind of a deal, and my heart just broke. First of all, because I'm a prude and don't need to know what happens before we fade to black. Second of all, because that's just not Emma. I'm not here for passionate, intense romance. I'm here for the ultimate friends-to-lovers soft romance. The biggest travesty of all is that we don't get any kind of nod to either "badly done, Emma" or "if I loved you less, I could talk about it more," which are arguably the two most iconic lines from the original. It was so disappointing because Dev did such a great job of reimagining the opening lines and even more so because her version of the Huntsford proposal is hands down my favorite modernization of the scene.

So yes, I have a lot of feelings. I was half-hope, half-agony waiting for this book's release and feel equally torn now that I've actually finished the book. The rest of the book is great: complex family relationships, meaningful attempts to address actual issues, lot of Desi rep and food. Other than a few instances of heavy-handed sermonizing and the fact that the Sidhartha subplot didn't quite fit with the rest of the story (I almost feel like it should be a side story or novella,) The Emma Project was a success. I am sad the eponymous character didn't even get a cameo, but seriously, if it weren't for the romance, I would just be gushing effusively and incoherently.

Slither fantastic book by Somali dev. One of my most anticipated authors. Great story line and characters

I adore the Raje’s and if this is the first time you are meeting this family, please don’t start with this book. Start with the first book, Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors that is Trisha and DJ’s book. Sonali Dev writes the most amazing, angst-filled beautiful stories that just stay in your heart. I love how beautifully the author blends in some of the quintessential Marathi traditions in this book and the series. I love the Raje family and really wish I knew these amazing men and women in real life. I especially adore Trisha and Ashna. The only character that I hadn’t liked in the books was Naina's ( you will know about this if you have read Yash's book) and she is the main heroine of this book. Although I understand her POV and why she was that way, I didn’t like the way she treats Vansh who is an amazing hero. If a hero would have treated a heroine the way she treated Vansh, I would have expected a lot of groveling and growth on his part before the heroine accepted him. I think it is the same way I feel about Naina. She really needed to do some healing and growth (and also some groveling) for the way she treated Vansh, rather than him making all the overtures. I love that Esha also gets her HEA. It was such a beautiful story and made my heart happy for her. Nonetheless, I adored the book and I am so sad that this series is over.

Special note for the author: I really want more short stories about the Raje’s or even a long novel (I won’t complain about that). I just cannot get enough of them. Please give us more of the Raje’s.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

I have enjoyed all of the prevous three books and was excited to read this, the final book in the Rajes series.
This time Sonali Dev has taken the youngest of the siblings, Vansh, as the main character, and oh, my, the twists, as his romantic interest is revealed!
There is extreme forbidden lust, as he finds himself drawn to his older brother's (not really) ex, Naina.
Both are passionate characters with worthy causes they want to contribute towards, but with difficulties from their upbringings raising their heads constantly, the conflict gets juicy.
I was little sad, as I really wanted to know more about Esha, and knowing this was the last book, I began the book thinking I was going to be missing something, once the series finished, but I was glad she got her own subplot in this final instalment, and that we can leave the Rajes clan with a happy heart!
Many thanks to Avon and Harper Voyage for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sonali Dev created two main characters who were realistically flawed and fascinating. I thoroughly enjoyed Naina and Vansh’s stories, but I also very much appreciated the minor characters as well as the subplots, especially that of Naina’s relationship with her mother.

Sonali’s writing is magical for me. I am immediately transported to her locations and I can picture each character so clearly. I loved this book so much - the family drama, the will they/won’t they anticipation, and loads of the unexpected. I had a difficult time putting this book down because I couldn’t wait to see what happened next. It’s like the most wonderful, voyeuristic peek into a family’s life.

I thought the blurb sounded interesting, but I really struggled with it. I just couldn't connect with the characters, and the writing style was a bit lackluster.

Oh Vansh. My new favorite Raje. I think I say that every time a new Raje book by Sonali Dev comes out but this time I think it is true and I’m not just in a book-love fog. Sonali Dev is consistently one of the best authors I read. Her world building is equal parts realistic and fantastical as the life the Rajes have seems unattainable…but you can see that it can completely exist. With this most recent (and final!) installment we follow the youngest Raje, Vansh, and Naina, the fake ex-fiancee of Yash, the oldest Raje son and governor-elect of California. That sentence alone should tell you that you’re in for a ride, but that just scratches the surface. Plus, there is a great subplot with Esha, who we have gotten to know in the previous books.

The only thing I didn’t like about the story were Mina and Nisha’s behavior through a large portion of the book and, to an extent, Trisha and Ashna’s. I was so irritated with them. It didn’t seem in-line with what we’ve seen in previous books (especially Mina!). However, I kept seeing snippets of my own behavior when it comes to my siblings and sons (I’m an overly protective and very loyal older sister and mother too) that I had to remind myself that oftentimes familial love is not rational.

Overall I’d give this final installment of the Raje family 4.5 stars and I definitely look forward to when it comes out on May 17 so I can purchase a physical copy and have it join the other Rajes on my shelf.

It's not easy to write a good Austen adaptation. Most writers who attempt it take an overly heavy-handed approach, and the result can often feel disingenuous and verging on slapstick. Sonali Dev manages to maintain some of the subtlety and finesse that makes Austen's stories a joy to read, and her stories take these plots and reinvigorate them with diverse characters and settings. I enjoyed this book and hope she continues to write more!

. I love the Sonali Dev Jane Austen inspired stories, and getting this ARC for review was the highlight of the 1st day of the year! I really enjoyed this, probably not as much as her first two which i adored but still a great engrossing read. I do feel that it might have been a bit too literal when they actually talked about Emma, and its the book in the series that relates the less to its source inspiration. I did love that we get to be reintroduced to passing characters from the other books in a totally different light. Also, I'm all about normalizing older women and younger men relationships, I think there should be more of them, and I think this books does it beautifully. Although I have bone to pick with Sonali Dev -why is this the last book? I totally think we could have expanded Esha's love story into a fifth book instead of a piece of it here, because those chapters were a bit out of place within this story.

I really enjoyed this book and just how well the two of them knew each other. I did find it very weird that there were like 2-3 chapters that were from Eshas point of view. I enjoyed them they just felt very out of place.

I received a copy through netgalley

I love Emma, and I love Emma adaptions! This one was amazing, and its so incredibly important to have ownvoices representation in retellings! The romance between the main characters was so amazing and I'm really happy with the way that this novel took some liberties but also kept the essential parts of Emma itself.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I AM SO SAD THIS SERIES IS ENDING!

Book 4 did not disappoint. I didn't know that I even wanted Naina's story until I started reading the book! Sonali Dev managed to pull me in and make me root for her and Vansh. A fan of Jane Austen, I've loved all of the references to her books, but this gender swap of Emma was one of the best for me.

A Little Spoiler: only thing I had an issue with was making Esha’s story a side story here. She deserved a novella at least!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book it was both engaging and fun to read.

I love Emma and that’s why I requested this free arc on NetGalley. It is not your usual retelling of a classic. It loosely borrows a concept and shares a happy ending between lovers who’ve known each other forever with a decent age gap. That’s about it. Which I loved and found refreshing. The classics are classics for a reason but bringing them to the modern era and making them relatable now keeps the stories relevant.

I might have loved the side romance as much as the main one. Learning that relationships can change you in a way that doesn’t make you lose yourself, but makes you love yourself more is a beautiful journey to witness.

The concept of generational trauma is explored and in my opinion, done well. The banter is witty, the pain relatable. The love the characters have for each other is palpable even if they are sometimes misguided in the way they show it. And how fresh to see a character that realizes they made mistakes and freely admit it without allowing it to cripple them or scare them out of trying again. Genuine social issues and attempts to address them are raised. All in the context of two interwoven Indian families in California.

romance tropes:
friends to lovers,
age gap,
family trauma,
workplace romance,
no strings arrangement,
fake dating

spice: 🌶