I’ve loved all of Sonali Dev’s Jane Austen inspired novels and The Emma Project was no exception. Though these novels are loosely inspired by the Austen novels, even the most casual of fans will be able to enjoy these interpretations. I will genuinely miss seeing more stories from the Raje family and hope that Sonali will visit them in the future.

The Emma project is Naina and Vansh’s story. Following the end of her fake relationship with Vansh’s older brother, Naina is forced to work with Vansh on a project and soon they become close. There are so many obstacles for the pair to overcome - the personality differences (slight grumpy/sunshine), an age gap and all of the repercussions that have come following the end of Yash and Naina’s engagement in the previous book. The pair are easy to root for and I loved learning more about the Indian family dynamic. I’m also so happy we got to see more of Esha and her love story develop.

This can be read as a stand-alone, but you will definitely appreciate and get more from the story if you read the other novels in this series. I’ve read the first two, but skipped the third, so I definitely missed key points to Naina (and Yash)’s storyline, but I was still able to follow along with the storyline.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon for an advanced copy.

I haven't read any of the other books in this series or any other books by this author. I really enjoyed the interactions of Naina and Vansh. I love it when characters fall in love when they have no intention of getting anywhere near love. Vansh was such a wonderful (and superbly built) specimen of a man. I fell in love with him also.

A big part of the story was the extended family. I can't imagine having so many people all up in your business. Some of the family members weren't easy to like and there was even some abuse. There were also some other deep subjects addressed in the story--dyslexia, lying, using people.

The story was very good and the HEA was superb! I'm a very satisfied reader...but probably not as satisfied as Naina!

Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

There’s just something about Emma!
Emma is one of my favorite Austen’s so I was so excited for this book. Although the final book in the series, each one is a standalone, so don’t worry if you want to start with this one.
This is a gender swap retelling of Emma and it made the story a lot of fun. It has the basics but I loved how the author delved deeper into both characters, especially the heroine’s. The characters had so many layers and I enjoyed unraveling them.
I would say if you’re a fan of enemies to lovers, slow burn, forced proximity, Austen retellings, social class differences, and fun banter give this a try!

The Emma Project
The Rajes Series - Book 4
By Sonali Dev

Harper Collins - May 2022

Contemporary Romance


Naina Kohli had been friends with the Raje family for years, then she and Yash Raje, her best friend, had agreed on a fake engagement. It had helped him in his political career. It had helped her with living life due to her overbearing father.

Then Yash had inconveniently fallen in love with India Dashwood. Naina had not only lost the shield against her father, but the friendships in the rest of the Raje family. It was awkward with Yash, and his sisters treated her as an enemy. Only the youngest Raje didn't treat Naina any differently, but Vansh lived a charmed life, and now was about to receive funding she had been promised.

Vansh hadn't planned to cut in on Naina's funding, but an unexpected discovery had made the opportunity too good to turn away. They could work together where they could both benefit. While working with Naina, he sees that in addition to being the intelligent caring woman he has always known her to be, he begins to also see Naina in an entirely different light. Vansh just needs to convince Naina he isn't the irresponsible, charmed, youngest member of a family she doesn't want to have any further dealings with.

The Emma Project was an entertaining romance between two individuals striving to save the world in their own way. Naina had used her fake engagement to spend years getting her foundation to this critical moment. Vansh hasn't been a slouch, having spent time with various charities around the world. It was interesting to see how Sonali Dev wove their shared history and competitive present into a harmonious future. Although part of a series, and it does have multiple references to Incense and Sensibility, The Emma Project does stand on its own.

Kathy Andrico - KathysReviewCorner.com

Another great book with the Raje family. Naina and Vansh are really special. This book is about family but also about stepping out from the place your family puts you and listening to your heart. These two incredibly giving people need to be together, they are so much the same, as Naina's mother eventually says. It's a little bit of a grumpy/Sunshine trope, but really Naina is not so much grumpy as holding herself back to protect herself. Vansh is all sunshine, he is charm personified. But it's not charm for manipulation, it is truly caring about others and extending that empathy in every interaction. Others can't help but respond to it.

Naina and Vansh's family experiences could not be different and that molds each of them. Naina's controlling and abusive father leads to her hiding in her shell, trying to not be her mother. But that horrible man also leads to her greatest goal, helping other women in the world who are disenfranchised. Vansh has dyslexia, and in a family full of brilliant siblings, he finds a way to succeed that is different than theirs but no less brilliant. His family treats him with kid gloves and low expectations, not really seeing that their youngest child has still succeeded and doesn't need their condescending protection. Ultimately these two people who succeed by giving back to others, both because of and in spite of their families.

This is also an age gap romance, as Naina is 12 years older than Vansh. That age gap is interesting, because they've always known each other. Now they are both adults, and does the age gap really matter? Naina's horrible father makes comments about seeing Vansh in diapers, as if it matters now that he's a grown man? Vansh's siblings make comments as if he's still a child, when again, he's a grown man. So most of the age gap focus is on the younger man, as if it's inappropriate that a woman could still see him for himself. The two characters never feel like they can't relate or are from different generations, all of the view on the age difference is from others.

There is a B plot romance between Esha and Sid that is really beautiful. Esha has been having visions due to trauma suffered as a child. She can see and feel all the pain in someone, both in an actual feeling way and in a future vision type of way. But with Sid, she cannot. It's a true revelation for her, to learn about someone through time spent, watching their expressions and body language, spending time with them, asking questions and talking, actual communication. Through that time and falling in love, Esha loses the visions she had with others and is finally free. It's a beautiful subplot and some of the most elegant, evocative writing is in these scens. I really loved every scene.

Thematically I loved the communication in the book. Esha and Sid have this relationship that grows through communication, after Esha has to learn how to get to know someone. Vansha and Naina can read each other so well. There is so much non-verbal communication between them as well as actual discussions. But they can telegraph their thoughts to each other, through body language and expressions and silent communication. And there are multiple instances of Vansh choosing to not listen and it having harmful results. It's a really interesting contrast between the two couples and an interesting study in all the ways that we communicate. Even in the penultimate scene where Vansh's father stands up for him to his wife and their family, there are statements about listening, about hearing what someone says and means instead of what you want them to mean.

All side characters are as vibrant as the main characters. The horrible billionaire is laughably horrible and just as brilliantly drawn. And there is excellent humor throughout the book.

I loved it and could not put it down. I know I will reread it and this is going on the keeper shelf. Highly recommend.

CW: domestic abuse, abusive parent, sexism

I love love loved this fourth installment in the Rajes series by Sonali Dev, all of which are modern retellings of Jane Austen novels featuring different members of a large Indian-American family living in California. Youngest Raje brother, Vansh, takes center stage in this book and is the Emma equivalent in this retelling of Austen's Emma. He falls into a working arrangement with the fake ex-girlfriend (Naina) of his older brother, and things quickly heat up between them. This book was very fun and I fell in love with Vansh & Naina so quickly and was rooting for them to figure things out both with their nonprofit projects and their personal relationship! Highly recommend! Thank you to Avon Books & Harper Collins for the advance reader copy via NetGalley.

The Emma Project is the fourth and final book in the Rajes collection of (very) loose Jane Austen re-interpretations. Not surprisingly, this book is inspired by Emma. I saw this book right after my friend and I agreed to reread Emma for our classics book club and I thought this would be the perfect addition!

When I requested this book I had not read any of the previous books and figured since each were based off of a different Jane Austen book that I was familiar with, I would be okay with it as a stand alone. I ended up listening to about half of a Recipe for Persuasion before starting to read the Emma Project (I started with #2 as Persuasion is my favorite Jane Austen book). It turns out that these books are not really stand alone. There are a ton of references to previous material, characters, and backstory that you just don't get otherwise. As confusing as it was to start with #2 and halfway through add #4, I at least knew who some of the characters were. Otherwise, I would have been totally lost. After finishing those two, I went back and started reading #1 and plan on reading #3 afterwards, bringing my reading order to #2, #4, #1, #3. Please learn my my mistake and don't do that. It was very very confusing and the stories are such loose interpretations that knowing the general story did not help structure the confusion at all.

Anyway! The Emma Project features a gender swap of the original story with a 12 year difference between the protagonists. I loved seeing an older woman and a younger man together and navigating the dynamics of society's expectations and pre-existing relationships. I liked that Vansh has a learning disability and that the book showed a hot and successful man not go to college, work with his disability, and find compensatory strategies that helped him.

The rest I didn't find super memorable. I think it would have helped if I were more familiar with the other characters but I was not prepared for Esha's fantastical subplot in this very grounded story. There are a couple of parallels with Emma in the setup but apart from that it isn't similar at all. I wish this book could have been a bit closer to the original material to have more of an updated take on the story. Without the title or directly mentioning the plot of Emma in the text, I wouldn't have known that this was a retelling.

Overall, if you have read the other books, I definitely recommend this book to round out the series. 3.45 stars from me. Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the electronic advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review!

The Emma Project is my favorite Raje story yet. There! I said it! Each book Dev has put out had been better than the last but this one really is the best in my opinion. It has been a privilege getting to know the Rajes through all of their Jane Austen inspired novels but of course Dev takes the most spoiled and effervescent of the Austen heroines and gives us this deep and wonderful picture of what love can be and the good it can do.

Vansh was maybe the Raje sibling I knew the least, but it makes perfect sense to put him up against Naina who was the foil in Dev’s previous book, Insencse and Sensibility. I didn’t love Naina back then but I grew to become so fond of her as this book went on. She is so strong and forceful and yet vulnerable in a way that I was drawn to. Her and Vansh compliment each other so well I was rooting for them the entire time. (Also their chemistry was 🔥🔥🔥)

There is also a surprise storyline with Esha in this book I wasn’t expecting but was kind of obsessed with and it makes complete sense. Esha has always been the character I’ve been most curious about and I was so happy to see her story play out. I love how these books are clearly inspired by Austen but do so much to update and twist the stories we know so well. Well done!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon for letting me read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I can’t wait to see what Dev writes next.

2 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

While I enjoyed Sonali Dev's writing, I just don't think that this book was for me. I love the idea of a modern re-telling of Emma, but this did not feel like one. While it was obvious that Vansh and Naina were meant to be a gender flipped Emma and Mr. Knightly, I was not able to place the other characters with their Austen counterparts. I also felt that the romance in this book was lacking. It felt as though Naina and Vansh's relationship was based almost entirely on lust and I wanted more than that. I didn't really buy the connection between them which was upsetting to me as I read this book for the romance. Although this story wasn't really for me, I think that Sonali Dev is a great writer, and I wil definitely be interested in checking out what she writes in the future!

Vansh Raje and Naina could not be any more different - but when they are thrown together because they are competing for funding it somehow becomes a friends with benefits situation that has them both questioning so much.

I have loved this series of Bollywood-esque retellings of Jane Austen novels from the beginning and am sad to see it come to an end. This book, which is a gender-swapped retelling of Emma, was another fun twist on a classic. Sonali Dev does a phenomenal job making these stories her own while still capturing Austen’s essence.

I enjoyed that this was somewhat of a forbidden love and how the romance developed between Vansh and Naina. There was so much going against them, but I loved that they fought to make it work. As with Dev’s other books, this was filled with family drama, societal issues (in this case homelessness) and witty banter.

Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Read this book if you like: Dual POV, Jane Austen inspired stories, grumpy sunshine, family drama, age gap

I'm a little sad that this is the last book in the series. I have loved the other ones. This one follows Vansh and Naina.

Vansh Raje’s life has been declared California’s hottest single man. He's also rich enough to spend all his time on missions to make the world a better place. Add to that a doting family, a contagiously sunny disposition, and he has made it halfway through his twenties without ever facing anything to throw him off his admittedly spectacular game.

A couple years from turning forty, Knightlina (Naina) Kohli has just gotten out of a ten-year-long fake relationship with Vansh’s brother. She's trying to get as far as possible from Raje family. Instead she wants to focus on bringing economic independence to millions of women in South Asia through her microfinance foundation and prove her father wrong about, well, everything.

Just when Naina’s dream is about to happen Vansh shows up with his misguided Emma Project. Suddenly she’s fighting him for funding. Somehow they end up in a friends with benefits arrangement.

This one was good. It was a good way to end the series. I love Vansh and Naina together. I feel like a did a bit too much fighting to not like each other but I was glad when they finally gave in. Also, their families were a hot mess per usual. Highly recommend this series!

Check the triggers*

Thank you to NetGalley, the author Sonali Dev, Avon and Harper Voyager for my gifted copy. ❤

An enjoyable Jane Austen retelling, although the characters and plot aren't as engaging as in previous books in this series.

Four and a half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒

The Emma Project by Sonali Dev is the fourth book in her popular The Rajes Series and can be easily read as a stand-alone book. This Emma retelling is wonderful, and I enjoyed every second of reading.

Vansh Raje is the youngest of the Raje’s siblings and has lived a charmed life. Doted on by his big sisters, and mentored by his big brother, Vansh has everything a young man needs. Dubbed The Little Prince by his sisters, Vansh grew up with a charming personality and a positive attitude. He spends his time working on charitable projects, but his latest project was working on his brother's campaign for governor of California.

Knightlina (Naina) Kohli is recovering from a dramatic and public breakup with Vansh’s brother, Yash, after a ten-year fake relationship. Although the fake relationship was mutual, the Raje family seems to blame her for breaking up with Yash, and she feels isolated from the family she always admired and grew up with. She grew up under the cruelty of her father, and a mother who wouldn’t intervene, so she had decided never to marry and have her own family. She only wants to continue working at her foundation which brings economic security to women all over the world.

Naina is just about to secure funding for her dream project from a wealthy benefactor when Vansh shows up and diverts some of the funds to a project he wants to pursue in San Fransisco. Angry that Vansh is working to “steal” her funding, she finally realizes that working with Vansh is the only way to secure funding for her own projects.

I enjoyed this enemies to lovers story very much. Vansh is so charming and relaxed, a total opposite to Naina’s uptight and closed-off personality. Naina has so many deep emotional wounds, and it was gratifying to see how her relationship with Vansh opened her up and allowed her to heal.


I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I received a free ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

Unfortunately, this book was very disappointing for me. Originally I was intrigued by not only the cover but also by the description blurb. I also am trying to make a point of reading more books about ethnic characters who are pictured less commonly in novels. So I was very excited to give this one a go and to expand my horizons.

I'll be honest - there were a number of things that just didn't do it for me with this particular novel. I'm not sure if it was the fact that this was the 4th (and final) in a series and I was supposed to read the other 3 first (though others have said this can be read as a standalone) Maybe it was because some of the names were too similar (Looking at Yash vs Vansh the whole time hurt my eyes) The plot lacked the substance that it needed and was loosely based on the actual novel it set out to portray (Emma - Jane Austen)

I hope this does not dissuade the publisher from approving future ARC's because I am always willing to try something new - however this one just didn't cut it for me. :( Sorry!

This book just really isn't for me. I'd tried the first book in this series previously and didn't like it, but I have enjoyed other books by Sonali Dev. However, almost as soon as I started this story I just did not like Vansh or Naina. They are too egotistical, and definitely not in a charming way.

I feel like if you liked the other books in the Rajes series you might like this one too, but it wasn't something that I enjoyed.

I devoured this series.
This last installment features Vansh, the youngest Raje, and Naina, former fiancé of his brother.

He’s sunshine, she’s direct and no nonsense. And sweet Esha gets her story too.

Once again, Dev takes a Jane Austen novel and turns it into a contemporary story of romance involving the Raje family. Vansh Raje is the central focus for this novel. He is a handsome, eligible bachelor who flits around the world working on humanitarian causes. But his new status as brother to the Governor of California attracts the attention of a wealthy philanthropist who likes getting accolades for donating to worthy causes.

Naina was the governor’s former girlfriend but she was never closely allied with him; it was a relationship of convenience. Her time is consumed by her efforts to establish a foundation to help women in South Asia. She was granted a large endowment from the same philanthropist who now wants to give part of those promised funds to whatever cause of the day Vansh can concoct. Outraged, Naina pleads for the funds that are essential to the success of her charitable endeavor. How can Vansh steal from the money she was counting on?

Vansh and Naina are thrown together as they attempt to sort out the allocation of funds. She is practical and determined in contrast to his carefree, charming ways. Despite her being quite a bit older, there is a sexual tension between them. Dev allows the scenes with the two of them to sizzle and spark whenever they are together. But Naina still has her responsibilities in her sights and Vansh has obstacles of his own to overcome.

Dev repeats her success at bringing a classic tale to life while focusing on two more in the Raje circle. Vansh will charm readers with each look, touch and repartee. He and Naina may seem like an improbable pair but the heat they generate is evidence of their passionate natures.

I am not an Austenite, but I love how well her books lend themselves to adaptations. I have yet to encounter an adaptation of Emma I haven't liked, and The Emma Project is an especially great one. In The Emma Project, we get a gender-flipped scenario, with Vansh Raje as the Emma character, and Naina (Knightlina) as the Knightley counterpart. As with the rest of the Rajes series, the author strikes a perfect balance between paying homage to the source material and offering new life to the story. I especially enjoyed the spin on Emma's matchmaking tendencies via Vansh's philanthropic projects. I didn't expect to fall in love with Naina, after her somewhat antagonistic role in the previous book. I shouldn't have been surprised, though, as my new impression of Naina reflects the strength of this series in offering complex, deeply human characters. An added bonus was a subplot involving the clairvoyant cousin Esha and Sid Dashwood. Both this subplot and the main couple's romance were especially swoonworthy. I have loved this series, and with The Emma Project, we end it on a high note.

I have loved every book in this series. Every time I thought I wouldn’t like the book more than the first but every time I was surprised. This one was not different. I was not that interested in Naina going into this book but omg. She may be my favorite and Vansh is such a cinnamon roll (with like a rock hard body lol)
I am so glad we got to see more of Esha and understand her whimsical side character better.
Sad this is the last of the series but it was a great love story to end on.

Sadly, not for me. Part of the problem was that I hadn't read any of the previous books and this seemed like it was a standalone. While I guess this was technically a standalone, this books relies heavily on characters and events from the past books, so some things were difficult to follow.

Beyond that though, I just didn't particularly connect to either of the main characters. I didn't really like their relationship- it was very lust-heavy and not really the style I enjoy reading.

This also wasn't really an Emma retelling, beyond some of the character names and the mention of the word matchmaking.