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Recipe for Persuasion

(The Rajes #2)

Sonali Dev (Goodreads Author)

3.79 · Rating details · 4,548 ratings · 884 reviews

From the author of Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors comes another , clever, deeply layered, and heartwarming romantic comedy that follows in the Jane Austen tradition—this time, with a twist on Persuasion.

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 comple ...more

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Paperback, 464 pages

Published May 26th 2020 by William Morrow Paperbacks

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Jun 19, 2020 peachygirl rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2020

This is not a romcom!

Calling Recipe for Persuasion fun and breezy is highly misleading. This book deals with a lot of serious issues that should have come with a big fat warning. Also, I'd have liked this a whole lot better if Sonali Dev hadn't called it a retelling.

Basically after a shitty childhood with an alcoholic father and absentee mother, Ashna Raje has abandonment issues, depression and severe anxiety. As if that wasn't enough, she's on the verge of running her restaurant to the groun This is not a romcom!

Calling Recipe for Persuasion fun and breezy is highly misleading. This book deals with a lot of serious issues that should have come with a big fat warning. Also, I'd have liked this a whole lot better if Sonali Dev hadn't called it a retelling.

Basically after a shitty childhood with an alcoholic father and absentee mother, Ashna Raje has abandonment issues, depression and severe anxiety. As if that wasn't enough, she's on the verge of running her restaurant to the ground, unless she takes up her bestfriend's offer to take part in a celebrity cooking reality show. But there's a catch. She'll have to partner with her ex-boyfriend from high school, who even after 12 years is pissed that she dumped him (which is kinda stupid because she's under the impression that he jilted her).

Anyway, there are residual feelings, sparks, tangled web of misunderstandings, ego clashes, a sad attempt at love triangle meant to confuse the readers and online fans dead set on seeing this couple together after a rather disastrous reunion goes viral. They even come up with a cute otp #Ashico! After 200 pages of family drama and heart to hearts, Ashna hears the guy's side of things and all is well in paradise.

Now, moving on to what I really wanted to talk about, was the story of Ashna's mother, Shobi. Seeing everything from Ashna's perspective, initially we get the feeling that her mother is a cold, career oriented opportunitist who doesn't care about her only child. And I did find it childish that Ashna chooses to believe her diabolical, dead beat dad over her mum every time and that even after his death she clings to the notion of what he wanted her to be. Try as she might, pleasing her dead father doesn't bring her nothing but a big bunch of bills from her therapist, a crippling anxiety if she so much as attempts to do something on her own and increasing levels of unhappiness over the years.

Once Shobi reveals her story of being forced into the marriage by her dad and the guy she considered her friend, the horror of her wedding night, forced to see her child being taken away and so much more, everything is crytal clear for Ashna. So much that all her issues are magically sorted. First stop is her boyfriend's hotel room, and then she's on her way to happily ever after. Um, sorry? Anxiety doesn't work like that.

I understand that she feels like she's got a parent back, but did it actually take the story of her mom's rape to convince herself that her dad was a douche? He blackmails her into staying with him when she was just ten! He literally waves a gun in her face and tells her that he'll off himself if she thinks about going back to her mom. And this is just one of the many times he's been a shitty dad. This guy would probably win the "Vilest Parent Ever" title on his good day.

I'm even made mad at Ashna's kaki for not being honest with her about the true state of her parents' marriage, seeing she had the front row seat to all of Shobi's misfortunes.
I can't put it in words how much I admired Shobi for changing her life around after being dealt with such shitty cards. Not to say I'm unsympathetic toward Ashna, but sometimes I couldn't help but feel that she purposefully wanted to be alone and miserable. Because, unlike her mom, she's got a huge family by her side and a guy who's ready to worship the ground she walks on, even at 18, which I must confess, is kinda stupid. I couldn't see past their mutual attraction to a deeper relationship.

Almost 40 percent of this book was rather depressing to read. I did like the hero, but he's not someone I'd fangirl over after DJ and the like. I'm sorry to say I didn't like this as much as the first book, because I was pretty excited when the blurb was out. Still, I'm going with 4 starts because Sonali's writing style is awesome as ever and the way she handles touchy subjects like marital rape, child neglect and alcohol abuse was commendable. ...more

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Mar 16, 2020 Nilufer Ozmekik rated it liked it

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, 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.

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Aug 06, 2020 Anne Bogel rated it really liked it

In this loose retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, Ashna is a Bay Area chef so desperate to save her family’s failing restaurant she agrees to compete on the reality tv show Cooking with the Stars. That’s where she reconnects with her first love—now a Brazilian soccer star—on live tv, for the first time since he disappeared twelve years ago on the worst night of her life.

Dev puts her own spin on Austen’s classic, while highlighting the timeless themes of the original: a young woman sensitive ...more

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Aug 26, 2020 Lisa rated it liked it

[2.5] I thought Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors was a delightful romcom so had high hopes for Dev's 2nd Austen tribute. Unfortunately, the plot almost keeled over with the burdens of Ashna and her mother. I found it difficult to root for the confused heroine who (unlike Anne Elliot) wallows in her guilt and unhappiness. ...more

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Apr 16, 2020 Renaissance Kate rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2020, books-i-own, kindle, arc, romance

Ashna Raje is struggling. Her restaurant could use some major renovations, and she can barely fill thirty of the dining room’s one hundred tables on a good night. She never seems to see eye-to-eye with her very successful mother, who lives in India and rarely makes time to visit Ashna in the San Francisco Bay Area. And now, Ashna’s cousin and best friend want her to star on a celebrity cooking show, where she’ll be paired off with a famous partner and have the chance to win enough money to turn Ashna Raje is struggling. Her restaurant could use some major renovations, and she can barely fill thirty of the dining room’s one hundred tables on a good night. She never seems to see eye-to-eye with her very successful mother, who lives in India and rarely makes time to visit Ashna in the San Francisco Bay Area. And now, Ashna’s cousin and best friend want her to star on a celebrity cooking show, where she’ll be paired off with a famous partner and have the chance to win enough money to turn her restaurant around. The restaurant is all that remains of her father, so determined to hold onto it, Ashna reluctantly agrees.

Frederico “Rico” Silva is also struggling. A recent knee injury led him to an early retirement as a world-renown FIFA player. At his teammate’s bachelor party, Rico begins reminiscing about all the women he’s ever dated and finds himself fixated on the one girl with whom he never found closure. A quick internet search reveals she’s to be a contestant on the Food Network’s upcoming celebrity cooking show, and before he allows himself time to reconsider, Rico picks up his phone and asks his agent to book him the gig.

Despite this lighthearted premise, Recipe for Persuasion is not the romantic comedy its description makes it out to be. While it contains some upbeat moments, including Ashna and Rico’s TV cook-offs or Ashna’s close relationships with her cousins, the book explores several heavier topics that better categorize it as a drama. Ashna and Rico’s romance is one of rekindled love that forces them to reexamine their past relationship as they fall for each other again; however, in doing so, they must revisit the severe traumas they respectively faced as children that impacted their breakup.

The book also heavily focuses on Ashna’s strained relationship with her mother, Shobi, and includes many chapters from Shobi’s point of view, past and present. This element serves well to tie-in the series’ overarching theme of the Raje family’s intricate relationships and offers a revealing look at the older generation who came before Ashna (and Trisha, for those who read the first book in this series).

Fans of Trisha’s story will not be shocked to hear that Ashna’s tale also contains somber topics, nor will they be surprised to know that Sonali Dev‘s beautiful and poignant writing will take you on an emotional roller coaster. It was lovely seeing how Ashna and Rico found home in one another after being lost for so long. Although the Raje family drama overshadowed their romance, Ashna’s heart-wrenching, vulnerable examination of herself and her relationship with Shobi and even with her father is where this book truly shines.

Lastly, I’m looking forward to Dev’s retelling of Sense and Sensibility, as I don’t think the appearance of sisters China and India Dashwood in this book was simply a coincidence.

Thank you to HarperCollins Publishers via Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. ...more

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May 05, 2020 Sophia rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: jane-austen-austenesque, contemporary-romance, net-galley-reads

Jane Austen’s Persuasion gets a modern face lift Desi-style in this standalone sequel as Indian American chef, Ashna Raje, and Brazilian footballer, Rico Silva, encounter each other once again as acrimonious cooking partners on a reality TV show. I love that the Sonali Dev has cooked up the Raje series of modern retellings of Austen’s classical works including this second entry, Recipe for Persuasion, giving members of the Raje family their chances at romance.
Ashna’s family are convinced a real Jane Austen’s Persuasion gets a modern face lift Desi-style in this standalone sequel as Indian American chef, Ashna Raje, and Brazilian footballer, Rico Silva, encounter each other once again as acrimonious cooking partners on a reality TV show. I love that the Sonali Dev has cooked up the Raje series of modern retellings of Austen’s classical works including this second entry, Recipe for Persuasion, giving members of the Raje family their chances at romance.
Ashna’s family are convinced a reality cooking show is just the jumpstart her dying restaurant needs and she is willing to do anything to preserve this last bit of her father who opened the restaurant.
As a pro footballer at the top of his game, Rico thought he had moved on from Ashna’s rejection. That is until he is injured badly and yet another relationship didn’t work out. He decides he has to do something about not being over his teenage love so signs onto the show to be Ashna’s partner. He vents his long smoldering anger, but also understands as an adult what his teenage self couldn’t when he learns the true state of Ashna’s affairs. Understanding her leads to understanding of the past.
Ashna had a difficult childhood. Her father, a prince, was forced out of India for some trouble he got into and lost the lifestyle he was accustomed to making him a bitter, angry man. Her parents were stuck in a loveless marriage where abuse and alcoholism were rife and Ashna was physically abandoned by her mother while the father’s issues were just as unhealthy for her so that, even after his death, she works to please a father who was never going to be pleased.
It was his dream to go to Paris and become a superb chef. Ash pursued it for him Now she can’t even create her own dishes without bringing on an anxiety attack. She can only keep his restaurant just as he had it and cook only his dishes which is why the restaurant is failing. Others see the problem, yet she refuses to heed them because honoring her father is all she has left.
Into this situation steps the boy become man from her past and she hasn’t gotten over him. When I chose this book, I was enchanted at the thought of the Persuasion story being set in a modern Indian-style setting. I loved the lavish descriptions, the traditions, cultural background, and, oh my stars, the food. I was so hungry reading this one that I had to whip up some hummus. The connection of family was strong including Ashna’s cousin Trisha who had her story in the first book.

I thought the author did a good job making Austen’s classic plot the bones of this story and filling it in with modern characters and modern concerns. I glanced at the blurb and noticed it describes Recipe For Persuasion as a Romcom. Personally, I think that gives the wrong impression. This had some humorous moments, but it was not a light story. It read closer to women’s fiction for me because so much had to be addressed before even the romance could grow.

Speaking of the romance, I was underwhelmed. I liked the characters, especially Rico, as individuals and cheered for them to find peace and their happy. However, I wasn’t feeling their adult reunion romance. I couldn’t see what maintained it over the years to that strength since, in this version, they were teens who fell in love and this is way longer a gap in years. In addition, I wasn’t feeling it between them as adults.
Ash was a hot mess and she was content to stay that way. She was wilting and so down on herself. I struggled with her parts of the narration and even preferred her mother Shobi’s narrative sections about her miserable past and inability to connect with her own child as a result. So, Ash, as a woman to capture the confident and handsome adult Rico’s interest? Um, no.
And, that brings me to Rico’s prickly anger. Just after they broke up, sure, be angry, but it makes no sense to me that he still feels it so strongly and places so much blame this many years later. Turns out like the original character, his anger was masking something else. I liked the process of his eyes being opened and grasping this new chance. Rico did end up being rather romantic when he got over it. Spoiler alert. Sorry Captain Wentworth fans, no romantic “You pierce my soul.” letter to Ashna, though he did find a different way to be swoony.
In summary, I liked, but did not love this book. To be fair, my personal mood and my struggle to read this style book is also a factor. I found the heroine and her romance only mildly engaging, but on the other hand, there was a richness to the setting and background that drew me in, a hero who caught my interest, and the author’s writing style was solid. Again, I would recommend this more to fiction than straight romance fans and those who enjoy modern retellings.

I rec'd this book via Net Galley to read in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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Aug 02, 2020 Abigail Bok rated it really liked it

Shelves: austenesque-novels

I drooled my way through the first book of this Jane Austen–based series, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors. Would the sophomore effort measure up?

Well, almost. I am a big fan of Dev’s cluster of characters, the Raje family, Indian aristocrats transplanted to a more egalitarian California but still trailing clouds of privilege in their wake. They are glamorous but grounded, rooted in but not bound by their culture and traditions. They lead rich lives (in the values sense, more than the economi ...more

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May 27, 2020 Stacee rated it it was ok

Shelves: rape-or-molestation-or-sa, netgalley, skimmidy-skim-skim-skim, read-in-2020

2.5 stars

Well. Here we are again with another book blatantly being called a rom-com and there’s a small serving of rom, but definitely no com. And I’m extra disappointed because not only was PP+OF one of my top 10 books the year it released, but Persuasion is a dear favorite of mine.

I liked Ashna and Rico well enough. They’re both good people who are still hung up on each other; however for me, it wasn’t charming. I didn’t quite see the chemistry between them and more often than not, was told t ...more

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Sep 02, 2020 Lisa (Remarkablylisa) rated it really liked it

Shelves: september-2020, to-be-purchased, asian-books

Comparing this to book #1, it's not as perfect and not as good as the first one. BUT it's still freaking good because when you're comparing to a masterpiece like Pride, Prejudice, and other Flavors, it's hard to live up to.

If you like gut-wrenching angst, swoon worthy romance, and family drama that would mess you up when all the truth is revealed--pick this one up. I absolutely loved the mother/daughter relationship that really needed to be mended with communication. I also loved the yearning th ...more

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May 23, 2020 eyes.2c rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, multicultural-fiction, netgalley

Chef reality show gets very REAL!

A very loose nod to Austen's Persuasion. Ashna Raje is trying to hang onto her beloved father's once successful Indian restaurant at all costs. The restaurant is in crisis, millions of dollars were embezzled. Now she is doing all she can to lower overheads and rebuild the restaurant, her father's dream. And that's the crux, Ashna needs to discover her own dream.
Her cousin persuades as her to take part in a reality tv cooking show. Grand prize of $100,000
Little d Chef reality show gets very REAL!

A very loose nod to Austen's Persuasion. Ashna Raje is trying to hang onto her beloved father's once successful Indian restaurant at all costs. The restaurant is in crisis, millions of dollars were embezzled. Now she is doing all she can to lower overheads and rebuild the restaurant, her father's dream. And that's the crux, Ashna needs to discover her own dream.
Her cousin persuades as her to take part in a reality tv cooking show. Grand prize of $100,000
Little did Ashna know that the former love of her life would be her partner. Soccer star Rico Silva has used his influence to ensure this. Being thrown together, in the spotlight and off, forces Rico and Ashna to re-evaluate themselves, their reactions and other aspects of their lives.
Devastating secrets are forced into the open. For Ashna that includes reassessing her relationship with both her mother and her father. Ashna's father was an Indian Prince sent by his family to the United States to build a new life for himself and his family. Her mother had deserted the Prince and Ashna many years before, returning to India to advocate for girls sporting rights that developed into female empowerment in other areas of life. To say Ashna and her mother's relationship is fraught is a massive understatement.
Although Ashna's mother's story raises interesting issues about relationships between generations. Including the idea that current generations accept the status quo of women's rights as they are now without appreciating previous generation's historical situations and the cost to them. Those forgotten battles are the legacy that current generations move forward from.
On the surface this story is a very readable modern love story, but underneath, with its richly woven background, darkness hovers, resentments simmer, and redemption possibilities hide around the corner, if one is brave enough.
I loved the title. Talking, being open, and forgiving are necessary ingredients for persuasion to happen in this situation.
Rethinking this novel, I came to appreciate even more it's depth. I decided this is actually a five star read and not the four star I was originally going with.
There are comic moments, but Recipe for Persuasion is far from a romantic comedy.

A HarperCollins ARC via NetGalley ...more

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Oct 02, 2019 Sally Kilpatrick rated it it was amazing

Wow.

You should all be very, very jealous of me right now because I got to read an early version of this book, and you're going to want it. Of course, now I have the unenviable task of putting down my thoughts before I forget them while not spoiling the book in any sort of way. I will say that many Kleenexs were lost in the reading of this book. If you would like to have your innards turned inside out and then put back to rights thus leaving you with a happy but weary glow, then this is the book ...more

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Nov 09, 2020 WhiskeyintheJar rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary, series

3.5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

She was the one who couldn’t be the kind of daughter who made her mother want to stay. She was the daughter who wasn’t enough for her father to give up whatever it was he got from his scotch.

Recipe for Persuasion continues an intimate look into the lives of the Raje family members, an Indian royal family living in California who readers were introd ...more

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Apr 11, 2020 Sahitya rated it liked it

Shelves: romance-and-or-relationships, classics-myths-retellings, 2020-read, contemporary-fiction

CW: talk of past alcoholism, suicide and rape; ptsd and panic attacks

I have a thing for desi Jane Austen retellings, so as soon as I saw the announcement for this book, I knew I was going to read it. Second chance romance on the other hand is not my favorite trope, but because I knew how Persuasion turns, I thought I would love this one too. It didn’t end up working that way though.

The bare bones of the story is quite close to the original, but I was actually excited for the reality cooking sh ...more

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Feb 01, 2021 Pam Jenoff rated it it was amazing

This is a fabulous romantic comedy about a chef who goes on a reality cooking show to save her restaurant and finds herself paired with the first love who broke her heart. Passionate, touching and hilarious!

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May 25, 2020 Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews rated it it was ok

Shelves: guiltypleasures-slick

Reviewers note: Trigger warnings – Rape, Alcholoism, Suicide

Recipe for Persuasion is billed as a desi retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, I’ll have to take the publisher and author’s word on that because I haven’t read the original and I wasn’t impressed with the retelling. Billed as a rom-com, there was nothing funny about this story and it wasn’t particularly romantic. The hero and heroine had a forbidden teenage romance in high school for about 1 year; she is Indian, his is Brazilian and Reviewers note: Trigger warnings – Rape, Alcholoism, Suicide

Recipe for Persuasion is billed as a desi retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, I’ll have to take the publisher and author’s word on that because I haven’t read the original and I wasn’t impressed with the retelling. Billed as a rom-com, there was nothing funny about this story and it wasn’t particularly romantic. The hero and heroine had a forbidden teenage romance in high school for about 1 year; she is Indian, his is Brazilian and they both remember their parting in very different and vivid ways and apparently over a decade later they still have strong feelings of hate for one another which has affected their romantic lives up until now (hello, can we say therapy needed).

Ashna’s early life was lived in India until her father was a prince but banished to California for various reasons where he became a famed chef of a high touted and popular restaurant. Her mother was absent, preferring to devote her life to a foundation that supported equal rights for girl’s education and right to play sports. Ashna’s memories are of her parents fighting with her mother visited and a father who struggled with alcoholism and depression which she believed stemmed from her mother’s refusal to live full time with them. While her parent’s relationship played a huge part in shaping Ashna into the woman she is today, it bogged down this book and failed to allow the romance between Ashna and Rico to bloom.

Rico’s parents were killed when he was young and he gave up football (soccer) because it’s what his father did for a living, but after moving to California to live with an aunt, meeting Ashna, getting his heart broken he went to England and picked it up again becoming a star player until an injury forced his retirement at age 30. I gleamed from the story that Rico had abandonment issues, he was high intelligent and knew how to work the media, and he harbored a grudge against Ashna and her father that made him sign up for a reality cooking show so he could be partnered with her and make her miserable.

Unfortunately, I didn’t feel the heat between Ashan and Rico, if anything it felt more like a sibling type relationship than a romantic one. I enjoyed watching them discover each other as adults and seeing how their teenage relationship came about but so much of this story was weighed down by Asha’s strained relationship with her mother and the relationship between her mother and late father.

For me this book was just a big fail all the way around, I found it to be bloated with too much information in some ways yet lacking in others. The romance floundered and I found it difficult to like a single character in the story.

Review copy provided for a voluntary review. ...more

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Jun 21, 2020 Carole Bell rated it it was ok

I have so many mixed feelings about this compelling yet frustrating book. It's engrossing for sure, but I feel like this story has been hijacked by its secondary characters and flashbacks and I have no idea why this was necessary.

One of Ashna’s greatest challenges is that she feels that other people don’t see her, that she’s not enough. Reading this book, I couldn't shake the sense that her creator seems to share that opinion. She’s apparently so bored with her main character that she abandons I have so many mixed feelings about this compelling yet frustrating book. It's engrossing for sure, but I feel like this story has been hijacked by its secondary characters and flashbacks and I have no idea why this was necessary.

One of Ashna’s greatest challenges is that she feels that other people don’t see her, that she’s not enough. Reading this book, I couldn't shake the sense that her creator seems to share that opinion. She’s apparently so bored with her main character that she abandons her for long stretches for one with a more dramatic personality and arc.

Perhaps because of this shift in focus from Ashna to Shobi there are several neglected and underdeveloped threads to this story. Most importantly, we don't spend much time with Ashna and Rico, and. their relationship seems fuzzy and underdeveloped as a result. If there are going to be flashbacks in a second chance romance, shouldn’t most of them focus on the two main characters falling in love?

A more minor, but odd loose thread is a subplot about Ashna's jealousy of or rivalry with another contestant on the celebrity cooking show that brings Ashna and Rico together. At one point, a specific competitor is presented as Ashna's motivation to win a challenge in her reality tv cooking competition, except this rival is barely a secondary character. His name appears exactly four times prior to her declaration that she's going to "kick Danny's butt." Her focus on him seems random and out of place as though it was meant to be more than it ended up being. There's a bit of a similar feeling with Rico's friends/ found family. What little we get to see of them is lovely.

It’s sad because I would have loved to read Ashna and Rico's love story. Rico is fabulous, and I would really love to read a retelling of Persuasion that engages with the book more deeply. This was not it. As for the story we got so much of-- Ashna's mother-- the story of her life and work and love was well worth telling in its own right, not stuck in as elaborate, discursive backstory to her daughter. Just very disappointing, and, again, frustrating. This is not necessarily a popular opinion but it is mine sincerely.

Arc received courtesty of NetGalley.

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May 30, 2020 Lisa Wolf rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, romance, foodie-books, san-francisco, austen-inspired, india

Persuasion is one of my favorite Jane Austen novels, so of course I was going to read this modern romance that riffs on Persuasion‘s themes!

Recipe for Persuasion is a loose follow-up to last year’s Pride, Prejudice & Other Flavors. The Raje family is still the center of the story, but here, the focus shifts to Ashna Raje, who was a supporting character in the previous novel.

Before getting too far into discussing Recipe for Persuasion, I want to get one thing straight, which is that the blurb abo ...more

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Feb 06, 2020 Janelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, cbr12, netgalley

As much as I love Pride & Prejudice, the book just doesn't update well. (I'm posting a review soon of a spectacular P&P fail.) So many of the elements of the story don't work out of context. Seduction of underage girls, the importance of one sibling's marriage on the family's fortunes, how many families one dines with, fine eyes... stuff just hits different now.

Persuasion, however, is, in many ways, a much easier tale to update. A young woman too sensitive to her family's censure, a young man wh As much as I love Pride & Prejudice, the book just doesn't update well. (I'm posting a review soon of a spectacular P&P fail.) So many of the elements of the story don't work out of context. Seduction of underage girls, the importance of one sibling's marriage on the family's fortunes, how many families one dines with, fine eyes... stuff just hits different now.

Persuasion, however, is, in many ways, a much easier tale to update. A young woman too sensitive to her family's censure, a young man whose wounded pride demands satisfaction, and a second chance to regain what they'd once lost. The challenge with Persuasion is to reproduce one of the great, if unsung, romantic heroes. If your Wentworth doesn't make a reader swoon, what even is the point?

All this to say, Sonali Dev gets this one right. I was half in love with both Ashna and Rico by the end of the first quarter.

Ashna Raje, cousin to Trisha Raje, is struggling to save her late father's once glorious restaurant. The shy Ashna is running out of options, so when her friend is looking for a chef to fill in on a pro-am reality cooking show, Ashna goes for it.

Frederico Silva has suffered an IT band injury that has put an end to his outstanding football (soccer, you heathens) career. Casting about for something to do with the rest of his life, he decides it's time to get closure from the girl who broke his teenage heart. What better way to do that than to use his fame to force his way onto the reality show?

Like Anne Eliot before her, Ashna's childhood was anything but happy. Her father was an irresponsible alcoholic prince kicked out of his country for breaking the law too many times. Her ambitious mother chafed at her loveless marriage and abandoned the family when Ashna was young. Throughout the book, Ashna is trying to find a way to heal from these traumas. Rico's return is one more wound on the pile.

Dev tells the story from multiple perspectives, and across the years. We see Ashna as a child, witnessing her parents dysfunctional relationship. Shoban as a young woman forced to marry a spoiled prince, then as an older woman trying to reconcile with the daughter she left behind. Rico gets the short shrift: he still hurts from Ashna's youthful rejection, but the story is less concerned with his past than his present.

If I had a complaint, and I truly don't, it would only be that Rico doesn't write his Wentworth note. However, I don't blame Dev one bit for not wanting to compete with that.

This might be my absolute favorite Austen retelling. It makes me want to re-read both the original and this version. I'm definitely recommending pre-ordering this to read as soon as it comes out.

I was given a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley in order to facilitate this review. ...more

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Sep 09, 2020 Hannah rated it liked it

3.5 Stars - Good book

I'd never read a retelling of Persuasion before but this was good! I had read Dev's Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors and really enjoyed it. I didn't enjoy this one as much but I think that's in part because Persuasion is my favorite Austen novel. Dev did well with this one and it's a thoroughly enjoyable book that I can recommend. ...more

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Feb 09, 2020 Sheena ☆ Oh, the Sheenanigans! rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arcs-ebook, contemporary, retellings, death, romance, time-travel, standalone, second-chance-romance, diverse-or-poc, millionaire-billionaire-romance

This Jane Austen inspired contemporary romance novel was a decent, uniquely written diverse-filled read that left me pleasantly surprised on how much I didn't completely hate it. Sure Ashna estranged mother Shobj annoyed me like no other but the rekindle romance between Ansha and Rico made up for it. Overall, it was not a bad read and would definitely keep this author on my radar for future releases.

...more

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Mar 16, 2020 Obsidian rated it it was ok

Shelves: netgalley

Please not that I received this via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.

Trigger warnings: Rape

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 fa Please not that I received this via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.

Trigger warnings: Rape

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. ...more

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May 11, 2020 Jewlsbookblog rated it liked it

Shelves: contemporary-romance, giveaway, 2020, arc

Ashna’s story really should have been two books! One about Ashna’s mother Shobi-and her hellacious relationship with Ashna’s dad- and another about Ashna and Rico. For me, the story fell short. The content was simply...too much to process.

At this point, I can tell you more about Ashna’s family drama more than I can about her and Rico, much less their second chance together, because the family drama consumed all the space. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if the book was advertised differentl ...more

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May 31, 2020 Megan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: amv

This was so good! I loved every minute! Her characters are so vivid and complex. And I love how she weaves really important topics seamlessly into the narrative. Definitely worth reading! 5 stars

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May 27, 2020 Aly is so frigging bored rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary, hh-2nd-chance-romance, hh-food-industry

I really liked this book, but it was emotional draining

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Sep 29, 2020 Amy rated it it was ok

Shelves: jane-austen, retellings

Well, like other reviewers have said, despite what the marketing says, this isn't a Persuasion retelling. The only thing the two novels have in common is the former lovers trope. This is its own can of worms.
And, uh, it wasn't my favorite.
Oh, the main couple was adorable. I felt the chemistry. I looked forward to the Rico POVs.
But the romance was heavy-handed. Especially for the last quarter, there would be pages of talking while they hammer out the meaning of love or whatever. And I just gla ...more

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Apr 04, 2020 Caitlin Reads rated it liked it

I am a huge Jane Austen fan and was so excited to receive this arc from Edelweiss+. Ashna is the head chef and owner of Curried Dreams, the failing business left to her by her deceased father. She will do anything to save it, including going on a reality cooking show where she will be matched with a celebrity. Low and behold, she gets matched with Rico, her high school ex boyfriend. I really enjoyed the relationship between Rico and Ashna. Both characters were really likable and fun to read abou ...more

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May 14, 2020 Lacey rated it it was ok

Shelves: chick-lit, arc, owned, romance, contemporary, retellings

I'm sorry but this was just not my thang. And that is truly a damn shame since nothing is more my thang than a yummy professional football player. (Team Messi 4eva)

But yeah, a couple of things to note:
(1) Don't let the cute cartoon cover fool you: this is no rom-com; it's actually fairly dark.
(2) I found it to be overly dramatic purely for dramatics' sake.
(3) Part of the book covers the story of Ashna's mom (which, to be completely honest, was more interesting than Ashna's story).
(4) Ashna was a ...more

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May 05, 2020 mindful.librarian ☀️ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: adult-reads, advanced-reader-copies, aoc

(free review copy) I LOVED this one! The romance, the mother-daughter relationship story arc, the FOOD, the cooking show - all of it. I actually liked it better than the first in the series and can't wait to read more about the Raje family! ...more

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May 26, 2020 Meredith (Austenesque Reviews) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: jane-austen, persuasion

A Complex Flavor Profile

Following her stellar modern-day Pride and Prejudice adaptation, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors, Sonali Dev’s second book in The Rajes Series, Recipe for Persuasion combines the flavors of Jane Austen’s novel about second chances with complicated family dynamics and cultural diversity. In this standalone story, readers see Ashna Raje, the reserved and timid thirty-year-old chef and owner of Curried Dreams – her father’s restaurant – do the unthinkable and compete i A Complex Flavor Profile

Following her stellar modern-day Pride and Prejudice adaptation, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors, Sonali Dev’s second book in The Rajes Series, Recipe for Persuasion combines the flavors of Jane Austen’s novel about second chances with complicated family dynamics and cultural diversity. In this standalone story, readers see Ashna Raje, the reserved and timid thirty-year-old chef and owner of Curried Dreams – her father’s restaurant – do the unthinkable and compete in a reality cooking show competition. Ashna isn’t one to do put herself on public display and her feelings about cooking are complicated, but her restaurant needs saving and Ashna has the determination to prove all the naysayers in her life wrong.

Ashna’s misgivings about participating in Cooking with the Stars intensifies exponentially when she learns the celebrity teammate she is paired with is…Rico Silva. The internationally-recognized professional soccer player who she fell in love with in high school yet hasn’t seen or heard from in twelve years!! But Rico isn’t the only person to have left Ashna… Long ago Ashna’s mom, Shoban, made the choice to stay in India and pursue her important advocacy work for women’s rights and sports for girls instead of moving to America with Ashna and her father. And since then their relationship has deteriorated to one of resentment, pain, and insurmountable distance. Saving Curried Dreams, appearing on Cooking with the Stars, facing Rico, and talking to her mother…poor Ashna has her plate full!

After deeply loving and admiring Sonali Dev’s brilliant gender-swap and culturally diverse Pride and Prejudice adaptation, I must admit it was a challenge not to have high expectations for Recipe for Persuasion. But I needn’t have worried. Sonali Dev found some incredibly profound correlations to Persuasion to feature in her story. Ones that are so understated, discerning, and beautifully connected. Persuasion isn’t just a tale about regret and being persuaded by others, it is also a story about growing up without a mother, being a daughter with limited rights/options, and permitting yourself to have what you want most. Ashna’s difficult relationship with her mother and Shoban’s own heartrending secrets were exceptionally moving storylines that were surprising yet astute choices for a Persuasion inspired story.

Another Persuasion connection/parallel I greatly enjoyed in this story were the modern-day Anne and Wentworth recreations – Ashna and Rico. Like Anne, Ashna has been neglected by members of her family. But unlike Anne, there are many scenes from her childhood that have intensely hurt Ashna and left deep scars. Many people in Ashna’s life view her as fragile, and she may appear that way because of her sadness and burdens, but there is a part of Ashna that is fierce, independent, and strong. And it is a part of herself that only one other person has seen…*sigh* I love Rico. I love how he purposefully causes his reentrance into Ashna’s life, and I love how his reasons for it are about wanting closure and answers. I loved every moment of Rico and Ashna together – there is so much they don’t say, so much in their past, so much we learn and witness along the way. It was a riveting journey.

I must devote this next paragraph to Sonali Dev’s beautiful writing style. It is poetic, vivid, and full of emotion and metaphor. With such tangible feelings described, the reader is easily pulled into these characters’ world and feel an intrinsic connection to them. I am very grateful for the flashback scenes of Ashna’s, Rico’s, and Shoban’s pasts which further enhances the reader’s understanding of these characters personalities and decisions. Some of these characters may be hard to like or understand at first, but that can change as the layers begin to peel away.

Like a master chef creating an elevated offering from a beloved classic dish, Sonali Dev’s homage to Jane Austen’s Persuasion is full of complex components, vibrant layers, and subtle notes of Jane Austen that work together harmoniously. Recipe for Persuasion is most worthy of praise, and is a story I heartily recommend! I so hope we soon hear that another book in this remarkable series is in this works! *fingers crossed for it to be about Yash…with maybe a S&S tie in?*

Note: Due to the use of strong language and reference to a nonconsensual sexual encounter (nothing explicit), I’d recommend this book for readers over the age of 14.

Austenesque Reviews ...more

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Mar 15, 2020 Lu rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned-advanced-reading-copy, heros-most-loveable, good-stories, series-to-continue, second-chances, diverse-hero-or-heroine, netgalley, heroes-gama

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 compl ...more

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About Sonali Dev

Sonali Dev

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Sonali Dev’s first literary work was a play about mistaken identities performed at her neighborhood Diwali extravaganza in Mumbai. She was eight years old. Despite this early success, Sonali spent the next few decades getting degrees in architecture and written communication, migrating across the globe, and starting a family while writing for magazines and websites. With the advent of her first gr ...more

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The Rajes (3 books)

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Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors (The Rajes, #1)

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Quotes from Recipe for Persua...

“Happiness seeps into me when you're around, Rico. Without invitation, without notice, joy finds me. Being around you is being alive, it's breathing, it's home.” — 3 likes

“One thing he'd say about her- she blushed like no one else he'd ever met. Her gorgeous skin went from warm brown to an almost fiery pink. It didn't help that Rico knew she was blushing with her entire body right now. He had loved to chase that blush across her skin.” — 3 likes

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