Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors

February 15, 2019
A workaholic, socially inept Indian-American brain surgeon is caught off guard by her attraction to a Rwandan/Anglo-Indian chef in this rewrite of Pride and Prejudice.Trisha Raje is a princess whose family prides itself on its aristocratic Indian roots as well as its integration into American life. The Rajes are preparing for their scion's gubernatorial campaign in the Bay Area when Trisha rejoins them after a period of estrangement (caused by her former college roommate). She and chef Darcy "DJ" Caine meet at a political event and sparks fly, but for all the wrong reasons. While the two try to smooth things over, subsequent encounters exacerbate their hostility and class divide. Yet, as any Austen fan knows, the fallout of their pride and biases will eventually be resolved. Dev (A Distant Heart, 2017, etc.) credibly reworks a beloved novel to include diverse representation, and her use of dual points of view reveals the internal lives of both protagonists. DJ's love for Indian cooking is also an interesting flip of a more traditional script. But Dev creates equivalents to Regency England partly through a discomfiting choice to valorize Trisha's royal Indian genes--not only does she descend from ancestors who fought the medieval Islamic Mughal rulers and the British Empire and joined the Indian freedom struggle, her relatives are good royals who practice noblesse oblige (including on visits to Africa) and nurture a household (including a member who is differently abled) and have an upper-class sense of art and music. This complimentary take on the one percent is common in the genre, but what is problematic here is that romanticizing a royal identity normalizes the caste hierarchy still practiced (albeit illegally) in South Asian society, including in the contemporary diaspora. So while this is undoubtedly a charming attempt to weave in Indian history and Maharashtrian culture (and address #MeToo), the novel is limited to a lovely but upper-class Hindu family's tribulations and triumphs, reiterating a tendency among Indian cultural producers to limit happily-ever-afters to this group.The first in a multicultural #OwnVoices romance series, with an enemies-to-lovers central plot and distinctive supporting characters whose histories and dramas play out alongside the love story.

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March 18, 2019
Dev (A Bollywood Affair) debuts a sweeping series starring the Raje family, immigrants descended from Indian royalty who are making a dazzling mark on American society, with this romance based very loosely on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Dr. Trisha Raje is a brilliant neurosurgeon with little time for love or family. Multiracial British chef DJ Caine has cared for his younger sister all their lives and has assumed the burden of her exorbitant medical bills from fighting a progressive brain tumor. When DJ is hired by Trisha’s socialite mother to cater an important event, the two butt heads; DJ finds Trisha attractive but thinks she has terrible manners. Upon realizing DJ’s beloved sister is also Trisha’s beloved patient—who’s currently refusing treatment—the dueling duo is forced to collude to find a life-saving solution. Over time, their antipathy gradually shifts to love, but the return of Raje family foe Julia Wickham risks disrupting their growing romance. Dev adroitly addresses matters of racism, classism, rape culture, and immigrant experiences in this entertaining contemporary story. Austen fans will find that little of the original remains; where Austen’s focus was on women, Dev harps on the importance of being validated by men. Taken on its own, though, this is a complex and riveting work. Agent: Claudia Cross, Folio Literary Mgmt.

Starred review from April 1, 2019

DJ Caine, a multiracial British Cordon Bleu-trained chef, is dismayed to learn that the arrogant woman who invaded "his" kitchen, almost tipped over his caramel, and then referred to him as "the hired help" is Trisha Raje, the brilliant doctor he's counting on to save his sister Emma's life. No slouch in the talent department himself, DJ knows he has no choice but to tamp down his resentment and find a way to get along with Trisha, not only for Emma's sake but also for his career as a personal chef. Then the sparks that fly between them turn to attraction, confusing them both and leading to a union that is profound and totally fresh. A career-focused heroine who's unrivaled in the operating room but lost when it comes to relationships and a conflicted hero whose food is pure magic sort their way through prejudices, first impressions, miscommunications, and family expectations in a story alight with unforgettable characters. VERDICT With humor, insight, and culinary descriptions so rich the tantalizing aromas of curry and cilantro practically waft from the pages, Dev's latest draws readers into a tangled world of class, cultural, and political issues in a delicious riff on Pride and Prejudice. Dev (A Distant Heart) lives in the Chicago area. [See Prepub Alert, 11/26/18.]

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2019
Dr. Trisha Raje is an accomplished surgeon, and she is about to perform a groundbreaking, tumor-removing surgery. The operation will, however, leave her patient, an artist, blind. Trisha's brother is running for governor, thus fulfilling her family's ambitious political dreams, and his events are being catered by DJ Caine, a mixed-race British chef with a model's good looks. DJ also happens to be the sister of Trisha's patient. Like a gender-swapped Pride and Prejudice, sparks fly during Trisha and DJ's first meeting when DJ overhears Trisha saying she'd never stoop to dating the hired help. But Trisha and DJ must reverse their initial impressions of each other and work together if they want to see DJ's sister survive her surgery and Trisha's brother win the gubernational race, especially with con-woman Julia Wickham on the prowl. Dev's fifth novel faces such issues as cultural assimilation, familial forgiveness, and medical ethics head-on. Her descriptions of DJ's culinary delights, whether from DJ's passionate perspective or from Trisha's, are mouthwatering. Ideal for romantics and foodies alike.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)