alexkudej's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Child abuse
alleymb's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bellebookstitch666's review
3.0
I checked out the book thinking it would be a sweet romcom book. It was not. I made it to page 216 before giving up. It was depressing, with an absentee mom, a vile father who committed suicide, the main character who has anxiety and abandonment issues who is running her restaurant to the ground, an a retired soccer player who was her former love. Honestly, I didn’t feel the spark between Ashna and Rico. The one reason I couldn’t finish the book was Shoban’s POV. When she talked about her forced marriage to Bram (Ashna’s baba), I could tell it was only going to get worse. I heard that there was marital rape and it bothered me. I just couldn’t finish it.
moosetash's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
taylallynxo's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
lizzideldu's review
3.0
This book gave me a lot of conflicted feelings.
On the one hand, I was really looking forward to reading it! I just recently discovered Sonali Dev through her Pride and Prejudice re-telling (and first book of the series) Pride, Prejudice, and other Flavors (which I loved loved loved) and I loved her fresh, witty, writing style. Also, after Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion is my second-favourite Austen book. This was supposed to be perfect! And... it wasn't. But it also wasn't particularly bad. It was just... meh. Bland. My main problem with this book is not that it's not specifically (or not only) a romance. I love that the author adds so many elements (extremely dramatic) to the main protagonist's past and current life. They could have all been extremely powerful additions that brought the romance and the character development up a notch when compared to other books of the same genre. But they didn't have the effect I hoped. The main reason is that they drag along for the main part of the book, and then they get resolved in the blink of an eye and we don't understand exactly how. What Ashna has been through (and what has shaped her physiologically during the most important years of her development) has carried on within her for all those years. An abusive father, an absent, cold mother, a feeling of never being enough. She clearly has depression, struggles with anxiety and PTSD. And all of this carries on during most of the story. These are heavy topics, and in real life overcoming those issues is not easy. Definitely, finding love and understanding your parents are helpful tools in overcoming them, but they are not enough and definitely not quick. But in the story, it happens in the blink of an eye. Ashna gets together with Rico, has a talk with her mother, and after that, they're all perfectly content together, with no issues in sight.
Also, because of all these dramatic subplots (including a lot of flashbacks from secondary characters), we don't really see a romance developing between Ashna and Rico. We are told they were in love when they were teenagers, and this is the only thing their present love is based on. We don't see them falling in love with who they are right now, but with who they were in high school. Also, we don't really see much of Rico at all.
I feel like the author tried to put too many things together, all great in their own right, which might have been great also together if there had been more written to it. The end result, for me, was a superficially nice yet frustrating and disappointing read.
On the one hand, I was really looking forward to reading it! I just recently discovered Sonali Dev through her Pride and Prejudice re-telling (and first book of the series) Pride, Prejudice, and other Flavors (which I loved loved loved) and I loved her fresh, witty, writing style. Also, after Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion is my second-favourite Austen book. This was supposed to be perfect! And... it wasn't. But it also wasn't particularly bad. It was just... meh. Bland. My main problem with this book is not that it's not specifically (or not only) a romance. I love that the author adds so many elements (extremely dramatic) to the main protagonist's past and current life. They could have all been extremely powerful additions that brought the romance and the character development up a notch when compared to other books of the same genre. But they didn't have the effect I hoped. The main reason is that they drag along for the main part of the book, and then they get resolved in the blink of an eye and we don't understand exactly how. What Ashna has been through (and what has shaped her physiologically during the most important years of her development) has carried on within her for all those years. An abusive father, an absent, cold mother, a feeling of never being enough. She clearly has depression, struggles with anxiety and PTSD. And all of this carries on during most of the story. These are heavy topics, and in real life overcoming those issues is not easy. Definitely, finding love and understanding your parents are helpful tools in overcoming them, but they are not enough and definitely not quick. But in the story, it happens in the blink of an eye. Ashna gets together with Rico, has a talk with her mother, and after that, they're all perfectly content together, with no issues in sight.
Also, because of all these dramatic subplots (including a lot of flashbacks from secondary characters), we don't really see a romance developing between Ashna and Rico. We are told they were in love when they were teenagers, and this is the only thing their present love is based on. We don't see them falling in love with who they are right now, but with who they were in high school. Also, we don't really see much of Rico at all.
I feel like the author tried to put too many things together, all great in their own right, which might have been great also together if there had been more written to it. The end result, for me, was a superficially nice yet frustrating and disappointing read.
khines213's review
3.0
A fantastic interpretation of Persuasion. I enjoyed this sophomore novel just as much as book 1, which was a pleasant surprise. I didn't enjoy the time skipping, while I understand why, I felt a little disjointed to me and took a few lines to realize we had reverted from present day plot. However, as my favorite Jane Austen novel that I feel is underrated, well done. It was faithful to the original while being creative and quirky with how Persuasion would play out present day.
kgraham10's review
3.0
3.5* It is a fun remake of Jane Austen's Persuasion set in N. California with Indian diaspora family.
Fun but somewhat overwrought and drags in the middle. #GoodreadsGiveaways
Fun but somewhat overwrought and drags in the middle. #GoodreadsGiveaways