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 complete screw up? When … that she isn’t a complete screw up? When she’s asked to join the cast of Cooking with the Stars, the latest hit reality show teaming chefs with celebrities, it seems like just the leap of faith she needs to put her restaurant back on the map. She’s a chef, what’s the worst that could happen?
Rico Silva, that’s what.
Being paired with a celebrity who was her first love, the man who ghosted her at the worst possible time in her life, only proves what Ashna has always believed: leaps of faith are a recipe for disaster.
FIFA winning soccer star Rico Silva isn’t too happy to be paired up with Ashna either. Losing Ashna years ago almost destroyed him. The only silver lining to this bizarre situation is that he can finally prove to Ashna that he’s definitely over her.
But when their catastrophic first meeting goes viral, social media becomes obsessed with their chemistry. The competition on the show is fierce…and so is the simmering desire between Ashna and Rico. Every minute they spend together rekindles feelings that pull them toward their disastrous past. Will letting go again be another recipe for heartbreak—or a recipe for persuasion…?
In Recipe for Persuasion, Sonali Dev once again takes readers on an unforgettable adventure in this fresh, fun, and enchanting romantic comedy.
more
This book reached into my heart and opened me up to each and every character. I fell in love over and over again. This beautiful and satisfying story brought tears and laughter, heartbreak and healing. I developed such a deep fondness for the Raje family that I wish they were real. Sonali Dev’s magical and brilliant writing is not to be missed. I can’t wait for the next in the series.
In this retelling of Persuasion, former couple Ashna, a chef and Rico, a retired elite footballer are reunited on a reality cooking show where she’s forced to confront all the insecurities plaguing her.
I’ve never read Persuasion so I don’t know how closely Dev’s version follows it but on its own it’s a turbulent family drama filled with heightened emotions and sad backstories. Ashna’s father died years ago saddling her with the responsibility of running his restaurant, Curried Dreams. She never aspired to owning or running a restaurant but does it for the sake of her father’s legacy, much to the detriment of her own health and happiness. Rico for all his success on the pitch is now searching for his next career move off of it so when he discovers that Ashna is doing the reality cooking show he gets the idea that he should go on it as well. He could then revisit their relationship and get the answers he needs about their breakup. Once he arrives, he realizes that he’s not even sure what he wants out of this awkward reunion.
Dev’s writing is, as ever, phenomenal. There’s so much life in her descriptions that it’s as if she’s inserted you into those scenes. You can sense everything and it’s a talent that’s so magical, so hers. Perhaps it’s because of that I had a difficult time with parts of the story, especially concerning Ashna’s complicated relationship with her father and estranged mother. Ashna’s pain touched me on such a personal level that I’d have to stop and take a few breaths before continuing. As if her story wasn’t convoluted enough, her mother, Shobi’s sudden appearance makes Ashna feel as if she’s been ambushed. For reasons that are completely my own, I didn’t like Shobi at first but as she got to tell her story in fragments, I gradually felt more empathy towards her, and it was all I could do not to holler at her and Ashna to just speak and listen to each other.
Rico’s story isn’t all sunshine and roses either but he seems to have found some measure of peace in the years gone by. To be honest, I was super grateful that Rico was more put together than Ashna and Shobi. He was a good counterbalance to their combined grief. Any more and it would’ve been too overwhelming for me. The moments when Rico and Ashna shine are during the cooking competition when they manage to set aside their awkwardness to create amazing, mouthwatering recipes. Those moments become a sweet respite from the heaviness permeating the rest of the story. I was curious about some of the recipes they concocted and even looked up a few that I might try on my own.
Recipe for Persuasion evoked many feelings in me and that is certainly what I expect from an incredible story – something that makes me react, feel and question. As I said at the beginning, I’ve never read Persuasion so I don’t know how it compares. To me it’s about healing as all the characters in Dev’s retelling are confronting their feelings, as distressing as they are, opening up to their vulnerabilities as they’ve never done before. It’s frightening and risky but they all come through. To that effect, I also think that what romance there is between Rico and Ashna is overshadowed by Ashna’s longstanding pain, and Shobi’s story arc. I didn’t take it as a romantic comedy in the way of whimsy but rather as an intense and earnest story, written from the heart, that will affect each reader differently.
~ Bel
Source: ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review
Sonali Dev does it again! In a nod to Austen’s classic, Recipe for Persuasion dices up family drama, slow-boils the romance between Chef Ashna and footballer, Rico Silva, as they come to terms with their past and their current feelings Master Chef-style. You will gobble up this Dev concoction like your favorite dessert… and then you’ll want seconds.
On fear of being shamed, can I admit that, despite being an English major who loves to read, I have never read a Jane Austen novel? Something I need to rectify at some point, but it does mean that I can’t tell you if Sonali Dev’s RECIPE FOR PERSUASION, the second book in the Rajes series, is good twist on Austen’s novel. What I can tell you is that Dev’s novel is full of interesting, well-developed characters in a well-written story that hooked me from the beginning. Ashna and Rico are two people that have been through the wringer of life. When he finds out that Ashna is going to be on a new cooking show matching Chefs and celebrities in competition, Rico takes the opportunity to leverage his football (soccer) celebrity to get closure after the abrupt way their high school romance ended. Ashna knows that winning on the show can save her restaurant, but there is so much she must deal with to get there, not to mention all the feelings Rico brings up.
This story is so much more than a second-chance romances. Reading about what Ashna and her Mom faced as they grew up and how it impacted their lives and their relationship was heartbreaking. It was gratifying to see the result.
This was book two in the Rajes series, but it can easily be read as a stand-alone novel. If you did read the first novel, it was fun to learn more about the Rajes, and I can’t wait to see where Dev takes us next.
Thanks to the Publisher and Edelwiess for an advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.
#RecipeforPersuasion #sonalidev #theRajes #TallPoppyWriter #BloomReads #TallPoppyBlogger
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 differently. Total misconception on my part, so please don’t let this deter you from giving this book a try! Sonali Dev has a beautiful writing style and she tells a really good tale that makes you think. This one just wasn’t my cup of tea.
I received an advance reader copy from Avon books. This is my honest review.
Packs A Ton Into Final Moments. The first 90% of this book is solid. Lots of drama over all kinds of secrets and misunderstandings, primarily between a couple that split over a decade ago and finds themselves thrust together when one of them decides to force their way into the other’s life. But also lots of intergenerational drama between a mother and her daughter. But then that last 10% or so of the book… wow. If you like the various cooking reality shows, you’re going to like this book from that angle, but there really is so much more here. Solid use of the old English source material (Jane Austen) brought into more modern contexts and even a much different specific cultural background… and then bringing even that background into yet another more modern setting. Long at nearly 500 pages, but never overly feels it. Very much recommended.
This was my first book by this author, so I didn’t really know what to expect. What I got was a beautiful retelling of Persuasion, with all the heartache, angst, and family drama that entails.
Ashna Raje is a chef, running her deceased father’s restaurant, and trying to keep it from failing, after a lot of bad breaks. Her best friend China is a TV producer, and tells her about an opportunity to be on the reality show, Cooking with the Stars. Winning the prize money would help her pay of the restaurant’s debt, but what China doesn’t know-what no one knows-is that Ashna has a panic attack any time she tries to cook anything besides one of her father’s recipes. Meanwhile, her super successful, but absentee, mother is finally trying to make amends, and Ashna just doesn’t have the energy for it. What is she going to do?
Frederico Silva is a worldwide soccer phenom, who just had to retire after a career-ending knee injury. He has no idea what he’s going to do with his life now, which has him thinking about the past, and about the first and only girl he ever loved. He’s never really looked back in the last 12 years, but recent events have caused him to wonder about Ashna, and what her life is like now. He never got closure, so he looks her up. He finds out about the show, and gets his agent to get him on the show as one of the celebs, paired with Ashna as his chef. The first time they see each other again goes horribly awry, but it’s caught on film, and the internet is eating it up. But, how can he and Ashna really work together with all that’s broken between them. Has he made a terrible mistake?
There’s truly a third main character here as well, in Ashna’s mother, Shoban. We get some of her story in flashbacks, which causes you to get to know her better, and really feel for her situation. All the things that happened to her in her life, led to the decisions she was forced to make along the way, including leaving Ashna with her father. She’s in town to finally try to fix things with Ashna, but Ashna isn’t really giving her a chance. What will it take for Ashna to hear Shobi’s truths, and truly understand her?
This was honestly a family saga with a lot of women’s fiction elements, but it also had a wonderful second chance romance happening between Ashna and Rico. I have a love/hate relationship with second chance romance, because all the angst is just not my jam. As this is a retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, I knew all the basic beats to expect at least, so that made the angst more tolerable for me. But I often wanted to grab Ashna and tell her she really needs to be speaking to a therapist. Immediately. She has some serious PTSD, and panic/anxiety, with self-recriminations and a boatload of guilt piled on top. The girl needs a professional, and I really wish this had been dealt with a little more deeply. Ashna was strong, you’d HAVE to be to deal with all she’s gone through. But, everything was so internalized. She never just said what needed to be said, until she was driven past her breaking point, both with family, and with Rico.
Rico and Ashna still were drawn to each other and had mega chemistry after all the years of separation, but they each thought the other abandoned them without a backward glance, and that’s a hard thing to forgive, much less forget. They were constantly at odds during the show’s filming, and there was massive strain between them. It was hard to watch them each with these internal thoughts and feelings, but unable to express them to each other verbally. They both needed to use their grownup words, but neither managed it until it was almost too late.
Shobi’s story was truly a devastating one, but one that is likely very common for her generation. I felt for her, even when she made wrong decisions, she was always doing what she thought was best for Ashna, and for herself. I was glad to see her truly trying to make Ashna understand her, but she was always afraid to push too hard, as Ashna clams up so quickly when under stress. It was a very interesting dynamic between mother and daughter, and I enjoyed watching them come to an understanding about each other.
Ultimately, this was a story about forgiveness, of others, but mostly of yourself. We don’t always make the right decisions, and we might not always have all the facts about a situation. People are fallible, family most of all. We can let it ruin our lives, or we can determine ways to make it work for us. This story was a bit of a slow start for me, but I ended up really loving it. Rico was a total dreamboat, and I adored the way he loved with his whole heart. Ashna had me struggling early on, but in the end I just felt so much for her, and wanted her to do and be better. She made me love her too, in the end.
If you enjoy a book with flawed, but loving characters, a large family with crazy dynamics, and a mother-daughter love story, along with your romance, this is definitely the story for you.
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.
A multicultural exploration of romance and family with a pinch of Austen = Perfection!
Ashna and Rico found each other as teenagers at their most vulnerable and despite finding love they couldn’t weather what life threw at them. Twelve years later neither have found love again and both are once again at a vulnerable turning point when fate brings them back together.
Ashna’s journey to self love and acceptance is so beautiful and Rico’s support of her, even when he thinks he just wants closure, is just as moving. Their banter and knowledge of each other on a soul deep level create a romance worthy of its Austen inspiration. But for me, the exploration of Rico’s Brazilian and English roots and Ashn’a Indian heritage through food and love combined with Shobi’s journey are what make this book so amazing.
I also really loved the flashbacks to Ashna and Shobi’s youth that showed how very similar mother and daughter actually are.
I’m a devotee of this series and can’t wait for more of this family and their journeys.
I received a complimentary review copy of this book but all opinions are my own.
A great and first-class read by new-to-me author, Sonali Dev! Dev entertainingly brings us the story of an ex-couple who are reunited on the set of a cooking show. Humorous antics follow, as one can imagine! I will definitely be reading more from this author!
I love all of Sonali Dev’s writing. I love how gracefully she manages character’s emotions. I love how she pulls uglier emotions apart to find joy and humor. Her characters are so real you feel, after closing the book, like you know them and then spend a few days wondering whatever happened to that person. Ashna and Rico are fantastic together. The chemistry crackles. And the FOOD!!! It’s unfair, Sonali!!!!
This is the second book of Somali Dev’s which is inspired by Jane Austen books. Here we have a book inspired by Persuasion. This book takes you on an emotional journey. You have a daughter who is trying to impress her estranged mother while at the same time dealing with her childhood love who is now a soccer star. So we have Ashna who is struggling to keep her fathers restaurant afloat. Rico is her childhood sweetheart whose soccer career recently ended due to injury. They are partnered up on a celebrity cooking show. What I really enjoy is as Ashna and Rico work through their past we also see Ashna’s mother Shobis past relationship with Ashnas father. It’s a beautiful love story which shows how the past can affect our future in subtle ways. It’s not only a love story but also a story about a mother and daughter who learn to repair their relationship by dealing with their past histories. It is written beautifully and was a wonderful book. I received a copy from netgalley and this is my honest review.
Recipe for Persuasion is far more than just a second chance romance, I know that it’s a modern take on Persuasion by Jane Austen that bills itself as a rom-com, in all honesty, it doesn’t feel like there is much about it that’s comedy (the original is far more about the family drama). Ashna and Rico’s relationship was a big part of the story, but a bigger part of the story was Ashna’s broken relationship with her mom and the fall out of her dad’s alcoholism even after his death. It took me longer than usual to read this one because it has quite a bit of heavy content. The guilt and baggage that comes with one alcoholic parent and being abandoned by the other parent were extremely accurate, my heart was so incredibly broken for Ashna. While Rico has a rough backstory as well, it didn’t stick out quite as much to me, maybe because we see so much more of Ashna’s family. I think it’s a decent modern-day adaptation, which can be hard to do. If you’re a fan of the original you’ll definitely enjoy this version. Thank you to the publisher for an ARC.