NEW-The Emma Project: A Novel

The Rajes #4

by Sonali Dev

Emma gets a fresh Indian-American twist from award-winning author Sonali Dev in her heartwarmingly irresistible Jane Austen inspired rom com series.No one can call Vansh Raje’s life anything but charmed. Handsome—Vogue has declared him California’s hottest single—and rich enough to spend all his time on missions to make the world a better place. Add to that a doting family and a contagiously sunny disposition and Vansh 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 and wants only one thing from her life…fine, two things. One, to have nothing to do with the unfairly blessed Raje family ever again. Two, to bring 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 come to fruition, Vansh Raje shows up with his misguided Emma Project... And suddenly she’s fighting him for funding and wondering if a friends-with-benefits arrangement that’s as toe-curlingly hot as it is fun is worth risking her life’s work for.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Audiobook, Contemporary Romance, Retellings, Adult

416 pages, Paperback

First published May 17, 2022

About the author

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 gray hair her mad love for telling stories returned full force, and she now combines it with her insights into Indian culture to conjure up stories that make a mad tangle with her life as supermom, domestic goddess, and world traveler.

Sonali lives in the Chicago suburbs with her very patient and often amused husband and two teens who demand both patience and humor, and the world’s most perfect dog.

Reviews

[Nilufer Ozmekik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! This is another fastest reading experience for me! Probably this book is my favorite one of the series! I sigh slowly as I remember this is the last installment of Rajes! I think I loved each member’s story!

I was so ready to enjoy this book. My reasons are obvious;
Gender swapped Indian- American Emma retelling is such a good idea!

Bringing back Incense and Sensibility’s greatest supporting character as heroine is another fabulous choice! I was already devoted fan of Naina from the previous installment!

The book truly carries true essence of Austen’s Emma and Vansh’s Emma project is realistic reflection of true soul of the original story!

Great combination of multi layered, flawed but genuine characterization and such a lovely lighthearted romance you may resonate with!

If you don’t get interested in the previous books of the series, I highly recommend you not to miss this one!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

[peachygirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

It pains me to give a 2 star rating to a book by Ms.Dev and that too from my favorite series, but this series deserved a better ending. And Vansh's story deserved a much better heroine. If you thought Naina was annoying in the last book, she's downright intolerable in this one. And why include Esha's story also in this one? It was an unnecessary mess. I didn't feel the chemistry between any of the 2 main couples. Even the Raje family seemed a little less endearing to me and that is when I completely lost interest.
I had hoped this book would break my 2022 5 star dry spell but ughh 😐

[Obsidian · Rating 1 out of 5]

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

This book almost caused a reading slump. I wasn't enjoying it and kept setting it aside and then just didn't have the energy to read anything else. I gave this book 1 star for a lot of reasons. First, there was no real character development for Naina or Vansh. Other characters who have appeared in this series don't always act in ways that we would expect them to in this one. Next, the plot was thin as heck and trying to act as if this book is a pastiche of Emma was a stretch. Like a lot. There was no comeuppance for a really terrible character in this one and kinda sorta one for another. Then, Dev force fits two romances into this one and it doesn't work. I get why she did the last on the latter book since she was modeling it off of two sisters from Sense and Sensibility. But her deciding to shoehorn in Sid and Esha was a bad call. I get she wanted to end the Rajes series with this one, but maybe their story could have been a short story or something. The epilogue left me cold honestly. The last book in this series definitely went out with a whimper. 

"The Emma Project" follows Naina Kohli who we got to meet in the last book, Incense and Sensibility. Naina is still dealing with the world finding out her 10 year relationship with her best friend Yash. Yash is now the newly elected governor of California and Naina is focused on the funding she has received from a billionaire that will help her foundation. However, things take a turn when her financier refused to give her the money unless it's on a project with Yash's younger brother, Vansh. Vansh wants to use the project to do something good in the world and to also show Naina he is more than just his family or face.

So. Naina is supposed to be the Knightley in this book. Vansh is Emma. Somehow worse than her though which is saying something. Vansh is determined to use this project to "cure homelessness" and is fixated on a former employee of his brother's who he is going to "make over." Yes, that is as offensive as you think it is. What kills me is that Naina keeps warning Vansh and he ignores her and the book portrays Naina as closed and unmoved by love, instead of having more common sense than a flea. Also what really drives me up the wall is that Vansh does not learn any type of lesson. He gets excused by everyone and their mother (literally) in this one and it just made me fling my hands up. 

I think this is supposed to be an enemies to lovers trope, but it doesn't really work. It also doesn't help that I felt the romance was not real. It just didn't make any sense and I really wanted there to be more development of that. Instead too much of the story was taken up by the "project". And Naina's backstory is a lot. And it could have been it's own book. There's a lot of pain there and you get insight into her, her mother, her aunt and once again it just didn't fit with everything else going on. 

And the Rajes kind of sucked in this one. I think Dev had an uphill battle making Naina a sympathetic character that readers would want to root for after the last book and the things she got up to. But you can understand her a bit better in this one. But the whole family treating her like persona non grata made zero sense after you saw how she pretty much grew up with that whole family. And we know how she protected Yash. Frankly I was disappointed with Yash in this one. I guess he was too busy fixing racism in this book with his sitting down with the police union and Black Lives Matter (yes my eyes rolled the entire way around) to actually stand up for Naina. Since we got to know him in the last book, it was so weird he would be absent and not taking his family to task for how things were going down. We did get to keep hearing how awesome India was and how she was like a serene Buddha every five seconds though. 

And the biggest what the heck was including Sid (India's brother) and Esha into this. I don't even know what that was. I was never a big fan of that whole character anyway (Esha) but it just felt like filler to me and not good filler. I just kept muttering why is she in this? 

The writing was fine, the plot was not. I just thought the entire book was misguided mess. The flow was not great either. Nothing hung together and it felt like we were just running from scene to scene and then love scene to love scene with no real effort to ensure that the story made any sense and the main couple was one to root for. Sid and Esha were probably a good reason why the flow in this one wasn't that great. 

The ending of the book "wraps" up things for everyone though. It does end on a Happily Ever After. I was just disappointed because there were too many loose threads left with Naina's storyline in my opinion.

[Renaissance Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the steamiest of the Raje books, and I loved every second of it 🥵.

I have really enjoyed this series over the past several years, with flawed but human characters, poignant and important themes, and moments that made me laugh and others that made me cry. It's bittersweet to see it come to an end, but leaving Naina and Vansh's (and Esha and Sid's!) story til last was great because it was truly a culmination of everything that happened in the series. It was wonderful seeing them get their happy endings and having the chance to say goodbye to the entire cast of characters. Unless we can convince Sonali Dev to write Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park retellings as well...

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager via Netgalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

[Ayushi (bookwormbullet) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Nobody talk to me 😭. I can’t believe this series is officially over--it truly feels like the end of an era. The Rajes is my top contemporary series of all time and seeing this series come to a close makes me so emotional, especially after watching each of the Raje siblings go through their own journeys of healing and finding love. I’ve mentioned before how much I admire the Raje siblings and how they would do anything to protect and support one another. Just with the first book, it seems like so long ago that Trisha was juggling being a neurosurgeon and bickering with DJ, but we’ve come so far since then.

Before I get more sappy about the end of this series, I have to talk about Vansh and Naina’s story! I honestly went into this book with no idea if I was going to like either of them. Vansh gave me spoiled, entitled bachelor vibes and after Naina’s antics with Yash and India in Incense and Sensibility, I already had a negative view of her. However, this book really put things in perspective and made me realize how mistreated she was being by the Raje siblings. Even if Naina and Yash were in a fake relationship, the way Yash dropped Naina for India so quickly and the way all the Rajes started treating Naina afterwards was really uncalled for. Overall, this book really made me love Naina. She’s so cool with how passionate she is about her work and there were so many times I wish she could sock Jiggy for the extremely sexist way he was treating her.

Vansh also surprised me so much and was such a fun character to follow. He seemed so much more mature and responsible in this book compared to his previous appearances. I also loved how passionate he was with trying to solve the housing crisis in San Francisco. I couldn’t even believe he was only 26 years old--his wisdom and advice made him seem so much older, that I would often forget that this book was an age-gap romance book to begin with (Naina is 12 years older than Vansh). I normally don’t like age-gap romances, but Vansh and Naina treated each other as 100% equals, so I didn’t even mind it here. Also the spice was definitely elevated in this book compared to the previous books, omg. I’m still thinking about the restaurant scene, gd.

I also absolutely love that Esha got her own storyline in this book! I was hoping we would get a separate book for Esha’s story, but a subplot featuring her relationship with Sid was the next best thing. Their relationship was so sweet and I just love how interconnected this family is 🥺.

Going back to all this book being the last book in The Rajes series, I absolutely adored all the cameos from the other characters. The little reunion at the beginning of the book with each couple stumbling into the secret alcove where Vansh and Naina were hiding had me DYING. Literal giggles were coming out of my mouth--it was the perfect way to start this finale. I went into this book just hoping for glimpses of AshnaRico and YashIndia, and seeing Rico still be completely obsessed with Ashna was so cute. And seeing Yash be just as protective as India as he was in Incense and Sensibility was also adorable. AND THE EPILOGUE AHH. I literally started tearing up when Sonali revealed Ashna’s status. Ashna and Rico are literally my number one contemporary romance couple of all time and just seeing them be happy and have a future after all the trauma and healing they had to do from being young teens in love makes me so emotional ahsdjfhsj.

Okay that as all from me. I could probably gush about this series forever and how much these books mean to me. I obviously highly, highly recommend this series (particularly Recipe for Persuasion and Incense and Sensibility!) with my entire heart. These stories are going to stay with me forever. And of course, if you’re a fan of The Rajes, you definitely have to pick up The Emma Project when it releases in May!

[Syndi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really try to like The Emma Project. I love Miss Dev' books. So I had a really high expectation for Emma Project. Sadly, I am lost in the story.

My first confusion is characters. There are so many characters being thrown in first few chapters. Since I have not the whole series in order, I got lost.

Second, the story/ plot itself. The writing is difficult to navigate. So many interaction and conversation with the secondary characters. Remember, I can not keep up with that so many characters.

I sadly have to give this book 2 stars.

2 stars

[WhiskeyintheJar · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

“Don’t you see, what you’re talking about is an Emma Project. It’s vanity. It’s looking for ways to play with people’s lives out of ennui.”

The fourth and final book in the Rajes series about a big loving, complicated family in California, stars Vansh, affectionately nicknamed Baby Prince because he is the youngest Raje and manages to use his charm and dimples to get his way and Naina, Vansh's older brother Yash's (Incense and Sensibility) ex-girlfriend. Naina was an only child and grew-up in a household where her father's coldness and rigid ways had her and her mother on edge. Childhood friends, Naina and Yash came up with an arrangement where they were in a relationship but there was nothing romantic about it. Yash got to seem settled to help his political career and Naina got her father and mother off her back about getting married. When Yash falls in love, the arrangement blows up in Naina's face when Yash's family blames her for thinking she kept him in a loveless relationship for ten years and her mother and father blame her for Yash leaving. Vansh always liked Naina and even with their twelve year age difference he remembers Naina being one of the only ones to help him with his studies when he was struggling because of his dyslexia. Vansh hates seeing her frozen out of his family's circle and the more he steps in to defend her, the more he realizes that his attraction to her is more than friends.

The more uptight she got, the goofier it made Vansh want to be. It made him want to make a complete ass of himself, if that would get her to crack a smile.

If you're a frequent reader of Dev and the Rajes series, you'll know that one of the best things about Dev's writing and stories are her family dynamics. I usually find her works to be romance adjacent, there's a strong romance plot but family contemporary fiction threads are right along beside the romance and typically bind everything together. I went into this ready to be emotionally wrung out and though there were a few times I got hit, Naina and her mother's relationship had some hurt moments (“I don’t understand you children,” her mother said about her thirty-eight-year-old daughter who had never had a chance to be a child, and had spent her entire adult life trying to change the lives of women in the remotest, most neglected parts of the world. “I know.” Those words landed on her mother like a blow and Naina kicked herself. Casual indifference was the only way to not end up saying something hurtful to her mother. Hurting her mother was like kicking a puppy.) the inclusion of one too many plots gave the story such a jumbled feel that I could never sit in the emotional spaces.

He could not lose their friendship.

You'll want to read at least the first, to get some idea on Raje family dynamics/story/history or previous book in the series as this starts off right where that one ended. Dev has all the Raje siblings and cousins with their partners meet up on a roof top right away that, to me, felt like it would have fit much better at the ending. It was a little character overwhelming but I could have rolled with it if the story then would have settled on Vansh and Naina together. Instead we get more of them separately dealing with their individual issues but forced to work together because of an awkwardly fit in sort of villainous billionaire. He has a foundation that has already agreed to give Naina money for clinics overseas but wants the attachment of fame of working with a Raje, he thought he had that because of Naina dating Yash but remember they are now broken up, and so he brings Vansh in and makes Naina work with him on his project or she'll lose the money for her clinics. Vansh gets the idea to try and solve/help with the homelessness issue in San Francisco when he comes uppn Hari, his brother Yash's campaign analytics guy and discovers he's homeless. I'm sorry but the whole Hari's homelessness and his anxiety that Vansh tries to help/cure him of because of his own issues with dyslexia and rest of his family is brilliant, along with the awkward villainous billionaire felt really plot messy. Then there was a small sub-plot of criminals trying to stop Naina's clinics from being built and, dang, I just felt myself yearning for some love and sex between Naina and Vansh.

“Don’t you see? Happiness is a lie.”
“Don’t you see? Happiness is the only truth there is.”

Naina and Vansh do spend a good amount of time together, it was just there were so many threads pulling them away from their romance plot. Around 40% Naina gets drunk and she has a little hump session on Vansh's thigh, 70% I felt like the romance was finally properly focused on and they decide, mostly Naina's doing, that they're going to sneak around and sleep together. Because of the relationship Naina grew-up seeing between her mother and father (her father was mentally and physically abusive to her mother), Naina doesn't think she is worthy of love or that it really exists. Around mid-eighty percent Vansh starts to get angry with having to hide his relationship with Naina and there's some Raje family drama with seeing Naina in a different light and Naina having a little bit of reckoning/understanding with her mummy. These separate emotional reckonings were needed by the characters but the majority of the book was dedicated to the explaining and build-up of these issues, instead of the build-up of the romance. Leaving the last 30% to deal with the romance wasn't enough for me.

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. “Naina.” He said her name. That was it.

Along with the other plots in the book I mentioned, there was also a little bit of secondary romance. Readers of the series will know Esha as Vansh's cousin who was the only survivor of a plane crash that killed her parents when she was a child and left her with some kind of sixth sense that gives her seizures which tell her the future. I loved this character and was looking forward to her getting her own story and was a little disappointed that her HEA was jammed into Vansh's. There felt like some paranormal-ish element from her sixth sense that didn't fit the tone of this and her romance with Sid (Yash's love India's brother) came off rushed because this wasn't their book; they also stole the epilogue which made me mad on Naina and Vansh's behalf. So, yeah, plots, threads, and structure wise, this felt like a mess to me and even though I got hints of Dev's brilliant family dynamics, I missed her emotional impacts and was disappointed in the lack of time dedicated to the romance of Naina and Vansh.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good book and a great book end. Sadly I still loved the side characters the best like Sid and Hari. I even learned how to pronounce it correctly. Like Hurry not Hari. Otherwise I would have given it a easy four

[Wendy W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh, I just didn't really buy the romance. I think it's really hard to sell the "twelve year age difference, known them since they were a baby" in modern times. And on the one hand, it nailed the Emma character's "I know best, not listening to your advice ever" thing . . . that was also really, really hard to read. (It's gender flipped here.)

I didn't read the other books in the series, which was probably a mixed blessing since it sounds like Naina was somewhat of a villain in the previous one.

[Abigail Bok · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been a huge fan of the series of which this is the fourth (and final, waah!) entry, but the opening scene of The Emma Project nearly had me throwing it aside. Not only is it pretty crass, with all the couples from the previous books climbing all over each other, but it’s badly written, which I never expected to see from Sonali Dev. In the past I’ve praised her for her surprising but on-target imagery and strong sense of the music of language, but this was just plain clunky. I wondered: Was she writing under protest to fulfill a contractual obligation? Did she have a new editor? Fortunately, I read on—and the Sonali Dev I knew reasserted herself.

The Emma Project focuses on the youngest member of the Raje family, Vansh, who has had only cameo appearances in previous books because he spent most of his time overseas doing good works. As with the first book (Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors), Dev switches genders on her Austen characters to interesting effect, making her stories thoroughly modern and unexpected while teasing the reader with echoes of the original book that is her inspiration. It also gives her the opportunity to reveal depths in characters the reader thought she knew. I had always taken Vansh at face value as a person who used his advantages to help others, but Dev shows another side of do-gooderism—the unconscious noblesse oblige assumption of superiority, the whole butterfly effect of flitting from project to project without settling down to a truly meaningful life. Life seems so easy for Vansh that it would be easy to despise him.

But Dev also gives Vansh major challenges to overcome, as she does all her characters with seemingly perfect, easy lives. Just when I start to judge, she reveals hidden struggles that force me to reassess and be more understanding. And this is perhaps the jewel in this series’ crown: Dev’s mastery of organic conflict. The characters’ combination of strengths and vulnerabilities drive them to act in ways that lead to seemingly irreconcilable clashes, but the same traits ultimately give them the ability to overcome and come together. The most seductive thing about these books is their thesis that no matter how broken people are they can become whole, given enough effort and understanding. I’m not sure that’s true, but it certainly makes for an emotionally satisfying reading experience.

Vansh’s other half in this tale is Naina, who came off as a bit of a villainess in previous stories—and not everyone in the Raje family is ready to move past that assessment. The way her character unfolded here was a brilliant study in how a person’s traumatic past experiences can both cripple them and make them strong, and I found her very moving. Her mother is also a wonderful character, beautifully written.

There is a second romance in the book, one I’d been waiting to see play out since the first novel, but here it gets rather short shrift. I wish that character had gotten her own book, but it would have been a pretty odd book.

The one thing I didn’t much like was the ratio of sex to story. In the previous books the two were in better balance; here I felt there was a bit too much reliance on the physical, and for all Dev’s originality when it comes to describing attraction and desire, things got repetitive at times. Still, there were vintage Dev moments, particularly ones involving food, which she turns into a whole language of intimacy. And she is deft at portraying the layers of emotion nesting in ordinary moments: “Her laugh seemed to come from the deepest part of her, and he felt like the king of the world.” “For a while they sat there. Comfort, discomfort, anger, laughter, all of it strewn on that breakfast bar and mixed in with an embarrassingly small quantity of leftovers.” I am sorry I won’t have any more of these moments with the richly layered characters of the Rajes.

Dev is so good at reaching into the heart of Austen and drawing out unexpected riches that I’m sad to see this series end. No Northanger Abbey or Mansfield Park spinoffs? I know Mansfield Park is not everyone’s cup of tea, but if anyone could have brought people around to it, it would be Dev. And Henry Tilney of Northanger is my favorite Austen hero! Then there’s all that latent potential in her unfinished novel The Watsons . . . But I must be satisfied with what I’ve got, and truly, I can’t think of another Austenesque experience that has satisfied me more.

[Kari Ann Sweeney · Rating 4 out of 5]

(PUB DATE 05.17) Thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books and Harper Voyager books for the early copy of the final book in the Raje "series' ( I say series in quotes because this title can be read as a stand-alone, but reading the other books certainly adds depth.)

This gender swapped Emma reimagining is deeply layered. And the couple, Vansh and Naina, are so.much.fun. They are multifaceted: heartwarming and endearing yet frustrating and flawed.

What I appreciate about Dev's writing is her ability to blend light & dark into a wholly satisfying story. This book is so much more than a romance. It deals with all those everyday, real-life things: pesky emotions, familial expectations, love, insecurities, and friendship.

I absolutely loved the side story featuring the Raje cousin, Esha. I kept looking forward to her chapters. My only complaint is that I wanted more time dedicated to her story. I could have read an entire book, or even a novella, featuring her story.

I've read and adored the three previous titles in this "series". The final installment is just a wee bit spicier than previous books but I'm not complaining . . . at all.

[Antonella · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5🌟

[Jamie Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the gorgeous prose and poignancy that defines her body of work, Sonali Dev delivers a sexy, gender-flipped reimagining of another Austen classic with The Emma Project. This book brings the Raje series to a supremely satisfying conclusion. Readers will fall hard for Vansh while rooting for Naina to finally find the happiness and fulfillment that's eluded her for so long.

I read an early draft and the ARC, so it was great to see the story coming together bit by bit. Although the series' books can be read as stand-alones, I feel strongly that this book will hit best if the series is read in order because Naina's arc really begins in the earlier books. Unlike some of the earlier books, this one has more humor and heat, which will make a lot of romance readers happy!

Looking forward to more books from this talented author.

[Sally Kilpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y'all. I was privileged enough to read an early version of this story, and it is stunning. All of that great Sonali Dev emotion with a couple who may be her most FUN to date.

Then I hesitate to say fun because there are definitely a lot of serious emotions that the characters have to work through. Never fear, Dev will guide you through their journeys with a deft hand. As always, make sure you have a box of Kleenex handy, but be careful with what you're drinking because you just might spew your beverage with laughter, too.

[Addie Yoder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the Raje family, but this and the previous book just felt a little over done and slow to me. I adored the Esha and Sid story threaded through this book. I loved Vansh. I know Naina was meant to be a little grumpy (per Knightly) but she was very difficult to like. I loved their passion for their own projects and how they came to work together, but it just felt overall a little heavy to me.

[Rebekah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much of the appeal of Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors was the clever and insightful interweaving of the characters, themes, and plotlines of the Jane Austen classic with Sonali Dev’s own take on the novel. Between this one and the original Emma the integration is spotty at best. There are major plot lines and characters in both novels that find no parallels in the other. I won’t go into a long list here, but Esha’s strange supernatural malady and her miraculous recovery and romance are one. There was enough material and backstory there for it to be its own book. It was just shoehorned into this one and it was a distraction. It had no place in a homage to Emma and didn’t make the most of Esha’s story either. But the one that really hurt my enjoyment was how the Raj family are so ugly to Naina, the Knightly character. Especially Nisha, the sister of the Emma character, Vansh, and Vansh’s mother. I didn’t read the middle two in the quartet, so there may be justification, but since we see everything from Naina’s eyes and with our knowledge of her struggles, it was very bothersome.

Naina has been damaged by the lifelong cruelty of her abusive father. This has affected her ability to be open and vulnerable to love. She has dedicated the last 10 years of her life to rescuing the poverty-stricken women of Nepal and she has finally secured funding from zillionaire Jiggy Mehta. Enter Vansh Raj, whose chance run-in with a person he knows that he learns is surprisingly homeless spurs him to save not only his acquaintance but all of San Francisco’s indigent. While coming from a good place, this quixotic notion has jeopardized Naina’s funding. Instead of getting his own money, he latches on to Naina’s source. Because there is more in it for him to be associated with a real Raj instead of an ex-Raj, Jiggy Mehta cools towards Naina’s project. It’s really terrible. I was enraged over this.

Vansh Raj has a passing resemblance to Emma in that he is a do-gooder who wants to make things better for those who are less fortunate than him. Both Emma and Vansh are misguided, but in very different ways. Emma almost ruins the life of Harriet with her interference. Vansh, causes Hari, the homeless computer whiz he targets, an isolated episode of pain and suffering by not listening to the good advice of Naina (Knightly). But his interference ultimately saves Hari puts him on a path to health and prosperity. Sonali Dev’s parallels between Harriet and Hari are well done. (as well done as some of the connections in the first of the Raj series) but really, that’s about it as far as The Emma Project being a modern take on Emma. Perhaps there is a parallel between Naina’s mother and Emma’s father? But it’s is a stretch. A huge stretch. Naina is 12 years older than Vansh and has been a supportive presence in his life since he was a baby. So that hearkens back to Emma, I guess.

Dev makes Vansh the kind of guy who spends hours a day on his grooming and body sculpting because he likes to look good. Even though he is already too handsome to be true. We are treated a couple of times to a description of his long tangled eyelashes. And more than a couple to his cut and flexing muscles, which he likes to show off by wearing clothes two sizes too small. I mean yuck. It’s different if a great body is the by-product of manual labor or sports. But his vanity turned me off.

Another disappointment was the lack of satisfactory resolution to two important plot threads. The author meticulously details throughout the book Dr. Kohli, Naina’s father’s, evilness and cruelty, and Jiggy Meyta’s self-serving maliciousness. Not to mention their toxic sexism. I couldn’t wait for them to get the justice they deserved. Alas. It all happens off stage. We find out that Naina’s mom found the strength to leave her husband of 40 years in the epilogue. And the final straw after years of abuse was nonsensical. And Naina told Jiggy to take his money and shove it. We are just told that she did, but we are not there for the kill. Yes, I wanted retribution to rain down upon them and I wanted a front-row seat, but nope. And I guess Jimmy, the guy who cheated and wronged Hari never did get his just deserts at all. And speaking of retribution, Naina deserved a groveling apology from the Raj family. Instead, we get “I was a Bitch” and a “Yeah you were.” But Naina is not even in the room.

At times the sentence structure and word choice were awkward and confusing. I won’t quote specifically (although I can) because to be fair it is an uncorrected proof. But I noticed the same thing with her first book as well. And that was not an uncorrected proof. Ms Dev is a wonderful writer but needs a more vigilant editor.

Despite my problems, the book kept my interest. The romance was good even though it bore no resemblance to the romance of the real Knightly and Emma. And I gotta say there was a very hot sex scene that managed to be funny at the same time. I didn’t want it to end, and that is saying something for me. Thank you for that. The exploration and growth of the characters were well done. Vansh really grew on me, despite the things I didn't like about him. I loved the way he and Naina learned to work together and became a united front against Jiggy. I was happy Naina’s project was saved. I liked the narrative voice. But there were too many promises unfulfilled and too many disappointments.
Thank-You to Net Galley and Avon and Harper Books for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.


https://rebekahsreadingsandwatchings....

[Shelleyrae at Book'd Out · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Emma Project is the fourth (and last) book in Sonali Dev’s popular Jane Austen inspired rom com series, The Rajes, though if, like me, you haven’t read any of the earlier books it is a successful stand-alone read.

The story’s connections to the original ‘Emma’ are generally quite subtle, but still recognisable. Vansh Raje is the youngest of the Raje’s siblings. Handsome, successful and single, he is effortlessly charming, and somewhat spoilt. Knightlina (Naina) Kohli is the aloof ‘Knightly’ to Vansh’s ‘Emma’, a long term, close friend of the family, who had previously been involved in a fake relationship with Vansh’s older brother, Yash.

I liked both characters, who are portrayed with a complexity I wasn’t expecting from a romcom. Naina and Vansh both have rich back stories that are coherent motivator’s for their attitudes and actions.

The pair’s history is an obvious impediment to their relationship, with Naina having been Yash’s (fake) girlfriend for nearly a decade, both have trouble seeing each other as a potential romantic partner, as does the entire Raje family. Vansh is also twelve years younger than Naina, and her (horrible) father, clearly the root cause of her distrust of love and marriage, in particular is disparaging of the age difference.

Much of the couple’s conflict however stems from Naina being forced to share a multimillion-dollar endowment from Jignesh Mehta, the sixth-richest entrepreneur in the world, to her charitable foundation that supports sustainable economic security for women in remote and neglected regions. Naina has a plan for every dollar, so she is appalled when Mehta insists she share his largess with Vansh on the basis of a cocktail conversation.

I liked the development of their romance, it’s not quite an enemies-to-lovers trope but fairly close. There are the inevitable misunderstandings and miscommunications, tantrums and tears. I liked the heat level of the romance, but I was a bit surprised to find it here.

A secondary romance plot involves another Raje family member, cousin Esha who has an unusual story of her own, and Sid, a photojournalist. To be honest, I felt this thread was shoehorned in, and elements of it, out of place, though there is a loose parallel to the romance in ‘Emma’ between Jane Fairfax and Churchill.

Dev also touches on a number of surprisingly serious issues including domestic violence, homelessness, dyslexia, and (what I thought was) an odd reference to to the BLM movement.

Others will be better judges than I on how satisfying The Emma Project was as a series finale. I was entertained by the story and its characters, though I don’t feel compelled to read the earlier instalments.

[Ashton Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic end to a series that I’ve enjoyed immensely! The Raje family is one that will stick with me for a long time, and I’m sad to see them go but excited to see what the author writes next! I was also pleasantly surprised to see Dev turn up the heat a bit in this one, and hope she continues to do so with future books 😏

[Liv · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not a huge fan, but I had to finish the series.

I think my big issue with all the books (besides the 2nd) is that all the characters are portrayed as like these amazing people who are going to solve all of the world's problems. They are selfless yet also super selfish and stupid. This book annoyed me because there really wasn't much falling in love or character development. I also thought the Sid and Esha plotline was kinda stupid. Overall, I wasn't a huge fan of the series, and mainly, it's cause I couldn't stand the savior complex every character seemed to have. The only book I liked was the 2nd one and I think I liked it so much more because the characters seemed more real and not some savior who was going to solve racism or homelessness or another world problem.

Anywho, as much as I wasn't a fan I'm not mad that I read the book and glad I finished the series lol

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a continuation of this series, with this cast of characters, this book was ok. As an Emma adaptation, it fully missed the mark. None of the fun plot-point matching from previous books (even the spirit of the plot’s movement deviated so much from the original), characters’ modern sensibilities/problems prevented them from living into our beloved Knightley and Emma dynamic, and the delightful supporting cast and characters from Austen’s novel were no where to be found. “Badly done”
Forgive the harsh review; I am feeling particularly sensitive about Austen adaptations recently.

[Meredith (Austenesque Reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fighting For Others, Fighting Prejudices/Stigmas, and Fighting for Yourself

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Source: Purchased

TYPE OF NOVEL: Emma Modern Adaptation

SERIES: The Rajes#4

NOTE: Each novel in The Raje Series is stand alone and can be read out of order.

THE PREMISE: Vansh Raje has just decided that his next project will be to tackle the homelessness problem in San Fransisco, when a big donor, who is solely impressed with his family connections, offers to fund his project. The only problem is, this donor wants to split the funding he’s already pledged to Naina Kohli’s foundation to build clinics for women in Nepal. And Naina just happens to be a long-time family friend who was fake-engaged to his older brother for ten years (and recently publicly humiliated when he left her for another woman). Even though Naina wants nothing to do with the Rajes, she has no other alternative but to work with Vansh to save her foundation…

WHAT I LOVED:

- Naina: Sonali Dev took the antagonist from Incense and Sensibility – the Lucy Steele character of sorts – and opened her up. She reveals her insecurities, her fears, her childhood scars, and her heart. After seeing Naina’s relationships with her parents and her selfless hard work and genuine care for others, her situation definitely secured my compassion. Naina was a wonderful and worthy heroine, and I was eager to root for her happiness. I also enjoyed the dynamic of her being older than Vansh.

- Vansh: Just like with Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors, The Emma Project swaps the genders of Jane Austen’s characters, so Vansh Raje is our Emma! And even though Emma is a character Jane Austen famously stated is “a heroine whom no one but myself will much like,” that is not true for Vansh Raje. He is extremely likable – everyone is charmed by him. Unlike Emma, he isn’t a self-appointed matchmaker that has never left his home village. But like Emma, he has blindspots – he has lived a life of privilege, and in his eagerness to help others, might not always judge best on how to help them. And like Naina, he also carries his own insecurities and wounds from his childhood.

- Emma Echoes: While some of the parallels and nods are easy to spot – Naina’s name is actually Knightlina and Hari is the person that prompted Vansh to take an interest in solving the homelessness problem in San Fransisco, Sonali Dev is a master at subtly. Even though I felt this work had the fewest parallels (compared to the other three books in the series), I loved trying to spot these hidden echos. Aside from the main characters mentioned and themes of helping others, there was a concealed relationship that brought in some Frank Churchill/Jane Fairfax vibes (although I wish they had more page time, but it’s like that in Emma too) and a maybe a Miss Bates type character with whom there was a Box Hill-like-incident. Also, similar to Emma, there were incidences of women feeling limited or dealing with prejudice because of their gender.

-Family Expectations Versus Support: Both Naina and Vansh carry the weight of disappointing their family – in their pasts and even now (when they catch wind of their relationship). They feel some absence of love and support in that quarter, but both are so strong that they learn to cope without it. But the scars never go away, and it was moving to see how both Naina and Vansh dealt with their families and their feelings about their families. I was especially moved by Naina’s relationship with her mother and Vansh’s relationships with his father.

- Sonali Dev’s Universal Truths: Having read four insightful and inspiring books by this author I’ve noticed that she often builds her stories around these essential themes, and I thought I’d list them here and how they were featured in this story.

Chase Your Passions: Don’t let anything stop you from going after what you want. Naina faced a lot of obstacles with chasing her passion, but she never once thought to give it up.

Love With Abandon: Open yourself fully for love, be honest and don’t hold back. The fear of being hurt, of rejection, or of failure holds Naina back from ever wanting love or marriage. In fact, she believes love is a lie and that she is incapable of feeling love.

The Importance of Being Whole: Everyone – I’ll say it again – ev-ery-one has healing and growing they need to do. To have full happiness or success with your goals and relationships, you need to do the work – analyze your feelings, heal from the hurt, make adjustments. The characters in this story learn they can only move forward after they stop ignoring, burying, running from things that are difficult or intimidate them.

WHAT I WASN’T TOO FOND OF:

I literally cried when this book was over because I’m heartbroken the series is ending.

NOTE: Due to the use of strong language and the references to/descriptions of intimate encounters, I’d recommend this book for Mature Audiences.

CONCLUSION: Sonali Dev concludes her brilliant and beautiful series with a moving tale about the importance of learning how best to fighting for others and not forgetting to fight for yourself. The Rajes series is exquisitely crafted – full of vibrant and allegorical prose, character depth and relationship developments, and thought-provoking and perceptive themes. But also, let us not forget the nuanced nods and clever connections to Jane Austen and the rich display of cultural diversity and detail. This series is all. the. things. 💜

Austenesque Reviews

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

The following book contains explicit content, mentions of abuse, and explicit language

I’ve literally been waiting for Sonali Dev to put her Raje-spin on Emma since I finished Pride and Prejudice and Other Flavors three years ago, so no one wanted me to love this book more than I did. I want so badly for this to be a five-star read, but in the words of the illustrious Emma Woodhouse, “I always deserve the best treatment, because I never put up with any other.”

I’m so torn about The Emma Project. In some ways, it was everything I was hoping for and more. I’ve read about 15 contemporary Emma retellings and have yet to find one that captures the spirit of the original well, but I had a feeling Sonali Dev would be the author to do it.

I was right.

(kinda.)

But let’s start from the beginning.

I was a little nervous going into this after Incense and Sensibility because I wasn’t a huge fan of Nania as a character, and I definitely didn’t want her as any kind of Knightley stand-in, but I was pleasantly surprised when The Emma Project started out strong.

Vansh Raje wasn’t hypocritical enough to see his life as anything but charmed. Handsome: Vogue had declared him the most gorgeous of his siblings, and even he wouldn’t argue with populist opinions about beauty with Vogue. Smart: Not book-brilliant like his siblings, but cleverer than all of them put together, as his grandmother always assured everyone, and who would argue with a grandmother about the intelligence of her grandchildren? Rich: that, of course, was the most tangible of labels, so no reinforcements of proof were necessary.

Add to that a loving–fine, make that doting–family, and a contagiously sunny disposition that was his greatest asset, and Vansh had made it halfway into his twenties without ever facing anything to throw him off his admittedly spectacular game.

The opening lines are the perfect nod to the original, something I didn’t know I’ve been waiting for until I got it. The first chapter opens with a funny–albeit cheesy–scene (it’s the final hurrah for the Rajes, so I’m okay with a little cheese.) that's a great tie-in for all the books. When Naina arrived on the scene, I immediately loved her in all her no-nonsense, prickly splendor, and I was excited to see how the rest of the book would play out.

The story gripped me right away, and it was the perfect modern take of Jane Austen’s novel. Sure, there were some creative liberties taken–no one can accuse Sonali Dev of regurgitating her source material–but all the main components of the story were there. Dev captured the spirit of Emma, the character and the book, beautifully, and I was beyond ecstatic. Vansh is quite possibly my favorite modern version of Emma, and I love his relationship with Hari Samarth. Translating the social hierarchies and societal norms of the Regency era into a modern-day context is always a challenge with Austen retellings, but when Sonali Dev managed to capture the dynamic between Emma and Harriet, I started mentally writing out a review filled with gushing, caps and tons of exclamation points.

Then we hit the romance. One of the hardest parts about finding a modern version of Emma is finding one that understands and recreates the romance well. So many authors seem to want to give us an Emma and/or Knightley who spend a majority of the book pining. Look, I am all for unrequited love, yearning looks, and mutual pining, but the beauty of Emma is the fact that we have two dorks in love who don’t even realize they’re in love until the book’s almost over. (If you want to make case for having Knightley pine earlier, fine, but don’t turn him into some lovesick puppy who’s too much of a sap to be snarky.) I mean, build the tension, people! And if you’re gonna make him pine, at least make it subtle.

Unfortunately, The Emma Project falls into the same trap so many of its predecessors have fallen into and, instead of an oblivious-to-lovers story, we get a book about two horny family friends falling in lust. (The word “horny” is actually used multiple times in the big inciting incident otherwise known as The Thigh Incident. I wish I were making this up.) I was hoping it was a one-time thing, but the story eventually progressed to a friends-with-benefits kind of a deal, and my heart just broke. Firstly, because I’m a prude and don’t need to (or want to) know what happens before we fade to black. Secondly, because that’s just not Emma. I’m not here for passionate, intense romance. I’m here for soft romance. I’m here for fools in love and last-minute epiphanies and the ultimate friends-to-lovers story.

But we don’t get any of that.

Instead, we get this artificial rivalry and faux-hate-to-love story that just isn’t Emma. Because Vansh and Naina’s attraction is so obvious early on, Dev throws in some random drama to create flimsy obstacles to keep the two apart like having the two vie for the same funding from some venture capitalist for some reason that I never really bought. At one point it starts to feel more like a treatise on female ambition in the workplace than any kind of attempt to faithfully recreate Emma and Knightley’s friendship. Later, she throws in some disapproving moms and family drama, but even that just feel like a weak attempt to drum up some tension where there is none. (More on that later.)

In my opinion, the biggest travesty of all is that we don’t get any kind of nod to either “badly done, Emma” or “if I loved you less, I could talk about it more,” which are arguably the two most iconic lines from the original. I was so disappointed because Dev did such a great job of reimagining the opening lines and because her version of the Huntsford proposal is so well done it had me waiting to see her take on badly done since, well, 2019.

Some last-minute, miscellaneous thoughts about the rest of the book: like the other Raje books, we get complex familial relationships, meaningful attempts to address actual issues, and Desi rep and food. On the other hand, there were a few instances of heavy-handed sermonizing which is not my favorite, and the alternating POV could’ve been handled a little more smoothly. I’m not a fan of Esha’s POV chapters (I just realized, is she supposed to be the Anne de Brough of this world?) which definitely could’ve been incorporated better. I guess it’s supposed to be a play on the Fairfax-Churchill storyline, but the Sidhartha subplot doesn’t quite fit with the rest of the story. And not just because of the more magical realistic elements. I get that Esha always feels a bit like an outsider, but her chapters are so distinct and separate from the rest of the plot it almost feels like they should be in a side story or novella.

My last major complaint is the way members of the Raje family were presented in the story. I once called the Rajes one of my favorite fictional families and was low-key devastated by their treatment in The Emma Project. I love stories about family, and the Rajes are this admirable, slightly overbearing, almost otherworldly family that’s endearing and aspirational and so, so human all at once, and I just love how interesting the different dynamics between different members are. There’s just so much potential with this family, but instead getting to explore more of these relationships in the final Raje book. The Rajes are largely absent or nearly unrecognizable in The Emma Project. After the corny opening scene with all the siblings, we don’t get any of the “Rajeness” that makes the rich, influential and otherwise unrelatable family so lovable.

I mean, Nisha and her mom are some of my favorite side characters, but they’re like completely different people in The Emma Project. After the fallout from Incense and Sensibility, they’ve apparently decided to treat Naina like public enemy number one. I get the whole protective mama-bear thing; I just wish it’d been more nuanced and believable.

So yes, I have a lot of feelings. I was half-hope, half-agony waiting for this book’s release and feel equally torn now that I’ve actually finished the book. If you take out the romance, I would say that The Emma Project was largely a success. I am sad the eponymous character didn’t even get a cameo, but seriously, if it weren’t for the Naina and Vansh’s relationship, I would just be gushing effusively and incoherently. But for now, I’ll continue my search for the elusive Emma retelling of my dreams…or maybe just pull a Thanos?



Thanks to Avon Books and Harper Voyager for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you met the Rajes yet??

I have so enjoyed this Jane Austen inspired series that follows a large Indian American family and the love lives of the four grown children. In this story we get to know more about the youngest Raje, Vansh, as he comes back to California after working overseas for years and finds himself falling for his brother's much older than him former fake girlfriend, Naina.

Naina wants nothing to do with the Rajes after her ten year relationship with Yash came to an close, unfortunately she ends up competing with Vansh for money from her father for her charitable organization. Sparks fly as these former friends become enemies and then more when they give in to the sizzling chemistry and try to pull off a secret friends with benefits situation.

Of course things don't stay secret for long and soon all of Vansh's siblings are weighing in on his and Naina's relationship. Can these two overcome the seeming obstacles stacked against them?? You definitely want to find out. Bonus, there's also an extra love story between two side characters that I REALLY enjoyed.

This was a great dual perspective, open door love story narrated by one of my favs, Soneela Nankani and perfect for fans of Farah Heron, Sara Desai or Sajni Patel. Add this to your tbr if you enjoy family drama, secret office romances, grumpy/sunshine pairings or reverse age gap relationships. Much thanks to NetGalley and the Avon for my advance review copy.

CW: toxic parental relationship, dyslexia-related self-confidence issues

[Robyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

THE EMMA PROJECT
Sonali Dev

Probably because I started with book 4 in a series, but in my head, this was a super chatty and moving at a spastically fast giggly pace that there didn't seem to be any meat to grab onto. I just didn't connect with any of the characters and as such reading it became a chore instead of a joy.

I just don't believe that the characters in this book would act like this in real life. The book follows
Naina Kohli dealing with the end of her 10-year relationship with her best friend Yash. He is the newly elected governor of California and wants her to do a project with his brother. Sort of a feel good guy who wants to save the world. There is mommy and food, her weight problem, and on and on... super thin.

2 stars

Happy Reading!

[Rowan's Bookshelf (Carleigh) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hesitate to give this such a low rating...but I really did not enjoy a single thing about this installment. Which is such a shame!! I loved the other Raje romances!!

This one though....man filled with unlikeable characters, a plot that is super boring projects that the characters don't really care about (just want to wave around their charitable efforts out of pride), incredibly awkward "romantic" scenes, dumb side characters, and a weird subplot that was just more boring on top of boring. Soooo disappointed, especially if this is the last in the series

[Lisa Wolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is apparently the last in Sonali Dev's Austen-themed series about the powerful Raje family. It was a mostly engaging read, but the inner lives of the characters became overwrought at times, and not all of it was particularly believable.

[Christa Schönmann Abbühl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again Sonali Dev slays my heart with people and conflicts I totally believe in. I cried real hard towards the end of the book. Not as much for the romantic complications as for the reconciliation scenes with the parents. So beautiful.
This is a two for one, as you get a primary and a secondary love story. It was not a very close retelling of Emma, but I liked what the author did there.
The age gap did not bother me at all. They are both grown ups.

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is going to be a long one.

I have a lot of thoughts about this book but I'm going to stick with the one that bothered me the most. Esha.

In the first book, Esha has a disability that basically gives her magical abilities. This...isn't great. (Look up the mystical disability trope if you're interested in seeing how prevalent this is.) But I sorta forgave it because I enjoyed the book so much. I kept hoping for an Esha book - one that centered her and how she lived and dealt with her magical power and her disability.

And then we got this book, where Esha is a side character. I felt a bit like I did in "Incense and Sensibility" when the only out queer person in the entire series was merely a secondary storyline in which we never actually got her perspective - but then it got worse.

Esha's magical powers, and her entire disability, vanished when her future boyfriend showed up.

Reading it, I was thinking - "oh, well- maybe he'll be special and she just can't read HIM so it's perfect! That wouldn't be so bad." But no. She was "cured" of her whole freaking disability.

It's just so disappointing. Yash was in a wheelchair and was cured! Esha had a seizure disorder and it just vanished! With no explanation! We don't get to hear about them being whole people WITH their disabilities, it's only without.

This is especially frustrating because the first book had a side character go blind and dealt with that somewhat well - but she basically never showed up in the books after that. We didn't get to see her life or anything after she went blind. Her story just ended.

Esha's story basically only began as her disability faded with no explanation. This is a classic example of "The Magical Cure" trope. It is ridiculously commonplace for disabled characters.

And this is the final book in the series. We won't get a queer focused book or a better attempt at a disabled story.

Sonali Dev has done a pretty good job of showing representation of many different people through the lens of Austen's stories. But I'm really, really disappointed with this one. Dev's disabled characters are seemingly always shuffled to being side characters who are cured or forgotten. Esha could have been one of the most interesting characters in the series, but she was only considered as a character according to her disability and how she was magically and impossibly "cured" of it.

Oh yeah, and how her disability (and magical powers) affected everyone else.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the last book in the Raje series. As we follow the baby prince Vansh and Naina. Though if you haven't read the other books this might ruin them since they build off eachother.

I love how these books are set in the Bay area. I lived in SF in a little apartment for 10 years so I can totally picture Naina's place. Her family life was so hard to listen to as she was never good enough for her father and he kept her mother afraid.

But the Rajes were the ideal family. Even though things didn't work out with her prior relationship they are still there. Vansh and her are both working on a project for funding and after something didn't go her way a very interesting steamy thing happened that I'm so curious about but need to drink a bottle of champagne to try to recreate the scene. They are so different but also have so many of the same interests.  They enter into a friend's with benefits deal that turns into something more but when the families find out it's just too much for her.

✨I loved that Vansh was focusing on homelessness in SF by helping to get their paperwork, IDs and help them get work and back into a home.

I actually work with a client who does this type of work I used to do facility visits it's amazing work. Not everyone on the street is there cause of drugs or alcohol or severe mental health.

The bonus love story for Esha was perfect. Her story has been so tragic and getting to see from her pov was also interesting.

Read if you like
✨ Age gap
✨ Friends to lovers
✨ Funny banter

Thank you avonbooks and netgalley for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.