Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the flux of Pride and Prejudice adaptations and wonder if there can be any new spin to the Jane Austen classic. Well Sonali not only brings a new spin but elevates the classic by further exploring the themes of classism that was in the original.

First off, Dev gives traits of pride and prejudice to both characters so that neither protagonist is fully a substitute of Elizabeth or Darcy but a combination. Though if one has to give Darcy status to a character, Dr. Trisha Raje is the Darcy with a politically-connected family and reigning neurosurgeon in San Francisco.

Upcoming chef DJ Caine would be the Elizabeth Bennet in the situation as he is insulted by Trisha’s snobbish attitude toward his gig as a caterer and the help in general. Well not snobby but very dismissive.

Unfortunately they will be seeing each other often because Trisha is the only one that can help DJ’s younger sister, an artist whose vision is quickly detoriating.

Add the upcoming political campaign of Trisha’s brother being under threat by a Wickham-lite journalist/Trisha’s former best friend (which also explores a rare look into female-on-male assault) and Trisha’s own insecurities of possibly “ruining” her family’s image/disappointing her hardworking parents who gave up everything for them. Plus sveral other threads from other family members that will surely be explored in the next Rajes books.

I enjoyed how Dev wove in the immigrant experience into the story that added depth to the motivations, goals and yes, pride and prejudices to the characters to pull themselves up the social/economic ladder like the Bennets did back in Regency England.

I’m excited to read the rest of the series once I can find it in paperback from the library and can’t wait for the twists she’ll bring to these romances.

The Wedding Crasher by Mia Sosa

Another entertaining book by Mia Sosa that brings the fake dating trope in full force. But it is kinda deserved when Solange crashes Dean’s wedding. To be fair, he wasn’t in love with the girl and it was a marriage of convenience but still. So now Solange pays him back by pretending to be Dean’s rebound so he can get his workplace rival off his back and close the deal.

Not only are there some very hilarious and steamy situations they get into in their attempts to seem like a perfect couple but also depicts how well their flaws balance each other with Solange helping Dean let go of his 30 year plan and avoidance of flightly heartbreak like his mother. While Dean brings down Solange’s highly romantcized images of perfect romance or nothing for a real romance that is not perfect but perfect for them.

The Hook-Up Plan by Farrah Rochon

Ah the awaited final book of the Squad trilogy! I was very excited for this one because it stars London, the most level headed of the group. As a straight A, superstar pediatrician she is fielding offers from prestiguous research groups while doing her best to help her current hospital do better by their patients.

She has been fully consumed with her career for most of her life so on the night of her high school’s ten year reunion, she decides to take her friends’ advice and have a no strings one night stand.

She hadn’t planned for it to be with Drew. Her high school nemesis but the heat between them is explosive and they keep coming back for me. After all, it’s not like they’re going to fall in love. They hate each other.

As a rom-com, you know they so will. And they fall hard. It helps that Rochon creates an engaging dynamic with lots of common between them in the form of parental issues. London with her narcessistic father whose approval is part of why she hated Drew so much for usurping her number one status at school. Drew is still holding in his own complicated feelings regarding his mother’s death and the abusive father he never knew.

But there’s still a push-pull as Drew comes to her work as part of a cost-cutting team that is reviewing the hospital’s budget which rankles London at first until Drew convinces her of benefits she can bring if she joined the board of advisors.

Like before, the family dynamics are the most interesting part of the story as London finally cuts off from her father as well as bonds with her half siblings. Plus the way London encourages Drew to confront and release his feelings regarding his mother’s early death from cancer. . very moving moment.

Plus the end was a real full circle moment between the girls that was just perfect. It started with friendship and ends with them. 5 stars.

Little Bridge Island by Meg Cabot

The trilogy brings books, authors and readers to the forefront in these romances and it is absolutely wonderful.

No Judgements is a pretty serious book to start off the trilogy as the main protagonist, Bree leaves law school in NY after a scarring sexual situation which her ex blithly dismisses as well as everyone else including her parents. Plus the bombshell revelation that her mom is not her birth mom, they had hired a surrogate so her bio mom is out there somewhere.

So with all that whirling in her head, she heads down to Little Bridge Island to get her bearings and help the animal shelter in the midst of an awful storm. While rescuing abandoned pets, she teams up with Drew and they flirt and fall in love. It’s kinda predictable with the serious is balanced with the fluff and I mean literally cute animal fluff. 3 stars.

No Offense pairs a librarian with the town sheriff as they argue over what to do about the abandoned baby and mother left bleeding in the library bathroom. Maternal-like Molly Montgomery advocates to let the girl open up on her own time while Sheriff John Hartwell is convinced she knows something about the string of robberies in town. Did I mention Sheriff Hartwell is a single Dad which only adds to his swoon-worthiness cuz it does. Plus there’s so much fun in seeing the pair drop literary references and fictional role models which readers can relate to. It’s a fun mystery and sweet romance in a small town, what’s not to enjoy. Plus it’s the only romance in the trilogy that includes the POV of the male which adds to the romance. 5 stars.

Finally No Words seems to be somewhat autobiographical as Cabot dives into the world of book panals and festivals as children’s lit author Jo Wright heads to Little Bridge Island for the book festival and has to contend with Will Price. The romance author who derided the whole genre of children’s literature, her books in particular. It’s a great tension added as these writers go head to head about the worth of children’s literature, feminism in romance and soon find bloom between each other as they see past their prejudices. It’s a riveting three day weekend but it’s also clearly a love note to book festivals and all the fun readers have at them and the authors they enjoy. I really enjoyed it. 4 stars.

Reluctant Royals: Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole

Jaded New Yorker Naledi only wants to get through the constant microaggressions and casual sexism at work as a research assistant so she can help create life-saving cures and preventatives for marganinalized communities. So she can has no interest in responding to the obvious scam emails saying she is betrothed to some Thesolon prince. Yeah, right.

But Prince Thabiso is determined to meet his betrothed who was taken away from the kingdom by her traitorous parents when she was a baby. If she won’t respond to his assistant’s emails, he’ll have to meet her himself as regular guy Jamal. Well regular guy who is clueless about such city things like serving as a waiter or subways or fire extinguishers.

It’s cute to see how they connect and laugh over those little mishaps as well as Jamal gains a real appreciation for his betrothed and the work she is doing. And you might think it all goes sideways when he reveals his true identity but that only makes things more exciting as Naledi travels to Thesolo to learn more about her heritage, her parents and a traitorous plot! 4 stars.

Runaway Royals: How to Catch a Queen by Alyssa Cole

When we last met Shanti in Princess in Theory, she was the second option for Thabiso. But since her rejection she has found a new match on RoyalMatched, King Suya of Njaza. On her trial marriage to the abrasive king, Shanti is well aware that this is a marriage of convenience and she’s fine with that. As she honestly told the prince, love is not necessary to a successful marriage or a successful kingdom. She’s interested in power. Not for herself but because if she was queen, she would be in the best position to use her power to help women, the poor and other unheard people in Njaza. Unfortunately she is up against centuries of tradition and unattainable expectations.

Not to mention Suya who is aimless as he tries to emulate his father but is burdened by the legacy and his own failings- that he is too soft, that he is too uninformed, undermined by his own advisors and unsure of what direction he wants to take the new Njaza. He just doesn’t want to fail.

I really enjoyed the political intrigue of this story not to mention the badassery of the politically-minded Shanti with her powerpoints and policy decisions tempered by the inner reflection and epiphanies that Suya experiences as he realizes what kind of man, husband and king he wants to be, tearing his father from his pedestal. Plus I enjoyed the nuance take on the advisor who’d been the source of obstacle for the couple as a not a bad man. Just a traumatized one trying to keep Njaza from falling into the hands of colonization that they had fought so hard against. 5 stars.

Runaway Royals: How to Find a Princess

RoyalMatched advisor, Beznaria returns as an agent for the Monarchist tasking herself to complete her grandmother’s mission to find the lost heir of Ibarania. Whose apparently in Jersey recently dumped with no job and living with her grandmother. Makeda cannot believe she might be a princess. It’s laughable considering all her mother’s princess delusions that led them going from place to place. Now it might be real? Intially, people pleaser Makeda is reluctant but with Beznaria’s charm offensive she’s soon on a boat, fake married and going to claim her throne.

The fake married trope and one bed trope was a bit predictable and the romance was okay. Perhaps I shouldn’t have read one right after the other but I just found it predictable bodyguard and princess, of course they fall for each other. I wanted a little more character development on Makeda’s end with her learning to break her people-pleasing urges. Like her ex said, it’s not a personality. While Beznaria had a good breakthrough of vulnerability in regards to why she was fired from her last job and her beding rules personality, I just wanted more somehow. At least it delivered a real jaw dropping twist. 3 stars.

The Accidental Pin Up by Danielle Jackson

This is a delightful romance taking on the niche photography section of lingerie and pin up models. Casey is the unofficial muse and head photographer for her friend, Dana’s, Dreamland lingerie line, a huge hit as it caters to regular/plus sized ladies who want to feel sexy on the outside as they do on the inside. Now there’s a huge deal on the line as Dreamland is added to the Luxerious Lingerie brand and Danielle is gunning to become artistic director of the spread.

However, to no one’s surprise big execs are into an unknown black female photographer heading up the spread. They’d rather choose Reid, the white guy and Casey’s unofficial nemesis as he works in the same niche as she does. But while she does vintage pinups with a subversive twist, he’s a straight shooter. Or so she thinks when Dana drops out of the shoot due to pregnancy and picks her to be the “face’ of the brand. Now put on the other side of the camera, Casey is uneasy and put more at more uncertainity when faced with Reid’s good eye and smouldering looks.

As Danielle fights to get the recognition and promotional opportunities she deserves, Reid’s story was a bit less interesting. He’s the older brother, taking on the job (and the extra cash that comes from spying on Danielle for the execs) so he can clean up his little brother’s messes. Interesting but a bit typical. It still works as I can understand the duty and vulnerability under his casual professional surface. What truly gives spark to the novel is the tension as Casey and Reid attempt to stay professional under the erotic gaze of the camera and yeah, each other. 4 stars.

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake

Delilah Green doesn’t care that her stepfamily never put effort to care for her after her father died. Delilah doesn’t care that she hasn’t had a committed relationship since her gf cheated on her. She certainly doesn’t care about her snobby stepsister’s Ass-trid’s wedding. But she’s going anyway because her stepmother offered big bucks because it’s what her father would have wanted.

And when she returns to her un-beloved hometown, Bright Falls, she doesn’t care that her new conquest is Astrid’s best friend, Claire Sutherland.

You can guess where I’m going with this. Delilah Green cares a lot more than she lets on. And that’s what makes her so interesting to follow as she returns to her hometown scarred by her grief of her father’s death and the feeling of being an outcast and called the Weirdo of Wisteria House by Astrid and her friends. The big tough woman act came about because of how her stepfamily didn’t bother to connect with her or comfort her after her father died, they just tolerated her. She doesn’t care because it protects her from the rejection. But Claire manages to break down those walls and gets her to admit she does even though it terrifies her.

Claire has her own troubles as a single mother to a manchild who won’t grow up as she tries to start dating again. But the nice thing about this romance is that the two have a similar problem. They have held biases against people and as the story unfolds, they begin to realize how their own flaws and fears prevent them from getting past their labels. That plus a very informative journal that allows Delilah to see there are two sides to the stepfamily rift that she had missed.

So not only does Blake do character development well but I thoroughly enjoy the humor here too with Claire, Delilah and other friend, Iris teaming up to show Astrid how awfully matched she is with her prick of a fiance. Additionally, it’s as much about friendship and family as it is about an explosive, emotion-filled romance. I can’t wait to see how she tackles Astrid’s story coming this fall.