A Compelling Tale of Healing, Acceptance, and Embracing What You Need

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Source: Review Copy from Publisher

TYPE OF NOVEL: Sense and Sensibility Modern Adaptation

SERIES: The Rajes Series #3

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

THE PREMISE: Yash Raje has always been confident, driven, and laser-focused on his political aspirations, until a horrifying act of violence at a rally shook him to his core. Now Yash needs to work through his trauma, emotional numbness, and panic attacks in order to move forward and succeed in becoming California’s first Indian-American governor. The Raje family seeks out India Dashwood, a family friend who is a yoga therapist and stress management coach, to help Yash recover from this incident in private. Little do they know that her and Yash have their own history that began and ended ten years ago…

WHAT I LOVED:

• The Raje Family: After three books with this dynamic and loving family, and witnessing so many of their individual experiences and relationships it is beginning to feel like they are a part of my family. I love their support and understanding for each other, I love how they are overly involved in each others’ lives, yet not too overbearing, I love the juxtaposition of a titled and illustrious family with legacy caring about the happiness and wholeness of each individual. I am so glad that in this story we continue to spend time with all the beloved characters we encountered before in the other stories.

• The Writing: I’m echoing my other reviews at this point, but I must comment again how much I adore Sonali Dev’s writing in these stories. Her prose is so lyrical, so full of details, emotions, and elegance. She is masterful at conveying feelings and establishing connections, and I admire her talent for composing beautiful and eloquent prose in an understated fashion.

• Thoughtful S&S Parallels: Janeite Confession: I’m typically never satisfied with Edward/Elinor relationships. Edward is weak and unworthy of Elinor. There, I said it. But not in this story. This reincarnation of these characters, who are more their own individual being than modern-day replicas of Jane Austen’s creations, left me splendidly satisfied! The echos and all the subtle nods to situations and themes from Jane Austen’s S&S were ingenious. The sisters who embrace and view life differently, the hero who is trapped in a relationship he doesn’t want, the struggle between burying your emotions and releasing them, and so many others. It continues to astound me how Sonali Dev can create so many diverse and brilliant links to various Jane Austen novels that both authentically relate to our modern world, but also help readers understand and appreciate Jane Austen’s characters and themes in a new way.

• Self-Work and Healing: I appreciated the inspiring themes in this story about connecting with your inner-self, the positive effects of therapy, and how digging into the things we have repressed and buried can generate new self-discoveries, understanding, and peace. It was such a rewarding and moving experience to witness such changes with these characters. I especially enjoyed witnessing India’s yoga practices, and how she was grounded yet filled with emotion, wise in her understanding yet conflicted, wonderful at giving help to others but terrible at accepting help from others.

• Song-China-Brandy: While the Willoughby-Marianne-Brandon storyline was more in the background than foreground, it was wonderfully represented by India’s passionate and irrepressible sister China who falls deeply in love with a famous South Korean actress and learns the difference between giving of yourself completely and giving up everything about yourself. Again, another brilliant and understated link to S&S.

WHAT I WASN’T TO FOND OF:

Nothing. This was everything I was hoping for.

CONCLUSION:

What more can I say? This series is phenomenal. Incense and Sensibility is a masterful work of art that weaves together compelling personal struggles, raw emotions, relevant cultural and political dynamics, and a heartrendingly impossible romance. Even if contemporary stories are not your cup of tea, there is so much to appreciate and admire in the expressive writing, reverent connections to Jane Austen, and overall composition of these stories alone. I most emphatically recommend!

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