Welcome to Litsy!

“Happiness seeps into me when you're around, Rico. Without invitation, without notice, joy finds me. Being around you is being alive, it's breathing, it's home.”

Thank you @Eggs & @TheSpineView for the #Two4Tuesday tag. 🤗

1️⃣ No. I‘m not really into sports or gambling. 🤷🏻‍♀️

2️⃣ I was having a hard time thinking of one (see answer above) but then I remembered this Austen retelling of Persuasion where the MC (a chef) is paired with a celebrity ⚽️ star (the love interest) for a television cooking contest.

If you want to play along, consider yourself tagged!

The second Jane Austen adaptation in the Raje series. I actually think I like this one better than the first though so far persuasion is my favorite Austen.

In this we follow Ashna and Rio, high school sweethearts torn apart who both believe the other left them. Competing as partners in a cooking show.

This book. Chefs kiss. It‘s full of delicious sounding food. Fun banter and emotions

“You can hurt and be fierce at the same time.”

Such a wonderful quote!

#pemberlittens #romantsy

Had a doctor‘s appointment today. Lucky for me, the doctor‘s office is by the ocean! I brought a book and read by the water for a while. A lovely day indeed!

#pemberlittens #summer #romance #romantsy #ocean

My first DNF of 2022. Might revisit as an ebook instead of an audiobook later this year. The leading lady was stressing me out. I also get uncomfortable when a relationship starts because of an intent to get revenge for something that occurred years ago. I didn‘t totally dislike the premise though so will hopefully be able to get into at a later date.

Don‘t mistake this for a romcom. Yes, the romance is there, but it goes deeper into past trauma, pain, and family secrets than the typical romance novel. Fantastic retelling of Persuasion for any #PemberLittens who haven‘t read it!

It also fills a ton of prompts:
#booked2022 make your own prompt (an Austen retelling)
#pop22 #BIPOCromance
#pantone2022 #supersonic
#aestheticallymatched (the pic cooking in a kitchen)

Hey all, it‘s been a difficult week so far. Don‘t want to go into detail, but just dealing with a few mental health crisis of some close family and friends, and struggling to stay afloat myself while I am there for others.

Picked up some lighter reading for the rare moments I can even think about reading. Hoping for some ☀️ and 🌈 to find their way into our home soon.

I was not expecting the heavy awesomeness of this book. The feelings were so much, it was a great book. It‘s almost three stories in one and I loved the two I was supposed to and was so tense about the one so full of hurt and anger. I loved it just as much as the first book in the series!

Some #audiopuzzling with Sonali Dev today. I‘m not nearly as familiar with Persuasion as I am with other Austen works so can‘t really make a judgment on how good an adaptation this was but the story was cute and dramatic, just like I love my Dev books to be.

Novel 2/3 for #NovelNovember

I thought this was really excellent! Definitely not a rom com, as the MC has to work through A LOT of trauma, but a lovely romance that is a modern take on Austen's Persuasion. Ashna is a chef who suffers from panic attacks if she doesn't cook from only a small set of dishes, and in a series of flashbacks and current scenes, we gradually find out why. Of course, when her high school love comes back into her life as her partner on a cooking 👇

#Pemberlittens @sprainedbrain Love the cover. IMHO screams Romance novel but it's has some serious Family Drama. Marital Rape, Suicide, Child Abandonment, etc. Not that there's any wrong with telling that story. But to Market it as a Jane Austen retelling is misleading. Only similarities is main characters broke up because parents. Yes there is a HEA but only after a lot of depressing chapters. Not a lighthearted read. #pagesofpersuasion

#Pemberlittens @sprainedbrain I'm really struggling with this one. Especially for sentiments like the above. 🙄

Anyone else reading or have read❓
Cause at this point of thinking Skim it and be done. #pagesofpersuasion

I enjoyed this modern retelling of Jane Austen‘s Persuasion! I really liked both the MCs, Ashna and Rico. Though a romance, it did hit on some heavier topics, which I wasn‘t expecting.

#bookspinbingo
#PemberLittens

Starting the new month with this retelling of Persuasion and a pumpkin spice cold brew! Happy September, everyone!

#PemberLittens

My favorite indie bookstore did an event last night in conjunction with the distillery around the corner. I wasn‘t planning to buy anything, but you know how that goes. The Baldacci is from a book swap, and there‘s one more book on order for me that was part of the event ticket. Of course, this #bookhaul required a (minor) tweak to bookshelves. But did I stop there? No! I‘m also playing with my TBR list and library holds.

#CurrentlyListening — So far, so good. I bailed —twice— on the first in this series because the protagonist of that one is a neurosurgeon specializing on brain tumors (cancer is a trigger warning for me).

UPDATE: I really enjoyed this one. The audiobook was terrific too.

I picked this one up looking for a light summer read. It was heavier than expected but definitely worth reading.

Another lovely read — both heartwarming and heart breaking, as both MCs struggle to find their true selves. I really enjoy Dev‘s ability to give real time to serious emotional issues amid a lighthearted romance. Can‘t say how close a call out to Persuasion it is, but an all around delightful book.

The follow up to Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavours, which was lovely, so I have hopes. I have (eep) never read Persuasion, so it‘ll be a new take for me... BUT it was also on sale for $2.99 so it was all too good to resist!

Persuasion is my favorite Austen so it‘s hard to judge fairly. I think if you consider it can‘t be a full retelling it‘s good. I enjoyed the story for what it was. It has pieces of persuasion and that was nice. Definitely a fun story and I‘d be interested in her others based on Austen novels. #bookspinbingo

Oh my goodness @rsteve388 I am feeling very spoiled this morning! Both of the books look amazing & I‘ve been dying to read them! I‘ll be saving the tagged book to read in October with #Pemberlittens Persuasion reads. And thank you for the socks, the pup chewed a hole in my other OOP library card socks this week! Thank you! And thank you @candority for hosting, I love a low key swap! #cupidbookswap

Excellent discussion of women‘s lives and a call to how blind younger women (like me!) can be to the work older gens did to remove obstacles for us. Non-graphic depiction of different ways women deal with trauma and abuse. All this wrapped up in an Austen inspired romance. I stayed up WAY past my bed time to read this. 4.5/5 stars, this is a retelling of Persuasion that examines the complications & expectations of family & society and claiming joy

Just like the first book in the series, this was way too long and whiny. Even less seemed to happen in this installment, and the reveals just didn't require that much build-up. If there's a third installment, I won't bother reading it.

#Pemberlittens @sprainedbrain It‘s today's Audible Daily Deal. $4.95

Cheers Litsy peeps! It‘s Wednesday so we are half way to the weekend ( it‘s not great to wish away the days but 2020 is disheartening) this book is a jane Austen retell and it‘s a lovely escape from the world. You may want to drink chai when you are done

Next up. I‘ve moved inside for a cup of tea and because it‘s trying hard to rain

#PemberLittens
I finally finished this last week & ended up really loving it & enjoying it even more that her first Pride and Prejudice-based book about the Raje family. It isn‘t an exact retelling of Persuasion but it has all the heartbreak, romance, & second chances of the first one. The setting of an LA based Food Network competition show worked for me too & food & other cultural aspects were woven in well. I‘m looking forward to the next! 💙

Very cute. Also very long but I enjoyed the journey.

Also I‘m crushing this September TBR but realizing I‘ve already read a 12 hour audiobook really helps. 🤦🏾‍♀️

Hey #Pemberlittens & other Jane Austen fans looking for bargains, I‘ve had my Kindle on airplane mode because I wanted to finish my overdue library e-book of this Persuasion retelling & I JUST saw that it‘s on sale for $1.99 at least for today. So now I own it & can turn that Kindle airplane mode off. 🤗😉

A cute romance adaptation of persuasion set in the same family as the pride and prejudice retelling Dev did earlier.

It‘s cold today. 😭 I had soup for lunch in a desperate bid to warm up, only I didn‘t put enough gochujang in and the chard made my tongue feel weird. Sigh.

At least RECIPE FOR PERSUASION is promising so far; though, Sonali Dev‘s books either blow me away or kinda disappoint me, and it‘s a little too early to say which side this one‘ll come down on. I live in hope.

And my finished Thai Red Curry Tofu & Vegetable Noodle Soup, along with the book I need to finish this week or keep my Kindle turned to Airplane until I do.😉 It‘s good but I‘ve had no time & a bunch of other reading commitments this past couple of weeks. Recipe link for this easy, tasty vegan soup is below in comments.

The finished Cheese Tortelloni Soup with Artichokes & Spinach. Lots of flavor, not too heavy. mostly from the pantry & quick & easy to prepare make it work for a summer day or night. I‘m looking forward to packing it for lunches this week. Got a few more chapters of one of my library e-books, this Persuasion retelling read this afternoon, still liking it so far. 🍲😋📚
Link to soup recipe 👇🏻

Yes, I ate a whole fried fish for lunch at my desk 😋but it was a small & bony one!🐡I went for a poke bowl & they were out & the special was Fried Menpachi (AKA Big Eye Reef Fish) a local favorite. It was good-not poke🐟but good. My library e-book came in for this Persuasion adaptation. I liked her Pride and Prejudice one but have heard this one is a tougher read. We won‘t get to Persuasion for quite some time #PemberLittens but I‘m going in! 😉

I would not call this a retelling of Persuasion but it was fun nonetheless.

My library hold came in!

Contemporary romance is my weekend detox for my brain. This series is one of my current favorites. The heroines are all members of a Desi family in California that are also members of a royal family back in India and I love how the culture and the food and the familial relationships bring me just as much joy as the inevitable Happy Ever After. 🥰

#IntegrateYourShelf

I‘m determined to find a contemporary romance that will make me cry this summer — taking any and all recs 👇🏽

Book 2 in the Rajes series and I am in love! This Austrn retelling is all about second chances both in love and with family!

Cute, fun, smart, heartbreaking and joyful. This book is one of the best Jane Austen retellings I have ever read!

Dev paints a vivid picture of life and love within these pages making it impossible to put down. Her characters are deep, interesting, multifaceted and real. I loved following Ashna and Rico, watching their story develop and unfold with each turn of a page.

Perfect for romance lovers and Jane Austen fans!

Full review on my blog!

#Bookmail for #IntegrateYourShelf!

The non-fiction books I ordered are on backorder, but these came in! I wanted diverse lighter reads to balance the heavy. Like I‘ve seen folx say on social media - Black (or NBPOC in this case) stories aren‘t just about the hard stuff; they‘re about the joy in life as well.

(The Bhagavad Gita is for bringing my activism into my yoga, both for myself and my students. There‘s Warrior Poses for a reason, y‘all!)

ModernMrsDarcy.com 2020 Summer Reading Guide

Cooking/foodie books are not really my bag. Still, this one was kind of cute.

Touted as a retelling but it follows Persuasion only in its most basic of elements with the whole "first love lost and then found again". Dev darkens the character back stories considerably, we spend time in the viewpoints of the parental figure, critical scenes are out of order, & there's even a meta moment where the characters quote the book they're being retold from. Plus the reality TV restaurant competition is an odd setting for Persuasion.

May Stats
I was in a major book slump this month, so I didn't manage a ton of reading.

3 books
1,265 pages

0 audio
3 digital
0 print

0 ARCs
3 library

Longest: Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev
Shortest: Beach Read by Emily Henry

Favorites: Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev

#MayStats #MayWrapUp

5/5

I loved Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors, but I loved this sequel even more. Persuasion has always been my favorite Jane Austen novel and I really loved this adaptation. It made me cry more than once because I felt so much for all the characters.

This does has a few potential triggers, so make sure to do your research before picking this one up.

Persuasion is my favorite Austen so when I saw this modern retelling I was so excited! But unfortunately I didn't love this as much as I had hoped. It feels more like a family drama than a romance, and the marketing doesn't let on how heavy some of the baggage Ashna and her mother are carrying really is, so this didn't hit the Persuasion-as-a-modern-cooking-show-romcom notes that I had expected. Out on May 26 🍳

Yup, the second in this series did not disappoint! I loved revisiting the Rajes and learning more about Ash; who will the next one be about???

The story moved quickly and it was great to see it tackle some, sensitive subjects. Yes, it pretty much only mentioned subjects, but 1. I was pretty impressed they even threw it in & 2. I didn‘t want a heavy conversation about it anyways; I‘m read froth and I don‘t want sensitive subjects to harsh my vibe.