Eileen Aberman-Wells
The Emma Project by Sonali Dev, book four in the Rajes series is a deeply layered enemies to lovers, age-gap story with a gender reversal, retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma. I enjoyed this 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. Entering this story I was unsure of my feelings toward Naina after reading the previous story. However, this book really put things in perspective, especially how she had been treated by Rajes siblings. This story was able to put her into a more positive light, making the reader fall in love with her. Vansh also surprised me, appearing more mature and responsible than the carefree youngest presented in prior stories. His passion about solving the housing crisis in San Francisco and his wisdom and advice made him appear older than 26-years old. This is supposed to be an age-gap romance yet Vansh and Naina treated each other as equals in all ways possible. The side story featuring the Raje cousin, Esha, and her relationship with Sid made up for them not getting an entire story featuring only them. Their relationship was so sweet and you have to love how interconnected this family is. Sonali Dev wove magic into her fourth Jane Austen-inspired novel, allowing her readers to connect with her characters, while adding an irresistible Indian-American flavor to her storyline. I love how Ms. Dev’s is able to blend light and dark into her stories. She allows her characters to be flawed and dealing with everyday, real-life things: pesky emotions, familial expectations, love, insecurities, and friendship. I highly recommend The Emma Project to other readers. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
Terri Chlapek
I haven't read any of the other books in this series or any other books by this author. I really enjoyed the interactions of Naina and Vansh. I love it when characters fall in love when they have no intention of getting anywhere near love. Vansh was such a wonderful (and superbly built) specimen of a man. I fell in love with him also. A big part of the story was the extended family. I can't imagine having so many people all up in your business. Some of the family members weren't easy to like and there was even some abuse. There were also some other deep subjects addressed in the story--dyslexia, lying, using people. The story was very good and the HEA was superb! I'm a very satisfied reader...but probably not as satisfied as Naina! Thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.
Andrea Romance
Vansh Raje—handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition—has lived twenty-six years in the world with very little to vex him. Naina Kohli, a sensible woman of eight-and-thirty, is an intimate friend of the family—so intimate, in fact, that she pretended a ten-year romantic relationship with Vansh's older brother. Now, Vansh and Naina find their professional lives entangled as they work on a charitable project together. An attraction develops between them, and they agree to indulge it in secret until Vansh leaves town on his next adventure. When Vansh catches feelings, Naina is having none of it. Falling in love is not in her life plan. Can Vansh convince her to take a chance on him? I love the gender reversal in this Desi twist on Jane Austen's EMMA. Vansh is upbeat and optimistic. He doesn't let the challenges of his dyslexia stand in his way. He believes others can overcome obstacles just as he has, as long as they've got support and believe in themselves. Naina is more realistic. She's seen the darker side of life. Her mother has stayed in an abusive marriage for forty years. Some problems don't have simple solutions. It's satisfying to see how Vansh's unconditional love fills the empty places in Naina's heart—how he helps her connect with her feelings. This is an emotional, sometimes heartbreaking, but ultimately uplifting story. The audiobook was well done and added to the enjoyment of the novel. Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.
