Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors (The Rajes #1)(130)
DJ sipped his ale, ignoring the daggers everyone shot at him. “Why do you know all this, mate?” She loved how his mouth twisted in that lazy way when he was like this, every inch of him relaxed, his amusement coming from so deep inside it felt like delight.
“Why do you not?” they all said together as Yash said it.
Yash used the distraction to steal a ladoo from Nisha and took a bite.
“I like this one,” Yash said to Trisha, pointing his ladoo at DJ.
“As opposed to which one?” This from Vansh, who finally settled on the IPA DJ had picked out for him in the first place.
Trisha glared at both her brothers but DJ was smiling in that loose-limbed way again as though he was completely at home in his skin and looking at her as though being in love for the first time at the ripe old age of thirty-two was the most amazing thing in the world, and she forgot her annoyance. He wrapped his fingers around her neck and pulled her close and she dropped a hard kiss on his lips, setting off a chorus of groans and hoots.
As usual, Vansh was right.
There had never been anyone else for her except for this one.
Acknowledgments
When you love a book as much as I love Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, little bits of it leak into all your work. So first and foremost, my deepest thanks to Ms. Austen for planting the seed in me for wanting to tell stories about how love finds its way around the divisions and norms of the world we live in. I’m going to start with alerting you, Dear Reader, that Trisha and DJ’s story is only loosely inspired by the themes that Ms. Austen explored so very deftly. There are no daughters to be married off here. Only imbalanced power dynamics and preconceived notions to be navigated. And I thank you with all my heart for going on this romp with me afresh.
As with all stories, this one was a tangled yarn ball of ideas when I first started working on it. I would never have unsnarled it without the help of both my editors. Thank you, Priyanka Krishnan, for seeing the story beneath the surface and helping me dig it out, and Tessa Woodward, for taking my hand with such kindness and helping me polish it into beauty. Speaking of beauty, the art director and the art department at William Morrow found a way to turn the spirit of this book into cover art, and I am in awe. Which can be said about the entire team at William Morrow, who exemplify competence, dedication, and warmth. Especially you, Pamela Jaffee, you are a gift.
The backbone of my process are my amazing beta readers who perfectly balance their excitement for my stories with their undiluted critiques. I am so very grateful to you, Joanna Shupe, Piper Huguley, Gaelyn Almeida, Robin Bradford, Kalpana Thatte, Emily Redington Modak, Robin Skylar, Tamar Bihari, and Heather Marshall. An extra special thanks to Kristan Higgins, Barbara O’Neal, and Damon Suede for their masterclass-level input; to my parents for reading and loving everything I write; to Kavi Singh and Reshma Nanjappa for the benefit of their Englishness—DJ and Emma were doubly fun to write because I know you two fit cows (yes, I used that wrongly, I know!); and to Nishita Kothary, MD, who graciously swallowed her cringes at all my medical questions (and fantasies). A lot of the medicine in this book is fictional, but whatever grain of authenticity it is built on is thanks to her mad brilliance.
Lastly, my biggest thanks to the loves of my life: Manoj, Mihir, and Annika, for that unforgettable trip to Southall—daytime drunks, missed bus stops, bling-filled bazaars, and all. I promised you it was book research, and look, it really was!
P.S. Insights, Interviews & More . . .*
About the Author
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Meet Sonali Dev
About the Book
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Behind the Book Essay
Recipe: Chicken in Mugal Cream Sauce
Reading Group Guide
About the Author
Meet Sonali Dev
Award-winning author SONALI DEV writes Bollywood-style love stories that let her explore issues faced by women around the world while still indulging her faith in happily-ever-afters. Sonali lives in the Chicago suburbs with her very patient and often amused husband, two teens who demand both patience and humor, and the world’s most perfect dog.
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About the Book
Behind the Book Essay
Someone asked me once which literary character I relate to most and my immediate response was that I think I’m a little bit like each of my favorite Jane Austen heroines. Lizzy Bennet, because of course I’m opinionated and have little patience for pretention, but also because beautiful architecture has the power to melt me in ways that even I don’t understand. Anne Elliot, because I can imagine carrying the guilt of a mistake, and the constancy of an emotional connection, across time and separation. And most certainly Emma, because I might be the slightest bit guilty of feeling like I know what’s best for everyone and I tend to favor the merits of intention over prudence.
The fact that I can relate so viscerally to Austen’s heroines is bizarre, even ironic, given that her heroines lived in a time when her country had enslaved mine while proliferating the theme of “East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet.” But then that’s the genius of Austen, isn’t it? Her themes and conflicts are so human they cross cultural boundaries, and they haven’t lost any of their relevance over time. The privilege people are born into and take pride in, and their prejudices, might have altered in how they present, but the underlying motivations and failings themselves have remained unchanged.