Bibliophile in the Desert is our series book review column. Local reader, writer, and #ThisIs蜜柚直播 Book Club moderator, Genevieve Dahl, shares book recommendations and novel reviews that include the most appropriate southwest locale to indulge in this month鈥檚 reading pleasure.
I love a book that makes me crave something. "Incense and Sensibility," much like Sonali Dev鈥檚 other novels, does an exceptional job of featuring food as an almost tertiary character.
My favorite scene in this novel takes place in the kitchen of one of the book鈥檚 protagonists. As yoga therapist India Dashwood intentionally prepares her signature dish, a bowl of Mango Chia Morning Oats, Yash Raje, her client and a straight-laced politician, watches on in disgust.
His take? 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a lot of pressure on the mango.鈥
She calls him out for considering donuts breakfast and he refuses to take a bite, claiming oats make him gag. The dialogue between India and Yash spotlights their entertaining differences while describing what I thought (I鈥檓 clearly Team India)聽sounded like a super delicious meal.聽
So much so that I made it my quest to find something comparable here in 蜜柚直播 and to declare whatever eatery would recreate the Mango Chia Morning Oats for me my home base for reading the last half of this novel.
Where to read it: is located on Congress Street and offers a莽a铆聽bowls, cold-pressed juices, smoothies and all sorts of delicious non-donut options. Although they didn鈥檛 exactly have India鈥檚 signature dish on the menu, they were happy to add chia seeds to the Green Cleanse Bowl, a blend of greens, mango, pineapple and coconut water topped with granola, pumpkin seed, more mango, slices of kiwi, coconut flakes and honey.
#ThisIs蜜柚直播's book reviewer聽Genevieve Dahl called聽the Berry Greens patio the "perfect place to read 'Incense and Sensibility.'"
Situated in the heart of downtown at , the Berry Greens patio is the perfect place to read "Incense and Sensibility" while offering plenty of people-watching breaks and a menu that India Dashwood would wholeheartedly endorse.
Some other local places offering smoothies, juices and a莽a铆聽bowls that you might want to check out: , 听补苍诲听.
More about the book
Repeat after me: I do not need to read Sonali Dev鈥檚 books in order of release. I am free to enjoy "Incense and Sensibility" as a standalone novel even though it is the third installment of a fun and well-written series of Bollywood-style Jane Austen adaptations.
As I write this, I know that statement above is making some of my dear reader friends uncomfortable. The audacity! To you, my steadfast traditionalists, I offer the titles of the two preceding books in "The Rajes" series by Sonali Dev: "Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors" and "Recipe for Persuasion."
"Incense and Sensibility" opens as Indian American Yash Raje, a tenacious gubernatorial candidate聽in the state of California, takes the stage at a campaign rally that ends in violence. Yash鈥檚 good friend and bodyguard, Abdul, takes a bullet for him and winds up in the hospital fighting for his life. Yash, never shaken, is just that, facing frequent panic attacks for the first time in his otherwise well-planned out existence. Unfortunately, in the middle of the campaign of his life is not the best timing for a mental break. In response, the Raje family rallies around Yash to provide their beloved eldest son the help he needs to overcome his trauma and get back to work.
"Bibliophile in the Desert" is #ThisIs蜜柚直播's book review column. This month, book reviewer聽Genevieve Dahl is featuring "Incense & Sensibility."
Yash is sent to the door of India Dashwood, a family friend, world-renowned stress management coach and yoga therapist. India is easy to love. Born in Thailand, adopted into a multi-cultural family, and raised by a Yogi mother, India exudes a sense of peace that can be felt by the reader throughout the pages of this book.
Bringing these two together sounds like a beautiful solution but, as great novels go, enter the complexities. Yash and India have a bit of a romantic history. Sure, their one-night encounter was 10 years ago, and Yash is now very publicly engaged, but the intense feelings are still there, happily providing the perfect amount of "will they, won鈥檛 they" tension.
Then there鈥檚 the fact that India and Yash have near opposite personalities, an element of the book that offers comedic relief right when it is most needed. India鈥檚 mindful approach clashes with Yash鈥檚 pragmatic outlook and makes him a less than flexible client. If it were anyone else, India would probably show them the door because, oof, does India have problems of her own, but it鈥檚 Yash and she feels obligated to help him. As India鈥檚 method of living in acceptance does a back-and-forth with Yash鈥檚 determination to move on and get back to achieving, the two of them learn more about each other than they ever could have imagined.
As an author, Dev does an incredible job of weaving hot topics and complex issues such as racism and gun violence throughout the novel without detracting from the storyline. Loosely based on Jane Austen鈥檚 "Sense and Sensibility," with glamorous bits of Bollywood details, the result is a novel that is heartfelt, funny, romantic, and intellectually stimulating all at once.聽
"Incense and Sensibility" by Sonali Dev is available at located at聽 This author and #ThisIs蜜柚直播 encourage readers to shop local and read local.
Looking to dive deeper? Join the .