The Emma Project
A Novel
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4.1 • 24 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Emma gets a fresh Indian-American twist from award-winning author Sonali Dev in her heartwarmingly irresistible Jane Austen inspired rom com series.
No one can call Vansh Raje’s life anything but charmed. Handsome—Vogue has declared him California’s hottest single—and rich enough to spend all his time on missions to make the world a better place. Add to that a doting family and a contagiously sunny disposition and Vansh has made it halfway through his twenties without ever facing anything to throw him off his admittedly spectacular game.
A couple years from turning forty, Knightlina (Naina) Kohli has just gotten out of a ten-year-long fake relationship with Vansh’s brother and wants only one thing from her life…fine, two things. One, to have nothing to do with the unfairly blessed Raje family ever again. Two, to bring economic independence to millions of women in South Asia through her microfinance foundation and prove her father wrong about, well, everything.
Just when Naina’s dream is about to come to fruition, Vansh Raje shows up with his misguided Emma Project... And suddenly she’s fighting him for funding and wondering if a friends-with-benefits arrangement that’s as toe-curlingly hot as it is fun is worth risking her life’s work for.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Passion arises between two old friends in Dev's endearing fourth Rajes romance (after Incense and Sensibility), a fresh take on Jane Austen's Emma. Knightlina "Naina" Kohli is furious to learn that a benefactor, who's promised to endow the natal care clinics she's hoping to open, has also pledged part of that sum to Vansh Raje, Naina's longtime friend and the well-intentioned but meddling founder of a nonprofit, the Emma Project. The youngest of a close-knit and prominent Indian American family, Vansh has lived a privileged life, unlike Naina, who, along with her mother, suffered at the hands of her controlling, abusive father. Vansh didn't set out to steal Naina's funding, but when he learned that one of his former employees is now homeless, he was moved to take on homelessness as his next cause. He appeals to Naina to figure out a way they can both get the funds they need, leading to long days that soon turn into steamy nights. Naina doesn't believe she's capable of love and insists their affair be temporary, but Vansh struggles to keep things casual, forcing Naina to confront her past and reevaluate her self-worth. Sonali captures the true friendship between Naina and Vansh and addresses difficult subjects without dilution or pretension. Series fans won't want to miss this.
Customer Reviews
Fun Romance
Four and a half Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭒
The Emma Project by Sonali Dev is the fourth book in her popular The Rajes Series and can be easily read as a stand-alone book. This Emma retelling is wonderful, and I enjoyed every second of reading.
Vansh Raje is the youngest of the Raje’s siblings and has lived a charmed life. Doted on by his big sisters, and mentored by his big brother, Vansh has everything a young man needs. Dubbed The Little Prince by his sisters, Vansh grew up with a charming personality and a positive attitude. He spends his time working on charitable projects, but his latest project was working on his brother's campaign for governor of California.
Knightlina (Naina) Kohli is recovering from a dramatic and public breakup with Vansh’s brother, Yash, after a ten-year fake relationship. Although the fake relationship was mutual, the Raje family seems to blame her for breaking up with Yash, and she feels isolated from the family she always admired and grew up with. She grew up under the cruelty of her father, and a mother who wouldn’t intervene, so she had decided never to marry and have her own family. She only wants to continue working at her foundation which brings economic security to women all over the world.
Naina is just about to secure funding for her dream project from a wealthy benefactor when Vansh shows up and diverts some of the funds to a project he wants to pursue in San Fransisco. Angry that Vansh is working to “steal” her funding, she finally realizes that working with Vansh is the only way to secure funding for her own projects.
I enjoyed this enemies to lovers story 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.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.