The author of Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors adapts Jane Austen’s Persuasion in the story of a chef who partners with her celebrity first love during a reality-show competition she hopes will save her restaurant. Original. 100,000 first printing. - (Baker & Taylor)

When chef Ashan Raje joins the cast of a hit reality television show to save her restaurant, she finds herself paired with her first love, soccer star and celebrity Rico Silva. - (Baker & Taylor)

From the author of Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors comes another , clever, deeply layered, and heartwarming romantic comedy that follows in the Jane Austen tradition—this time, with a twist on Persuasion.

Chef Ashna Raje desperately needs a new strategy. How else can she save her beloved restaurant and prove to her estranged, overachieving mother that she isn’t a complete screw up? When she’s asked to join the cast of Cooking with the Stars, the latest hit reality show teaming chefs with celebrities, it seems like just the leap of faith she needs to put her restaurant back on the map. She’s a chef, what’s the worst that could happen? 

Rico Silva, that’s what.  

Being paired with a celebrity who was her first love, the man who ghosted her at the worst possible time in her life, only proves what Ashna has always believed: leaps of faith are a recipe for disaster. 

FIFA winning soccer star Rico Silva isn't too happy to be paired up with Ashna either. Losing Ashna years ago almost destroyed him. The only silver lining to this bizarre situation is that he can finally prove to Ashna that he's definitely over her. 

But when their catastrophic first meeting goes viral, social media becomes obsessed with their chemistry. The competition on the show is fierce…and so is the simmering desire between Ashna and Rico.  Every minute they spend together rekindles feelings that pull them toward their disastrous past. Will letting go again be another recipe for heartbreak—or a recipe for persuasion…? 

In Recipe for Persuasion, Sonali Dev once again takes readers on an unforgettable adventure in this fresh, fun, and enchanting romantic comedy.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Dev continues the story of the Raje family (after Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors) with this nuanced and powerful second chance romance, a loose riff on Jane Austen's Persuasion. Chef Ashna Raje fights to keep her late father's Palo Alto Indian restaurant afloat while locking horns with her mother, a high-profile women's rights activist who pushes Ashna to let go of her failing dream. In a fit of defiance, Ashna signs on to a reality TV cooking show, hoping the publicity and prize money will fend off her financial woes. This decision places Ashna squarely in the path of Brazilian football sensation Rico Silva, the man whose heart Ashna shattered in high school and her new partner on Cooking with the Stars. The fast-paced world of reality TV makes for a fun backdrop as Ashna and Rico grapple with their feelings, especially as the viewers pick up on their chemistry and #Ashico, their couple name, goes viral. Dev balances the toe-curling romance with high-octane family drama, fleshing out Ashna's strained relationship with her mother with touching flashbacks to her parents' past. Dev's candor and sensitivity in both story lines set this family-centric romance apart. Readers are sure to be impressed. Agent: Claudia Cross, Folio Literary.(June)