The Rajes Books in Order

The Rajes books are contemporary romances wrapped around one complicated, very visible Indian American family. The Rajes are descended from Indian royalty, but these novels care less about titles than about what that legacy feels like inside a family that has built money, status, and influence in San Francisco. The series begins with Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors, continues with Recipe for Persuasion and Incense and Sensibility, and ends with The Emma Project.

Pressure is the family business.

Each book shifts the spotlight to a different couple. Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors introduces neurosurgeon Trisha Raje and chef DJ Caine, whose collision opens the door into the whole family. Recipe for Persuasion follows Trisha's sister Ashna, a chef trying to save her restaurant, and Rico Silva, the soccer star who broke her heart. Incense and Sensibility centers on Yash Raje, a gubernatorial candidate whose polished public life starts to crack, and India Dashwood, the stress coach who knows him too well. The Emma Project closes with Vansh Raje and Naina Kohli, old family orbiters who collide over money, ambition, and desire.

What ties the series together is the way the family loves and controls at the same time. The Rajes can be funny, loyal, and deeply generous. They can also be rigid, demanding, and obsessed with appearances. Reputation matters here. So do career, public image, and the question of who counts as an insider. That tension gives every romance extra weight, because falling in love often means pushing against the family's version of success.

These are also Dev's Jane Austen books, though you do not need to know Austen to enjoy them. She borrows the bones, pride, missed chances, meddling relatives, social pressure, sharp banter, and turns them into modern stories about immigrant identity, race, class, mental health, food, and public life. The California setting helps the series feel broad and busy. Hospitals, campaign events, restaurant kitchens, wellness spaces, and nonprofit work all become part of the same social map.

And yes, food is a huge part of the appeal.

Read the books in order if you can. The individual romances stand on their own, but one of the best things about the series is watching side characters change as they move from the edges of one story to the center of the next. By the time you reach The Emma Project, the family history lands harder because you know the wounds under the polish. If you want layered family drama with strong romantic leads and plenty of tension between love and duty, The Rajes is a satisfying series to settle into.