I loved seeing the third Dashwood sister as the focus of this novel, and her budding romance with a boy named Gabe is a sweet, swoony version of first love. The setting of the cruise and excursions was so fun, and I loved the characterization of Edward - he’s the perfect big brother Margaret never had.

Maybe this is a result of me being decidedly outside the target YA audience, but I found Margaret’s focus on setting up her sister and constant freaking out over which sister she wanted to imitate a little repetitive. Was it a good representation of a hyper focused, almost single minded 18 year old girl? Probably. But sometimes I just wished we could breeze over some of the repeated stress conversations and focus on the amazing world the author had built with the setting.

Still, the book was fun and the ending was appropriately dramatic for the dashwood sisters. I think readers will really like this one.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an electronic advanced readers copy of this novel.

Margaret Dashwood is the youngest of the 3 Dashwood sisters. Sensible Elinor is married to pastor Edward and their serene yet loving relationship is admirable. Impulsive Marianne has shown up unexpectedly at the start of a summer vacation on a cruise, where Edward is the temporary minister. She is newly broken up with Brandon - Margaret and her family are surprised at this because they seemingly made a perfect couple, with Brandon's steadiness anchoring Marianne's sensitive nature. Worried about her sister, Margaret drafts her newly found friend, Gabe, who works the sound for the cruise productions, to help find Marianne a new boyfriend, which Marianne agrees to on the condition that Margaret also looks for a new boyfriend. Determined to stay out of relationships, she convinces Gabe to be her fake boyfriend, even though deep down she likes him as more than a friend.

Dashed by Amanda Quain is a modern day sequel to Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. I am a big fan of Austen and have read Quain's other retelling/re-imaginings. This might be my favorite one yet! Margaret isn't really fleshed out in the original, so it was good to see her become her own character. I thought this was fun and entertaining!

Read if you like:
👯‍♀️ Stories about sisters
🚢 Vacation Plots
📚 YA Romance
📖 Jane Austen Retellings

Three sisters on a cruise ship for the summer makes for a perfect summer read! And it’s a Jane Austen retelling so what more could I ask for?!

The story follows the three Dashwood sisters, who in the last few years has lost their dad. Margaret is tagging along as her brother in law (who is married to sister Elinor) works as a cruise ship chaplain.

When Margaret’s other sister Marianne seemingly crashes the trip because she’s broken up with her boyfriend, things go into chaos and romance!

Thank you to Wednesday Books for my ARC in exchange for my review!

The quick cut: A recent high school graduate who avoids love and heartbreak finds her usually scheduled life thrown off balance when her love lorn sister crashes a cruise ship vacation.

A real review:
Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing the arc for an honest review.

In many ways, graduating high college is a rite of passage. It's the moment you leave school behind and first start thinking about how you want to live as an adult. For a significant number of adults, that first step is college. How would you prepare for that moment? For Margaret Dashwood, that preparation is a summer enjoying a cruise with her older sister.

Margaret Dashwood typically lives her life in a similar manner to her older sister: by following a plan and sticking to it. Their plan for the summer is to enjoy a cruise ship vacation while the older sister's husband is the chaplain for six weeks. It's meant to be a relaxing break before their middle sister Marianne crashes their vacation and joins unannounced. Will Marianne's heartbreak provide an opportunity to excite Margaret's summer?

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a Jane Austen fan, but I do often enjoy the retellings that have been written recently. I went into this one with an open mind, but in the end found myself torn by the result.

Margaret is trying to control all the elements in her life and her middle sister Marianne has a way of making that impossible. When she shows up heartbroken, Margaret takes it upon herself to find her sister a summer love. This forces Margaret to deal with her own love problems, which is the focus of the story.

Margaret's plan to find a love for Marianne involves another cruise ship employee named Gabe. He's agreed to help with Margaret's plan and even becomes her fake boyfriend to pull it off.

It's a cute light hearted story, but the plot feels very thin and the budding romance between Margaret and Gabe feels forced. There's a lack of chemistry or depth that leaves you wondering if it's real.

Most of the development is focused on the sisters relationship with one another. While this does serve as a standalone novel, unless you've read the other books it's not nearly as enjoyable.

A Jane Austen retelling with inconsistent development.

My rating: 3.5 out of 5

This book really excited me because of the cute cover and premise! I am a major mood reader and this story was right up my alley for what I was looking for this weekend to read by the pool. It's such a cute and lighthearted read that's perfect for anyone who likes romance movies and is looking for something like that in a book. Thanks again for the chance to read this story!

Everyone, let’s give Amanda Quain a round of applause! Dashed is one of the best YA contemporaries I’ve read in a while. It’s the perfect mix of Sense and Sensibility in a modern world set on a cruise ship. You can expect shenanigans, sisterly drama, and, of course, romance. 

I love that Quain centered this book around Margaret rather than Elinor or Marianne. It was a blast getting to know Margaret and seeing her struggles with finding herself when surrounded by two big personalities. 

I read Sense and Sensibility for the first time a few months ago and absolutely loved it. In my opinion, Dashed does the story and characters justice. It’s like getting an epilogue for what happens after Sense & Sensibility ends, but in a modern setting and from Margaret’s point of view. 

Quain wrote Margaret’s character arc really well! When the book starts, we see her take a “sensible” approach to love— avoiding it at all costs. Margaret believes passionate love is too dangerous, especially because when she loves, she loves deeply. But, naturally, she meets someone on the cruise who she can’t help but fall for, therefore breaking all her rules. What will she do when faced with love for the first time? You’ll have to read to find out! 

At its core, this story is about the bond between sisters. Elinor, Margaret, and Marianne all love each other dearly. But they don’t always know how to show it because they believe they know best. At the end of the day, though, they would do anything for each other.

I cannot recommend this book enough! I'm looking forward to Quain's next Jane Austen re-imagining!

This is a YA retelling of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. The novel focuses on Margaret Dashwood, the youngest of the 3 sisters and takes place on a cruise ship. Margaret is looking forward to having a Marianne-free summer, spending time with her eldest sister, Elinor and her husband, Edward. Unfortunately for Margaret, Marianne ends up joining the vacation and hilarity ensues. An adorable rom-com. Quain knows how to give classic beloved characters new life in the 21 century. Can't wait to see what she does with Emma, as she has already covered Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this e-arc.*

This just wasn't for me -- the entire time I was reading, I kept checking my progress because the story felt like molasses. I just couldn't get into it and even though I managed to finish this book, I kind of wish I hadn't. I generally love Austen retellings but this was just too young (?) and nonsensical for me. I could see what the author was trying to do with Marianne but she was beyond infuriating. I hope you have better luck!

Dashed comes out next week on July 16, 2024, and you can purchase HERE.

I did my best not to collapse under the utter absurdity of her request. Because ever since That Year, I'd turned my back on romance entirely. I wasn't a girl who dated, or even pined after guys. Because to do that would be to open myself up to heartbreak, and I knew that heartbreak, for me, would be an all-over break, just like it had been for Marianne.
And, look, it wasn't as depressing as it sounded. I fully expected to find a nice guy after college, once my life was settled and on track. Someone stable and reliable who I could care for without totally losing myself. Elinor and Edward had a great relationship, after all, and theirs was entirely sensible.
I could do that, too.
But I wasn't going to find that guy on a cruise ship, and I wasn't even a little bit interested in exploring the possibility of self-destruction in the meantime.

At this point I've read more of Amanda Quain's retellings of Jane Austen than I have actual Austen books. Oops.

Dashed is (apparently) a Sense and Sensibility retelling. It follows Margaret, the youngest Dashwood sister, as she spends the summer before college on a cruise ship with her sisters. While she tries to save her middle sister from heartbreak, she also grapples with her own avoidance of romance and whether doing so has actually helped her or hurt her.

Even for someone who hasn't read the original text, the story was pretty predictable, but enjoyable nonetheless. The romance was sweet, but I felt the exploration of the sisters' relationships had more depth and nuance. Both romantic and familial relationships were explored well and given equal treatment, which I appreciated.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC.

I received the eARC for this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

After her second book, Amanda Quain had become a must-read author for me... and Dashed did not disappoint.

I was extra excited to see Jane Austen characters reworked into a modern setting on a cruise!
I also love the idea of taking a character I tend to forget even existed (Margaret Dashwood) and making her the center. And as a fellow Margaret who is affectionately called Mags... that thrilled me as well.

The romance is sweet and once again I found myself rereading passages because they were just so delightful.

Most of all, though, I really enjoy how the author treats Edward. It felt like an excellent capture of his character and was a reworking/modernization done perfectly - in my opinion.

Enthusiastically recommend!

I have great, great affection for Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, and I thoroughly enjoyed Amanda Quain’s Ghosted, a retelling of Northanger Abbey. That made Dashed, Quain’s retelling/modern continuation of Sense and Sensibility an easy pick for my TBR.

Dashed focuses on Margaret Dashwood, the youngest sister in her family. In Austen’s book, she’s a sort of afterthought to Elinor and Marianne (the “sense” and “sensibility” of the title); here, she’s the center. During her childhood, she was more like Marianne—she was impulsive and extroverted and emotional. After Marianne’s yearning for a man she couldn’t have ended in tragedy for Marianne and Margaret, she vowed to be more like Elinor: controlled and independent and organized. That meant putting mental space between her and Marianne.

Now, Margaret has graduated from high school and has planned to spend her summer on a cruise ship with Elinor and Elinor’s husband Edward, the chaplain on the ship. Her plans change rapidly when Marianne shows up, boards with the family, and drops the news that Brandon broke up with her. And she’s spending the summer with Elinor and Margaret.

Immediately, Margaret panics, convinced that she’s going to fall back into a Marianne pattern . . . unless Margaret can find a new match for Marianne who will distract her and keep her on an even keel. (After all, she thinks, it’s only romantic attachments that anchor Marianne.)

In the meantime, Marianne has her own plans for Margaret, who has never succumbed to love after seeing the turmoil it wrought with her sister. Marianne will go along with Margaret’s plans IF Margaret goes on some blind dates of her own.

Fortunately, Margaret made a quick—friends-only, she says—connection with Gabe, who runs the soundboard for the ship’s entertainment. He’ll be the perfect, decoy blind date. She just has to convince herself that friendship is all she feels.

Dashed is a fun update/retelling that makes full use of Austen’s beautifully developed characters in a modern setting. While I did feel that the polarity of Elinor and Marianne was a bit much—Margaret continually told herself she had to choose between these two models, and I felt she was just too smart to fall into the sort of dichotomy that steers much of the plot—and Margaret’s denial of her feelings for Gabe cycled a bit too long, I still thoroughly enjoyed the time devoted to the youngest member of the Dashwood family. I appreciated the ways that she explored the ways that Margaret would have experienced the love stories of Elinor and Edward, of Marianne and Brandon, and the ways that might have affected a young, impressionable sister. I did feel, however, that it took too long for the book to lean into the complexities that lie beneath the easy characterizations that Austen ultimately resists.

There’s great humor in Margaret’s reality show-style attempts to find a match for Marianne, and I loved seeing Elinor and Edward years into a sweet, stable marriage. Gabe is also a fantastic romantic interest, and his years on the cruise ship lead him to be a wonderful tour guide for Margaret. The various stops make for a wonderful setting.

Overall, I recommend Dashed to Austen fans and to YA romance readers, and I look forward to reading the next installment in Quain’s series of modern Austen retellings.

The youngest Dashwood sister, Margaret, struggles to find her place amidst sensible oldest sister Elinor and passionate middle sister Marianne.

A bit simplistic, but overall a cute YA rom-com adapted from Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility".

So cute! Margaret isn’t always easy to like, so Gabe’s frustration with her is understandable, but that’s kind of to be expected when she’s narrowed her life down so much. The Sense and Sensibility parallels are top notch, and I loved Edward’s expanded role in this version. Bravo!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Amanda Quain for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Dashed coming out July 16, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I read Accomplished by this author, so I was excited to check out this book. I love Jane Austen book adaptations. Sense and Sensibility isn’t my favorite book, but I really loved that it was set on a cruise ship. I thought the vacation aspect made it fun and it had the summer vibes. It was interesting that it was from Margaret’s perspective since we don’t get much from her in other adaptations. I enjoyed the story. There were some things I wasn’t a fan of. I think it was hard to get a reading on a couple of the characters. I would’ve liked a little more from them. But overall, I really liked it.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Jane Austen modern adaptations!

I had previously read Amanda Quain's "Northanger Abbey" retelling, "Ghosted," which I highly enjoyed and was looking forward to trying another contemporary teen Austen retelling from the author.

"Dashed" is a retelling of "Sense and Sensibility," starring youngest sister Margaret Dashwood. Readers who are familiar with the original novel should know those events have all happened years earlier when Margaret was a child. Now Margaret is eighteen, and it's the summer before she starts college. Margaret is joining eldest sister Elinor on a cruise when middle sister Marianne decides to join them.

While I was hoping for more of a retelling of the original plot (I really enjoyed how to author did so in "Ghosted"), the novel is more about exploring characters. Elinor and Marianne represent two different role models for Margaret, and over the course of the novel, Margaret examines her relationship with each sister and her sisters' impact on her life. There is also a sweet romance storyline with a boy who works on the ship.

Overall, I would recommend this book to fans of YA Austen retellings who are more interested in seeing characters (rather than plots) reinvented.

“Before my sister Marianne showed up and threw all of our worlds into a giant tailspin, I’d been on the cusp of having the best summer ever. ”
Here are reasons to read the Contemporary book:

Jane Austen Retelling - in this modern Jane Austen retelling of Sense and Sensibility
Cruise - Elinor, Edward, and Margaret are about to set off for 6 weeks on a cruise
Marianne - until their sister Marianne crash their party after a breakup with brandon
Sisters - Can Margaret help her sister with finding a whirlwind romance, while also participating in a little fake dating of her own?

If you are not aware, one of my favorite movies is Sense and Sensibility. This take on it kind of took me aback as it sort of takes the details of what happens after Elinor and Edward get married, and puts everything in Margaret’s point of view. If you are looking for a summer read, tropical vibes, but also a little romance, this one is perfect! I really loved spending more time with the Dashwoods.

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to live on a cruise ship, vacation style, this is the book for you. This book was definitely a great summer read and I am always a sucker for a retelling and this one was super cute.

If you want a romance that’s not over the top, easy to read, and is sprinkled with sisterly mishaps and adventures, check this one out ASAP!

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Loved this one! Great and fun read. Highly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for my ARC.

*All of my reviews are spoiler-free!*

*I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you so much to NetGalley and [publisher] for this ARC!*

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. 🥰

I love me a good Austen retelling, and judging by Amanda Quain’s previous works, I was really excited about this one! I have never read a book from Margaret Dashwood’s perspective (she’s the youngest Dashwood sister from Sense and Sensibility, for those less familiar with Austen’s works). She features very little in the original work (in which she is 12 years old), so I was excited to see what happened with a modern version of her as an 18 year old.

I enjoyed the setting of this story immensely. Getting to see the Dashwood sisters on a cruise ship was never something I thought I would desire, but it was so much fun to see the various personalities at work on the open sea. Elinor was very much the sensible sister, even on vacation. She was organized and thorough, but it was fun to see her let her hair down a little. Marianne, in the throes of a breakup with Brandon, was just as fun-loving as she could be while nursing a broken heart. It was very interesting to see what Quain did with Margaret’s character. I thought it was pretty genius to have her be torn between trying to emulate one or the other of her sisters. She was so busy trying to figure out which sister she should be more like, that she never took the time to figure out who she was as an individual.

The romance in this book was fun, but I wished it had…more. It just felt a bit lacking to me. I could tell that Margaret liked Gabe, but it was harder to tell that he liked her back for me. I could certainly see that he was supposed to be end game, but I felt like it just needed more. The book was very concentrated on the relationships between the three sisters (and rightly so), but for a book touting itself as a romance, I just felt like it was a bit lacking.

Also, as an anxious person, my stress levels were pretty high reading this book. Margaret is also a fairly anxious person, and her methods of dealing with this were stressful for me. So, if you are someone who struggles with anxiety, this might not be your cup of tea.

All in all, I thought this was a very creative take on a modernized version of how the Dashwood sisters might be in the future. I enjoyed the setting, and I liked the way each of the sisters embodied the characters from Sense and Sensibility. It was cute, but not my favorite of Quain’s retellings.

My Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2

I gave Dashed a rating of 3.5 Stars!

I really enjoyed “Ghosted” last year so I jumped on the opportunity to read and review this newest retelling of an Austen novel. This is the book for you if you enjoy these fun new, contemporary twists on Austin’s classics.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review.