This was cute and sweet and I liked it. I did feel like some parts dragged a bit but I loved the character growth and the cruise ship setting. It was a fun read.

Dashed was a cute YA retelling of Austen's Sense and Sensibility... which just so happens to be my second-favorite Austen (behind Persuasion, of course). 


So, obviously I had to read it. 

This was, if nothing else, quite the accurate retelling of Sense--with reference to Queen Mab, keeping Edward a preacher, and the shallowness of the Dashwood matriarch--as well as the quirkiness of Marianne--it was all in tact. 

The plus was that we get this story from Margaret--the lesser-fleshed out Dashwood. 

This story is post-incident; we get the idea that it's after Marianne's regrettable relationship with a Willoughby-like character. Margaret, having been through the wringer with her middle sister, is in the process of finding herself. She's torn between being the more responsible Elinor--and falling into the old habits of resembling Marianne. 

What we get is a very YA take on an exceptional original. Not without its merits, Dashed managed to convey all that you'd expect from a follow-up tale about the youngest Dashwood sister. While still maintaining the feel of Austen's story. 

As is always, my issue lies in the YA-ness of it all. But, what was I expecting? It is YA. So if you can get past some of the trite YA plot-points and hero qualities--you can read and enjoy this one--Austen fan or not. Because even without the original source material, this story can stand on its own.

Dashed by Amanda Quain was a cute and quirky story.
I loved reading her Georgie Darcy and Northanger books so I was thrilled to jump into a novel!
A sweet and fun YA romance with the best characters ever!
It is nicely paced and has enough humor to make the story bright and fun.
Charming, funny, the perfect one-sit read!

Thank You NetGalley and Wednesday Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Quick Summary- This is a good coming of age story for Maragret (Mags) as she goes on a cruise with her three sisters and uses one of the crew members as a fake boyfriend to help set one of her sisters up.

Amanda Quain, does a good job with coming of age stories and bringing comfort into understanding that it is okay if you are still trying to figure out who you are. Between Elinor, Marianna and Mags, they are all different ages and are going through different identity crisis of who they want to be. This story was cute and I enjoyed the concept of them being on a cruise and working through their past traumas together. I believe that if I was younger or in one of the three sisters situations, I would have enjoyed this book more.

3.5/5 stars for this book because I had a hard time connecting with the main character. I get it, she is 18 years old and trying to figure out who she is, but at the same time I felt like some of her motives were unfair to her sister Marianna. They both harbor a lot of trauma together, but due to the MC mindset it was hard to sympathize with some of her actions. I also felt like the pacing was off and I wish there was an epilogue or something more to go into the plot with the MC and her love interest.

I did enjoy this book and I think it is a good story for anyone who is looking for a coming of age story.

Thank you St. Martin's Press, Amanda Quain and Netgalley for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a cruise girlie, this was perfection. As a Jane Austen girlie, that was the most gorgeous cherry on top! This book is a great read and I can’t wait to recommend it to customers and readers of all ages!

Sense and Sensibility has never been one of my favorite Austen novels. I’ve always had mixed feelings about the characters and plot. While I appreciate what Amanda Quain attempted to do with her modern sequel retelling, I feel the same about Dashed.

On one hand, I love the family dynamics in this story. There aren’t a lot of YA books where the family ties are important to the story, and I like that family was a central theme of the story. The sister relationships in this book are also so realistic and relatable, and it definitely keeps those elements from the original at the forefront of this retelling.

I also like that the story follows Margaret, the other Dashwood sister. It’s so fun to see the story from a side character’s perspective instead. And I love Edward! He’s never been a favorite Austen hero, but the way Amanda depicts him in this modern setting is so well done. I adore that he’s a soft voice of reason for Margaret as she deals with her family’s drama.

Speaking of which, the hard part about this book is that all the main drama from the original novel happens BEFORE this book starts, which means everything is off screen and Margaret is just telling the reader what happened instead of being able to witness it. That really brought down the urgency of Marianne’s plight and made her and Margaret come across a lot more shallow and unbelievable than I would have liked. It also nerfs pretty much all of Marianne’s character development in the original story, which was disappointing.

And in the end, I felt like all the drama, all of Margaret’s efforts, everything that happens felt pointless? I like what the story has to say about love, but it was just a little too predictable and unrealistic for me. Plus, Margaret is so terrible to Gabe and I felt like he deserved better. He and Brandon both.

Overall, the story isn’t bad or badly written. There are a lot of great moments and excellent family themes, but I wish it would have been either not a retelling of Sense and Sensibility and just a regular YA contemporary or it had been a modern retelling that takes place during the main events of the original novel instead of trying to be a sequel.

This was a cute ya novel that is just a bit too ya for most adults to enjoy in my opinion. The characters were just very immature and annoying. I also didn’t love how the main character was speaking to the reader in such a. Stereotypically teenage way. It was distracting.

Still, I probably would have loved it at 15!

"Dashed" was a cute YA re-telling of the classic Sense & Sensibility.

I thought the author did a great job crafting a storyline that gave subtle nuances to the source material in a very fun and modern way.

This would make a great beach day read! It's a light hearted coming of age tale filled with sisterhood, love, adventure and a bit of family drama.

I would definitely check this book out if you're a fan of Jane Austen or love a good re-telling.

Thank you Amanda Quaint, Net Galley and St. Martin's Press - Wednesday Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I don’t read much in the romance genre, but I’ve read two other retellings by this author and enjoyed both. Dashed made it three for three.

I’m embarrassed to admit I haven’t read Sense and Sensibility or seen the movie, but I know the basic premise of the story. I thought a loose retelling set on a cruise ship would add an element of fun, and it did. Margaret’s brother-in-law snags a six week stint as a chaplain on a cruise ship, and he and his wife/Margaret’s oldest sister Elinor invite her to accompany them as her high school graduation gift. Margaret’s ready for an exciting, drama-free summer before starting college – until her middle sister Marianne shows up and shatters her hopes. Her long term boyfriend (who the family adored) broke up with her, and Marianne’s never happy without a guy by her side. Cue the drama.

This story is about loss, love, family, and misconceptions. After seeing her mother’s devastation and grief over the passing of her husband/Margaret’s father, Margaret fiercely guards her heart and refuses to let anyone get close. She believes her oldest sister Elinor is in a quiet (boring and unpassionate), stable marriage of convenience. In contrast, Marianne’s relationships have historically been chaotic and painful. Margaret is convinced she’ll be just fine on her own and avoid any pain caused by love. It’s a shocking dose of reality when she learns her assumptions about love aren’t accurate.

This is a mostly light-hearted novel I read in just a couple days. I snickered as Margaret interviewed potential love interests for her sister and smiled as she found herself falling for a sweet guy she meets on the ship. The relationships between the sisters are strained at times, and their progression as they learn more about each other and themselves is done well. Margaret comes to the realization she doesn’t have to be like Elinor or Marianne – she’s a wholly unique individual.

Recommended for readers show enjoy modernized Austen retellings, coming of age stories, and the fake dating trope.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a really fun way to take a classic for inspiration, but then build your own original story. Margaret Dashwood is only a child in <i>Sense and Sensibility</i>, so Quain is completely free to draw her as a teenager. But Marianne and Elinor are still very much recognizable, just brought to a modern setting. The extended cruise setting works very well as a place for Margaret to find herself and start to figure out who she is in this summer before starting college. The romance is also an effective way to force Margaret to confront her walls and decide how she wants to approach the future.

I love Amanda Quain's Jane Austen retellings! They are all sweet YA romances, with simple plots but charming life lessons! This story focuses on Margaret Dashwood, and how she decides to live her life after watching the relationships of her older sisters, The fake dating romance was sweet, and the setting of a cruise created great summer vibes! I have enjoyed all of these retellings and I can't wait to see what Amanda Quain writes next!

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Cute, and started off strong. About halfway through I started to get bored, and found myself skimming quite a bit. Margaret felt unrealistic as a character, and got progressively more annoying. I know she was eighteen; but she came across as extremely childlike.
I did like the evolution in the relationship between the sisters, though. Their love for each other was much more interesting than their relationships with their “love interests.”

Thank you St Martin's for Dashed, an unexpectedly delightful YA book.... not unexpected that the author nails the modern Austen (she's good at that) but that she did this while taking a less know, and less developed, Austen character and making her the star while still making her feel like she's an Austen character fully formed. I love the sister relationships, they always standout in Austen work, and since Sense and Sensibility is my favorite Austen, I really loved how the cruise became the setting for Bath and "the season". Quain writes with a clear voice, a frothy joyful approach to Austen's work, and invites younger readers into Austen with easy entry into her social commentary themes and focus on strong, smart women who know themselves, even if they don't realize it.

Amanda Quain's Dashed is a charming mix of clever humor, lively conversation, and a gradual love story that captures the timeless appeal of Austen-esque connections. This warm read presents a refreshingly contemporary take on a traditional story.

I was not in love with this book. I truly feel bad for Margret as a character. To feel like you must hide yourself within one of your sisters’ personalities and not figure out who you are as a person makes me incredibly sad. As a reader I did enjoy the growth all the sisters have by the end of the book, but the getting there was a bit bumpy, and I personally didn’t love the journey.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

Cute, but a little shallow. It reminded me of teen Disney TV shows. Margaret's outright refusal to be happy and be her own person felt forced, bizarre, and entirely frustrating. That coupled with the shallow nature of hers and her sisters' concerns and us not really knowing anything about the characters except for their love of Mamma Mia made the book repetitive—there's only so many ways with the letters of the alphabet you can say Margaret is afraid of love and of being her own person. 5/5 for setting and 1/5 for characterization, so I landed in the middle at 3/5.

Three sisters on a cruise ship for the summer makes for a sweet read.

I had a bit of a hard time connecting with the characters, and finding the premise believable. I wasn’t the most fond of the main character, and her sisters didn’t give me any more reason to become invested.

Overall, I think this could be a better, lighthearted read for someone else. But for me, it was lacking.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted ARC

Margaret Dashwood has always found herself pulled between her two sisters. Sensible Elinor and romantic Marianne seem pretty black-and-white to her. When Marianne unexpectedly crashes the cruise that Elinor and Margaret had planned, Margaret worries that she will find herself copying the wrong sister. Margaret hatches a plan with a friendly crew member named Gabe to find her sister a date. Sister chaos and cruise ship dating shenanigans ensue!

Amanda Quain has a gift for modernizing Jane Austen stories. I enjoyed this contemporary take on Sense & Sensibility. Margaret finds herself haunted by past mistakes and wants to try and take care of her big sisters for once. Margaret and Gabe have a very sweet romance, but my favorite part was definitely the relationships between the sisters. Readers who enjoy Jane Austen retellings, complex sister relationships, and a sweet YA romance should check out Dashed. I’m looking forward to seeing what Amanda Quain writes next!

Thank you to Amanda Quain, Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Cute and creative Austen retelling. Not particularly memorable but a pretty good time.

Review: Dashed by Amanda Quain

A sweet, coming-of-age modern retelling of Sense & Sensibility.

Do you ever wonder about Margaret’s experience in Sense & Sensibility? Look no further. This YA contemporary romance and coming-of-age story follows Margaret Dashwood 5 years after the tragic passing of their father and the fateful events of Marianne’s whirlwind romance.

I thoroughly enjoyed following Margaret as she learned how to find her own unique voice and identity in this sweet story. Highly recommend for a summer read.

Thank you to Wednesday Books, St Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for this advanced copy. All opinions are my own.