Dashed | Review

Dashed Published by Wednesday Books by Amanda Quain
on July 16, 2024
Genres: Family & Relationships, Romance, YA, Austenesque, Retellings
Source: Netgalley
Format: ARC, eBook
Find the Author: Website, Goodreads
Find the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

ISBN: 1250907535
Rating:

In this contemporary update of Sense and Sensibility, Margaret Dashwood is setting sail on an adventurous summer cruise—unless love sinks her first.
Margaret Dashwood lives her life according to plan, and it involves absolutely zero heartbreak, thank you very much. Five years ago, love tore her family apart, and since then, she’s kept her own heart as safe as possible. It hasn’t been easy, especially since her sister Marianne—the world’s biggest romantic—has conveniently forgotten that love burned her so badly she literally almost died. So when their oldest sister Elinor invites Margaret along for a Marianne-free summer cruise, she can’t wait to soak up every scheduled moment with sensible Elinor before heading off to college.
But just before they set sail, a newly-single Marianne announces that she’s crashing their vacation. Suddenly, Margaret’s itineraries are thrown overboard, and the ship’s cabin feels even tinier with her sister wailing about her breakup from the bottom bunk. The only solution? Find Marianne a dose of love to tide her over until they reach land.
With help from Elinor, her husband Edward, and Gabe—a distractingly handsome new friend on the crew—Margaret sets out to create a series of elaborate fake dates that will give Marianne the spontaneously curated summer romance of a lifetime. But between a chaotic sister, the growing storm of feelings between Margaret and Gabe, and an actual storm on the horizon, this summer is destined to go off course. Margaret will have to decide what’s more important—following the plan, or following her heart.

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.

 

 

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