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Review: Dashed by Amanda Quain



Blurb from Goodreads:
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.
My Review:

 
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.

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