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wanderlust_romance's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.75
✨The vibe: Sophomore slump.
It really pains me to say that Sex Lies and Sensibility did not live up to its own marketing. Where was the romance? Where was the banter? Where was the humor? I couldn't find it.
Here's what you can expect from a plot perspective in SL&S:
1. Nora Dash is feeling the long-term reputation and financial effects of her college sex tape.
2. Nora and Yanne make their way to Maine to the dilapidated inn at Barton Cove with plans to YouTube University and HGTV their way through renovations.
3. The Dash sisters form a partnership with Ennis "Bear" Freeman to help them make connections with the community - and foster respect for the Abenaki land they are on.
4. Bear is hiding a huge part of himself from Nora, while also being financially and emotionally manipulated.
5. Secrets are revealed, cutting off any hopes of romance between Nora and Bear. (They pine anyway.)
6. The Dash Sisters manage to pull a hail mary and find financing to stave off Barton Cove's foreclosure.
7. Bear, free from the shackles of his secrets, goes back to Nora and they get their HEA.
TL;DR: renovate the inn amidst financial insecurity and find affection along the way. (You'll find list summaries like this throughout SL&S.)
The further into the book you go, the more the characters explicitly state (through their inner thoughts or in dialogue with others) that they feel a comforting sense of safety with the object of their affections. But those declarations feel disingenuine and shallow because the preceding interactions between the MCs don't support it. The conversations between Nora and Bear that would show them being emotionally open and vulnerable with one another, because they finally feel safe to do so, don't happen. To that effect, miscommunication is everywhere in this story. No one is talking about the meaningful things. And more importantly, the dialogue on page between the MCs was unnatural, lacking flow, and sometimes cringe worthy. Pride and Protest was my benchmark for comparison when it came to Payne's brand of humor and banter in a modern Austen reimagining. But everything missed the mark in this case.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content, Racism, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, and Gaslighting
Minor: Grief
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